Une Semaine!

Mon Dieu! I have been here for exactly one week!  I can honestly say that I am not sure whether it went fast or slow.  I feel completely removed from myself, which is probably a sign of culture shock, but it isn't bad at all.  I have gotten to the place where I am beginning to know what I want to buy at the market, where the market actually is, the best way to get to the market, what time I have to go to school, etc.  I'm beginning to know what works for me, and what doesn't.  A routine is forming, and that comforts me...a lot.

School is going well.  It is a little slow, but there is a lot to be done during the first week, which is understandable.  There is certainly a lot of work to be done on my behalf the next few weeks before the semester starts.

Today we had a Rallye de Compiègne, which was a sort of scavenger hunt around the city.  I was teamed up with some people from Mexico and Spain.  I obviously tried to put my little bit of Spanish to use, which did not work out well. We had lunch after the hunt and then we all met up at the Chateâu de Compiègne.  There, we toured the huge palace, and it was breathtaking.  I may even dare to say that it is a mini Château de Versailles.  Just maybe.  The horrible internet in this hostel/slum that I'm living in will not let me upload any pictures, but I took a lot and will get around to that when I move.

Speaking of this hostel/slum; all of the exchange students received a hilarious letter from the management about noise control.  It has the "threats" in French, then a horrible English translation on the bottom half of the paper.  The noise level is probably a bit elevated, but then again, there are about 40 students living in the same hallway, constantly interacting.  The crazy French manager lady came to the hallway yesterday at 1pm to yell at all of us and tell us that she has our credit card numbers and isn't afraid to use them.  Gotta love it.

This weekend, I am going to Paris for a night with a bunch of the other students.  We rented rooms in a hostel to avoid having to rush back to Compiègne at night, plus we want to go out and have Sunday to explore.  Well, I have to go do some homework and get some stuff together!

xoxo,
Amanda