Do the Can, Can, Cannes.

I hopped aboard the 7:51 train to Genova and fell right asleep. I arrived in Genova around 1:30 but my next train wasn't until 2:55. I sat outside in the sun to think and read. 30 minutes before my next departure, a lady her and her son frantically sat next to me and for some reason I decided to try to be helpful and listen to them. From what I could tell, this lady her and her son were trying to text someone in France. Obviously she spoke French and obviously I don't speak a drop of it. Instead of saying I am sorry I can't help you, I did what my father would be so proud of and offered my assistance (Jews call it a mitzvah) and told her I would send the text on my phone. They were so grateful and what was a few euro to me, at least I could help them. It wasn't an issue until I received 3 phones calls and 1 text message with two words that I could actually understand "call the police". Terrified I deleted the text message and hoped that they made it to France okay. I made it to Nice around 4:30 but needed to find an ATM. An hour later, with money in my wallet, I made it on the bus to the Nice Airport. It literally took me 10 people to communicate with to find 1 ATM. The program had arranged to meet me and the other students at the airport. I finally met the one and only Walter Harris that so graciously let me on the program, along with 15 other students whom I became extremely close with in a matter of minutes that eventually turned into hours. Apparently the group waiting at the airport had just missed the last shuttle into town and we were all going to have to wait until 7 for the next shuttle. We played the name game and bonded over waiting. We united as a team and became the Terminal 2 friends. Finally at 7:30 we made it on to bus only to find out that would have to wait another hour for the kids at terminal 1 to get on the bus. 5 hours later, we were on our way to Cannes. We lugged our luggage across the street to our apartments. I was assigned to Room 661, key code GAL. Exhausted and half terrified for what I had gotten myself into, I made it to my room to meet and greet my roommates. Although Walter had told me numerous times on the phone that the apartments did not have a maid service, he neglected to say that they were similar to cabins in a cruise ship for crew members. Obviously being the last to arrive, I was given the top bunk in the small narrow room. Tiffany, Stephanie and Camile (my new roomates) and I grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the beach for a walk with the moon and sea. The hotel is 35 minute walk outside the actual Cannes film festival but it's gloriously located right on the beach. From our patio, I can see the sea, I can smell the smell. I walked around the city with a group of people, met up with my new Terminal 2 friends but then realized that I had no interest in getting drunk and obnoxious on the first night. Not that I ever really have any interest in doing any of those things ever. It is sure going to be interesting coming here after living up the life in Florence, experiencing the European life style for quite sometime now. It was very apparent that a lot of the kids on the program were a. a lot younger than me b. thought it was amazing how they could just buy alcohol on the streets. I don't blame them, it was weird my first weekend but it was hard to have fun with those type of people. I headed back to the hotel, washed up and unpacked a little before going to bed. My roommate Camile is crazy. This is first time out of the country, out of her state, and she is completely and utterly OCD. She brought more drugs, more band-aids, more toilet paper and hand towels than one can ever imagine. Oh man this is going to be interesting. Good night ocean.

post from the 10th of may