So this is ma chambre: number 25 at foyer Ormieres. It's very close to the train station (as in, we can see the train station when we walk out of the front doors) which was great when I arrived and will also be wonderful for when I'm leaving! I'm trying to avoid another 80 euro cab fee this time around. The shower has been pretty nice, actually--great water pressure and a high temperature and a detachable showerhead. That "rug" is actually one of the blankets that they gave me, folded in half. It works pretty well and keeps the chill of the tile away. And I've bought a little purple lamp for my side table since these pictures were taken. Just a little personality...and it matches the wallpaper, haha! That little radiator seems to decide daily how much much heat it is actually going to radiate and usually by late afternoon I have to roll down this metal shutter contraption on the outside of my window to help insulate my room a bit more. We had this same kind of shutter at foyer Merici in July 2008, and it's basically amazing. I slept until 10:30 today and my room was still pitch black when I woke up.

The reason that I had to sleep until 10:30 anyway was because apparently, in France, the garbage trucks run AT NIGHT. Like, at MIDNIGHT. And as you can see from the picture above, my room actually overlooks a fairly crowded residential street. So, I lay in bed last night listening to a garbage truck running on about five deisel engines stopping every five feet to pick up all the garbage. And this was after a group of rowdy people must have been gathering at the bar across the street...So when my alarm went off at 7:15 this morning for breakfast I turned that OFF and went back to sleep. The great thing about the location of the foyer is that it's very close to all of the main drags and centreville, but the bad thing about it is also that it's close to all the main drags and centreville. I guess this is what it's like, living in a city. (I don't know if I like it that much, haha. So much noise!)

And since I could spit into my neighbors-across-the-street's living room, I watched them eat dinner last night. Until they noticed me and I had to quickly close my shutter. Whoops. I need to learn to write "I promise I'm not a creeper, I just look out my window a lot" in French, and then make a poster and tape it to my window.

I've been walking around for about an hour everyday so far, but it's kind of getting to the point that there's not much else I can do. I don't want to already start going to the museums and everything because I've got four months here, so I want to ration those treats out slowly. I whittled away two hours today by going to the post office and getting stamps for passports, doing price comparisons on the 23947236 sandwich shops in Angers, for future purposes, and just like, wandering while still looking like I had a purpose. I also checked out the kitchen situation--how many hotplates, the microwave and toaster oven, etc. Sara and I are going to go to the market tomorrow to try to find some fruits, veggies, bread, and cheese for the weekend, during which we have to fend for ourselves, foodwise, since dinner and breakfast are not provided my the ladies of the foyer. By the way, here's a picture of my mini-frigo, to which I have a key. (And some guy is singing on the street below me. I really need to learn how to yell at people in French.)


For more pictures you can go to www.foyerormieres.fr. "Situation" brings up a yahoomap of where the foyer is located, which you can then turn into a satellite image. "Hebergement" has photos of the buildings: I'm in the one that looks more modern and has the tile staircase. Sara is in the one that looks like it was built by Marie Antoinette. It is not that flowery right now...since it's January pretty much everything is dead. BUT it will be that colorful in a couple of months, hopefully. "Services" shows the different communal rooms: the dining room where we have breakfast and dinner, the main kitchen we're not allowed in, the mini kitchen with hotplates that we are allowed to use, and other rooms. And you should all be happy to know that the "building is under video surveillance." And for those who have been wondering, my address is:

Porter WELLS
4, rue Talot
49100 ANGERS
FRANCE

I think this weekend I'll do a post about my preliminary observations about French people and their food, as well as talk about what the nuns have been feeding us. Preview: It's been delicious about 85% of the time. Dinner is in two hours and then Sara and I are going to watch either True Blood or Mad Men. She brought a few of the seasons with her. I can't wait!