Ten Little Chances to be Free (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tenlittlebullets) wrote2007-07-11 09:31 pm
tenlittlebullets) wrote2007-07-11 09:31 pm
omgfrance.
Hokay. Um. Where to begin.
First off, Bordeaux is fricking beautiful--I don't know if I could live full-time in a place where nothing is open on Sunday and a big paperback costs 23 euros, but I'm definitely having fun visiting. Most of the buildings are of a fairly uniform (and gorgeous) 18th century architecture, the only exceptions being a few odd older buildings and a cluster of bumfuck-ugly apartments west of the city center that look like they were built in the 1970s. The entire place makes me think of what Old Montreal would look like if it were a bit grimy and lived-in, instead of polished up into a tourist center. The heart of the city is actually quite small; no more than a couple kilometers from the Place de la Victoire to the far end of the Jardin Public. So everything is within extended walking distance of everything else, and if you're lazy there's a fairly extensive tram and bus system. Lovely, temperate weather so far, though there's supposed to be a heat wave later in the week.
(The hotel, by the way, does have free wifi, but I somehow forgot to pack my laptop's power cable, so it took a while to get that shipped.)
Expect lots and lots of photo posts--my camera is filled up at the moment with pictures of the Cimetière de la Chartreuse, which is fabulous and beautiful but probably a touch morbid for a first photo post. Once I get those onto the computer and clear out the camera, I'll probably post some pictures of the Cathédrale St-André to start things off. There might also be a glut of abject-geekery posts in the near future; while trawling used bookstores, I've already found one or two things that will probably only be amusing to a few people, and which will be typed up and translated when I get a chance.
Classes are good; my French is apparently both better and worse than I thought. Worse, because I have an embarrassingly marked English accent, stammer like a loon, and have an absolutely pitiful vocabulary where everyday things are concerned. Better, because I somehow tested into the upper-intermediate class despite not having had a French class in five years, and I can generally understand people if they speak clearly. I still gape like a fish, though, if someone mumbles or talks really fast or springs an unexpected question on me. Curses! I can only comfort myself with the thought that in the week and a half since my arrival, the number of conversations that end up in offers to speak English to the poor confused foreigner has decreased dramatically.
The other students are quite friendly--even despite my social-hermit ways, I've managed to make a few acquaintances and go out to random pubs/cafes/parties/etc with people. The creepy thing is, though, that I keep running into people who look just like Les Mis cast members. I mean, okay, when I noticed that one girl in my class looked like a young and non-crackwhore version of Daphne Rubin-Vega, I was more amused than perturbed, ditto when an ex-student dropped by who bore a passing resemblance to Max von Essen. Haha, thought I, I have obviously seen the show too many times. But when I ended up friends with a fellow American whom I honest-to-god thought had to be related to Haviland Stillwell, and when our little group of pub-crawlers included Ben Davis' long-lost, loud, drunk, very Irish twin... yes, slightly disturbing. XD
Food isn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be; I have to get used to budgeting my spending money to include groceries, but allergies haven't been that much of a problem. I mean, I can usually find something to eat in restaurants, the waiters are generally helpful, and I haven't had any catastrophic allergic reactions. Only a minor incident involving sorbet that had been cross-contaminated with the ice cream, where the amount of dairy was tiny and I got away with just taking my oral meds and not using my Epi-Pen. Food in general is actually cheaper than in the US; packaged food maybe not so much, but it's perfectly possible to get a baguette and a cup of (good!) tea for less than some overpriced Starbucks drink. (I have not, by the way, seen any Starbucks in France, nor any fast food besides the lone McDonald's that has to offer free wifi as a lure for customers. For food on the run, there are eight billion local sandwich and pastry places--though this is not exactly a good thing for me, as I'm allergic to most everything but the bread.)
And... what else. There are probably a few squillion other things I could write about, but they're not coming to mind at the moment and this post is long enough already. Oh yeah, the trip over here kind of sucked, but I didn't have any real problems with immigration or finding my way around Bordeaux. Just sleep deprivation, snappish airport employees, language shock, and stress all hitting at the same time. My shampoo exploded in the same suitcase pocket where I'd stashed $500, and since the bills got soaked and still look a little funny after being dried, I'm not sure I'll be able to change them into euros--but that's about the worst that happened.
Okay, yeah, I'll shut up before this post ends up needing an lj-cut. XD
First off, Bordeaux is fricking beautiful--I don't know if I could live full-time in a place where nothing is open on Sunday and a big paperback costs 23 euros, but I'm definitely having fun visiting. Most of the buildings are of a fairly uniform (and gorgeous) 18th century architecture, the only exceptions being a few odd older buildings and a cluster of bumfuck-ugly apartments west of the city center that look like they were built in the 1970s. The entire place makes me think of what Old Montreal would look like if it were a bit grimy and lived-in, instead of polished up into a tourist center. The heart of the city is actually quite small; no more than a couple kilometers from the Place de la Victoire to the far end of the Jardin Public. So everything is within extended walking distance of everything else, and if you're lazy there's a fairly extensive tram and bus system. Lovely, temperate weather so far, though there's supposed to be a heat wave later in the week.
(The hotel, by the way, does have free wifi, but I somehow forgot to pack my laptop's power cable, so it took a while to get that shipped.)
Expect lots and lots of photo posts--my camera is filled up at the moment with pictures of the Cimetière de la Chartreuse, which is fabulous and beautiful but probably a touch morbid for a first photo post. Once I get those onto the computer and clear out the camera, I'll probably post some pictures of the Cathédrale St-André to start things off. There might also be a glut of abject-geekery posts in the near future; while trawling used bookstores, I've already found one or two things that will probably only be amusing to a few people, and which will be typed up and translated when I get a chance.
Classes are good; my French is apparently both better and worse than I thought. Worse, because I have an embarrassingly marked English accent, stammer like a loon, and have an absolutely pitiful vocabulary where everyday things are concerned. Better, because I somehow tested into the upper-intermediate class despite not having had a French class in five years, and I can generally understand people if they speak clearly. I still gape like a fish, though, if someone mumbles or talks really fast or springs an unexpected question on me. Curses! I can only comfort myself with the thought that in the week and a half since my arrival, the number of conversations that end up in offers to speak English to the poor confused foreigner has decreased dramatically.
The other students are quite friendly--even despite my social-hermit ways, I've managed to make a few acquaintances and go out to random pubs/cafes/parties/etc with people. The creepy thing is, though, that I keep running into people who look just like Les Mis cast members. I mean, okay, when I noticed that one girl in my class looked like a young and non-crackwhore version of Daphne Rubin-Vega, I was more amused than perturbed, ditto when an ex-student dropped by who bore a passing resemblance to Max von Essen. Haha, thought I, I have obviously seen the show too many times. But when I ended up friends with a fellow American whom I honest-to-god thought had to be related to Haviland Stillwell, and when our little group of pub-crawlers included Ben Davis' long-lost, loud, drunk, very Irish twin... yes, slightly disturbing. XD
Food isn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be; I have to get used to budgeting my spending money to include groceries, but allergies haven't been that much of a problem. I mean, I can usually find something to eat in restaurants, the waiters are generally helpful, and I haven't had any catastrophic allergic reactions. Only a minor incident involving sorbet that had been cross-contaminated with the ice cream, where the amount of dairy was tiny and I got away with just taking my oral meds and not using my Epi-Pen. Food in general is actually cheaper than in the US; packaged food maybe not so much, but it's perfectly possible to get a baguette and a cup of (good!) tea for less than some overpriced Starbucks drink. (I have not, by the way, seen any Starbucks in France, nor any fast food besides the lone McDonald's that has to offer free wifi as a lure for customers. For food on the run, there are eight billion local sandwich and pastry places--though this is not exactly a good thing for me, as I'm allergic to most everything but the bread.)
And... what else. There are probably a few squillion other things I could write about, but they're not coming to mind at the moment and this post is long enough already. Oh yeah, the trip over here kind of sucked, but I didn't have any real problems with immigration or finding my way around Bordeaux. Just sleep deprivation, snappish airport employees, language shock, and stress all hitting at the same time. My shampoo exploded in the same suitcase pocket where I'd stashed $500, and since the bills got soaked and still look a little funny after being dried, I'm not sure I'll be able to change them into euros--but that's about the worst that happened.
Okay, yeah, I'll shut up before this post ends up needing an lj-cut. XD
no subject
Helas, mais il y a des villes ou TOUS les batiments sont comme ca.
no subject
First day of my grad program, orientation (never saw the guy again), there's a guy who looks so much like Dan Bogart that I was seriously going to ask him, if I ever saw him again, if he had family in Ohio (he was from Florida).
And if I were in contact with Ben, I would so tell him that he has a loud drunk Irish twin currently in Bordeaux *g*.
Just find where the Algerians are and eat lots of hummus :)
no subject