Today was our first day of classes (none of us have class on Mondays!) and it was definitely an interesting experience. I had two classes, French at 12:30 and International Business Law at 3:30. Each are an hour and a half. My French teacher is awesome, shes very French and very glam. Also a very good teacher, definitely hoping she'll help my language abilities this semester! We had a nice lunch break and then our second class. I must say it gave me a unique perspective on French classrooms...at least at this school. All I can say is it reminded me a lot of high school. Students were disruptive and talked throughout the class. They often talked back to the teachers. The doors to the classrooms lock as soon as class starts and if you are late you cannot come in. The whole system is just extremely more structured than any American university any of us have seen. Oh and once the whole class finds out you are American (as they are all French) they either have tons of questions, or have a nice hearty laugh all in unison...it's interesting. Day 2 tomorrow, and my first time in Art History class! The professor is our Study Abroad Liaison named Paul who is an absolute riot so it should be fun.
This weekend was our first weekend here, but we didn't go too crazy. We went out on Friday around the Hotel de Ville area of town. We found a fun little bar and pretty much spent most of the night people watching. As a sidenote, also in the Hotel de Ville area is the new, and only, Starbucks in Lyon! Very cool. On Saturday we didn't do very much. We did realize that it is not ok to go outside in your pajamas in France, even if you are just running downstairs for a baguette. Never. Just don't do it. The looks we got were enough to burn a hole in your head. They take their fashion very very seriously.
With that duly noted, we decided to get properly dressed and go explore on Sunday. Ten of us left the apartment at 11 am to walk to the other side of the city to see Vieux Lyon ("Old Lyon"). It turned into a four hour trek and by far the most incredible experience I've had thus far. We took our time walking there enjoying the gorgeous day and stopping to take plenty of pictures! The boys had gone exploring a few days earlier (while the girls were taking pleasure in the incredible January sales) and they claimed to have found the best view of the city. They told us it would require a bit of exercise and to wear comfortable sneakers. When we reached the base of our destination, it was immediately apparent that they were not at all exaggerating. We stood facing a gigantic old staircase, and that was the smaller of two. It took 812 steps plus some additional walking, but the result was beyond worth it. At the top you could see the entirety of Lyon. It was one of those few moments where you honestly feel as though you can't speak because no words can explain the beauty that is laid out in front of you. I've added a link to pictures of it, although they don't compare to standing there and looking out. We concluded that wonderful day by squeezing six of us on a bed and watching the movie Juno :)
As far as complaints go, so far they are few and far between. A major issue that all of us have been having is in regards to the shower. The shower head is detachable and rests at about waist level. They are tiny and the possibility of flooding the bathroom is extremely high. After all of our first showers we realized that every single one of us had left the bathroom floor coated in a thick pool of water. It took me until my shower this morning to really get the hang of it. I'm proud to say that when I got out there was hardly a drop on the floor! The other issue with the shower is the temperature. It tends to put the word "icy" to shame. It's not that bad though...it's good for waking up in the morning.
My only other issue is that I am still cell phone-less! We had gone last week as a group and with our bilingual Study Abroad Liaisons to the phone store. Most people bought phones, I opted for just the SIM card to put into my American phone. After a week of wrestling with AT&T to get an "unlock code" for my phone so that I could use a French SIM card, I am giving up. I went back to the store by myself today to just buy a phone, and because it is much cheaper as a pair, another SIM card as well. They are currently out of stock, but hopefully by Friday after 5 pm I will be all set! One good thing about all of this...the women at the store do not speak a word of English. So the fact that I managed all of that in French means that I must be getting a bit better at speaking and understanding the language!
Oh! Yesterday we booked our very first trip together! We are all set for Barcelona the first weekend in February and we are all incredibly excited!!
I think that's just about everything for now...
A bientot!
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