Five of us came from UNH to Dijon, four to go to the CIEF (Centre International d'Etudes Françaises ), one to the Université de Bourgogne and so there were five us on the flight (or flights: one from Boston to Reykjavik and one from Reykjavik to Paris) . I was extremely thankful for this, particularly once we reached Paris and had to navigate our way from Charles de Gaulle to la Gare de Lyon because what was already overwhelming would have been terrifying.
It was a massive relief to finally reach Dijon with (most) of our host families there waiting for us. Amy, one of the other students, did not have anyone waiting for her at the station but lived close enough to me that my host family was able to take her with us. On the way to their apartment my host mother and father pointed out various streets and buildings of Dijon, notably the churches (one Cathedral, two other churches one of which I believe is now a theater).
When we finally arrived at Place Wilson (which is where I am staying) it was past 5:30 (17h30). Given that I had little sleep on the plane and had been traveling for about 11 hours, I just wanted to collapse. Instead Monsieur and Madame de Regloix sat Amy and I down in their sitting room and then once they were able to contact Amy's host mother, invited her over for drinks. They talked for about an hour about an exhibition at Versailles on Sciences during the time of Louis XIV. Amy and I occasionally asked questions and answered others but really just attempted to stay awake.
When Amy and her host mother left I thought "finally, I'll get to sleep!" but oh no, not yet. I was given a tour of the apartment and then had a small dinner with Monsieur de Regloix. There were several parts of the meal but I wasn't too hungry and ate as little as I could to go to bed as soon as I could. Of course, the French don't eat like we do in America where everything is ready to eat at one time and then eaten together. They have courses. We had a small salad (which was really cabbage - nothing done to it) and then some rice with onions. Whenever M de Regloix asked if I wanted more, I said no and he always made this little face and this noise as if to indicate that I was crazy. I told him (to the best of my ability) that I normally ate more but that I was very tired.
It did not speed anything up. After the rice he asked if I would like some pâté, to which I said that I had never had, but would be willing to try. He toasted a bit of baguette and we spread it across. I liked it but it wouldn't be my favorite dish. We then had some cheese with the bread (from the package I believe it was brie) and finally (finally!) I was able to go to bed. At this point it was around 8 o'clock.
My room itself is quite nice. There is a great window which overlooks the street and Parc Wilson. There is a desk, a dresser and a bed. It is unadorned but the rest of the house has few embellishments.
Before going to bed, Monsieur and Madame de Regloix told me that I could sleep as long as I wanted to and I promptly slept until 1PM (13h).
Today (once I was awake to experience it) I had lunch with M and Mme de Regloix and afterwards they showed me maps of Dijon and some information of the surrounding area. Dijon, like most of Europe, is quite old, but has largely survived the many wars and therefore many of the buildings are ancient. I think there will be quite a lot to discover in the months that I am here next and I can't wait to begin.
At 5PM (17h) we had a meeting with Elsa, who will help us in navigating Dijon and with some aspects of the University. Today we purchased cell phone, bought some toiletries (I needed tissues) and then had dinner. We would have done a bit more but Michelle, another student, seemed to have some difficulties getting to the meeting place. We eventually found her but by then we were quite cold and definitely hungry.
I realize that this entry has gotten to be quite lengthy so I'll have to stop for now and then write some more tomorrow. A bientôt !
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