First views of the city

Today was a weird day, because it started out pretty badly but ended up being a productive afternoon. I woke up this morning with plans to go grocery shopping and take care of some errands in town. I figured that Laval is a small city and I'd be able to easily navigate the streets to find a few locations. I was wrong. I ended up walking in the opposite direction of the city, cheerfully unaware of my mistake until I came to a roundabout with a sign that said LAVAL...with a big red X through it. I had apparently walked to the city limits. Oops.

Instead of turning around to go in the right direction (like any normal person would do) I figured I could turn right and take a parallel street back towards town. Wrong again. Because I didn't bring my map, I walked about a mile down an angled street to a strange industrial area with car dealerships and furniture stores. I took a few turns, thinking somehow I'd wander past a grocery store. I did end up in the downtown area, but when I asked for directions at the tourism office, I got a vague wave down the street and around the corner. I tried walking that way, but ended up making a huge circle around a weird area of town. Then I took another turn, attempting to follow a billboard with an arrow on it, but found myself making another huge circle. Finally I ended up back on a road I had seen before, and started dragging myself back towards home, trying to ignore the giant blister forming on my right heel. All in all I'd say I walked about 8 miles. I was gone for an entire hour, and with nothing to show for it! I had no choice but to go to my room and pout for a while.

Luckily Robin came over a little bit later and asked if I wanted to go with her on some errands. I seized the opportunity for camaraderie, as well as a navigator into the city. We made it to the Orange store (bumping into Michael from Nottingham on the way) and we both bought new SIM cards. So! I have a working phone! The number is about 24 digits long and I'll never remember it, but oh well! Then we actually found the grocery store, Carrefour Market. Success. It was quite a long walk, and not in any direction I had gone earlier in the day. But we made it, and I was able to buy a few staples for my kitchenette. We also got a nice tour of the city. (The nice part, not the weird parts I saw this morning.)

The view from my window.

I'm currently sitting in the "Zone Wifi" near the cafe, and boy does it feel good to be on my own computer again. French keyboards are messed up. I had forgotten about that. Q and A are switched, and something is up with W as well. M is in the semicolon's spot, and you have to hit shift to type a period! What kind of crazy setup is that?? 

I still miss home, but I'm getting used to being here. Definitely feeling less pathetic. More errands to run tomorrow, and then a meeting and lunch at school on Friday. Have to try to figure out the buses tomorrow....yikes. At least tomorrow I'll know to bring my maps along!