Erasmus honeymoon

Thursday 31 August. Lille Aeroport. Early afternoon. My dad, my stepmother and my best friend waving me goodbye. Trying not to cry. After all, why would I? I was kicking off my Erasmus honeymoon!

A honeymoon. That's how I like to refer to it. Not that I'm experienced in that field, but I might have some idea after having watched too many romcoms. Those first days where all is well and overwhelming... Visiting the city, exploring the counrty, meeting new people, soaking up the sun, going out, sleeping in, sipping coctails at the beach and most importantly: no school! I fell in love with Nice, and after all those months, I still am. 

Of course, not all was cakes and ales. First of all, my aeroplane was delayed, which forced me to take a 40-euro taxi to my future home I had never seen before, where I had an appointment to do the état des lieux with a woman I did not know. Sweaty, hungry and exhausted from my travels, I arrived at the Ruelle. A woman was awaiting me and we immediately got at it. She asked me to follow her up the stairs and I clumsily followed her. It took me some time though, dragging along my heavy luggage. As I arrived, she had already opened the door and I could now, for the first time, see my apartment. It wasn't love at first sight, I must confess, but then again, the most stable relationships are built on a long friendship, are they not? 

I barely had time to put down my luggage, for the woman was already showing me how to switch on the electricity, as she was meticulously writing down all damage to the apartment. Together, we examined the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the furniture and even the cutlery. She took photos of everything and briefly asked me to sign the contract. I wasn't much alert, she could have sold me a cow if she wanted to. But I didn't care, all I wanted was to lie down, watch netflix and eat sushi.
Once the état des lieux was done, she disappeared with great haste, passing me the keys and wishing me a pleasant stay.

That same night, much against my will, I felt the obligation to assist in the very first ESN meeting of the year. Not that I wasn't curious to go, but the meeting started at 10 pm and I had only arrived in Nice two hours before and within that timespan, I had taken an overpriced taxi, inspected walls and door handles and - worst of all - hadn't eaten anything but an Oreo. So all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. But my consience whispered to me that I would regret not going, because the next meeting would only be in a week and I would be sad and lonely for the rest of my Erasmus existence if I didn't go there that night.

And so it happened that, on the first night of my Erasmus honeymoon, I sat in the Sansas bar, talking to strangers who would become my friends and drinking coctails who would become my enemy (it's never good to drink on an empty stomach...)

They say the first night of your honeymoon is the best, and it sure was. But little did I know about the havoc I would wreak that night...


*to be continued*