So how is everyone doing? For the first time during my visit, I think I can safely say that I am, in fact, doing perfectly fine. The past couple weeks have indeed been rough, but now that I'm starting to settle into a normal schedule and I'm starting to find my way around the city, things are starting to look up (not that I was doing horribly before. After all, I am in France...duh)!
So I guess by now all are you are probably wondering, gee, it looks like Mike is having a great time and going to see all of these fantastic places. What does he actually do every day? Well, to put your mind at rest, let me describe to you my typical day and how it works.
My Typical Daily Routine
I wake up fairly early, but some days are earlier than others. After waking up, one must open les volets, which must be opened every morning and closed each night. More or less, they are like blinds, except are located on the outside of the windows. Now look at what I see just about every time I open my windows:
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| Clouds rolling over the snow covered mountains... I know you're jealous. |
At the earliest, I wake up at 06:55, and begin to take a shower. The showers here are strange!!!!!!!! One does not simply stand under the spout, nor does one have the option of doing so, at least in my house! I actually have to use the shower head to clean myself off... Life is rough.
After I shower, I usually grab a quick breakfast, whether it is a bowl of cereal or a piece of bread. If you are the last person to eat breakfast, it is polite to put away all of the breakfast foods which are normally already set out for you. After I'm done eating, I lock up the house and head off to the bus stop. I hop the on the bus, and then push the
THE BUS is probably the only form of public transportation which I dislike here, but even so, it's better than the United States. One looks up the bus schedule which is usually posted at the bus stop, and simply wait. Then, I scan my TAG card on this cool looking device, and when "Bon Voyage" pops up on the screen, you're good to go! If you don't have a TAG card, you simply have to pay...
*Note: You MUST push the BIG GREEN BUTTON to request a stop, the MOMENT AFTER the stop before yours. If not, the bus driver will become very angry and then begin to swear at you in French. This actually happened to me, and trust me, I will never make that mistake again!
Then after I get off of the bus, I hop on the tram. The tram is probably my favorite aspect of public transportation. It's clean, fast, and just outright efficient, more-so than anything I have ever seen in the United States. The tram can get you from one end of the city to the other in about 30 minutes, and there are four different tram lines, which are pretty self explanatory.
Look at it this way. I couldn't figure out the T in Boston, but I could do this. It's foolproof.
And then, my day becomes BORING. Really, classes are classes. Whether you are in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, or Australia, classes are classes. I will explain to those of you who read French the courses which I am following later on. That is too difficult to explain.
Eventually, I return home, go for a run, and then eat dinner with the host family. I will post another entry later on to describe the meal structure, because it's much more than I could sufficiently explain in one blog entry. I roll the volets down, and then, I go to bed.
So on a more adventurous note...
So, I'm thinking about going paragliding or hang gliding in October (For all of my friends and family, don't worry, I will obviously be doing this with a trained instructor strapped to my back)! Essentially, with a fully opened parachute, I run off of the top of a cliff and glide over the mountains for 20 minutes. It's within my budget, so what do you guys think? Please post comments and let me know!
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| Taking off!!! |
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| It's really popular in the Alps. That's part of the reason I want to do it! I may as well do something I know I'm not going to be able to do while I live in Rhode Island. |
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| After take off. |
Until next time, mes amis!
If you don't do it, I'll never forgive you.
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