I bought and mailed some postcards the other day. I was all happy to discover that Chauny has postcards! Two designs only, both of the mairie - one is vertical and the other is horizontal. Way to go Chauny! I decided to actually wait in the line at the post office instead of buying the huge printed out stamps that always cover some of my writing on postcards from the machine. Good idea in theory, until I was handed huge stamps there. Luckily, on one, it just covered "à Chauny", so the sentence still made sense.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to St. Quentin to visit Lauren, an assistant that I haven't seen since orientation. We did some shopping. There was a great sale at Promod Stock, so I bought a nice thick scarf for 5 euros and a 50 euro pair of boots for 20 euros! They're obviously not leather, but they're cute and I won't care if they get ruined in all of this lovely rain we have here. We also went to a cafe for awhile. Un vrai cafe! I love cafes, but Chauny is sadly lacking. Everything is more of a bar/brasserie, and there's just always a lot of old men at them who look at you funny if you go in. St. Quentin was also setting up its Christmas village/market, so I will definitely have to go back and see it in December!

Today, I got up way before the crack of dawn to go to Laon for my medical visit. I saw so many people online when I got up! Probably because it was only 11:00 at night. And of course to add to my already lovely morning (I can't get up that early and function like a real person!), it was cold and rainy. I got to the station, bought my ticket, and was sitting down amongst all the students when Antoine walked in. Remember Antoine? He's the quiet semi anti-social philosophy teacher. I totally threw him out of his element. He had to be social at 6am! He did a double-take when he saw me, and of course, following the social rules of France, he had to come say hi and give me the bise. We talked for a little, but he had the chance to escape by going outside to smoke. When the train arrived, he was still smoking, so I just got on the train, taking all the pressure off of him. (Seriously, he's not a very social person.) Imagine my surprise when he sought me out on the train and sat next to me! I don't think he minds being around me, because while I talk to him, I don't force him to make conversation with me the whole time. And of course, he also knew that I would only be on the train for like 7 minutes before I had to get off and switch to another train.

When I arrived in Laon, it was still dark out... and still raining. Not a fun combination when trying to find your way. I followed the large group of students to the Poma (the only fully automated cable car system in the world). The Poma takes you up to the centre ville, so you don't have to take the 200+ stairs there (You can kind of get an idea from this old photo.). Okay, I should probably explain a little bit about Laon right now. There's two parts: la ville haute or upper town (the historical center and where every important building, including the hospital, is located) and la ville basse or lower town (where the train station is). The oldest part of the city, la ville haute, is built on top of a plateau or hill (however you prefer to call it). The ville basse surrounds the plateau. It was a really magnificent looking city. I would have taken some pictures, but it was dreary and grey and raining, so none this time. I'll definitely have to go back when it's nicer. I was told that I had to see the cathedral, but since it was raining, windy, and cold, I opted out this time. Plus, it's another Notre Dame looking one (and yes, it is called Notre Dame), so I can wait. Though it did serve as the model to the one in Paris and the one in Chartres. Okay, I'll see it next time I go. The ville haute was really beautiful though. It has little winding streets with lots of old buildings and terrific views! It definitely reminded me of a medieval French town. Loved it!

Okay, back to why I was in Laon. I easily found the hospital once getting off the Poma. I just had to walk 10 minutes down the same street. The visit went well. Kind of ridiculous. I've been here two months already, and only now you're checking to see if I have any infectious illnesses like tuberculosis! Little late, don't you think? But yes, I was given a clean bill of health to work in France.

Since I still had time before my train after the appointment, I decided to take the medical form and drop it off at the Prefecture. Laon is the prefecture, kind of like the capital, of the department of Aisne. France is divided into regions - I am in Picardie. Then, the regions are divided into departments - I'm in Aisne. And then, each department has a prefecture. The Prefecture building itself is where most of the administration work of the department goes down, including residency cards. I had originally sent my paperwork off to the Prefecture through the town hall in Chauny, but since I was there, I figured I might as well just go drop this one form off myself. It's quicker than waiting for it to be mailed there. The women there verified that I had everything in my file and said that she was going to make my card right then and there! Until she saw that I had submitted everything through the town hall and decided that it could wait and be sent back there. Oh, France, I love your aversion to work. But she said that I'd have it in 2-3 weeks. Cool!

On the way back to Chauny, I got to see someone get thrown off the train. He also walked off with a hefty fine. Beware all of you who don't buy or composter your tickets. That incident also made me almost miss my connection in Tergnier, because we arrived late.

Other than that, nothing really to report. Class. Exhaustion. C'est tout. I can't get up at 5am.