I am happy to report that we arrived in Poitiers safe and sound! The trip went well and there were no problems along the way, thank goodness. We started in SLC with a 4 hour flight to Philadelphia. Once there, we had a 3 hour layover, then we hopped on our 8 hour flight to Paris!
My first impression of the French was that they are eerily silent. When we got off the plane and started towards customs, I couldn’t believe how quiet everything was. Even after customs at the baggage claim, people were talking, but it was in whispers. I felt loud when I talked at my normal level— I understand now why Americans are often labeled “loud.”
It was interesting trying to navigate the airport to get to the train station. While most of the signs were written in both English and French, they weren’t exactly clear about everything. Once we got to the station, we hopped on. Between the three of us, we had 6 suitcases, 2 duffel bags, and 3 backpacks. And since we were at the airport, everyone else had quite a bit of luggage as well and there was only so much room to store this. Thankfully, there was a nice French family who spoke enough English to tell us that there were more empty baggage shelves on the upper level. That was so helpful!
We had all heard that the best way to beat the jet lag was to not nap, and stay awake until bedtime. We all tried, but we were sleeping within 30 minutes on the train. I probably slept a total of 4 hours since 3:00 am Monday, and didn’t get to bed until 10:00 pm Tuesday. It was just a very long two days!
Upon arrival in Poitiers, the student union, Aloha, met us at the station and took us to the school, to then be taken to our residences. I was lucky in that, my accommodation is only a 7 minute walk from the school. (Lauren’s walk is about 25 minutes, or 15 by bus.)
I knew before I arrived that my room would be small, but I never expected it would be as tiny as this— I have had bigger closets that my entire room and bathroom combined! Even with the size, there is tons of storage space, from drawers under the bed, to shelves on two walls, and shelves in the closet. (I would give up closet shelves to have more than 12 inches of hanging space, but it is what it is.) The bathroom is quite comical, it took everything in me not to laugh when I was shown my room. The shower is barely big enough to turn around it, the toilet sits next to the shower, and the sink is nearly right on top of it! There is really no barrier between the shower floor and the rest of the floor, except a small curb. Water gets everywhere when the shower is running, but at least I have a private bathroom!
Even with all the little things that aren’t my favorite about this place, it has quite a bit of charm. I can sit at my desk, look out my window and see a tree-covered hill with old buildings mingled in. Below my window, (I’m on the 3rd floor, or really second floor because the first floor is called the ground floor. Either way, 2 flights of stairs.) there is a courtyard with benches and trees and rose bushes. I can hear the church around the corner ring its bells every hour. I get to walk by beautiful old buildings on my way to campus everyday.
I can’t wait until everything starts to feel normal to me. Today I caught myself saying that I was going to walk home, and it made me smile to think that even with the stress of moving halfway around the world, I can have a comfortable place that feels like home. I’m anxious for the days when walking to the supermarket is a thing I’ve done a hundred times, and communicating with the cashiers doesn’t cause extreme amounts of stress.
Today we had an orientation to tell us all the important things we need to know about this place. We were given our schedules for the next week and given our access codes for the wifi. This was a life saver. I was beginning to feel extremely isolated without being able to talk to anyone. Getting internet made my day much, much better! (A sad statement I know, but being able to talk to the people I love is very, very important to me.)
I’ve decided to leave the door to my room open while I am in here to encourage the other girls to say, “hey.” Nobody wants to knock on the door of someone they barely know, so now they won’t have to! It worked tonight. Three girls were having dinner in the kitchen next door and invited me to join them. Their names are Dea (from Indonesia), Emily (from Denmark), and Irena (from Russia). I had a lovely time talking with them.
One thing I’ve already learned since arriving is that most Americans are behind in the language department. Everyone I have met from non-English speaking countries (except France) have been able to speak passable English. Sometimes I can’t even speak passable English, let alone a whole other language! I admire them, and am somewhat envious of this.
Sorry about the long read, but a lot has happened since I left!
Thanks for stopping by,
Je t'embrasse,
Sarah
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