The Longest Vacation and the Labyrinth of Lyon 2

As you can see from my title, I like alliteration. But this alliteration is a pretty way of highlighting two polar opposites. The good of this week: seeing the beauty of Annecy for the second time with my lovely friend Sara and the excitement of meeting another dear friend, Insaf, in real life ("in the flesh"). The bad of the week: trying to navigate the French university system that is Lyon 2 and failing miserably.

Let's start with the bad because it is always better to end with the good. This week has only just begun but we have already all discovered the difficulty that is being a foreign exchange student in a French university. The difficulty is a lot of things, but the long of the short of it is that because we are not students officially "inscrits" (enrolled) we do not have priority. Meanwhile, the French students do not get to pick their classes, but instead have a set schedule with times and classes.  So these past two days have consisted of sitting in lecture courses that I didn't understand or finding a class that I liked but then having not enough spaces for us foreigners. Also, for some inexplicable reason, every class I have looked at is on Thursday and so I have to make some choices. All in all, it is much more difficult than I expected. I know it will work itself out but as for now it is looking pretty convoluted [thus "labyrinth"].

A few other dissimilarities between Berkeley and Lyon 2:
1. There are no toilet seats on the toilets in Lyon 2. You just have to squat.
2. Toilet paper is outside all the stalls, so if you forgot to grab some, you just don't use any. Because the bathrooms are like little rooms and you can't ask the person next to you.
3. There are virtually no water fountains (you use the sink water).
4. Classes are two hours and it is frowned upon if you leave early or come late.
5. No trusty Telebears, you sign up for everything the old-fashioned way (it's paper all the way).

This blog post is becoming a bit negative, so let's look at the positives. I found computers in the library that I can use on my own, I finally called FREE and they are re-sending my SIM card to the correct address so I will have a French cell phone number soon, the cafeteria food is cheap and I successfully navigated it, and a French guy asked me why I drew a Christmas tree on my notes (I CANNOT WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS). I have also been having wonderful dinners with my host family and I understand more and more of what they are saying. Today I participated when I wasn't asked a direct question so let's have a round of applause for that!

(One more embarrassing story for good measure: my translation teacher asked me to spell my last name and I mispronounced the letters in French, and she said "We will have to work on spelling" which was a great start to the semester)

Now is time for the GOOD. I have had many good evenings with new friends, I got to meet my friend Insaf (who I knew from a French class at Berkeley-we did a Skype exchange with students in Lyon) and I went to Annecy with another friend from my program, Sara. Here are some pictures.

A few of just fun times:

an example of the architecture of Lyon

another beautiful view of the Rhône

the garden in the middle of Le musée des beaux-arts 

one view of Hôtel de Ville (on the left is the opera house)

A stray kitty that was really friendly-Vieux Lyon

Le Saône

Just can't stop taking pictures of the Rhône

This is for Bridgét, Syd, Mom and Addie (little mix is everywhere)

Then on Saturday I had a lovely afternoon-turned-into-evening meeting Insaf. We found each other outside of Perrache and nervously waved at each other seeing as it has been almost 2 years since we have Skyped for the class. But then we figured it out and we went straight to an American hug. First, she was my tour guide and photographer extraordinaire (really, she just told me where to stand and that it was time for another picture which was good for me). We walked through the Croix-Rousse (another hill bordering Lyon) and into Hôtel de Ville where we had ice cream. We walked by a dance demonstration for the Biénnale de la Danse (I spelled that wrong) that is happening this month (a big festival of dance). We made our way up to Fourvière and she showed me the Gaelic(?)-Roman theater ruins. They are so peaceful and I can not wait to go spend some time there. After that we got delicious Indian wraps in Vieux Lyon and ate on the quai (the edge of the water) along the other river in Lyon (le Saône). It was a great day! 

Le mur de canut- a trompe l'oeil 

Overlooking the city from Croix-Rousse

Insaf and I at the top!

Enjoying the Saône

The ruins-theater 1

The ruins-Theater 2

Finally, on Sunday, I visited Annecy again with Sara. It was a lovely trip, minus getting up at 5:45 to catch my 7am bus. But, we arrived easily after quick naps, and hit the town. Unfortunately, it was still early and it was freezing! So we searched for a café to get a hot breakfast and we succeeded at finding a place called Le café des ducs that served breakfast "Anglo-Saxon" style: a hot drink, fresh OJ, toast, eggs, and bacon. After a good solid breakfast, we went to check out the market that Amber and I saw last week. The market was  crazy and we bought way too much good food. Afterwards, we went to the river and enjoyed a French picnic lunch with bread, cheese, saucisson, strawberries, and three desserts (macarons, meringue, and a sugar bread-which we did not eat all at once). Then we took the paddle boats out on the lake and semi-got in. I am excited for more day trips like this one. 

A smiley faced hot chocolate

This is literally what Annecy looks like.

This too. 

There is so much ice cream in France.

The hugest zucchini.

The meringues we ate! (at the top)

Sara being cute and eating our fresh bread!

A cute red door!

A secret passageway down which we were adventurous

The lake, still obscenely beautiful

We're on a boat. We're going…slow…and

Thank you for reading. Until next time :)