Day by day, I'm slowly getting the hang of things in Strasbourg. I'm in discussions with a few students that are leaving to buy one of their bikes, which will reduce my 30-40 minute daily commute to 15 minutes or so (in theory). On top of that, it will be cheaper, and I don't have to put down a 100€ deposit. So if this works out, I'll only have to pay for the bus/tram on rainy days. And I definitely want to reduce my need for the bus/tram ASAP.
Why is that, you might ask? Besides the cost, I had an incident yesterday morning that generated enough stress, albeit only for a brief time, to shave a year or so off my life. At dinner two nights ago, I asked my host brother for some change, because I only had 1.10€, I knew the bus/tram cost more than that, and the ticket machine (which is the only way I've found to buy a tram ticket) doesn't take Euro notes. I wanted enough for a round trip, but he thought it would be better to just give me enough for a one-way ticket, and then I could get change at lunch. I agreed, and he gave me another 10 cents.
As you can probably predict already, that wasn't enough. A one-way ticket (aller simple, as they call it here) costs 1.30€, and I only had 1.20€. I tried to use my credit card, but I kept getting a "card not valid" message; I'm not sure if I was using the card reader the wrong way (I tried it at least 4 different ways), or if the ticket machine simply hates VISA for some reason. Regardless, I then had the dilemma of finding 10 more cents somehow. I had a 5€ bill, so I figured that the best approach was to exchange that for change somewhere. But where? I tried a boulangerie; nope. I went to an ATM, hoping that, maybe, I could withdraw a very small amount of money; nope (but it did accept my ATM card, as I hoped it would, so that was good to know). I asked some people near the ATM; nope.
Finally, after about 15 minutes of frantic searching, I came across a diner-type establishment that gave me change for my 5€. I walked briskly to the nearest tram stop, got my ticket, and hopped onto the first tram that I could. At that point, it was half-an-hour until class, but fortunately, my bus arrived shortly after I got to the bus stop, so I didn't have to waste time waiting there. Still, it was close, but I made it to the Syracuse Center with a few minutes to spare.
I found out afterwards that, if I had walked from my house, I could have probably made it within an hour, which is how much time I had when I left the house. But my host mother refuses to let me just walk to the center every morning (and my feet are opposed to that notion too), so thus, I'm now looking to get a bike. As it turns out, Strasbourg is a very bike-friendly city; there are bike paths on many roads and plenty of places to lock up a bike. I was a little unsure of how well I would be able to bike, and a bit intimidated by the prospect of riding a bike for the first time in many years, but I tried one out this morning, and even on the cobblestone sidewalks, I was able to ride fairly competently (wobbly, but I didn't fall; so I consider that a success). This trial ride has given me enough confidence to risk investing in a bike, so I'll be making a purchase either tomorrow or sometime early next week, once I've compared the various offers I have for a bike and found one that suits me.
On completely unrelated tangeants: Beverages in France are frustrating. When given a glass, it's generally tiny, requiring several refills over the course of a meal. If refills are free, that's only a minor inconvenience; otherwise, it's expensive. Taking a shower is awkward, because there's no curtain, and the showerhead is detachable, so I have to squat to keep water from getting everywhere. And as I'm writing this, I was talking with the other Syracuse students about going to Paris next weekend or the weekend after, so there's that to look forward to. Oh, and we'll be travelling around Alsace on Sunday. I didn't feel like I was engaged with the other students yesterday, but today, I'm once again in their midst, as I was when we first met. I was afraid that I was going to be lonely in France, but that fear seems to have proven unjustified. Thank goodness.
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