September 3, 2016

I slept in until 13h (1:00pm) today, even though I slept through my alarm. I went on a long walk to the Jardin des Plantes park to find my TEFL Toulouse classroom location. I found it, but in the process heading back, I got a little lost. That's the process I feel about settling in to a new town and getting one's bearings. The heat was exhausting in the 20-30 degrees Celsius (which I think equates to the 80-90 degrees). I don't get why Europeans don't carry water bottles around, but I've been drinking a lot of Perriers to stay hydrated.

Later I met the Portuguese student, João who is staying for the month taking French classes at Alliance Française. He is from Lisbon, so it was really nice to share my love of fado and appreciation for the Portuguese language with him. He showed me the center of town, which is the plaza of the Capitale and showing me their metro system in Toulouse. I enjoyed our conversations in English, French, and Spanish over kebabs, grocery shopping, and evening talks. Occasionally I would practice pronouncing his name in Portuguese and other Portuguese words. It feels good to have made a new friend with whom I'm sharing lodging.

 The beautiful Jardin des Plantes

 A view from the bridge that leads above the street

between the two sides of the park.

 The Church of Saint Étienne

The Capitale

The Church of Saint Sernin