Arrival in Yvetot

After a long flight with a very chatty man sitting next to me, I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, and took a bus (on the advice of others, including the info desk) to the Opera stop, only a 5-6 minute walk to the train station. When we arrived an hour later (instead of the 30 min train ride it would have taken me), I had missed my train, and my suitcase with around 60 pounds in it had a broken wheel and I had to drag it like dead weight, along with my other 40-pound suitcase. After the most grueling walk ever, I was nice and sweaty, and I tried buying a new train ticket at a machine.... Only Visa and Mastercard Europeene were accepted, so I had to go inside and wait in line to see a teller. As I was stripping off layers down to my t-shirt and people started staring, I realized that everyone else was wearing long-sleeve shirts at the very minimum. Meanwhile, this crazy canuck was down to a t-shirt and sweating like I'd just run a marathon. First faux-pas. The gentleman was kind enough to exchange my ticket and put me on the next train.

Side note: As I was dragging my bags along, my backpack must have come open, and a man informed me and luckily nothing was stolen, even though my laptop would have been very visible.

Next challenge: Getting up to the train platforms upstairs when the elevator was out of service. I asked a nice-looking young man to help me, which he did, although he certainly looked at me like it was an unusual request.

So I spent the next hour waiting for the train's platform info to appear on the screen, and I was certainly not losing the seat I had hovered over to get. I refused to seek food or a bathroom, and when I asked the people next to me if a phone within sight was a public phone, they said yes, but that I would need a calling card to use it. Sigh. I needed to call and tell the professor picking me up at the train station that I would be later, and texting or sending emails from my phone wouldn't work. Luckily an older gentleman allowed me to use his cell phone. He ended up being on my train, and as we walked to the platform together, he was going faster than me...and he had a cane.

When I got into Yvetot (still trying to control my bladder), two teachers welcomed me with the traditional kisses on both cheeks. I thought I was going in for a hug. My teacher-boss brought me to the most charming French countryside home, and we ate homemade quiche lorraine, wine with cassis liqueur, salad with homemade dressing, and cheese with fruit salad for dessert. Since I'd only eaten a yogurt and an applesauce that day, the food was most welcome. I learned my second lesson when I was taught that the trick is taking more cheese and less bread that I would have thought.

I went to buy a SIM card for my phone, and it turns out that to buy an internet plan, you need ID, proof of residence and a French bank account. I had one of those, so I will add internet later. For now, I have a few Euros on there to text in case of emergency. My phone functions as an expensive clock unless I have wifi, it seems.

Today I woke up at 11:30 after 12 hours of much-needed sleep and showered and relaxed until the teacher came home and we went to move me into the apartment, which was being renovated until today. It is amazing!!! Plenty of space! I'm living with a Spanish language assistant from Spain and a German language assistant in the studio apartment next door. Since he has no kitchen and living room, we will share those. Now we are at McDonald's for the free wifi since the school's wifi signal isn't strong enough to reach our residence, and it does not work during evenings and weekends. They will order it tomorrow since I'm gone to Munich in the early morning. Apparently it takes about a week to have it installed and all :(. Guess I will learn to enjoy Royal burgers!

The assistants and I are all trying to improve our French, so we speak in French, but sometimes use the English word to figure it out.

We also went to the grocery store (more like a Wal-Mart), and it's only open from 8:30-8pm (9 on Friday), and not open on Sundays. Looks like I will have to get my act together and start grocery shopping during normal hours!

Anyway, time to buy my train tickets to Munich and find the directions to the train station from our apartment. A bientot!