I live in France.
I've finally gotten the internet at my apartment, and no longer fear the non-QWERTY French keyboard that makes me type Qs all the time. I've been documenting my trip with regular pencil and paper since I got on the plane, so I'll start there, and I have plenty of pictures as well! It's extremely lengthy (but so great! I'm one of those people who has a cute life now) so I've cut it, so you can decide what you want to read.
The airplane was comfortable. But though there were many wines to choose from, there was no ginger ale. I honestly didn't know that air travel was possible without galleys filled with ginger ale. Or at least tomato juice. But no, just coke and wine. However, I've never flown with a little TV in front of me before! I played "Qui veut gagner des millions?" (Who wants to be a millionaire?), and I beat David in chess. But the real treat was that the airline showed MacGyver. No, I'm not kidding. He saved an alcoholic teenager from mortal peril with a chain-link fence. I wanted to watch Four Brothers, but within the first thirty seconds I knew I wouldn't be able to take it. So instead I read Wuthering Heights and looked around trying to figure out who on the plane was from UNO besides Sheila, whom I met during boarding.
The dinner was soooo good! I LOVE airplane food! I think it's fantastic! And this time I was sitting very close to the front, so I actually got my choice (Basque-style chicken). I don't know why the flight attendant spoke to me in English first. I guess it doesn't matter, because he looked like Michael Buble. Eventually I tried to sleep, but I'm pretty sure that's impossible. So I just brushed my teeth and watched this cute baby cry for awhile.
My next favorite part of the ride was the delicious breakfast. La Crème yogurt, look at you. Not soon after I finally met Merry, our helper for the past few months. She gave us an itinerary for the first week, and we drove for two hours from Paris to Orléans. (I'm still not sure how it took that long. I think the driver actually circled the city about eight times before driving into it. I've been to Paris since, and it takes about an hour on a train, which goes significantly slower than the bus.) I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our apartments -- they're cute and secure, in a little apartment neighborhood less than a football field's length from the street. My room is EXTREMELY small, guys. As in hardly bigger than my bedroom at home. But it has everything I need, and I really do like it. I've made it my own. Oh yeah, and we're just feet away from the Loire. Great views.
There's a great grocery store (Champion) across the street, and all of us go there quite a lot. The first things I bought for my apartment were grilled crackers, laughing cow cheese, and juice. All I really eat is that same box of crackers and tomato juice. I'm trying to buy things that I cannot eat in the U.S. (tomato juice counts because my family hates it and no one will help me drink it, so no, I cannot buy it in the United States), and so far my favorite purchases have been cappuccino-flavored sugar-free Pepsi (it's delicious, guys!), raspberry-grapefruit diet fanta, chocolate-hazelnut-pistachio macaroon ice cream, and ham/goat cheese/onion/crème fraîche pizza. All the French really eat is bread and cheese.
Which brings me to another point. I really like how the French don't do all that froo-froo with their food. If you order a ham sandwich, that's exactly what you're getting -- ham on bread. I like food the way it is, and I don't really understand condiments. I also have never put ice in my drinks, and the only place to get ice here is McDonalds. I just want a salmon and cream sandwich, without the honey glaze and the pepper and the parsley on top, s'il vous plaît.
I have no telephone, only phone cards. So if you want me to call you, write me a letter (a real one, foo) or e-mail or facebook or lj comment, etc. And I might call you on Sunday, or on your birthday. Everything is closed on Sundays, so I just stay at home. Well, it feels like home anyway.
My first day here, I noticed that it doesn't get light outside until 10, and it gets dark at around 17. (I bought an alarm clock here -- a European alarm clock, at Fnac, the French Best Buy. At 5pm, it will say 17, and at midnight it says 0:00. So I'm used to it) They say it's much cheerier during the spring.
Another first-day discovery was that I can sleep with my window open! Not OPEN open, but with the curtains open. I love it! I'm on the fourth floor, and I have no balcony or anything, so I don't usually open my window because it's level with my bed and I could just fall out, but I'm also comforted that there's no way that anyone except MacGyver or Chuck Norris could get in from the outside (and they don't live in France).
Everyone went together to get our SEMTAO cards (bus/tram passes), which were FREE because we're from New Orleans. My picture is really bad, because apparently when the lady takes the picture she doesn't look through the camera, but at the computer moniter. She didn't say a word until "souvent!" (=next), and when I got my picture, it's me looking up and squinting. I guess I was trying to read the sign above her head.
We went to the bank to sign some things, and Merry and Sophie (an assistant at the International Relations division at UO) showed us how to ride the bus and then switch to the tram, and how to know where to get off and so forth. It's very easy. Much easier than driving.
Then we ate lunch at a satellite university restaurant, where I had salmon, spinach, rice, chocolate mousse, camembert cheese (I do not like it you guys), and potato salad all for 3 euros. Later I bought some student coupons, and now I get it for 2 euros. That's a great deal, and I don't care what anyone else said, it was REALLY TASTY.
I took a French placement test, and I'm in the intermediate group (there are only 2 -- beginner and intermediate). Then I went to Carrefour (the French Wal-Mart) and bought a little hairdryer that folds up. Then McDonalds, where I have been three times actually, and never gotten anything that is available in the states (P'tit Oriental, seafood salad, and 280 -- a swiss fondue burger on ciabatta bread that is SQUARE).
In the morning, David, Victoria, Lisa-Marie and I took the bus to the train station and walked down Rue de la République, our FAVORITE favorite street in Orléans. Unfortunately, I cannot find the Sanrio that is supposedly located there. Anyway, we found a vendor that sells really cheap foods, like 4 pain au chocolat for 1,70. That's like, ridiculous. Then we caught the tram and went to school to do some paperwork for about 3 minutes, and went to town. Everything was closed because it was so early, so we went to Quick Burger (chicken curry wrap!) and hung out until it was time to go BACK to school for a meeting and an erasmus party. The meetings are all stressful, but at the party we got to meet our "tutors" -- French students learning English with whom we can practice our French. Julien is mine, and he is soooo cool! David really liked him too. Soon we will go to his house and look at pictures from his ski trip. David's partner is Célinda, and of course she's very beautiful. But she's really nice, and I like her, and we saw her on the tram a few days later and felt really cool because we knew someone.
The best part of the day was when we ate gâteau de roi (king cake). Mine had chocolate in it. FJDSKDFJ. Michael got the bean and put a paper crown on my head because he chose me to be the queen. Then David and I came home and watched MacGyver.
Since I've been here, the earliest I've gone to sleep is 22h30 and the latest I've woken up is about 8h20. I'll sleep when I get back to the US. Whatev. Anyway, Jan 19 David and I went to the salle de sport (gym) and tried to do the exercise bikes, but I am too short to reach the pedals so we did the stairmaster instead. Then we went to Champion where I discovered that even if I buy 82 items, it will always be less than 15 euros. I keep being tempted by hibiscus-flavored soda, and I think eventually I will invest in it. How can I not? Seriously. And a 2-foot loaf of bread is 29 cents. And since it doesn't have any preservatives, if you don't eat it right away it gets rock hard.
We went to school AGAIN to pay insurance, which was where we really saw French bureaucracy at work. "You must pay with cash," they said after telling us the day before that credit cards would be acceptable. Luckily I had what I needed, but that statement sent fifteen other students scurrying to the ATMs. After we paid, they said "why didn't anyone pay with a credit card?" I think a few people actually passed out.
I got my student ID (with a picture I brought from home, thank goodness) which someone made by hand and it took a LONG time. I'm really glad I got that done when I did too, because SURPRISE they could only do a certain number of IDs that day, so sorry to the kids who came all the way to school just to go back home again.
I got an apple beignet at the vendor, and then David and I went to Les Musardises, where we bought 10 French chocolates for an outrageous price that I think was worth it but that he isn't so sure about. Then we came home and played euchre, which I do not like very much.
Our first stop was La Poste, where I bought pre-stamped U.S. envelopes (WRITE TO ME YOU CAN GET MY ADDRESS FROM MY FAMILY). Then -- to the mall! Place d'Arc is right above Gares d'Orléans, and the French government allows sales once a year, RIGHT NOW. Everything is 50-90% off. So I bought a skirt and a cardigan, and they are SO great that in fact, the skirt is my favorite skirt and the cardigan is my favorite shirt. I didn't just buy them because they were cheaper than a pack of gum. Although I was tempted to buy a really ugly skirt at H&M just because it was 2 euros. Then I was like I'll never wear this ok.
I went to C&A and bought a scarf because it's in the low 20s Fahrenheit right now and it's snowing like you wouldn't believe. Then I went to a café, Paul, where I had my very first cup of French coffee. I don't think I knew what coffee tasted like until I came to France. Since then I've discovered that Aux Sept Epis has better coffee, but I should have expected that because Paul is in the mall. We came home, I learned how to play spades (it's exactly the same as euchre), and we watched Good Eats.
This was so far the most trying day of my trip. Here's why:
Lisa, Nicole, Joanna, Patrick, David and I bought train tickets to Paris. I was really excited when we arrived at Gare d'Austerlitz, because Amélie went there. But once we stepped outside, the first thing I saw was a McDonalds and a bunch of dead trees. I figured "that's ok", and continued to walk in the unbearably cold wind to Notre Dame. Ok, that was really awesome. After that, we kind of branched off except for Patrick who is really independent, and tried to find the Louvre. It was nowhere in sight, so eventually we stopped at the first restaurant we saw, which happened to be Voltaire's house. Again, that was really awesome. I had a croque madame, and it was the most delicious sandwich I've ever eaten, only rivaled by Sonic's island fire burger (whatever, that's a good burger).
Then we split from Joanna and Nicole, and that left David, Lisa and I who were still determined to find the Louvre. Eventually we did find it, and it was pretty neat. We took pictures outside of it for a while, and then bought our tickets for 8,50 and went inside. It was SO BIG, I was kind of disappointed that I only had one day to see it, because I think it must take at least three. We rushed through it (I think I would prefer to see museums alone). The best part about it was the following conversation:
Me: hey Lisa, can I ask you a dumb question?
Lisa: sure.
Me: (whispering) how did the Louvre staff get this giant column into this tiny room?
Lisa: good question.
An old English man: Excuse me, what was the dumb question?
Lisa and Me: What?
Old English man: I couldn't help but overhear.
Me: I just asked how the museum staff got that giant column in here.
English man: Well that's not a dumb question a-tall. In fact, I think it's a very good question.
That's it. We concluded that the walls were built afterwards. I only liked this conversation because it involved an eavesdropping British person.
ANYWAY, by this time our legs were tired so we decided to hurry up and see the Mona Lisa, and then to go home. So we looked for about half an hour, got disgruntled, said "we're here for six months, we'll come back, it was only 8,50" and decided to just go ahead and leave. AN HOUR LATER, with my right eye twitching and Lisa almost in tears, we FINALLY found the exit. It really wasn't funny at all when it was happening; in fact, it was quite frightening to continually see signs for the exit but never being able to find one. As Lisa says now, we got eaten by the Louvre. Yes, we did.
Then we realized how far away we were from Gare d'Austerlitz. We couldn't walk there. So we decided to take a bus which never came. I think I almost cried. Not out of fear, because we COULD have walked, but it would have taken hours, or we could have taken a taxi. No, I almost cried from frustration. EVENTUALLY it arrived, we hopped on, got on the next train, and WENT. We were so excited when we got to Orléans that we skipped out of the station, jumped on the bus where we saw some people we knew, told our story punctuated with laughter, and celebrated our homecoming with pizza from the pizzeria very close to home.
Later that night, as David and I were watching MacGyver again, Victoria came to David's and asked to borrow some computer thing that I didn't understand. He said she could borrow it for the whole semester and she was so touched that an hour later she came back and said "here, I rented you a movie." So we watched it. It was Sherlock Holmes, and Vincent D'Onofrio was the villain. I liked it.
Jan 22 was a Sunday, and David and I were disheartened to find out (after getting ready, mind) that the salle de sport is closed on weekends. So we just got ready for the day and went grocery shopping, because Champion is the only thing besides McDonalds that's open on Sundays. We did laundry. I think that's how every Sunday will be until June, but I don't mind.
Jan 23 was the first day of school and I am so in love with school. It's just as far away as UNO is, but it takes only 30 minutes to get there on the tram, because the tram doesn't stop for red lights and the like. Also, I am officially hardcore now. I take a million hours of French a week. Boo ya.
Four hours on Monday, 1.5 hours on Tuesday, 4 hours on Wednesday, 2 hours on Thursday, and 2 hours on Friday. I have about six different teachers who change every day, the times change every day, and the room numbers change every day. You're thinking that's not so odd, but every week is different. It's not like Monday is this room with this teacher et cetera. No. Every week we get a new schedule. And that's not just for our makeshift program, it's for everyone in France. They do what they want, that's just how it is. But I really like my classes once I find them and figure out who my teacher is, because we actually have different subjects WITHIN French (those change every day too). For example, we have phonetics during which we take turns pronouncing vowel sounds and the letter R, there's grammar, writing, conversation, oral expression, listening, and culture. None of my teachers speak a word of English, so if you speak to them, they just look at you blankly and say "pas d'anglais." So my French is really improving. I understand everything that my teachers say, and a good bit of what I hear on the street.
I had my first conversation with a real French person on the tram. It was a 12-year-old boy. I heard him talking about David and I, because he said to his sister "Ils ne sont pas français! Ils parlent anglais!" (They are not French! They are speaking English!") So I looked toward him and he said "You speak English? I speak English!" (but he didn't). Then, in French (but I'll type it in English), a conversation (albeit a simple one) ensued. He asked if we were from England, and I said no, we're from the United States. He thought that was just about the coolest thing he'd ever heard, and he said "You must be from New York!" And I said no, New Orleans. Then he was like WHOA and asked "are you here because of the tsunami?" And then I said "the hurricane" and he asked if we were just visiting. And this was my favorite part because I got to say "no, we live here."
Then David and I went home and I learned how to make eggs. We have completely mastered eggs by this time, and I am so going to cook when I get home. We are going to move on to bigger and better things (we wanted to make fried wontons with cheese, but wontons are not available in France apparently). I now know how to make scrambled, fried, over easy, French toast, and omelets.
I went to my British history class. I started laughing hysterically in my heart about 2 seconds into it. It's supposed to be taught in English you see (we're not allowed to take French-taught classes), and was on the list of about five classes that we could take. The teacher asked Patrick to "ferme la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît", but we assumed that was because she thought we were French students. Then she commenced. "Bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh" etc. She spoke extremely fast and I understood nothing that she said. Then she started writing on the board in French, and I suddenly heard "was ratified in 1818, which allowed the whigs and the tories to..." etc. I thought "oh! Great! I guess she was just giving an introduction for the French students." Not so. As soon as she started speaking English (which was pretty much as hard to understand as the French), she switched from writing in English to writing in French. And mid-sentence, back to French she went. She contined to go back and forth, switching languages perhaps unconsciously, until the last half-hour which was entirely in English. Unfortunately, since I missed the first three-fourths of the class I had no idea what she was talking about. She gave a handout in English, started speaking French again, and I went to Greg (our advisor) and told him I couldn't take the class.
Then it was lunchtime, and I have never before eaten so many foods of whose identities I am unaware. But it tasted good, and I'm pretty sure part of it was a steamed zucchini.
After school, everyone rushed home to get ready for a banquet at the Grand Hotel (there's one in every city, isn't there?) with the mayor, who unfortunately could not be there. But we had little sandwiches and pastries and we watched a CNN segment that was done on our program, and this guy that looked remarkably like Adrien Brody (but enough different to let me know that it wasn't him) was walking around and I liked it.
Once a month, our apartment managers provide breakfast in the cafeteria, which on Jan 25 was baguettes, croissants, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I tasted some orange marmalade, and I loved it. Then my favorite thing happened that has ever happened ever. A French student who lives in the apartments ran into the cafeteria, apparently in a hurry. He suddenly walked up to David and shook his hand, who then said "Hi, I'm David, nice to meet you." He didn't say a word, but kissed me on both cheeks and ran away to get his breakfast across the room. I still don't really understand it.
Then school, where the lake was frozen and really daring people were walking on it. At lunchtime, David, Alexis and I tried a different cafeteria (there are 7 or 8 of them on campus) and we liked it better and will probably go there forever. After school I bought a blanket.
I discovered that if I don't put my foot into the exercise bike pedal strap, I can do it! That's pretty exciting. What's even more exciting is that when we stepped outside, it was snowing. Just barely. In fact, I didn't even know it was snow until someone told me. I thought it was drizzling (nothing was collecting on the ground). I was so excited that I took video of it, and the next day the entire ground was covered and I had to wear boots and then I was like oh. Ok this is snow. But more about that later.
David and I went to the crêperie a few feet away from the apartments, and I ordered a dessert crêpe for lunch. The Caraïbes. It had coconut ice cream, coconut, and hot fudge on top. It was "divine," as Blaine Barker would say. Then we went to school for our afternoon classes and I got off of the tram by myself! (The campus is so large that there are three tram stops on it, and my class was on a different stop) Class was also really awesome on this day. It was oral expression, and I was the only student that was told "pas d'erreurs de français." :)
When I got home that evening, I wanted to eat this coffee crème that I started the night before, but I accidentally poured it into the sink. I was very upset and found David and told him about it. He gave me one of his chocolate crèmes to make me feel better. I love him.
"Oh, I just love rainy days! I like to curl up by the fireplace with some hot chocolate and a leather-bound copy of Wuthering Heights." If you've ever said that, I know you're lying.
This was the day for our residence permits. They said "bring passport photos" so I did. Then when we brought them, they said "your face isn't centered exactly" or "your hair is too close to the edges of the picture. Spend 4 euros to get new ones." Lisa whipped out the British accent and totally told the guy. I just said "ok." My second set came out better anyway.
David, Alexis, Ronald, Lisa, Jennifer and I then tried out a new McDonalds. In Orléans, or maybe in the whole country, if you have a student ID you get an extra sandwich with your combo meal. This saves money for things like...a Proust anthology! which I bought for 30 euros and love love LOVE.
Later, I watched Law & Order in French. I liked it because it was about a rapper, so these French voices kept using really rad vocab. Ronald made fried chicken. Simply by being there and then going back to my apartment, everything smells like The Cove.
We were supposed to go to Château de Chambord this day, but the trip got cancelled AFTER we boarded the bus and drove to school to pick up the other kids, and after they got on the bus. But I didn't mind, because it was a nice ride during which to take pictures of the SNOW!! Yes, the trip was cancelled because there was snow everywhere. At first I thought I wasn't so crazy about snow because it melts and turns to dirt, but this was good snow. Even those who had seen snow before said "that's good snow." The texture was perfect, and it was white white white.
David and I decided to buy some boots for him (he eventually got some; they're cute), and while waiting for the bus I thought I was procuring frostbite just by standing there. My hands were completely numb, yet somehow they hurt. I can't explain the sensation. Suffice it to say that I have never been in weather colder than 20 degrees, and it is something that I would like to experience sparingly.
To warm up, I got some hot chocolate in the lobby. I love it because it costs 40 cents. Speaking of 40, French people write their numbers way differently than we do. I can never tell what they are.
I cleaned.
Our teachers told us to go to the bank to deposit our stipends, so class was cancelled. They were late, but we got our cash and went on our way. While on the tram, someone called a member of our group and said "oops, banks are closed on Mondays. And classes aren't cancelled after all."
Vive la France!
I'll make a picture post soon.
The airplane was comfortable. But though there were many wines to choose from, there was no ginger ale. I honestly didn't know that air travel was possible without galleys filled with ginger ale. Or at least tomato juice. But no, just coke and wine. However, I've never flown with a little TV in front of me before! I played "Qui veut gagner des millions?" (Who wants to be a millionaire?), and I beat David in chess. But the real treat was that the airline showed MacGyver. No, I'm not kidding. He saved an alcoholic teenager from mortal peril with a chain-link fence. I wanted to watch Four Brothers, but within the first thirty seconds I knew I wouldn't be able to take it. So instead I read Wuthering Heights and looked around trying to figure out who on the plane was from UNO besides Sheila, whom I met during boarding.
The dinner was soooo good! I LOVE airplane food! I think it's fantastic! And this time I was sitting very close to the front, so I actually got my choice (Basque-style chicken). I don't know why the flight attendant spoke to me in English first. I guess it doesn't matter, because he looked like Michael Buble. Eventually I tried to sleep, but I'm pretty sure that's impossible. So I just brushed my teeth and watched this cute baby cry for awhile.
My next favorite part of the ride was the delicious breakfast. La Crème yogurt, look at you. Not soon after I finally met Merry, our helper for the past few months. She gave us an itinerary for the first week, and we drove for two hours from Paris to Orléans. (I'm still not sure how it took that long. I think the driver actually circled the city about eight times before driving into it. I've been to Paris since, and it takes about an hour on a train, which goes significantly slower than the bus.) I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our apartments -- they're cute and secure, in a little apartment neighborhood less than a football field's length from the street. My room is EXTREMELY small, guys. As in hardly bigger than my bedroom at home. But it has everything I need, and I really do like it. I've made it my own. Oh yeah, and we're just feet away from the Loire. Great views.
There's a great grocery store (Champion) across the street, and all of us go there quite a lot. The first things I bought for my apartment were grilled crackers, laughing cow cheese, and juice. All I really eat is that same box of crackers and tomato juice. I'm trying to buy things that I cannot eat in the U.S. (tomato juice counts because my family hates it and no one will help me drink it, so no, I cannot buy it in the United States), and so far my favorite purchases have been cappuccino-flavored sugar-free Pepsi (it's delicious, guys!), raspberry-grapefruit diet fanta, chocolate-hazelnut-pistachio macaroon ice cream, and ham/goat cheese/onion/crème fraîche pizza. All the French really eat is bread and cheese.
Which brings me to another point. I really like how the French don't do all that froo-froo with their food. If you order a ham sandwich, that's exactly what you're getting -- ham on bread. I like food the way it is, and I don't really understand condiments. I also have never put ice in my drinks, and the only place to get ice here is McDonalds. I just want a salmon and cream sandwich, without the honey glaze and the pepper and the parsley on top, s'il vous plaît.
I have no telephone, only phone cards. So if you want me to call you, write me a letter (a real one, foo) or e-mail or facebook or lj comment, etc. And I might call you on Sunday, or on your birthday. Everything is closed on Sundays, so I just stay at home. Well, it feels like home anyway.
My first day here, I noticed that it doesn't get light outside until 10, and it gets dark at around 17. (I bought an alarm clock here -- a European alarm clock, at Fnac, the French Best Buy. At 5pm, it will say 17, and at midnight it says 0:00. So I'm used to it) They say it's much cheerier during the spring.
Another first-day discovery was that I can sleep with my window open! Not OPEN open, but with the curtains open. I love it! I'm on the fourth floor, and I have no balcony or anything, so I don't usually open my window because it's level with my bed and I could just fall out, but I'm also comforted that there's no way that anyone except MacGyver or Chuck Norris could get in from the outside (and they don't live in France).
Everyone went together to get our SEMTAO cards (bus/tram passes), which were FREE because we're from New Orleans. My picture is really bad, because apparently when the lady takes the picture she doesn't look through the camera, but at the computer moniter. She didn't say a word until "souvent!" (=next), and when I got my picture, it's me looking up and squinting. I guess I was trying to read the sign above her head.
We went to the bank to sign some things, and Merry and Sophie (an assistant at the International Relations division at UO) showed us how to ride the bus and then switch to the tram, and how to know where to get off and so forth. It's very easy. Much easier than driving.
Then we ate lunch at a satellite university restaurant, where I had salmon, spinach, rice, chocolate mousse, camembert cheese (I do not like it you guys), and potato salad all for 3 euros. Later I bought some student coupons, and now I get it for 2 euros. That's a great deal, and I don't care what anyone else said, it was REALLY TASTY.
I took a French placement test, and I'm in the intermediate group (there are only 2 -- beginner and intermediate). Then I went to Carrefour (the French Wal-Mart) and bought a little hairdryer that folds up. Then McDonalds, where I have been three times actually, and never gotten anything that is available in the states (P'tit Oriental, seafood salad, and 280 -- a swiss fondue burger on ciabatta bread that is SQUARE).
In the morning, David, Victoria, Lisa-Marie and I took the bus to the train station and walked down Rue de la République, our FAVORITE favorite street in Orléans. Unfortunately, I cannot find the Sanrio that is supposedly located there. Anyway, we found a vendor that sells really cheap foods, like 4 pain au chocolat for 1,70. That's like, ridiculous. Then we caught the tram and went to school to do some paperwork for about 3 minutes, and went to town. Everything was closed because it was so early, so we went to Quick Burger (chicken curry wrap!) and hung out until it was time to go BACK to school for a meeting and an erasmus party. The meetings are all stressful, but at the party we got to meet our "tutors" -- French students learning English with whom we can practice our French. Julien is mine, and he is soooo cool! David really liked him too. Soon we will go to his house and look at pictures from his ski trip. David's partner is Célinda, and of course she's very beautiful. But she's really nice, and I like her, and we saw her on the tram a few days later and felt really cool because we knew someone.
The best part of the day was when we ate gâteau de roi (king cake). Mine had chocolate in it. FJDSKDFJ. Michael got the bean and put a paper crown on my head because he chose me to be the queen. Then David and I came home and watched MacGyver.
Since I've been here, the earliest I've gone to sleep is 22h30 and the latest I've woken up is about 8h20. I'll sleep when I get back to the US. Whatev. Anyway, Jan 19 David and I went to the salle de sport (gym) and tried to do the exercise bikes, but I am too short to reach the pedals so we did the stairmaster instead. Then we went to Champion where I discovered that even if I buy 82 items, it will always be less than 15 euros. I keep being tempted by hibiscus-flavored soda, and I think eventually I will invest in it. How can I not? Seriously. And a 2-foot loaf of bread is 29 cents. And since it doesn't have any preservatives, if you don't eat it right away it gets rock hard.
We went to school AGAIN to pay insurance, which was where we really saw French bureaucracy at work. "You must pay with cash," they said after telling us the day before that credit cards would be acceptable. Luckily I had what I needed, but that statement sent fifteen other students scurrying to the ATMs. After we paid, they said "why didn't anyone pay with a credit card?" I think a few people actually passed out.
I got my student ID (with a picture I brought from home, thank goodness) which someone made by hand and it took a LONG time. I'm really glad I got that done when I did too, because SURPRISE they could only do a certain number of IDs that day, so sorry to the kids who came all the way to school just to go back home again.
I got an apple beignet at the vendor, and then David and I went to Les Musardises, where we bought 10 French chocolates for an outrageous price that I think was worth it but that he isn't so sure about. Then we came home and played euchre, which I do not like very much.
Our first stop was La Poste, where I bought pre-stamped U.S. envelopes (WRITE TO ME YOU CAN GET MY ADDRESS FROM MY FAMILY). Then -- to the mall! Place d'Arc is right above Gares d'Orléans, and the French government allows sales once a year, RIGHT NOW. Everything is 50-90% off. So I bought a skirt and a cardigan, and they are SO great that in fact, the skirt is my favorite skirt and the cardigan is my favorite shirt. I didn't just buy them because they were cheaper than a pack of gum. Although I was tempted to buy a really ugly skirt at H&M just because it was 2 euros. Then I was like I'll never wear this ok.
I went to C&A and bought a scarf because it's in the low 20s Fahrenheit right now and it's snowing like you wouldn't believe. Then I went to a café, Paul, where I had my very first cup of French coffee. I don't think I knew what coffee tasted like until I came to France. Since then I've discovered that Aux Sept Epis has better coffee, but I should have expected that because Paul is in the mall. We came home, I learned how to play spades (it's exactly the same as euchre), and we watched Good Eats.
This was so far the most trying day of my trip. Here's why:
Lisa, Nicole, Joanna, Patrick, David and I bought train tickets to Paris. I was really excited when we arrived at Gare d'Austerlitz, because Amélie went there. But once we stepped outside, the first thing I saw was a McDonalds and a bunch of dead trees. I figured "that's ok", and continued to walk in the unbearably cold wind to Notre Dame. Ok, that was really awesome. After that, we kind of branched off except for Patrick who is really independent, and tried to find the Louvre. It was nowhere in sight, so eventually we stopped at the first restaurant we saw, which happened to be Voltaire's house. Again, that was really awesome. I had a croque madame, and it was the most delicious sandwich I've ever eaten, only rivaled by Sonic's island fire burger (whatever, that's a good burger).
Then we split from Joanna and Nicole, and that left David, Lisa and I who were still determined to find the Louvre. Eventually we did find it, and it was pretty neat. We took pictures outside of it for a while, and then bought our tickets for 8,50 and went inside. It was SO BIG, I was kind of disappointed that I only had one day to see it, because I think it must take at least three. We rushed through it (I think I would prefer to see museums alone). The best part about it was the following conversation:
Me: hey Lisa, can I ask you a dumb question?
Lisa: sure.
Me: (whispering) how did the Louvre staff get this giant column into this tiny room?
Lisa: good question.
An old English man: Excuse me, what was the dumb question?
Lisa and Me: What?
Old English man: I couldn't help but overhear.
Me: I just asked how the museum staff got that giant column in here.
English man: Well that's not a dumb question a-tall. In fact, I think it's a very good question.
That's it. We concluded that the walls were built afterwards. I only liked this conversation because it involved an eavesdropping British person.
ANYWAY, by this time our legs were tired so we decided to hurry up and see the Mona Lisa, and then to go home. So we looked for about half an hour, got disgruntled, said "we're here for six months, we'll come back, it was only 8,50" and decided to just go ahead and leave. AN HOUR LATER, with my right eye twitching and Lisa almost in tears, we FINALLY found the exit. It really wasn't funny at all when it was happening; in fact, it was quite frightening to continually see signs for the exit but never being able to find one. As Lisa says now, we got eaten by the Louvre. Yes, we did.
Then we realized how far away we were from Gare d'Austerlitz. We couldn't walk there. So we decided to take a bus which never came. I think I almost cried. Not out of fear, because we COULD have walked, but it would have taken hours, or we could have taken a taxi. No, I almost cried from frustration. EVENTUALLY it arrived, we hopped on, got on the next train, and WENT. We were so excited when we got to Orléans that we skipped out of the station, jumped on the bus where we saw some people we knew, told our story punctuated with laughter, and celebrated our homecoming with pizza from the pizzeria very close to home.
Later that night, as David and I were watching MacGyver again, Victoria came to David's and asked to borrow some computer thing that I didn't understand. He said she could borrow it for the whole semester and she was so touched that an hour later she came back and said "here, I rented you a movie." So we watched it. It was Sherlock Holmes, and Vincent D'Onofrio was the villain. I liked it.
Jan 22 was a Sunday, and David and I were disheartened to find out (after getting ready, mind) that the salle de sport is closed on weekends. So we just got ready for the day and went grocery shopping, because Champion is the only thing besides McDonalds that's open on Sundays. We did laundry. I think that's how every Sunday will be until June, but I don't mind.
Jan 23 was the first day of school and I am so in love with school. It's just as far away as UNO is, but it takes only 30 minutes to get there on the tram, because the tram doesn't stop for red lights and the like. Also, I am officially hardcore now. I take a million hours of French a week. Boo ya.
Four hours on Monday, 1.5 hours on Tuesday, 4 hours on Wednesday, 2 hours on Thursday, and 2 hours on Friday. I have about six different teachers who change every day, the times change every day, and the room numbers change every day. You're thinking that's not so odd, but every week is different. It's not like Monday is this room with this teacher et cetera. No. Every week we get a new schedule. And that's not just for our makeshift program, it's for everyone in France. They do what they want, that's just how it is. But I really like my classes once I find them and figure out who my teacher is, because we actually have different subjects WITHIN French (those change every day too). For example, we have phonetics during which we take turns pronouncing vowel sounds and the letter R, there's grammar, writing, conversation, oral expression, listening, and culture. None of my teachers speak a word of English, so if you speak to them, they just look at you blankly and say "pas d'anglais." So my French is really improving. I understand everything that my teachers say, and a good bit of what I hear on the street.
I had my first conversation with a real French person on the tram. It was a 12-year-old boy. I heard him talking about David and I, because he said to his sister "Ils ne sont pas français! Ils parlent anglais!" (They are not French! They are speaking English!") So I looked toward him and he said "You speak English? I speak English!" (but he didn't). Then, in French (but I'll type it in English), a conversation (albeit a simple one) ensued. He asked if we were from England, and I said no, we're from the United States. He thought that was just about the coolest thing he'd ever heard, and he said "You must be from New York!" And I said no, New Orleans. Then he was like WHOA and asked "are you here because of the tsunami?" And then I said "the hurricane" and he asked if we were just visiting. And this was my favorite part because I got to say "no, we live here."
Then David and I went home and I learned how to make eggs. We have completely mastered eggs by this time, and I am so going to cook when I get home. We are going to move on to bigger and better things (we wanted to make fried wontons with cheese, but wontons are not available in France apparently). I now know how to make scrambled, fried, over easy, French toast, and omelets.
I went to my British history class. I started laughing hysterically in my heart about 2 seconds into it. It's supposed to be taught in English you see (we're not allowed to take French-taught classes), and was on the list of about five classes that we could take. The teacher asked Patrick to "ferme la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît", but we assumed that was because she thought we were French students. Then she commenced. "Bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh" etc. She spoke extremely fast and I understood nothing that she said. Then she started writing on the board in French, and I suddenly heard "was ratified in 1818, which allowed the whigs and the tories to..." etc. I thought "oh! Great! I guess she was just giving an introduction for the French students." Not so. As soon as she started speaking English (which was pretty much as hard to understand as the French), she switched from writing in English to writing in French. And mid-sentence, back to French she went. She contined to go back and forth, switching languages perhaps unconsciously, until the last half-hour which was entirely in English. Unfortunately, since I missed the first three-fourths of the class I had no idea what she was talking about. She gave a handout in English, started speaking French again, and I went to Greg (our advisor) and told him I couldn't take the class.
Then it was lunchtime, and I have never before eaten so many foods of whose identities I am unaware. But it tasted good, and I'm pretty sure part of it was a steamed zucchini.
After school, everyone rushed home to get ready for a banquet at the Grand Hotel (there's one in every city, isn't there?) with the mayor, who unfortunately could not be there. But we had little sandwiches and pastries and we watched a CNN segment that was done on our program, and this guy that looked remarkably like Adrien Brody (but enough different to let me know that it wasn't him) was walking around and I liked it.
Once a month, our apartment managers provide breakfast in the cafeteria, which on Jan 25 was baguettes, croissants, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I tasted some orange marmalade, and I loved it. Then my favorite thing happened that has ever happened ever. A French student who lives in the apartments ran into the cafeteria, apparently in a hurry. He suddenly walked up to David and shook his hand, who then said "Hi, I'm David, nice to meet you." He didn't say a word, but kissed me on both cheeks and ran away to get his breakfast across the room. I still don't really understand it.
Then school, where the lake was frozen and really daring people were walking on it. At lunchtime, David, Alexis and I tried a different cafeteria (there are 7 or 8 of them on campus) and we liked it better and will probably go there forever. After school I bought a blanket.
I discovered that if I don't put my foot into the exercise bike pedal strap, I can do it! That's pretty exciting. What's even more exciting is that when we stepped outside, it was snowing. Just barely. In fact, I didn't even know it was snow until someone told me. I thought it was drizzling (nothing was collecting on the ground). I was so excited that I took video of it, and the next day the entire ground was covered and I had to wear boots and then I was like oh. Ok this is snow. But more about that later.
David and I went to the crêperie a few feet away from the apartments, and I ordered a dessert crêpe for lunch. The Caraïbes. It had coconut ice cream, coconut, and hot fudge on top. It was "divine," as Blaine Barker would say. Then we went to school for our afternoon classes and I got off of the tram by myself! (The campus is so large that there are three tram stops on it, and my class was on a different stop) Class was also really awesome on this day. It was oral expression, and I was the only student that was told "pas d'erreurs de français." :)
When I got home that evening, I wanted to eat this coffee crème that I started the night before, but I accidentally poured it into the sink. I was very upset and found David and told him about it. He gave me one of his chocolate crèmes to make me feel better. I love him.
"Oh, I just love rainy days! I like to curl up by the fireplace with some hot chocolate and a leather-bound copy of Wuthering Heights." If you've ever said that, I know you're lying.
This was the day for our residence permits. They said "bring passport photos" so I did. Then when we brought them, they said "your face isn't centered exactly" or "your hair is too close to the edges of the picture. Spend 4 euros to get new ones." Lisa whipped out the British accent and totally told the guy. I just said "ok." My second set came out better anyway.
David, Alexis, Ronald, Lisa, Jennifer and I then tried out a new McDonalds. In Orléans, or maybe in the whole country, if you have a student ID you get an extra sandwich with your combo meal. This saves money for things like...a Proust anthology! which I bought for 30 euros and love love LOVE.
Later, I watched Law & Order in French. I liked it because it was about a rapper, so these French voices kept using really rad vocab. Ronald made fried chicken. Simply by being there and then going back to my apartment, everything smells like The Cove.
We were supposed to go to Château de Chambord this day, but the trip got cancelled AFTER we boarded the bus and drove to school to pick up the other kids, and after they got on the bus. But I didn't mind, because it was a nice ride during which to take pictures of the SNOW!! Yes, the trip was cancelled because there was snow everywhere. At first I thought I wasn't so crazy about snow because it melts and turns to dirt, but this was good snow. Even those who had seen snow before said "that's good snow." The texture was perfect, and it was white white white.
David and I decided to buy some boots for him (he eventually got some; they're cute), and while waiting for the bus I thought I was procuring frostbite just by standing there. My hands were completely numb, yet somehow they hurt. I can't explain the sensation. Suffice it to say that I have never been in weather colder than 20 degrees, and it is something that I would like to experience sparingly.
To warm up, I got some hot chocolate in the lobby. I love it because it costs 40 cents. Speaking of 40, French people write their numbers way differently than we do. I can never tell what they are.
I cleaned.
Our teachers told us to go to the bank to deposit our stipends, so class was cancelled. They were late, but we got our cash and went on our way. While on the tram, someone called a member of our group and said "oops, banks are closed on Mondays. And classes aren't cancelled after all."
Vive la France!
I'll make a picture post soon.