Things are.. fine?

Whenever I make a move, or start a new job, or do something really awesome I always hype up how great it's going to be. I also always ignore many of the realities involved and am then surprised when I get there and things aren't magical and wonderful. And now, exhibit A: Montreal.

I was going to come here "pick up some French" and automatically have a big group of friends that I'd met at school or work. Things would be so similar to the US there'd be no adjustments and I'd be happy as a clam a few days in. Ding dong, you're wrong.

My apartment is good. It is the smallest place I've ever had, although I have everything I need. Storage is an issue though -  I have bins of things in my car (still) and every time I try to get something out of the fridge or pantry something else falls. I'm convinced that this is a result of poor organization, and I've already started working on the closet. The issue, of course, is that almost nothing in there is mine and I don't want to step on any toes so early in the year.
The money thing is thankfully old news, but it was a major stress on me for about two weeks.

School, it seems, is still "getting started". At least that's what everyone says when I talk about it. But come on people, it's been 3 weeks!!#$ The issues I have with school are mostly that the topics are boring (beginning of the year theory lectures), some of my classmates are annoying (self-righteous or overly anxious) , there are new standards (our biggest grade for two classes is to make a poster?!?@$! and yet it seems everyone is a crazy smart intellectual), and I still don't have an internship. Because I don't have an internship I only attend school for 9 hours a week, and that is my only obligation. The rest of the time I do a lot of nothing.

I don't speak French. Everyone else does. I'm trying, using Rosetta Stone and my language classes begin soon, but I always feel dumb or have moments of terror before ordering food or asking a sales person for help. Some people here refuse to speak English and are really rude about it (but I haven't encountered it yet on this trip).

Food here is very expensive. It is also very fattening. It's rained almost every day. My cell phone sucks. Communication with Dave is hard. We're long distance for the second year in a row, and he can't call me because of phone stuff. My phone quality is bad so I can only call him from the land line (land line!). I don't know what stores to go to for random things. I went to four places yesterday looking for some curtain rods, and they cost $8 each!

I know I'm whining a lot. My roommates are great - really kind and social, I live in a nice place, everything is new and exciting and I'm getting the cultural experience I wanted. It's just that when you go somewhere with such great expectations and then reality sets in.. well, it's not always the way you hope it will be.