Another Orientation...

Ce matin, I woke up and did my usual routine. Madame had left two (rather large) pieces of the specialty breads on the table for me. I really wasn’t feeling well this morning and opted for just half of one of them to play it safe. I had to be up to go to Orientation this morning and then after that I was free. What they didn’t tell us was that the Orientation was literally the same speeches and introductions as last week so we were all a little annoyed that they made us wake up early to go to something we had already seen. We had all thought that there would be an open house to meet each other but joke was on us. After orientation the French Honors and Art school groups met but those of us in neither of these groups were free to go. Kelan, Claire, Kay-Chelle, Cassandra, and I went to the new building which IAU just recently bought and where we will have classes starting tomorrow to explore. It is very nice but clearly not finished yet so it will be interesting to see how that works out in the coming weeks. After exploring we went to a café to sit and wait until the others were done. Pretty soon Daniel and Michael came and joined us and we sang Bonne Anniversaire  to Michael because it was his birthday. He interestingly didn’t tell anyone including his host family but because I am a Facebook creep I definitely noticed, and definitely told everyone so that it wouldn’t be an unnoticed birthday!

 After that I went with Daniel, Michael, and Cassandra to go find the movie theater which didn’t open for several hours. We decided to get some lunch and went to Crêpes à gogo which is the super good (and cheap) crepe place here. They have so many toppings that it is crazy! I had ham and cheese and Cassandra had the Super which was apple compote, bananas, and nutella. We traded bites and hers was delicious and I wished I had gotten a sweet crepe instead. I could only finish half of mine though because I still wasn’t feeling too great so I was glad to have guys around to finish it for me. J

After that we went to the monoprix and I bought a new purse. Mine was breaking at the strap and I figured it was better to buy a new one than look down one day and find mine gone. How annoying though that it broke after only a week!!! Oh well, such is life sometimes unfortunately! But my new one is a big bigger but still with a longer strap. I got blue because it seems to be in style here and it is perfect height for me to keep a hold on it while I walk. After monoprix I went to the pharmacie to get some drops for my ear which has been bothering me and then we walked around and accidentally found the Cite du Livre! Which was one of the things on my checklist to see! The building is shaped like 3 french books, a Moliere, The Foreigner, and Le Petit Prince! The last of which is a book that I really like! So I asked Daniel to take a pic of me. We walked around a bit more before deciding to go back to the school via my house so that I could show them how close I live. After that we went down to the Cave to hang out and I found A STORM OF SWORDS!!! In English!!! I was so happy! That was the book that I had left on the plane and it was in a collection of random books down there. So I borrowed it which you are allowed to do. It is a well loved copy and I am sure that I will love it as well!

Kelan and I met up and went to talk to the Picelle lady who had come. She showed us the plan with free incoming calls and texts for another 10 bucks more each month and we said wait but whoever texts or calls us incurs a huge charge and she said yeahhh kind of and we said YES this is TRUE. So we decided against that plan. We then walked around for an hour and a half talking to different phone places who all had pretty much the same plan. However we learned you can get a way better deal if you have a French bank account but that they are difficult to get because you have to have a ton of personal info on your host. So that was kind of a bust and I didn’t actually buy a phone because every new student was trying and lines were long so we bailed on that idea until later. We went back to the school and then went with the girls to an organic food store. I didn’t buy anything because I figure the fresh stuff here is just as good and I didn’t want to pay MORE money for food, but to each their own. I poured out my water bottle because it was making my back hurt with it in my backpack with my laptop and then we split up and went home.

                Madame told me another phone place to try because that is where her past two students have gotten phones so I will probably try there tomorrow. If not I will just go with the plan everyone else has been going with.  Then I skyped with Thad and read game of thrones until dinner. Madame got mad at me for not eating all the bread this morning and I told her it was because I was feeling sick and she said I was being difficult because I don’t like anything. I tried to tell her I will eat it tomorrow and I was just feeling sick but she wasn’t really having it. :-/ I have an appointment with the housing lady tomorrow so maybe I will talk to her about it and she will have some advice. Tonight we had hamburger and hashbrown potato things. They were both good and I ate them all and then we had cheese and melon. I made sure to tell Madame how much I liked it. But I think she thinks I don’t like anything…. But I literally eat at least half of everything she gives me! But she always gives me a lot more food than she gives herself so I don’t know why she is so mad when I can’t eat it all… And I’ve told her it is too much for me. But I dunno. And I’ve said this is great I will love eating the rest tomorrow but she has none of that either. So I am at a loss. 

                So today wasn’t too eventful but stuff happened. Tomorrow my classes start at 12! I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping in though because the house next door is under construction/restoration so it makes it hard to sleep in.