Getting started in Perpignan - part 3

     by Poonam Ganglani

My first meal in Perpignan-a salted chicken panini at the Cafet’ BU made me think of my last meal in India before leaving-spicy coconut chicken curry. Suddenly I missed India terribly and felt like calling home. I didn’t have a France telephone number yet, so used a carte téléphonique to begin with. That brings me to Lesson number six: You can purchase your  carte téléphonique  for 7,5 Euros either from Taxiphone, located right opposite the Accueil, or at any Tabac, the nearest one being opposite the University entrance. Make sure you get a card that gives you maximum time for your country. If you eventually decide to buy a SIM card, Orange is a good option. Be sure to check out the specific call rates pertaining to your country before buying your SIM card, some of the others who took the other popular brand SFR, ended up paying an arm and a leg for INCOMING calls!!

Ahem, back to my story….Relieved and relaxed by now, I  decided it was time to start getting things in shape for my 5-month stay in Perpignan. It was quite exciting really setting things up for myself. I started with the basics: trash bags, toiletries, food and a few other things. It was my first of the many many visits to the medium-sized grocery located behind the Cité U, right in front of Quick—Leader Price. Despite its reputation for not-very-high-quality things, Leader Price has served me sufficiently well and deserves the position as Lesson number seven: For day-to-day groceries like personal hygiene items, cleaning items, food, vegetables and the like, Leader Price is just a stone’s throw away from the Résidence and is definitely a convenient option. Keep an eye open for items marked with the ‘Prix Gagnant’ label if you’re looking to economize. Further down, you’ll find LIDL, which is a smaller grocery with a few more varieties in terms of brand.

After a few hours of meandering through the aisles of Leader Price, I trudged up back the Cité U  with my five grocery bags, stopping to catch my breath once in a while. The evening passed slowly, and I spent a few hours spilling out my thoughts into my diary till late that night…..

Getting Started in Perpignan - part 2

       by Poonam Ganglani

Day Two at Perpignan : I woke up feeling adventurous enough to discover the place on my own (I was one of the first to arrive) and ready for a challenge. The day began with the biggest challenge of all- My meeting with the Secrétariat. 

Lesson number three: Be prepared, be patient and be ready with about 400 Euros to pay your loyer and 400 Euros to pay your caution deposit upfront. There may be exceptions for 1st semester students who will be allowed to postpone payment till the credit of the bourse but in any case, be ready to deal with them and explain the situation…repetitively and politely, never daring to forget your Bonjours and Mercis. I Bonjoured and Mercid myself away from the tough situation and then set out to finish the surrounding formalities. Lesson number four: Do not delay in filling in the CROUS contract given to you by the Secrétariat , and get yourself a 59 Euro logement insurance policy from the LMDE office located on the left side of the main University entrance as early as you can.

After my morning at the secretariat, I decided that I deserved to treat myself to some scrumptious food. I headed to what would be my haven for the first few days in the University: a petit cafet’ opposite the Bibliothèque Universitaire, and hence the name--Cafet’ BU. I soon learned my 

Lesson number five: Take advantage of the food on campus, at least till you get started with your own cooking. The Cafet’ BU and the Aquarium are good for short-eats, The Resto U offers a full meal at just 2,80 Euros and La Loge located above the Accueil is open even in the evenings. La Tartinerie and the Pizza au Feu du Bois camion located opposite the University entrance are good too if you’re willing to spend a bit more. My personal favourite (till a friend converted my bills to Indian rupees and shocked me that is) is Quick,(good ol’ burgers instead of baguettes!) located behind the Cité U.….I still indulge once in a while!

Libraries in Lisbon

      by Becky Chen

I am providing info on all the libraries that I have “used” before in Lisbon. However there are many other libraries available and perhaps you could find info from elsewhere.  

Whenever there is an English version of the library info is available, I have given you the webpage in English.

This is a list of catologues:

http://www.fl.ul.pt/biblioteca/pesquisas.htm

To be more precise, I am giving you the name of the library, the internet link is for you to do your catologue search, then furnished by the second web address below it with the information of how to get there and the opening hours. 

1. Biblioteca da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa

SIBUL Catologue Search (SIBUL = a system integrating all the libraries of the University of Lisbon) http://194.117.1.194/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b

Opening Hours http://www.fl.ul.pt/biblioteca/horario.htm

2. ICS- O Instituto de Ciências Sociais (belongs to Universidade de Lisboa)

Catologue Search http://www.ics.ul.pt/biblio/en/pesquisa.asp

How to reach there https://www.ics.ul.pt/rd/rdweb/institutelocation.do?idgenericpage=7&menu=institution

Opening Hours http://www.ics.ul.pt/biblio/en/informacaogeral.asp

3. ISCTE - Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa

Catologue Search http://biblioteca.iscte.pt/bibliopac.htm

Further info http://biblioteca.iscte.pt/Conheca-nos.htm

4. Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal 

Catologue Search  http://www.porbase.org/english/index.html

Opening Hours http://www.bn.pt/sobre-a-bn/horarios.html

How to reach there http://www.bn.pt/sobre-a-bn/informacoes-uteis.html

(Libraries 1, 2, 3, 4 are close to one another, Libraries 2 &  3 are actually side-by-side)

5. Biblioteca de Arte da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

Catologue Search http://www.biblartepac.gulbenkian.pt/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=ba-en&lang=eng#focus

Access and Opening Hours http://www.biblarte.gulbenkian.pt/content.asp?cod=acesso_horarios&menu=acesso_horarios&parent=home&lang=en 

6. Rede de Bibliotecas Municipais de Lisboa (but most probably the one that you’ll go to is Biblioteca Municipal Central - Palácio Galveias)

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Catologue Search

http://catalogolx.cmlisboa.pt/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1V9W4023927O3.39239&profile=rbml&menu=search&ts=1194402392734#focus

Information on each and every municipal library in Lisbon. http://blx.cm-lisboa.pt/contactos

(Libraries 5 & 6 are near the Campo Pequeno metro station)

Library – the second Home? 

My personal favourite is Library 1, the numbers and sequence actually indicate my preference and priorities.

I spent about one month at the Biblioteca da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa while researching for my dissertation report. Another reason I had to spend so much time there is because as a student who’s only there for 1 semester, I can’t get a membership and I’m not allowed to take the books out. However I like it because:

- it has what is relevant to my research. If your field is American studies, Cultural Studies, Literature, this library will be very helpful to you.

- super convenient photocopy (and relatively cheap), printing, binding service.

- wireless (it’s the same e-U connection as the Lumiar Residence)

- canteen and a couple of cafes available, conveninet for a person like me who can’t accept sandwiches and cold food for lunch.

- near the Residence, by Metro.

- you don’t need to show anything to enter.

In between, whenever I need to I also walked to the ICS Library, it’s about 10 minutes walking distance. It’s a small library, with 1 or 2 photocopy machines, as the name of the library indicates, the collections are mainly in the area of Social Science, like family, religion etc.

I had also ‘enjoyed’ 2 weeks at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, straining my eyes on microfilms of some Portuguese newspapers of the 1900s. As you can see, it’s the place where you want to find more specific, or antique resources. You won’t see many students here, I think people who go there are mostly postgraduate students, researchers or professors.

The procedure here is a little bit more complicated than other libraries, if you are not carrying a laptop bag, you have to leave them at the locker, and you are not allowed to bring your water into the library. If you have your laptop, usually the bag will be checked by the security.

Important Reminder: Bring your passport if you go there for the first time.

Many of my Mundus colleagues like Biblioteca de Arte da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. The book requesting process super efficient if compared to Biblioteca Nacional. I must say that the library has a very pleasant interior, comfortable chairs, and beautiful surrounding- the Gulbenkian Park is lovely. The membership card is issued on the same day while Biblioteca Nacional takes 1-2 weeks.

The Municipal Library is the only library which allows you to borrow and take the books out if you sign up for membership. All the other above-mentioned libraries require you to use the material in the libraries only.