Settling in, running around

Sunday we had a meeting with Beaufort. We slogged through miles of incomprehensible bureaucracy, but I think we actually got a lot accomplished. Vaune and I made a list of things we had to do Monday:

-move in to La Fondation des Etats-Unis
-get new ID photos
-buy a fridge
-buy a Metro pass
-open a bank account
-buy a youth SNCF (French railroad) card
-buy a comforter
-go all the way across Paris to the languages department of the Sorbonne to find out when classes are
-possibly attend classes
-probably a hundred other things

I hadn’t eaten since breakfast (it was now 5) so we went to Quick, because their ads amuse us. We got the Anelka burger, as pictured in below ad, and it actually had that writing on it. We used our new Sorbonne ID cards to get a student discount, and it was actually a great discount and not a bad burger, with potato wedges and cheese/tomato/basil sauce instead of ketchup. Not too shabby. Then we headed back to CISP Kellermann, and I found a way to watch Heroes for free! Yay!



Monday was a crazy day. I got up at six and went down to eat breakfast and check my email. We had to be out by nine, so as soon as I was done packing my stuff up, Vaune and I hauled our bags to the Porte d’Italie tram stop and got on the tram.

Vaune at the tram stop


We took it three stops to Cité Universitaire and went inside. The woman told us we couldn’t check in until 1:30, but we could leave our bags there. So we did, and then tried to navigate across Paris to Malesherbes, the Sorbonne’s languages building. This was not simple. We ended up in some weird sketchy RER station, but we left.

Sketchy RER station


Vaune on the Metro


Me on the Métro


Eventually we got to Malesherbes and spent quite a long time trying to make sense of the schedules that were posted outside the departments. We are both already enrolled in a grammar course at Reid Hall, and are taking Translation classes from the English department, so we had to pick two more classes. I was going to take Italian and a Linguistics class, and Vaune was going to take Dutch and a history class. Well… only one of those things happened – my linguistics class. The schedules were very confusing, and we were trying to avoid taking classes on Mondays and Fridays (because we’re in Europe – we want to freakin’ travel), but I did end up finding a Grammar and History of Language class that should fulfill my History of Language linguistics requirement. As for Italian… the Italian secretary is apparently crazy and thinks that Italians are trying to infiltrate it to get good grades. So Vaune and I are both taking… Swedish! That’s right folks, in about 45 minutes we are trekking back to Malesherbes to see if our Swedish class actually meets today.

While inspecting schedules, we encountered another confused English-speaking exchange student – Alan, a Dubliner. He asked us out for drinks last night. We declined, but will probably meet up with him on Thursday. This was the text message he sent me: “Wud b delyted 2 go out thursday nyt so :-). Myt c u b4 then round malasherbes but if not I’ll b in touch 2 find out wot the craic is. Enjoy settling in :-)!”

Though most of that message is relatively unintelligible, the word “craic” seemed even more out of place than the rest, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It means, "fun, enjoyment, abandonment, or lighthearted mischief; often in the context of drinking or music.” I feel so Irish! He actually said, “Hey, you’re from Boston, you’re practically Irish yourself.” I am glad that even someone from Dublin knows that about Boston. It makes me proud.

After that, we got applications for a yearlong Metro pass and also got monthly ones to last us until our year ones are processed. Then we Metro’d to Gare St-Lazare where we bought “la Carte 12-25” which is a card for youth which guarantees you 25% off train travel within France, and can get you up to 60% off. We’re very excited – especially cause we’re going back to Angers for Halloween. Then we got sandwiches and headed back to the Cité, where we checked into our rooms.

They are kind of disappointing, but hey, they are our own. The showers are the really bad part – they smell like goat cheese, you have to push a button every 60 seconds to keep the shower running, and the water never gets warm. That ought to be interesting in the winter.

My room


My view (not bad)


After that there was a lot of lounging around and unpacking. I hung clothes all over my room because the dryer at the CISP Kellermann had not dried any of them properly.

Clothes hanging everywhere


At 4:30, we met w/ Madame Beaufort, which was uneventful, although I found a magazine with a ton of ads looking for a native English speaking babysitter, so I am going to look into that.

Then the Vaunester and I went to Monoprix and bought basic necessities and came home and ate French frozen meals! After tomorrow I will have my pots and pans and we will be able to cook. The kitchen is not that bad.

Then it was bedtime for these two tired girls. Now it’s 7:30 AM and in half an hour I am meeting Vaune downstairs and we are dashing back to Malesherbes to see if our Swedish class actually meets this morning.