When integrity pays, it's in cash.

  The older I get, the more I realize that in the real world, it isn't convenient to do the right thing. I've coined the phrase, "Integrity doesn't pay." Well, I'm not quite sure that I made that up, but this post demonstrates the opposite anyway.
  Tuesday night, I took the bus home from basketball.  I take the bus after basketball because I don't feel like walking the 2 miles home.  Call me a sissy, but I'm tired after basketball, not to mention that I've already walked 5 miles that day (to school and back, then to basketball).
  For this story to make any sense, I will need to explain the bus system here in Dijon.  On the bus there are three doors.  One in the front, one in the middle, and one in the back.  When the bus stops (at a designated bus stop) you have to push the little green button in order for the door to open.  When you get on the bus, you don't necessarily have to buy a ticket from the driver at the front.  There are small orange boxes strategically placed around the bus that allow you to punch your prepaid ticket.  But, many people opt for the monthly pass that allows you to ride any bus in the city as many times as you so desire, no ticket-punching necessary.
   Some of my more astute readers will have realized that one could perhaps get on and ride the bus without paying.  Indeed, it is possible, and I have done it before.   (Once when I forgot to punch my ticket, and once when I forgot the ticket and didn't know how to buy one.  But, later that month I bought a monthly pass anyway.)
  I learned that if one is caught, one pays a fine.  While talking with some of my basketball-playing comrades, I learned the amounts of said fines. (They increase with each offense).   I let everyone know that I paid every time I took the bus.  They weren't super surprised, but I was greeted by responses like "Well, I'll pay when I'm rich, but now..."  One guy told me on the way home that he had already payed the fine twice.  I had thought to myself, "Self, these guys do it all the time and never get caught.  Plus, it's a Tuesday night.  Why would there be a check?" But, as always, I bought a ticket and found my seat.
  When the bus reached my stop, I tried to get off, but the doors wouldn't open, and there were men in black uniforms at each door.  When the doors finally opened, they asked for my ticket, which I showed them, then I headed home without a problem. They were the control officers.  I don't know what happened to the other guy, but it probably involved a hefty fine.

So, sometimes, integrity does pay.  

All the busses in Dijon look like this. 

Photo credits: Google images.

Where I come from...ish

Perhaps some of you are interested in the specifics of this town and my university. If not, then this post will be intensely boring:

  Dijon is a city of 151,000 people (downtown) and about 250,000 (with "Greater Dijon" included.)  For those of you in Indiana, that's about the size of Ft. Wayne.  Dijon is a rich city with a lot of old money.  It is the site of the capital of Duchy of Burgundy, and still the capital of the region of Bourgogne (Burgundy).  Due to the affluence of its inhabitants, Dijon is a very safe city.  This is strange for me, as I associate cities with crime and danger. 

   Some of the quicker readers will have thought earlier, "Hey Dijon, isn't that a kinda mustard?"  In fact, it is.  It is from here and is consumed in great quantities.  I really like it, it's spicier than regular mustard and just has more body.  (I don't know what that means, but it seemed like the right description.)
  Here in Dijon, I attend L'Université de Bourgogne (affectionately called l'UB).  I find this amusing because UB is also the acronym for my school in Argentina (Universidad de Belgrano).  There are about 27,400 students in all.  It's a pretty diverse campus with 126 nationalities represented.
  I, and the other grace students, form part of the CIEF (Centre International d'Études Français).  The Center of International French Studies takes up less than three small prefab buildings.  Over 1000 students study there between the spring, fall, and summer terms.
 If you wanna see what my school looks, type in "Rue Edgar Faure, Dijon, France" at google.com/maps.  Check out the street view feature.
  My home address is 14 Rue Vauban, Dijon, if you would like to see what the outside of my house looks like.

 
Sources
Wikipedia
http://ressources.campusfrance.org/guides_etab/etablissements/en/univ_dijon_en.pdf
Google Maps

Yes, I am alive.

 Hello blogland.
Just thought I'd let you all know that I am alive, in case some of you were wondering.  I realized that perhaps I needed to update a blog when Grandma had to write another email because I hadn't written back in several days.... (Oops)

Amber took this candid photo
Too cool not to share.
The cathedral in the background is Notre Dame. 

  So a quick peak at the life of Will:
  School is in full swing, and I had my first midterm yesterday.  I felt confident when I finished (that's never a good sign).  I'll probably get some results tomorrow.
  Elizabeth, Amber, and I went to Paris on Friday to see the GoEncounter team from Grace.  We spent most the day with them, but did some site-seeing on our own.  We took the cheap train so we had a fixed return time, and that lead to the three of us running from metro to metro in order to catch our train back to Dijon.  Praise the Lord, we made it, with about 2 minutes to spare.  It was pretty miraculous because we didn't have to wait more than about 60 seconds at our various other boarding sites.

Liz, Amber, Prof Schram, and I on the Eiffel Tower

  

Last night, I finally went to intramural basketball.  The Lord worked things out so that I had everything I needed. (Medical exam, sports ID card).  It had been about 6 weeks since I had played basketball.  It was soo refreshing, and extremely exhausting.  It was neat to meet some students from Africa that were on my team.  

  The system was a little different from Grace's Intramural Program.  Tuesday nights are co-ed basketball.  About 60 students showed up, then the coach had us split into 9 teams.  He then drew up a quick schedule which utilized all 3 courts and gave every team six 10 minute games.  I think I only sat out about 6 of those 60 minutes. Needless to say, I'm sore today.
 Well, that's all folks.  Hope your days are as blessed as mine.