Cité universitaire Estelan

I came in Aix at the Gare Routière (bus station) in the early evening. I needed three roundabouts* to walk to the street** of Estelan. Estelan’s hidden entrance is located near the roundabout. When I came to pay and get the key (+/- €150 per month), I was not on the list. I must say that I sent two e-mails and called the ‘secrétariat’ some weeks ago to tell my arrival date, so there must have gone something wrong in the process. But the lady at the desk gave me a key and I had to come back the next day to pay my rent. I could pick a floor (2nd) and she came with me to show the room.

So this is the room in which I’ll sleep and stay until the end of December. The room is about 10 m2 and it has furniture: a bed (with a pillow***), two chairs, a desk, much closet space, a lavabo and a bidet. I share the kitchen with 44 to 49 French and international students on my floor. I see it as an advantage, because I’m able to meet many people from different countries and I can learn French much faster than when I would live in an apartment with 3 other students. There are 12 rooms, the kitchen and the ladies’ toilet in my corridor.

Because the ladies’ toilet is closed until the end of August, I have to walk about 50 meters to go to the mixed toilet and the mixed showers. They are like on the campsite or in the swimming pool with doors and locks made of plastic. I take my toilet paper with me, because there aren’t any in the toilet. Indeed, it really feels like camping! But I already got used to it. Every day (I didn’t see her on Saturday) a cleaning lady cleans the common rooms on our floor and the staircase.

The next day I paid the rent (last days of August, September, October and November) and I asked some questions in French at the ‘secrétariat’. I thought that I could only pay with a credit card (Visa, Mastercard) or in cash. Apparently, a debit card (Maestro or CB-card) is a ‘credit card’ in French too. I needed some time to figure that out… On Friday I paid the rent for a small box in the refrigerator, such that I could buy some milk and cheese.

There are strict rules in this hall of residence and the cleaning lady checks the rooms. I’ve been told that they do it early in the morning when I’m still asleep, but I can’t imagine that they do that. I have to see it with my own eyes, before I believe that! You can’t have someone stay a night in your room; otherwise you’ll get a warning. After 3 warnings you’ll have to move out. That’s why I say ‘Bonjour’ and smile, every time I see her (you’ll never know).

This is all I can say about my place. It’s different than my room in Holland, but for €150 per month it is better than expected. Estelan is nicely situated: a market and supermarket nearby. The Gare Routière is not far away, so I can take the bus to Marseille, Nice etc very easily. I’m quite happy with it and already made friends in Estelan.

* I got used to measuring walking distances in “roundabouts” instead of kilometers, because there are so many of them in Aix and its surroundings. I want to buy a bike, but I’m a bit scared, because the cars drive very fast on the roundabout and they don’t stop when pedestrians are walking on the crosswalk.
** The street is the Avenue Général Leclerc or Boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc or Avenue du Maréchal Leclerc, as long as it is ‘Leclerc’… Apparently the last name or the noun that is written at the end of the street name is what you have to remember and ask for.
*** I brought a pillow case with me from Holland, which was rectangular. Though the pillow I found in the room was like a long cylinder, I could wrap my pillow case around it. So now I have a U-shaped pillow, but it’s okay.