Barberousse and Chartreuse-Day 30-February 8th, 2018

Despite, only going to bed at twelve last night, I felt pretty tired this morning getting up at 8:30. Today wouldn’t be that bad though, my usual three hour circuits lab was cancelled. I  just had three hours of math and French to get through.

Depending on your definition of a month, today marks my first whole month in France. It’s crazy to me how quickly I got settled into life here after a hectic first week. Even though my French still needs some work, I no longer feel completely lost, figuratively and literally, when walking around Grenoble. This city, my bedroom, and school are all really starting to feel like home. I remember thinking how long four and a half months seemed during my first week here, but now that one month is done, I have a feeling the next three and a half will fly by.

What’s crazy to me is that I haven’t even left the country yet. This doesn’t worry me too much because in a week’s time, I will be going on my first big trip. I am going to five countries and will certainly of have the experience of a life time. But for now, it’s just another day at school.

Differential equations was pretty ordinary today. One funny thing did happen though. There is barely enough seats in this room for everyone and the tables are usually moved around. Today, Harry came five minutes late and the only seat left was the one with the professor’s laptop and notebook on it. Harry had to take this seat and awkwardly sit one foot away from the professor and board. It was hilarious.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this.

French class felt much quicker than math. The class is useful, but I’m starting to feel that the pace is too slow for me. We had a quiz today and I had already mastered this material after a week and half in France. I know this probably makes me sound pompous, but I really want to learn French as quickly as possible and this class gets in the way sometimes. Especially since every other week we only have French once a week.

My current plan is to teach myself more French on my own, then try to put it into practice at dinner with my family or when out in public. Class will be good for practicing my writing.

After French I went to a restaurant on campus with Harry. I got a personal pizza, which was much better than the terrible one I had a few weeks ago.  We also briefly ran into Sebastian and Ben at lunch, which was nice.

Io amo la pizza!

I am trying to make an effort to include more cultural observations about France in my blog. One for today is about how floors are numbered in buildings here. In America, the ground floor is always the first floor and classrooms start with a “1”. In France, they count starting from zero. When I have class in room 318, I go to the fourth floor. This was super confusing during the first week, but now I am used to it.

After class I headed home and was very happy to not have circuits lab this week. Today was absolutely freezing and the walk from the bus was painful. It’s interesting how your sense of temperature can change, because it was only 36 degrees today. In Boston, I would consider 36 degrees a warmer day, but now it feels terrible.

I quickly got changed and headed to the gym. Since it was only 2 PM, the gym was pretty empty, which made me happy. I did back and triceps today, and finished on the rowing machine. I went a bit too hard on the rowing machine though, and left the gym feeling a little light headed. The cold walk home and some water made me feel immensely better.

When I got home, I showered and then snacked on some baguette and cheese that I bought yesterday. I also did my laundry. In an effort to continue my productiveness, I did my French culture homework. I had to choose a French and American news article on the same subject. I did mine on the premiere of Clint Eastwood’s new movie about the Americans who stopped a terrorist attack in Paris in 2015.

I’ll spare all the details, but just look at the difference in the titles of the two articles.

After my homework, I had some nice conversations with my friends Ivy and Karan over the phone. I also got my official offer for a summer internship with Skanska. I accepted this feeling very happy and relieved. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner.

Dinner consisted of sausage and tomatoes as an appetizer, then chicken with mashed potatoes for the main course. This was followed with bread and cheese and dessert. I enjoyed some brief conversations about the cold and the Olympics with everyone at dinner.

After dinner I headed upstairs, I made plans to meet some friends at the pirate themed bar, Barberousse. From my blogs, it may seem like I am drinking all the time. My alcohol intake is definitely a bit higher, but the drinking culture is super different here. When Nick and I went to the bar last night, it was simply enjoying a single beer with dried sausage before dinner. You see much less of the binge drinking you have in America.

Barberousse is much different from the bars we usually attend, mainly because it is truly a French bar. It is rare to run into anyone speaking English and makes for a great opportunity to practice our French. Nick and I did this by getting rejected by about three different girls. To be fair, it is less of rejection and more of running out of things to say. Also the language barrier gets ten times worse with loud music. We made this rejection feel better by drinking Chartreuse, which is a very strong green wine. After about an hour and half, Nick and I walked home together since we live close to each other.

Nick, Jonathon and I at the bar.

When  I got back, I feasted on  my roasted chicken potato chips and some baguette. Having snacks around has definitely paid off for my happiness, but not my health. My 8 AM for tomorrow was cancelled, but I still had class at 9:45 so I went to bed.