My first weekend in Belfort

Cathédrale of Belfort

At the citadel of Belfort

my school

Hello !(1st October 2011)
Its my first weekend here and its been pretty nice…well yesterday I discovered the school closes for the weekend and all the students go back home so ive been all alone in the hostel..practically in the school. I was pretty creeped out …still am..the corridor reminds me all the horror movies ive ever seen and I have to rush to the bathroom and come back looking behind me every now and then…

But honestly its very safe..im the only person with the key to the building other than the concierge(care taker) and I lock it everytime I enter or exit. And because the students are gone no WIFI !!no net connection… it is tragic. I felt so lonely suddenly cut off from everybody like that.
So yesterday I went out discovering Belfort… we can walk to everywhere…and we don feel the strain cuz its soo neat and non polluted..the vehicles are not trying to kill u either. They wait for me to cross the road !! its incredibly nice. I got my sim card and my number is 0761515368. Then dasha showed me where I can get veggis and fruits and grocery for the cheapest rate and unfortunately it’s a lil far from my place so I bought everything and lugged it till my school.
I even found this lil Asian store which sells rice and dal and rajma ,
channa and chilli and all spices…so yay..:)

Then another miracle happened. Suddenly I heard laughter outside my window…it was the concierge of the school. I asked her regarding wifi..and she said I should come to her place! She lives in the school too with her family. Husband and a son theo who s chotu s age and a
daughter margot. Her older daughter does not live here. So I went over and they are very sweet. She insisted I stay for dinner and yay I got to eat crepes yesterday ! with cheese and chocolate. Yum!

Another thing is she said her phone connection at home allows her free international calls to 100 countries and india is one of them so I can go use her phone anytime! :D We got talking about how different the culture in india is from here…she showed me her family photos( her name is victorine and her husband jean-claude) and I showed her mine. She was curious about
amma’s bindi..and the saree and how marriages happen…lol..she could not believe parents choose their childrens life partners.. And they don’t know English at all…except for a few words…the way we communicate is sometimes funny. Like when I was showing her photos of
shravanabelagola and the abhisheka they were doing for the big statue…I was explaining how they use milk, water and even honey. I din know the word for honey…so I went “ buzz….” And she guessed..lol 
And they all think im very pretty because im all “bronzed” “tanned” they like brown skin and we like fair skin  too bad. Their family is extremely active –note to u all – they are amma and appa’s age..50,48…and they go on marathon running, today they went cycling, fishing,hunting(shooting) hiking..its brilliant…they ve invited me to go fishing with them sometime.and on other sport activities. Im going to accept 
Then after dinner she asked if I wanted coffee..i said sure…then she gives me black coffee….ugh..i felt bad to refuse so I put in 2 sugar
cubes and gulped it down.. At around 9 she said you need to look at the “ the lion of Belfort” (
it’s a famous monument here ) in the night with lights on so at 9 in the nightshe takes me in her car around the city till there…it was extremely sweet. So that was yesterday.

Todayis the 2nd oct. and its been a pleasant day. I woke up at 9 had breakfast…chocos! With the milk I bought yesterday and orange juice and a cup of mixed fruit yogurt . then I headed out to the anitiquities market which is set up once a month…pretty exotic stuff there. Then I visited the cathedrale of Belfort nearby..really beautufull..then I went to the railway station and got myself a youth card which will give me 25-50% off on all rail tickets I buy. Its an excellent purchase. After that I met the other assistants from different countries there and we bought our tickets to go to Bessancon on Tuesday for an orientation program. We are 12 and I met them for
the first time. They seem very nice. There is Biljana, katy,heather,jesus,cindy,

 louise, dani..the other names I don remember..they had lunch together at a place called Flunch where there is unlimited veggis for 3.2 euro. It is super.i had already eaten so I
should try it someother time…then we went to the lion of Belfort…its
on top of a hill..and its great. Walked up..great view. I came back at
4 completely exhausted..took a hot shower made a sandwich for myself.
And am typing this out. Now ill go to the lady s house and mail it
along with photos…
Byee..
Love
aishu