À la recherche des oreillers perdus

It's late and I'm a little tired, but I thought I'd write a quick post to let everyone know that I made it here safely and without any issues whatsoever. Not even small ones. No lost luggage. No missed flights. No transportation workers launching a strike mid-transit and stranding me on the side of the road in an obscure Belgian town to find my way to the airport without a cell phone or a clue in time to catch my flight that leaves in an hour! None of that. I did manage to accidentally steal and drink the tea of the passenger sitting beside me on my flight from JFK to Dublin, but, compared to my past travel nightmares, this embarrassment (and the prolonged awkwardness of having to sit next to her for 3 more hours) was no big deal.

Since then, I've managed to find the apartment and to get myself all settled in. I was really lucky to find this place. It's small, but big enough, well-furnished, and in a great location within walking distance of my school and of dozens of restaurants, shops, galleries, etc. My roomate/sub-landlord and his girlfriend seem great and really went through a lot of trouble making the room perfect for me. They even built a sound-proof barrier between our rooms! Somehow, they must have found out about my psychological noise issues (not all of them, though--the kitchen is still there).

Like a good friend/daughter/blogger, I did think to take some pictures of the place to post here, but realized when I went to transfer them to the computer that I had left the necessary cords with Brian in New Haven. They're on their way, though, and I will post them as soon as I can.

Today was the first day of the Welcome Program. It started out sort of lame and boring and got worse and worse until it was both physically and mentally painful. I have a feeling that this "Welcome Program" here is really more of an international students boot camp--only those who, jetlagged, make it through six hours of redundant, disorganized administrative presentations while sitting on backbreaking wooden chairs in a stuffy, crowded lecture hall are eligible to enroll in the Sciences Po student corps. Fortunately, I happened to find some other Oberlin kids as soon as I got there, so we were all able to commiserate and squirm uncomfortably with some friendly faces. The day, overall, was actually quite nice. We got brunch together and hung out for a little bit in my apartment while my web-deprived acquaintances took turns using the internet. In the evening I went out in search of a Monoprix for some basics like pillows and tissues . I was told Monoprix is the French Target (you mean Target isn't already French?), but it is much worse. Actually, it was fine--very cheap and with a supermarket bigger than Target's-- but it had NO PILLOWS. Another night in the good, but ultimately unfulfilling, company of my one pillow and Snuggles MD.

I am determined to solve this pillow problem post-haste.