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UPDATE: I now have a comments section.
Ok. Instead of trying to catch up on EVERYTHING ive been doing, i figured id start with the people here that im with, and what a basic weekday is like. Weekends are our big fun trips, and whole stories in and of themselves.
The people on this trip are pretty much one of each type of group of people. Its like the Real World with 17 people, and i really think that people would watch. Melanie, the girl that i traveled here with, is insane and rude. We have a crew of people that drink EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, and almost never remeber, and theres one central girl that gets them all to keep going out "its france" she keeps saying, though she usually doesnt remember much of what she does the night before. Her nickname is 'boozy the clown'. Theres a girl and a guy who have been sleeping together quite a bit, only problem is that she has a boyfriend back home and hes been married for eight years. His wife even came to visit for a week. And the two of them were still fucking everywhere. Theyve done it in the restroom in one of the bars, in other peoples rooms, its the restrooms where we're staying, and my shower. Thats my curse. I dont really like any of the guys on this trip, so when we partnered up for weekend trips, i ended up with him. Its just very hard for everyone to see them, because they try to deny it constantly. And his wife even came to see him for a week. So thats an ongoing drama. We have matt, the guy who lives below me in dekalb, who doesnt really have a lot of friends and just doesnt seem to interact with people well. Hes nice, but hell ask you the weirdest questions, like we were walking past a cathedral and he asked me what percentage of the french population was catholic. I guess im the man to ask, with my penchant for percentages, my deep roots in catholicism, and my expertise with french culture. We have one girl that vanishes every night, nobody knows where she goes and she wont tell us. Theres one guy that hits on every girl in our group, and another that hits on the rest of the girls in france, wherever we go. Funny sidenote on him, when hes hitting on a girl, he always orders whatever drink she does. That just seems odd to me. Finally theres the one girl that always hangs out with me and my little crew, and shes nice...when she doesnt talk. When she does, its always about how odd and eccentric she is, about how she was so wacky this time etc, when shes really a very normal girl. She just wants to be the center of attention SO BADLY. Shell continually say that she just needs to get some. Or how she hates to always seem like shes trying to get attention and change the subject BUT blah blah blah. She always interrupts your stories too because, at all times, she has a friend who did the same thing. So thats pretty much the weirdos on my trip.
My crew here is pretty much three girls, archana, emily, and now ali. Archana is going to be erins roomate next year and is the only person besides matt that i knew going on this trip. Weve always gotten along, shes good people, and a blast. She also weighs 83 pounds,so its fun to drink with her. Emily used to be a hippy. Piercings, campfires, bongo drums and pot, the whole deal. Shes 27, and shes just the sweetest person. Very cool, very funny, we have a blast. Then this past week weve started hanging out with one of other girls, ali, who SEEMS like your stereotypical sorority cheerleader type, very perky all the time, just like she jumped out of Legally blonde or something. She also hung out a lot during hte year with the crew that drank all the time. Although i dont think she hung out with them a LOT, so she didnt know how annoying they all were. And now that she knows about the affair thing, she cant stand them. So shes been chillin with us, and theres actually a lot more to her and shes quite cool. She passed the tryout and became the official fourth at our dinner table. Me emily and archana were telling people we were having tryouts, just because everyone else was driving us nuts, and more than two days with them at dinner is unthinkable.
Ok, onto my standard day. We have class every morning from 9-11. then we have an hour and a half break for lunch at the school cafeteria, which sucks pretty bad. The french only drink wine or water with lunch, never coke or juice, so i drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fruit. Then we have class from 130 to 330. These classes are usually guest lecturers, but like last week we had one french law professor all week. Two hour classes with a teacher with an accent is rough. Then we all go home. Home is a place called the IUFM which is pretty much a huge dorm. Each room has a closet, a bed, a window, a sink, a desk, and thats it. Showers and bathrooms are in the hall. But then we have three hours to chill/do homework/NAP till dinner, which starts at 730, but its about a 20 minute walk. Dinner is my favorite part of the day. We always go to the same restraunt called l'emprevue or something along those lines. We go in and sit in the back room, which is the only room in all of france with air conditioning, im convinced of it. Then our same waiter comes, gives us wine, water, and juice. Then we get a choice of appetizers. I usually go with teh soup which is amazing. Then we get bread, then our soup or whatever appetizer comes then you get a choice of entrees which is stuff like fish, pasta, lamb, veal, etc, and its all very VERY good. Then dessert is amazing. Ice cream, strawberries in cream, creme de caramel, etc. Its fantastic. Only drawback is that dinner takes, on an average night with no dilly dallying, about 3 hours every night. The sun is still up when we leave around ten. Then sometimes we go drinking, or just come back here and play cards and drink wine till bedtime. Then i check my email, and go to bed. Then weekends we have trips, but those will be next post.
Overall its a blast. Some drawbacks though. No place is airconditioned. Anywhere. And its hot. Agen is a nice little town, very typically french. There are dogs running around everywhere, apparently its the same in paris, and as such, there is often dog shit on the sidewalks. People have no idea how to drive. Traffic signs and lights are suggestions at best its drive as fast as you want and park wherever you want. All the people here speak french, and the language barrier is more of one than youd think. Vegetarians should not come to france. The concept is foreign. Archana is a vegetarian and every place we go its a big to do. Basically, theyll serve you whatever everyone else is having, minus most of the food. Or, they ask if youre a vegan. If you say no, that means your getting eggs. Which is fine sometimes, but thats a lot of eggs after a while. Her only good meal is at our dinner place, where they make her pasta, which is very good pasta, but still, she has the same meal every day. France is not made for large people. Every restroom is very very little, and many elevators are little one person ones that i can barely fit into. Many public bathrooms demand you use change to use them. Half hte bathrooms are no more than squares of tile with holes in the ground. No toilet seats ladies (there are some that do, some that dont). Toilet paper is almost never in supply, and most places do not distinguish between guys and girls restrooms. There are never drinking fountains. There are rarely trash cans, and when there are, they are very tiny. Roaches are "not a big deal" in most buildings. Everything is slow, people, service, everything. Everyone just takes their time, which sounds relaxing, but if someone says theyll be there at three, that means anytime up till four, and if something is supposed to take an hour, that means up to an hour and a half. It is EXTREMELY frustrating. There is coke, but its expensive (usually 2.50 for whats a little less than a can), and never stuff like dr pepper or mt dew. French keyboards can be rough to learn.
However, all that said, i love it here. It took till last weekend in bordeaux, but all of a sudden i was like "i love france". And i do. My classes have changed the way i look at an international politics type thing, and just seeing and meeting the people has changed how i view the world, a lot. Im having so much fun. The food is great. All i eat is well cooked fantastic meals at dinner, fruit, bread, and all i drink is wine and juice, and a shitload of water. Ive lost five pounds, but not in an unhealthy way, and im feeling extremely healthy.
Speaking of dinner, its about time for me to take a shower, take a nap, and go to dinner. Id post more later, but you wont have read this by the time its later for me. So ill try to post about my weekend trips tomorrow.