Day 2 in Toulouse!

For anyone who doesn't remember The Aristocats, this is Toulouse! Clever, huh?

Okay, maybe not so clever, but I just remembered his name was Toulouse and I got excited. Anyways, back to the subject- my second day in Toulouse- quite successful I'd say!

I thought I'd sleep in super late since I didn't go to bed until after 2:00 AM and I didn't get much sleep traveling either, but I was out of bed by 9:00 AM and although I don't think I'll be awake quite as late tonight, I still haven't crashed. What is this jet lag I keep hearing about? But, anyways, I didn't do much in the morning. Christophe has Wednesdays off, so he was doing some lesson planning and asked me to record a few things for his students. It's harder than it seems! I'm not great at thinking on the spot, even in English, so I had to try a few times. I recorded just a basic introduction and then a few different "If I were an animal/food/season/celebrity I would be...". He's so worried about me feeling comfortable, I'm glad I could do something to help him out as well.

Anissa came home from school for lunch and we ate around noon. We had ratatouille and it was delicious!

You guys had to have seen this one coming.

Around 14h (or 2:00 PM as I'm used to calling it) Anissa and I took the bus to the subway and then I bought my own bus/metro pass, which will save me a TON of money since it's how I'll be traveling each day. For the pass I had to take a passport style picture and they had a little photo booth set up right in the metro station! 

As you can see, I find this really exciting.

After helping me get my card, Anissa had to run to class, so I ventured on my own for the first time in Toulouse. I didn't go far, but I walked around for a while, sat on a bench by a fountain and people watched for a while. I got my first French coffee along with un chocolatine which was absolutely to die for. It's like chocolate baked into the most butteriest flakiest crescent roll (not really, but it's all I can think of to describe it). I ordered in French and used French money and no one laughed at me. I know this shouldn't be a big deal, but considering how lost I felt yesterday, I was still very happy!

But then, it was time to venture back to the apartment and try my hand at French public transportation solo.

The metro went perfectly. I used my new card and got on the right train and got off at the right stop and got to the bus stop easily. I got on the bus and patiently waited for my stop which hadn't come by the time the bus reached it's final stop. So, I swallowed my pride and told the bus driver that I was American and had obviously made a mistake about the bus. I told him where I needed to go and he gave me a map of the bus line and it turns out I was on the right bus line, just going the wrong direction. I was supposed to go to the bus stop across the street from where I got on! But, the driver was really nice and didn't laugh at my French either and told me that the bus I was currently on would be going the way I needed it to in about 10 minutes and to just wait there. So, it wasn't a big problem and I kept my cool. (and considering how easily frazzled I get- that's a big deal for me too!) 

So I get back to the apartment and I spend about 5 minutes trying to get into the building. The key fits, but the door isn't opening. The lock is turning and unclicking, but it just won't open! Well after that 5 minutes I eventually pushed the door and it turns out my key works just fine. In my defense, doors in the US say push/pull. Needless to say, I felt rather ridiculous, but alas, now I know. 

I went to the market with Christophe around 18h (I'm practicing!) and inquired about my choices for getting a phone to use in France and I think the best bet is to get a plan with no long term commitment, as opposed to a go phone, which I guess would be pretty expensive. I can get a plan for 24 euros a month and I'd be able to talk for up to 2 hours a day and send a few texts. I don't even know if I'd need that much, but it's a only a little more expensive than the plan that would let me talk for 1 hour each day. However, I need to set up a bank account before I can do that, so tomorrow my goal is to find a bank and figure out what documents I'll need to gather before that can happen.

At the market today I learned that they don't like it when you touch the products before your payment goes through. I was trying to be helpful and pack up the groceries while he paid when he very nicely told me that I couldn't touch anything yet because his card hadn't gone through yet.

See how much I'm learning!?!