I woke up at 7 AM today. Because of the leg training that I did two days ago, my legs were so sore that it was hard to get up. Every time I go up and down the stairs, it hurts. Since we got the heater on, it was very comfortable to spend time studying in my room. I like seeing the outside view from the window by a table and chair. At about 6-8 o’clock, it is completely dark outside. After 8 o’clock, the sun starts rising, and the sunlight comes through my room. By 10-12 o’clock, the sunlight is so bright that I do not need to turn the light on in my room. Luckily, since I came here, the weather has been beautiful, so I have enjoyed the weather here. Unfortunately, we could not use the heater because the owner says that it is too expensive to use it. According to what an American neighbor said, it costs 1,000 Euros, so I guess it is what it is. During the day, it is pretty warm here, so we do not really need it anyway. Hopefully, we can use it during the night and morning, though. Anyway, I had a late lunch. I was chilling after that, and I left for grocery shopping because pretty much everything that I bought last time was running out.
There are two grocery stores around this area. One is a smaller one, and another one is huge. To go to the bigger one, I have to take a bus, so I decided to go to a smaller supermarket instead. I went there in about 10 minutes on foot. The unique things about France grocery stores are
First, a small grocery shopping bag has small wheels on the bottom, so people can carry it like they do with suitcases while shopping. I thought that was pretty cool.
Second, they have a huge section of fromage (cheese) and jambon (Ham). Unfortunately, I do not prefer either one, so I have never bought any of them since I got here.
Third, there is a small gate where people have to scan a barcode on the ticket to go through after checking out by themselves. A French person told me that although not every grocery store has that, it is getting more common.
Since I got used to shopping at Costco in the US, I feel like everything looks smaller, but that is probably a unique thing about the US grocery stores.
While shopping today, I found another unique thing. There is a small machine that people can use to make fresh orange juice on their own. Maybe I should try it next time.
I mainly bought meat and other things. The total cost was 48 Euros. I do not think that it is expensive to buy things here. As a Japanese, a small portion of everything reminds me of a Japanese grocery store. They also had a rice cooker, which was about 100 euros. I thought it was expensive, but I do not remember how much it is in the US. Unfortunately, the dormitory does not have a rice cooker, so I was going to buy one for a moment, but I ended up not buying it. Maybe I felt it was expensive, and also, I am leaving here in two weeks anyway.
I listed how much the main groceries cost below.
- Beef 640 g (1.4 lb) ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ €8.59
- Chicken 1 kg (2.2 lb) ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ €8.59
- Egg (12) ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ €4.25
- Pasta 1 kg (2.2 lb) ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ €1.5
- A salad bag ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ €1.81
I bought beef and chicken at a discounted price, so the regular price is more expensive. Last time I bought a regular pack of chicken, it cost about €14.
I enjoyed the second day off. In terms of my French level, I am getting used to the rhythm of the pitch. I am not sure how much progress I can make during these 3 months of staying, but I will try to do my best. My motivation is still pretty high. I heard that from today, Vacance de la tossaint (All Saints’ Day Holidays) has started in France.
Well, that’s it for today. See you tomorrow.