Dépaysement

While pondering over the many options I have to blog about this week, I could not find any particular interest in anything.  You see, my brain has been distracted recently by all things negative.  I don't mean to alarm anyone who is reading this; this is not a blog about depression or homesickness, or anything that could make someone worry about me.  Honestly, I think what I'm going through is natural and is intensified by stressors such as lack of money or lack of companionship.  There is a french word, dépaysemant, which basically means "the feeling that comes from not being in one's home country."
I personally think that the dépaysement that I'm experiencing is centered around change.  I'm away from everyone and everything I've ever known.  Nothing is the same.  I live in a teeny tiny dorm lacking things that normally a person would need (like cleaning supplies, trashcans, a comforter on my bed).  We have a kitchen but I have no pots and pans.  I can't even cook easy frozen stuff because there is no freezer.  I have to eat everything at my desk or on my bed because there are no chairs in the kitchen, and usually if I'm eating at home it's bread with cheese or jam or hummus.  To even GET bread and cheese, I have to walk 30 minutes to a grocery store or a market and they close super early every night anyway.
The lack of food brings me to another point-- lack of money.  I am forced to eat out everyday because there's no way to eat otherwise.  Henceforth, I've already spent a very large portion of my money that I had saved for the entire year.  I honestly have no idea how to make the money that I have last 8 more months.  It looks very bleak and it stresses me out.
Other than those things, there are several other things here that are just very DIFFERENT and they are hard to get used to or make me feel out of place.  For example, the entire city shutting down at noon on Sundays, public bathrooms costing you money to use them, the bus that sometimes just doesn't stop to pick you up, the lack of soap ANYWHERE (seriously, it's like they don't believe in washing their hands), the fact that coffee is only sold in shot glasses, guys and girls use the same restrooms in my school, and that there is literally no AC anywhere.  I know what you're thinking, "Oh my gosh Zoë, you're being such a big baby.  Those things are so unimportant." And I totally agree.  However, it's these little things that make me feel displaced and make me realize how much I love the United States.
I really am lucky to be here and I'm very happy in Aix; I just have a hard time adjusting and I miss how easy and comfortable things are back at home.