Il me semble que je suis toujours occupée.
Bonjour, tout le monde!
Many, many things have happened, so... vignettes!
I went out Monday evening with two Sweet Briar girls, Caroline and Victoria, at the Galeries Lafayette at Opéra, the shopping district. Caroline wanted a snack, but at nearly 8 on a Monday, very few cafés were open. We happened upon a Brioche Dorée, which is a sort of chain bakery in France, and Caroline ordered un pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). While she was paying, she noticed that the shop girl was throwing out the pastries. "Vous les jettez?" she asked. The shop girl stopped, nodded, then proceeded to put several pastries in boxes and bags, and handed them to us over the counter. "Gratuit", she smiled. "We have to throw them out anyway. Please, take them. But," she paused and glanced around. "...don't say anything. Or everyone will expect free pastries when we close." Victoria and I were stunned. We laughed, collected the bags, and hurried away, promising at the shop keeper's insistence that we would tell everyone in America that "Les parisiens, ils sont le meilleur!" As we were walking to the metro, Caroline exclaimed "I'm so happy I spoke bad French to them!"
Yesterday, I went on a Bateau-mouche, or a boat tour of Paris. It was incredibly touristy. I also managed to buy my books for my literature class at Paris III, which was less touristy. And last night, after wandering around aimlessly for far too long, Victoria, Adam, Andy, Alanna and I, managed to sit down at a bar next to Notre Dame, order, and be served, in less than 10 minutes. In Paris, this is known as an epic success. We were served our "Cocktail pour 2", complete with sparklers, by an incredibly attractive, zigane (gypsy) French man, and got stunningly smashed in 30 seconds flat. And after all that, we still managed to make the last metro. The moral of the story: alcohol, firecrackers, and pretty French Gypsy boys, can make anything better.
Perhaps, to finish up, a tale from Tours?
My host family in Tours was truly fantastic. Armelle, Patrick, Ann-Sophie, Stephanie, and Charlotte were all incredibly welcoming and sweet. We ate dinner together every night, and it was always fantastic. On the night the Charlotte came home from her summer camp, we were introduced in the following manner: "Charlotte parle très vite. Elle chante tout le temps. Charlotte aime bavarder." Around a mouthful of bread, Charlotte mumbled, "Oui, Papa." Charlotte does speak very quickly, and she does sing all the time, and she and Ann-Sophie talk, tease, and make fun of each other, incessantly. They are adorable, and I miss their dinner-table antics already.
So, I cannot waste the day at my computer. Please look at my facebook albums of Paris.
Much love, et beaucoup de Bisous!
Showing posts with label Tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tours. Show all posts
Saturday, September 19
Tuesday, September 8
l'Institut
Bonjour, tout le monde!
Alright, so just a few words about the erratic blogging. I can't use my host family's wireless for some reason known only to their livebox, so I've been using the internet à l'Institut Tourraine after classes. However, the wireless is patchy sometimes, and I can only sit around and stare at a computer screen for so long before I start to feel like I'm really missing the point of being in France. So. Erratic updates.
On a completely separate note, let me tell you a little bit about what's happening with school, because at the moment, that's really all I'm thinking about. A l'Institut, all I'm taking is language classes. Once I get to Paris, I will enroll in classes at Paris III, la Sorbonne Nouvelle. However, au cause des grèves (strikes), which lasted for four months last year, the start of the school year has been pushed back. To October 12. Which means that I will have a month of two Sweet Briar Courses a week.
This begs the question, qu'est-ce que je ferai (will do) with myself for the month that I have almost no classes? Still haven't quite answered that. Go to the Louvre. Visit my cousins and friends in Paris, Grenoble, Amsterdam, London and Dublin. Write my thesis. Read. Study. Take long walks (the list goes on).
The other consequence of the very late start is that the term won't finish until January. Which isn't usually a problem if you talk to the professors and your school administrators and let them know what's going on, but since Bennington doesn't start until February... well I'm just plotting away.
Alright, enough for now. Will regale you with further exploits later.
Take care over there!
Alright, so just a few words about the erratic blogging. I can't use my host family's wireless for some reason known only to their livebox, so I've been using the internet à l'Institut Tourraine after classes. However, the wireless is patchy sometimes, and I can only sit around and stare at a computer screen for so long before I start to feel like I'm really missing the point of being in France. So. Erratic updates.
On a completely separate note, let me tell you a little bit about what's happening with school, because at the moment, that's really all I'm thinking about. A l'Institut, all I'm taking is language classes. Once I get to Paris, I will enroll in classes at Paris III, la Sorbonne Nouvelle. However, au cause des grèves (strikes), which lasted for four months last year, the start of the school year has been pushed back. To October 12. Which means that I will have a month of two Sweet Briar Courses a week.
This begs the question, qu'est-ce que je ferai (will do) with myself for the month that I have almost no classes? Still haven't quite answered that. Go to the Louvre. Visit my cousins and friends in Paris, Grenoble, Amsterdam, London and Dublin. Write my thesis. Read. Study. Take long walks (the list goes on).
The other consequence of the very late start is that the term won't finish until January. Which isn't usually a problem if you talk to the professors and your school administrators and let them know what's going on, but since Bennington doesn't start until February... well I'm just plotting away.
Alright, enough for now. Will regale you with further exploits later.
Take care over there!
Bienvenue à la Tourraine
Wow, so that was quite a wait between entries.
So, I have spent the last week in Tours, which is about two hours south of Paris, and I have been attending language classes à l'Institut Tourraine. > La ville de Tours is in the Loire river valley, also called Tourraine, the renowned Chateaux region of France. Tours is one of les plus grandes villes de la France, although for the states it is relatively small. It has an incredibly rich history, and it’s spectacularly beautiful. The photos that I have taken do not really do it justice.
So, I have spent the last week in Tours, which is about two hours south of Paris, and I have been attending language classes à l'Institut Tourraine. > La ville de Tours is in the Loire river valley, also called Tourraine, the renowned Chateaux region of France. Tours is one of les plus grandes villes de la France, although for the states it is relatively small. It has an incredibly rich history, and it’s spectacularly beautiful. The photos that I have taken do not really do it justice.
Alright, enough of the guidebook. Tours is fantastic and I get to be here through September 11, and it’s still warm enough to go swimming. I'm going to have photos of everything up sometime in the foreseeable future, and I’ll update again soon about the Institute Tourraine, classes, and Tours after dark.
PS- funfact! Blogging is forcing me to learn html. Why? Because I like to modify my settings. I am in way over my head.
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