Things are getting hostel

This apartment hunting thing is proving to be harder than I thought it was going to be. So far, everything I’ve tried on craigslist, pap.fr and other such websites have dried up and/or have been rented out. I recently paid money for a website called appartager.com and even though I get a lot of leads, no one has replied to my requests. One went up last night, actually and I quickly called them but the lady on the other end told me, “Sorry, it was just taken.” Because I didn’t foresee this hunt to take so long, I only booked 3 nights in the hostel and there’s no room for me after that. Not that I want to stay here much longer anyway. I’ve been sharing a room with five other guys, two of whom snore like my grandmother and who think it’s a good idea to keep the windows closed all night long so it feels and smells like used, warm gym socks in the morning. Then there’re the showers that you have to hold a button down with one hand to get any water so you’ve got to rinse, soap, rinse, soap, rinse, etc. On top of that, there’s no hooks for a towel in one of the showers so my towel got all wet yesterday. :(

Oh and have I mentioned that the public transportation system is on strike here? Making it impossible to get anywhere quickly?

So now that I can’t rely on the hostel does this mean I will I be living out of a bus station locker? Nope. Luckily a friend from High School, Aliénor, lives in Lyon and has gladly invited me to stay at her place for a time. I’m happy that I at least have a roof over my head, but I’m at the point where I’m tired of living out of a suitcase and I would really like to get settled in now. Especially since I start work tomorrow.

That brings me to my next topic. Yesterday I got up bright and early and visited the schools I will be working in. I’ll go into more detail later since I have another meeting to go to this afternoon after which I’ll know more about my obligations so come back for that. I will say that after having visited the schools, I’m getting excited to start work and excited to begin this new adventure ahead of me.