Adventures in Culture Shock

Tis the season...

2008-11-23T12:26:01Z

The Christmas Market opened on the 19th. It's a series of little kiosks set up in Rihour that look like little cabins and a Ferris Wheel in the Grand Place. It's really adorable, and you can find nifty decorations, simple gifts, and yummy foods like gaufres and fruit brochettes (chocolate-dipped and on skewers). The ferris wheel is lovely and so are the lights. I haven't been up in it yet, but I want to soon. I want to take some pictures of the grand place from above.

I bought a little tree at Carrefour (French store that's a bit like Super Wal-Mart--only they actually did it first) and some decorations for it at this place called Babou Bazaar (discount store). I'm working on a painting this weekend, but I'm going to put my tree up when I'm dne with it. No, it's not after Thanksgiving, but seeing all the decorations in town has made me want to put mine up. The lights make me happy.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this will be my first away from home. We're supposed to be using the apartment of the Tcheques to have it, but I'm not sure about that as I don't think we've set that in stone. If we don't get to use their oven, I'm going to make dressing in my crock pot (my mother's sent a package with pre-made cornbread and the seasonings I need in it) and turkey cutlets on the stove. It's not much, but I can at least have Thanksgiving dinner with my friends since I can't with my family. If we do get to use the apartment, then I'll make the dressing in their oven and use the crock pot for a cobbler.

We've been getting a little inventive on the cooking front, lately, so we'll manage either way. We even found out we can make biscuits in a skillet, and I used the same method the other day to make cinnamon buns in the skillet. I've made a food blog that Christa and I will be posting to called The Culinary Survival Guide for U.S. Students Abroad. There's nothing on there just yet, but there should be soon, so go ahead and bookmark it: culinarysurvivalguide.blogspot.com

Well, I'm off to go to the Palais des Beaux Arts again. I discovered I missed entire sections of it. Fortunately, I also discovered that as an Art History major (here, at least), I get free admittance. Sweet!

Pains Projectiles (and other adjustments)

2008-11-17T23:32:36Z

So, I alluded to some difficulties in my last blog but didn't go into them because I was so excited about the election. However, I'll talk a little bit about it now. I experienced some depression for several weeks--well, pretty much all of October. It's really not surprising, when you think about it. I was coming out of the "Honeymoon Phase" of culture shock and into the "Negotiation Phase". The Negotiation Phase is the stage where the novelty of all the new things around you has worn off, and you start yearning for the familiar. It's homesickness, basically--though a very strong version of it. Often it comes accompanied by depression, and all of us were quite depressed last month. Some may still be, but I feel like in the past week and a half, I've started to improve. I've been trying to focus on the positives about my stay. That was hard to do last month because we were experiencing difficulties with our stipends (and some with their documentation), but it's getting easier.

Right now I think I'm still somewhat in the Negotiation Phase but starting to make some adjustments--adapting my need for familiarity to the environment I am actually in. I'm getting care packages from home, and that helps a lot. I have also been cooking more. Since I can't get all the products that are familiar to me in the restaurants, I find I tend to make them myself. I'd already been making fried rice. I made fried chicken one night, and Christa made tortillas another. I found bacon (called Poitrine Fumée here), and I've been making breakfast for dinner (Q&E--Quick & Easy). I was eating croissants with that (since we have them in the U.S. with breakfast sometimes too), but tonight was the crowning glory of our adjustments, I think. We made biscuits--in a skillet. None of us had had a biscuit since leaving the states and thought it wasn't going to be possible without buying a mini-oven. My sister mentioned it could be done in a skillet, and I looked it up. Sure enough, one can use regular biscuit dough to make biscuits cooked in oil on a skillet. They don't rise quite as much as in the oven, and the outer edge tastes slightly like fry bread, but the inside was the soft, fluffy goodness of a homemade biscuit. We still need some practice, but I think if we can continue to adapt our needs to our surroundings, we'll get through.

I bought a Christmas tree (very small one) and cheap decorations. This weekend I'm going to put my tree up, I think. Christmas makes me happy, and I'm looking forward to the Christmas celebrations here. I've heard the ferris wheel is up in the Grand Place, and I've spied the giants in what I can only surmise is a community center down the road. I'm excited to see what the holidays here are like.

"Yes, he can" was the headline of a local rag today...

2008-11-06T10:22:45Z

I'm going to see how this works. The last time I tried to blog on here, LiveJournal ate a very long post about how our politics back home effected us here and the troubles we were also having with our stipends (which we finally received last week). I'm not going to rehash all that crap because it took forever to write.

No, today I talk about our elections and our new president-elect.

As a partial rehash of the post LJ ate, I must say it's been amazing how much people over here have been following our elections. People have been very curious as to who each of us were planning on voting for, and they all have been hoping we would vote for Obama. They (and the world, it seems) see him as a symbol of hope not just for us but for the world. They see his victory as a change in the way we will likely relate to the world.

A week before the election, I met a new neighbor of mine. The first phrase out of her mouth when I said I was American was "You are for Obama?" The people and the media here have been following our election. On election day, I picked up several copies of the same local rag I mentioned in the subject of this entry. For those of you back home, it's one of several free papers a little like our City Paper in Nashville or the Nashville Scene. The cover story was about our elections. In fact, for the past three days, the cover story has been about our elections. Today, as I mentioned, the headline is "Yes, he can." I'm going out in a few minutes to see if I can get a few copies of it, but if you'd like to look, the paper is called Lille Plus, and it's available in PDF form online.

It's been very exciting to watch the world's reaction to the election of our first black president and our first democratic president since Clinton. They, like many of my friends and I, are filled with hope now for the future. I am also filled with pride and even more hope for our country's future. Even as I deal with other issues with my stay here, I now feel I at least have some hope of returning to a brighter future when I come home. I am thrilled to have been a part of this and feel I can hold my head up high because--finally-- Yes, we did!

A Universal Language--and a Not-so-Universal Language

2008-10-16T18:11:06Z

Last weekend I went to a bellydance show in Belgium. My friend Marie was going to a tribal festival in Mons, Belgium and let me know about it. The plan was for me to come out there by train, do some window shopping, watch the show, and ride back with them. So, I had my first train ride. It was not terribly expensive because the Belgian train line is a little cheaper than the French. It just makes for a tedious traveling experience. I decided it was an adventure for me, though. I took the metro to Gare Lille Flandres and from Gare Lille Flandres to Roubaix (had to switch lines), took the MWR bus from Roubaix to the train station in Mouscron, Belgium (only 1,45 one way), and took the train from Mouscron to Mons (with a change in Tournai). I got to Mons later than I wanted (the bus just happens to arrive at the station after the train leaves, so I had to wait for the next one). I left the dorm at 2:30 and arrived at the theatre just shortly before the show (which was slated for 7) began.

I titled this "A Universal Language" for a reason. It felt good to be at a bellydance show, and I was thinking after how wonderful it is that you don't have to undertand a dancer's language to enjoy their performances. You can watch a dancer from anywhere in the world, and if you enjoy the style, you can enjoy the performance.

It was a small festival, and the performances were of a fairly typical range for a workshop show--some really good dancers, some okay dancers, some students, and a couple of WTF performances. I'll have at least two videos to put up from the show (of Avenyanda Skye), but I still need to contact the Uzumé to get permission for the third. The audience reactions are a little quieter than at an American dance show, but they seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. The only thing we didn't enjoy was not being able to breathe or see some of the dancers because the lighting was not good at all, and the operator had a heavy hand on the fog machine (:::cough, cough, asphyxiate:::). There were a couple of vendor booths, but not so much as I'm used to. Interest for Tribal's still budding in this area. I met two other dancers from Lille that night (very nice). They are both teachers, so if I'm in a better position to take classes later on, I have more info on them. I found out from one of them that she's hosting Diana Tarkahn here in Lille the 25 and 26th. I'm going to try to take one of the days of workshops (yay!) so long as the school doesn't continue to delay the distribution of our stipends.

Speaking of school, I have my good days and my bad days, and most of the bad days are language-related. I'm running about every other day now for good days. I have days when I can take good notes, speak well enough to be understood, and understand most of what I hear. Other days I feel like a complete and utter dolt. Yesterday I felt like a dolt--which didn't bode well for my preparations for the presentation I had due today. I was up until after 5 working on it even though I'd been researching and making preparatory notes before last night and had already started compiling pics for the powerpoint slides. I just couldn't seem to find the words to say in French. Eventually, I gave in and used Google translator and then editing out he faults in their translation. I only had to use it a few times, though, because it got easier to just write in French once I got started.

I only got 2 1/2 hours sleep and dreamed about zombies, which was appropriate because I felt like one when I got up. I had to get up a little early so I could go to the library and print out my presentation notes. Without those I would have been totally lost. I never did get my fiche (paper) done that I was to turn in with the presentation, but when I explained that the presentation had been more difficult to prepare than I had anticipated, the teacher was okay with it. So I will turn in the paper portion of it next week. In the end, the presentation went well. The teacher congratulated me on doing it. See, she had initially offered to let me pass on the presentation, but I was feeling my oats that day and accepted the project. I'm glad I did because I felt a little more confident after.

I skipped the other class I had to get a little sleep (very little...I'll sleep good tonight, I think). Then I got up and went to Aikido class. I forgot to mention I get to take fitness classes through the school, and they offer dance classes and a few martial arts classes. I'm taking a social dance class on Wednesdays and Aikido on Thursdays as of this week. It felt really good to get active again in things I enjoy. Aikido is a new art for me, but I think I'll enjoy learning more about it, and it should enrich my martial arts knowledge to learn more about it. I know from how I'm feeling now that I'll be sore tomorrow, but it's worth it.

For the most part I managed to communicate what I needed to today, unlike yesterday when I floundered for every word I said (or at least it felt that way). I guess I'm improving, though, since I only feel like a dolt every other day now instead of every day. I've heard it takes about 2-3 months to get really used to a language when you've started immersing yourself in it. I think I'm going to be one of the 3-month ones. I think it's going to start getting easier now that more of the American students are starting to communicate with each other in French part of the time.

Okay, guess that's it for now. Gotta go shower and fix dinner. À bientôt!

I'm a student too!!!

2008-10-08T18:28:33Z

Here it comes...bound to happen...just had to have the right trigger...

...a culture-shock rant!

I want a student discount! By God, I'm a student, and I'm just as broke as all the other students. I just happen to be about 13 years older than they are. I heard when I asked if there were any student associations for non-traditional (25+) students that there weren't any because all the students were considered the same, but they certainly aren't.

There are a lot of discounts on things like train and metro passes that are clearly directed at students (as far as advertising goes, at least) but are based on age rather than actual student status. The signs for these discounts are posted on campus, so this is certainly a target for them.

In the US you get a student discount (when advertised as such) when you present your student ID--regardless of any other factors. If you're a student and a student discount is offered, you get the discount. Here, the discounts are based on age.

It was a little annoying that I wasn't eligible for the carte Viva (metro discount) or the 12-25 (train discount) or the railpass discounts due to my age, but I took it all in stride. I accepted that I couldn't get an Opera discount and probably a few other entertainment discounts. I accepted that I wasn't eligible for the social security (insurance, not retirement)--which I honestly probably could have stood to have--because I'm too old for that (one less thing I had to pay for--little as that amount was).

This time, though, I'm a little miffed. The International Relations office set up an appointment for us to get our bank accounts through a particular bank as they have an agreement with this bank regarding direct deposits apparently. We all went in together and all filled out our paperwork together. We all signed forms to get our carte bleu, and the fee $7.50/3mo. was disclosed to all of us when we signed. Not fantastic when you're used to having a totally free account, but not horrid. However, when I got my paperwork confirming my account there were two new forms for me to sign, and when I checked my account, there were fees that were not of the amount that had been disclosed to me. Instead they were $25.50/3mo.--18€ higher (roughly $24) every 3 months than I had signed for. Why? Well, it seems they had me sign traditional student paperwork--for an account meant only for those under the age of 28--at that meeting. I guess the IR office neglected to tell them that they had an old fogey like me ("I used to walk uphill to school both ways...") in with all the usual young, fresh faces they were accustomed to.

I'm emailing the office tomorrow to find out if there's another bank they can refer me to because I need a better rate. In the meantime, I'm hella frustrated.

So, that's my first real "Why can't they do this like they do back home?" moment. Here I get told that all the students are considered the same, and yet every business and municipal agency-provided discount the other students can get do not apply to me. Back home I may have access to student associations like OWL (Older Wiser Learners) but have never felt the need for them because I actually get treated like all the other students--by everyone. I'm not used to being left out of student-related benefits just because I'm older than normal. Honestly, I'm not used to being older than almost everyone in class besides the teacher (and maybe one or two retirees who've returned to school).

Maybe the school itself doesn't consider non-traditional students to be any different, but it doesn't appear that it's a very acceptable thing to do here. Even the system itself is not friendly to non-traditional students. Students do not choose their own schedules, so there's no working it in around your life. The students must work their life around school. Speaking of work, students may not work more than 20 hours a week. That may be good for their studies but those last two factors may be the reason why almost everyone around me in class is either at least 10 years younger than me or at least 30 years older--it's just not a very convenient system for those who already have fiscal and/or family responsibilities. But then, going back to school in one's 30s, 40s, and 50s may not be important to enough people here to bother making it more convenient for them to do so.

Settling in...

2008-10-05T22:29:16Z

Well, I guess I'm truly starting to get settled in now as I had my first true bout of homesickness a couple of nights in a row this week. It was pretty rough. I think it was helped along by the fact that I came down with a nasty cold at the very beginning of last week. Regardless of the fact that I've been taking care of myself for years, being that sick really made me long for my mother and think of all the times she took care of me when I was ill. I managed to find the appropriate cold medicines, though. They sell them at the Pharmacie, but you may have to ask for them if you're not sure what you're looking for as there is not a lot in the front of the store. In fact, I did have to ask for the expectorant. I must say it is helpful to know the generic names of the medicines you're used to as the brands may be different, but you can get them. You don't have to sign your life away for pseudoephedrine here, either! One lovely American product that I was delighted to see on their shelves was Vicks VapoRub. My poor, abused nose was thankful to have that lovely camphor-medicated ointment to soothe it. I still have some lingering traces of the cold (a pesky residual cough that acts up when I'm hot or around bedtime when I lie down), but I'm a lot better than I was this past week.

I've had two weeks of classes now, though I missed a couple due to being so ill. None of them is horrible at this point, but I can't say I'm following the lectures particularly well. Oh, I can understand them well enough to get the theme of the lecture down, but I can't listen and take notes at the same time or I lose track of what they're saying. Some profs have PowerPoint outlines of their lectures, and that helps, but they don't always leave them up long enough for me to get it all down. There are a couple of classes where I will have to give fairly long presentations on specific artworks, and I can't say that I'm looking forward to that, though I know I'm capable to doing it. It will just take me a lot more prep time, I think, than the other students as I will have to practice giving the presentation in French. I think I will be okay once my oral comprehension and vocabulary improve a bit. I've already improved since I arrived, but I still feel like a dork when I try to speak French with native speakers. It's easier with other students at my level. It's also easier (regardless of who I'm talking to) when slightly intoxicated. I'm not the only one who has experienced that, but having a couple of shots to relax before class really isn't an option.

No, I'm not out getting drunk every night. I have been out a few times, though. Some places I've enjoyed more than others. We did go to one bar where I got to dance a bit, but some creepy dude ruined it for me by coming up behind me and trying to grind his crotch in my rear (um, no, there's only one person I want that close to me, thanks, and you're not him!). Why men think this is the only way to dance is beyond me. I kept sliding away from him. I think I need to learn how to say "Back the fuck off!" in French, because some of the men here can't take a hint. I need a more aggressive approach.

I think I would have enjoyed the bar the others went to earlier in the week because they apparently had live music, and that's more my speed. Unfortunately, I was still ill at the time and sporting wet hair (and it's freaking COLD here!), so I didn't think it was wise. I'd love to find more places with live music. That, to me, is much more enjoyable than just going out and drinking.

First Sunday of the month in Lille, at least some of the museums are free. So today I went to the Palais des Beaux Arts and met my friend Marie there. It's such a gorgeous building, and there's some wonderful works in there. It's a little stunning to look at a painting and realize it's several hundred years old--to see how the work of that artist lives on. It's very inspiring but also daunting. They were so good at what they did. Honestly, I'm just so-so in comparison. The museum-going experience was different too. When I went to the Frist, they took my camera away, and even in the Parthenon you can't take pictures in the lower gallery--flash or not. Here, there were quite a few people taking pictures of the works. I kept mine in my purse until we were going downstairs, when I took a pic of the ceilings and windows in the stairwell. The rest of the works I just wanted to enjoy for the moment. There will be time for pictures later.

I found out from Marie that there is some form of tribal festival in Belgium next weekend. I think I may go watch the show Saturday night if I can access my funds by then as the train ticket from the station over the border (which our buses go to) to there is not expensive. Lille is nice, but it will be nice to go somewhere else--if even for just an evening--perhaps even early enough to check out the vendors' wares.

Okay, it's late, but I'll leave you with some picks from the first part of September. I have more, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I'll post them when I do. There's more pics of me, as well, on Facebook. However, since they are pics my friends took, you will have to be my friend on Facebook to see them.

www.facebook.com/album.php
www.facebook.com/album.php
www.facebook.com/album.php

I hqte this keyboqrd1

2008-09-23T11:04:04Z

Letùs tqlk qbout co,puters; zhy donùt ze§ If this looks funny; itùs becquse the French keyboqrd is very different fro, the AZERTY keyboqrd thqt I q, used to; qnd in ,qny aqys: Qs you cqn see; itùs just si,ilqr enough for ,e to zqnt to type qt q nor,ql speed; but just different enough to drive ,e crqwy qnd==auite honestly==set ,e right bqck to hunt qnd peck ,ode in ,y typing skill: I usuqlly type qbout _à zp,; so this is extre,ely frustrqting111

Translation:
Let's talk about computers, why don't we? If this looks funny, it's because the French keyboard is very different from the QWERTY keyboard that am used to, and in many ways. As you can see, it's just similar enough for me to want to type at a normal speed, but just different enough to drive me crazy and--quite honestly--set me right back to hunt and peck mode in my typing skill. I usually type about 80 wpm, so this is extremely frustrating!!!

Surprise!

2008-09-21T21:06:21Z

I neglected to mention in my last blog that some of the other exchange students here got together on my birthday (the 12th) in Christa's room to wish me happy birthday. I got my first surprise party--15 exchange students from several different countries crammed into one tiny dorm room for cake and wine. Mmmm....It was very sweet and made me feel a lot better given it was my first birthday being too far from home to go home if I wanted.

I had some other pleasant surprises today. I and two other students went out to Tourcouing to find the Arts Plastiques building, since we each are taking courses there (still don't know what hours, but I'll be taking painting). We came off the Metro stop there, and the area surrounding the entrance/exit is levelled. It's undergoing either the beginning stages of some sort of construction or the end stages of some form of demolition. The surprises began when we rounded the corner from the Metro to see some very beautiful buildings, including the Chambre de Commerce and a church somewhat caddy-cornered from that. This weekend there were a lot of buildings in France open to the public, and we went inside the Chambre de Commerce to look around. It was a lovely building, and it was amazing to get a close-up look at the interior as well.

The biggest surprise, however, came when we came back downstairs and started to leave. Off in the corner was a door that said Théâtre du Broutteux. Went through a door to see a small room with a picturesque little area set up like a tiny bar, and through the next door was a tiny Theatre with its stage set up as if for a puppet show. It was beautiful and such an unexpected delight to find something like that in a chamber of commerce, of all places. I told me my companions "Ça me fait très heureuse." (This makes me very happy.)

On the way to the Arts Plastiques campus, I saw another theatre as well. I'm rather looking forward to see what the theatrical community in this area has to offer. Our ISEP coordinator told me during one of our meetings last week that someone in the English department at the school was thinking of even trying to do some theatre in English and asked if I might be interested in being involved. Of course my answer was a very enthusiastic yes.

Okay, I'm tired and babbling now, and I start classes tomorrow (at least, my extensive French classes), so I should end this blog and hit the sack. À bientôt!

I'm bored!

2008-09-20T16:08:33Z

I know that sounds like a crazy thing to say, but I am. My feet hurt, and since there seems to be a lot of walking involved to go anywhere, I can't do anything. I went out today just window shopping, but after almost two hours of walking around, I had to call it quits and leave the people I was with because my feet just hurt too much to continue. The other students do not seem to have a problem with this, but I have essentially the weight of two of most of them in one body. There's a solution to this, but it's neither easy nor quick. I've got to lose weight.

Okay, aside from boredom and sore feet, I'm still good. The past week and a half been a little hectic, but I'm getting by. I'm broke, but that's going to be taken care of on Monday--or so I'm told. It's taken three weeks, but we're finally getting our first stipends. Thank goodness! We will also be setting up our bank accounts later in the week.

We've had meetings with people at the school, a placement test for our French classes, and our intensive French classes. Next week our regular classes begin, and a lot of the exchange students are very confused about the registration progress. Being as I'm here on ISEP, I at least have an advisor--our ISEP coordinator. However, the process of registering was still very confusing. They had one meeting for our small group in which we registered for the school itself, an appointment with another office to get our Carte de Sejour forms filled out, and another, larger meeting in a lecture hall with all 200+ exchange students. Since we are all coming from different countries, this meeting was conducted in French--whereas our smaller meeting was mostly in English. I had a little trouble understanding the International Relations director as she doesn't enunciate that well (a problem I still have every time I try to listen to her in French). As such, I didn't fully understand everything that was related to us in the meeting--including the registration process.

As it turns out, registration is a bit of a mess for us. I'm sure it's much simpler for the French students as they follow only one path, get assigned to a group so they all (in that group) get the same basic schedule, and they go to the postings for their department to write down their schedule. For us, it's different. We can take classes in any department and do not get assigned to a group. We must go from department to department, finding the class postings for each, to make sure our class choices do not overlap. We can choose which date and time to take that class once we are registered for classes, but coordinating our schedules is completely up to us. It's made even more confusing by the fact that some posting are not posted near the department offices (as I was told to check for them there) but in bulletin boards of other areas. Classes start Monday, and I still am not sure that the last class I want (which is in a completely different location) is going to interfere with the rest of my schedule.

Applying for my Carte de Sejour was another headache. My French is far from perfect, and the appointment for the Carte de Sejour was in an office where none of the student aides (who conducted the appointments) speak any English. This would not have been such an issue had there not been a problem with my application. It seems that the financial information that the French Consulate in Atlanta accepted as sufficient proof that I had the means to stay in France for a year was not going to be sufficient. I tried to explain what everything was, but I didn't have a dictionary with me, forgot the word for "loan", and so couldn't explain that I was getting financial aid in the form of student loans to cover what my scholarship did not. On top of that, no one told me that my proof of financial means (that, again, the consulate had accepted as fine and which my paperwork said would be what I would have to present for my Carte de Sejour) should have been in French. I was told the prefecture would not be able to understand it as it was not clear what I had and that I should open a French bank account with--(drum roll) 4300€ (about $7200). Yikes!

I was in a panic and nearly in tears by the time I left the office. In fact, after I left the office and found a nice corner to duck into, I did burst into tears. I had a meeting with the ISEP coordinator after, and it's one of the first things I brought up. Fortunately for me, she notified me that there was supposed to have been a letter in my file already explaining my stipends and taking care of everything as far as the financial evidence was concerned. She must have contacted the office that was supposed to write up the letters after I left her office since I received a phone call that same afternoon to let me know I didn't need to provide anything else about my financial situation. Whew! The only thing left is for me to receive something from the prefecture letting me know my paperwork part is ready and then to go for my medical exam.

I've been about the city some more, found more good places to eat, and more good places to shop. Today Céline showed me and Kevin around some more, and she showed me a few stores that carry plus sizes. I don't have the money to shop right now, but at least I know where to look when I need to find something. However, let me just say this: It'll be a long time before I complain about the selection of plus sized clothes in the US again. The selection here is even smaller. :( Even more reason to lose weight.

Ah, boy! What else? I know this reads like a bitch session, but the past two weeks have been mostly meetings and paperwork. I've been out to eat with friends a few times and out to drink (just a little) once. It's been too long since I wrote a blog, and it's easier to describe the few bad moments than to condense the multitude of smaller good ones throughout the two weeks.

I need to find more things to do that will get me out and about but not overtax my feet and knees (until the weight comes off....argh!). I need to practice my forms this weekend (if my feet stop hurting), and I need to get myself to a dance class and meet some dancers before all the 20 year olds get bored with me, stop asking to go anywhere, and I end up friendless. I need to find my comrades in zils now!

En Face!

2008-09-08T10:27:32Z

One day this week (I believe it was Thursday), Christa, Kevin, and I took the metro to Pont Du Bois so we could find the school. After getting turned around a bit, we did finally fnd the school, but we never found the office of international student relations. In fact, everywhere we asked, we got roughly the same answer--"En face!" (Across/Facing). When we went to the library, she gave us directions to the building that housed the offices to assist in finding employment (filed that one in my memory banks for later) and to assist disabled students.

When we went to that building, a lady we asked turned in the directions of the building that houses the Crous offices and the university cafeterias and said "En face!" When we went there, one of the ladies also said "En face!" while pointing in the direction...of the library.

We are supposed to meet the fold from international relations tomorrow for a breakfast/intro/orientation type meeting. Christa asked where it was to be. She got a response that it would be in the office of International Relations and that if she didn't know how to get there, to just ask directions when she arrived on campus.

Oh, boy!

The First Week in France

2008-09-07T09:38:26Z

Okay, so here I go again. This time I’m going to write it in Word and paste it into LJ so LJ can’t eat it like it did last time. Bear with me. Since I didn’t get my blog up the other day, this is going to be a long one.

So, I’ve been here almost a week now. This time last week I was hustling to get everything into my brother’s car to head to the airport. My two brothers, my sister, and my mother took me to the airport. It was definitely a bittersweet experience. My family was being as crazy as usual and had me laughing most of the way. My sister and mother were cutting up in the back seat, and my brother Elijah was saying “All right. I’m turning this car around now.” Lol…

We got to the airport, and my luggage was overweight—both of them. Word to the wise: take 25-inch bags if you pack compact. Even if you’re taking stuff that isn’t all that heavy, if you fill a 29-inch suitcase (even without the extenders being used), it WILL be overweight. We ended up having to move some of the stuff from one back into another so as only to have one overweight bag.

I got checked in, and I exchanged some money at a travel agency in the airport. My mother had to get a picture of the “French money” (the Euro), but my mother was taking pictures of everything, as usual. I haven’t seen those pics yet, so I guess I need to get her to email them to me. She took more pictures when we said goodbye, I cried, my sister cried, and there were hugs all around.

I had not been through security since before 9/11, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was actually very simple. All I had to take out of my bag was my computer, and I put everything else through the scanner and walked through.

The first flight I took was United Express from Nashville to Washington, Dulles. I was on a Canadair. I was lucky to be on the left side of the plane, which is only one seat. I did need an extender, but at least I didn’t have to worry about having anyone next to me. I was worried about the planes, honestly, since I’ve gained weight. It turned out not to be an issue, since the second flight was a Boeing 777, and I neither needed an extender on it nor had anyone next to me the whole flight. I got pretty lucky in that respect. Still, sleeping on the plane proved to be next to impossible, so I was only able to doze a little and was dead tired when I arrived. One of the things that struck me as we arrived, though, was how green everything we were flying over was.

Customs was pretty simple. I didn’t even have to answer any questions. They looked at my passport, stamped it, and I went through. The luggage carrousel was a madhouse, but thanks to the pretty second-hand scarf I had cut in half and tied around the handles of each, I had not trouble spotting mine.

Sébastien picked me up at the airport, and we went to his place. He fixed me lunch, and I spent much of the next 18 hours sleeping off the jet lag. He drove me to Lille the next day. He did most of the talking, so that made checking in a lot easier. I think if I had had to come straight to Lille from the plane and handle check-in all by myself, I might have been a little stressed and maybe even been a little hesitant to venture back out again. As it was, I was able to get up the nerve to go ahead and head to the grocery for a few things before they closed that day.

The grocery was a Lidl. I don’t think we have those in the U.S., but we may. The shopping experience there was much like an Aldi, for those of you who have been to Aldi in the U.S. My card didn’t work there, but I had cash, so it was okay. I’m going to have to keep a little more cash on me than I’m used to because some stores have scanners that you slide the card into the bottom, and the American cards don’t work in them. They also don’t work in the phone booths. Many places have alternate scanners as well, but I’m trying to keep cash on hand just in case.

The next day I went back to Lidl for a few more things then went out again, and this time I walked from my dorm all the way to Fives. The metro stop is there, so I was glad to know where that was, as was the post office and a variety of little shops and restaurants. I got a thing of photo I.D.s made and bought a Cosmo, then headed back to the dorm. I had planned to buy a pre-paid cell phone, but I couldn’t find one, and I had wanted a télécarte as well, but couldn’t determine which one I needed. I stopped at another little store along the way back and got some kitchen utensils.

I went back to Fives that afternoon, after looking at the public phones in the lobby and seeing a recommendation on them to get télécartes at the post office. I went to the post office and managed to find both the phone card and a pre-paid cell phone there. I came back, got the cell phone set up, and was then able to get my internet connection set up.

That evening I met some other American students that I had been in touch with through Facebook before arriving as well as a student from Manchester, England. We talked for quite a while. I was relieved to find out I wasn’t the only one nervous about my level of French.

The next day I and the other two American students, Kevin and Christa, went down to Fives again. We did some looking around and a little shopping. We found some discount stores and passed more restaurants. Later that day we took the Metro (first time on a subway for me) to the city center and went to a bookstore there, where I was able to get a French dictionary (I had left ALL of my French books behind) and some maps. Later, we went to leclerc, which is a little like a super Wal-Mart but on a very small scale and with more grocery than other stuff.

Friday we went back to the center of town to meet Kevin’s friend Cécile and her boyfriend. She was really nice. They had their dog with them, who was adorable. We all went to eat at a restaurant called Les 3 Brasseurs. The food was good. We walked around the downtown area for a while then went back to Cécile’s boyfriend’s place for a while and munched on cookies while making plans for the next day.

Yesterday the Braderie began. La Braderie is a huge flea market that stretches over pretty much the entire downtown area of Lille. Some of the local shops have sales at the same time. I bought a few things from vendors at the Braderie and a few light, cropped sweaters at Tati—a large discount clothing store. We walked around for a very long time, taking in all the sights and stopping here and there. We ate burgers at one of the stands, and we walked some more. After we’d had our fill of shopping for the day, we wanted to go back to the dorm, but one of the metro lines was down. We had to walk around for quite a while to find one that was open that we wouldn’t have to go through the crush at the very center of town again to get to (I do, quite literally, mean “crush” as we got crammed through rather than walked). We finally managed to find one, and by the time we returned to the dorm, none of us wanted to go back out again.

Okay, so that’s the description of events, but I guess I should describe my impressions as well, so that is what I’ll wrap up with. First, the people in Lille and the surrounding area have been very nice so far—very nice and very patient. My French is far from perfect, but I’m managing to get along okay and to get the things I need. Shopping was an interesting experience as you must bring your own bags or buy them—they are not supplied. I’m having my mother ship my reusable bags to me.

Milk and eggs are sold on the shelves (though I knew that before arriving), and the milk tastes a little different. Hamburger patties taste different as well, and I can’t say I cared for the one in my sandwich yesterday, though the bread it was in was good. They have these things they sell at some places called “Americains”, and we were all wondering what those were. We asked yesterday, and it’s a sandwich with the fries ON it. I have no idea why they call those Americans, as I’ve never had anything like that in America, but I’m sure we call plenty of things by country names that have little resemblance to those countries.

Chocolate and cheese seem to be food groups in themselves. The cheese isle at the grocery is the size of an entire dairy isle at home, Quik is sold in boxes the size you would get at Sam’s Club, and half of the cereals have chocolate in them. I bought a box of cereal that was chocolate shavings and bran cereal. (Quite good, actually.)

I had read that the French love dogs and that the evidence was everywhere. It is. Watch your step.

What else? It’s very beautiful here, and the people are nice (I know I said that, but it’s worth saying again). I’m still getting the hang of the language, but I think I’m going to be fine.

I'm here!

2008-09-03T16:21:34Z

Stupid Livejournal! I wrote a huge entry, and LiveJournal ate it during spell-check! I'll re-write it later, when I'm a little less tired and aggravated at LJ.

The long drive is done...

2008-08-15T18:28:36Z

I drove to the consulate in Atlanta Wednesday. My appointment was at 10:50, they're an hour ahead of us, and it's almost a 5 hour drive (it took 4 and a half to get there with me pushing my little Civic as much as I dared with the tires the way they are [a little worn and in need of an allignment]). I left Dickson at 5am and got back in Charlotte at 4:30pm. It was quite a day.

I got there only to find that the priority envelope I had already paid for the delivery of was no good. They said they've had issues with the post office losing the passports and visas and recommended FedEx instead. They had the FedEx envelopes, but that's $17 down the drain. I really wish that recommendation had been on the website. I wouldn't have paid for the envelope from the post office then. Every little bit counts until my student loans come in.

So, they said it would be about 2 weeks for the processing. That's cutting it close, so I really hope I get them in time. Otherwise, I'd have to reschedule my flight, and I'm not sure if my flight insurance would cover a change for the reason of not having my Visa and Passport back yet.

I hate that I wasn't able to put in my application sooner, but it took me driving to MTSU and going to several different offices before I could get all the necessary paperwork in order. It might have been easier if I was one of those students travelling overseas on Daddy's Dollar, but I have to go through financial aid instead, and that threw a wrench in the works.

Oh, well. It's all done but the waiting now. The only thing I have left is to buy a few things (when the loans come in) and do a fair bit of sewing (I need clothes badly).

MTSU!!!!

2008-08-10T20:19:22Z

I'm seriously beginning to question the wisdom of remaining at MTSU when I return. I'm STILL not shown as registered, and now I have an email from financial aid stating they'll notify my lenders to put a hold on my loan funds if I'm not registered by 8am tomorrow!!!

This cannot be happening. Most of my headaches in preparing for this trip abroad are centered between financial aid and the business office. Without all of their crap, I'd probably already have my Visa!!!

The Hassles of Red Tape

2008-08-06T17:36:03Z

First, about Campus France: When I submitted my Campus France application, I got a screen telling me my total due for the application was $120. Though this was a different amount than what my instruction sheet stated, I thought it must be the correct amount, so that's what I sent. I received an email stating that the fee was, indeed, only $60. They asked for my address to send a refund, and I provided it. This was over a month ago...still no refund. I've emailed them to let them know my address has now changed.

On to the Consulate: The web page for the consulate in Atlanta states that they will not answer visa-related questions that are answered on the website. Don't believe that. They will not answer visa-related questions...period. I have sent several emails with questions that are not answered on the website, and they have not answered...except to tell me that they don't answer questions that are answered on the website. This has been over a period of several weeks. To top it off, I learned the hard way that they have separate booking pages for student visa appointments from visitor visa appointments, but certain pages on their website direct you straight to the visitor visa booking page. I got my appointment straightened out, but not without a little frustration.

MTSU: I am not shown as registered for the Fall..still...in any way, shape, or form. Study Abroad says they are working on that. My financial aid documentation is still not complete in its entirety. Sallie Mae is showing one final loan that hasn't been certified by Financial Aid yet. Considering that when I arrive at the consulate next Wednesday, I have to have proof of enrollment at MTSU (yes, in addition to proof of enrollment at the school in France) as well as complete documentation of my financial aid, this poses a problem.

I think I need a nice, therapeutic scream:
AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

The latest...

2008-06-28T18:33:56Z

I got more French books. I'm half-way through one of the readers I bought some time back. I like it. It's simple to read, and just barely interesting enough that it doesn't make me want to give up on it.

I'm one step closer to getting my Visa application in. Since financial aid wasn't being much help (still don't have a final amount from them), I contacted the Study Abroad office to see if they could help me out. They were quite nice (usually are). I printed out my award amounts (fin. aid at least had the information up even if it's lower than the final amount will be) from Pipeline, and study abroad stamped it for me and gave me a business card to include with it as well as a copy of my scholarship award letter with the amount on it. I'll have more money by the time my funds are disbursed, but at least I've got proof that I'll have enough.

So all that's left is to fill out the application, gather my paperwork together, set up the appointment at the consulate in Atlanta, and drive down there to put in the application. I'll have to wait until I have the fee amount together, but otherwise I'm good to go.

I'll have more to do, yet, to prepare to get my Carte de Sejour, but I have a little more time for that. The main thing I'll need to do for that before I actually leave is get copies of all my medical records to take with me when I have my medical examination in France and to get my birth certificate translated.

Whew!

Getting There...

2008-06-13T02:44:38Z

I bought my tickets. My flight leaves at 1:22pm on August 31 and is due to arrive in Brussels at 7:30am on September 1. In the end, I decided to fly to Brussels rather than Paris because 1) Brussels is closer to Lille, so I'm looking at a shorter train ride (about half the time) and 2) Sébastien may be able to meet me at the airport, depending on whether he can get off that day.

My Campus France application is complete. They received my payment. For good measure I had sent them a copy of my letter from the university in France, so they marked me as exempt from the interview portion. As it turns out, the amount their web page showed that I needed to pay was incorrect, so they are refunding the remainder. That's good, since I'll be able to apply those funds to my Visa application.

I'll have to go to the French Consulate in Atlanta to complete my Visa appication now that the Campus France application is complete. I have to provide some documentation to them as well, including a certified copy of my birth certificate with translation. I emailed the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute to get an estimate on the cost of translating it. I also need to email R__ K___ to see if she can recommend someone (may be cheaper that way). When I emailed the Study Abroad office, they said they usually have students use her, but she's in England right now, so I don't see that being a valid option. However, they said she may be able to suggest someone else to use.

I also have to provide two passport-sized photos to them and proof that I have enough money to stay a year in France without a job. That's where getting my financial aid documents in order comes in. I hope I can get that from them in a reasonable amount of time so I'm not scrambling at the last minute to get my visa approved. That could be a problem.

I've started reading one of the French readers I got at McKay's. I think my reading comprehension is pretty good. I can write fairly well so long as I have my dictionary on hand and can run the grammar checker at bonpatron.com. My listening comprehension is still only so-so, though, and I get nervous when I try to speak, and I can't think of the right words for anything. Since I'm got a little over two months left here, I'm going to start on my grammar review next week and try to knock out at least a chapter a week. I also need to get over to the Le Palais du Sultan forums on the Irida website more often. I need to start getting to know some of the dancers over there a little better as well as practice my French. Speaking of reading French, I think I'm going to read for a little while and try to get to bed early so I can get up on time tomorrow to head out to Bonnoroo.

À bientôt!

Aid issues...Grrr...

2008-06-03T20:21:45Z

I'm having issues with the financial aid office. Because I have to provide proof of having sufficient funds to spend a year abroad without a job, this might put a clog in the works of getting my visa. I hope they get their issues resolved really soon because I am not a happy camper at this moment.

Campus France

2008-05-28T06:51:24Z

So, for studying abroad in France for more than just a little summer session, one must apply for a student Visa. Now, this is a two-part task. The first part is applying for a site called Campus France, and that is no easy feat. I spent some time previously completing the personal information portion of the site. Tonight I spent several hours trying to complete the application portion. It's not particularly easy to complete because the form is partially in French and partially in English, and some of the questions are not simple to answer.

For instance, there was a short form to fill out academic experience. Unfortunately, the listings for degree types were in French, and the French degrees do not always correlate well to American Degrees. I answered that section as best as I could and added images of my Transcript for good measure.

Also, on the Linguistics portion of the form, they ask if you had any courses taught in French during High School. Now, my only courses in French in high school were...French classes. I briefly wondered if they meant general studies courses taught in French, but they didn't ask any follow-up questions to this, so I answered yes since I did have French classes in high school. I assumed that was the information they were looking for--had I studied French in high school? Honestly, the fact is that the bulk of my French studies were in high school and self-study.

So after much hemming and hawing over the form and finally getting it completed in what I felt was a satisfactory manner, I submitted the application. Now, I have to send in money for the application. Unfortunately, the amount is twice as much as I had been led to believe by another form I had (from ISEP, perhaps, but I can't remember exactly). I had already made out a money order for the other amount, so now I have to go get another money order (Oh boy!).

Apparently, at some point I must also have some form of interview with someone from Campus France as well. I hope it's not meant to establish my proficiency in French. I'm improving, but I think that would make me so nervous, I wouldn't be able to say anything.

After all the Campus France stuff is done, and they've processed my app, I'll have to drive down to Atlanta to complete my Visa application. Supposedly, what I pay for the Campus France app is supposed to be taken out of the amount I'll owe for that, but that information came from the same place that said I'd only have to pay $60 to Campus France, so I don't know if I can rely on the accuracy of that information. I hope to God I don't get down there and not have enough dough to cover it. (Side note: I still need a job for the summer!) I think I have everything I need, though, except a translated copy of my birth certificate. I've got to do some research to determine how to get that.

So, the application process for the visa is a little complicated. I'll get through it, though.

For now, I'm off to bed.

All lined up...

2008-05-25T06:47:11Z

I got a letter from the ISEP Coordinator at the university in France on Friday. It answered some questions for me that I was planning to ask her anyway. I now know what date I am set to move in (September 1...I'll be there on my birthday...eek!). I also know that a residence has been reserved for me and which residence I'll be in. I was even able to look online at a virtual tour of a room in that building. I'll have a phone hookup and internet service. Bathrooms/showers are public (nothing new to me...they are here too), but the room is private. It's small, but that's not a problem. I won't have a lot of stuff with me. The rooms are actually pretty sweet. There's a little kitchenette (counter with a small sink and a one or two [couldn't tell from the pic] burner stove-top and a mini-fridge underneath) and a washbasin in the room. That's actually a pretty nice setup.

So, now that I have a date, I can buy my ticket. I need to finish some paperwork (this week), and I still plan on sending the coordinator an email. I want to introduce myself and verify that the info I put on my ISEP forms reached her, making sure the residence has an elevator or that (if it doesn't) I have a lower level room. I put on the form that I had bad knees, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

I'm still watching movies to try to improve my listening comprehension (it seems to be helping as I am picking up on more than I used to), and I'm watching lots of travel shows about France and some on Belgium since I'll be so close. I'm still trying to read the travel book I bought on France, but it reads a little like "where to spend money in France if you're rich", so it feels a little useless. I prefer the documentaries since sometimes they show things to do off the beaten path. I particularly like Globe Trekker because it seems to be geared towards backpackers and other such travelers on a budget (like me!).

I'm going to start reviewing my grammar books in earnest (in addition to my reading and viewing materials) to try to keep up what I've learned and to further improve. I don't want to be floundering when I get there (though I'll probably feel like I am anyway.

Well, I think I better sign off now since I'm starting to ramble...Just thought I'd post my update.

A Tale of Three Books

2008-04-29T04:56:42Z

So, I have a feeling my reading habits are about to get interesting. I went to McKay's again today, and I bought more books in French, books about French (Cliff's notes, Quick Review), and books about France. So now I have three books going. One is my typical romance novel. The second is a romance novel in French, and the third is Frommer's France 2006. I plan on goin back for more, but I'll have to take some more books in for trade first.

In the meantime, anybody got any movie recommendations?

Learning French

2008-04-28T04:25:29Z

In the spirit of learning French, I wanted to share this. I was cracking up. Eddie Izzard on "Learning French". hehehe..

The semester is almost over, and I have improved a lot over the course of the semester. However, I've got to keep it up so as not to lose it and to hopefully continue to improve. I should be posting to the Irida forums more now that the semester is through.

I also got more books and some movies. I went to McKay's in Nashville and traded in a couple of boxes of westerns my Dad gave me and got credit for them. I went to Hastings in the 'boro and traded some stuff for credit there. I now have enough books in French to keep me busy for a while. I also have some movies to watch and hopefully improve my listening comprehension. I got La Femme Nikita, Le Pacte Des Loups, and Ils. Ils (Them in English) was very good. It's a horror movie, but it's more suspensful than anything, which I love. Not that I don't love a good slasher flick (like High Tension), but it's suspense that really gets me.

So I have media to practice with as well as an online forum and people I can talk to as well. Hope I can be ready so I don't feel tongue-tied when I get there.

I GOT THE SCHOLARSHIP!!!

2008-04-28T04:11:12Z

So, I got the scholarship. It doesn't cover everything, but every little bit helps. So, now I need to start applying for loans. I'll try for other scholarships as well, but I think it's a bit late for most of them--especially for the fall.

Last weekend (wow, was is really only last weekend?) was pre-departure orientation. We showed up late because my mother got lost a half a dozen times on her way to my apartment...lol. She eventually made it, though, and we got to the last part of the first meeting, so it was all good. We had to do a circuit of getting information on studying abroad and what to expect from the experience and what was expected of us as well as a book with helpful information in it. I got to ask the questions that had been plagueing me, and they got answered (for the most part). I asked my mom if she felt better about my going after the orientation, and she said that she did. I'm glad I asked her to come with me.

I still have to finish up my Campus France application and send in my money order for it. As soon as I find out the schedule for the school year at the university in France, I will also have to go to Atlanta to the French Consulate there to put in my Visa application.

There's still a lot to do, but I'm getting things done a little at a time. Next on my list is some shopping. I bought shoes this weekend (Tax-free weekend! Yay!) that are the Skechers Mary Janes. I wanted comfy shoes that would go with a variety of outfits, so that seemed to be the answer. I love 'em! Next on the list is luggage (will be buying the American Tourister Lite luggage so I can actually pack without worrying about going over my weight limit with the bags alone), a portable hard drive, some converters for my laptop and battery charger, and a new battery for my laptop.

Things to read.

2008-03-31T05:50:15Z

I've been looking for stuff to read that would be interesting to help improve my language skills. I've had a copy of Elle in French in my backpack all semester. I also joined a French bellydance forum so that I can get practice both reading and writing French while getting to know some new people and it be not only a safe environment to do so (my dictionary and Bescherelle at my side!) but something interesting for me.

Every now and then my dad brings home things from either a job site (things people toss when they're renovating) or friends/acquaintances. I went home today for his birthday, and on the mantle was a little book about the size of a play script. It was a short story in French. No only that, but it's a sort of primer for French students. It's from the University of Chicago, circa 1936, and each page has a mini-glossary for that page, and the full glossary is at the back. That should be great to practice reading with!

Now if I can only get my hands on those French versions of Sherrilyn Kenyon's books!

More forms to fill out...

2008-03-27T05:28:22Z

I got my ISEP PPAF forms completed and received more information on the school, including who my contact will be, what I can expect as far as room and board goes, etc. I still don't know the exact dates I'll be there because they do not finalize their schedule until June. After that, I guess, I can start considering travel arrangements.

I have more applications to fill out now, these with the French government. Of course I have to apply for my Visa, but I also have to apply for a website called Campus-France before I can do that. I have to upload my transcript, but I can't do that right now because I got a parking ticket Friday night on campus, and I have to pay that before I can access my transcript. Fun stuff. I try to be responsible and fill out my paperwork early, and I'm delayed because of a parking ticket for a reserved space in a lot that I was under the impression wasn't patrolled after 6:30pm. Argh!

Ah well, I have to go to the bank tomorrow, then pay the ticket and get my transcript so I can scan it and upload it. I'll also have to get a money order to pay the application fee for the campus-france site.

Geez, I hope I find a job soon. It seems like every step of the process has its own application fee, and the lack of full-time jobs around here isn't helping my finances.