Bienvenue!

Well, I'm in France! I haven't done much yet, or met many people, but I have explored my surroundings a bit. Today I went with my advisor to the bank to sign up for my bank card. I also got a cell phone to use to call local numbers and such. Well, at least now I can call my friends Keebee and Rin who are also in France this year.

After the cell phone and the bank card, we went to the center of Aix-en-Provence (which will now be referred to as Aix for the rest of my entries) It's so beautiful. Here I thought that the city was passable, not many stores, sorta dirty, lots of poor people, but that was only because I hadn't seen the center of town. Next time I go there I'll bring my camera. The streets are so narrow that cars can't fit down them. There was a market in the square selling anything from fruit, vegetables, scarves, bread, purses, and even flowers. Shops everywhere! And fountains, there are many fountains in town. I ate my lunch today sitting on one of these fountains. I had people coming up to me to ask for directions because they thought I was a native.

Tomorrow I have another meeting with my advisor, and I'll be meeting my fellow students. I hope I make some friends. The first 2 days were boring and lonely other than getting lost in the city twice. My dorm is a 15 to 20 minute walk to the center of town. My classes are also in the center of town, so I'll be doing a lot of walking.

For anyone reading this who plans on going to France, here is something you need to know about the bathrooms. The toilets have no seats (at least the ones I've seen) and there is no toilet paper in the stalls...its BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) ....so make sure you bring some with you in your suitcase for the first night.

Well, I'm off to find dinner, and a post office. I need an envelope and a stamp for French social security for some reason.