Carte d'Etudiant = WiFi!!

Alors, j'ai reçu ma carte d'etudiant aujourd'hui. Il y a WiFi à l'université, mais il est necessaire qu'on a carte d'etudiant avant utiliser l'Internet. Je suis très heureuse d'obtenir la carte.

So, life is getting a little better. I got a banque account here in France so I don't have to keep paying finance charges for all withdrawls I make from the U.S. And it's turned out to have a secondary benefit. My banker is now my second best friend in France. (My first is Stephanie, a french girl who studied at OU, but lives here now who helped us set up our banque accounts, get a téléphone portable, etc.) His name is Paul, and he's my banker. He's fantastically attractive, and he speaks English, which is wonderful since my financial security is dependent on him understanding what I need. But, he still needs a little help with some of the cultural differences. He was explaining to me how the debit cards work, and how I am limited on how much I can withdraw from an ATM a time and he said, "Yes, you know, I do not want you to be like, "Oh, shit" when you can't withdraw..." But see, at this point, me and the other Americans start giggling. He gets all defensive and says, "I know this word, Shit. I also know bullshit, but we do not have this word in French." I didn't have the heart to explain to him the Shit in English is not exceptable in a professional setting, as Merde is exceptable in French in any setting. But he says it all the time now and it makes us laugh every time.

I found out that my money transferred to France at a pretty good rate, so hae more money than I anticipated. So, what do you do with a few extra hundred Euros? Va à un concert de Sufjan Stevens, bébé! That's right. I will be seeing Sufjan Stevens in Stockholm (Sweden, for all you miserable Americans who don't remember European geography. No, Sweden is not famous for its chocolate, neutrality, or watches. That's Switzerland.) There is this wonderful little airline company called Ryanair that flies in Europe with penny flights. Yes, I mean one cent. You have to pay the taxes, but even after taxes I am flying from Paris to Stockholm for less than 30 euros. (The symbol for euros has to be some weird combination on my keyboard, but I can't find it.) In fact, my train to Paris, flight to Stockholm, ticket to the concert, and hostel is all under 100 euro. I'm pretty stoked.

Add to that the fact that I will not be immeadiately returning to Clermont-Ferrand. I will be going to Amsterdam for the Cannabis Cup. ::gasps:: Oh, get over it. At some point, there will be more people who've actually tried pot and know it's not bad than people who haven't tried it and assume it ruins your life. And on that day, we will all meet in a pasteur somewhere, smoke out, and have some Cheetoes. (I should start a facebook group that's called, "I smoke pot and my GPA is better than your's...") It's legal in Amsterdam, so you bet your ass I'm going to be smoking out the whole time. Yes, I will be going to the single most important event of pot smokers on the earth, and try the best pot in the world. It's also great because I'm not going to pay for it. I'm gunna be a little pressed for cash this semester, but Cassidy doesn't want to go by herself, so she's paying for my judges pass to the cup. I would promise to write you about it, but there is a good chance that details will be fuzzy.

I'm trying to escape Clermont this weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Tout à l'heure, mes amis!

Is She Alive?

Oui, je suis ici, et je suis bien!

I am still responding to this change emotionally and intellectually, and I haven't prepared anything to say here, so this is sort of off the top of my head.

This experience, so far, has been completely different than my time in Italy. We got off the airplane at Charles-de-Galle, which is the most depressing airport in the world. I caught my brother's cold, and so I was feeling ill carrying my 100 lbs of luggage through the airport to the bus to the train station. Luckily, Cassidy and I met another girl from OU, Julie, who had already set up a meeting with some students to pick her up from the train to take her to the dorms. Cassidy and I were just going to catch a cab, but it worked out that we could go with them. There were two nice boys who carried our luggage up the many flights of stairs to our dorms on the 4th floor. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we were settled in a good 48 since the last time we had really slept.

Clermont-Ferrand was not what I anticipated. Somehow, I anticipated something similar to Perugia or Arezzo in Italy. There are some modern conveniences, but you still have tiny grocery stores and little food venders, etc. But Clermont is like Norman. You go to the supermarket. It's a 30 minute walk to school, which is gunna suck ass when the temperature drops below 0. We live in the ghetto of Clermont, or should I say, just outside the ghetto. We've been warned by our French friend Stephanie not to go south of where we live. (I'm assuming south, because I still don't know where is North, South, East, or West.) We live in the dorms with other international students, so we've met other English speakers. However, we've not made a lot of French speaking friends. Almost everyone speaks English, or a little bit of English. I am definitely of the opinion that I know the only language I need to know or will ever need to know. I am just learning French as a challenge for my mind. However, every French person I've met desperately wants to practive English with me. It's frustrating when I'm trying to learn French, but comforting in terms of my long term plans: I know English. I'm set for life.

My room is nicer than I anticipated. I have a sink in a little side room of my room. I'll take pictures soon and post them now that I know how to get free internet. (This is a surprise! I was told not to anticipate WiFi at all, and I've found a number of sources.) It's painted green, which is my favorite color. It's cozy and practical. But there are not toilet seats, as I was warned.

I have a banque account and un telephone portable. I just cannot wait for classes to start, to really begin speaking French, and to make friends outside of the little OU group. I miss Italy. A lot. I am thinking about trying to go back maybe next semester or over the summer. We shall see.

I'm out of battery power, so I will return later.

The Tenseness that Lingers Throughout the Torso

I woke this morning to my last full day in Oklahoma before I move to France. This whole month I have spent endless hours talking with people about my experiences in Italy. Everything from how great the wine is to how excited I was when I returned to American restaurants and the waiter asked, "Would you like a refill, ma'am?" It's been an interesting study of character in how people respond. Some people seem uninterested, and quickly change the subject to something of the significance of washing cars. Others listen intently, realizing that I have to sort through some of this information I just experienced as I prepare my life for a full year away. Thank you to those that have fixed themselves in group number 2.

I have to pack today. I know many of you may be thinking that I should have packed already. Somehow it seems like a foolish endeavor to pack early. My mother used to say that any project will fill the time allotted for it. If I had started last week, I just would have spent all week obsessing over what I had forgotten. And, to be honest, this whole experience is making me so much less materialistic. I have a passport, and I know food and housing is there. As long as I have that, I really don't need much else. Anything I forget, I can live without or buy while I'm in France.

I'll see you again when I'm in France.