30/8/10

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, so there's nothing to report there. Today, however, was pretty fun. It started off with the purchase of my French cell phone from the nation's leading cell phone company, Orange. It's nice- the Samsung Player One, with a midsized touch screen and lecteur MP3 (music player). The plans here are cheaper in some ways and more expensive in others: for instance, I'm only paying 25€ a month for 12 months, and I get unlimited texting. However, I only have one hour of talking time per month- mostly, that time will be for quick conversations. Everyone texts here- minutes are too expensive and texting is incredibly cheap. I also only paid 1€ for the phone, a benefit of their contracts. C'est un bon marché.
After that, I took a short nap and had lunch. I had some tomato (something I hated in the States but now love here), lettuce, some type of warm pie with olives and beans, and four different types of cheese. Food here is fresh, and you usually go to the store every couple days. The stereotypical marché in the street is pretty rare now, but markets are still small, and oftentimes you go to a specialized store (la charcuterie, or deli, for ham and prepared meat; la boucherie, or butchery, for beef cuts; la boulangerie, or bakery, for breads, croissants, and the like; the patisserie, or pastry shop (my favorite, of course) for the most amazing pastry desserts you'll ever find, all of which are freshly made and usually still warm). I've found that I like lots of foods here that I didn't like state-side. Whether that's because it's prepared differently or because of a change of scenery is not yet apparent.
After lunch, Célia (my host mom) dropped me in le Havre for the day while she ran business errands. Being dropped off in a foreign city in a foreign country speaking a foreign language I barely understand five days after arrival in France was something else: exciting, fun, but mostly terrifying. However, it was an experience I was determined to have, to prove to myself I could handle this. I'd been to le Havre three different times already, so, with my good sense of direction and memory of places, I set out to explore.
First, I walked down la Boulevard de Strasbourg, one of the main streets, away from la Gare, or train station. I walked past la Palais de Justice, the courthouse, and l'Hôtel de Ville, the town hall. I meandered around, sometimes on la Bl de Strasbourg and sometimes on small streets whose names are impossible to remember (the French name all, and I mean ALL, of their streets after famous people. It would be an insult to walk down a street with hundreds of years of history if it was called "A" Street). I walked through a few parks and took plenty of pictures of everything- to see them, see my Facebook album entitled "France!". Then, I went à la Plage du Havre, the beach, and walked along the boardwalk. Just as you might expect, there are plenty of tiny cafés that look like they're made of cardboard and steel sheets, but have some of the nicest furniture you'll find. Lots of these cafés have three sections: inside, for cold weather; outside, under umbrellas, for mild and warm weather, and a special section on the boardwalk with reclined lawn chairs and small, simple tables next to you on which to place your coffee, chocolat, or martini. I bought un café au lait sans sucre, coffee with milk and no sugar, and sat on the boardwalk seats watching passerby and enjoying the occasional sun that pierced the omnipresent clouds. Another French habit that I've picked up in only five days is taking coffee without sugar- in the States, coffee is pretty bland unless you pay out the wazoo. Here, premium coffee is available for practically nothing. No sugar necessary. Also, not that I would, but if I were wont, I could order vodka and orange juice and sit on the beach. And I'm only 17. Public consumption of alcohol is not only allowed, it's looked upon favorably.
After getting my fill of the beach, I went to one of le Havre's two centre commercials, malls, the Docks. It's a large quasi-indoor mall on the seaside. While the Docks has a ceiling, there are no doors, just portals of entry. There, I bought some stationary, envelopes, un stylo plume (fountain pen), and an austere, utilitarian black journal to write mes activités de jour (daily happenings) in. I returned to la Gare where I learned the bus to Montvilliers (the village next to mine) didn't leave till 18:48, an hour from the present. Luckily, Célia was in le Havre on business again, so she was able to pick me up and bring me back, at which time I began to write this. With nothing to write, I say adieu! (It means to god, but no one cares anymore).

First Impressions

Everyone speaks French. That much should have been obvious, but I honestly didn't truly understand how hard it would be to listen and respond in French. The most difficult part will obviously be to learn the language- but for that, I got lucky. My host mom, Célia, speaks English as well as French, and will be helping me learn for the first three months that I live here. Not everyone has a family that speaks English, so I will definitely count myself lucky.
The food is exactly as we Americans imagined it. Everything is fresh, bread is served with almost every meal, and lunch and dinner are followed by cheese and dessert. The bread and cheese here are amazing- I've already tried ten different types of cheese (the only one of which I can name is Camembert, my favorite so far). I've also had a glass of wine with dinner, and loved it as well. Generally, food is freshly prepared and cooked. The French would cringe at the thought of a TV dinner, or even a dinner that didn't take an hour to prepare. They're also very eager to offer food, and I've repeatedly had to decline third helpings.
Today (the 28th) I went shopping with some of Célia's friends' kids and my older host brother, Pablo. I spent over 200€ on clothes and shoes- everything is expensive here, even if the amounts were in dollars. However, I was able to sufficiently augment my wardrobe so I'll never have to wear the same thing in a week or two, and I still have plenty of money left to ‹‹sortir avec les copains››.
I don't start school until Monday the 6th of September. I'll be majoring in literature, which means most of my courses will be French, Spanish, Philosophy, and other less math-y and science-y classes. The French system allows you to major in three different schools in lycée, or high school: literature, science, and general assistance (mechanics, etc). I'll be attending l'Institution Saint Joseph, a higher-end school in le Havre. The school is next to the mayor's mansion, in the ‹‹posh›› section of Havre. It's very nice, and it has an excellent reputation.
Well, that's all. Don't expect such long posts, because life will soon slow down- it's still the holidays here, and there are parties and family/friend dinners every other day. Also, expect about one post per week- I can't spend all my time on the internet, because I'm not here to blog. A bientôt!