Alors, ça sera tout en français. Si vous ne parlez pas français... ça c'est trop mauvais pour vous...
J'ai une petite amie maintenant, et oui, elle est française mais elle parle anglais aussi. Je sais que elle me dira tous mes erreurs ici.
Nous irons à Bruxelles le weekend prochain. Il sera incroyable (et délicieux). Elle apprend comment les americains peuvent manger! Je suis toujours "ungry" comme elle la dit. Elle oublie le "h" quand elle la dit. Haha
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Classes
I had the epiphany yesterday that all I really do on this blog is bitch about my classes so I thought I would go into some details:
connaisances des civilisations- This is an Arab-Islamic Civilization Class. It's really interesting actually. So far we've discusses the Prophet Mohammed, the Four Caliphs and the founding of the Omayyad Empire under Muawiya I.
French History for international students- Pretty self-explanitory. It's pretty easy since we're all foreign he uses pretty simple sentences and speaks at an understandable pace. We're currently in the Middle Ages and just learned about Philip II and the Third Crusade
Geographie de la Maghreb- Pretty self-explanatory. We're studying Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia mostly. Pretty interesting class.
Histoire contemporaire- WORST CLASS EVER. We are learning about the economic development of France from 1870-1940. I don't understand anything as oftentimes the class uses industrial terms that I just don't know. That and the class is FOUR HOURS LONG.
Français- that's all it's called but this is a basic French Lit. course. I don't mind it so much but it's hard to read the really long passages and understand what their basic meaning is, much less do an in-depth analysis.
Thème- A French -> English translation course. Good for a couple of reasons. One being that Mme. Bray speaks a lovely form of the Queen's English during the class... i.e. I understand every word she says.
French for international students- Have only had this class once so far, but it seems very very simple.
Geography of France for international students- This class hasn't actually started yet but it will commence next Friday (ugh). Should be interesting/easy. Go Dirt!
connaisances des civilisations- This is an Arab-Islamic Civilization Class. It's really interesting actually. So far we've discusses the Prophet Mohammed, the Four Caliphs and the founding of the Omayyad Empire under Muawiya I.
French History for international students- Pretty self-explanitory. It's pretty easy since we're all foreign he uses pretty simple sentences and speaks at an understandable pace. We're currently in the Middle Ages and just learned about Philip II and the Third Crusade
Geographie de la Maghreb- Pretty self-explanatory. We're studying Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia mostly. Pretty interesting class.
Histoire contemporaire- WORST CLASS EVER. We are learning about the economic development of France from 1870-1940. I don't understand anything as oftentimes the class uses industrial terms that I just don't know. That and the class is FOUR HOURS LONG.
Français- that's all it's called but this is a basic French Lit. course. I don't mind it so much but it's hard to read the really long passages and understand what their basic meaning is, much less do an in-depth analysis.
Thème- A French -> English translation course. Good for a couple of reasons. One being that Mme. Bray speaks a lovely form of the Queen's English during the class... i.e. I understand every word she says.
French for international students- Have only had this class once so far, but it seems very very simple.
Geography of France for international students- This class hasn't actually started yet but it will commence next Friday (ugh). Should be interesting/easy. Go Dirt!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Amsterdam
So Amsterdam is... interesting. And shameless.
I ventured up to Pays-Bas (literally, Low Countries) for the weekend with Maggie, Randi, AnnMarie, Jose, and Jordan. We took a two hour train ride to Anvers (Antwerp) and then changed trains for another two hour ride to Amsterdam. Once we got to Amsterdam Centraal I navigated our way to our hostel, which was a pretty interesting experience. Didn't feel as shady as you might expect.
As for the trip I want to say that all the rumours about this city are true. Our group hit up one of the MULTITUDES of coffeeshops the first night (no I did not partake). I also did not meet anybody who didn't speak English. Their accents are definitely better than the French as a whole.
The next day I woke up and ran for about half an hour. It was pretty quiet once you got away from the city center (the touristy part) and the canals and houses were absolutely beautiful. The Netherlands definitely has its own style of architecture so it was pretty refreshing to see something new.
Afterwards, I went back to the hostel and then Randi, AnnMarie and I went out and walked around for awhile. We ended up visiting the Anne Frank House, which, although interesting, seemed like there wasn't much to it but capitalized on tugging heartstrings because of the Holocaust. Was definitely glad I saw it though and I know the girls really liked it (Maybe I'm a heartless bastard). We then walked around some more and then that night we decided to go for a walk through the infamous Red Light District. It was... enlightening... to say the least
The next day we headed home- got back to Lille around 2200.
Overall I didn't care for Amsterdam. The rumors about the city are all true and if you are into sex, weed, and/or touristy crap then this city is for you. It was a beautiful city but it just didn't have what I was looking for in a visit. Glad I went though- checked the box and drove on.
I ventured up to Pays-Bas (literally, Low Countries) for the weekend with Maggie, Randi, AnnMarie, Jose, and Jordan. We took a two hour train ride to Anvers (Antwerp) and then changed trains for another two hour ride to Amsterdam. Once we got to Amsterdam Centraal I navigated our way to our hostel, which was a pretty interesting experience. Didn't feel as shady as you might expect.
As for the trip I want to say that all the rumours about this city are true. Our group hit up one of the MULTITUDES of coffeeshops the first night (no I did not partake). I also did not meet anybody who didn't speak English. Their accents are definitely better than the French as a whole.
The next day I woke up and ran for about half an hour. It was pretty quiet once you got away from the city center (the touristy part) and the canals and houses were absolutely beautiful. The Netherlands definitely has its own style of architecture so it was pretty refreshing to see something new.
Afterwards, I went back to the hostel and then Randi, AnnMarie and I went out and walked around for awhile. We ended up visiting the Anne Frank House, which, although interesting, seemed like there wasn't much to it but capitalized on tugging heartstrings because of the Holocaust. Was definitely glad I saw it though and I know the girls really liked it (Maybe I'm a heartless bastard). We then walked around some more and then that night we decided to go for a walk through the infamous Red Light District. It was... enlightening... to say the least
The next day we headed home- got back to Lille around 2200.
Overall I didn't care for Amsterdam. The rumors about the city are all true and if you are into sex, weed, and/or touristy crap then this city is for you. It was a beautiful city but it just didn't have what I was looking for in a visit. Glad I went though- checked the box and drove on.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The rumors are true
I will start out by saying that the city of Amsterdam has NO sense of shame whatsoever.
More to follow tomorrow when I have time and am not tired.
More to follow tomorrow when I have time and am not tired.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Ce le weekend! Almost...
I realized I haven't updated this too much recently. Pretty routine week so far...
I was late to my Islamic Civ class on Monday, but here you don't get in trouble so that's cool. Most of my classes have been a little easier to understand as well. Bought some shoes, and a sweater thing. Not sure how to describe it.
I've done some crossfit, lifted, and ran some as well. Nothing as interesting as my run on Saturday though I'm afraid.
I still love kebabs ever so much. No class tomorrow so hopefully I'll go out tonight... maybe eat some more after hitting a bar or two.
Avez-vous des questions? Non? Super...
I was late to my Islamic Civ class on Monday, but here you don't get in trouble so that's cool. Most of my classes have been a little easier to understand as well. Bought some shoes, and a sweater thing. Not sure how to describe it.
I've done some crossfit, lifted, and ran some as well. Nothing as interesting as my run on Saturday though I'm afraid.
I still love kebabs ever so much. No class tomorrow so hopefully I'll go out tonight... maybe eat some more after hitting a bar or two.
Avez-vous des questions? Non? Super...
Sunday, January 15, 2012
La marché et dimanche
I didn't go out last night so I was able to wake up at a reasonable hour (9h45). I got up and headed out to Wazemmes, which is the cities Arabic quarter, to visit the open-air market.
All and all it was pretty neat. They were selling EVERYTHING, fruits and vegetables, clothes, shoes, candy, fabrics, etc. You could even buy a whole roast chicken (which smelled SO GOOD). I bought some bananas to keep in my room and had a cup of soup from one of the food vendors because it was pretty chilly and the soup warmed me up nicely. After wandering around a bit I headed back home and relaxed a bit before walking down Rue Royale and into Vieux Lille to explore a little bit. On my way back home I went into Printemps, a French department store, and looked around in the men's section for awhile. I almost bought another cashmere sweater but most everything was either expensive as hell, or on sale but XXL (or the appropriate size and gray). I may go check out the Lafayette this next week and see what they have.
Otherwise, another quiet day. I took the day off from working out and am going to lift tomorrow. Tonight will probably be dedicated to working on my translation for Madame Bray due Thursday so I can go over it with my French partner.
All and all it was pretty neat. They were selling EVERYTHING, fruits and vegetables, clothes, shoes, candy, fabrics, etc. You could even buy a whole roast chicken (which smelled SO GOOD). I bought some bananas to keep in my room and had a cup of soup from one of the food vendors because it was pretty chilly and the soup warmed me up nicely. After wandering around a bit I headed back home and relaxed a bit before walking down Rue Royale and into Vieux Lille to explore a little bit. On my way back home I went into Printemps, a French department store, and looked around in the men's section for awhile. I almost bought another cashmere sweater but most everything was either expensive as hell, or on sale but XXL (or the appropriate size and gray). I may go check out the Lafayette this next week and see what they have.
Otherwise, another quiet day. I took the day off from working out and am going to lift tomorrow. Tonight will probably be dedicated to working on my translation for Madame Bray due Thursday so I can go over it with my French partner.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Finally, a good run
There are many things I could talk about for the past few days. Classes, going out in the evenings, what I randomly do during the day, how much I LOVE KEBABS- BUT I'm just going to talk about my run instead.
Alors,
I went out for my run today knowing that I wanted to do something farther than my previous attempts. SO, with a sort of general plan in mind I headed out and headed over towards Lambersart (Google maps- use it).
Crossing the river into Lambersart I ended up on Avenue de l'Hippodrome. It's a pretty neat little street that's very aesthetically pleasing I found. I followed the Avenue all the way to the end and ended up crossing over Rocade Nord-Ouest. I kept on Rue Gustave Eiffel/Rue de Lambersart for a little bit after that.
By this time I was getting out into the farming areas just outside the metropolitan area. I went as far as I could with what resembled a walkway next to the road but eventually arrived to a point where I decided not to continue. Looking at google maps I will probably just brave the shoulder next time if I want to go farther.
BUT I turned around and headed back in. However instead of heading back the way I came I cut in towards Lambersart Centre and turned onto Rue de Verlinghem.
My decision paid off because I ended up passing by a cemetery. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a cemetery for German soldiers from World War I. I stopped my run at this point (~35 minutes) to take a quick look. Over 5000 German soldiers were buried there. I always find war cemetery's like that very powerful and somber at the same time.
Continuing on I kept running through Lambersart. I reconstructed what I THINK I did on my run route. I ended up coming out again at Av. de l'Hippodrome and ran down that aways before turning off on Avenue du Maréchal Foch. At this point things become hazy on what exactly I did but I sort of scurried through Lambersart trying to find a good route back in Lille Centre. I eventually found my way back across the river and into Lille proper.
I came into Lille and found myself on Rue Royale. I ran by a large church which I will return to inspect tomorrow or at a later date. One of the street signs also denoted that I was near the birthplace of General Charles de Gaulle. I will most definitely have to go take a look at that in the near future as well.
However, I continued on Royale into Vieux Lille and eventually came out on Bd de la Liberté and headed home. Was an awesome time and I got to see a lot of new places.
Of course, this was only a tune-up for my grand scheme. I think in the next couple of months when the weather's nice and I'm feeling particularly good I'm going to RUN TO BELGIUM. Seriously. The border is only like 8-9 miles away and I think it'd be pretty cool to run to the border and cross over before coming back.
And then I found five Euros. Not really, but I'm amazed if you read this far.
Alors,
I went out for my run today knowing that I wanted to do something farther than my previous attempts. SO, with a sort of general plan in mind I headed out and headed over towards Lambersart (Google maps- use it).
Crossing the river into Lambersart I ended up on Avenue de l'Hippodrome. It's a pretty neat little street that's very aesthetically pleasing I found. I followed the Avenue all the way to the end and ended up crossing over Rocade Nord-Ouest. I kept on Rue Gustave Eiffel/Rue de Lambersart for a little bit after that.
By this time I was getting out into the farming areas just outside the metropolitan area. I went as far as I could with what resembled a walkway next to the road but eventually arrived to a point where I decided not to continue. Looking at google maps I will probably just brave the shoulder next time if I want to go farther.
BUT I turned around and headed back in. However instead of heading back the way I came I cut in towards Lambersart Centre and turned onto Rue de Verlinghem.
My decision paid off because I ended up passing by a cemetery. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a cemetery for German soldiers from World War I. I stopped my run at this point (~35 minutes) to take a quick look. Over 5000 German soldiers were buried there. I always find war cemetery's like that very powerful and somber at the same time.
Continuing on I kept running through Lambersart. I reconstructed what I THINK I did on my run route. I ended up coming out again at Av. de l'Hippodrome and ran down that aways before turning off on Avenue du Maréchal Foch. At this point things become hazy on what exactly I did but I sort of scurried through Lambersart trying to find a good route back in Lille Centre. I eventually found my way back across the river and into Lille proper.
I came into Lille and found myself on Rue Royale. I ran by a large church which I will return to inspect tomorrow or at a later date. One of the street signs also denoted that I was near the birthplace of General Charles de Gaulle. I will most definitely have to go take a look at that in the near future as well.
However, I continued on Royale into Vieux Lille and eventually came out on Bd de la Liberté and headed home. Was an awesome time and I got to see a lot of new places.
Of course, this was only a tune-up for my grand scheme. I think in the next couple of months when the weather's nice and I'm feeling particularly good I'm going to RUN TO BELGIUM. Seriously. The border is only like 8-9 miles away and I think it'd be pretty cool to run to the border and cross over before coming back.
And then I found five Euros. Not really, but I'm amazed if you read this far.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wait what?
Classes started.
Oh boy did they start....
So far I've had an Islamic civilization class, French history for international students, Geography of the Maghreb, and Contemporary French History. The French History for international students was ok, but in everything else it's incredibly difficult to understand what the teacher is saying. Plus, these classes are generally two hours+ of straight lecture, which is just unreasonably painful and exhausting.
Not much else has been going on really. I had today off except for a class coming up at 1500-1700 which is pretty cool so I slept in a bit. Will probably just be in Lille again this weekend which is ok by me.
Kyle grabbed us tickets in Paris for LMFAO on February 29. Can't wait.
Oh boy did they start....
So far I've had an Islamic civilization class, French history for international students, Geography of the Maghreb, and Contemporary French History. The French History for international students was ok, but in everything else it's incredibly difficult to understand what the teacher is saying. Plus, these classes are generally two hours+ of straight lecture, which is just unreasonably painful and exhausting.
Not much else has been going on really. I had today off except for a class coming up at 1500-1700 which is pretty cool so I slept in a bit. Will probably just be in Lille again this weekend which is ok by me.
Kyle grabbed us tickets in Paris for LMFAO on February 29. Can't wait.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
À l'Ouest, rien de nouveau
Sundays in France are very very slow. Most everything is closed and the streets are relatively quiet too. Not many cars are out either, though there were some people walking around at Place de la Rèpublique. I'm still trying to figure out how to watch the BCS National Championship Game. The Falcons game in a few hours would be awesome too but I realize that may not happen.
Not much to say about Saturday. Went to lunch and walked around a fair bit. Then went out that evening to one of the bars on Solferino. It was a good time and there are a bunch of awesome people among the exchange students here.
Bonus points if you get the title reference.
Not much to say about Saturday. Went to lunch and walked around a fair bit. Then went out that evening to one of the bars on Solferino. It was a good time and there are a bunch of awesome people among the exchange students here.
Bonus points if you get the title reference.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
La Famille
I realized in my entry last night that I alluded to a few of the family members without really introducing them at all.
The d'Arhuy family is, as you know, quite large. In total they have seven children. As many people asked or pointed out beforehand, they are in fact, Catholic.
In order of birth (i'm probably butchering the spelling)
Maxonce- 17 I think
Quitterie- around 15 maybe.
Alinor- 12?
Cyprien- 9-10?
Pia- 5?
Gaspard- around 3 I'd guess
There is also Augustin who is at prep school as COL d'Ardhuy explained to me so I haven't met him.
Since most people aren't familiar with French names, Maxonce, Cyprien and Gaspard are the boys in the family. While Quitterie, Alinor and Pia are girls. I should probably ask everybody's ages now that I think about it.
The family eats dinner together every night. COL & Mme d'Ardhuy sit in the two middle spots across from each other on the round table and then the rest of us sort of get shuffled around every night depending on how the table is set. As you can imagine, dinner is usually a pretty lively event with 9 of us à table, as they say. Subjects always vary and sometimes it's hard to keep up with some of the kids jabbering away to one another or their parents. I can pick up on some conversations and try to ask questions to the people seated next to me as well.
Last night, for example, I asked COL d'Ardhuy to explain the difference between the Gendarmes and the police in France (except for the Gendarmerie being a military organization there isn't a difference anymore since it operates under the Department of the Interior and not Defense now). I also asked about when the French elections take place (May) and learned that their terms for President are five years.
The d'Arhuy family is, as you know, quite large. In total they have seven children. As many people asked or pointed out beforehand, they are in fact, Catholic.
In order of birth (i'm probably butchering the spelling)
Maxonce- 17 I think
Quitterie- around 15 maybe.
Alinor- 12?
Cyprien- 9-10?
Pia- 5?
Gaspard- around 3 I'd guess
There is also Augustin who is at prep school as COL d'Ardhuy explained to me so I haven't met him.
Since most people aren't familiar with French names, Maxonce, Cyprien and Gaspard are the boys in the family. While Quitterie, Alinor and Pia are girls. I should probably ask everybody's ages now that I think about it.
The family eats dinner together every night. COL & Mme d'Ardhuy sit in the two middle spots across from each other on the round table and then the rest of us sort of get shuffled around every night depending on how the table is set. As you can imagine, dinner is usually a pretty lively event with 9 of us à table, as they say. Subjects always vary and sometimes it's hard to keep up with some of the kids jabbering away to one another or their parents. I can pick up on some conversations and try to ask questions to the people seated next to me as well.
Last night, for example, I asked COL d'Ardhuy to explain the difference between the Gendarmes and the police in France (except for the Gendarmerie being a military organization there isn't a difference anymore since it operates under the Department of the Interior and not Defense now). I also asked about when the French elections take place (May) and learned that their terms for President are five years.
C'est la vie
I woke up this morning around 0630 and went for a run that turned out to be just over 5 miles. It was pretty neat. Since we're so far north the sun doesn't rise until around 8. Near where I live it was pretty quiet, only a few cars and people out and about. As I approached the edge of downtown it became more lively as it became later in the morning and commuters made their way into the city. Got back and showered/ate before heading to the university to sign up for classes.
I'm taking a bunch of classes which I don't feel like going into detail about here. 18 hours per week at the moment which means I could get 6 class credits at West Point if I pass all of them.
After class sign-up I went to lunch with some of the other exchange cadets at the university's dining facility. Then I went home and at 1500 went to the gym with Marcus and we lifted some weights. Thinking in kilograms is a pain in the ass. After lifting I came home and showered and then took a nap before dinner.
Dinner was the usual affair in the d'Ardhuy family except that today was l'Epiphanie (which celebrates the visit of the Magi to Christ after his birth, as Mme d'Ardhuy had Pia explain to me) as well as Gaspard's (whom, at the age of 3, is the youngest child in the family) name day. I explained that my family is Protestant and then explained Episcopalian to COL d'Ardhuy because they were not familiar with it as a denomination of Christianity (c'est le version americain d'église de Angleterre). To celebrate the family had un gateau de roi. Aliénor found the figurine in her piece so she got to wear a little paper crown and they made her drain a glass of water while the family chanted bois. It was pretty interesting and I'm starting to catch more and more of the family conversations so I'm pleased with that.
After dinner- Marcus, Matt, Randi, Ingrim, Vanessa, Janet, myself, and a French student named Alex went out on the town to some bars. A fun time was had by all I think.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Alors
05JAN
Il faisait du vent aujourd'hui! Like seriously, it was windy as shit today. Otherwise it didn't feel THAT cold but the wind sure made up for it.
Another light day in the sense that nothing much was scheduled. I dropped by the international office just to make sure I didn't have to do anything for the insurance stuff they require non-EU students to purchase. West Point had taken care of everything. However, I would need a French bank account...
DONC, I went to Societe Generale to open a bank account. Unfortunately, finance n'est pas un sujet in any of our French classes. So we struggled through what I needed to do in broken English and a little French. If all my money is gone tomorrow- the French have it. I considered joining one of the Moroccan banks just so I could tell people I had a bank account in Morocco. Sounds kind of illegals and badass and all...
Afterwards I met Marcus for lunch and we had sandwiches across the street from the university. We then had a information brief that took all of 3 hours. Included was a culture brief that was pretty much blow-for-blow what CLCRS told us before we left. They even had les étages de le choc culturel graph that had been briefed us.
The most interesting part was just everybody introducing themselves. There were a decent number of Americans and probably more Canadians. Also, some people from the Asian countries, a girl I met from Norway, two people from Slovakia, and a few other countries.
Then I came home. Hopefully dinner is soon.
Il faisait du vent aujourd'hui! Like seriously, it was windy as shit today. Otherwise it didn't feel THAT cold but the wind sure made up for it.
Another light day in the sense that nothing much was scheduled. I dropped by the international office just to make sure I didn't have to do anything for the insurance stuff they require non-EU students to purchase. West Point had taken care of everything. However, I would need a French bank account...
DONC, I went to Societe Generale to open a bank account. Unfortunately, finance n'est pas un sujet in any of our French classes. So we struggled through what I needed to do in broken English and a little French. If all my money is gone tomorrow- the French have it. I considered joining one of the Moroccan banks just so I could tell people I had a bank account in Morocco. Sounds kind of illegals and badass and all...
Afterwards I met Marcus for lunch and we had sandwiches across the street from the university. We then had a information brief that took all of 3 hours. Included was a culture brief that was pretty much blow-for-blow what CLCRS told us before we left. They even had les étages de le choc culturel graph that had been briefed us.
The most interesting part was just everybody introducing themselves. There were a decent number of Americans and probably more Canadians. Also, some people from the Asian countries, a girl I met from Norway, two people from Slovakia, and a few other countries.
Then I came home. Hopefully dinner is soon.
Mon premier jour
04JAN (this was written in retrospect)
Dragged myself out of bed around 0745 and went grabbed some breakfast which turned out to be bread/butter and a bowl of tea. After that I walked down to the university on Blvd. Vauban and filled out this little registration form for school. I didn't have any mini-pictures of myself so after that I went to this photo place and took care of that. That was all the university asked of me today. Pretty sparse.
Après-ça, I stopped in a bakery and grabbed a pain au chocolat and wolfed that down. Wandered my way back home and went for a run. My house is really close to this old citadel which is now a park with trails so I went over there and ended up running in between the inner and outer ramparts of an old star fortress which I thought was pretty cool actually. Ended up being like 3.65 miles or so. Felt good to get some exercise.
After showering and changing I went to La Poste and bought a phone card for the little pay-as-you-go phone Stiles left me. I'm not sure what exactly I bought so we'll see if it works or not. I grabbed lunch at what must be an equivalent to Taco Bell. Instead of Latin Americans immigrating from the south they have Arabic people from the Maghreb so they have kebab shops instead of taco stands.
Didn't really have anything on my itinerary after this so I walked into the center of the city and went to le FNAC and bought the album "Cheese" by Stromae for 7euro. Totally worth it. I also bought a book there. If you need to know what it was you'll find out. If not, n'inquiet pas. I also went to La Gare-Lille Flandres and changed some American dollars to Euros. The exchange rate still sucks...
Finally, on my way back in I stopped by Notre Dame de la Trielle. It was a lovely church and I took a couple of pictures before heading home.
It was probably 1700 when I got back and I was pretty gassed so I goofed off on my computer and then took a nap before dinner at about 1930. Marcus didn't feel like going out so I chilled in my room, talked to some people and then got some shut eye.
I still need to find a gym.
A few things I noticed:
-All the French shops doors you push from the outside and pull from the inside, which definitely seemed backwards. Or am I just completely wrong?
-Everybody wears scarves. I'm glad I brought so many.
-Portions are smaller. I'm starving!
-Europe doesn't deal with this 99 cent bullshit. When they say something is seven euros it literally will cost you seven euro. They calculate the tax beforehand. So logical...
Dragged myself out of bed around 0745 and went grabbed some breakfast which turned out to be bread/butter and a bowl of tea. After that I walked down to the university on Blvd. Vauban and filled out this little registration form for school. I didn't have any mini-pictures of myself so after that I went to this photo place and took care of that. That was all the university asked of me today. Pretty sparse.
Après-ça, I stopped in a bakery and grabbed a pain au chocolat and wolfed that down. Wandered my way back home and went for a run. My house is really close to this old citadel which is now a park with trails so I went over there and ended up running in between the inner and outer ramparts of an old star fortress which I thought was pretty cool actually. Ended up being like 3.65 miles or so. Felt good to get some exercise.
After showering and changing I went to La Poste and bought a phone card for the little pay-as-you-go phone Stiles left me. I'm not sure what exactly I bought so we'll see if it works or not. I grabbed lunch at what must be an equivalent to Taco Bell. Instead of Latin Americans immigrating from the south they have Arabic people from the Maghreb so they have kebab shops instead of taco stands.
Didn't really have anything on my itinerary after this so I walked into the center of the city and went to le FNAC and bought the album "Cheese" by Stromae for 7euro. Totally worth it. I also bought a book there. If you need to know what it was you'll find out. If not, n'inquiet pas. I also went to La Gare-Lille Flandres and changed some American dollars to Euros. The exchange rate still sucks...
Finally, on my way back in I stopped by Notre Dame de la Trielle. It was a lovely church and I took a couple of pictures before heading home.
It was probably 1700 when I got back and I was pretty gassed so I goofed off on my computer and then took a nap before dinner at about 1930. Marcus didn't feel like going out so I chilled in my room, talked to some people and then got some shut eye.
I still need to find a gym.
A few things I noticed:
-All the French shops doors you push from the outside and pull from the inside, which definitely seemed backwards. Or am I just completely wrong?
-Everybody wears scarves. I'm glad I brought so many.
-Portions are smaller. I'm starving!
-Europe doesn't deal with this 99 cent bullshit. When they say something is seven euros it literally will cost you seven euro. They calculate the tax beforehand. So logical...
Arrivé
This is a couple of days in retrospect actually.
I woke up around 0615 on the 2nd, showered, ate, packed up my last view things in my backpack and then headed out to the airport. Said bye to the family there and headed out to my flight in Atlanta.
In Atlanta I had maybe a half hour layover and then flew into NY-JFK.
JFK's wait was long to say the least. Because I'm military I got into the Admiral's Club for free. Kyle and Marcus joined me there. We ended up watching football, having a few drinks, and I played Kyle in chess a few times.
Almost miraculously, American upgraded us all to business class for the flight to London Heathrow so we got to hop the pond in style. Really the only difference was a little more attention from the staff, more space and personal tv. (Which is big I guess) I ate my dinner and then watched the movie "Raging Bull" (such a manly film) before catching a couple hours of sleep.
In London our flight was delayed because our aircraft was delayed from Amsterdam into Heathrow due to some shitty weather in England (surprise!) so we went to the British Airways lounge and hung out there for a bit. We finally arrived in Paris around 1700 so we missed our original train we had planned to take. We eventually ended up taking the 1907 train in first class because that's all that was left.
We came into Lille at La Gare-Lille Europe and from there I parted ways with Marcus and took a cab to my host family's home in the center of the city. I arrived just in time for dinner. We had cheese :-P
After dinner I showered and then collapsed. A LONG day- or two. Whatever it was.
I woke up around 0615 on the 2nd, showered, ate, packed up my last view things in my backpack and then headed out to the airport. Said bye to the family there and headed out to my flight in Atlanta.
In Atlanta I had maybe a half hour layover and then flew into NY-JFK.
JFK's wait was long to say the least. Because I'm military I got into the Admiral's Club for free. Kyle and Marcus joined me there. We ended up watching football, having a few drinks, and I played Kyle in chess a few times.
Almost miraculously, American upgraded us all to business class for the flight to London Heathrow so we got to hop the pond in style. Really the only difference was a little more attention from the staff, more space and personal tv. (Which is big I guess) I ate my dinner and then watched the movie "Raging Bull" (such a manly film) before catching a couple hours of sleep.
In London our flight was delayed because our aircraft was delayed from Amsterdam into Heathrow due to some shitty weather in England (surprise!) so we went to the British Airways lounge and hung out there for a bit. We finally arrived in Paris around 1700 so we missed our original train we had planned to take. We eventually ended up taking the 1907 train in first class because that's all that was left.
We came into Lille at La Gare-Lille Europe and from there I parted ways with Marcus and took a cab to my host family's home in the center of the city. I arrived just in time for dinner. We had cheese :-P
After dinner I showered and then collapsed. A LONG day- or two. Whatever it was.
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