First day of the Welcome Program

I began a whole rant about my frustrations with the first day of the welcome program, but then I realized that it wasn't very interesting. I don't want to subject any readers to the pain I had to endure. If you are really curious you can e-mail me for the details, but for now I'll sum it up by saying I hate listening to presentations about administrative details that were all available online. Listening to them twice (in French and English) is even more aggravating.

There were a few good parts of the day:
1) The facilities are nicer than those of HEC.
2) I signed up for two organizations:
Junior Consulting - You actually get hired for consulting jobs. Yay resume builder!
Bureau des Arts - A club for the arts. Among many events and perks, you get reductions on tickets to the cinema, theater, opera, etc.
3) I don't feel nervous anymore about going to this school. There are a lot of international students that have no idea what they're doing. I seem to seek solace from the anxiety of others. Does that make me a bad person? ;)
4) Day two should be better. I have a French class and a methodology class.

temp housing

After 22 long hours in a car, airports, airplanes and a train I finally arrived at Christine's apartment in Paris, where I will be renting a room for the year. (Fun trivia: I lived with Christine in 2005 on my first semester abroad. She just happens to live about 5 minutes from where I will be going to grad school. What a coincidence.) The building's super was able to let me in and lend me a key. I went to the room I had been shown in the spring when I dropped off my luggage, and I have to say I was a bit disappointed.

The room hadn't been prepared as I expected. The rowing machine sat on the floor, the shelves were full of books and blankets. I started to wonder if my discounted rate meant fewer perks, as in no storage whatsoever. I peeked longingly into my old room just next door. So warm and inviting, I wanted nothing more than to crawl under the red comforter. I glared at the belongings of whom I assumed to be Christine's new American student and shuffled off to my room in a Charlie Brown fashion, my bulbous head hanging down in a rather pathetic manner. Not wanting to move any of Christine's things I decided to save my suitcases for later and settled into my less comfortable bed for a nap.

Half an hour later Christine called and all was right with the world again. I seem to have fast turn-around time with disappointments. Apparently, her friend had been staying in the other room and wouldn't be leaving for another 10 days. After that, the room would be mine! Hooray! When she got home, she helped clear out some space so I could get my things temporarily organized. My suitcases are doubling as dresser drawers. Then she fixed me a dinner of green beans, homemade ratatouille made by her mother and salmon. She even asked me what sort of things I would like for breakfast. I can't believe I doubted the perks of this situation!

I also got a call from Domitelle, a woman whose four children I will be tutoring this fall. I am going out to her home Sunday for lunch and we'll dive right in with lessons. I have to pay off my last minute one-way ticket!

Rachel at ISU

A few weeks ago we moved my little sister into her dorm for her freshman year at Iowa State. She's now in her second week of classes and seems to be settling in well. I still can't believe that little Rachel, who daydreamed about mermaids in the gravel pit and helicopter rescues in the washing machine, is all grown up and taking chemistry.


Her dorm is pretty nice. It's about half of the size of my old dorm room in Iowa City and twice as big as my old dorm room in France. She lives with an engineering student from Dubuque. The girls on her floor have access to a kitchen/lounge at the end of the hall.

Rachel came home for labor day weekend so that we could spend a few days together before I head off to France. Our grandparents, Vera and Harrison, and our great-aunt Kathy came out to Guthrie Center on Saturday. Our cousin Kelsey paid us a visit on Sunday; it was a crafty good time ;).

Zoom . . . bah!

My travel plans hit a bit of turbulence when Zoom Airlines declared bankruptcy last Thursday evening. At least I had a week to find a new ticket unlike those who were only alerted to the change in plans the day before their flights. There's not much chance I'll get a refund since I paid for my ticket with a debit card an not a credit card. Sometimes it doesn't pay to avoid credit card debt, I suppose.

I managed to find a new flight, but I won't get to have a layover in Toronto, where I planned to stay with my friend Ada and her family. I'm pretty bummed, but I can't be choosy at this point.

So, the new plan is to fly from Des Moines to Chicago to Toronto and then directly on to Paris. Here's hoping my luggage doesn't get confused.

An Introduction:

For a long time I've considered shifting my mass e-mails into a more user-friendly blog format. However, I have to be honest; the main factor holding me back from doing so was the mental block I always ran into when trying to think up a title for my blog. Armed with inspiration from one of my favorite musicals, Oklahoma, I now embark on my very first blog.

I hope to use Chicks and Ducks as a tool for staying in touch with friends and family in much the same way I used mass e-mails in years past. For those of you unfamiliar with my e-mail correspondence, I tried to e-mail regular updates about my travels and life overseas. I then replied to e-mail responses on an individual basis. I am hoping the transition to the blog will not discourage people from e-mailing me while overseas because I certainly enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to stay in touch!

I couldn't find the video clip of the song The Surrey with the Fringe on Top for which I named the blog. Here's the next best thing: