Finally a moment to sit down and write

January 8th 

Arrived at the airport in Strasbourg safely in a small plane with only 10 other passengers. The taxi driver to my residence was super nice and gave me a few pointers about the city. My room has a green door (how appropriate!), a bathroom in which the shower takes half the space, a single bed, a long desk and a small refrigerator (the room is a mess now, so I will take pictures later). Our shared kitchen is the hot spot to meet all the other students on the floor so I linger there in my free time. I have met all my friends there!

Problème de prononciation française #1 (PPF #1): je trouve que les restaurants dans mon coin coûtent chers alors je me suis exprimée là-dessus à mon ami qui parle comme les Français et il n'a pas compris le mot "cher." Les Québécois disent "cher" avec le ton plus bas sur le son "er (ai)." Après trois trois reprises, il a enfin compris "cher" avec le ton plus haut.

Problème de vocabulaire français #1 (PVF #1): Utiliser les mots "copin(e)," "ami(e)," c'est ambigü, en voulant dire amoureux(se). Par contre, j'ai essayé de dire "chum" et "blonde" et ça ne veut rien dire pour eux. Ceux sont des expressions purement québécoise (ce qui ne me surprend pas, mais ce qui fascine les Français),

I was scared that it would be difficult to get to know people because I heard that the French are not as warm and welcoming as Canadians, but almost everyone I met was open and easy to talk to. Of course, most of them are not from France... and everyone is looking for friends because they come from elsewhere. 

My building is one on the left. Bâtiment D!

This is the view from my room on the first floor.

January 9th 

Administrative day!

I paid for my residence, I met the international relations supervisor from Strasbourg University, I met the supervisor for my program, I met the secretary for my program but she said she would not register me because it was still exam period and they are too busy... uuuuugh. Monday I have to register so that I have classes to go to and a student card and a gym membership. That's stressing me out a bit. 

After all the school stuff, I went to make myself a bank account because living here without a debit card is impossible. Even just buying tram/bus tickets is impossible without one. They say it will come in the mail, which means I am very limited for my weekend; I can't set up pre-authorised payments, I can't set up a cell phone account... all I can do is have fun! 

I noticed that "Je suis Charlie" is posted all over town. I read about the tragedy and the two other hostage situations in LaPresse. I am not too worried for Strasbourg. However, it is a symbolic target because UNESCO is based in the city... but we are hopeful attacks are done, at least for the near future.

I finally understood how to get internet in my dorm!! 

I spent the evening shopping for pots, cutlery, salt and pepper, plates, basic foods, sponges, and soap... because the kitchen is completely rudimentary: two sinks, two stove tops with two rings each (only only of the stove tops is working at the moment). Every day, I think of something else I need. I miss having a fully equipped kitchen!

Later at night, I met two girls in the kitchen, one German (from the 3rd floor) and another Austrian (from the 1st floor/my floor) and a Bulgarian guy that were drinking there because the bar they wanted to go to was full. These girls enjoy their white wine and they can sure drink a lot of it without seeming tipsy. My tolerance was something to make fun of, but, oh well, it's cheaper for me! The white wine that they buy costs 5€, but is very good. We spoke English to each other, because they are doing they management studies in English here. More often than not, I am speaking English to my floor mates. So much for developing my French!

The best impression that I get from the city is that it is accessible by foot, tram, bus, bicycle and car. It is nicely dense. However, when crossing the street, you must look both ways, for not only cars, like in Montreal, but for people, bikes and trams which are actually difficult to keep track of all at once.

January 10th 

Saturday was my slow day. I didn't sleep well because of my stomach and I haven't found the right temperature for my room yet. I bought more necessities and then basically napped until I Skyped Mom, Papa, and then Alex in the evening. I made my first supper in the kitchen... it is hell. The space is so limited and my tools are not appropriate for all dishes. I need to shop for more, but I do not want to spend too much. #dormlyfe.

I was not planning to go out that night, but the Austrian and the German girls had planned to and had invited me the night before. Management/business students have already had orientation for the second semester newcomers and so, in our kitchen, 5 students joined from the management faculty to have a drink before they all went their ways to different bars and clubs. There was a Danish girl, two Spanish girls, another Austrian girl, and a German guy. What I found interesting was that the German guy would comment and make fun of how the Austrians spoke German; it was quite hilarious. I enjoy listening to them speak and try to understand with the little German I have learnt. A few of us went to a quaint bar not to far from our dorm. We got soaked in rain on the way there, but it was worth it, The atmosphere was nice, the alcohol is never expensive and everyone was so open and easy to talk to. Apparently, everyone watches the same tv shows: American tv shows! Pretty much everywhere, the same American music is playing too. 

The weather in the past couple days has always been gloomy and rainy. I guess it beats cold and icy. People have a hard time believing I was leaving Montreal at -26 degrees Celsius.

January 11th

Today, I went to a dorm brunch. The Cité Universitaire Paul Appell consists of buildings A through F and all were invited to have brunch. Of course, only a tiny fraction of them showed up. We were maybe 20 in a common room with a ping pong table (the guys got very competitive on the ping pong table), foosball table and board games. A Spanish girl sat down next to me and started talking to me right away. It was great! Apparently, Spaniards are known to be the most chatty and social. And boy could she eat. Non-stop. But it has clearly not affected her waistline. Later, a Bosnian girl and Slovakian girl joined into our conversation. They were more shy but very friendly. Together, we spoke French. It was only the second time since my stay that I maintained a conversation in French with my peers. 

What I have found surprising here, is that people often will not recognize that I have Chinese roots unless I mention that my mother is Chinese. In Canada, when I give my name they are surprised to hear it is not Chinese and many others will ask "what are you, exactly." Here, I simply say I am Canadian and no one asks further about my ethnic heritage.

That's all for now!
Missing Montreal, but excited for the adventures to come