Hostel!

This morning, I went to the train station to meet up with Olivier, Xavier, Céline, the 3 Brazilians (Léonardo, Joel, and James), and Anne. We were looking for another exchange student from Italy, but we could not find him. I hope that kid is going to be fine by himself. Anyway, the students helped me move from my hotel to the hostel. I moved in with the 3 Brazilians. This hostel is so much cheaper than the hotel. I'm getting 2 nights and free breakfast for less than 1 night at the hotel, which didn't offer a free breakfast. However, I'm now living with 3 other guys, in a dirtier hostel, about a 15 minute bus ride from the center of Grenoble. I guess it's not too bad for 2 more nights.

Anyway, today, I met with Céline and she took me on a tour of the campus of INPG. She showed me the PHELMA school and where my dorm is located. She also attempted to explain "renter's insurance, social security, and health care" in French to me. Didn't work out too well, but apparently, it's all really cheap and I get amazing care. Céline had to go back to work, so I went and got a bus pass for the year. It costs about 205 euros, but it works on all the city buses and trams. I also finally got a sim card and a pay-as-you-go plan for my phone. Thank god I unlocked my phone and am using it over here. It's so much cheaper. Phones in France are insane. At least, 40-50 euros for even the most basic phones. The phone plans are even worst. It's like, 26 euro a month for only 1 hour of calling and you have free texting from like, 6pm to 10pm. Any other texts costs 10 cents each. The plans just get worst as you go up in minutes. I am happy that I actually have a phone now.

I am becoming extremely mentally exhausted from these days. All day, I have to concentrate on everything people say and I have to think about everything I want to say. It's really challenging. I haven't felt this challenging in a long while. These first 3 days have been insane. :)