Good news! The postal service works. I got two more cards today. Thank you, Nani and Karen. I love getting mail! Also, Nani: I'm jealous of you guys going to Olive Garden. I would love some Olive Garden right about now.
So today I lost my student ID card. You know, the one I just got last week. I keep it in the pocket with my bus pass and my bus pass has a rubbery-type cover thing. I'm thinking that it stuck to my bus pass when I went to pull it out before getting on the bus this morning, and then it probably fell on the ground. I did check the ground by the bus stop on my way home this afternoon but I didn't see it... Hopefully someone picked it up and will turn it in to the Faculte des Lettres building in the IEFE office... I'll check tomorrow. I think it only had about 10 euros on it.
I'm starting to like my class. Right now we're just reviewing grammar a lot, and of course grammar is my very favorite. Today my teacher actually called me to the board to write the answers to homework questions as people read them out.... We get two types of homework in my classes. The kind that we have to do and turn in, and the kind that we just do and then talk about in class. This was the kind that we were just talking about in class, and I didn't do it (shame on me). It was the kind of assignment where they give you a sentence with an un-conjugated verb and you have to fill in the blank with the conjugation. She had me writing the correct answer on the board as each person read a different sentence out loud with their answer. It's good that I'm quick at that, it was easy stuff. Also, the building is a bit behind on the times and I got to write all the answers on the chalkboard. I think I like chalkboards better than whiteboards...
Now, asides from writing on chalkboards.... I want you to know that McDonald's in France has bendy straws -- also, two-story McDonalds' are common. Teenagers in France cannot get their driver's licenses until they are 18 years old -- they can drive with their parents at 16. Domino's only sells sandwiches at lunch, they do not sell pasta at all. Domino's also sells beer and wine (even for delivery). They have a lot more "side" options than the Domino's in the states. (You can look at the Domino's menu for yourself if you'd like, it's at http://dominos.fr. It is in French, if you use Google Chrome as a web browser you can translate it.) Korean people do not bother distinguishing whether they are from North Korea or South Korea, to them they are just Korean (I know people who would always get on my case for saying just 'Korea' but honestly the Koreans themselves even do it). What else do I want you to know, hmmm... If you are in the crosswalk in France and the light turns green, the cars will go. They might just go slowly to not hit you but they will get as close to you as possible if you don't move. Restaurants in France actually do close between 2pm and 7pm (give or take an hour or two depending on the restaurant) -- no one eats at that time. Ever. French people talk to their cats and dogs. Often. Most French dogs are small breeds but I have seen a good number of retrievers and pit bull mixes and I even saw a pretty rottweiler Saturday. French food is good, Basque and Spanish food are better (so far. I've only had a little bit of Basque and Spanish food yet though). In southern France (or at least in this town), it supposedly rains all winter. I brought an umbrella. There is no such thing as a one-stop-shop in France. (Sorry, no wal-marts.) I never actually thought about what kind of things are considered "pharmacy" products but if you need toothpaste or soap, you go to the pharmacy. Pharmacies are very different in France. You go there for general care products, but you also go there for advice. If you have a cold, you go the pharmacy. The pharmacist will either give you drugs to get better, or advise you to see a real doctor if he thinks it's bad enough. You always go to the pharmacist first here (it's cheaper, not that money at a doctor's office is an issue because if you go to the doctor without insurance, you pay the doctor twenty-some euros up front and a little more later if you end up needing more than just an general exam and a prescription but all-in-all it's not expensive. No hundred-dollar doctor bills). I think that's all I want you to know right now. I can't think of anything else.
Tomorrow is my longest day of the week, followed by my shortest day of the week. I think I'll survive it just fine. I can't wait until the semester is over because I can't wait to go home, but I don't think it'll drag on forever because luckily my classes are not unbearable. I'm glad I'm not horribly homesick. There are just certain little things I miss. I miss my cat. I miss my phone. I miss the food. I miss my bed. Stuff that I can get by just fine without, but still. They said November is when most American students get homesick because that's when it starts raining. Every day. I can't wait. I love rain.
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