I’m in France! I’ve actually been here for over a week now but it is so difficult to find wifi(The French pronounce it “weefee”). I will try to condense this last week of discoveries and adventures into only a few paragraphs!
I began my trip by waking up at 3:30 AM to catch my first flight at 6:15 AM with my two giant suitcases, a stuffed carry-on bag, and my backpack ripping at the seams. After watching some of the of NBC for American Airline television shows, I landed in Boston for a 2 hour layover. Trying to keep myself occupied, I walked around the terminal and visited all the stores. However, it seems that my carry-on bag could not bear the weight of all my stuff being suspended from only two straps sewn onto flimsy fabric. So the inevitable happened: the straps tore away from the bag and I was forced to hug my bag to carry it at all. To make matters worse, I discovered that the train station that I booked my ticket from Paris to Bordeaux was nowhere near the airport and I was going to have to find a was to get to it. I did some research before boarding my plane to Paris to find out about a bus, slept almost the entire flight (thank heaven for neck pillows), went through customs, tried to fit everything from my broken carry-on into my suitcases, then finally found a bus. Coincidentally I ended up sitting behind two girls also from UC Santa Cruz on the bus so I finally had some company. It was evident when I boarded the bus that I would miss my train but I did not think that I would have to buy an entirely new ticket. Apparently I originally bought a non-refundable ticket so I had to pay 70 euros for another. Lesson LEARNED. I now understand why people travel light... trying to lug around multiple suitcases and take them up escalators is embarrassing when one reaches the top and falls then you trip over it with the second bag. It was a mess, don’t even get me started on trying to get them up stairs. Second lesson learned.
I slept most of the train ride but when I did wake up to check on my bags a few times, I saw gorgeous villages built from stone and I got really excited. When I arrived at the station there were more stairs. Really, why do they do this to travelers? My next task was to hail a taxi...which I had no idea how to do. Figured it out, listened to the driver’s French Bible radio, and listened to him insult my name. We drove through such a beautiful area: stone and tan brick buildings, colorful and decorative doors and shutters, balconies, flowers, cafés... then concrete buildings, more, and more of them. Wait, no! Where are you taking me?! I want to go back there to the pretty town! It turns out that the University of Bordeaux’s main campus is in a different, less historical city. Disappointed and tired I arrived to find more stairs, intense heat, and a dinky little room. Really, I’m not complaining, I’m just giving facts!
An hour after I arrived it was time for our picnic dinner which, in french, basically just means a meal you don’t have to cook, no blankets on a lawn. Over dinner I met some people but couldn’t pay attention because of a growing migraine. Soon after, I went to sleep for 14 hours only waking up once to an intense thunder and lightning storm. This sounds like I had a horrible time, but I was actually really excited the entire time. Traveling for a long time just makes everything aggravating.
I ended up hanging out with a few of the girls from UCLA: Jill, Christina, and Basha. We took a few adventures into the downtown area of Bordeaux because we wanted to, but also because the program did not provide meals and there was no frigo to store groceries. On our first dinner in town we did get a little confused though. We didn’t know what to do when we chose which café to eat at: do you just sit down or do you have to go inside and tell someone you’re there? While pacing hesitantly back and forth in front of Café des Arts we debated what to do while people stared at us like we were crazy. Basically we did the wrong thing, you’re just supposed to sit down and they will notice. We had a very bordelaise diner and with a bordelaise aperitif called Lillet. It was fantastic.
The rest of the week was a blur of information about school and differences between American and French culture. Aside from a slight issue with security that involved spending 7 hours at the hospital and police station, we always had fun in our free time and the adjustment to the new culture went well.
The city is absolutely beautiful and I am so excited to be living here. I will try to update this soon with details on the excursions that have already happened.
à bientôt!
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