Today is the day before classes begin, so this posting will be short and perhaps not very interesting.

I have been doing most of my shopping at the local Proxy. I had assumed that this was its name, like Kroger, Safeway, etc. I figured out, however, that the store’s name is Delhaize. “Proxy” is a way of distinguishing the three different kinds of stores they have. Proxy is supposed to be a neighborhood store with more products than their Shop & Go stores (which I assume are convenience stores) and the stores with no designation (which I assume are supermarchés). The nearest full-sized store is 12 minutes away by train. I went to the Proxy this morning shortly after it opened because I wanted to see what kind of pastries they had (normally by the time I get there the fresh pastry/bread section is all but empty). My plan was to buy breakfast there if they had anything that looked good. If not, to hop on the train for Belval where the full-sized store is. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shop where I have been buying croissants was open. People will tell you that stores are not open on Sundays in Luxembourg. While that does seem to be true of the malls, I don’t think it’s true of the smaller stores, at least not in Differdange. Already at 8:30am, many of the places I pass on the way to the supermarché were open. So, I will postpone my train ride for another day.

I am also attempting to do laundry as I write. The Dean warned the students that European washing machines take around 2.5 hours to do a load. The machines here have an express setting, but I stuck with the regular wash. The settings on the machine were in Dutch (which I could understand when they were close to the German) and international icons (which I do not understand at all). The detergent comes in squares, much like giant bullion cubes. The instructions on the box offered too many choices. There are two places to put the detergent squares. It wasn’t clear to me if the second one is required or is only for very dirty clothes, so I put only one square.

Well, I found the manual online. Let’s just say that some of my assumptions were wrong. I don’t think my clothes will be damaged; just not washed particularly well. My experience with a European vacuum cleaner when more smoothly, but, alas, my dishwasher doesn’t work. There’s one knob and one button, so I’m reasonably sure it’s not user error.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for tomorrow, the first day of classes. Not only is the first day of classes here, but it’s also the first day that philosophy has been taught at Miami’s Luxembourg facilitates!