I sat for awhile in the station, having my first real glimpse again of the French language. I was starting to get a bit nervous, wondering if my abilities would be good enough. It was time to board with my cumbersome bags. I finally found my traincar, the last in the row and boarded. The luggage storage areas were full and mine was the biggest bag of them all. I started to panic a bit, seeing that the car was pretty packed with little room for extra storage. I sat by my seat for a bit, wondering what I was going to do because the only space I thought it might fit was far overhead, virtually impossible for me to lift my bag to. People around started yelling in French and then in English because they couldn't get passed me in the aisle, but I couldn't figure out what to do. I was definitely THAT girl (my worst fear realized)! Finally a nice man stood up and helped me and I sat down, deciding that French men were nicer than French women. I slept most of that train ride, getting more nervous than ever.
I arrived in the Paris Nord train station and had to somehow figure out how to get to the Montparnasse train station, all I knew was that the guy in England had told me I was looking for line 4, I had no idea what that meant. I probably looked very lost for awhile as people kept coming up to me, asking for money. I finally decided to ask a store worker where to go and she pointed me towards the Metro, the line 4 making much more sense now. Men helped me with my bags up and down sairs, I got a ticket, and soon I was on the subway heading for Montparnasse. I was feeling pretty good about my French after that. Paris rejuvinated me! I got to the train station with about an hour to spare and got a multi grain baguette filled with chicken, tomatoes, mayo, and lettuce and I ate it along with as much water as I could get my hands on.
It was time to board the train, but it was a bit more confusing this time because the cars weren't marked. I just kept asking people who looked like they knew what they were doing and I kept getting closer to my location. I finally boarded the train that had plenty of room for my luggage and me, much to my relief! I sat, slept and listened to music the whole way. When I got there, I was to be greeted by Ingrid and Sophie, two girls who are going to be in Knoxville later this summer. It took awhile to find them because there were two exits, them being at the opposite one that I chose, but I found them. We chatted on the way to my new apartment and I was happy that I was keeping up fairly well with the language. My French of course wasn't perfect and I think from time to time I answered questions that were different from what they asked, but it was all okay.
I got to my apartment on the 3rd floor of a cute little street and was very happy to be greeted by a friendly woman who gave me the tour and keys to my place. It is fully stocked with bed linens, silverware, bowls, towels, etc.- everything that I could possibly need including maps of Nantes! My kitchen has a fridge/freezer, stove/oven, sink, washing mashine, couch, and some dressers. There is a closet to put all of my things in the hall, along with a bathroom, and then on the opposite side of the hall, a shower room. In my room there is a futon on the floor made up for sleeping, a bed with a really cool tapestry for sitting, a shelving unit, a table and chair, and a coffee table. It is really cute! I even have a phone and wi-fi already working. Ingrid and Sophie invited me to go eat with their friends, but I was tired so I opted out, having made plans the next day with them to get food. They called about an hour later saying that they needed to go to Paris to get their visas for the US and so they came with a bag of food for me. (Most stores are closed on Sundays)
I then slept until about 2 pm the next day, probably not good for getting my body on schedule. I woke up and decided to go on my computer, opnly to find that my battery was about dead and my convertor could only handle 2 pronged appliances (my computer battery being 3). I gorgot that I needed to bring that other attachment and got very worried because I don't have much hope that they would have that here. I then looked in my bag of food and had a banana and a crepe. I took a long, much needed shower, unpacked and felt refreshed. I then studied French for a bit an dwas hungry again. They had brought me what looked like sausage and onion frozen pizza. One problem: I can't figure out how to turn on the oven! I ended up putting a pan on the stove along with a top and cooked it that way, probably not ideal, but it worked. Confused at a fishy smell eminating from my pizza, I discovered that it was in fact a tuna and onion pizza. Todo, we're not in Kansas anymore!
I then decided to take a walk around and discovered that there is a river very near to my apartment that is lined with beautiful parks. I walked through it with probably most of the people in Nantes, it must be the Sunday afternoon activity! There was a beautiful walking bridge that went across the water, houses, benches, and grassy areas filled with wildflowers. I definitely felt like I was in a dream! It is absolutely gorgeous and I spent the rest of my day there. I walked back and finished the rest of my pizza.
Then I got a bit desperate for some outside world! I fashioned a convertor with some bobby pins that I cut the ends off of. It probably isn't the safest option, but it works! At least for now... Tomorrow my original contact is coming to get me and then we are off to the lab! I hope everything goes well! I have almost forgotten completely that it is my 21st birthday tomorrow! I am a strange bird indeed.
It looks as though for now that I will still be able to skype, my ID is 'amibear1'
I hope everything is well back in the States!
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