It was a bad day... but I was rewarded with internet!

Today Robert and I went to the Conseil General du Calvados to see if we could get jobs as teaching assistants. I applied and told them that I couldn't be in Caen until the middle of January, and they said that was fine. If there was a position open, they would let me know, and then I would return in the middle of January. They never called, so I didn't come until a week ago. I went to the office today to see if something came up, and they said, "Oh, you weren't here, so we gave the job to someone else."

Well, had you told me that there was a job to have, I would have returned! UGH. I really, really wanted that teaching assistant job, so much that I would do it for free. But there's always the possibility that something else will turn up. I hope so very much.

So after that I went to The Phone House to see if I could get internet in my room by using a 3G USB key. They said that I'd have to sign up for at least six months or at least find someone to transfer the contract to, so I left, called Emilie, and she said I could transfer it to her. So I went back, and they said that I'd need a Carte de Sejour to sign up with the plan I wanted.

I thought, well, ok, I need my carte de sejour anyway (it replaces my student visa, which has expired, don't try to understand it). So I went to try to find the Prefecture. There are about a zillion buildings that say Prefecture. I went into FOUR before I found the right one.

When I entered the correct building, I was greeted by a snarky looking man who was polishing off a candy bar. He slowly sucked on each and every one of his fingers to get the chocolate off of them, and then without even wiping his hands on his shirt, he took my passport from me. After rolling his eyes, sighing, and making rude remarks in English for several minutes, he finally found my paper work and prepared my carte. All of this took about fifteen minutes when, without his snark, it could have taken about five. That may not seem like a big deal, but keep in mind that I had been running around town for about three hours by this time, trying to get a job and internet, so every minute dragged on, and every minute made me more and more irritable.

He finally gave me my Carte de Sejour, and I went back to the Phone Store for the third time. After tapping on his computer for about ten minutes, Mathieu, my Phone Store helper, told me that the bank card that I have isn't the right kind. He seemed very apologetic, especially since I had gone to the trouble to bring him my Carte, which I didn't have when I saw him earlier that day. But then an idea popped into his head. He showed me a different contract that you must sign for 24 months, but since I was leaving I could terminate it early as long as I paid for six months. That was just like the other one, but this one was 20 Euro/month cheaper, it was faster, and it gives you four months of unlimited internet at the beginning of the contract. Perfect.

IN SHORT: I spent about five hours downtown today trying to get all of this figured out. I am extremely disappointed about the teaching assistant job, but hopefully something will come up. I got internet for 10 Euro a month, and it's very fast. I still haven't heard back about the scholarship.

It was a rough day, but being able to use internet in my room is a luxury that I will never take for granted again!

I can haz scholarship?

Fromage du jour: Grassy Camembert that's gone missing.

Hello there blogosphere! (I wanted to say "Hello there podcast listeners," like Ira Glass, but that wouldn't have made sense. I wish I had a podcast, though.)

I’ve been back in France for about four days. It has been pretty crazy. I live on a diet of almonds, raisins, chocolate, and Camembert. I think one of my wheels of Camembert rolled off of my windowsill… but the guy at the market sold it to me when it was very close to its expiration date so it was no big loss. The older Camembert is, the drier, and the more it tastes like grass.

France is lovely. The weather has been great despite it being February. It hasn’t rained (though it snowed a flake or two!), it hasn’t been terribly cold (especially not compared to Kentucky, so I hear!), and I’ve even seen the sun! That has been such a blessing, especially for the new students who are exploring the town for the first time. My dorm is as ugly and icky as it’s always been, but it’s warm and has been made warmer by all of the oatmeal, hot chocolate, and books that I stashed in every spare corner of my suitcase. There’s also a slight chance that I may get internet in my dorm. It would be expensive, so I have to see if it fits into my budget.

My first night here I went to my friend Emilie’s apartment and she made crepes. You couldn’t ask for a better welcome to France than to have crepes prepared for you by a French girl, especially when they are filled with Nutella and coconut! I introduced her and her friend Leticia to Reese’s. I also brought a jar of peanut butter, but felt that it is just as important to know what peanut butter and chocolate tastes like as it is to know what peanut butter tastes like alone.

Besides being reunited with the familiar faces I have met some new faces that I am very excited about being with this semester. There are two students who occupy what were formerly the bedrooms of Erica and Courtney, and there are a lot of fun Aussies who came here for their international studies program who hang out in my dorm even if they don’t live there.

But it hasn’t been all crepes and Camembert! France wouldn’t be France without hiccups and debacles. Catastrophe de catastrophes, I am not enrolled in the university and I currently do not have a scholarship. The Twinning Committee of Deauville, for some reason, did not think that I was returning this semester, and so until things are worked out with them I am not technically a student. I can’t imagine that I won’t get my scholarship back, and so I’m not that worried. They’re still letting me go to class… for now! C’est la vie—debacles occur, and there’s nothing you can do about it!

That’s all for now, folks. Tune in next time to find out if I’ve found a job as a teaching assistant, if I ever find my old wheel of Camembert, and if I’ve been deported for not being a student anymore!