Sunday

I have the hiccups. It sucks.

Last night was our first meal on our own. Vaune and Brennan and I wandered all the way down Avenue d'Italie and found all the Asian cuisine. We went to a Thai/Vietnamese place. I had duck. It was okay. After we came home we pretty much just crashed.

This morning I came down here on the Internet and figured out SkypeOut, which is a feature of Skype where you can call actual phones. I bought 10 Euros of SkypeOut credit. When I get back to Paris after Angers, I am going to buy 3 months of SkypeIn for 15 Euros, which will buy me a US phone number that US people can call for domestic rates instead of international, and includes free voicemail. So, yay for figuring out Skype. I may get Skype Pro, but I have not decided yet.

Vaune and I had stumbled out of bed for breakfast at 7:45, but the next task we had was to meet our adviser, Madeleine Beaufort at Le Bar à Huitres (The Oyster Bar) at 12:45 for lunch.


getting ready to go

Vaune and I left early and thus had time to wander the area. In the Metro station we saw a poster for the Vagina Monologues:



And as we walked around, we saw an ad for a school supply store, claiming, "All your stamps on sale here!" It was funnier in French.




I thought the restaurant was pretty bad. My salad tasted like battery acid, and the only non-fish item was a rather soggy steak. My dessert was a delicious cobbler, so that was okay.

Brennan's lunch was still alive. A random crab had made its way into his clam shell and stowed away until it reached our table.



After lunch Vaune and I practically ran away from everyone else. We're both feeling really claustrophobic spending all of our time in the same group of ten people, and we don't understand why everyone else feels the need to all stay together. We can travel in smaller groups. So we jetted out of there and over to Reid Hall, where we had another orientation meeting.


The courtyard of Reid Hall


lovely photo in the Reid Hall courtyard


Mme Beaufort orienting us

The orientation meeting was crazy. We filled out an endless number of forms for our "cartes de séjour" and our Sorbonne registration. It was very confusing and bureaucratically messy. Finally we got out of there.


Vaune and I inspecting the bulletin board in Reid Hall with ads looking for English tutors and roommates. Vaune is giving Brennan the finger.


We all very much enjoyed the Toilettes people on the sign at Reid Hall. They really have to go.

Vaune and I wanted to go the mall to buy large purses that can double as school bags, and also that our cameras will fit in, so we hopped on the Metro with Brennan and Jennifer, who also wanted to go to the mall.



Of course, the mall was closed because it is Sunday, and in French, "Sunday" means "day where you are not allowed to buy anything." So we just walked back and now we are back at the CISP. Of course, I must share with you two more pictures.

There are these ads all over the city for Quick, which is a fast food hamburger place. All of their ads feature (presumably famous) athletes, with a picture of the athlete holding a signed burger. Above the athlete is his name and the word "burger," thereby creating burgers named after the athletes. There is a phrase underneath the name, usually beginning with "Sûrement..." meaning, "Surely..." or "Certainly.." They amuse me.


"Surely the most handsome."


"Surely the best." A bit presumptuous, eh?

And, a closeup of my serious, "Surely the best" face:



Vaune and I are on a quest to find an Irish pub, so that is my current Google activity. I'm sure you will hear about it if we find one nearby.