So you let the University know we were coming, right?

So the first week of classes went pretty well. I find that my comprehension is growing leaps and bounds but my speaking abilities are nowhere near as refined or articulate as my French counterparts'. So I keep my mouth shut most of the time. I'm slowly figuring out the protocol for things like scarf wearing (you take your scarf off when you're seated in class... if coat comes off, scarf comes off), university restroom usage (just because there's a woman on the door doesn't mean that you can't go in and do your thing), and note taking (apparently you have to have at least 13 colors of pen and always underline things with a ruler).

The Pitzer College study abroad department has seriously fucked up in the last week. It turns out that they forgot to register and pay for one of the Pitzer students studying over here (my friend Emma, one of only 3 Pitzer students here mind you). She received an e-mail after her first day of classes saying that there was no record of her as a student at the University of Nantes. Really Pitzer? So you still expect us to pay full tuition for a semester but you couldn't verify that one of your students, who you sent halfway around the world, was ACTUALLY ENROLLED?? Nice. Fabulous. You're really earning your keep. Needless to say there will be some letter writing to the Dean.
Once we figured out that minor detail, we thought we were in the clear but... nope. Yesterday evening we received a letter saying that our rent payment was late and that if payment wasn't received, our bill would be sent to a collections agency and we would be asked to vacate the dorm. Pitzer had made it explicitly clear (in writing) that our housing would be paid for entirely so the fact that a) payment is late and b) we're even being notified individually to pay, is utterly and completely innapropriate. And a huge joke.

Though we then felt like castaways in a strange and foreign land, we decided that everything would eventually work out, and realized that the only thing we could do was drink a bottle of wine, eat some chocolate and biscuits and try to laugh about it.


Its been quite stormy but we are going to venture into the cold and try and have some fun. Sorry for the bitch-fest of a post but its sort of my world right now. Stay tuned! Hopefully we won't be homeless by next post. Enjoy these pictures of Beautiful Nantes!