19 apples and a wave of homesickness

(Yay, a post I actually wrote today!)

My iTunes must have known I was feeling homesick today as it has played an array of songs with a “coming home” theme.  One of my good friends recently wrote to me saying how proud she was of me and how she understood how difficult this experience would be for me at times.  She too studied abroad, in Budapest, and pointed out how the safety net of that sort of experience is no longer there and in this situation I really am on my own.  I don’t know why but reading those words really (no pun intended) hit home for me. (Okay, maybe a little pun was intended!)  But in all seriousness reading that kind of made me take a step back and realize I did move to a brand new, foreign city, not knowing a single person there.  (At least when I studied abroad, aside from ISA’s help, I had already been to Paris and sort of knew my way around the city and what to expect.)  However, I will say the people of Dijon thus far have been very friendly (even the waiters!) and very patient with my sometimes spacey français. 

Some small accomplishments from the past few days:

-I have started the process of opening a French banking account and getting apartment insurance

I decided on BNP Paribas as my French bank of choice.  They are sisters with Bank of America and it’s located right by my flat so it seemed logical. Gilles (what a great name, huh?) helped me set up a special account for people ages 18-25 and it has no closure regulations so it won’t be a problem to close the account when I leave in May. He also gave me a 20 euro discount on apartment insurance…not bad!  (Did I mention this was all in French....because it was. Luckily I managed and Gilles even put "français" for my language and not English!)

-I feel pretty familiar with the set up of the Intermarché

It’s large enough to have everything under the sun but small enough to figure out where everything is after a few trips.  I bought a pre packaged bag of 19 apples for 1,69 euros….I mean I like apples and all but that was a little reckless, no?  Whatever, the price enticed me and I probably will eat all those apples in no time….they are my favorite fruit after all!  I’ve rediscovered that breakfast really isn’t a big deal here so finding breakfast-y foods is going to be a challenge.  I will probably settle for cereal and milk once I get the nerve to willingly purchase the ultra-pasteurized milk that lasts on the shelf for 6-9 months. (I’ve had it before in my Parisian home-stay so I know it’s not bad or anything it’s just the American in me that gets a little put off by milk like that.)

-I set up my monthly bus pass account and identity card

It cost one euro for the identity card and then each month an unlimited pass is 24,74 euros.  It’s really nice how France (and a lot of Europe) offer discounts on various things to people under the age 25 or 26.  Although it was a little frightening to see that my 18-25 identity card expires November 4, 2014.  Will I really be 26 in 3 years?! Yikes!

-I visited the lycée (high school) I’ll be working at this year

I’ve been emailing my contact teacher but she hadn’t responded yet so I decided I might as well see what I could find out by visiting the school.  First of all, the school seems to be about the size of McDaniel and I think it’s a technical school…this will be an adventure!  I met with the school secretary who helped with some paperwork and messaged my contact prof to let her know I stopped by.  The plan is to come in on Monday the 3^rd at 2pm (or 14h) to meet with an English prof for more information about the job and that I will be observing English classes for the first week.  The orientation for all assistants in the city will be the 6^th.

-I met up with another assistante in the city

We went shopping at H&M and got a drink at a café in the city center.  It was nice to finally meet with someone and just sit and chat.  The city center has so many cool shops and cafés so I’m very excited to explore that area more.  Also the H&M has three floors and the prices are not outrageous….winning!

So I still have much to do (like get the actual bank card so I can get a French cell phone and purchase some type of internet box….the wifi hotspot in my flat is too weak for Skyping and it doesn’t stay connected for more than 3 minutes/using the 3G key is really expensive so, long story short, I need a different internet service) but I have done a lot so far so I have to keep that in mind!  Baby steps, haha.
I am meeting with some grad students (hopefully- no cell phone makes things tricky) to go to the Planetarium tomorrow and a bunch of assistants want to meet in a park on Saturday to get to know each other, etc.  I also have "March 4^th" looming over my head as I signed up for the Paris half-marathon so Sunday I am going to attempt to start my training.

Word of the Post: la pomme – apple (I did buy 19 so it’s word of the post worthy in my book :) I promise the next word won't be a fruit!