Today my cousin Yvette sent me a lovely homemade card along with three relatively old pictures that I actually have with me (I've been so accumulated to using a digital camera that I don't have prints lying around as much anymore). I've been trying to take more pictures but I keep forgetting to take my camera out when I go out! Actually- it's my mom's camera, so I have to be more careful and watchful of it.
Yvette suggested in her card to write everything down that happens to me here so I can go back later and read about all my experiences. I know i'll want to read everything later on, so i'll definitely follow through with that! I'm beginning to run out of writing space in this journal, but not to worry- I know just where to buy a new one. There's a store in Centre Ville called "Forum" that has a bunch of books, CDs, DVDs, office supplies, and things like that. I bought 2 little notepads from there that I will use for writing down vocabulary words.
I need to remember to carry cash around with me- that, or more of these stores need to start accepting "cartes bancaires" (bank cards). With the help of my friend Katy I was able to open an account at BNP Paribas. I got a carte bleue, which is the card with a little microchip that is used at many locations throughout Besançon, and even Velocité (the bike service that lets you rent bikes to get around downtown). I actually had to wait a while for my money to transfer over to this account- something I wish I had known a little earlier before arriving. I was waiting on my refund check from the University, but all in all it took about 1 month for the funds to transfer over. Next time, I'm going to have the funds ready well before arriving! I still received my carte bleue even though my money hadn't yet been deposited in the account- and had begun to use it without having any funds in the account. luckily, it doesn't work the same way as it does in the States, where if you overdraw your account, you are fined. I just went in the negative after making a few purchases, and when my money was deposited, it all balanced out. Yay France!
~Post-trip thoughts~
The notepads I bought at Forum proved to be one of the best things to help me learn the language- that and constantly surrounding myself with French natives. I would keep the notepads in my purse and write down phrases or words I didn't recognize so I could look them up later in my dictionary.
*If you will be living with a host family, and you want to open a bank account, chances are you'll need their address and a recent utilities bill in their name (as well as other usual necessities like your passport, another form of I.D., etc.). My French wasn't as good as Katy's upon arrival, so if you can have someone come with you to avoid any confusion while trying to open your account!
-Madeleine Bien
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