My first meltdown...

Ok it wasn't a full on meltdown... Just a few tears. And this was the first I've cried including when I left the US so I'm very proud of me! (My eyes welled up a lot but not a drop was spilled then!) Let me start from the beginning of the day though. So I went to bed around 1 am last night and had to get up and find my way to the university by 9:30 am. I got really lost this morning on the way to the bus stop but I eventually found it and took it and the metro to campus. I was even on time! Quelle surprise! I'm so glad for our bus and metro system in DC because it's really helping me here. I'm also very glad that they stressed the transportation chapters in all my French classes ;) Anyways, we had to take our placement test today for French and I'm sure once they read mine that they're going to send me back to the US... For the rest of the day they were throwing information at us. After it was finally done, we went on a "tour" of the campus (which means we followed the moniteurs around and sometimes they would tell us what a building was) Finalement, everyone split up and went home or went out for du cafe au lait. We went to the metro stop Sainte Anne and I finally got to see the Rennes that I'd seen in pics. (aka the photo that's on my blog ;) ) We stepped out of the metro and it was like we had been in a time machine. It's what you think of when you think of foreign European city and I loved it! I can't wait to explore it more tomorrow. The moniteurs showed us this street/alleyway that's called "La Rue de Soiffe" (The Road for the Thirsty) because there are a bunch of bars and where all the drunk people hang out. Awesome!
And now to the meltdown... I had to find my way home and I kind of went the wrong way on purpose this time because I knew where the apartment building was in general and wanted to take a walk by the water to pass some time. I ended up passing my host parent in her car when we were a block away so she pulled over to let me in. Then we sat in the car on the side of the road and she tried to explain to me about a cell phone she has. The student last semester bought it to use and left it for the next student. It's for calling in France and has a SIM card but she wasn't sure if you could just reactivate it or if you needed a new one. At first I didn't understand her but then I did and I just didn't know what I wanted to do about it and couldn't communicate that back. She was saying that she could take me to the store tonight to see if they could turn it back on or I could go tomorrow because the other students are all going then and she was like do you want to go back to the apartment or the store? What I wanted to say was yes I want to go tonight but how does it work? Do I buy minutes or a plan? Is there a min amount? etc I was really stressed about the phone too because I hadn't planned on buying one but I need it for if I get lost and to call her and the other study abroad students and for her to be able to reach me. The problem was that she didn't really know how it all worked either and couldn't understand what I was asking because of it. I just got so frustrated with not knowing what I wanted to do and how to ask the questions I needed to figure it out and sitting on the side of the road for about 20 min not accomplishing anything after a long day that I ended up crying in the car. She was like "it's ok it's ok! I'll drive us home and call my daughter because she speaks English and can explain it to you." So we went home and I collected myself and talked to her daughter. That almost made me feel worse though because my French was so bad that someone HAD to talk to me in English. Luckily, I had understood what she said correctly and her daughter was really nice and explained back to her mom what I wanted. We ended up going to get the phone (which I'm still not 100% how many min I have and whatnot) and then we had a nice dinner of crepes *sigh* A long day... I really like Rennes and France in general but it's very frustrating and stressful when you feel like a tourist. It was bad enough when I first moved to DC and didn't know where things were but it takes it to a whole other level when you're not fluent in the language either. I have a newfound appreciation for international students in the US because English is one of the hardest languages to learn and most of them speak it way better than I speak French. (though we have WAY better street signage) I just don't like feeling dumb and not being able to get me across. Hopefully after these next two weeks in which we have an intensive French language and cultural class I should be better adjusted for when actual classes start. Je souhaite.
New topic... I'm starting a list of random things I've noticed about France:

-Tons of graffiti (which I think I've already mentioned in Paris but it's in Rennes as well)

-No toilet seat covers (sorry Al) and only hand dryers, no paper towels

-In houses and apartments, there's a room with a toilet in it and then a separate room for the shower/bathtub and sink (and our salle de bain actually has the washer in it as well...)

-When you take the bus or metro in Rennes, you have a ticket that you have to get validated but you don't need it to enter the bus or metro and no one necessarily checks... They have people monitor from time to time but not always...

-In their supermarkets, they have shopping carts and baskets but their baskets have wheels on them and a long handle like a rolling carry on bag. It's awesome and I think the US should get them immediatement

-They play a surprisingly large amount of American music in restaurants, stores, and metros. (I heard Phil Collins today in the metro and Boston in a restaurant the other day!)

Well crying always makes me tired so I'm going to head to bed. Big day of exploring Rennes and not getting lost tomorrow ;) Bon nuit!