Maybe I shouldn't let so many days go by without an update! Then there won't be so much to pack into one entry. The past few days have been full of ups and downs, and I'm not sure where to start. I met up with Kendra on Wednesday to talk over experiences and look for phones together. I didn't have as much trouble communicating with the saleslady at the phone store as I thought I would! It was quite encouraging. I also did some asking at the bus terminal about bus passes, since it looks like I'm going to need to make good use of them, but the monthly pass is only good from the 1st to the end of each month. It wouldn't do me any good to buy one now, so I just got a booklet of 10 tickets instead. 'Tis a good 30 minute walk from my house to the university, and it's still cold and misty on most days, so I'm hoping to take advantage of the bus. When spring comes in the next month or so, I'm sure it will be more comfortable to walk. There is a lot of construction downtown because of the new trolley system they're installing, so the sidewalks take a lot of detours, but that just makes it interesting. ;)
Anyway, I called that a productive day and went home to cook dinner for myself. I found a recipe for Stracciatella, an italian chicken soup, that looked really simple, and I had all the ingredients on hand. So, I set about thawing chicken...in an unheated room. Yeah, that was going to take a while, so I thought maybe, just maybe, I could heat it in water and make some light broth at the same time for the soup. Obstacle #1 cleared! On to chopping the onion and garlic.....without a cutting board or a knife. Oh boy. Well, I did find a cheese grater. I mean, why not? Use what you've got, I always say. So I set about grating garlic and, err, shredding/mashing the onion with a cheese grater. I finally just finished off the onion by hacking at it with a slightly serrated butter knife. (Hey, it worked.) You can't tell what the onion looks like once you cook it anyway. :P Obstacle #2 cleared! Into the warm butter went the onions and garlic, and then I sliced up a few mushrooms and tore up some fresh spinach to toss in. The chicken was mostly cooked by that time, so I chunked it and threw it into the onion/garlic skillet with some herbs, salt, pepper, and the spinach/mushroom mix. It was starting to smell really good, and it was actually looking pretty too, so I was having second thoughts about the soup. Why not throw some parmesan garlic tomato sauce in with the chicken and make some pasta in the chicken broth? Check, and check...but how to drain the pasta? *sigh* No strainer. Well, in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I found that a bowl and a paper towel can do the trick for a bit of pasta. (Just don't touch the wet paper towel, because it's hot. :P ) Obstacle #3 cleared! I threw some of that good French butter into the pasta, covered it with my chicken concoction, and toasted some French bread. I even cut up a little cheese to put on the side, and voila - I could call my experiment a success. :) Thank heavens for the ingenuity my mother taught me to use in the kitchen!
Thursday was orientation day for international students, so I woke up early and took the bus to school. It's always amazingly awkward trying to break the ice between international students who are all trying to speak a foreign language, because everyone is at a different level. I, for one, just feel like I'm the worst of the lot, so I hate starting conversations because I feel embarrassed and intimidated. It's always harder with the European students who have had more practice speaking in more than one language. Anyway, despite that, I visited a bit with a few of the students, and then listened as I was inundated with a flood of information from the university officials. ID cards, campus history, colleges & department details, classes, French government paperwork, class registration, internet protocol, meetings scheduled with departments, exchange program activities and planned excursions -- all of that information in one sitting. It was enough to make my already aching head swim. At least I know that there are activities planned for us, in case the French students totally ignore us. They're planning trips to Paris, Lille, the beach, and some other really fun-sounding places. :) After that info spill session, they took us on a brief tour of the campus and down some city streets until we ended up back at one of the university restaurants (just another cafeteria). I was able to spend some time talking to a new friend, Dorota, who is from Poland, as we were walking around in the cold, though. She had noticed that my last name looked Polish, so we talked about family backgrounds a bit. She doesn't speak French, though, and she was really glad to find someone who could speak English with her and help her figure out what was going on. The cafeteria food was...cafeteria food, but the linguine and fish weren't terrible. We had to rush back to the university for an obligatory meeting with the "Living Languages" department, though. It was then that I discovered just how far in over my head I truly was. Their system of dividing levels of classes in that department is one of the most confusing, frustrating things I have ever encountered. I'm sure it makes sense to them, but for an exchange student, working your way through the charts on the wall of schedules is like taking a trip to you-know-where and back. (You can see pictures of me and Kendra trying to figure it out on facebook. :P it's amusing, I'm sure.) If our UCA system is anywhere near this complicated for foreign students, I pray God's tender mercies on their souls.
I did find a bit of respite in the meeting with a British professor, a certain Mr. Terence Atkinson (spoken with true British flair). He is offering an Anglophone Literature class at an advanced level that I am interested in taking to keep my courseload from being too difficult. I also think it would be interesting to take a literature class from a British perspective in a French school, but that's just me. I know everyone is going to ask me why I would want to take a class like that while I'm in France...but to that I will simply respond with the advice I received from Mr. Atkinson himself: "Be ambitious, but be reasonable. You are not here to make your life misery." With that in mind, I am going to find classes that are interesting, some that are challenging, and all that provide opportunities that I don't have in the U.S. -- but nothing that is going to make me want to kill myself. That's not my goal in giving myself an education, and never will be. That said, I am also interested in some of the classes offered by the theology department, namely Paul and his Epistles, Ethics in Business and Politics, Islam, and Exegesis. In the language department, the translation classes (from English to French and vice versa), as well as the class in teaching English as a second language in French schools, have caught my eye. Both types of classes would be interesting from a French perspective. There's also a class in French language, art, and history that sounds amazing, and it's open to international students. They spend a limited amount of time in the classroom and go on field trips to local places of interest, even the lesser-known places that are full of culture. I would *love* to get into that class, but there is limited space and entry is competitive, it seems. I won't find out about the French literature or history classes until Tuesday, because the department head is still on vacation and there are no schedules posted yet. Even with all of these options and all of this uncertainty, I do know for sure that I will be taking one class, though: the French class they place all exchange students in according to their level. I already had my first homework assignment: to turn in a written essay test to determine my placement. :P We'll see how that turns out this week.
Kendra and I spent Friday in more meetings and at the language class schedule board, wracking our brains to find a way to make sense of it all. Finally, I started to crack the code, and I was able to write down the days and times of the classes that might work. The odd thing is, some of their classes have already started, some will start this week, and other not until later on. It's unlike anything I've ever seen! I feel like I've been thrown into a blender, and one that was already on, at that. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure. We don't have to officially register for classes until March, so we can waltz in and out of whatever classes we want until then to find the ones that fit the best. This week will be quite full of experimentation. Let's hope I can take good notes and remember which classes I like.
Friday night, I went back to Kendra's house with her for a nap and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before heading out with some new friends for a chat at a local bar called K'lypso. You'll find a few pictures of that outing on Facebook. :) It was quite enjoyable, and I'm getting much better at communicating in French. Also, Perrier with a lime wedge is quite tasty. (it's like the French version of club soda) Unfortunately, I couldn't find a bus home that night, even though it was only 10:30. Evidently, most lines stop after 8:30. So I had to walk the half-hour back to my house in the dark and drizzle. Again, I don't mind -- it's all part of the adventure. I wouldn't be happy if I didn't have challenges to surmount. (then again, it might not be a good thing, since the challenges have to keep getting stickier to keep me satisified) ;) Anyway, I made it safe and sound, although I'd rather not have to do that very often. I don't have a knife, or mace, or bricks to carry around with me. (and bricks are heavy) And the French frown upon guns. :P Ah well, I think I found a bus line that can get me home later at night. Hopefully it can, anyway, because I want to be able to experience things with my new friends, and most of that activity is going to happen after school hours.
So...what new things have I discovered this week? I'll make a list for you to keep it short and sweet:
- everyone wears scarves. everyone. even the guys.
- nearly all of the girls wear tights and boots.
- the library is the only warm place on campus, or in any French building. this explains the tights, boots, and scarves.
- the library is also my favorite place on campus, because it has study tables (with individual lamps!) that face huge windows overlooking the old buildings on campus. and it smells good. overall, it's 10x more comfortable than UCA's library.
- they don't have peanut butter here. sad day.
- I haven't found Goldfish either. I guess the French don't like tiny cheese-flavored baked fish snacks.
- the museum de beaux-arts here is currently in the middle of a Rodin exhibition
- the international choir no longer exists, but I might have a chance at getting into another choir (we'll see)
- I like 'pain du raisin' and 'pain chocolat'. I actually might like the raisin pastries a bit more, but I'll have to keep tasting to know for sure. ;)
- it's almost as gray and damp here as it is in England. let's hope I don't start developing symptoms of SAD. :P
- maybe one of these days I'll do something right in this house, but those days have not occurred this week. I'm constantly paranoid that I've left a door open, or a heater on, or shut off one of the water faucets too tightly. Jacqueline notices everything, and she usually finds the door open about 10 seconds after I've walked through it, intending to come right back. :P
- french microwaves don't shut off when you open the door, which led to another one of Jacqueline's admonishments. this I understand, though. I don't want to cook my hand.
- a mental health day is good every once in a while. Saturday was good for catching up on sleep and having breakfast in bed, and I still managed to be rather productive.
- French mass in a 1000 year old abbey = wow
- (for more mature audiences) you can buy condoms from vending machines mounted on the city sidewalks. 2 euros each. evidently for those who just can't wait to walk inside the store that's 2 feet away. (and I thought the French *wanted* babies?)
- they look at you funny and express genuine concern for you if you eat a late lunch. meal times are apparently sacred and well-protected here.
- i miss singing in my choir.
I think that is all. I'm going to make a habit of doing one distinctly French thing every day, whether it be singing in an empty cathedral or trying a new pastry or taking a picnic lunch to a park I've never seen before. I'm sure the list will grow. :)
And this entry has definitely grown. I'll try to make them shorter in the future! Until I write again...
<3 à bientot!
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