D'abord, to rub it in, it’s still 80 degrees.
I’m sitting at McDonalds right now in the Place de la Comédie, la centre ville (basically the Mecca of Montpellier), watching a protest go down. There are some veracious young French people wearing clown outfits protesting something I don’t understand. They are doing trash bag races. Quoi? This seems to be a trend, as yesterday a giant group of young French people marched around la Comédie dressed in doctor’s costumes, along with devil and angel paraphernalia. Again, we were not sure what the protest was for. If it was health care, what more do you want French? It’s universal. Come to the USA, and then you’ll have something to protest about.
Montpellier continues to amaze me. It is such an international, young, vibrant city with so much to offer. The centre ville is the place to be, where Lisa and I have spent most of our time and are currently searching for an apartment. Very few cars drive in the centre ville, so basically there are endless stone streets to walk through, filled with market stalls, palm trees, restaurants and cafés, shopping, and always a plethora of people. I haven’t had much of a chance to explore and go inside places, as Lisa and I have basically been selling our souls to apartment hunting, but I know there’s so much of Montpellier ahead of me!
I can’t imagine a city in the USA having so much accessible, especially for young people, in such a space. There are countless “espaces de jeunesse” which offer aid, advice, pamphlets, internet, and more on everything from housing, jobs, health, ways to get involved, you name it. I have already collected an excessive amount of pamphlets for dance classes I want to take, singing groups I want to join, yoga classes, volunteering, book clubs… I can’t function as a human being without extracurricular activities. Montpellier also has a bike sharing system for like 25 Euros a year! So cool. Everything is so central as well that it is feasible to walk anywhere to where you need to go. If you can’t though, there is a recently built tram system with 2 lines (a 3rd in the making) that take you through the city.
With that said, I’m surprised with the amount of homeless people here. And they are not afraid to come right up to you, especially at McDonalds, to put their hand in your face and ask for money. Also, a lot of them have dogs, because apparently in France, homeless people get a bigger stipend from the government if they have a dog. There are also quite a few children begging, which is really sad. Though today one small boy told me I was pretty at McDonalds. Sweet.
On the apartment front, the search is not going so well. Lisa and I have been camping out at McDonalds all day using their free wifi to research, and we’ve had a few leads but nothing amounting to anything. Of course an hour ago I received a call from a potential seller, and although I proceeded to speak with him in French, I couldn’t understand the address he gave, and after asking 4 times to repeat it, we asked him to email us. He hasn’t. He also hasn’t returned any more of my calls. We’re so ready to go to an agency at this point even though we will have to pay an extra fee. I just want a home or I’m seriously going to lose a few screws. We’re now staying at a dorm that our program offers for us, which although is only 5 Euros a night, it’s pretty grody. The sheets weren’t clean, there’s no toilet paper, and no Internet. I’m getting fed up with living out of suitcases and backpacks. There’s just no way to keep things organized and clean, definite stressing. I will feel so much better once we have a home and can settle in, so I can finally start thoroughly exploring Montpellier and getting everything else taken care of that I need to. I also can’t wait to start cooking my own food because let’s face it, France is not very Steph-friendly. I’m doing ok with salads and eggs and chicken, and it really has been delicious, but thankfully Lisa is being very kind to me searching through restaurants to see what I can eat. I just want pasta, really. Montpellier, make me some gluten free pasta please.
On a happy note, we made friends!! We met up with some assistants in the centre ville yesterday to go to a juice bar, this adorable hole in the wall that serves freshly made fruit and veggie smoothies. It was so great to meet some other people, and they are all incredibly nice, so that has certainly alleviated my anxieties about not finding a home. A lot of people are in the same boat as us, aka homeless. Last night we all went to a bar that was serving 1 Euro beer. It was a cool first night life experience; it felt very American to me. Especially when they played “Grease: Megamix” and “YMCA.” It’s just great to meet such interesting people who have the same kind of passions I do about traveling, France, and just overall eagerness for new experiences. I’ve already met people from Malta, Mexico, Scotland, England, all over the States.. I love meeting people I would never have normally met in any other kind of situation as this; we all have such different backgrounds, experiences, but we’re all here, sharing Montpellier.
Montpellier has already been exciting, challenging, wonderful, and I can’t wait for more! I’ll find myself just grinning walking down the street in the beautiful sunlight, not realizing I probably look like an ass. However, I would just really like a home. So if anyone has an F3 apartment meublé in the centre ville, please let me know.
Sidebar: For the second time since I’ve been here, I was mistaken for being Spanish. I think it’s my hair.
