a day I can't describe

In some of the past few posts I wrote that I was longing for some structure, for a schedule that laid out things I had to do. Well, yesterday was Orientation for all International Students and it was as structured as a day could possibly get. From 9h to 22h (10PM) there was something planned for us to do and it was exhausting.

We started out with a little bit of breakfast in the Maison de l'Universitaire which was nice and a good way to meet some of the other students (there are 11 different nationalities represented in the International Students, from Americans to Germans to Romanians).

They then separated us into two different groups (with red and blue name tags to differentiate who was with who) and proceeded to take us on a tour of the campus. Unlike guides at American colleges, ours said things with soft voice which made a good amount of the information hard to hear. In addition we stopped in strange places like the large scupltures around campus where we were then lectured on who made the art, what it meant and why it was at the University. Art is often beautiful and fascinating but when I'm having an Orientation at a University, I don't necessarily want to hear about it unless it's relevant to what I'll be learning and the places I have to know.

After the tour we finally got to eat lunch at one of the University Restaurants. The food was OK, but I think I've been spoiled with UNH dining (which even though I get tired of, is still rated as one of the best in the US as far as college food goes). One thing I don't really understand about the food is that there's a strong emphasis on carbohydrates and meat and less on vegetables and fruit. For 3 euros, I will say that it's still a pretty good deal.

Mirela and Laura

When lunch was finished we returned to the Maison de l'Universitaire where we listened to a Professor and then some students give us some information on life at the University of Burgundy and also on life in Dijon. Unfortunately the information was nothing new for us five from UNH as we'd already heard it back at UNH and from Elsa. As for the other students, I think the information was new and quite helpful. After talking with some we learned that most of them had not yet ventured into the city. Due to the fact that we're living with families, discovering the city is incredibly easy, but for those that live on campus and who don't have bus passes, I can imagine how difficult it might be to get around the city which was why the tour of the center of Dijon was probably very informative and exciting for them. For those of us that have been here for a week and a half? Not so much.

The day was rounded out with apertifs in the Palace des Ducs. We drank crème de cassis (which I now know is called "kir") and talked with the other international students. I personally talked with two people: Laura, a German who reminds me a lot of Luna Lovegood, and Mirela, a Romanian. They both spoke French better than me but were also able to speak English as well making them both trilingual but also incredibly nice and willing to help me out when I couldn't figure out how to express myself in French. In all, meeting some other international students was probably the highlight of a very hectic and extremely tiring day.

Lastly, I can't forget to mention that after apertifs we returned to the campus where instead of eating we were forced to dance. When I say dance, I mean line dancing, the sort of dancing that featured heavily at camp square dances (but less fun, with bad country music and with no opt out option). At first it was just confusing and slightly amusing, but when the dancing went on for over an hour with no reprieve in sight it got to just be ridiculous and exhausting when all we wanted to do was sit down and eat!