living at the chateau has limited the amount that i am in strasbourg. first of all, it takes some effort to get into town. it’s a mile-ish walk to the bus stop, then a 15 minute ride to the tram, then a 10 minute ride into town. so it’s sort of hard to leave on a whim. more or less, the day-to-day experiences are much the same as in america. the biggest difference is that here i’m in an isolated bubble of non-communication, where i hope that the seven words of french i know will help me, or at least the years of acting will help me accurately pantomime my intentions. it will be strange to return to a city where i can actually understand what people are saying to each other as they walk down the street. i’ve gotten pretty good at interpreting body language.
my daily routine is pretty monotonous. i wake up at 9:45 and head down to breakfast, which they stop serving at ten. apparently our food offerings are more german than french; bread with honey or jelly, some type of meat, maybe cheese. and they always have cereal. sometimes our other meals are served in the dining room, but other times we walk to the restaurant that’s at the entrance to the grounds and have a meal there. the food is okay, but still i am preparing a list of things i want mom to make for me when i get home.
le breakfast
eating breakfast
walking to the restaurant
le restaurant
anywho, i still go to the grocery store for lots of my meals. our nearest grocery store is a block past the bus stop. it’s called atac. some helpful tips for anyone who might be buying your groceries at a french supermarket: when buying produce, you must weigh it yourself and get a barcode sticker for the bag before you go to check out. failure to do so will result in the cashiers developing quite an unfriendly attitude, as well as holding up the line behind you as the stockboys run to weigh your tomatoes. also, make sure you bring your own bag. they charge for every bag that they give to you, something like 10 cents. or you can buy a reusable bag for a small fee, and then bring it back every time, i bought one which has come in handy, plus i can bring it home with me and use it when i go to dominicks. that’s a capitalist approach to saving the environment. well done, french grocery stores. finally, cashiers at the grocery store (and all stores for that matter), sit down on stools as they work. they do not help you bag up your groceries, and they wear obscene amounts of makeup. all of them; it’s rather scary.
attack atac!
instead of a one-stop walgreens for all personal needs, they still have separate stores. the monoprix is good for buying shampoo, soap, and other toiletries. you have to go to a pharmacy for any sort of medicine, but pharmacies confuse me because i can’t read anything on the labels and they rarely have what i’m looking for. i had a really hard time tracking down a bottle of contact lens solution last week, but i finally found it at a store that sold glasses. i didn’t even think of going there.
i mentioned the transportation system earlier. we have a bus pass that lets us onto any strasbourg public transit. just swipe your card as you board and voila! bon voyage! they have buses and trams. the main tram station in the city center is called “homme de fer”. we ride on tram c, towards esplanade to go home, and elsau to head to the city center. our tram stop is called observetoire.
waiting for the bus
on the bus
le tram
almost forgot about classes. the classroom is across the courtyard, so i basically roll into both of my classes wearing my pajamas and holding a coffee cup. the classroom is standard; fine for my french culture class, but difficult when it comes to drawing during my perspective class. i would have really appreciated a drafting table and parallel bar, but we made it work.
le petra in le classroom
i guess that’s pretty much it for the most boring parts of my life in strasbourg. it’s finals week, so this entry is more for my own procrastination. i’ll be home in eight days.
our christmas tree.
over and out.
-k
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