So It Has Been a While...Part 2

Here is a recap on my last week at Ecole Etoile and what I have been up to this past week.  I think we will then finally be all caught up!!  I think that is really exciting and typing up the blog entries in a word document and then just pasting them in makes things so much easier for when the internet does work because it normally doesn’t work for very long!

Monday le 19 septembre 2011:

Had class today and went to the CROUs as usual but this time it was just me and Perry who went to lunch there.  It was super crowded but the food was good and I had a nice time chatting with Perry.  We then had orientation like usual at the Central office and talked about adjusting to life here in France.  I feel as if sometimes my emotions can be bipolar here!  One minute I love it here and the next minute I hate it here.  But that is all just part and parcel of living in another country and culture.  It really is a huge adjustment and a lot of hard work!  It can be rather exhausting!  After the meeting I hung out at the office for a little while and then took the metro home.  I got some mail today which was exciting because it was my year long Navigo pass (lets me take the metro, RER, and bus) but I had just recharged my old one for the week!  I decided that I would just use the old one for this week since I paid for it and start using the new one the following week.  It will be really nice because it will save me a BUNCH of money!  Also then I don’t have to worry about recharging it every month and having money for that.  I then went out and tried to figure out how to get to the bus stop that is closer to my foyer and I figured it out so from now on I will just walk to that one.  I had dinner with Camille and Osanne, the two French girls that I have had dinner with before.  They are very nice but I feel as if it is hard to get into a group of French girls.  I am still working on the friendless predicament; hopefully as time goes on I will become more outgoing and confident in my abilities to speak French and will make friends.  I also got to facetime with Maissie this evening which was really fun!  But sadly we were cut off because my internet stopped working but that is ok because we got to talk for a little while.

Tuesday le 20 septembre 2011:

Class and CROUs today; nothing too exciting.  I then had orientation and went to the Central office for that.  I got my schedule for the Catholic Institute though so that is exciting!  I should have Mondays and Fridays off and get done with class on Thursday at noon!  It will make for a nice long weekend!  But now I have to decide if I want to take a class at the Fac which is where the French students go and I am really debating if I should take a class or not because then that will change my schedule and the class will be a lot more difficult.  However, it would be interesting to see what French students have to do for university.  I don’t know, I am still deciding on that because this year was supposed to be my year of fun but I still want to do well and learn a ton of French and improve my French by leaps and bounds.  I took the metro home with Shelley, the program director, for most of the way and she showed me a different way of getting home.  It was also really nice being able to talk to her about different things.

Wednesday le 21 septembre 2011:

Test day.  Yes, I had a test today and was very nervous about it because I didn’t study a ton the night before!  I got up really early and got to school early in order to study some more.  I had class the first half and then the second half of class was for taking the test.  It wasn’t that hard and I finished it rather quickly.  I then went to the CROUs with Angela and had lunch.  We then went back for our atelier and that went fine but it was a long day!  After class I went back to my foyer and hung out for a while before the cooking class.  I left an hour early to get to the cooking class but it only took me a half an hour to get there by metro!  I LOVED the cooking class!  It was so much fun and I got to try so many different things!  The president of Central College, Dr. Putnam, his wife, Tammi, and the dean of study abroad at Central, Lynn were visiting some of the study abroad programs and this weekend they were visiting the Paris program.  They came to our cooking class and joined in on the fun!  It was so much fun getting to talk with everyone and cook with the people in our program.  I worked with Jaynellen.  She is very nice and we enjoyed cooking our three recipes.  Of course everything was in French and I am stronger at French so I had to do a lot of the translating.  Every pair made three different recipes so we had so much yummy food!!  Oh my goodness, I liked it all!  Jaynellen and I made cookies with cheese and nuts in them, we also made muffin like things with berries in them, and then we made mashed potatoes and chicken covered in peanut butter and crushed peanuts.  It was all delicious!!  We left rather late and took the metro home.  When Lily and I were on our metro line there was this really loud American guy and you could hear everything he said!  I could spot him out right away!  It was rather annoying and now I can see why French people can find Americans annoying.  French people while out in public speak very quietly so that other people cannot hear what they are saying.  I didn’t get home until 11:50pm and then went to bed.  Taking that cooking class made me wish I could take a class while here but it probably costs an arm and a leg!

Thursday le 22 septembre 2011:

Today was one of those days where I just did not want to get out of bed!  So I normally get up at 7am and I turned my alarm off and fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until 7:45am!  Oh well, it happens sometimes!  I got ready for class and would have been able to leave at my regular time so that I am at school early because you just never know if the metro or bus is not going to work that day so I always like to have a cushion with time but Lily wanted to see how to take the bus to school.  That was fine though.  I showed her how to take the bus to school and we made it to school just in time!  I got my test back today and got a 19 out of 20!  For France that is an AMAZING grade!  The teachers/professors NEVER EVER give a 20 out of 20 so getting a 19 out of 20 was awesome!  I then went to the CROUs with some people and had a good lunch.  I then walked with Lily to the Central office since it is not far away and checked email and whatnot.  I then took the metro home by myself.  I got bored so I grabbed my Agatha Christie book in French and went to the park.  When I was walking to the park an Asian lady asked me how to get to the metro stop and I told her in French how to get there!  That was really exciting!  Once I got to the park it was so refreshing to be there.  There were so many joggers and people there.  There were a LOT of little kids there and it made me miss playing with the little kids back home (yes that means those Petry kids and Trinity and Ezri!).  I had fun people watching and just enjoying the nice weather.  I did read some too though.  I eventually went home and just chilled at my foyer.

Friday le 23 septembre 2011:

Today was my last day at Ecole Etoile and it was a good one.  It was also the last day for some of the other people in the class that aren’t in my program.  For example, the man from Madagascar was so sweet and he said at the end of class how he enjoyed being in class with all of us and if we ever go to Madagascar to look him up.  It was just so sweet.  Today was also my last day for the atelier so I had packed a lunch and ate it in the classroom during the hour that I had for lunch.  I also read a book that my friend is lending to me.  We then had our last atelier and the teacher, Florence, wished us the best of luck as we continue on with our studies at the Catho.  I took the bus back to my foyer and hung out there for a while but got bored so I texted Kacey, another girl on the program, and asked her if she wanted to hang out.  I had to wait for a while for her to get to my foyer.  We then went to the park but it was getting dark.  I showed her where you can see the Arc de Triomphe from the park.  We decided it would be a good idea to walk over to the Arc since it was only a stone’s throw away.  It was so much being over there at night and taking pictures.  When we were at the Arc we saw a couple that just got married getting their pictures taken there.  It was so precious!  We then headed back to the area around my foyer and stopped at the Franprix (grocery store) so she could get something to drink, which was some Orangina.  We then went back to my foyer and hung out in my room and talked for quite some time.  It was so much fun getting to hang out and talk with her.  At 11pm I walked her back to the metro stop because she had no idea how to get there from my foyer.  I then went back and went up to Lily’s room where there was a party but didn’t stay long.  I got to talk to my parents on the phone so that was fun but it was midnight here when I was talking with them so I was going to bed.

So It Has Been a While...

So the last point I left you at it was September 11, 2011 and I was going to go to the park by my foyer which is called Parc Monceau.  I will give you a recap on what happened that following week and try to get you all up to date on my life here in Paris. 

Dimanche le 11 septembre 2011:

So I went to Parc Monceau which is a park not far from my foyer and it was amazing!  I went all by myself and had no troubles finding it.  I fell in love at Parc Monceau…with Paris again.  Before this point I was not so impressed with life here and not enjoying things.  However, when I walked into the park it was a breath of fresh air.  Everything was so green and lush because it had just rained.  The flowers were so vibrant and the air had that smell of fall and right after it rains.  I just strolled around the park while lots of joggers zoomed past me.  I got to one entry way into the park and I saw the Arc de Triomphe!!  It was just a stone’s throw away from this park!!  It blew me away and that was when I realized I am living here for a year and am in an awesome location!  I know that I will be frequenting that park often!  I decided to sit on a bench and people watch but then it started to rain.  It didn’t really bother me in the least.  I ran to find cover from the rain under a building in the park and was huddling there with many other park goers.  It seemed like it was never going to let up so I decided to walk back to my foyer.  I did have my raincoat on but I still have yet to buy an umbrella!  I found it fun running from awning to awning on store fronts to stay somewhat dry.  It didn’t help that much because when I got back I looked all wet like in Breakfast at Tiffany’s when Audrey is looking for cat.  But it was so much fun and brought me out of my funk.

Lundi le 12 septembre 2011:

Today I got up and got ready for class which included going and buying a baguette at the local boulangerie.  I took the metro with Lily to class and got there in time.  Class went fine, nothing exciting to report there.  Once class finished at 1pm I went to the CROUs, which is the student cafeteria, with a bunch of people from the program.  It was super confusing as to how it worked.  We thought we needed to buy tickets so that we could get our food but I asked this guy that worked there and he said we just pay after we get our food.  The food was rather good and I can get a lot of food for only 3.05€!  That is not bad at all!  Of course, the bread is free!  That is so French!  After lunch Angela, a girl on the program who is also staying for the year, and I walked around the neighborhood before going to our orientation at the Central office.  We stopped in this one cute little store and there was this homeless man who wanted to buy incense but the store owners were saying that he doesn’t need to buy it.  They were asking him if he was going to burn it in the street.  It was kind of strange.  This homeless man kept insisting that he had to have it so they let him buy it since he had enough money.  We then left the store and headed to orientation.  It was so much information and not very exciting.  We then went on a Bateaux Mouches ride which is a boat ride on the Seine.  We went as a program and it was a lot of fun but there were so many tourists!  There is always some random persons’ head in my picture but there is nothing I can do about that.  Afterwards, I went shopping with Angela and she found a bag/purse to carry her books in for class since Parisiens don’t really carry backpacks.  I then took the metro home all by myself for the first time!  I was super nervous about it and thought I would get lost but I had no issues and made it back easily.  For dinner I ate with two French girls in my foyer who seem really nice.  I then worked on homework and just hung out.

Mardi le 13 septembre 2011:

Today I took the bus to school.  This bus goes from my foyer to school and I don’t have to change bus lines or anything!  I have to walk about 15 minutes to get to the bus stop but that is not a big deal.  I asked Lily if she wanted to join me at 9am to take the bus to school but she wasn’t ready so I took the bus all by myself!  I was so nervous the whole ride there that I was going the wrong way but it was fine!  I love taking the bus to school because I get to sit down unlike on the metro because it is not that crowded.  Also I get to see the Madeline, Place de la Concorde, L’Obelisk, L’Arc de Triomphe, La Tour Eiffel, et L’Assemblée Nationale.  In just one bus ride!  It is amazing and so easy to take!  I got to school a half an hour early but I would rather be early than late!  I had class and then went to CROUs for lunch.  Angela and I then went and walked around le Jardin de Luxembourg before going to orientation.  It was so much fun to walk around and see another beautiful garden.  Then we went to orientation and watched some funny videos about how to seduce people, so we can realize if someone is trying to pick us up.  It was rather funny and dumb!  Afterwards, I went back to the foyer and showed Lily where Parc Monceau was.  We sat on the grass even though I don’t think it is allowed but a bunch of other people were sitting on the grass.  She took a nap and I “worked” on homework (and actually finished it) but mostly people watched.  I then showed her where you could see the Arc de Triomphe from the park.  We then went back to the foyer and I had dinner and just hung out.

Mercredi le 14 septembre 2011:

So I went to class today and took the bus and I saw the bus sitting at the stop so I started running across the busy street when the sign said I could walk.  I had my big old backpack and it was bouncing around and I probably looked like a ridiculous tourist chasing after a bus so the bus driver waited for me and let me on.  It was very nice of him!  I had class and then went to the CROUs for lunch but had to be back at 2pm since we had our atelier (it is an extra class to work on more specific stuff).  Having only an hour for lunch is NOT long enough!!!  One needs at least an hour and a half!  It takes a while to get there because I have to take the bus and then I have to wait in line and get my food, then I have to find a spot to eat at and then I have to snarf down my food in about 15 minutes because then I have to catch the bus again for the atelier at 2pm!  After the atelier, which makes for a long day of French, Angela and I went to the Louvre!  It was so awesome because we did not have to wait in line for very long and with our French student ids we get to go into any national museum for free!!!  Now that is super cool!!  I think I will be going to the Louvre on rainy days since it doesn’t cost me a penny and there is so much to see there!  We spent about an hour in the Louvre and we saw La Jaconde, which is the Mona Lisa!  I have seen it before from previous trips but I never got to get up close to it because there were always hoards of people!  I got to go up to the little railing and get a picture of it!  That was really exciting.  I then went back to my foyer and did homework and ate dinner.  It is hard making friends here in France because at my foyer everyone speaks French very well and I am still learning.  Also a lot of them have been here for quite some time so they already have their groups of friends.  It is also a lot harder to make small talk in a language that I am still trying to learn!  It is very discouraging not having really made any friends but hopefully as the year progresses I will find at least a few French friends that I can hang out with.

Jeudi le 15 septembre 2011:

I ate breakfast with one of those girls that I had dinner with the other day and we had a nice chat but I then had to head off to class.  Today was a difficult day to concentrate in class, my head was elsewhere but that is alright.  I went to the CROUs as usual for lunch and it was good as usual.  Today I took the bus home after eating lunch and it was fine.  I wasted time not doing much and then got a text from Emily asking if I wanted to join her and others to the Musée D’Orsay.  I hadn’t done my homework yet and did something that is so unlike myself…I skipped doing my homework to go the museum!  But it was so worth it!  I got there and it was me, Angela, and Emily.  We got to get into the Musée D’Orsay for free with our student ids.  The museum has changed so much since the last time I was there!  It seems like a completely different building!  I was super bummed because you are not allowed to take any pictures in the museum.  That was no fun but I guess it kept me from being behind my camera the whole time and look at the pictures with my own two eyes.  We saw a lot of statutes and spent about 2 hours there.  We also saw the Impressionism area and I LOVE that area of the museum!  It is all artists that I know and appreciate and was so cool to see!  I also saw some paintings by Alfred Sisley!!!!  I was so excited about that because I did a project on him in French during high school.  I got to see some of the paintings that I talked about in my report in real life so that was amazing!  I then went home and had dinner with a girl from China, she was very nice.  I also worked on homework and just hung out.

Vendredi le 16 septembre 2011:

So I went to class and it was fine except it was hard to concentrate towards the end even though the class is interesting.  It is just so long despite the fact that the professor gives us a five minute break to walk around and have a snack and get out of the classroom for a bit.  I then went to the CROUs with Angela for lunch and we ate with this French guy who was very nice.  We then headed back to Ecole Etoile for our atelier.  It was exhausting being in French class for 5 ½ hours and French can be hard but I still love it and want to speak it fluently!  After class Angela and I went to le Jardin de Luxembourg and had some wine and bread and cheese.  It was really nice because we just sat in the chairs there and relaxed and talked.  When the park closed at 7pm we went back to her foyer which is about 5 minutes away and hung out there.  We went to the terrace and it has an amazing view of the city!!  We watched the sunset and talked some more then Lauren and Emily from the program joined up with us and this girl from the foyer who is also from the States came and sat with us.  It was a nice evening.  I went back to my foyer at 10pm because they were going to go to the Seine but I didn’t want to be out too late by myself taking the metro especially since I had to go through Les Halles and that is a super sketchy place to be at night and can be really creepy.  When I got back my roommate, Perrine, and I talked in French about all different kinds of things and then I went to bed.

Samedi le 17 septembre 2011:

So today was one of those days that was filled with many worries and issues and whatnot.  So I didn’t get great sleep the night before so that may be why I was overreacting a little to things but living abroad is not always easy.  It is hard being on your own having to create a budget and make decisions on your own.  Also learning another language can be hard and discouraging at times.  It feels as if my French is not improving and like I am never going to get this language down and be able to speak it fluently!!  Thinking in French is something I long to do and trying to make friends in another language can be super discouraging because it seems at this rate that I will never make any friends here.  I did go out and go shopping today which was fun and there were so many things that I wanted to buy but didn’t because I am trying to be wise with my money.  I also tried to do laundry today and washed my clothes but found out that dryer was broken when I tried to dry my clothes!  That was super frustrating!  It was also frustrating because the machine ate my 0.50€!!!  That is a lot of money when one is trying to keep a budget but oh well.  I then hung up my clothes around my room and worked on homework.  I decided later in the day to go check out the Laundromat that is on the next street and found out that it is open 7 days a week from 7am to 9pm so that is really good.  I took my damp clothes and threw them into a duffel bag and dried them.  I tried to get some homework done but then my family called me while I was there and talked to them so that was really nice!  It decided to start raining right when I was leaving but it was just spitting so it wasn’t horrible.  I just hung out at the foyer and went to bed.

Dimanche le 18 septembre 2011:

So today was a really fun day.  I got up and went to church with Angela by her foyer.  It was a catholic church so it was different than I am used to.  I don’t think I will go again but it was interesting to experience.  One thing I did like though was the sun light coming through the stained glass windows, it was just beautiful!  However, before we went to this church by her foyer we had a bunch of time so we went to the Panthéon.  It is right next to the church and we got to go in for free because of les journées du patrimoine.  It was very cool to go inside and take pictures!  We also got to go into the crypt and we saw where Marie Curie is buried and some other famous people!  That was really interesting and very cool to see.  At noon I headed back to my foyer because I was meeting up with Fabrice, he is French but he came to Central last year and was a language assistant and we lived in the French house together and became really good friends.  Anyways, we were going to be meeting up at 1pm to hang out for the afternoon.  I actually ran into him while getting off of the RER and changing onto the metro and it was so good to see him!  I had so much fun and it was just so easy because I could just relax and have a good time.  We stopped at my foyer and I showed him my room even though I don’t think I am technically allowed to have people in my room that don’t live in the foyer.  But nobody notice and it wasn’t that big of a deal because we were only in the foyer for like 10 minutes.  We then headed out to find somewhere to eat lunch, I was starving!!  We walked for what felt like forever and we did actually walk a lot!  We finally found a place that was open and had sandwiches.  It was rather good and not too expensive.  We talked for quite some time about all kinds of things then headed out to go to the Arc de Triomphe.  We took the RER and got to the Arc de Triomphe and it was really cool.  I took pictures of course!  We then walked around on the Champs-Elysées.  We went in some shops and just walked around.  We then went to this place called Ladurée where they sell macarons which are kinda like cookie thingys.  They are really good to say the least!  We then took the metro back to my stop and that is when we said goodbye because he had to go home.  I had such a great time because I had a friend to talk with unlike at my foyer where it can be very lonely.  I am very much looking forward to the next time Fabrice and I hang out!

So, I owe you all an apology

So for those of you who have been reading my blog I owe a HUGE apology!! So I wanted to be posting blog entries a lot more than I have been and keep you more up to date on life here in Paris so it wouldn't be weeks until I was posting again.  I didn't want to be one of those people that studies abroad and says that they will keep a blog and only write a few entries.  I have been trying to post entries but my internet at my foyer is so unreliable and I am only at the Central office when I have orientation so I don't have much time to write.  However, the reason for my lack of blog entries and pictures is because the internet at my foyer rarely works and when it does and I decide to post a blog entry the internet then decides to stop working and I then can't post it or do anything on the internet.  Please be patient with me,  I really do want to share with you all what I have been up to and my adventures thus far but I can't change the internet in my foyer sadly. Hopefully when I go home today after orientation it will work and I will be able to update you on everything that has happened since the 11th! Thanks again for being understanding!

La Vie Parisienne

Well I made it to Paris on Wednesday and life has been super hectic since I step foot into the city.  Françoise and Manu drove me to Paris on Wednesday and dropped me off at my foyer.  I was so thankful that I had them there to drop me off.  My foyer is a co-ed foyer and I have to cook all my food because no meals are provided.  I was super bummed when I found out that my foyer does not provide food because now that means I have to go grocery shopping and everything is expensive around here.  My foyer does have wifi but it is the worst internet connection I have ever experienced!  That is something I do not like at all.  However, it does keep me from being on my computer all day which is good because I need to go out and explore the city.  Here is a recap of my week thus far:

Wednesday, September 7th:
Got up and got ready to head to Paris with Françoise and Manu.  I had to say goodbye to Gilberte and we dropped off Calline and Gilberte's place.  We then drove into the city and the traffic was horrible!  The mopeds and motorcycles just zoom right between the cars, it is a little frightening witnessing all this!  On the way there I was so nervous, my stomach was full of butterflies.  Living in the city is a lot different than living in the country with my cousins!  I met Lily, the other girl from the Central Study Abroad program in my foyer, she seems really nice and lives on the floor above me. Françoise and Manu had to say goodbye but I know that I will be seeing them again throughout the year because I can easily take a train.  I got a tour of the foyer and then got to go to my room and arrange my stuff.  I do have a roommate but at this point I had not met her yet, however all of her stuff was set up on one side of the room.  I then moved around my furniture and started unpacking and making this my home.  Once I was done I went to Lily's room and hung out with her for a while before we took the métro to our meeting at Shelley's office.  When we got there we ran into some other students from our program and we couldn't find the building!  I even asked a lady in French where it was and while she was helping us out pops Shelley from a building!  We had our meeting and then Lily and I were going to meet up the rest of the group at le Jardin de Luxembourg because it is right down the street from Shelley's office and it was closed when we got there!  We then couldn't find them so we just walked around before heading back to the foyer.

Thursday, September 8th:
We had another meeting at Shelley's office and that is when we got our French bank accounts and cell phones!  So that is good that I now have those to necessary items!  We then took the bus to l'Ecole des Etoiles for our written and oral placement exam.  We took the written part first and I did not think it was that hard.  I know I had some mistakes but I recognized everything on there.  I then had to go and take my oral exam.  That was rather easy and the lady that was assessing my speaking/listening abilities said that I speak French rather well and have very good comprehension.  She said that I am already at a rather high level.  That was a major confidence booster and made my day!  Eventually Lily and I went home and we had dinner at a crêperie which is right around the corner, I had a crêpe with an egg and ham in it. It was very good!  We then went to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up and meet up with other students from our program.  It was fun and pretty.  That is until my stomach started hurting!  I had gotten sick and had to take the métro all the way home which was a 30min ride with changing lines and everything!  It was horrible!  I will spare you the details but it wasn't fun being sick!  The internet did work briefly so that I could facetime with my mom but then it didn't work so I went to bed.

Friday, September 9th:
Had class this morning and it went quite well!  I am in the advanced class with some other Central students and a bunch of international people.  There are people from Mexico, Spain, Canada, Poland, China, Japan, Italy and other places!  It is really neat!  The professor is super nice and the class seemed to go by quickly even though it is from 10am to 1pm and we get a 5min break in the middle.  We already have homework, of course!  Then the whole group went to a falafel place but I didn't want to push things since I was sick the night before so I just ate my PB&J.  Lily and I then headed back to the Central office for a meeting and decided to walk some of the way instead of being on the métro all the time so that we could see some of the city.  It was fun just walking around and seeing stuff like the Seine and the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame.  We made it to our meeting and 2 people from the U.S. Emabassy came to talk to us about safety and the U.S. Embassay in Paris.  It was nice and very informative.  Lily and I then headed back to our foyer because I thought we would have time before the concert at La Sainte Chapelle that our program was attending (but man was I wrong!).  But when we were at our foyer I met my roomie, Perrine, she is French but studied in the States for 4 years and earned her bachelor's so she also speaks perfect English with a perfect American accent.  However, when we talk it is in French.  We had to be at Sainte Chapelle at the very latest 7pm.  Lily and I were running late and we ran the entire way there when we took the métro. I was praying the whole way that we would make it on time because once they closed the doors that was it!  Thankfully, we got there just in time and they let us in.  It was a beautiful location for a concert!  Afterwards, I hung out with people from the group in the area and had a yummy crêpe au jambon for dinner!  I eventually found Lily who went off elsewhere with some other people from the program and we took the métro home together.

Saturday, September 10th:
Well I got up kind of late and just hung out around the foyer in the morning.  Then Lily and I did some much needed shopping.  There is a whole road that has shops along it and a Monoprix (kinda like a Target with grocery store).  I picked up some stuff.  We then went to Montmartre.  It is not that far from where I live.  We visited the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur.  It was really pretty but Sacre Coeur was crowded with tourists!  I finally went inside Sacre Coeur (I have visited it several times before but never went inside) but couldn't take any pictures since it is not allowed.  It is a beautiful church.  We then just walked around and ran across a little park that a lot of the locals go to with their children.  It was so cute seeing all the kids running around and just having fun!  That is something I miss from home, getting to interact with little kids!  We did some more walking and picture taking and then headed home for dinner.  I stayed at the foyer last night and tried skyping with my family but it didn't really work so my mom just called my cell phone.  It was so great to talk to my family back home because I have been feeling super homesick and alone lately.  I guess I am going through culture shock.  I am slowly adjusting to life here.  Most people in the group right now are loving Paris and I am at the moment not completely in love with Paris.  I feel very much like a tourist and just want to fit in with the Parisians.  But maybe it is because I have been in France a little bit longer than everyone else in the group so my culture shock is starting before theirs.  When I go and see the monuments I think wow that is cool but I have already seen it.  I don't know, I am just kinda in this weird funk. I know it will get better as the year goes on. Hopefully I will become friends with people in my foyer and won't feel so out of place anymore. 

Sunday, September 11th:
Today I got up and got ready.  I then went to the bakery right around the corner by myself and got a baguette.  When I was walking back to my foyer I felt very French because I was walking down the street with a baguette in hand and I didn't have a map in the other like a tourist.  I ate some bread and jelly for breakfast and then went to the lounge to work on my homework.  I am not completely done with it but will finish it later today (I just wanted to take this opportunity since the internet is working at the moment to post an entry since I haven't in a while). It was raining earlier but for now it has stopped. I think once I am done with my homework I will walk over to a nice park that is not too far away and explore.  Hopefully that will help with my homesickness and getting out and exploring should help me with my culture shock.

Too much bread?

In France we eat bread for breakfast, we have it with lunch, and we have it with dinner.  One could say that we eat a lot of bread in France!  But I don't mind one bit because their baguettes are so good!  It has been one week since I left for France!  It is crazy how quickly my week in the countryside has gone!  I was so nervous before I left for France but now looking back it was kinda silly for me to be so nervous.  I made it here just fine and have been enjoying France just like all my previous experiences.  However, I do understand why I was nervous because I will be away from my family for an entire year and I had never traveled alone before.  Before I got here I thought I would just be sitting around the house most of the time with not much to do but man was I wrong!  It has been go, go, go, a majority of the time!  We have been busy with shopping, visiting people and eating!  I am excited to go to Paris and I know that I can take the train out to my cousin's house in the countryside to visit for a weekend and get some free food!  I will be having to provide my own meals while living in my foyer in Paris.  We will see how that one goes!  The other day I emailed the program director the classes that I would like to take this semester and hopefully I will get to take them.  If I do I will only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!  That would mean 4 day weekends!! I would not mind that one bit!  The days that I have classes will be filled from beginning to end but we will see if I get into these classes or not.  Tonight is my last night at the cousins, we will drive to Paris tomorrow morning so I can get there with lots of time to unpack since my foyer will be my home for the next year.  Hopefully all will go well and I will have a nice roommate and nice neighbors in my foyer!

Le Premier Weekend

My first weekend in France has been very busy! For starters, on Friday I went to Troyes with Françoise and two of her friends and her one friend's daughter, Manon, to go shopping.  It was a lot of fun to walk around Troyes and go into a lot of the little shops. The shopping in France is not like what it is in the States.  Unlike in the States where there are shopping malls and lots of big box stores in France there are little boutiques. We had a lot of fun just exploring Troyes and the weather was beautiful so that made it even nicer. One thing I did realize while I was on this little outing was how much I don't understand when they are speaking French. The French speak so quickly and they all talk at the same time and there are a lot of words I don't know which makes it more difficult. I really need to beef up my vocabulary! Hopefully I will get better at French but at the moment I feel as if I am never going to understand what they are saying. I feel very much like a little toddler than can only respond in short sentences and needs them to talk slowly and not use big words. I truly wish I was born in France and grew up here so that I could speak the language fluently. I am hoping that once I am back in classes my French will improve and once I pluck up the courage to speak more despite how horrible my French sounds that my speaking abilities will improve. We had lunch at a café and I had a croque monsieur with a limonade and my oh my was it delicious! For those of you that don't know what a croque monsieur is it is kinda like a grilled cheese with ham in it, it is so good! After lunch and trying to get somewhat of a grasp of what they were talking about we did some more shopping. I did not buy anything because I didn't have a lot of money on me and clothes tend to be expensive here. Around 5pm we left and dropped the friends off before heading home. Once we were home and rested for a little bit some neighbors came over for an apéritif. During which my Mom called to talk to me. It was really nice being able to talk to her for a little while and see how life is across the big blue ocean. We had dinner at 10pm after the neighbors had left and then went to bed.

Saturday I slept in but not too late because we had to leave at noon to go to an anniversary party. It was super hot on Saturday and I was wearing long pants because I thought I should dress up for this party but I could have gotten away with just wearing shorts. We left around noon to drop off Calline at Gilberte's and to meet up with some friends at their house before heading over to the party at 1pm. Françoise, Manu and I went to the party and there were a lot of people there! It was in the backyard and there were several tables put together to make one long table. There were apéritifs of course which were really good.  There was some kind of homemade punch with alcohol in it that I tried and it wasn't too bad but it was so hot that all I really wanted was water. I met a lot of people and couldn't remember most of the names because it was overwhelming but one thing that I always noticed was I was introduced as the American cousin.  People just stood around and talked and it was cool to see what parties are like in France.  There is a lot of talking, eating, and drinking. We then had lunch and there were so many delicious things to eat like some kind of rice salad and a vegetable salad and a ton of different meats.  There was also lots of bread of course.  Then after eating all that we had salad and cheese which was really good too! Then after that we had cake and it had raspberries on it and my goodness was it delicious! We also had champagne and there is some tradition that they have where they say certain things and then you touch the glass of champagne to your forehead, then your nose, then your chin, and your stomach (I think that is all of them) and then you drink some of it.  It was rather funny because I had no idea what I was doing so I pry looked like the rather ridiculous American.  Then they played some music and I danced a bit which was fun but there were motions that one has to do and I had no idea what I was doing! After dancing for a bit we had fresh fruit and that was really good too! We did a lot of eating and talking! I then tried talking to this one guy but when I start talking I get nervous that I am saying things wrong.  They also talk so fast and everyone is talking at once so it is even hard to hear and have to concentrate on what the person next to you is saying because someone across the way is trying to get your attention at the same time and tell you something. It is very overwhelming! I then just hung out a little while longer before Françoise took me home so I could spend the night at Gilberte's. We got back to their house and I packed a bag to stay the night and we headed over to Gilberte's. Calline was very excited to see us and was jumping all over the place.  I brought my laptop hoping that I would be able to skype with my Mom and Dad but for some reason my laptop would not connect up to Gilberte's internet.  I was super bummed about that but there was nothing I could do about it.  Françoise left to go back to the party and I had dinner with Gilberte which was really good and we talked about my family and her travels around the world.  It was somewhat difficult because I am not that good at speaking French and there were things that she would say that I wouldn't understand but over all it was a nice time.  We then went to bed at 10pm.  I am still adjusting to this time zone and way of life and it took me a while to fall asleep.  I hope I adjust quickly and get a good nights' rest soon. I forgot to close my door all the way and I one point I woke up in the middle of the night with the dog, Calline, sitting next my bed whining at me. It was rather funny.

Sunday I woke up and got ready and had some breakfast with Gilberte. I thought it was going to be hot today so I was wearing shorts but it was rather chilly so I changed into some jeans. Françosie then came and picked up me, Calline, and Gilberte and we went to her house.  I then joined Françoise and Manu to the town of Villeneuve l'Archêveque for the inauguration of the mayor.  We stopped at a café where some friends were sitting and talked for a while.  We then went into the cathedral at the end of mass and walked around.  It was a beautiful church.  We then finally went to the inauguration where we had to stand and I couldn't see it happening or really hear what was going on but oh well.  Afterwards there were drinks and things to snack on which were all very good!  Françoise and Manu talked to some friends and then we headed back to the house.  Fred, Françoise and Manu's younger son, came to lunch with his girlfriend, Anne Sophie. It was a very nice lunch and they talked about all different types of things while I tried to concentrate on what they were discussing. After lunch Fred and Anne Sophie left.  Gilberte stayed for a little while longer before Françoise drove her home.  But before Gilberte left I got a gift from her which is a really pretty bracelet.  I also got a 2012 calendar and a notepad from Manu and Françoise. It was very sweet of them to do so. Now we are just hanging out and I am hoping to skype with my parents back home later today! To say the least "C'était un weekend très chargé!"