So last night before I went to bed I got the menu for tomorrow's French quiz. I nearly shit my pants. There were things on the list that we hadn't even covered and other things I hadn't studied. I was not looking forward to today.
I woke up at 8:30 and was studying by 9:30. I kept adding things to my to-do list so that I could study as best as I could for the slaughter that I think is going to happen tomorrow. I made sure to go over every sheet of paper that she has given us and to do all of the related exercises in the book. All I can do is try to prepare the best I can and hope that God delivers a miracle like he always does.
I did manage to go to the post office to mail a post card to the lovely Elizabeth. It was 53 degrees in the middle of the afternoon and I was bundled up. I was even trying to bury my face into my scarf to avoid the cold. It was a study day so I refused to put on a bra despite leaving the house, and I wasn't wearing makeup. That didn't stop a passing bicyclist from saying "salut, ma belle" as I walked out of my apartment building's courtyard. I should be offended. How dare he say salut when he doesn't even know me.
I went to the post office and mailed the letter without incident. I then went to the boulangerie near my apartment to get a baguette since I hadn't had one in awhile. It seemed smaller than usual and wasn't that delicious.
I did some more studying for French and read my history paper while drinking a cup of coffee with sugar in it. After awhile I started to get the itch that I needed to put a pause on the studying. I finished up and got dressed to go to the train station. My mom said that I should try to buy my train tickets for my upcoming holiday from the train station, so I put it on the list for today.
I went to the atm on my way to gare de lyon and pulled out 280 euros. I was nervous carrying the 280, two credit cards, my atm card, plus about 70 more dollars that I already had at home. I got the the train station and held onto my bag. If you're going to get pickpocketed anywhere it is going to be in a busy train station that caters to tourists. I walked to a ticket machine that I had seen downstairs that would be away from the crowds. I tried to buy my first ticket only to discover that the machine only takes cards and only cards with chips.
I was a little panicked at this point, but I managed to find the information desk. I asked the man if he spoke English with which he said the usual reply of "a little" while making the sign with his hands. I told him that I needed to buy tickets with cash, and he told me where to find the ticket office. I followed his instructions but panicked again when the sign that pointed to billeterie pointed to an empty building. I went to the nearest information desk and the man there gave me more comprehensive instructions.
I entered the ticket office and was asked a question I didn't understand. I looked at the machine and realized that he was asking if I was leaving today or another day. I answered another day and was given a receipt with a number on it. I sat down to watch the moniter to see when my number would put up.
After what seemed like an eternity to my nervous heart, I saw my number on the screen. I asked the agent, Carmen, if she spoke English and she said a little. We managed to communicate using some simple French phrases on my part (c'est bon) and pointing to the itenerary I had made, and some fairly decent English on her part with the addition of some hand signs (sleeping sign, etc). She made sure to find the cheapest tickets for me and explained everything to me perfectly. She explained the times that my trains were leaving and from where and that at one point in my journey I would have to change stations to continue onto the next part of my trip. She was great and very friendly. The total for my trains was 250,50 plus a 9 euro tax. I have never felt so sad getting 50 cents back after handing someone 260 euros.
I was so excited about my upcoming holiday that I didn't even care that it was freezing cold outside and had begun to rain. I walked home and instantly posted on Facebook about my holiday. I then denoted the purchase on my budget (I'm in the hole about 149 euros) and emailed the hotel in Nice to see if I could still reserve the room. They emailed me back later saying that the room was mine. I was so excited from the news that I couldn't get back to studying.
I read some articles online, made myself some coffee, and then edited my pop paper for the 1,000th time. It's turning out pretty well. I wrote out the French dictation for a second time and then got into bed to look up hotels. I also listened to the recorded tracks for this week's pop class. I found two new episodes of People's Court and settled in to watch them after my hotel research and music listening. I started getting the itch to go out again, but decided to wait until the episode was over before departing.
The epsiode ended and I looked out the window to find it raining. I got back in bed and watched the second episode. I made popcorn for dinner and ate some huge spoonfuls of nutella for dessert, and now I'm writing to you as I wait for my mom to Skype me. See you tomorrow.
Here's what I'll be listening to for class this week:
Dominique Grange, "Les Nouveaux partisans" (1970)
Léo Ferré, "L''Eté 68" (1969)
Evariste, "La révolution" (1968)
Serge Gainsbourg, "La Marseillaise" (1979)
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