New apartment!

No problem!! Yeah it might be old, but no fire hazards here! What do you think the measuring cup does?

I've moved into a new apartment here in town, and I'm loving it. It's in a really old building, and you climb about 5 flights of stairs to get up there, each flight becoming narrower and narrower until you reach mine door, which is on the 4th floor (troisieme etage). It's quite big for a tudio here in town, with two rooms, a foyer which leads into the bathroom, and the main room, where I have a lofted bed, a kitchen table, a bar/countertop, an OVEN!! (rare) with stove-top burners, a big frigo (refigeorator . . how do you spell that?), and a window that looks out onto one of the little streets in the downtown. Not bad. This weekend, however, I went without heat, as the Gaz de France company at first told me they couldnt come turn on the gas until Dec 16 . . . a full 2-3 weeks after I would have moved in! I asked if they could possibly come sooner, and so they called me back later in the day to say they could come in three days. For the weekend I basically was a hobo, sleeping once at Ryan's apartment, and the next two nights in the "Pink House," the big house where most of the other assistants and a few other students live here in town (pink house since it's a 5-story house painted rose).

Christian, the German assistant here in town, was so kind as to drive me to a few second-hand shops outside town, where I was able to stock up on old pots, a frying pan, silverware, plates, and cups. I bought a great lamp for 8 euros and two chairs for 4 euros. This thrift shop was excellent; all kinds of old furniture, books, records, glassware . . all with interesting stories to tell. I instantly felt attached to this old spatula I bought and this crock pot with crazy designs on it. I also went to Liedel, this super cheap grocery store, where I finally loaded up on meat!! MEAT, ahhh, how I have missed you in American portions. Everything in this place was marked down, and thankfully, I had Christian's German saviness to help me find the best bargains. He would say, "Hunter, you must get this one, since it is more money, but you get more for it." "Wow Christian, thanks, I would never have figured that out." "It is German, that's why it's so great."

We all ate dinner together Friday night, since Amanda had a friend from England come over, Justin, and Eric had a friend from Costa Rica who is also teaching in Lyon visit him. Her name is Carolina, and we got along great. Carolina and I took a walk about town Saturday, and checked out the view since it was a clear day. Behind us in the pic is Switzerland, across the lake. She's a fantasic person and we talk in Spanish and French, which is really nice. I cant really communicate how nice it was to speak in Spanish with her and Eric, especially since they're both Tican! (Costa Rican). I may see Carolina this next weekend in Lyon, since a few people are going there for the "Fete des Lumieres," where the whole city is lit up with candles.

Saturday night we all went out, and on the way home, we discovered this crazy plastic lion/cat/jungle feline animal that someone was throwing away, so, my "PLayer's Club" instincts permitting, I capitilized on the moment, and took "Reggie," as I've come to call him, back to my apartment. He is our mascot. But some of the non-English speakers dont like the name Reggie, so we may rename him.

Also, I now have a cross between a mullet and a mohawk. This was done Sunday night, by Thomas, and Christian. Completely new, but it's growing on me. I just say, "This is way we do it in the South baby," whenever some Frenchmen look at me weird.