Wednesday, May 6, 2009

A full full day, but no photos to prove it :)

Oh la la, I feel like I don’t have any time to journal since it’s so busy here. I like the pace and complexity of the business world though. This evening, I hopped on the metro for the first time to see what was further into Lille. I found a bigger store called a carrfour, thank heavens. Tomorrow I’m going to take my passport and buy a monthly metro pass. Friday is a holiday devoted to the end of WWII so the university shuts down, which means I sightsee! I’m anxious to see “Old Lille” and the Palais des Beaux Arts, which is considered the Louvre of the North. Also, a new movie called Coco avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel) is all the rage in Lille and it stars Audrey Tautou, one of my favorite French actresses, so I’m dying to see it. Today was a hectic day in the office, however, I’ve made progress, I sent my first two documents by email in French out to the staff this afternoon. The French keyboard is drastically different than the American one so getting them typed and grammatically correct and clear was quite the chore. :) Tomorrow I’ve been asked to cover the front desk of the department for an hour during a staff meeting and am quite nervous to do it. Sunday will be my first day at church in the Lille ward and I can’t wait to see a Mormon in this town! I thought I’d run into missionaries perhaps but haven’t yet. Cedric, the vice-dean repeated a quote that I had heard in a French comedy on the plane here called Bienvenue chez les Chti’s. It goes, “when a person comes to Lille they cry twice: once when they arrive, and once when they leave.” The North has a bad reputation for being cold and gloomy, but the people are so kind, I am sure I too will become attached and sad to leave when my time comes. Well, I’m off to do my pilates before I crash. Bonne soirée xo

2 comments:

Maria Babin said...

hi haleigh! how fun, what a great adventure! enjoy! and just wait til you go back to the u.s. typing will be even more challenging once you get used to the french keyboard!

Casey and Allie said...

Hay, this is so awesome! I so wish I was there to go on French adventures with you. Take advantage of everything (I know you will)! Tell me how Coco avant Chanel is...I'm intrigued...

Soak it all in and say a big 'ohlala' for me!