France is Awesome

I'm in France! I spent two weeks at my uncle's place in Marolles-en-Brie, France (~20km from Paris). I opened a French bank account with BNP Parisbas, bought some apartment essentials (30-inch flat screen, microwave, dishes), got my carte jeune for the train and then headed down to Besançon to visit my cousin.

One of the two rooms in my apartment :)

Once I arrived in my city, Bourg-en-Bresse, I was reminded of how joyous it was to be in a small French city. Bourg-en-Bresse reminds me of a compact Besançon. I found a beautiful apartment au centre-ville, subscribed to a local gym and squared off paying for my electricity, internet, TV, and mobile services. Phew!

Despite accomplishing so much in my new city, my job wasn't complete until I found some cool French people to hang around with. I did not know one single person in Bourg-en-Bresse. That had to change.

It was intimidating at first to go up to groups of people in bars and try to join them however as my Saturday night progressed I became a pro. The one secret to making friends in France: say you're American (more specifically from a well-known city such as New York). It was surprising to see a lot of French people sporting American flag tee shirts, hats, or shoes which practically invited me to open up a conversation. I kid you not; being an American with good French allows you to meet a myriad of interesting people. I followed my new French friends out of the local pub to a nightclub. There, they willingly spent top euro for VIP seating and an onslaught of alcoholic drinks. Vodka, shots, all paired with red bull, I watched helplessly as a French comrade threw up all over the club's counter then proceed to dish out high fives. The dance floor was epic: the smoke machine, the lights, the DJ. I sang along to my favorite club songs (in English) and look like a boss doing so.

We didn't stop partying until 5AM, when the club closed. Putain c'était un soir très agréable.

Yesterday we followed up our night of mischief by heading to an outdoor party. I'll keep you guys posted, for the time being and there's just too many things to do.

Upcoming destinations:
Lyon, France (September 4th/5th, 2014)
Dijon, France (September 6th - see my cousin)
Paris, France (September 8th - September 12th)
Geneva, Switzerland (???)
Barcelona, Spain (???)