Sammich Smugglin'

Today was a good day. First of all, I think Potter is over his illness, thank God. Also, I had a successful day on the school front. And a really good sandwich.

Woke up to rain and high winds but couldn't stay in because today was the first day of registration for my classes at the Sorbonne, and I was kinda excited about it. I showed up to the first event half-soaked but was met by a very nice instructor who talked me through what I would do today. We spoke in French, and although she had to repeat a couple of things for me, when she had explained it all, I repeated it to her in French, and her enthusiastic reply was, "parfait!" (Perfect, if you hadn't already guessed.) I was to leave there and go back to the main Sorbonne building to pay & get my student ID & schedule of other appointments. She gave me a card that said to be there between 12:30 and 1:00. Since it was 10:30, I had two hours free, and since it was raining, I needed somewhere dry to hang out. I found a cute little tabac, sat down, ordered a cup of coffee, and started going over all of the paperwork she had given me. I headed to the Sorbonne a little after 12 and was pleased to see that the line I had to wait in was pretty short.

After about 15 minutes of uneventful waiting, I saw her. The girl in the condom. She was wearing a head-to-toe clear poncho, and my first thought on seeing her was "Oh my God. She's wearing a giant condom." I knew she was going to be trouble just based on the way she walked. Well, that and the fact that she wasn't the least bit embarrassed to be wearing that thing. She marched right in the door, totally ignoring the line that the rest of us were dutifully standing in. I have to admit that my second thought about her was, "I hope they send her back out here & make her get in line." I can't stand those special people who think the rules don't apply to them. Anyway, shortly thereafter, I got my wish. I was close enough to the door to hear her reaction upon being told that she had to get in line which was, "even when I have an appointment?!" The reply she got was, "all of those people have the same appointment." haha! (btw, all in French, and I understood it all.) So she marched out, waving her ticket (the pre-printed one that she couldn't have thought meant she was the only one due between 12:30 and 1:00) and ranting about having an appointment. Watch it--she'll be in MY class.

Once it was my turn, I met with another very nice lady who gave me an appointment to take a placement test, an appointment to take a phonetics test (?), and told me when and where to pick up my schedule. She could not have been nicer. Beat the heck out any experience at the prefecture, which I get to have another go at tomorrow. Ugh. Wish me luck.

So, after a successful morning, I was hungry. I metroed (new verb) back to my arrondissement and decided to get a sandwich. One of my favorites is a jambon du pays--their version of a country ham sandwich, country ham being prosciutto. Yum. So, I went to my favorite sandwich shop and ordered one. This one also had lettuce, mozzarella, and roasted tomatoes on it. It was warm, and I could only take a couple of bites as I was on the run, running errands and heading home. I started walking and realized that by the time I got home, my sandwich would be cold! So, I unbuttoned the middle button on my coat & stuck my (wrapped) sandwich in to keep it warm.

As I walked home, I remembered that the water in my apartment had been cut off this morning. I didn't know why, and I didn't know when it might be functioning again. (Luckily, I had already taken my shower, made my coffee, and given my babies fresh water.) I decided that I'd better pick up a bottle of water, so I ducked into a store & grabbed a bottle. When I moved my purse to get my money out, the paper from my smuggled sandwich peeped out of my coat, and the man at the cash register caught a glimpse of it and started laughing. Hey, you do what you gotta do, man! It worked too...I came home and enjoyed that nice warm sandwich with not one regret!

So all in all a good, if rainy, day. I also joined a couple of meetups to meet people. They do everything from going to movies to having dinner to speaking English and French to just having drinks. It seems to be a great way to meet people, so I'm hoping to go to my first event soon. I'll let you know how it goes!

A bientot!