Bonsoir from Clermont-Ferrand!

As I sit here in my tiny dorm room eating cold leftover pasta, a small quiche, and a baguette with cheese, I'm trying to decide what to include in this blog post describing my trip here and the entire week I spent with no internet access, and the rest of the following week that I was too busy with classes to write.  But I suppose I should just start at the beginning, and skip the boring parts.

First of all, Ashley and I left Paris on the morning of the 1st, taking a taxi to Gare de Bercy (the train station).  We went to the ticket window to pick up our tickets, and while we were standing in line a man started talking to us.  He spoke rapidly in broken English, and asked us where we were from.  When we said Oklahoma, he got excited, and began to tell us about a TV show he watched when he was young called Jumping Juniper or something like that, about a cowboy from Oklahoma.  He then proceeded to impersonate said cowboy.  "I am a cool guy.  I shoot more fast than my shadow!"  He would then make swooshing noises as he pretended to draw his guns.  While he continued to repeat his impersonation, Ashley and I eventually managed to evade him as we got on the train.

Getting on the train was no easy task with all our luggage, but we managed it by one of us getting up on the train first and the other one handing the luggage up to them.  Then we went to find our respective seats (they weren't together), and the train began to move before we had completely gotten all our luggage, and selves, in place.  The trip itself was uneventful, save for the very polite, quiet, and strange young man who sat next to me, who spent most of the time reading or sleeping and the rest of the time sewing different colored buttons to the inside of his coat and scorching them with a cigarette lighter.  Getting off the train was a mess, at least for me.  There was no way I was gonna get my suitcase off the train by myself, so I got off first, and the kind gentleman behind me handed it to me.  I then promptly fell over and dumped all my luggage on the ground.  a few seconds later the person who had been sitting next to me appeared and handed me my ukulele, which I had inadvertently left in my seat, so I owe a good deal to him.

Ma petite chambre

Then Ashley and I found a taxi and took it to our dormitory, Philippe Lebon.  We checked in, and the receptionist gave us each tours of our dorms in French, and I was surprised at how much I understood.  Of course, I didn't catch everything, and so there have been plenty of things I've had to figure out myself.  But I think it's cool that they provide us with sheets and a blanket, and they wash them for us.

As I mentioned before, it took about a week for me to get my internet hooked up.  Getting settled in here, and getting all enrolled, has been ridiculously complicated, besides the language barrier.  For one thing, everything is on paper, nothing can be done electronically.  For a developed country, France seems rather underdeveloped.  Then we had to go back and forth from office to office, doing all this complicated business, and making sure we brought everyone the right papers.  One of the things we had to do was get room insurance, and in order to do that, Ashley and I had to open up French bank accounts.   Also, in order to get internet, we had to get our student cards, which required lots of other paperwork.  But it's nice to have the student card, because I can eat in the cafeteria for only 3 euros, which is a lot cheaper (but slightly less tasty) than eating out all the time.  Another thing we had to do was get local cell phones.  If any of you are in France, which is local, or Europe, which is cheaper than the US, ask me for my French phone number and I'll send it to you via facebook or email.  Of course, any of you can always contact me via skype.

The Friday after we arrived, Ashley and I took our French placement tests.  We were put in different levels, so we only have one class together.  For some reason, I managed to test into level 5 out of 6, and I'm not sure why.  But at least my French skills can be stretched to the max.  Our classes started the following Monday.  We were each given a schedule of classes to visit, and by the 22nd we will have to have enrolled in the classes we want.  But for those of us from OU there's not really much choice since we're required to enroll in at least 15 hours, so we have to go to most of them. 

Now I am quite tired... I have been sitting in classes and practicing my French all day; all week in fact.  You will have to wait until next time to hear my descriptions of the classes and of the city of Clermont-Ferrand.