Update on life in Paris...
Vendredi, le 19 janvier:
I went with Sweet Briar to see "un spectacle," Corazon Loco, at the Theatre National de Chaillot. It was an hour-and-a-half ballet/operaish thing. It was very "avant-garde," but well-done, and the production was beautiful. Sara, Darcy, and I were planning on going out afterwards, but we were way too tired, so we ended up going to a bar/cafe in Trocadero to have "milk shakes." Turns out that French milk shakes are rather odd, and expensive - basically chocolate milk, but a little thicker. We hung out for a while, until we saw a mouse scamper across the floor of the restaurant...and we decided to leave, and go to bed.
Samedi, le 20 janvier:
I woke up late and went for a run, as usual, in the Champs de Mars. Afterwards I decided to go to the outdoor marche right near my house, to get some fresh fruit. It was completely packed, and I had no idea what to do (whether to get the fruit myself and hand it to the vendor, or to tell the vendor what I wanted)...so I ended up asking for the fruit, but then thought the woman told me to get it myself, but she was actually just saying that she was going to get it -- one of the funny things about life here is how much harder you have to work at every social interaction, especially with people you don't know. Things that are so easy in the US (going grocery shopping, going to a restaurant, etc) are much harder here, because there are different rules of "politeness," and different things you are supposed to say. Basically it can make me terrified to go out and get things done, but at the same time it makes me very proud of myself when I am able to get what I want.
After the marche, I went to a cafe in the 7th to write postcards and meet up with Darcy. It started pouring rain, so we stayed there most of the afternoon. That night we went out to the Latin Quarter for dinner, at a tiny fondu restaurant on a side street. We decided to return to Le Cristal, our favorite bar, but it was "Bacardi Night," which apparently means hordes of French teenagers and bad American music...so we decided to make it an early night.
Dimanche, le 21 janvier:
Woke up and went for a wonderful run - on Sundays, all the roads by the Seine are closed down for pedestrians/runners/bikers/rollerbladers (lots of people rollerblade here...it is very strange), so I ran to the Eiffel tower, and then ran right next to the Seine. It was a beautiful day, so I met Sara & Darcy in front of Notre Dame for a picnic. We thought it was really warm, but the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, so we ate very quickly. We decided to walk around Ile St. Louis for a bit, which is such an atmospheric part of Paris. You can stroll down the streets and listen to street musicians, shop in little (over-priced) boutiques, and grab a delicious crepe (though you could spot out the tourists, bc they were the ones eating the famous Berthillon ice cream despite the freezing temperature).
I came home and talked to my host family, and my host mom asked me about the viola I rented, and why I wasn't playing it. I told her that I didn't want to disturb anyone, and the whole family freaked out, and told me "this is your house! play! play!" Which was SO sweet.
Lundi, le 22 janvier:
After going for a run in the Champs de Mars, I met Sara and Darcy for lunch in a little secluded garden by Sweet Briar (in the 6th). Afterwards we went to SNCF (the train company) to try to book train tickets to Prague, but they turned out to be unbelievably expensive (180 euro each way). We walked over to a movie theatre in the Latin Quarter, and watched "Hors de Prix," a so-so French romantic comedy. We were really proud of ourselves, however, because we understood the entire movie :o).
I came home, and had a mini-"breakthrough" with Pauline, my 21 year old host sister. She's always really sweet and friendly, but the past few weeks I've felt that she's been very distant (aka Parisian). However, something happened on Monday night (I have no idea what), and now we are 10 times more friendly and comfortable with each other. Again, I have no idea what happened. My theory is it has something to do with my viola, but I really don't know. When I figure out what happened, I'll let you know..!
Mardi, le 23 janvier:
In the morning I had my viola audition, which I've already posted about. I came home and met one of Pauline's friends from med school, and Pauline asked me to show them my viola, so I took it out, and they were friendly and kept asking me questions about it. After a quick lunch, I had my first class at Sweet Briar - Atelier d'Ecriture - which is the best class of all time. It is taught by this extraordinarly charismatic French woman, and it basically addresses all the things you never understood abouot French. She focuses on 3 things - grammar, Anglicisms, and expressions, and structures the course around our mistakes. So every 2-3 weeks we write a short paper, then she corrects them all, and notes down all the "interesting" mistakes people make, so that she can explain them to the class. In class on Tuesday she gave us phrases in English and had us translate them into French (she says that she tries to give us romantic phrases, so that we will remember them better) - we learned that you always say "en meme temps," unlike in English, and then the construction "plus je le vois, plus je l'aime," "loin des yeux, loin du coeur," etc.
After Atelier, I went shopping with Sara and Darcy, and bought boots! Every woman in Paris wears knee-high boots (I'm not exaggerating - I usually wear walking/gym shoes, and every time I get on the metro, there is always a woman who stares pointedly at my feet). So now I can wear my boots and feel a little less conspicuous...
I came home, and the two grandkids were over (they come over every Tuesday night, and spend Wednesday here, because French kids don't have school on Wednesdays). They ran around the house dressed up as Scarlett O'Hara. They are recovering from the chicken pox, so this was even more adorable because they had big red dots all over their faces.
Mercredi, le 24 janvier:
I had my first History of Paris Through its Monuments Class, which looks to be really fun. We have an hour and a half lecture in the morning, then a break for lunch, and then we go to the part of Paris that we've been learning about. For our first class, we went to Ile de la cite, and talked about the early history of Paris (the parisii, etc), and went to Notre Dame. It was absolutely freezing, and by the end of the 2 hour session, everyone was frozen! Darcy and I went to a cafe for chocolat chaud, but after an hour-and-a-half, we were still shivering! The class is more work than the Atelier - we have to do a 10 minute oral expose (mine is abou St. Sulpice), and also a research paper, but I think it should be interesting.
I came home, feeling a little under-the-weather, and my host mom flipped out. She made me go to my room and lie down, and then brought me lots of French movies to watch on my computer! I ended up watching l'Auberge Espagnole, which I loved, especially since it resonates a lot with my current experience - it's about a Parisian guy who goes to live in Barcelona for a year through the Erasmus study abroad program.
At dinner we had our first political conversation, which was very interesting. They explained a lot about French politics to me, and the upcoming election, and I told them how our elections work, and about Barack Obama, and Hilary Clinton - my host dad tried to say "Hilary" to me about 10 times before I could figure out what he was talking about (the French don't pronounce the H...so it was "eelarry"). Then my host dad insisted that I drink grog to feel better - grog is a mix of hot water, honey, lemon, and rum, and as my host dad says, "put a hat in front of you, drink your grog, and once you see 2 hats you've had enough grog, and you will feel better in the morning." So I did what he said, and went to bed!
Jeudi, le 25 janvier:
I woke up really early (6:45!) for my viola lesson at the Ecole Normale. I got there at 8:40, afraid I'd be late, but my teacher didn't show up until 9:45 (very French, also). I played for him a little, and he was absolutely wonderful. He told me he's going to find me a new viola because the rental I'm playing on now is really bad, and then he also gave me the phone number of his friend who runs a really good chamber music program in Issy (a suburb). Also, he invited me to play at this "session de perfectionnement" in Perigueux (somewhat near Bordeaux) in 2 weeks. I haven't decided whether or not to play in it, but it sounds like it could be pretty cool, and I'd love to see some of the French countryside!
I came home to drop off my viola, and my host mom was having her weekly Thursday tea with all the other "ladies of leisure" in the quartier (my host mom is one of the most social people you will ever meet). I then ran off to Sweet Briar for my second Atelier d'Ecriture, where I learned a lot about personal pronouns, and the construction "avoir hate que".
After Atelier, Sara, Darcy, and I had lunch at our favorite cafe near SB, and then we metro-ed to the Museum of Decorative Arts, for a show about Balenciaga's dresses. It was cool to see dresses from the 1930s to 2006, but the organization of the show made absolutely no sense, so we were often just pretty confused. Upstairs they also had a show about commercial photography in France, which was also very interesting - photos from Man Ray to the present.
I came home, had dinner, and went to Le Cristal (as usual). We had an AMAZING time (as usual). We met more new French friends, who were all hilarious. At first, we were kind of sketched out, because this guy Antoine just came up to me and said "me and my friends are drinking over in that corner, and you should come prendre un verre with us"...so yea, seems sketchy, right? well Sara & I told our friends we were going over there, and if we weren't back in 10 minutes to go find us...but it turns out that he, and his friends, are just really friendly. So we had a really good time, and most of them live in the 15th, so they told us about another bar nearby that is even better (less smokey!), where we're going on Saturday. We also met this guy who is half-American, half-French, and used to be an (American) football player in France, and he invited us to watch the Superbowl with them at a bar in the 6th! Go Bears!
Random things:
-everyone is late. at least 15 minutes late, but often more than that. and no one runs anywhere. no matter the time of day, people just coolly stroll places. this is very difficult for me, since i always need to be on time!
-people use the word "truc" constantly. it can mean anything.
-people really do say "oh la la." not the way Americans imagine it (aka not in a romantic sense), but it's still so funny to hear it constantly.
-things are really good here, and every day I feel better and more at home. However, it is much more difficult to live here than you would think. Coming here, I thought that it would be very easy to adjust to life in Paris, since it is a cosmopolitan city. While there are a few big differences between France and America (notably different languages), there are also lots of little differences between French and American culture which are less visible or apparent. It's really difficult to pinpoint what separates you from the Parisians, but there is something there. Well, maybe I'll figure out some of it eventually...
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Viola
This morning I had my audition for l'Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and it went well! It was in this huge old building in the 17th, and I played in a concert room for the director. He was a really sweet guy, and kept trying to get me to take more classes at the Ecole. Right now I'm signed up for un cours d'alto, but I think this will be very different from a viola class in the US...he told me that this week the class is on Thursday (but it changes every week), and that I should show up in the morning. I asked him what time, he said "whenever you want...8:30 or 9, whenever" (very French. he then proceeded to map out 5 or 6 different combos of metro and walking that I could take to get there, even though the Malesherbes metro stop is 1/2 a block away from the Ecole -- also very French.) It's the viola class for 2nd year conservatory students, which makes me rather scared, and I think that you just get up and play for the class...which also makes me scared! so we will see. He wanted me to do chamber music as well (which I really wanted to do!), but I'm leaving at the end of May/early June, and anyone taking a chamber music course has to play the exam at the end of the course, so obviously I wouldn't be there for it. He did, however, talk me into taking/visiting a class on Analysis of Medieval Music...it's a really advanced class, but I don't have to take any tests, I'll just be sitting in on the lectures, so that I can see how "things are done" in France. However, this might conflict with my travaux dirigee at the Sorbonne...so I'll have to wait and see how registration at the Sorbonne goes.
After we sorted all this out, he gave me a tour of the entire music building, pointing out the mosaics on the walls, and giving me a long history of the arrondissement, the building, and the concert hall. One of the big perks of being a student at the Ecole is that I can go to lots of concerts and masterclasses hosted by the Ecole in all different locations in Paris for free! Every Tuesday and Thursday there are recitals given by grad students and by professors, and then there are masterclasses almost every week.
The director was really sweet, and told me to come to him with any problems or questions. He also pointed out that the academic director is American, and told me that when I get fed up with the French, I should go and talk to him :o).
More to follow on la vie parisienne--when I have more time I will give a longer summary of what I've been up to. But maintenant I have to go to my first writing class at Sweet Briar!
After we sorted all this out, he gave me a tour of the entire music building, pointing out the mosaics on the walls, and giving me a long history of the arrondissement, the building, and the concert hall. One of the big perks of being a student at the Ecole is that I can go to lots of concerts and masterclasses hosted by the Ecole in all different locations in Paris for free! Every Tuesday and Thursday there are recitals given by grad students and by professors, and then there are masterclasses almost every week.
The director was really sweet, and told me to come to him with any problems or questions. He also pointed out that the academic director is American, and told me that when I get fed up with the French, I should go and talk to him :o).
More to follow on la vie parisienne--when I have more time I will give a longer summary of what I've been up to. But maintenant I have to go to my first writing class at Sweet Briar!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Likes/Dislikes
Weird things about Paris...:
-the cars will always stop at green lights, and drive on red lights. pedestrians do the same thing. one time, we were waiting patiently at a red light near Opera, when 3 people on motorcycles/mopeds cheered us across: "ALLEZ! ALLEZ!!! WOOOO!".
-people run in street clothes. whoever said that parisians don't run lied. they do run. they just run in khakis, nice shoes, and nice sweaters or polo shirts. the women sometimes wear spandex, or other normal running clothes.
-the metro stops running at 1am on Friday nights, but it is impossible to get a taxi on Friday nights after 1am.
-people eat with their elbows on the table, and they eat unbelievably quickly. if you haven't finished your plate 3-4 minutes after it was served, you will be the last one eating.
-somehow people manage to not be obese, yet they eat more cheese, ham, and white bread than i have ever seen in my life.
-you cannot make eye contact with anyone on the street. ever. if you do, it is obvious that you are a foreigner, and it is considered an "invitation" to men.
-salads cost between 15 and 20 euro, but a sandwich or a glass of wine costs 3.
-pastries and crepes are cheap & delicious
-waiters are not just rude to americans, they are rude to everyone. unless you act cute, and then they flirt with you.
-people do not like to wait in line (and generally will not wait in line)
-everyone smokes. and all my clothes smell like smoke. my whole room smells like smoke. on february 1st they are banning smoking in bars & restaurants, so the government is subsidizing nicorette gum & the patch...only in France.
-what is the deal with telephones? when the phone rings, everyone runs to answer it. everyone keeps their cell phones with them at dinner. and if any phone rings at dinner, it is totally appropriate to carry on a long conversation with the caller. however - you rarely see people talking on the phone on the metro, or in cafes...odd.
-the toilet is in its own room, separate from the shower and the sinks. this makes it awkward when you want to wash your hands. i can only assume that people do not find it necessary to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.
-the shower is not a shower. it's a bath, with a shower head. i don't think anyone really knows what to do with it. you can't take more than 5-10 minutes in the shower (i shoot for 8), so you can't take a bath. but you can't really take a shower, since there is no curtain. hmmm.
-in the US, we watch foreign films in the original language, with subtitles. Here it's hard to find movies in the "version originale." you would think that if you wanted to see Casino Royale, for example, it would be in English with French subtitles. In fact, only 2 cinemas in the entire city are showing this Version Originale. all the other cinemas use the dubbed versions. why?
more to follow...
-the cars will always stop at green lights, and drive on red lights. pedestrians do the same thing. one time, we were waiting patiently at a red light near Opera, when 3 people on motorcycles/mopeds cheered us across: "ALLEZ! ALLEZ!!! WOOOO!".
-people run in street clothes. whoever said that parisians don't run lied. they do run. they just run in khakis, nice shoes, and nice sweaters or polo shirts. the women sometimes wear spandex, or other normal running clothes.
-the metro stops running at 1am on Friday nights, but it is impossible to get a taxi on Friday nights after 1am.
-people eat with their elbows on the table, and they eat unbelievably quickly. if you haven't finished your plate 3-4 minutes after it was served, you will be the last one eating.
-somehow people manage to not be obese, yet they eat more cheese, ham, and white bread than i have ever seen in my life.
-you cannot make eye contact with anyone on the street. ever. if you do, it is obvious that you are a foreigner, and it is considered an "invitation" to men.
-salads cost between 15 and 20 euro, but a sandwich or a glass of wine costs 3.
-pastries and crepes are cheap & delicious
-waiters are not just rude to americans, they are rude to everyone. unless you act cute, and then they flirt with you.
-people do not like to wait in line (and generally will not wait in line)
-everyone smokes. and all my clothes smell like smoke. my whole room smells like smoke. on february 1st they are banning smoking in bars & restaurants, so the government is subsidizing nicorette gum & the patch...only in France.
-what is the deal with telephones? when the phone rings, everyone runs to answer it. everyone keeps their cell phones with them at dinner. and if any phone rings at dinner, it is totally appropriate to carry on a long conversation with the caller. however - you rarely see people talking on the phone on the metro, or in cafes...odd.
-the toilet is in its own room, separate from the shower and the sinks. this makes it awkward when you want to wash your hands. i can only assume that people do not find it necessary to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.
-the shower is not a shower. it's a bath, with a shower head. i don't think anyone really knows what to do with it. you can't take more than 5-10 minutes in the shower (i shoot for 8), so you can't take a bath. but you can't really take a shower, since there is no curtain. hmmm.
-in the US, we watch foreign films in the original language, with subtitles. Here it's hard to find movies in the "version originale." you would think that if you wanted to see Casino Royale, for example, it would be in English with French subtitles. In fact, only 2 cinemas in the entire city are showing this Version Originale. all the other cinemas use the dubbed versions. why?
more to follow...
Friday, January 19, 2007
Week 2
It's been a while since I last posted, so I will organize this by days...:
Friday (12 January):
I went on a trip to Versailles organized by Sweet Briar. We were really lucky - it was the first beautiful day we've had. Madame Gree argued with the guards for about 15 minutes, but finally got us free audio guides, which was a very useful refresher on French history. After touring the palace, I walked around in the gardens with my friends Darcy and Sara. We ended the visit by a walk through the town, and lunch in a tabac on a side street.
Friday night I had dinner with my host parents, and then went out to a bar called Footsie by Opera. The bar was really fun - the premise was that the price of drinks change like the stock market, so there were these 2 huge plasma screens that listed all the drinks & their current prices, and would change every 3 or 4 minutes to reflect people's recent orders/preferences. We met up with a girl from Williams who is here for the year, as well as another girl from Williams who was visiting Paris for the week. Afterwards, we went to the Latin Quarter, but missed the last metro (it will always be a mystery to me why the metro closes at 1am on Friday nights). Darcy and I ended up waiting for a taxi at a taxi stand in St-Germaine-de-Pres for almost an hour...but it turned out to be the best part of the night, because there were these two hilarious and extremely drunk Irishmen who were also waiting for a taxi.
Saturday (13 January):
Woke up late, and went running in the Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards I went to the Marais to meet my friends Sara and Jen for lunch and a little shopping. We ran into some other Sweet Briar girls and walked around for a while, but Sara and I got really tired of the insane crowds, and ended up opting for an espresso at a cafe on a side street.
Saturday night I met up with Darcy, and her friends Stephanie (visiting from Williams) and Allie (Steph's friend who's here for the year at Sciences Po). We had aperitifs in a bar in the 7th, and then walked to the 6th for a late dinner. Afterwards, we went to a fun Irish pub in the 5th, and met up with Sam (from Williams - here for the year), and her boyfriend and his friends, who all go to school outside of Paris.
Sunday (14 January):
Another late morning. Went running in the Champ de Mars, and then headed over to the Pont de l'Alma for a promenade en bateau mouche with Sweet Briar. It was another beautiful day, and it was really nice to see the city from the Seine. However, it was also extremely touristy, and not too informative.
After the bateau, I went to the Petit Palais (museum) with a few of the girls from Sweet Briar, and saw the Rembrandt eaux-fortes exhibit (gravure or etching). It was a really amazing show--they had 180 of his 300 eaux-fortes, of various sizes, detail, and subjects.
On our walk home, we passed by Chamillionaire on the Pont de l'Alma. He was having his photo taken for his new album cover, and we actually chatted to his girlfriend...it was funny because they had this huge set up w/lights and cameramen on the bridge, and yet the only person paying any attention was his girlfriend--only in Paris.
Monday & Tuesday (15 and 16 January):
Pretty uneventful days. My Sweet Briar methodology classes started, which were pretty boring. We just learned how to make bibliographies for the French universities, and how to complete the different kinds of homework in the schools. It was kind of ridiculous, because the professors kept saying things like "well, American professors may accept essays written in pencil and torn out of your notebook, but French professors will not," and they would not believe us when we told them that American professors would never accept an essay that wasn't typed, or well-presented. I guess the point they were trying to make is that in the French University system, one of the deciding factors of your grade is the presentation of your work.
Tuesday night, Sweet Briar organized dinner on the Eiffel Tower, which was really fun. The restaurant was surprisingly not very good, but it was still nice to be with the whole group, and to meet the students that are here for the year. Afterwards we decided to check out this bar on my street that my host mom keeps telling me about, Le Cristal, and it was so much fun. It has become our new favorite hang-out, because it is filled with students and young professionals, and has much more of a local, friendly feel than the more touristy bars at the Opera, Bastille, and Latin Quarter.
Wednesday (17 January):
I had my meeting with Mme Gree, the academic advisor, to pick my courses. I'll be taking 2 classes with Sweet Briar - Atelier d'ecriture (a writing workshop), and Histoire de Paris a travers ses monuments (a history of Paris through its monuments - 1/2 lecture, and 1/2 "field trip"). I am also taking 2 classes at the Sorbonne: Impressionism through Expressionism, and Renaissance Art. I also have an audition on Tuesday at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris to try to get placed in some viola class/ensemble. So it looks to be a very culture-filled semester!
After my meeting with Mme Gree I went for a run, and then went shopping for a little while to buy a purse. Later in the afternoon I met up with Sara and Darcy to make travel plans for a break in February (Feb 22 to March 3 -- this break is even more amazing considering that Paris IV classes start on Feb 12...). We have tentatively decided on visiting Prague for about 6 days, and then on the way back stopping in Strasbourg for 2-3 days.
I also went to the Musee du Luxembourg, and saw a beautiful show about Titian - "Titien: Le pouvoir en face." It was 5 huge rooms filled with Titian's portraits...the curating was nothing special, but it was unbelievable to see so many beautiful paintings in one place!
I came home a little earlier than usual, watched the news with my host family, and had dinner. After dinner, Madame and I had a 2 hour conversation about her past exchange students, and differences between American and French culture. At first I was a little confused as to why she was telling me all of this (and for so long), but I decided to take it as an indication of our feeling a little more comfortable with each other, and being able to have a more "open" conversation.
Thursday (18 January):
I had my last methodology class in the morning, and then Darcy and I had lunch in a cafe (we were so sick of bread & cheese that we caved, and got "normal-people food," aka omelettes). Then we went on a visit to the Marais with Michael, an intern at the Sweet Briar office, who actually went on Sweet Briar, and has been living in Paris for 4 years, working on his dissertation. He showed us lots of "hidden" streets and parts of the district, which should be useful - the Marais is definitely one of my favorite parts of Paris, already.
Thursady afternoon I made my first French phone call, which made me very proud of myself! I called a violin company that Eduard recommended, and arranged to have a meeting on Friday at 11:30 to rent a viola!
Thursday night we returned to Le Cristal, and had an amazing time. We met lots of French & international people our age. Michael (the intern) said, and it seems to be true, that the best way to meet French people is to first meet people from other countries who live in France, and will speak French to you. I was surprised at my own ability to carry on entirely French conversations from 9:30pm-1am, and to actually make friends. We met a lot of people from Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland, who have been living in Paris for the past 2 years, and doing "stages" (like an internship) for different companies. We also met a lot of French people from different parts of the country, who now study in Paris. Sara, Darcy, and I were all really happy to move out of our comfort zone a little, and to hang out with non-Americans, and will probably come back there a lot, since the atmosphere is so friendly and fun.
Friday (19 January):
I went to the violin shop, and rented my viola. It is new, and probably pretty crappy (I have yet to play on it), but was a pretty good deal at 12 euro a month. I also saw Eduard, which was nice, and he gave me his address & phone number in case I ever need anything.
After dropping my violin off at home, I went to Sweet Briar for a rather worthless 2 hour meeting on intercultural relations. This woman basically just lectured about how you can't totally lose your American roots, and that you can't reject France either, so you have to find a working medium (pretty obvious...and much easier said than done, I think). The meeting ended at 3:30, and I went to the Luxembourg Gardens with Sara, Darcy, and Liz, and we just hung out for an hour or so.
Tonight I'm going to the Chaillot, to see some avant-garde ballet production with Sweet Briar. Not too many plans for the weekend - will go running, see friends, and work on an internship application due on Friday. All in all, things are going very well, I'm feeling more & more comfortable here. My Sweet Briar classes start on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to finding a rhythm/schedule to my days and weeks, to help me adjust a little more to life here.
Friday (12 January):
I went on a trip to Versailles organized by Sweet Briar. We were really lucky - it was the first beautiful day we've had. Madame Gree argued with the guards for about 15 minutes, but finally got us free audio guides, which was a very useful refresher on French history. After touring the palace, I walked around in the gardens with my friends Darcy and Sara. We ended the visit by a walk through the town, and lunch in a tabac on a side street.
Friday night I had dinner with my host parents, and then went out to a bar called Footsie by Opera. The bar was really fun - the premise was that the price of drinks change like the stock market, so there were these 2 huge plasma screens that listed all the drinks & their current prices, and would change every 3 or 4 minutes to reflect people's recent orders/preferences. We met up with a girl from Williams who is here for the year, as well as another girl from Williams who was visiting Paris for the week. Afterwards, we went to the Latin Quarter, but missed the last metro (it will always be a mystery to me why the metro closes at 1am on Friday nights). Darcy and I ended up waiting for a taxi at a taxi stand in St-Germaine-de-Pres for almost an hour...but it turned out to be the best part of the night, because there were these two hilarious and extremely drunk Irishmen who were also waiting for a taxi.
Saturday (13 January):
Woke up late, and went running in the Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards I went to the Marais to meet my friends Sara and Jen for lunch and a little shopping. We ran into some other Sweet Briar girls and walked around for a while, but Sara and I got really tired of the insane crowds, and ended up opting for an espresso at a cafe on a side street.
Saturday night I met up with Darcy, and her friends Stephanie (visiting from Williams) and Allie (Steph's friend who's here for the year at Sciences Po). We had aperitifs in a bar in the 7th, and then walked to the 6th for a late dinner. Afterwards, we went to a fun Irish pub in the 5th, and met up with Sam (from Williams - here for the year), and her boyfriend and his friends, who all go to school outside of Paris.
Sunday (14 January):
Another late morning. Went running in the Champ de Mars, and then headed over to the Pont de l'Alma for a promenade en bateau mouche with Sweet Briar. It was another beautiful day, and it was really nice to see the city from the Seine. However, it was also extremely touristy, and not too informative.
After the bateau, I went to the Petit Palais (museum) with a few of the girls from Sweet Briar, and saw the Rembrandt eaux-fortes exhibit (gravure or etching). It was a really amazing show--they had 180 of his 300 eaux-fortes, of various sizes, detail, and subjects.
On our walk home, we passed by Chamillionaire on the Pont de l'Alma. He was having his photo taken for his new album cover, and we actually chatted to his girlfriend...it was funny because they had this huge set up w/lights and cameramen on the bridge, and yet the only person paying any attention was his girlfriend--only in Paris.
Monday & Tuesday (15 and 16 January):
Pretty uneventful days. My Sweet Briar methodology classes started, which were pretty boring. We just learned how to make bibliographies for the French universities, and how to complete the different kinds of homework in the schools. It was kind of ridiculous, because the professors kept saying things like "well, American professors may accept essays written in pencil and torn out of your notebook, but French professors will not," and they would not believe us when we told them that American professors would never accept an essay that wasn't typed, or well-presented. I guess the point they were trying to make is that in the French University system, one of the deciding factors of your grade is the presentation of your work.
Tuesday night, Sweet Briar organized dinner on the Eiffel Tower, which was really fun. The restaurant was surprisingly not very good, but it was still nice to be with the whole group, and to meet the students that are here for the year. Afterwards we decided to check out this bar on my street that my host mom keeps telling me about, Le Cristal, and it was so much fun. It has become our new favorite hang-out, because it is filled with students and young professionals, and has much more of a local, friendly feel than the more touristy bars at the Opera, Bastille, and Latin Quarter.
Wednesday (17 January):
I had my meeting with Mme Gree, the academic advisor, to pick my courses. I'll be taking 2 classes with Sweet Briar - Atelier d'ecriture (a writing workshop), and Histoire de Paris a travers ses monuments (a history of Paris through its monuments - 1/2 lecture, and 1/2 "field trip"). I am also taking 2 classes at the Sorbonne: Impressionism through Expressionism, and Renaissance Art. I also have an audition on Tuesday at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris to try to get placed in some viola class/ensemble. So it looks to be a very culture-filled semester!
After my meeting with Mme Gree I went for a run, and then went shopping for a little while to buy a purse. Later in the afternoon I met up with Sara and Darcy to make travel plans for a break in February (Feb 22 to March 3 -- this break is even more amazing considering that Paris IV classes start on Feb 12...). We have tentatively decided on visiting Prague for about 6 days, and then on the way back stopping in Strasbourg for 2-3 days.
I also went to the Musee du Luxembourg, and saw a beautiful show about Titian - "Titien: Le pouvoir en face." It was 5 huge rooms filled with Titian's portraits...the curating was nothing special, but it was unbelievable to see so many beautiful paintings in one place!
I came home a little earlier than usual, watched the news with my host family, and had dinner. After dinner, Madame and I had a 2 hour conversation about her past exchange students, and differences between American and French culture. At first I was a little confused as to why she was telling me all of this (and for so long), but I decided to take it as an indication of our feeling a little more comfortable with each other, and being able to have a more "open" conversation.
Thursday (18 January):
I had my last methodology class in the morning, and then Darcy and I had lunch in a cafe (we were so sick of bread & cheese that we caved, and got "normal-people food," aka omelettes). Then we went on a visit to the Marais with Michael, an intern at the Sweet Briar office, who actually went on Sweet Briar, and has been living in Paris for 4 years, working on his dissertation. He showed us lots of "hidden" streets and parts of the district, which should be useful - the Marais is definitely one of my favorite parts of Paris, already.
Thursady afternoon I made my first French phone call, which made me very proud of myself! I called a violin company that Eduard recommended, and arranged to have a meeting on Friday at 11:30 to rent a viola!
Thursday night we returned to Le Cristal, and had an amazing time. We met lots of French & international people our age. Michael (the intern) said, and it seems to be true, that the best way to meet French people is to first meet people from other countries who live in France, and will speak French to you. I was surprised at my own ability to carry on entirely French conversations from 9:30pm-1am, and to actually make friends. We met a lot of people from Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland, who have been living in Paris for the past 2 years, and doing "stages" (like an internship) for different companies. We also met a lot of French people from different parts of the country, who now study in Paris. Sara, Darcy, and I were all really happy to move out of our comfort zone a little, and to hang out with non-Americans, and will probably come back there a lot, since the atmosphere is so friendly and fun.
Friday (19 January):
I went to the violin shop, and rented my viola. It is new, and probably pretty crappy (I have yet to play on it), but was a pretty good deal at 12 euro a month. I also saw Eduard, which was nice, and he gave me his address & phone number in case I ever need anything.
After dropping my violin off at home, I went to Sweet Briar for a rather worthless 2 hour meeting on intercultural relations. This woman basically just lectured about how you can't totally lose your American roots, and that you can't reject France either, so you have to find a working medium (pretty obvious...and much easier said than done, I think). The meeting ended at 3:30, and I went to the Luxembourg Gardens with Sara, Darcy, and Liz, and we just hung out for an hour or so.
Tonight I'm going to the Chaillot, to see some avant-garde ballet production with Sweet Briar. Not too many plans for the weekend - will go running, see friends, and work on an internship application due on Friday. All in all, things are going very well, I'm feeling more & more comfortable here. My Sweet Briar classes start on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to finding a rhythm/schedule to my days and weeks, to help me adjust a little more to life here.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
First Week
Bonjour from Paris (again)!
This week has been going by quickly, and every day becomes easier, and better.
On Monday, Darcy and I walked around the 15th and 7th (where we live), and met up with some Sweet Briar students for lunch at a tabac/brasserie near the Alliance Francaise (where Sweet Briar classes are). We had our first meeting from 1:30-4 that afternoon, and the directors just talked about living with host families, and the French university system (which is pretty crazy). Afterwards, I bought my French cell phone, which was quite an adventure. I was glad I read this book "Talk to the Snail: 10 Commandments for Understanding the French," because it was definitely useful in dealing with this cranky sales girl. I had dinner with my family, and the middle-sister, Constance. After dinner I watched this very odd French comedy show - a little like something you'd see on VH1 or E! - it was a tribute to a few deceased French comedians...and it confirmed my belief that the French have a strange sense of humor.
Because Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne) classes start so late (February 12), I don't have any "methodology" classes with Sweet Briar until next week. About 1/2 the students are in the same situation, so we have just been exploring parts of the city. On Tuesday I met up with 3 other girls from Sweet Briar, and we had lunch at Cafe de Flores, where Hemingway used to write...it was very expensive, and I don't think any of us will ever visit a famous cafe again...Then we walked around St. Germaine and the Latin Quarter for almost 5 hours. It was really fun to explore the city. We had a large family dinner - Constance, Caroline, Caroline's husband (Arnault?), and their two daughters, Izore et Celine (I'm really bad at spelling...) came over. Mme was very sweet, and invited me to have aperitifs with them, so that I could meet everyone. We had a very fancy dinner, with oysters, salmon, pasta, cheese, and prune tart. It was pretty overwhelming to hear everyone speak so quickly, but I found that if I listened to one conversation (since at any time there were at least 3 going on), I could generally follow it. Afterwards I met up with 2 girls from Sweet Briar who live in an apartment a block away, and we went to a bar called "le dix" in St. Germaine.
Yesterday, Wednesday, was the beginning of a month-long state-mandated sale ("soldes"). I went shopping a little in the morning on Rue de Rennes, but didn't get anything. Some of the students who are at Sweet Briar for the whole year took a group of us on a walk through the Jardin de Luxembourg and the Latin Quarter, to show us where to buy books, cheap falafel, etc. We had lunch, and then went on a tour of St. Chapelle (perhaps the most beautiful building/church in Paris, if not in the world!) with a Sweet Briar professor. The tour ended at around 3:30, and 5 of us decided to go shopping again, but it was absolutely out-of-control, and we left pretty quickly. My host parents invited me to a concert at their church, so we had an early dinner last night, to get to the concert early. We were at the church 45 minutes before the concert started, and it's a good thing we got there early, because it was completely packed, and people ended up sitting in the aisles (and this is a huge church).
The concert was...very odd. It was written by an eveque (bishop). It was called: "Wolfgang Mozart: Une traversee d'ombre et de lumiere." It began with a quartet playing Petite musique de nuit. Then, all the lights were extinguished, save for one: the light on the cross at the altar. A disembodied voice read the prologue, about "la mysterieuse et permanente alliance entre la fin et la commencement" de la vie. A choir sang the beginning of Mozart's requiem, then the first act, "La Naissance," was read by the same disembodied voice. A little sampler of the text: "Celui qui repond au premier nom de Johannes-Chrysostomus-Wolfgang-Theophilus n'en gardera, finalement, que celui de Wolfgang Gottlieb. Gottlieb ou Amadeus: qui aime Dieu ou qui est aime de Dieu..." After this introduction, two violins played a transcription of part of the Magic Flute. Then, two relatively famous actors, Brigitte Fossey et Michael Lonsdale read this overly-dramatic text that I guess was trying to be Mozart's thoughts about life, death, God, and music. This pattern of music-introduction-music-actors-music continued for 6 acts: "La Naissance, La Parole, Le Don, La Priere, Les Liens, et Le Passage." "Le Passage" was definitely my favorite/the most insane. It was about the death of Mozart, and this modern dancer walked/strutted/danced down the main aisle of the church in a very ridiculous and self-conscious fashion, trying to physically represent the passage between life and death, and naturally, from earthly life to divine life (it was in a church, after all). After this very dramatic ending, the bishop came and talked for about 25 minutes, thanking every single person he possibly could.
While the concert was totally insane, I'm really glad I went. My host parents adored it, and of course I said that I did, too. It was really nice to see their huge church - the sense of community in the parish (la paroisse) was really astonishing. My host father was explaining how most people's parents and families live very close to them, and that they know most everyone at the Church, and consequently in the neighborhood. On the walk back I had a "breakthrough" of sorts with the father. We had never really had a conversation before, because although he seems so nice, he is very quiet. Since I am shy, especially when it comes to French, I end up talking a lot to the mom, who is very outgoing. However, on the walk back, Madame was talking animatedly with another church-goer, and Monsieur told me all about his childhood, born in Morocco, living in this arrondisement, but then moving to Germany, Japan, Morocco, and Senegal, with his father, who was in the army. It was also really sweet, because the woman we were walking home asked if I was their daughter, he said "no," and then turned to me and said, "but in a few months we will think of you as our daughter!"
So, all in all, things are getting better and better. I am beginning to feel comfortable with my family, and more comfortable with speaking French. It hasn't even been a week, but I feel like my French is improving exponentially. I can understand pretty much everything people say, and I am becoming much more outgoing in terms of my willingness to make mistakes & learn to speak. My host family is very encouraging - they keep telling me that I speak very well, and that they can always understand me. I asked my host mom to correct me more, and she said that the reason she doesn't often correct me is that I don't make many mistakes. However, she said she would help me learn more expressions and phrases, because I told her that I never learned conversational French.
Anyway, after this long post, I am off to meet some friends for lunch before a visit to Sacre Coeur with Sweet Briar. Au revoir!
This week has been going by quickly, and every day becomes easier, and better.
On Monday, Darcy and I walked around the 15th and 7th (where we live), and met up with some Sweet Briar students for lunch at a tabac/brasserie near the Alliance Francaise (where Sweet Briar classes are). We had our first meeting from 1:30-4 that afternoon, and the directors just talked about living with host families, and the French university system (which is pretty crazy). Afterwards, I bought my French cell phone, which was quite an adventure. I was glad I read this book "Talk to the Snail: 10 Commandments for Understanding the French," because it was definitely useful in dealing with this cranky sales girl. I had dinner with my family, and the middle-sister, Constance. After dinner I watched this very odd French comedy show - a little like something you'd see on VH1 or E! - it was a tribute to a few deceased French comedians...and it confirmed my belief that the French have a strange sense of humor.
Because Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne) classes start so late (February 12), I don't have any "methodology" classes with Sweet Briar until next week. About 1/2 the students are in the same situation, so we have just been exploring parts of the city. On Tuesday I met up with 3 other girls from Sweet Briar, and we had lunch at Cafe de Flores, where Hemingway used to write...it was very expensive, and I don't think any of us will ever visit a famous cafe again...Then we walked around St. Germaine and the Latin Quarter for almost 5 hours. It was really fun to explore the city. We had a large family dinner - Constance, Caroline, Caroline's husband (Arnault?), and their two daughters, Izore et Celine (I'm really bad at spelling...) came over. Mme was very sweet, and invited me to have aperitifs with them, so that I could meet everyone. We had a very fancy dinner, with oysters, salmon, pasta, cheese, and prune tart. It was pretty overwhelming to hear everyone speak so quickly, but I found that if I listened to one conversation (since at any time there were at least 3 going on), I could generally follow it. Afterwards I met up with 2 girls from Sweet Briar who live in an apartment a block away, and we went to a bar called "le dix" in St. Germaine.
Yesterday, Wednesday, was the beginning of a month-long state-mandated sale ("soldes"). I went shopping a little in the morning on Rue de Rennes, but didn't get anything. Some of the students who are at Sweet Briar for the whole year took a group of us on a walk through the Jardin de Luxembourg and the Latin Quarter, to show us where to buy books, cheap falafel, etc. We had lunch, and then went on a tour of St. Chapelle (perhaps the most beautiful building/church in Paris, if not in the world!) with a Sweet Briar professor. The tour ended at around 3:30, and 5 of us decided to go shopping again, but it was absolutely out-of-control, and we left pretty quickly. My host parents invited me to a concert at their church, so we had an early dinner last night, to get to the concert early. We were at the church 45 minutes before the concert started, and it's a good thing we got there early, because it was completely packed, and people ended up sitting in the aisles (and this is a huge church).
The concert was...very odd. It was written by an eveque (bishop). It was called: "Wolfgang Mozart: Une traversee d'ombre et de lumiere." It began with a quartet playing Petite musique de nuit. Then, all the lights were extinguished, save for one: the light on the cross at the altar. A disembodied voice read the prologue, about "la mysterieuse et permanente alliance entre la fin et la commencement" de la vie. A choir sang the beginning of Mozart's requiem, then the first act, "La Naissance," was read by the same disembodied voice. A little sampler of the text: "Celui qui repond au premier nom de Johannes-Chrysostomus-Wolfgang-Theophilus n'en gardera, finalement, que celui de Wolfgang Gottlieb. Gottlieb ou Amadeus: qui aime Dieu ou qui est aime de Dieu..." After this introduction, two violins played a transcription of part of the Magic Flute. Then, two relatively famous actors, Brigitte Fossey et Michael Lonsdale read this overly-dramatic text that I guess was trying to be Mozart's thoughts about life, death, God, and music. This pattern of music-introduction-music-actors-music continued for 6 acts: "La Naissance, La Parole, Le Don, La Priere, Les Liens, et Le Passage." "Le Passage" was definitely my favorite/the most insane. It was about the death of Mozart, and this modern dancer walked/strutted/danced down the main aisle of the church in a very ridiculous and self-conscious fashion, trying to physically represent the passage between life and death, and naturally, from earthly life to divine life (it was in a church, after all). After this very dramatic ending, the bishop came and talked for about 25 minutes, thanking every single person he possibly could.
While the concert was totally insane, I'm really glad I went. My host parents adored it, and of course I said that I did, too. It was really nice to see their huge church - the sense of community in the parish (la paroisse) was really astonishing. My host father was explaining how most people's parents and families live very close to them, and that they know most everyone at the Church, and consequently in the neighborhood. On the walk back I had a "breakthrough" of sorts with the father. We had never really had a conversation before, because although he seems so nice, he is very quiet. Since I am shy, especially when it comes to French, I end up talking a lot to the mom, who is very outgoing. However, on the walk back, Madame was talking animatedly with another church-goer, and Monsieur told me all about his childhood, born in Morocco, living in this arrondisement, but then moving to Germany, Japan, Morocco, and Senegal, with his father, who was in the army. It was also really sweet, because the woman we were walking home asked if I was their daughter, he said "no," and then turned to me and said, "but in a few months we will think of you as our daughter!"
So, all in all, things are getting better and better. I am beginning to feel comfortable with my family, and more comfortable with speaking French. It hasn't even been a week, but I feel like my French is improving exponentially. I can understand pretty much everything people say, and I am becoming much more outgoing in terms of my willingness to make mistakes & learn to speak. My host family is very encouraging - they keep telling me that I speak very well, and that they can always understand me. I asked my host mom to correct me more, and she said that the reason she doesn't often correct me is that I don't make many mistakes. However, she said she would help me learn more expressions and phrases, because I told her that I never learned conversational French.
Anyway, after this long post, I am off to meet some friends for lunch before a visit to Sacre Coeur with Sweet Briar. Au revoir!
Monday, January 8, 2007
First Day!
I arrived in Paris at 5:45 am on January 7th - an hour earlier than expected, and the group was met by 2 Air France buses that took us to Aerogare des Invalides. Since there was no traffic, we got there about 2 hours earlier than expected, so everyone just sat on the ground and waited for the families to arrive.
My host mom, Chantrel (? - I can't really read her handwriting) Benier picked me up around 9:30, and took me back to the apartment, in the 15th arrondissement. We live on the ground floor, and next to the metro line - the metro can be pretty loud, but I guess it's a good thing it stops running at 1am.
My host mom is 55, and she does not work. Her husband, Bernard, is an engineer for Citroen (a French car company). They have 4 children, but only their youngest, Pauline, lives at home. She is 21, and is studying medicine in Paris. 2 other children live in Paris - their daughter Caroline is already married, and has 2 young kids, with another on the way - he/she is expected at the end of February! Their daughter Constance also lives in Paris, and she is getting married in September, so plans are already underway for the ceremony. Their son, Francois Xavier (they call him Fa-Fou), lives in Princeton, NJ, and works for a company called Thompson (sp?). I guess it's some kind of consulting firm - he was originally sent there by the French government, but then the company asked him to stay, so he's in the process of moving in.
After showing me around the apartment, Mme Benier and I bonded over our love for very strong coffee (Mom & Dad, if you ever come here, you will definitely be in your element). I met her husband, Bernard, who seems very nice, but pretty quiet. Mme wanted to show me around the neighborhood, and to show me where other Sweet Briar students live, so we walked over to her friend's apartment. Another girl was staying there for a few days because her host family was in Thailand, but Mme Benier had the key to their apartment, so we moved the girl's luggage over to her permanent apartment.
From there, Mme took me to the boulangerie (there are 2 right next to the house, but she only likes one of them :o) ). We bought a galette des rois, because yesterday was Epiphanie. Madame had made one herself, but it had fallen apart when she took it out of the cake pan, and she wanted to have a presentable one.
After our walk around the area, the family had lunch - salad, chicken curry, and the galette. Pauline wanted to sample the 2 galettes, because she was convinced that her mom's was better, so we did a taste test, and confirmed that Mme was, in fact, a better baker than the boulangerie.
Mme invited me on a walk, pour "prendre l'air." She showed me several parks that I could run in, and we walked to la tour Eiffel, along the Seine, and past Place des Invalides. She was very sweet, and we both love art museums and especially medieval art, so we got along pretty well. Her family has a country home (by country home, I mean huge mansion/house that was originally built in the 4th century, and has additions from the 10th and 15th centuries) in Auvergne, and she invited me to spend a weekend with them there, so that we could visit the medieval cloisters and castles!
My jet lag started to really hit me at this point, so I took a nap until 4:30. When I woke up, I found the family in the living room - Monsieur watching footbal, Madame knitting, and Pauline painting picture frames. I sat down, and immediately Madame took out two picture books of Auvergne, and told me stories about every castle in the book (they seem pretty obsessed with this place in Auvergne - they have posters up of beautiful panoramas of Auvergne, and lots of framed sketches of their house in Auvergne, and of their house in the South of France). I also gave them the picture book of Chicago, and Madame loved it. We went through every picture, and I explained all the different buildings, and what Chicago is like. The family really likes the U.S. - they went there last year to visit Fa-Fou, and went to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and NYC (Madame, like me, especially loves the Frick Museum).
Pauline's boyfriend came by, and everyone hung out for an hour or so. The apartment is small, so the living room is pretty much the place to be. Pauline and her boyfriend left to watch Desperate Housewives at a friend's house - aparently French teenagers are obsessed with U.S. TV shows, especially Desperate Housewives and Prison Break. She told me that she and her friends are always watching DH, and that I am always invited to join them. I guess I'll have to get a little more involved in the show...
Madame made an early dinner (which means 8:15pm instead of 8:30...) so that I could go to sleep. I went to bed by 9:30, and woke up this morning at 9, feeling 1,000 times better.
So far things have been pretty overwhelming. It was really intense to come off the plane so early in the morning, without having slept, and then immediately speak French. My host mom keeps telling me that she is very impressed by my French, and that she can understand everything I say (she keeps talking about the girl they had last semester who couldn't form sentences or pronounce words, so they had to ask her to write down what she was saying). I actually have been surprised with myself - I can understand everything Madame and Monsieur say, and while Pauline speaks very quickly, when she addresses me she usually speaks a little slower so that I can understand. After almost 12 hours of sleep, I feel much better, and my friend Darcy (from Williams) and I are going to go on a walk to explore this area a bit before lunch & our first orientation meeting at Sweet Briar.
My host mom, Chantrel (? - I can't really read her handwriting) Benier picked me up around 9:30, and took me back to the apartment, in the 15th arrondissement. We live on the ground floor, and next to the metro line - the metro can be pretty loud, but I guess it's a good thing it stops running at 1am.
My host mom is 55, and she does not work. Her husband, Bernard, is an engineer for Citroen (a French car company). They have 4 children, but only their youngest, Pauline, lives at home. She is 21, and is studying medicine in Paris. 2 other children live in Paris - their daughter Caroline is already married, and has 2 young kids, with another on the way - he/she is expected at the end of February! Their daughter Constance also lives in Paris, and she is getting married in September, so plans are already underway for the ceremony. Their son, Francois Xavier (they call him Fa-Fou), lives in Princeton, NJ, and works for a company called Thompson (sp?). I guess it's some kind of consulting firm - he was originally sent there by the French government, but then the company asked him to stay, so he's in the process of moving in.
After showing me around the apartment, Mme Benier and I bonded over our love for very strong coffee (Mom & Dad, if you ever come here, you will definitely be in your element). I met her husband, Bernard, who seems very nice, but pretty quiet. Mme wanted to show me around the neighborhood, and to show me where other Sweet Briar students live, so we walked over to her friend's apartment. Another girl was staying there for a few days because her host family was in Thailand, but Mme Benier had the key to their apartment, so we moved the girl's luggage over to her permanent apartment.
From there, Mme took me to the boulangerie (there are 2 right next to the house, but she only likes one of them :o) ). We bought a galette des rois, because yesterday was Epiphanie. Madame had made one herself, but it had fallen apart when she took it out of the cake pan, and she wanted to have a presentable one.
After our walk around the area, the family had lunch - salad, chicken curry, and the galette. Pauline wanted to sample the 2 galettes, because she was convinced that her mom's was better, so we did a taste test, and confirmed that Mme was, in fact, a better baker than the boulangerie.
Mme invited me on a walk, pour "prendre l'air." She showed me several parks that I could run in, and we walked to la tour Eiffel, along the Seine, and past Place des Invalides. She was very sweet, and we both love art museums and especially medieval art, so we got along pretty well. Her family has a country home (by country home, I mean huge mansion/house that was originally built in the 4th century, and has additions from the 10th and 15th centuries) in Auvergne, and she invited me to spend a weekend with them there, so that we could visit the medieval cloisters and castles!
My jet lag started to really hit me at this point, so I took a nap until 4:30. When I woke up, I found the family in the living room - Monsieur watching footbal, Madame knitting, and Pauline painting picture frames. I sat down, and immediately Madame took out two picture books of Auvergne, and told me stories about every castle in the book (they seem pretty obsessed with this place in Auvergne - they have posters up of beautiful panoramas of Auvergne, and lots of framed sketches of their house in Auvergne, and of their house in the South of France). I also gave them the picture book of Chicago, and Madame loved it. We went through every picture, and I explained all the different buildings, and what Chicago is like. The family really likes the U.S. - they went there last year to visit Fa-Fou, and went to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and NYC (Madame, like me, especially loves the Frick Museum).
Pauline's boyfriend came by, and everyone hung out for an hour or so. The apartment is small, so the living room is pretty much the place to be. Pauline and her boyfriend left to watch Desperate Housewives at a friend's house - aparently French teenagers are obsessed with U.S. TV shows, especially Desperate Housewives and Prison Break. She told me that she and her friends are always watching DH, and that I am always invited to join them. I guess I'll have to get a little more involved in the show...
Madame made an early dinner (which means 8:15pm instead of 8:30...) so that I could go to sleep. I went to bed by 9:30, and woke up this morning at 9, feeling 1,000 times better.
So far things have been pretty overwhelming. It was really intense to come off the plane so early in the morning, without having slept, and then immediately speak French. My host mom keeps telling me that she is very impressed by my French, and that she can understand everything I say (she keeps talking about the girl they had last semester who couldn't form sentences or pronounce words, so they had to ask her to write down what she was saying). I actually have been surprised with myself - I can understand everything Madame and Monsieur say, and while Pauline speaks very quickly, when she addresses me she usually speaks a little slower so that I can understand. After almost 12 hours of sleep, I feel much better, and my friend Darcy (from Williams) and I are going to go on a walk to explore this area a bit before lunch & our first orientation meeting at Sweet Briar.
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