Madelyn's Blog

Well, it’s been a whirlwind adventure the past 2 days. I’ll start at the beginning. This is a long one.

Yesterday morning was my orientation at the University of Pau. There are about 25 of us from USAC, which is the US program, and about 20 others, some from the US and some from other countries. The first thing we did was take a placement test, written and oral, to determine what level French classes we should be in. I ended up in the third year class, which is what I was signed up for anyway. After that, Ryan, who helps run the USAC program, took us to lunch in the cafeteria, which was actually delicious. All of the food appears to be homemade and fresh. You get an appetizer (usually a small salad), a desert (fruit or yogurt), an entree with vegetables, and bread for 3 euros, which is about $4.50. After lunch we had a few sessions on what there is to do in Pau, what you should expect from your home stay/residence hall, etc. Then the two student USAC workers (Pauline and Anne Gaille) took us on a walking tour of Pau, where I finally got to see the castle that has been my desktop background for the past few weeks! We stopped at a chocolate shop and had macaroons and little French chocolates, which, by the way, don’t make you fat like Belgian chocolates do (so we were told). After stopping at the bus station, we returned to the university only to find the USAC office locked. This wouldn’t be a problem except for that I left my backpack there to avoid carrying it on the tour. Also, I don’t have a French cell phone yet and my beloved American cell phone doesn’t work here, so there was no calling my French mother to come save me. Anyway, there I was, laptop-less with a useless smartphone and a brand new bus pass. I knew I had to take 2 buses to get home, and I had the booklet with the route and times for one, so I decided to give it a try. I managed to get on the right bus and off at the right stop, Pole Bosquet. Unbeknownst to me, Pole Bosquet is a group of about 6 stops, all for different buses, in the center of Pau. Also, some of the stops are hidden around corners and there are no maps. Thank goodness for the kind group of French women willing to help a lost American student, or I would probably still be wandering around Pole Bosquet. After getting on and off the second bus, and walking around my neighborhood for 20 minutes or so, lost, muttering to myself in French, I found my house. Voila. We ate dinner, watched the French version of The Amazing Race (one of the contestants is a family friend), and I went to bed. During all of this I couldn’t get the WiFi to work for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time, which was a little annoying. I wanted to tell everyone about my adventure but it was a little too complicated to try to explain to my host family in French.

I got up this morning eager to give the bus another go, but realized as soon as I left my house I had no idea how to get back to the bus stop. I finally found it, but I was late. By late I mean on time, but apparently French buses are notoriously early. Who knew. I got to school a few minutes late, but not as late as most of the other mid westerners whose small towns don’t have bus systems. Since the program is condensed into 4 weeks, the classes are very long. I have intensive French from 9:30-12:30 or 1 every day, and Haitian history through literature and film from 1:30-3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, I am here to learn French, and that is exactly what I’m sure to do with 15 hours of French class a week, along with being immersed in it at home. The bus ride home was less of an adventure, now that I have detailed English directions noted in my phone. I had myself a nice little nap after school, and Jean-Baptiste and his girlfriend made us dinner tonight. After dinner we watched a French expose on pre-packaged food being used in gourmet French restaurants (quel horreur!) .

The WiFi is working quite splendidly right now, and much to Alex’s relief I am not lost on the bus system of Pau. All is well. Tomorrow I only have 3 hours of class, and a few errands to run afterwards. I am officially on the lookout for postcards to send home, as I have a list of about 30 addresses and I figure I should get an early start on sending them out.

Bonne nuit tout le monde!