Official Day 1 in Luxembourg

So where we last left off, I was unsure of how/when I was going to arrive in Luxembourg. I was fortunately able to get an earlier flight AND I was given a €15 voucher for some places in the airport! The process it took to get to that point was pretty rough though. Instead of taking a flight at 22:10 (10:10 PM), I was able to get on one at 12:55 PM. I was originally going to try to get it refunded and take a minimum of 2 trains to get to Luxembourg at a decent hour, but it turned out that there were actually numerous spots on the plane, which only had rows of 2 seats per side. I was able to take the bus only 30 minutes to get to my Airbnb, and the host greeted me so kindly. My room is on the 2nd floor though, which is actually the 3rd floor because level 1 to us is level 0 here.

Once I was settled in, I decided to take a power nap. I really wanted to stay awake so I could adjust to the new time zone quickly, but I ended up sleeping for about 4 hours and woke up to it being dark outside. I was originally going to go to a Portuguese bar right across the street, but only one guy was in it and I didn't feel super comfortable going there. My next choice was a Korean restaurant, which turned out to be lovely. To my surprise water isn't free here—which I found out for the first time eating at Sodam—and I got an iced yuza (yuzu) tea. It was exactly the same as the ones you see in the huge containers at H Mart.

The owners were a cute Korean couple that spoke English and French with me. I got soondubu jjigae and it was incredible. Though, it was quite pricey for what I'm used to (€22). I guess if you include the tip, it evens out. I definitely ate too much, but lying down helped out a lot.

Once I returned to my room, I called my boyfriend for a bit. It was so good to hear his voice and see him after over 24 hours of travel. I unfortunately proved to be jet lagged because I couldn't put myself until 2 AM, which honestly isn't that bad. I put some guided sleep meditation from YouTube on and focused as hard as I could until it was the next morning at 8 AM. I immediately set a timer for 30 minutes since I knew I didn't have to take the bus until 9:30.

As soon as I heard the second alarm, I showered and headed out the door to print my housing contract for my residence permit. It was at a nice place called Mister Copy, and it couldn't have been easier. Once I got my papers, I got on the bus promptly at around 9:30 to head to my doctor's appointment at 11. I was so excited to be early for once...until I drifted off and realized I missed my stop. To cut me some slack, the bus actually never stopped where I was meant to get off. However, I declined to realize that the sign on the front door saying that the bus didn't go to Belval today pertained to me. I was so focused on getting to 9A-H Ave du RocknRoll that I missed the important detail: this street is in Belval. I immediately got off at the next stop, which had zero indication of being any sort of bus stop. I walked across the street because the bus would obviously have to be going the opposite direction I came from, and there was a bus stop, but for another bus company. I prayed it was mine because Apple Maps said so too. Then, other people started to arrive. However, this bus was 604, not 605 (the one I needed) and I had to get off at some point as well. A silver lining here is that I got to use a lot of my French asking for directions to get where I needed. 2 buses later, I finally got where I needed to be, and somehow the doctor had gone over time with the previous patient, so I was spared the humiliation of being 20 minutes late. The office was actually in an apartment building, which heavily confused me. A nice older man let me in because I didn't realize that the decimal point didn't have to be typed into the intercom system. He knew the exact directions to give me, which was so nice except I read them already. I still thanked him and accepted his advice and went on my way. He actually was coming back into the building as I left!

As the elevator doors opened, I saw a lovely rooftop with a sign pointing outside. The office smelled heavily of cologne, which didn't seem to go away until we got into her office. She was very kind and we spoke both French and English. This was probably the most positive experience I've ever had with a check-up, and she was very friendly. We had a couple of laughs as she did my exam, plus she gave me great advice when I asked where I should grab something to eat. After no more than 30 minutes, I had completed my exam and she sent the documents to the government to process for my residence permit. She also prescribed me some Vitamin D for the winter! And what's even better is that I can mail the invoice to CNS (the National Health Fund) to get 80% of the cost back—unbelievable!

Once I left, I headed to eat because I still hadn't gotten anything in my stomach yet. I ended up at an Italian place that was out of lasagna somehow, and the waiter recommended a very very average bolognese. It was actually less than average. However, the cappuccino was phenomenal. I keep having conversations start in French and somehow move to English. I wish I knew what was so obviously American about me so I could change it. At first, it discouraged me. but I'm sure I'll get my fair share of French-speaking. I know that the Luxembourgish are probably just as eager to practice English with me as I am to practice my French with them.

I didn't have to experience that feeling much longer when I got to the town hall in Esch-sur-Alzette for my residence permit application. Unfortunately, I couldn't file it because I haven't gotten my lease yet, but I am going to be back in two days! The woman started with "Hello, how are you?" As soon as I responded with "Bonjour, comment ça va?" she seemed taken aback and said that she was tired (in French), but then had another shock when she saw my passport. She told me twice that I spoke really good French and I left with such a giddy smile on my face.

After the appointment, I wandered around Esch-sur-Alzette and took some film pictures that I really hope turn out well. Before returning home, my battery was extremely low and I was in desperate need of Wifi and a coffee. I entered a lovely café, where I didn't realize the man sitting outside was the owner and then saw him rush to get up when I walked right by him. He turned out to be exceedingly kind and had a perfectly clear French accent. I did some cool puzzles from a newspaper I had picked up earlier. There is one called "Wordoku" that uses letters instead of numbers, and another called "Yakazu" that is similar to Sudoku,

but combined with crossword puzzles.

Finally, I returned home and called my boyfriend for a bit again. We looked at the film pictures I had taken in Philly as well as the expired roll I started back at the end of June. What's crazy is that the film that wasn't expired actually turned out worse than the non-expired film. Then, I was getting hungry and it was also getting late. I really wanted French food, but it turns out that good French food is also extremely expensive here. Either that or it has no ratings or dollar signs. I've found that to be quite the challenge here. I ended up at a place called Bugatti, where I thought I would get French food, but instead got shrimp scampi, recommended by the waitress, and Battin Fruité beer. At first, I loved the beer, but then it started to taste more and more like cherry cough syrup. It was pretty good for a fruity beer though. The pasta was nothing special either, but the shrimp made it all better. Now, I'm lying belly-down on the bed, typing away as my feet lightly kick behind me. All that being said, my upstairs neighbour invited me to have tea, so I'm going to go do that now. Until tomorrow!