Hard to believe I am 80% of the way through my French classes already. With the new week came a new teacher, and she speaks almost NO English (I think her knowledge of English is limited, in addition to wanting to encourage us to think/listen in French) - but she is very nice and very encouraging, and I'm still doing just fine. It is a blessing that the majority of the class speaks English, though. It's not uncommon for someone in the class to repeat back or translate out loud in English, so I get some confirmation that I understand (or didn't understand) what's going on ... group chatter on group assignments is generally in English too. Yesterday we started learning how to read menus and common phrases in French restaurants, so it's nice to have something applicable to learn. I wouldn't say I've mastered French in the past 8 days, but I'm at least a world more comfortable with it than I used to be. It's nice to know, for example, that the same adjective DOES change spelling (and usually, but not always, its prononciation) depending on the gender of the noun it's describing, and that there's no rule for deciding which nouns are feminine and which are masculine (alas). Trying to puzzle through these rules of the language on my own would have driven me crazy.
I have class for four hours a day, then the afternoons are free. The routine this week has been to go to class from 9 to 1, meet up with Andrew around 2:30, and spend the rest of the afternoon doing a museum or a neighborhood walk from one of our guidebooks. At about mid-day or mid-evening we have pastries or coffee, or a nap, or some down time to check email or write to family, then at about 8 or 9 pm we go out again for a late dinner and an evening stroll around the sites at night. It's about as fantastic as it sounds. Just the right level of activity for a truly relaxing vacation. It's so nice to be able to savor one museum a day without rushing to reach them all.
Two more days in France, then the next big adventure begins - biking the countryside! Au revoir!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Comment on the blog, get souvenirs!
Want something from Paris (or France in general)? Leave a comment on the blog, I'll see what I can do!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
"I brought you a scarf, Joanna, a real Paris scarf!"
(I think from now on every blog post will be titled with a quote from Sabrina)
Just checked flight status - Andrew's plane arrived on time! Yay!
In other news, I think I've found my favorite arrondisement (neighborhood) in Paris. I wandered around the 4th arrondisement after work yesterday. If you're looking at a map of Paris, it's just north of the Ile de St Louis - close to the center of Paris, but not really IN the center of Paris (at least not in the tourist-central center). It's as close as I've found to the quintessential Parisian experience thus far - narrow pedestrian cobblestone streets, lots of tiny specialty arts and clothes shops, plenty of bakeries and patisseries and tea houses. But the best part is ... they have thrift shops!! They're not like thrift shops in the States, to be sure. The stores are small and pretty cramped, the clothes are still upper-end (no discarded volunteer T-shirts or "World's Best Teacher" mugs), and they're still rather pricey. Even so, thanks to the "fripperies" in the 4th I now have two Parisian scarves, my first Parisian jacket, *and* a matching purse. I don't think they were originally a set, but they match almost perfectly. I have a matching jacket and purse. Like whoa.
Off to rendezvous with Andrew - our plan is to meet at noon in front of the Eiffel Tower. *Sigh*. Even if it is a bit cliche, it's still awfully romantic :-) Au revoir!
Just checked flight status - Andrew's plane arrived on time! Yay!
In other news, I think I've found my favorite arrondisement (neighborhood) in Paris. I wandered around the 4th arrondisement after work yesterday. If you're looking at a map of Paris, it's just north of the Ile de St Louis - close to the center of Paris, but not really IN the center of Paris (at least not in the tourist-central center). It's as close as I've found to the quintessential Parisian experience thus far - narrow pedestrian cobblestone streets, lots of tiny specialty arts and clothes shops, plenty of bakeries and patisseries and tea houses. But the best part is ... they have thrift shops!! They're not like thrift shops in the States, to be sure. The stores are small and pretty cramped, the clothes are still upper-end (no discarded volunteer T-shirts or "World's Best Teacher" mugs), and they're still rather pricey. Even so, thanks to the "fripperies" in the 4th I now have two Parisian scarves, my first Parisian jacket, *and* a matching purse. I don't think they were originally a set, but they match almost perfectly. I have a matching jacket and purse. Like whoa.
Off to rendezvous with Andrew - our plan is to meet at noon in front of the Eiffel Tower. *Sigh*. Even if it is a bit cliche, it's still awfully romantic :-) Au revoir!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"I'm sure not everyone in Paris thinks you're an idiot.""Only because I haven't met them all."
Can you believe I've been in Paris for a week already? Me neither. But it was almost exactly a week ago today that I was walking around Montmartre, fighting to stay awake after a near-sleepless night on the plane, waiting to check into my hostel.
Just got back from day four of French class. Whoa! It is definitely more intense than any language class I've taken in the States. Our professors speak entirely in French (sometimes quite rapid French), so it can be a real struggle to figure out what the heck is going on. Thank God for hand gestures - one wave of a hand means a world more to me than blu-blu-blu this or blu-blu-blu that. It's actually pretty remarkable, when you think about it - a person can go on and on for more than a minute without saying a thing I understand, but when she moves her hand toward the door, it's like ... a ha! We're moving to the next room!
I had a premonition about this ... I remember when Becky was taking driver's ed, and my parents sent her to learn there from the ground up, meaning she had not even sat behind the wheel before the first day of class. Poor girl was understandably overwhelmed when her first instruction was to pull away from the curb and drive out into the street! Well Becky, I feel your pain. Here I am ... driving down the streets of Paris, pretending I know the rules of the road, while at the same time I haven't even mastered which is the gas and which is the brake.
I might have given up on this whole learning French idea, except for two saving graces: 1) Our professors are the complete opposite of the snooty rude variety of French - on the contrary, they've actually been very friendly, super encouraging, and not at all condescending (and they will speak English if you're totally lost - asking questions in English is okay too, at least at our level), and 2) The majority of my class seems to be about as overwhelmed as I am (except for the one guy in our class, who's a little overconfident for my taste). I will definitely come back to the States with much more sympathy for our non-English speakers. It sucks to feel stupid just because you are limited by an extremely short vocabulary.
I actually am having fun, for the most part, especially when I'm not on the spot to perform and I can just listen and absorb from the rest of the class. The four hours passes incredibly quickly every day.
Off now to go running, then maybe will do some ... gasp ... clothes shopping! (I know, I know, it's weird for me to contemplate clothes shopping as well ... but I am starting to feel rather under-dressed. The basic fall attire for pretty much all women here is either ballet flats or heeled boots (knee-high is not unusual), black tights, a dress, a tailored-looking coat or jacket, and a scarf. I feel like an eyesore in my ugly-ass black walking shoes, jeans/khakis, and hoodie). Au revoir!
Just got back from day four of French class. Whoa! It is definitely more intense than any language class I've taken in the States. Our professors speak entirely in French (sometimes quite rapid French), so it can be a real struggle to figure out what the heck is going on. Thank God for hand gestures - one wave of a hand means a world more to me than blu-blu-blu this or blu-blu-blu that. It's actually pretty remarkable, when you think about it - a person can go on and on for more than a minute without saying a thing I understand, but when she moves her hand toward the door, it's like ... a ha! We're moving to the next room!
I had a premonition about this ... I remember when Becky was taking driver's ed, and my parents sent her to learn there from the ground up, meaning she had not even sat behind the wheel before the first day of class. Poor girl was understandably overwhelmed when her first instruction was to pull away from the curb and drive out into the street! Well Becky, I feel your pain. Here I am ... driving down the streets of Paris, pretending I know the rules of the road, while at the same time I haven't even mastered which is the gas and which is the brake.
I might have given up on this whole learning French idea, except for two saving graces: 1) Our professors are the complete opposite of the snooty rude variety of French - on the contrary, they've actually been very friendly, super encouraging, and not at all condescending (and they will speak English if you're totally lost - asking questions in English is okay too, at least at our level), and 2) The majority of my class seems to be about as overwhelmed as I am (except for the one guy in our class, who's a little overconfident for my taste). I will definitely come back to the States with much more sympathy for our non-English speakers. It sucks to feel stupid just because you are limited by an extremely short vocabulary.
I actually am having fun, for the most part, especially when I'm not on the spot to perform and I can just listen and absorb from the rest of the class. The four hours passes incredibly quickly every day.
Off now to go running, then maybe will do some ... gasp ... clothes shopping! (I know, I know, it's weird for me to contemplate clothes shopping as well ... but I am starting to feel rather under-dressed. The basic fall attire for pretty much all women here is either ballet flats or heeled boots (knee-high is not unusual), black tights, a dress, a tailored-looking coat or jacket, and a scarf. I feel like an eyesore in my ugly-ass black walking shoes, jeans/khakis, and hoodie). Au revoir!
Monday, September 20, 2010
First day of French school = success???
In the loosest sense of the word.
I found the school (finally). They shuttled about 25 of us into a cafeteria and gave an introduction entirely in French (of which I followed the basic gist, but not really a word of what was spoken). Role call, in which I didn't understand my own name (neither did a third of the class, thankfully). Written placement exam, in which I think I wrote three full sentences and was quite proud of them (Je suis American! Je m'appelle Angela!), and the oral placement exam was a disaster. The poor woman broke down a simple five-word sentence word for word (I think asking either where or why I had studied French before, not sure) before writing A.1.1 on my sheet (which I think means Beginner.beginner.VERY MUCH A BEGINNER) and escorting me back to the cafeteria. Now I'm waiting for other students to finish their oral exams, then we'll be assigned our classes and lessons will begin!
Hard part's over? I doubt it, but it feels like it for now. Au revoir!
I found the school (finally). They shuttled about 25 of us into a cafeteria and gave an introduction entirely in French (of which I followed the basic gist, but not really a word of what was spoken). Role call, in which I didn't understand my own name (neither did a third of the class, thankfully). Written placement exam, in which I think I wrote three full sentences and was quite proud of them (Je suis American! Je m'appelle Angela!), and the oral placement exam was a disaster. The poor woman broke down a simple five-word sentence word for word (I think asking either where or why I had studied French before, not sure) before writing A.1.1 on my sheet (which I think means Beginner.beginner.VERY MUCH A BEGINNER) and escorting me back to the cafeteria. Now I'm waiting for other students to finish their oral exams, then we'll be assigned our classes and lessons will begin!
Hard part's over? I doubt it, but it feels like it for now. Au revoir!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 3 - Update
Well, as you've no doubt noticed, you shouldn't hold your breath between posts here. Maybe I would/could update nightly if I was one of those tech-savvy gadget people, but I'm working with very limited Internet time where I can steal a moment here or there (it's free at the hostel, but awfully busy in the evening hours - and I'm usually out during the day). So far the trip is going well. The weather has been beautiful every day, which has put a cheery face on most of the city. For the last two days my routine has been to sleep in until about 9 am, eat breakfqst at the hostel, then follow my guidebooks and trains to the get-away destination of the day. Come back to Paris in the evening, walk the city, savor the sunset and lights of the city at night, and return to the hostel to journal while eating trail mix qnd gummi bears for dinner (I know - that ended after two days). Today I went for a jog around the city monuments in the morning, then explored my neighborhood in Montmatre looking for an adaptor and a grocery store. After I send this I'll be off to the Orangerie, then out for dinner with a hosteling friend.
This is the first trip of my life that I think I've taken completely and utterly solo - no travel partners, no friends to greet me on the other side, no groups or itineraries to follow. It's been quite lonely the first couple of days, but I'm starting to get used to it. I was having serious doubts the first day or two about the brilliance of this whole hop-across-the-ocean-to-a-country-where-you-don't-know-the-language-and-have-a-go-at-it-for-a-whole-month, but now I'm starting to relax a little. I think I expected the first days to be an adrenaline rush of iconic streets and the life and for all of that to slowly die down to something more realistic over the coming days, but it's actually been the opposite. Paris (at least the center of Paris) has the same car exhaust and crowded streets and tacky tourist stalls and lack of dog poop clean-up that I've found common to many major metropolitan cities, no magic there. But, over time, I'm noticing the little things that I think make it a special city; lots of small bakeries and cheeseries and pastry shops (with BEAUTIFUL window displays), for example. People really do buy their morning or afternoon baguette and walk around with their long skinny loaf of bread; some of them even nibble at it while they walk, it's as normal as walking around with a cheeseburger and french fries in the States. (ironically enough, I don't think I have seen any french fries yet).
30 minutes goes fast with a slow Internet connection and constant re-typing (the a, w, and m keys are all rearranged on this keyboard, as well as all of the symbols). I'm fine, but wish my family and friends could be here with me!! Au revoir!
This is the first trip of my life that I think I've taken completely and utterly solo - no travel partners, no friends to greet me on the other side, no groups or itineraries to follow. It's been quite lonely the first couple of days, but I'm starting to get used to it. I was having serious doubts the first day or two about the brilliance of this whole hop-across-the-ocean-to-a-country-where-you-don't-know-the-language-and-have-a-go-at-it-for-a-whole-month, but now I'm starting to relax a little. I think I expected the first days to be an adrenaline rush of iconic streets and the life and for all of that to slowly die down to something more realistic over the coming days, but it's actually been the opposite. Paris (at least the center of Paris) has the same car exhaust and crowded streets and tacky tourist stalls and lack of dog poop clean-up that I've found common to many major metropolitan cities, no magic there. But, over time, I'm noticing the little things that I think make it a special city; lots of small bakeries and cheeseries and pastry shops (with BEAUTIFUL window displays), for example. People really do buy their morning or afternoon baguette and walk around with their long skinny loaf of bread; some of them even nibble at it while they walk, it's as normal as walking around with a cheeseburger and french fries in the States. (ironically enough, I don't think I have seen any french fries yet).
30 minutes goes fast with a slow Internet connection and constant re-typing (the a, w, and m keys are all rearranged on this keyboard, as well as all of the symbols). I'm fine, but wish my family and friends could be here with me!! Au revoir!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Made it!
After a late night of packing, printing, photocopying, and several hours of travel, I am here! My planes both took off and landed on time, oddly enough. Plus, I mqde rqndom friends at the train station who helped me take the train and subway through the city to my hostel. Surreally smooth traveling thus far. The plane was pretty cramped, by my seat buddy was a nice young lady about my age who smelled very nice - you know that always helps.
Now that I'm here - what do I do?
Good question. I'm going to go figure that out. A bientot! (There should probably be accent marks somewhere in that phrase - I'll have to figure that out later.)
Now that I'm here - what do I do?
Good question. I'm going to go figure that out. A bientot! (There should probably be accent marks somewhere in that phrase - I'll have to figure that out later.)
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