Musings from E105.

It seems like everyday is really long and a lot happens, but time still flies by, especially since dinner doesn’t even start until 7pm.  My dorm room is definitely not Miller, but it is a single and has all the standard amenities: bed, mattress, side table, lots of shelving, closet, even a sink, medicine cabinet, and desk lamp.  No WiFi (read: weefee), so we have to steal passwords until our accounts are activated, which hopefully will be soon.

Yesterday involved window shopping… shoes for 3 euro?! Once I get into the homestay, I better find another suitcase, because I’m going to be in serious trouble… Breakfast this morning involved the food that they gave us upon move-in, meaning crackers and cheese.  Tomorrow, a granola bar is on the menu.  One of the cafeterias on campus opened for lunch today, but it only serves lunch and we had an adventure instead.

I now have a tram/bus card (like an ID card but you load money for tickets on it or can buy a monthly pass that you swipe as validation) with my picture on it, an ID card with my picture, a 10 tram ride pass, internet instructions, and proof that I’m actually enrolled here… I’m beginning to wonder what other kinds of cards with my face on it have been deemed necessary for life in Bordeaux.

Two orientation meetings down, several more to go… the first was a general meeting, with standard stuff that I basically already knew since I’ve been here since Friday.  Today we got our paperwork and a detailed schedule of events, including information about homestay meetings and the dates that we have to pick classes by.  Excursions and such were marked on there… beach, oysters, vineyard, museums… heck yeah I’m a tourist! 

Following our orientation meeting today, we went in search of lunch.  Jaime saw a boulangerie (bread store) on her run this morning, so we set out in search of it… stopped at a Pharmacie and asked for directions, after walking ¾ of the way there and turning around to walk halfway back and ask for directions.  We ended up walking to Pessac Centre, which is about a 7 minute tram ride and a 30 minute walk, but our need for coffee and food was fulfilled.  Joelle almost got run over by a bus, but other than that, I would deem it a success.

After lunch, we headed to Quinconces to meet up with our group for our walking tour of historic Bordeaux.  Very informative, a lot of cool old buildings, we went near the river, and I ended up with a couple blisters.  In addition, the entire thing was given in French, and I would say I understood 85% of it… I prefer not to think of the fact that she was speaking slowly and clearly because we were obviously Americans and not comprehending everything.

Taking a tip from fellow EAP-ers, we headed back to Pessac (via tram this time) and hopped on the free WiFi at a movie theatre, followed by a trip to Champion, a standard supermarket, for some pasta and salad material.  I bought Barilla Tomato and Ricotta pasta sauce… there are a lot of unique things in these supermarkets that I want to take home with me… I get the feeling that I’m going to be adding some poundage here, since “Patisseries” are like Starbucks here… one on every corner!

Tomorrow, we are taking our first language placement test of two.  This one will determine which ILP class we are in (our French summer school class); the second determines if we have to take a French class this semester.  I wouldn’t mind either way… it would be a lighter workload class for sure.  My most recent accomplishment has been to comprehend the women speaking rapid-fire French on the other end of the voicemail button to determine how to set up my account, pick a code, get my messages, personalize my greeting, and return to the menu.  I don’t think I’ve been so excited to get a voicemail in my entire life!  On that highly uplifting and personally positive note, I’m off to review the subjunctive before I spray some more Febreze and head back to sleep, with my can of Raid by my side.