S'installer et se calmer (Settling In and Settling Down)

This is the second time I am posting this message, which is quite annoying. I was almost finished when all the computers decided to reset themselves - it was all of them at once, so I guess it was programmed to do so. It was 4:15 am, so perhaps they did not figure a jetlagged individual would be happily typing away at that time. A lesson learned...

Things are definitely looking up. Overnight my language level seems to have improved enormously, as I'm now able to understand most everyday conversation. I think once I got over the initial shock of hearing everyone speak French, and also managed to get some sleep after my 25 or so hours of flying, I found my studied French coming back to me. I sometimes find myself thinking in French, and I am also able to listen more carefully to what people are saying, because my brain no longer panics when someone speaks to it in French. I now feel extremely confident about picking up French very quickly, and have got into the habit of carrying around a dictionary wherever I go. If I see a word I don't know, or an object whose word in French I don't know, then I look it up. I have not done this as yet in places like shopping centres, where there are simply too many new words, but I intend to devote some hours to that in a few days time. It is certainly a very tiring an intensive experience, but I am enjoying it greatly.

I have found parallel to my improvement in language that the French are really wonderful, helpful people (or at least the people in this town anyway). It has nothing to do with them being more accepting of me as I can speak their language a bit more now, but everything to do with my own perception. Being able to understand their help, and not feeling threatened anymore, have certainly contributed to my feelings of goodwill.

I had my first French meal today - up until then I was surviving off a huge packet of soy crisps which I had brought from Sydney. It was at a restaraunt specially designed for students called 'Resto U', and I will definitely be back there. The food was good, generous and exceptionally cheap! I got some spicy cooked vegetables, a mound of french fries, two youghurts and a side plate of salad, all for €2,85!!! That's cheaper than cooking your own food with products from the supermarket.

My bag arrived this morning, which was a massive relief. I know my mother was concerned that I would live out of my suitcase, so if you are reading this mum, don't worry I have unpacked nearly everything. In fact a sudden compulsion to be neat has seized me, which is bizarre given how messy I used to be - perhaps i've realised subconsciously that the buck really does stop with me, and that I am the one who will suffer if the place is a mess. This experience of living alone will definitely be good for me.

This is a good opportunity to talk about the living conditions. The rooms are so-so, fairly limited in space, and with quite basic facilities. The wallpaper seems to be peeling in a number of places. There is a table with two drawers, two chairs, lots of shelves, a small wardrobe, two large cupboards, a randomly included chalkboard without chalk, a continuously leaky sink, a bed with borrowed sheets and pillow and a curious contraption called a bidet. The dictionary translation of bidet is 'bidet', which isn't exactly the most useful translation the dictionary has given me! Someone told me it is basically a urinal, but instead of hanging on the wall, it sits on the floor.

There is also a communal bathroom and a communal kitchen. The bathroom contains the commodes and the showers, and on the whole seems quite well-kept. The only problem is the absence of toilet paper - we need to provide our own. The communal kitchen is very very basic - just some sinks, a couple of hotplates, a microwave and a personalised fridge (at €33 per year, fridge rent is very cheap!). There are no communal cooking utensils, cutlery or cleaning instruments - again we need to provide this ourselves. Time for me to do some shopping, I think.

I did do some shopping, in my first little venture out to the main part of the city. In the supermarket, I was utterly stunned by the variety of choice they had. In Australia you are seriously getting gipped. There was at least 50 of everything, and probably double for the cheeses and chocolates. The fresh vegetables are beautifully displayed in baskets - layout seems to be very important in shops here, more so than in Australia. I ended up buying a loaf of bread and a block of roquefort cheese - absolutely delicious!! I know I am going to spoil myself with all these amazing cheeses, and I'm worried about how cheese-fussy I will become on my return to Australia.

I went to a major department store called 'Monoprix' and bought a large pot, a plate, a bowl, a fork, a spoon, a knife and a warm blanket. The blanket in particular is a welcome addition to my inventory, because now I won't freeze at night. I'll buy sheets when I have a bank account, for now I buy the essentials. One of the essentials I missed out on was a pair of gloves - they had run out! It is freezing here, so everyone has rushed out to buy themselves gloves.

The cold is probably the most uncomfortable element of my existence here. For one, the sky is perpetually grey. I never thought I would miss the sun, but I do. Also when I said it was freezing, I was being literal - outside the department store was a fountain with massive icicles hanging where there should be running water. On my walk home at about 6:30 in the evening from the department store, my fingers began to feel extremely painful, and I felt my throat clogging up. Before my organs stopped functioning I was lucky to reach home. I will definitely make a much more determined effort to get a scarf and gloves tomorrow.

The walk from the department store wasn't all bad; I did notice some amusing signs which I will take photos of. One was a piece of graffiti, in English, which said 'Help the police - Beat yourself Up!' I found that pretty funny at the time, but I wonder if there is a more serious undertone to that - was it just a randomly funny piece of graffiti, or is there a serious problem with police beatings here? Another just bizarre sign I saw was a directions sign - it simply said 'Other directions' on it. Why on earth would you have a direction sign that says that on it? I've seen a few of them, so I guess I must have missed something. Will investigate further.

I have met some more friendly English-speaking exchange students while I am here. One is Bao, from Vietnam, who is doing his economics degree here. There seems to be a large nu,ber of vietnamese students here - presumably because French is one of the major languages in Vietnam, making France an obvious choice for study. I also met Shailja, a girl from Chandigarh, India, who is doing a Masters in Law here. Apparently there are a few other North Indians here as well, so she has committed them to teaching me Hindi. I look forward to it.

Tomorrow night I will meet a lot of the exchange students at a New Year's dinner organised by the University, including Rob Watson who I think will arrive tomorrow. New Year's in France should be interesting, although the following is a direct quote from Yahoo News: 'Burning cars is not unusual in France - where dozens of cars are set afire on an average night. But the number has risen to about 300 on New Year's Eve in recent years, according to the Interior Ministry. "Nothing's different. We are indeed expecting cars to be burned like every year" Catherine Casteran, a spokeswoman for the national police, said by phone on Friday.' What a shame I'm not in Paris to see the pyrotechnic display. :S

That's all from me for now. My next post will be in the New Year...so happy New Year to everyone! Make sure your New Year's Resolutions are realistic, but ambitious! :)