(no subject)
I continue to live, and the hostel where I'll be spending my first few nights unexpectedly has free wireless, which is excellent. However, I'm currently feeling greatly doubtful about the wisdom of this whole "research trip" thing, probably exacerbated by little sleep, little food, little caffeine, and a possibly-incipent cold. I'm hoping that France, and the prospect of leaving my room to confront it, looks better in the morning. If nothing else, I'm sure breakfast as included in the cost of my room will lure me out of it.
My plan is to spend the next few days exploring and getting acclimated and figuring out how to find my way around, and then to make my first trip to the archives on Monday. I've now heard from the archivists at both the archives départementales and the bibliothèque municipale. Before I go, I think I'll also spend some time reading over my dissertation proposal and reviewing my notes on various things, so as to hopefully remind myself that I have a pretty good idea what I'm doing.
I also need to get myself a little electric kettle and a mug so I can have things like tea and instant oatmeal packets when, as will inevitably happen on occasion, not even food can lure me out of my room.
In any case, I've also discovered that the park in which my hostel is located is home to a type of GIANT ANGEVIN SLUGS, which I'll have to keep an eye open for when I go out running (probably not tomorrow). And so far people have been humoring my attempts to speak French to them. Hopefully my ability to put a sentence together will re-emerge. If only my French grammar weren't currently serving as the core of a bundle of clothes that I'm reluctant to unpack until I arrive in my more permanent housing, since I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fit it all my suitcase again.
Finally, I have to say that the fact that the final destination of my train from the airport this morning was Nantes, and the fact that I saw buses heading to places like Châteaubriant, was seriously, nerdily (dorkily, even!), thrilling. Whatever else happens this trip, I am excited like anything for my week in Brittany at the end of it!
My plan is to spend the next few days exploring and getting acclimated and figuring out how to find my way around, and then to make my first trip to the archives on Monday. I've now heard from the archivists at both the archives départementales and the bibliothèque municipale. Before I go, I think I'll also spend some time reading over my dissertation proposal and reviewing my notes on various things, so as to hopefully remind myself that I have a pretty good idea what I'm doing.
I also need to get myself a little electric kettle and a mug so I can have things like tea and instant oatmeal packets when, as will inevitably happen on occasion, not even food can lure me out of my room.
In any case, I've also discovered that the park in which my hostel is located is home to a type of GIANT ANGEVIN SLUGS, which I'll have to keep an eye open for when I go out running (probably not tomorrow). And so far people have been humoring my attempts to speak French to them. Hopefully my ability to put a sentence together will re-emerge. If only my French grammar weren't currently serving as the core of a bundle of clothes that I'm reluctant to unpack until I arrive in my more permanent housing, since I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fit it all my suitcase again.
Finally, I have to say that the fact that the final destination of my train from the airport this morning was Nantes, and the fact that I saw buses heading to places like Châteaubriant, was seriously, nerdily (dorkily, even!), thrilling. Whatever else happens this trip, I am excited like anything for my week in Brittany at the end of it!