Here is something I'd written out in great hopes of starting to freelance. Then there was drama and my friend, who was the editor of the newspaper resigned, and I promptly walked out behind him -- without really even haven't walked in! So this was written to be published, and published it shall be.
La beginning
Waking up early (9 am IS early for a Sunday morning) after a heavy night is not what I recommend.
Gay clubs have awesome music! This is not the first lesson I learnt in France, but it is something to be kept in mind. When asked for suggestions on where to go for a night of good, uninhibited dancing here, I will very 'in the knowishly' say so.
Lesson #1, however, is that it's ok to look five times your size as long as each layer of clothing is working to keep your blood from freezing over.
Lesson #2 is that if someone tells you that below zero degrees cold is cold, don't believe them. Every drop in temperature makes a difference. Your fingers get icy faster, making it that much harder to use the key to turn the freezing lock of the freezing door. And don't even get me started on the windchill. I'm sorry I'm on this weatherman trip right now, but check out what one of the sites had to say when I googled for Lille weather today: Light freezing drizzling likely. What? No really! I'm from South India; Chennai to be precise – so I am fully allowed to crib about this even if I'm not reacting to it half as badly as some of the people around me are!
Gah. I'm stopping with that. Yes it's cold. But its tremendously pretty. The whole town with its cobbled roads and brick houses with wooden floors. Now, I'm a sucker for this sort of a thing. The first day I walked into my accommodation here, I felt a warm happiness spread within me. However, this was temporarily doused when I realized I would be sharing one (thats right, ONE) toilet and one shower with five six other people. Warmth returned when, on my first peep into it, I saw books lining a whole wall of the water closet (smirk at subtle word substitution success).
Another very important lesson (someone suggested i call it lesson #2 and a half), and I am NOT being paid to promote websites here, but you can learn just about anything off youtube! Laundry, for instance. People may be condescending, but it isn't the hardest thing to screw up the landlady's washing machine. I choose safe over sorry.
This weekend has passed – with its share of dancing, wining and housemate bonding. The week in coming will be my first in a long series of intensive course crunching. Also, and very importantly, the winter sales have begun. Post-classes I hope to be porrikifying the streets of this fine French town, and praying that the 'likely freezing drizzle' remains just a possibility and nothing more.
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