Welcome Back to Earth

---

I Finally Have Internet!!!!!

After almost a month in Nice, we finally got our internet hooked up yesterday! Thank goodness, because if I had to go to McDonald's and eat one more cheeseburger I think I would have died. (Although the McDonald's burgers here are way better than at home I have to say). Now I have sooo much to catch up on.
The flight here was horrible, absolutely some of the worst hours of my life. British Airways is pretty awesome--first, I got free wine (twice) and all of the seats have little T.V. screens in the back and you can listen to music and watch movies. I watched The Hangover for only the fourth time, and I was having a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I was sitting beside the oldest man in the world with the most nose hair I have ever seen in my life. This man and his wife were hardcore Jewish. So our meals finally come around and low and behold they only get one kosher meal. This man is freaking out and asking every freaking flight attendant that walks by in his super nasal accent. Then, after all the meals are handed out he is still freaking out because he doesn't have food. Another flight attendant comes over to talk to him and leans completely over my seat. Seriously, do you not see the person sitting here? So this goes on and on and on, this man trying to explain that they don't have any more kosher meals. He brings the man a non-kosher meal so that he can take the roll and the salad and whatever else the man doesn't want. But instead of taking the tray and putting it on his seatback table, he holds it directly over mine. I literally have my fork over my pasta, a ravioli on my fork. Clearly, I was getting ready to eat said ravioli but instead I have to sit there, my hand under his tray holding my fork with my pasta on it. Again, can you not see someone sitting in the seat beside you?? I really wanted to say something, but at this point I am just shocked that someone could be that inconsiderate. Anyway, they finally take the damn tray and I eat my dinner somewhat less peacefully than I previously anticipated due to the loud smacking noises coming from the man beside me (when on a transcontinental flight please chew with your mouth closed). So you'd think that would be the end of this man's temper tantrum, but no. Breakfast rolls around. Again this man freaks out. Why do I not have a kosher meal?! Well, I think they just told you a few hours ago about 50 times that there was a mistake. Seriously, I have never been happier to get off a plane. My connection in Heathrow was horrible--never go through that airport if you can help it. And if you do have to go through that airport, make sure you have approximately 2-3 hours between flights or you're screwed. Thank goodness I had two.
Needless to say I arrived in Nice feeling horrible. Thankfully, I found a nice cabdriver that drove me to my hostel and we had a lovely conversation the whole way there. It was comforting to know I could still speak French and be understand, and I hadn't totally forgotten everything. The Relais de Jeunesse was nice if a little overwhelming. A ton of other assistants were there, many of whom already had housing which freaked me out quite a bit. Add to all the commotion and stress severe jet lag, and I was just a mess. I met a ton of great people though, so it was definitely comforting to know that I wasn't alone and there were nice, normal people here. I met two girls who had found an apartment close by and needed a third roommate, so I jumped on the opportunity. I am really lucky that it has worked out as well as it has, because at the time I didn't even check buses or anything (turns out there is a bus close to the apartment that takes me directly to my school). At that point, I really just couldn't imagine being homeless for any length of time and staying in a hostel, no matter how nice the hostel may have been. We moved in the next day, and it was sooo nice to finally feel at home.
Our apartment is great. It's in a really residential area, so it's very safe and not too loud. The bank, the post office, the Monoprix (where I get my groceries) and a tabac (where you can make copies, etc) are all right nearby. We live less than a 10 minute walk away from the Matisse museum which is the one museum I felt like I had to visit while I was here. There's a gorgeous park perfect for jogging or picnicking or anything, with an orchard of olive trees, an old monastery and a beautiful garden overlooking the city. It's hands-down one of my top 10 favorite places in the world. It's so nice to go on a Sunday morning for a jog and see everything strolling around with their dogs. We can walk down to the beach in about 30 minutes which is pretty nice as well. The only drawback is that we aren't really close to Old Nice where all the night life is located--we have to take a bus and then get the night bus home unless we want to pay a ton of money for a cab. Wouldn't be a problem except that the last night bus is around 1 or 2 which is when things start getting fun (Or I'd imagine that's when things start getting fun, but I haven't found super fun things yet).
A few days after getting here one of my roommates and I went adventuring down to the beach. She'd been here for a week or so longer than I had, and she had found a gorgeous park near the beach. So we walked around, found my school, laid on the beach for a bit, and then went to the park. You have to climb approximately a million stairs, but there is a gorgeous view of the ocean, a huge playground, a restaurant, and a waterfall among other things. There's a great view of the port and a gorgeous old cemetary. Definitely one of my favorite places here, second to my park of course. (Sidenote: Emily and I went into the old monastery one day when it was open and it was one of the oldest buildings I have ever seen in my life--they also have a dead mummified body on display. Creepiest thing ever. His name is Victoire and the sign said he was from the 2nd century which seems way too old to be real. I was so shocked that I had to stare at it for 5 minutes to make sure it was real, and then I slept with my light on for maybe 2 nights.)
My classes aren't bad--I only have work 3 days a week (Wed, Thurs, and Fri) which means I have 4 day weekends (FABULOUS 😊 and I don't work before 10. Seriously, whoever made my schedule must have known me in a previous life, and we must have been good friends. So far classes have been going fairly well. French kids always want to know what Hollywood is like (except they can't pronounce the H correctly so it just sounds really odd), they want to know if we really have cheerleaders, and they want to know if everyone really drives an SUV. One class only wanted to ask me about the legalisation of marijuana and asked me if I had ever done drugs, there's one guy in most classes that asks if I have a boyfriend, and one that was brave enough to ask for my number. Fortunately, they take me seriously enough that they actually work haha. It's more fun than I thought it would be, but sometimes I think that's because my work week is so short that it's just more bearable haha. All in all, I like it so far though. Yesterday was also the last day of classes for a week and a half--don't you wish we just got random vacations in highschool for a couple of weeks?! So one of my friends and I are going to Venice--sooo excited because it's one city that I have wanted to visit for just about forever.
Lots more to recount but it's too sunny out to stay inside, so more to come soon now that I finally have internet!

---