The first three weeks in Lyon have flown by, perhaps because I took a trip to Barcelona last weekend! I found my residence OK and my room is excellent. Luckily Billy (from Narrabundah and Usyd for those following in either Canberra or Sydney) had already moved in so I had someone to talk to, and a guide to help me get my bearings. On the weekend I took a trip to IKEA to deck out my room. I like to think I was very restrained, thanks to the list I'd made before-hand. Billy and I went to see inception and checked out a few café bars around here and I discovered our local markets. I am one street back from the Rhone and the markets set up along the river every weekend and Thursday evenings, so I get to do a lot of my shopping there. I'm still sussing out the best stores but I've made good friends with the cheese man. Apart from that I was getting a new sim card, setting up a bank account, finalising my enrolment etc ...
Then it was time to start uni. I met up with Kathy and Emily (both Usyd girls) before going to our introductory lecture and there we befriended plenty of people, including two Melbourne girls: Alice and Milli. We sat through a series of fairly boring administrative lectures and then had a tour of the campus. It's tiny compared to Australian universities, but they have multiple campuses, some of which they share with other unis. The main campus is the Manufacture des Tabacs and it's about a 20 minute walk from me. I'm still trying to get my velo'v subscription (the public bikes) to cut the time down. There's also a big supermarket, Casino, on the way so I can pick groceries up on the way home. I even have my Casino rewards card!
The next week consisted of 2 hour French grammar classes to start off each day followed by lectures from various departments, from history to business and literature. Our history teacher was quirky to say the least, and has invited everyone to his home in the country to show us around and introduce us to the best of the Beaujolais (the wine district just beside Lyon), provided we let him know when we're coming so he can warn his wife. He also came along to a few of our bar nights. After classes we had some social events organised by the international office, like a bus tour of Lyon and a visit to a café théâtre. One of the best nights was our apéritif international, where everyone had pizza and drinks at a bar near uni, and then the younger guys at the International Office rounded us all up and took us to the steps by the Rhone (next door to me). There are always people hanging around there, reading books, picnicking, and at night relaxing with a bottle of wine and friends. So our rather large group descended on the steps and the unsuspecting french people sitting there, and introduced ourselves and spoke with anyone and everyone who was willing to try and understand our French. We ended up going to the péniches, which are the bars in boats along the Rhone.
On the weekend I went for a picnic by the Rhone with Kathy, the Melbourne girs and Liz (from Boston) and it turned out the group we had sat down next to was a bunch of hockey players from Canada glad to hear us speaking English. That afternoon I scored an invite to meet Kathy's host family and do our homework by their pool. I ended up staying for dinner and being sent home with grapes and figs form their garden. Kathy has 3 host sisters and the two youngest ones loved to laugh at our French mistakes, and the family decided I had a Canadian accent when I spoke French.
The second week was similar to the first, crammed full of classes and a few social activities. We had a guided visit to the Institut Lumière, which is the home of the brothers Lumière who invented film. We also had a Soirée Pub in Vieux Lyon. It was at a discotèque (apparently the french have bars or discotèques and not much in between). Meanwhile the numbers in our classes dwindled, but I went because it was good practice for concentrating for hours at a time, I'm out f the habit after being on holidays for a good 3 months! Then on the weekend it was the Festival de Danse in Lyon and on Sunday there was a massive parade which I will put up photos from, because it's impossible to describe how weird and wonderful it was. Then I went to the Parc Tête d'Or which is just on the north side of Lyon and is HUGE! There's even a zoo, although I haven't had a look there yet. I wiled away the afternoon there and met Emily's house-mate, Quentin, and Milli and Alice's new house-mate, Edouard.
Last week I went to a few classes, and I'm still trying to sort out which ones to take. We also had an excellent night in Vieux Lyon at the girls's house. There was all the usuals plus a few extra exchange people from Lyon (I met the guy responsible for bringing Jelly Shoes to Australia!). There was plenty of wine and everyone brought ingredients for pizzas, there was a slight mishap when we put the first pizza in on a plate with no baking paper and it got kind of stuck, but no one really cared and it turned out to be an excellent night (For the girl's at Cardigan street, remind you of anything?). Then on Thursday I went to Barcelona for 6 days which is where the next post kicks off ...
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