Love at first sight-found an apartment after much grievance and rejection! It's in the center part of Nantes too- right by a medieval cathedral (so I can pretend to be Quasimodo...or Esmeralda) and near all the bars and restaurants. I'm thinking there is definitely a ghost there too, from the looks of the building's stale and pealing Victorian entrance and winding stone stairwell. But the room itself is very cabin-like and cute, kind of like a little girl's playroom. Thank god it has a bed, a toilet, a little kitchen, and a bath tub, even some windows. Those are some important qualities. The location is it's best though.

Phewewfff. That's a relief. While it is comfortable in many ways, its also not comfortable to have to bum off of someone's generosity an inevitable time. All I've done for him in return is like all of his cooking. Well, I did buy him an apple tarte from a boulangerie. Not that something that cost me 1 and a half euros is anywhere near what room and board and French conversation and all kinds of other help would ever amount to. In fact, if he hadn't made the phone call I wouldn't have gotten this apartment. Oh yeah, did I mention I don't have a phone yet. I did just set up a bank account which should help me get a phone. It seems like every contract requires about ten forms which then of course also require a pile of other forms. I don't really like forms or understand much of the French words typed on them, but without them I'm kind of useless and definitely homeless.

Today I actually got to start doing some kind of work too. Apparently they get to re-take exams they've failed twice already here. The exam was an article they had to read and take notes on then give an impromptu oral presentation. So that was different. The hardest part was figuring out the grades, which are out of 20. Because perfection is not actually possible in France, 20 is set as an unattainable number kind of just hovering all smugly above the rest, with no actual value or usage in real life. So failing is like under 8, and thats for someone who can't really speak in full sentences, uses wrong verb tenses, and is basically incomprehensible. 16 and 18 are really good. I'm still trying to grasp all this, I don't think it makes much sense, which kind of further proves how it's not a very good system...but we'll see. Also, they literally sign up for these exams with a pen on a sheet of paper, so only some of them sign up, and then only some actually come. There's not much enthusiasm from them either, since these are re-takes or make-ups and they don't pay to go to this school. Very different from a computerized system of dates and exams, and students who show up early and prepared. There is some good from technology after all.