So today was a crazy day, full of new challenges and new rewards. First, we began our class today about French culture - we discussed my favorite subject ever - geography - as well as history, completely in French of course, because we all signed the pledge. It's amazing the difference it makes when English is not used as a crutch. At Georgetown, when the professors regularly use English, I am now convinced that it is not helpful, but instead makes it more difficult. Of course, the total immersion here in France also helps with comprehension, not having to return to other classes that are in English, which disrupts the flow.
So after class, the whole group split up (unintentionally) and somehow got back together within 30 minutes or so to get lunch. Sandwiches here rock! I love the "jambon, beurre, fromage" on a French baguette. Today's sandwich was a bit tough because the bread was not as fresh, but good all the same.
The highlight of the day, but also the most ridiculously stressful, was when MT, Hansky, and I went to the train station to book reservations on trains for our long trip in 2 weeks. It was ridiculous because first of all, all of the reserving for our complicated, several-layered trip was in French, and secondly, because we had to rearrange our plans on the spot, shuffling destinations and arrival and departure times at the blink of an eye. Of course, it was amazingly difficult to do this all in French, but I truly felt like I stepped up and felt confident enough to convince the person at the ticket counter (le guichet) to look up complicated train schedules with connections and whatnot.
Eventually, we figured it out - we have to scrap our Grenoble plans as there was no room (French vacation time booo). So we are now taking an overnight train to Florence a day later than originally planned, but we would get there close to the same time as the original plans. So 2 days in Florence, 2 days in Nice/Monaco and 1 day in Lourdes, with the rest being travel days. Kinda crazy with lots of trains and lots of connections, but do-able.
MT and I also went back and booked our tickets for our trip to Lausanne, Switzerland, now set for the 16-18 of July. The man we had at the ticket counter this time was not as helpful as the other and spoke insanely quickly in French. And when I asked why we could not use our Eurail passes on the same train where there was availability for other paying customers, he refused to give me an explanation. It's the French way...the way it is is just that: the way it is. No questions. A good experience nonetheless.
Busy, busy, busy! I now have lots of stuff to think about: hostel reservations for the 1-week trip, a new itinerary, and now...homework. :( Boo...back to the real world of taking classes. But tonight's homework is geography and history. Awesome. :)
Bonne nuit,
Andrew
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