It's Been a While... Time to Catch Up!

la Mosquee de Paris

L'Opera Garnier

Versailles

So it seems quite apparent due to my abscence that things are getting very busy really fast. Tomorrow is the last day of my orientation courses and next week begins my year studying at French universities (three of them might I add). This week was a bit hectic as most of us tried to enroll in our courses and were told that we were not listed in the university system... therefore, we couldnt officially enroll and we were frustrated for having to wait two hours to meet with the direction of international study in order for him to tell us that the director of our program enrolls for us when he receives our student identification cards. All is well, we can just go to our classes beginning next week and let the professors know that we are international students and that we are waiting for our cards to officially enroll. On a different note, we have been learning everything we can about Paris and are very excited to be around for some amazing experiences, (last weekend the Pope came to make a speech, this weekend is "journee de patrimoine"- all museums, historical sites and many shops will be open and gratuit- FREE, which is very nice for students, especially foreign students who would pay the normal fare to see these once in a lifetime exhibits another time).

I have been babysitting for two weeks now and I adore the children. Everyday I get to spend my afternoons playing basketball and soccer with A before we go back to his house and I make dinner for A and R. They are both delightful and they teach me everything there is to know about French culture (they are quite informed about American culture I must add).

I am going to post lots of pictures from group outings to the castle of Versailles, l'Opera Garnier, the building that was used to film the Phantom of the Opera a few years ago and the actual opera outlined in the book.

I have to finish here because I must study for my History exam but I will try not to wait so long to update!

Finalement, La Tour Eiffel (Finally, the Eiffel Tower)

La Tour Eiffel! Today, after our visit to the National Library of Paris, three of my friends and I went to see the Eiffel Tower. We didn't venture closer today, we rested and took photos from a nearby park but we definitely intend to get to the Eiffel Tower and go to the top sometime in the next nine months! This is one of four buildings of the National Library of Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, where I will be spending many afternoons and maybe weekends, studying and using the many resource rooms to assist my French studies. Also, this library is very close to the university where I will be studying in a few weeks. (Hopefully pictures of Universite Paris VII, will come this weekend.) A cool fact about these buildings, the current president, Nicolas Sarkozy, had a hand in the design of these buildings and he wanted it to look like an open book. So there are four buildings shaped like an open book and in the center of the buildings there is a large garden. It is quite a nice place to study and relax.

A statue taken of the Academie Nationale de la Musique. More photos of this gorgeous building to follow soon.
A very pretty and very old apartment building (un immeuble.) Lots of the buildings in Europe are designed in a Gothic style such as this one.
These stars make up the symbol of the European Union, (l'Union Europeen), and it if you've been to the Eiffel Tower before and have not seen these stars, as was the case with me, that is because currently, France holds the presidency of the Union. The country switches every two years, as I am told by my friend. I thought it was quite cool, especially since we learned about the Union yesterday in my contemporary France course. So I am almost at the end of my first week of orientation courses and I must say that I love my Communication orale (oral communication,) and my Phonetique appliquee courses because they really help me improve my French pronunciations and I am better able to ennunciate the correct voyelle sounds. I begin my university courses in two weeks and I feel that, thanks to my introduction courses, I will not be too overwhelmed and nervous. Now, I do know that these professors will not be informed ahead of time that we are American students so nothing will be watered down for us. In this way, I need to thank my two professors from the other day who overwhelmed me because they, in turn, are helping me prepare for my French uni courses.

Furthermore, I must say, I am quite a pro at the metro by now and thanks to my mothers' advice, I am able to recognize landmarks that will assist me one I get out of my metro exit so I will not get lost again. Things are coming together and I am feeling very accomplished if I do say so myself. Tomorrow I have an interview with a French family who wants me to teach English to their children, A (9) and R (11) and bring them to their sports lessons and cook for them. It will be a lot of fun and I will also feel a little more at home being able to speak English some of the time. I must go to bed now but I am happy to report a wonderful and very informative day!

A tout a l'heure (Until Next Time, See You a Little Later.)

MademoiselleM and the no good, very bad day!

So, today is my third day of orientation classes at Reid hall... we have been learning about how to compliment your host family and when to be formal or when to be familiar. These lessons are very informative and helpful ( I have already learned that the first day I told my host mom I was pregnant instead of full, a common mistake made by Americans apparently.) Things have been progressing well these past few days, I have mastered the metro, I was able to buy a Parisian phone and I am generally able to navigate my way around the city. However, yesterday was a pretty bad day.

Similiar to my college in America, we have block scheduled classes and we don't meet for the same class every day... we met new professors yesterday who were not as patient as the professors we were introduced to the day before... we were yelled at twice to be quiet and we had to listen really hard as all three professors told us yesterday that "the French are the French and they would not slow down just because we were American students." It was all meant with good intention but it just made things harder for everyone. I was pleasantly surprised that after a few minutes of intent concentration, I was able to understand more than I have thought I would be able to. It was pretty exciting.

Now for the troubled times... Yesterday afternoon our "Paris Pratique" class was about how to buy and use French cell phones. That was easy enough to understand yet, we were not prepared to go to the store and buy them ourselves, what a spectacle it was for the other shoppers when they were locked out of the store while 23 American students tried really hard to speak French with the men who worked in the phone store. It took a few hours and lots of broken phrases but we managed to get what we wanted (with a little help from another store a few metro stops away.) I left my friends to take the metro home to my apartment and all went well... however, when I got out of the train station I was completely lost even though I knew I was only a block away. In Paris there are many exits and I always exit from a different place than I enter in the mornings. So, being my tired, cold, self yesterday afternoon, I did not know where I was. I asked three people (in French) where my street was and none of them knew how to help me... only direct me back to the metro stop with the same name as my street. It took me 35 minutes and the assistance of my lovely mom (yankeetransferred) using google maps to guide me home. Ugh, what a stressful day. I don't mean to rant and I know some days will be like this but it was my first after several amazing days.
I must go to my class now and learn about academics in France! A tout a l'heure ( A little later!)