the library

make sure you check out our updated Where Is Joe's Head? page!

Well, our situation hasn't changed much but our outlook is finally starting to. Today, I had my last meeting. My classes are in place, and the material for the first week will be set by Saturday evening. Let's hope this library has some good phonetics books! (It's still fresh off the press and Joe has planned how to use the five books I get for the month...)

We're in the library, where we get free Weefee (French for Wifi). We walked in, took a seat and found ourselves conveniently positioned in front of the Russian literature section. Granted, I brought along War & Peace, but if I somehow find that I've been able to chew my way through that before it's time to leave the country, why not try to struggle through it in French as well?

Joe has meandered through the poetry section, so it looks like our budget for book shopping will be even smaller than we were originally allowing ourselves, with the added bonus of not having to return them. We're actually even considering foregoing the cost of Internet at the apartment & relying on the library. This is great for now, but when it gets too cold I may lose my willingness to be so frugal. The four blocks we walk to get here may seem much longer when snow starts falling. (But then again, I could easily justify the purchase of a really nice pair of boots with all the money we're saving on Internet–decisions, decisions.)

I have also discovered the 40-cent coffee machine in the Salle des Profs (teacher's lounge, also the nicest room on campus). No one else is as impressed by this as I am. They bring back fond memories of nights at the library in college & morning at the language school on my last trip to France. They are also on 40 cents, so give me a break. Yeah, I'll have the cappuccino. Yeah, go ahead and add the sugar. AND you get to throw your cup into the side of the machine in a special recycling thing. AND the 40th recycler gets their money back–just like the penny machines in Vegas, baby.

It's a good day. It's about to get even better as we get ready for our first evening at the pub with friends. Off we go!