Tuesday:
Well second day of orientation was shorter, though mine was the group that had to show up earlier, for those of us in apartments. Basically had a 45 minute slideshow on how to clean our apartments, what products to look for and what exactly they cleaned, a few silly rules on having friends over in the apartment etc (reminded me on why I was glad I had my own place, woohoo!)After that was our lunch break where we wandered near the Seine River and found a cafe. We'd originally only planned on coffees but ordered omelets as well.
And oh. my. god. Best omelet ever! As in, my LIFE. No joke. Everyone else agreed, and while we happily ate, we mused about what exactly it was that made them just so darn delicious. Did they add butter? Or was it just the grease from the ham, and that was what was adding the real flavor? Who knows. But I'm determined to go back there sometime soon and have another.
----
When we got back to the ISA office, we had a presentation by the Vice Consul of the US Embassy. I thought this would be a rather boring, if necessary, part of the orientation, but it was actually the funniest. The man was just so personable, it was hard to believe that he was supposed to be a pretty important diplomat. There was a lady with him that I guess had a very similar position to his, and she was also really friendly, but it was the man (it's a shame that I forget his name!) was the hysterical one. Among many things, here are a couple we learned from him concerning being a US citizen in France.
-If we get arrested, they can't and won't bail us out. They may receive a little phone call, and they'll make a note of it, but that's about it on their part.
-Even pregnant women (in one case) have been known to participate in property theft by distracting you on the metro while one or more accomplices swipes your money/cards/passport.
-Passports run about $16,000-$18,000 on the black market. Whoa.
-Don't sit/stand next to the metro doors with your nice phone out. A thief can snatch it just as the doors are closing, jump off the train, and make off with your phone before you can do anything and the train pulls away. (In one story, he said that it was reported that a thief did just that, then gave a little wave with the stolen phone from the platform.)
He did let us know about the American Hospital (or alternatively, the British Hospital) where we could go to in case of an emergency and we need to make sure our health problem is conveyed. We could flag down a taxi and they would know where to go. So that was comforting to know.
-----
Well, once that presentation was over, I left the ISA office and headed back to the Dumas house. I picked up my last little suitcase and left some sopa de col in the fridge that I had made previously. So I made the trek back home. I'm glad I left the smallest suitcase for last because going up my 5 flights of stairs with the other two..oh man.
----
Yesterday:
I was informed that because of the error on the written part of the placement test, I would be re-doing it that day. I tried to review a bit, but I'd gotten lazy over the summer, so there was only so much I could do. To make myself feel better, I did get a cappuccino from a vending machine in the school cafeteria for 50 cents AND IT WAS SO YUMMY. What is it with food being so much better over here??? A little later, a few of us were ushered into a room and given about 40 minutes to complete it our written test. After that, my class schedule was finalized. Here it is!:
Monday: No class, yessss (3-day weekends! :) )
Tuesday: French class, 9-12
Wednesday: French class, 9-12 then 2 hour break, then Fashion in France, 2-6. gjkngljhiuhlfbgs. I'm gonna need to find somewhere to nap for those 2 hours..0_o
Thursday: Culture and Gastronomy, 2-5 (I'm really excited for this one!)
Friday: French class, 9-12. (Early start to my great weekends, double bonus :) )
----
Once all the testing was done, we were led to the Crous, a student cafeteria. But we more or less got left before at the metro, and while a few of us finally caught up with them, the line for the food was absolutely ridiculous. Instead we found a little lunch cafe and ate a good meal there, if for a bit more. I left our little group shortly after, and went back home.
Today:
We had the option of going to Versailles today, but I've already been there, and I figure I'll go again anyways when Papa, or maybe Mom come visit. Plus, Theo and his roommate moved into their new place yesterday, so today invited me over for lunch. I took the wrong street exit getting off from the RER (the metro that goes out of city limits, where they now live) but I was able to call Theo from a nice shoemaker's cell phone and I was found and led back to their place. Which is very, very nice and much too spacious for two guys who don't own a whole lot. I thought it funny though that one of the first things I saw walking in was one of those montrous Alien computers. Another geek. No wonder they're living together. ..:p
But they also have a washing machine. They have a dishwasher. They have an oven. (I've been missing one recently because it means that I can't bake all the delicious things I've gotten recipes for..) So I was just a tiny, tiny bit jealous.
But the burgers were good and for dessert I had the idea of cutting up one of the bananas they had, and heating it with Nutella. Mmmm..;)
A little later, they headed to Ikea, but gave me a short ride back to the station. Came home, tidied up a bit, went for my run, and then had my dinner.
So that's been the last couple of days...right now I'm anxiously awaiting the disbursement of my financial aid money. I know I'll get it either today or tomorrow, but I'm still nervous that for whatever reason it won't be the amount I'm expecting/really REALLY need. We'll just see tomorrow I guess. In the meantime, I'm going to try and entertain myself with making lists of the things I want for my apartment. Right now a blender is at the top of my list...
Bon nuit :)
Rachael
No comments:
Post a Comment