When I woke up to face my first actual day in Strasbourg, I felt almost magically better. My sinking feeling of loneliness was gone! I still felt uncomfortable with the unfamiliar, but at least I had some of my curiosity back. I was also lucky that I was busy; there was a meeting with my program on day one. Another fact that made the first day easier: jet lag had caused me to sleep until 3pm! I was rested, and only a short day was ahead of me. Ida drove me to my program's office. I live somewhat far from the center of Strasbourg, so I really didn't know how to get there on my own yet. She tried to explain the map to me, and I thought I understood, but being a country girl who has had very little experience with cities, I don't ever fully understand until I walk the streets and see the sights. Ally lives in the same building as the office, so when Ida dropped me off, I went to her room first. We chatted a bit and then went to the meeting, which was downstairs. Finally I started to feel a bit more organized. Throughout the rest of the day, Alex (the director of my program) answered many questions and helped us figure out how to look for classes. I met two other girls in my program (both from the US), and we explored part of the city for the first time. We found a store called Monoprix, which is like Target in the US. Surprisingly, I wasn't too nervous to speak French with native French speakers...I didn't necessarily seek out a bunch of opportunities, but I didn't avoid speaking altogether either. I think I was also motivated by the fact that I didn't want to seem confused, lost, or ignorant! Plus Susquehanna prepared me well I think. In the evening I had a nice, delicious homemade dinner made by Ida, called Jack on Facebook Messenger, and then went to bed (I took some melatonin to ward off the jet lag). The next day we all met at the office again for a little tour of the campus of the University of Strasbourg. As international students, we are being enrolled at the international student institute at the U of Strasbourg (called the IIEF), but we can also take classes with French students elsewhere on campus. A fun challenge! So, some of us tried a class that day. To be honest, it was a little boring. The classroom was large, the professor spoke somewhat quietly, and it was entirely a lecture for 2 hours. There was a lot of French I just didn't understand. The class was about the history of the Alsace region, which Strasbourg is a part of. I'm going to stick with it I think, though I can still drop the course if I change my mind. We had lunch at Alex's lovely house! His wife Andrea (who is also the assistant director of our program) made a tasty quiche and a salad, and for dessert we had a galette des rois. Find out what that is here! But basically, it represents the Epiphany, and inside the cake is hidden a small figurine called the fève. Whoever discovers the fève gets to wear a crown and is called the king/queen! Alex and Andrea's youngest son, 5-year-old Calvin, was with us, and he was excited about the galette. He had made a crown in school that day! Guess who found the fève....I did! The fève in the picture is a fat little snowman. So about the part when I got lost... After another class and another short excursion into the city, the others had gone home and I went back to Ally's. Ida's apartment was about a half hour walk away. But I was still unsure of how to use the bus. What side of the street should I be on? What directions were each of the buses going? I wasn't familiar with place names either. I'd have to really study the map at the bus stop to figure it out, and it was quite chilly outside...and there were so many buses! But I knew the general direction of Ida's place, and I only had to make one turn. It seemed pretty easy to just walk, right? Wrong. To a country girl, walking might seem easier than trying to figure out how public transportation works in just a few minutes, but when I tried to find the main road, it seemed to me like it branched into 3 different ways??? And where were the street signs? I went the way I remembered Ida driving me. Then I looked at the paper map she gave me. I could easily see where I was supposed to go, but I couldn't find any of it in front of me. And my phone didn't have data. Deep breath. I sat down on a bench and decided I would ask someone. The first person I saw I asked (in pretty decent French) for the correct direction. The reply I got (also in French) was, "Sorry, I am not familiar with it." So.......my plan? To retrace my steps. I went back the way I came and stopped at the office, where I called Ida. I felt bad making her go out of her way to come pick me up, but she did rescue me! She was so nice about it. The moral of the story is that I was too ambitious trying to walk, and I should have made better plans ahead of time. So for tomorrow, the goal is to learn how to use the bus! A fun French phrase I learned: C'est un joyeux bordel=It's a complete screw up and nobody cares (not translated literally) This was said in relation to French universities. They can be pretty disorganized, but somehow they work! à la prochaine fois, Elda
1 Comment
mike long
1/19/2019 01:37:52
Love learning about galette des rois. You'll have to make one for us. :)
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AuthorHello! I'm Elda, a French/Anthropology major and Applied Language Studies minor studying in Strasbourg for a semester. Archives
May 2019
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