Party like a Frenchy French

So tonight Taryn, Kay and I went to a real French party in Stalingrad (not the town in Russia, silly, the metro stop). It was really nice, our host was lovely and we were served the kinds of snacks one might be served at a 6-year-old's birthday party (marshmallows, kinder eggs, Pringles, etc.) which was adorable and also delicious. We also tried really hard to only speak French to the people there. This worked most of the time, except when people spoke way too fast and I couldn't hear them over the music and I had to say "repète, s'il te plaît, un peu plus lentement" (say that again, please, a little more slowly) several times before I understood. My French is getting so good, though! Just a month ago a Tunisian man in a restaurant was making fun of my accent and grammar, and tonight people actually told me my French was great. How awesome is that? Also, apparently when you walk into a party in France and you don't know anyone, you're supposed to make your way around the room kissing everyone's cheeks to introduce yourself. We did not know this, so our entrance left quite a bit to be desired. Oh well. Next time.

But clearly before we went to the party, Taryn, Kay and I had to put together a classy gift for our host, American style. This obviously involved baking a layer cake for which we had to make a whipped cream (crème Chantilly) frosting with raspberries and strawberries. So fancy, it could have been in the window of a patisserie. Y'all, this cake was SUCH a saga. We had to pool ingredients from all of our houses as well as make two trips to the grocery store to get everything together, then we had to take the cake on the metro from my house to Kay's and then from Kay's to the party. Obviously while Kay carried the cake, I threw some bows at anyone who got too near it (really I just walked ahead of her abrasively yelling "Ben pardon! On a un gâteau!"). Luckily, we made it to the party with the cake and it was delicious and everyone was impressed.

However, the adventure truly began when Taryn and I left the party at about 12:45 to catch the metro home before it closed. I don't know if you know this, but French people get real rowdy on Saturday nights. I saw so many things that were totally chélou (sketchy). For instance, my Puritanical American sensibilities were totally offended by the guy on the escalator in front of me sprinting to the wall, dropping his pants COMPLETELY (like, I saw everything) and peeing on the floor. Now, I've become accustomed to more nudity than is normal in the U.S. here, but it's usually in the form of sunbathing old ladies and weird ads in magazines. I just wasn't ready for it to be sprung on me like that, out of nowhere, without warning. I spent the rest of my metro ride shuddering and rubbing my hands with purell just so I could someday feel clean again.

In other news, Matt came to visit this week! We had a lovely time wandering around Paris when it was sunny and sitting in cafes and consuming far too many pastries every morning. I won't lie, it was possibly my best week here so far. We discovered something so sinfully, absurdly, disgustingly delicious I can't even think about any other kind of food anymore. So when people come visit me, you have to try either a croissant amande or a pain au chocolat amande. These are not just normal pastries. No, they are far more decadent and marvelous given that they not only contain more butter than their normal pastry counterparts, they also contain almond paste and are covered in sliced almonds and powdered sugar. Heaven, I tell you.

I have also discovered than French people DO have a sense of humor. It was hard to find, but it's there. Mostly they're into plays on words (jeux de mots) and light sarcasm, as well as passing judgment on each other. This is very reassuring, as I was coming to the conclusion for a while that the French just aren't funny. I'm glad they are at least a little. It makes them more human even though they're still taller, thinner, cooler and more stylish than any normal person could ever be. I guess if you're all those things, you don't really need to be super funny.

Last but not least, Kay has introduced Taryn and me to a fun new pastime near Gare du Montparnasse: salsa dancing!!! I'm truly atrocious at it, but hopefully I can go take a class next week and pretty soon I'lll be a pro. Between that, power walking with Taryn and possibly taking up yoga, maybe France and all of her croissants amandes won't make me morbidly obese after all. Anyway, this is, as they say, all the news that's fit to print. Hope everyone is well. Gros bisous!

Things I love and things I hate

I have discovered that people in Paris have this awful problem called giving incorrect directions. Since I get lost a lot in my neighborhood, I'm pretty much always asking people where a certain street is or where a certain building is. Today, for instance, I had to go to the Mairie to get passport sized photos taken for my student id and metro pass. I got to the cross street where it was supposed to be and then asked a nice-looking lady for directions. She literally pointed me in the absolute opposite direction from where the building ended up being. So rude. So I walked about 10 minutes in the wrong direction, realized she had lied to me, and turned around. Awesome.

I'm also discovering things I love and hate about Paris. I love the cobblestone streets and the fact that I can see the top of the Eiffel Tower from my bus stop. I love the way French women dress. I love that some people are so kind to you when you speak French to them because they appreciate your effort. I love how fast the metro is. I love Monoprix because you can buy everything from lotion to groceries to flats and sweaters there. I love that I can buy an actually decent bottle of wine for 1 euro. I love going to the boulangerie every day for baguettes and a croissant or pain au chocolat. I love that museums are free the first Sunday of the month. However, I hate that sometimes people pretend not to understand you when you have a foreign accent (I mean, come on, I speak slowly and enunciate). I hate that dogs and people pee on the sidewalk and so you get whiffs of stale urine when you walk down the street. I hate getting lost and feeling like I will never belong because I will never be French.

Overall though, the loves definitely outweigh the hates. I've got to say, this is a really cool city. I'm becoming familiar with certain neighborhoods like the one around the kids' school, the Marais, the one around my school, and parts of my own neighborhood. I'm starting to get along better with the kids. I've met students, au pairs and English tutors, most of who are truly lovely (like Taryn!) and who I hope to be friends with for my whole year here and beyond. So basically, things are really good and getting better. Love to everyone at home, and Cathy, get over here as soon as you possibly can!

P.S. I'm coming home to get my visa at the end of October for about two weeks, so if you'll be in Atlanta then let me know!

New Friends

Tuesday I was really early to pick the kids up from school, so I decided to wander around their neighborhood a bit. There's this lovely little park where the school is, and around it is this fantastic multicultural neighborhood. Part of it is classic French, but there's also a Chinese area and a Russian area with this GORGEOUS Russian Orthodox church. I found this little pedestrian street with a market and tons of cheap shoes. Very exciting.

I've also been walking around my school's neighborhood a lot. School is near the Montparnasse-Bienvenue metro stop, so it's a really cool area. The Jardin de Luxembourg is nearby, and there are lots of Italian restaurants and creperies. Love it!

Two nights ago I went out with some of my new friends from class. They are all here studying abroad with Davidson College, so it's a whole big group of students. We hung out down by the Seine near Notre Dame. There was this guy playing Johnny Cash songs on guitar and singing them with a STRONG French accent with this other guy beat boxing into a mike. Pretty bizarre, but entertaining nonetheless. We were out really late, so it was kind of a struggle to get home. I had to chill in their hostel until the metro reopened, so I clearly went home and slept pretty much all day. Last night I went out again, this time with Taryn and her roommate. We sat on the lawn at the Champ de Mars (basically right next to the Eiffel Tower) and drank some wine and were generally foolish. We met this Brazilian guy who became besties with Taryn's roommate pretty much immediately. Meanwhile Taryn and I giggled incessantly over the absurdities of people in our class, our professor, and the trendy men walking by wearing their japris.

On my way home, I made friends with some other students on the metro! Yes, yes, I know, I'm on a roll and becoming way too popular for my own good. I have 5 whole friends now. What's up. They seemed really nice though, very friendly. So now I have even more people to play with! I love this city!

I talked to Matt last night and he's hopefully going to come see me at the end of the month. I'm so excited! He's never been to Paris before so he's probably going to hate me because I'm going to make him see everything ever in about 3 days. I'm going to Versailles with the kids this Saturday to see the feu d'artifices (fireworks), so that should be really nice. Other than that, I'm free pretty much all weekend, so who knows what will happen! Love and kisses, hope everyone is doing well!

School

Oh man, so many things! Ok so first of all, I started school yesterday, and now I have friends! School isn't too bad. The class is kind of easy but my French grammar is pretty rusty so I think I'll stick it out. I learned a ton of new words today and used them all while I was talking to the kids, in between English practice. I don't think they were impressed. I've made a few friends in the class, especially this one girl, Taryn. She works with kids too, so we bonded over our many shared experiences with the families. Then we bought paninis and walked through the Jardin de Luxembourg. It was GORGEOUS out today, for real. So I might hang out with her and some other kids from class tonight which is awesome because now maybe I'll have a social life here in Paris rather than sitting in my tiny room and obsessively cleaning out of sheer boredom. Yes, I've been doing that. I also met a really nice au pair (from Melbourne, Cathy!) waiting for the kids after school. Maybe she'll be my friend too.

Day off

I went to the Louvre today! It was glorious. I got to nerd out over the 19th century French art and interior decoration that belonged to my two favorite French kings - Louis XVIII and Charles X (that's what I did my thesis research on... alas, I can't get enough of it), as well as checking out the romantic stuff by Delacroix (possibly my favorite painter at the moment). I also visited my other favorite painter, Vermeer. Unfortunately, The Lacemaker is on loan to another museum at the moment. I supposed I'll have to go back and see her next time. I won't bore my friends with my analysis of the neoclassical style of the king's rooms versus the free style of the romantic painters. Suffice it to say, I got pretty excited.

I also did a little shopping. When I first moved in, my room had this musty, unlived-in, old building smell because the last girl moved out over a month ago. So, I obviously stopped by l'Occitane de Provence and bought a lavender diffuser and sachet. Hopefully it will be a little nicer now. I also went to the open market for the first time. SO exciting! It was really noisy and crowded and there were people selling literally every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable, and stalls specializing in cheese, meat, fish, bread or pastries. I just browsed today, but I'm going to make a shopping list this week and go back for strawberries and brie, among many other things.

Just a note for my roommates: I saw so many joutfits today at the Louvre. I saw two men in very trendy joutfits, and then two little kids in matching joutfits. I also saw several man japris, one that was very nicely tailored with pleating at the knees. And Lara, I walked by Esprit and saw those really awesome jeggings you were telling us about. Sah good.

Also, I start school tomorrow. Wish me luck! Maybe I will make some friends and then I will have people to go out and play with and I will stop eating so well and running and being overall healthy and totally boring. No joke, I have lost visible weight my first week here, and I'm pretty sure it's because I have no friends to drink wine and eat greasy food with. It just seems too depressing to do those things by myself.

The beginning

Ok all, here's my "year in France" blog, as promised. I'm going to try to recount my week, but it's been like a dream (and sometimes a nightmare), so it might be a little disjointed. Here goes.

I arrived on Sunday at 6 a.m. and was picked up at the airport by a car sent by my French mom. It felt very posh - the driver stood in line with a little sign with my name on it. The mom let me in and helped me bring my things upstairs. I live on the top floor of the building. The whole building is very chic and fancy, and there's a whole separate entrance and living quarters for the staff. So basically, I live in the maid's apartment. It's really tiny, kind of like a dorm, but unlike in a dorm, I can have a hot plate and smoke the hookah inside. It's pretty funny, actually. When I graduated in May, I thought I would never, ever sleep in a twin bed again for the rest of my life. Now I am. Oh well. I like the room, though. The girl who lived there last year left behind framed pictures of Marilyn Monroe and the New York skyline as well as huge bouquets of dried flowers and some candles, so it's already pretty homey in there. And my view is INCREDIBLE. I mean, truly spectacular. I can see la Defense (the commercial downtown area with skyscrapers that the little girl refers to as "New York") and the carousel near the Eiffel Tower from my window. I think if I climbed onto the roof, I could see the Eiffel Tower, too. I can see the top of it from my bus stop. Pretty sweet.

So later that day we went to lunch and then to the carnival in the Bois de Boulogne (we're a ten minute walk from the Bois de Boulogne, no joke). There's a great running route in the park around the lake, actually. I tried to go for a run this week, but it turned out to be a bit of a problem. You see, I got all the way to the lake (Lac Inferieur - this is silly because it's actually quite a bit bigger than Lac Superieur) and it started to pour. Like, immediately drenching, hurricane winds, Florida during late summer kind of rain. Nasty. And also I had to pee. Bad news, so much for my run. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

Basically the extent of my week has been getting lost on the metro and bus (especially when I had to go into the suburbs to pick the kids up from their grandparents'), chasing around the children, and falling into bed completely exhausted by about 10 p.m. Tonight, however, I'm babysitting so the mom and the dad can go out. This means I am hanging out in their apartment watching movies and cooking something absurd, like veal. Speaking of which, I was in the kitchen with their femme de menage (housekeeper / cook / maid / literally everything), Victoria, while she was fixing lunch today. She usually makes some kind of meat and then a vegetable puree for the little boy because he won't eat his veggies any other way. I guess I can't blame him. After all, he is only 3. Usually, when she makes lunch, she fixes something for me too. Today, she put the meat on the plate and told me there were potatoes au gratin and salad in the fridge. I bit into the meat and was like, ok it looks like pork and it tastes like pork, but they don't eat pork, so what could it be? And Victoria tells me it's veal. Veal. Like, no big deal, I'll just fry up some VEAL for this toddler to eat for lunch, nothing special.

I'm realizing that this is really long already, so I'm going to leave it here for now. I hope everyone is doing good, and anyone who is reading this should know that I miss you and love you! Gros bisous!