tenir, tenir a, tenir de, se tenir...

Yesterday morning I found out that I was placed in the most advanced Franch class, yay! I thought the class was good - a bit long, but we just spoke French the entire time, so how bad could it have been? Afterwards, me, Elly, Cecile, and Artur (the last person doing our program) went to this cafe near the Sorbonne, and the waitress there was this crazy older lady...they all thought she was mean, I thought she was hilarious. We all got coffee, except Artur wanted tea, and she insisted on giving him a list of all the teas they have there, and then when she brought it out she told him he had to wait five minutes or else...I'm not communicating how funny it was, I guess you'd have to hear how she talked. She was talking to everyone else the same way, and it was really pretty funny.

On Thursday night, I went out for wine with probably 10 people, and I have to say that it was about the least fun I've had so far. There were so many people all going to the wrong place that it took an hour just to get everyone there, and then we had to split up anyway because the group was too big. I got stuck with a girl who very obviously can't stand me and her ridiculous immature friends who were so typical - speaking English really loudly and just trying to call attention to themselves. Plus, all they really had to talk about was TV and movie stars. I did enjoy spending time with Elly (who was their same age but actually knows how to behave in public) and Artur, who's really funny and speaks French really well.

Today I have French until 12:30, and then I have to make several phone calls today...that should be quite entertaining, as phone use in other languages generally is.

Tomorrow is Cologne! I'm sure there will be enormously ridiculous amounts of pictures after that!!!!!

We've spent the past few mornings with MICEFA people, a written test Tuesday and an oral interview today...I think both were all right, unfortunately the grammar section of the written test was multiple choice, so that wasn't so hot, but I think I made up for it in the written section and in the oral interview, which went very well. I think I'm going to change my first-choice university because Paris 8 - Saint Denis is just way too far away, especially considering that I have a job in Creteil, completely south of here. So I'm probably going to go to one of the Sorbonnes, which both have a lot of interesting cultural courses. The woman who was interviewing me seemed to think that was a good idea; she didn't say anything like that she didn't think my French is good enough or something. Tomorrow, my class begins, and I find out which one I'm in just before the class starts.

Yesterday when I was coming in, I found out a very cool thing, that my friend Molly from AU (who actually lives in Harpers Ferry) is here and is living in the residence as well! She was in Senegal last semester, and she's just a very cool person altogether. She's in the enclave, but hopefully we'll see each other quite a lot!

After the test yesterday morning, I went over to Les Halles in search of a kitchen store that's supposed to be there, but I didn't find anything and I have to say that I didn't really enjoy the area. It was huge and absolutely filled with people, and it was sort of hard to find my way around. I didn't find the kitchen store, and every kitchen store I did find was exorbitantly priced or didn't have a tea kettle! Needless to say, I came back fairly frustrated from there, and really tired from walking all over the place...luckily today was much more successful, not that I found a kettle but I got a broom and some tupperware, so now I can be clean and make things in advance. I've been walking around the more local arrondissements, like the 11th and 12th, a lot, and I really, really like them. I'm hoping that someday I won't be on a mission or get distracted so that I can just wander around and take some photos, though I guess that's not something I can plan.

Well, for now, it's time for tea and some more Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers!

C'est l'amour: our first day with the MICEFA

I've had a great past couple of days, spending most of my time with Elly, Cecile, and Sarah (from Richmond). On Saturday the first we spent the day together, going from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower, all on foot (which is quite far, we discovered, considering all the walking we did in between!). On Sunday we attempted to be a bit more social by going to the Musee Rodin in the morning to meet MICEFA students, but since they were meeting at their temporary housing and we didn't know where that was, we didn't actually meet anyone else! So we continued walking around and ended up on the other side of the Eiffel Tower (near the Ecole Militaire). There's also a great Peace Monument there, I hadn't heard of it before so I'm not sure what it's called, but it's a bunch of silver pillars and a glass building thing with 'peace' written all over in different languages...I'm putting up a picture so there's some idea what I'm getting at... So far we haven't gone into anything other than the Musee Rodin, but I suppose we'll get there, especially after we get student cards saying we are art history students, in which case we should be able to get in free at most museums.

I planned on going back to eat some dinner after all that walking yesterday, but then it turned out that Monica, Anne's friend (who I think I didn't mention, she's from Mexico and was studying in Barcelona and is now touring around Europe until she has to go back home) was leaving this morning, and I wanted to go see her again before she left. So I got back on the metro and met her around Sacre-Coeur, and we walked around Montmartre for a few hours. It was so touristy, but it was evening when I got there, so the sun was setting and we just had amazing views of Paris in the dusky twilight time of night. The cathedral is so daunting - it looks so far and small from the metro station at the bottom of the hill, but once you climb to the top it dwarfs everything, it's truly incredible. Montmartre was extremely touristy, I really didn't hear any French in the area right around the cathedral, but we walked further on to Rue Lepic, which is apparently where the Amelie cafe is - though we didn't find it - and there were much more French people there, and it's a really lovely neighborhood until you get to Pigalle, which is where all the sex shops and sleazy bars are. By the time I got home, I was exhausted from so much walking, and I didn't stay up much later...

This morning, we met at MICEFA at 9, where they told us to wait for a half hour before going over to Censier, at the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris 3) for our orientation. It was much of the same information as ACCENT gave, though some things we hadn't heard before, and Topher Simon (who works there) seems like a nice guy and is knowledgeable about Paris. Luckily, we got to leave early because we already have housing, so we got crepe lunches and went back to the ACCENT office and on some errands before actually sitting down to study some French - our exam is tomorrow! There's not that much more I can do than review it and hope for the best! We have oral exams on Wednesday, too, and by Thursday we will know what classes we're in. So au revoir for now, onto studying, I guess!

my view...

I just wanted to post a couple of photos of my amazing view...after I'm unpacked, I'll put up a couple of where I'm standing when taking them. Actually, it'll probably only take about 3 shots to show the entire studio!

I'm here!!

So I'm finally here! It's so strange to return to a city that I feel I barely even know...it's so familiar, yet completely undiscovered, and that is truly an amazing feeling. Today my amazing friend Anne met me at the airport, and after nearly 6 years, she's still the same Anne that I knew before. I got all checked in to my tiny but excellent 'studio,' as Anne calls it, and then I had to return to the ACCENT office, where Elly, another AU student doing the MICEFA program, checked in. We did a short tour of the neighborhood, which I am certain I will do again, with much more interesting results, and then I headed to Anne's to spend some time with her friends. The very interesting mix included Gregoire, her boyfriend, of whom I definitely approve, Jean-Francois, another Frenchman who she met in the Czech Republic, and Monica, a Mexican girl who was also with them in C.R. and who is now trying to see as much of Europe as she can. Unfortunately, Monica doesn't speak much French, so the entire night was a really unique mixture of franglais, because Gregoire's English isn't so great, and I wanted to speak French...so we got enough of both in, I think, and it's really funny to hear Anne speaking English all the time! So we walked all over, to the Bastille, Place des Vosges (which is really beautiful), and the Marais, which, I noticed, has plenty of falafel. We got some drinks in a bar near the Hotel de Ville (my first French red wine, delicious, of course), and it was just great to spend time with Anne again. She and Greg leave tomorrow for Lyon to see her grandparents, but Monica and Jean-Francois will still be here, so hopefully we can all meet up again. And hopefully tomorrow I will put up some photos! But for now, I really need to get to sleep, I just wanted to let everyone know that the douzieme is definitely as cool as the onzieme, and that this is going to be the most amazing year ever. Gros bisous et bonne nuit!

small change in plans...

You may have noticed that my blog name changed slightly...well, after reading the ACCENT Orientation guide to Paris, turns out I'll be living in a student residence in the 12e arrondissement, with overnight guests prohibited and only a hot plate to cook on! So a bit different than I expected, but I'm sure the 12e will be as fun as the 11e...though don't be shocked if the name changes again once I arrive! (8 days, by the way!)

Visa success!

Just in case anyone was wondering...yesterday proved a beautifully successful trip to the French embassy; I'm now equipped with a lovely visa. I even got some French practice in, which was a nice confidence booster, as well. I'm really starting to get organized - I'm thinking of stuff to take with me for the students I'll be helping, and I'll probably even start thinking about packing in the next few days. All of a sudden, this is for real!