Sick.
I didn't feel great yesterday, and when today decided to wake me up to go to the university and choose classes at the last possible minute, I felt a lot worse.
I dragged myself out of bed despite the soft rain noises from the courtyard trying to lull me back to sleep and went to the school. I chose a bunch of classes in history, literature, music history, and film and set about trying to figure out when and where they met. This is a complicated process of finding each department's tiny, hidden hallway with a bunch of posted paper timetables and locating your class, which may or may not have the same course number as the one you initially chose, or any posted title at all. As I expected (feared), many of the courses I selected were not on the schedules, even though they'd been posted for us foreign dupes to believe we could take them.
I came up with about 16 hours worth of things, but I think I'll probably only take twelve. One of the ones I'm interested in is a (3000ish level) 6.5 hour French literature class on 19th and 20th century poetry, with an apparent emphasis on Apollinaire and Rimbaud. If I take it, I'll add my 3 hours per week of Italian that will continue from last semester, and maybe an introductory analysis class in the film school, and already have my over-12 requirement fulfilled. Three classes doesn't seem like a lot at all, but I think they would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I would no longer get the luxury of 4-day weekends even though I'd still only have three days of class per week.
Pretending to be a French student seems a lot harder than being an actual one, since most of the difficulty in going to school here seems to be picking the classes in the first place, and the French are saved from that hassle. Slash luxury. Honestly, if I couldn't choose what things to take in college, it would seem even more like high school than it already does. I think the point of higher education is kind of lost in that regard.
Anyway, I took the long tram ride home and went to the grocery store to stock up on soup. They don't seem to have cans of soup here, but they have Tropicana brand gazpacho in the cold case by the orange juice, and they have other soups in boxes that I quite enjoy.
I also dropped by the pharmacy, which is rather convenient in France. There are about 4 within a 3-block radius of my house, which is excellent, considering the main mode of transportation is walking and when you're sick you really don't want to be walking anywhere for very long.
The pharmacists here have very different functions it seems (keeping in mind I haven't been to a doctor in France yet). You walk in and almost all the medications are behind a counter. You tell the pharmacist your symptoms, for instance, I have a stuffed nose. And he asks if your throat is sore. If you say yes he'll ask whether your head hurts as well. I mentioned that I had a cough, and he asked if it was productive or not. In the end he sent me away with a nasal spray and a cough syrup with an expectorant, but not until after he'd explained the dosage and how to take them, and written instructions on the packaging.
It's pretty different from over the counter meds in the States, where I'd just pick something off the shelf. In a way, I prefer it, but in a way it's nice to have a choice. For instance, feeling the way I feel right now, all I want is a bottle of Dayquil, a bottle of Nyquil, and a lot of sleep.
I'd settle for just the Dayquil, really.
I dragged myself out of bed despite the soft rain noises from the courtyard trying to lull me back to sleep and went to the school. I chose a bunch of classes in history, literature, music history, and film and set about trying to figure out when and where they met. This is a complicated process of finding each department's tiny, hidden hallway with a bunch of posted paper timetables and locating your class, which may or may not have the same course number as the one you initially chose, or any posted title at all. As I expected (feared), many of the courses I selected were not on the schedules, even though they'd been posted for us foreign dupes to believe we could take them.
I came up with about 16 hours worth of things, but I think I'll probably only take twelve. One of the ones I'm interested in is a (3000ish level) 6.5 hour French literature class on 19th and 20th century poetry, with an apparent emphasis on Apollinaire and Rimbaud. If I take it, I'll add my 3 hours per week of Italian that will continue from last semester, and maybe an introductory analysis class in the film school, and already have my over-12 requirement fulfilled. Three classes doesn't seem like a lot at all, but I think they would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I would no longer get the luxury of 4-day weekends even though I'd still only have three days of class per week.
Pretending to be a French student seems a lot harder than being an actual one, since most of the difficulty in going to school here seems to be picking the classes in the first place, and the French are saved from that hassle. Slash luxury. Honestly, if I couldn't choose what things to take in college, it would seem even more like high school than it already does. I think the point of higher education is kind of lost in that regard.
Anyway, I took the long tram ride home and went to the grocery store to stock up on soup. They don't seem to have cans of soup here, but they have Tropicana brand gazpacho in the cold case by the orange juice, and they have other soups in boxes that I quite enjoy.
I also dropped by the pharmacy, which is rather convenient in France. There are about 4 within a 3-block radius of my house, which is excellent, considering the main mode of transportation is walking and when you're sick you really don't want to be walking anywhere for very long.
The pharmacists here have very different functions it seems (keeping in mind I haven't been to a doctor in France yet). You walk in and almost all the medications are behind a counter. You tell the pharmacist your symptoms, for instance, I have a stuffed nose. And he asks if your throat is sore. If you say yes he'll ask whether your head hurts as well. I mentioned that I had a cough, and he asked if it was productive or not. In the end he sent me away with a nasal spray and a cough syrup with an expectorant, but not until after he'd explained the dosage and how to take them, and written instructions on the packaging.
It's pretty different from over the counter meds in the States, where I'd just pick something off the shelf. In a way, I prefer it, but in a way it's nice to have a choice. For instance, feeling the way I feel right now, all I want is a bottle of Dayquil, a bottle of Nyquil, and a lot of sleep.
I'd settle for just the Dayquil, really.
sorry you are sick! i was so confused with the pharmacies when i got here. i had a million bugbites from leaving my window open and had to show them my bugbites...then they asked me if it itches but i had no idea what she was saying!!!! it was confusing, but now it's nice because i finally, i think?, have the hang of it!
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