GTL Arrival!

After almost 24 hours of travel by plane, train, and taxi, I finally made it here to the Lafayette apartment complex.  My lodgings for the semester are a lot nicer than I was expecting.  I'll take some pictures once I have everything unpacked and looking nice.  I was expecting to have to share a bathroom with someone, but I have my own!  Also, some nice person left a few hangers for me.  I might buy some more at the local "hypermarche", Cora (basically the French Super Walmart, but bigger and better).

The only bad parts of my trip here were that my favorite GT duffel bag broke when I disembarked at JFK and that I couldn't get my phone card to work at Brussels-Midi train station because I didn't have Belgium's country code.  I think I did a better job navigating myself through Belgium and France than I expected.  I freaked out and stressed a little on the inside today, but nothing major.  I got to all my destinations on time and sometimes even early.  I think I'll be even more relaxed next time I'm navigating through train routes and I feel a lot more confident about what to do at a foreign train station.

Once I got to Lafayette, the building manager checked me in and showed me to my new room/apartment.  I ran into a bunch of GTL-ers while waiting for the building manager to finish his phone call.  One of the girls, Kayla, invited me to dinner with everyone else.  We went to a crepe restaurant in downtown Metz and I got to meet pretty much everyone that is here so far.  Everyone seems really chill and funny and I know that everyone is going to get along really well.  We all walked around downtown Metz at night and accidently stayed out too late for the bus to take us home, so we walked all the way back.  Not what I was expecting when I put on my new shoes to wear to dinner tonight, haha.  Here are some pictures from tonight's walk:

Getting off the U-line in downtown Metz for dinner

Cathedral in downtown Metz (Construction is being done on the steeple right now)

Centre Pompidou at night

It is definitely time for bed.  I think I've had less than 5 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours.  Pics tomorrow of the apartment, hopefully!

-JChamp