Expect the Unexpected

The next morning we left a little later than normal; I believe it was around 10:30am, which is late for us! I lugged my heavy bag all the way to the bus, which was long walk over cobblestones, and was worn out by the time I loaded my bag. We rode the bus for like 45 minutes to another town on the beach called Etretat. There is a famous painting of the cliffs there; it was a gorgeous view. The water was aqua blue and there were smooth pebbles instead of sand on the beach. We only had an hour there, or I would have explored the cliffs.

We had a quick lunch (Croque Monsieur- grilled cheese) and headed back to the bus to finally drive to Lille! The bus ride was like four or five hours, so I was ready to get off. As we drove into our home for the next few weeks, my eyes didn’t see the image I expected to see of Lille. I imagined Lille as a mini Paris, but it was more dingy and not as pretty. It was a letdown in a way. I’ll explain in detail later.

We all unloaded our bags and headed to our dorm, which was a mess piling into a small room and getting keys and such. The dorm is seven stories, and I by some random luck I am on the first floor along with Claire! I am very happy about this…very convenient. Unfortunately, everyone else is on the 4^th floor and up, but it hasn’t been too bad to deal with so far. I threw my bags into my room and helped carry everyone’s bags to their floors, and then we immediately had a mini tour of Lille by an American student who has studied here since January.

 The tour was interesting to say the least. Noel, our tour guide, did not sugarcoat Lille by any means. One of the first things she mentioned was that there have been four murders in the past 6 months of young men; not exactly the first piece of info I want to know. She also said that of the dorms at the university, we are in the “nerdy” dorm. Great. There is a zero alcohol policy here and quiet hours start at 10pm. NC State is a lot more lax about these type of things, but I’ll deal with it. I hope my R.A., who haven’t met yet, is a laidback person.

We headed for a big Carrefour, a super market, to buy some things. I got an alarm clock, detergent, wine, hangers, yogurt, and hand soap. The store was super crowded and it took forever to check out. A small group of us headed back to the dorm, and I went to a smaller Carrefour to get a little sandwich to eat for dinner. A few of the girls were feeling the same way as me. They were sketched out by Lille so far and not impressed with the city. They had stronger feelings about this than me, but I could tell where they were coming from.

I finally got back to my dorm and unpacked. Unpacking is all I have wanted to do since I landed in Paris. I love not living out of a suitcase! I have a nice dorm you could say. I surprisingly have my own shower too (someone must love me up there). First floor and shower! Others are on higher floors and have a communal shower. They shower isn’t that nice, but hey I have privacy; I am happy. I have a huge mini-fridge, a big wardrobe, a desk (more of a piece of wood balanced on two legs), and a small but comfortable bed with a pink cover. My walls are mint green; it is quite cute. One problem is my window, though. I am on the first floor and my window won’t lock. I am about 10 feet above the street, but I am still scared someone might break in because if someone really wanted to they could. Overall I have a nice room and it’s a lot better than I expected it to be.

 I then hung out with Pranj, who was upset and overwhelmed by Lille. We talked and she felt better, and we then found some of the guys. I drank some of my wine to just loosen up from this hectic and culture shock of a day. After a while, we went to explore Lille and the nightlife along with Noel from earlier. All the girls left the guys and we found Noel who took us to some bar and we all split a fish bowl drink. I spent 2.50 euros since we split the huge drink! We then went and danced at a club, and after a while me and Pranj got separated from our group. We looked forever for them but had no luck, so we decided to try and go home. Problem was that we had no idea where are dorm was. We asked a girl how to get to our dorm, but the language barrier didn’t help things. Me and Pranj roamed the streets, and I felt so sketched out. We eventually got on streets that were empty, and I was so scared. We just ran down the empty streets to get passed them. Eventually we found our dorm. I have no idea how. Again somewhere up there must love me. I am so glad we got home safe and sound. I left a note on Claire’s door explaining we were safe because I knew they must have been freaked out they couldn’t find us.

I got up and showered today and then headed to an orientation. It was pretty boring, but I met some fellow students in the European Summer Program. They were form Tennessee and Canada. We had a tour of the building with our classrooms and had a free lunch. I am now writing this and meeting up with the girls later to layout at some park.

Lille is not what I expected so far! I have gotten over the initial shock and have accepted that Lille is its own city and shouldn’t be like Paris. For some reason, I feel like Paris was safer. It is just weird being in a single dorm. I am used to being with everyone all the time, so it is lonely now. I guess I felt safer there because I was never alone, and now I am. I am getting used to it though, and I appreciate having my own space. I will grow to like Lille more once I get my bearings and can know where I am at all times. It sucks not knowing how to get around. I learned Paris pretty quickly though, so I am sure I will learn how to navigate Lille soon enough. Paris spoiled my expectations of Lille because I expected Lille to be different. I really can’t wait to fall in love with this city; I am already beginning to feel that way. I just need to get over my initial shock.