Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It’s hot. I’m lying on my bed at 10:30 at night with the window wide open, and just sweating. Ever since Sunday, there’s been humidity in the air that has not gone away. But to recap the past few days…
Friday night we ended up buying some wine and drinking it in the park (because apparently that’s not illegal here?). We mainly did that first because we didn’t want to shell out a ton of money at the bar. A good amount of people came (around 12 maybe), and at about 11:30 we went to Le Couche Tard (which means go to bed late). There was no one at the bar though, so we haven’t quite figured out what’s popular to do/go at night. I left around 12:30. It was fun to hang out with the group, but nothing spectacular.
Saturday morning woke up early to catch our group trip to Chambéry, the ‘historic capitol of the Savoie”. So the Savoy is the region of southern France that at one point was its own sovereign territory, owned neither by France nor Italy. We had a guided tour of the city. It was built around the 13th century I believe? And is constructed like Venice, using pilons as support because there used to be a lot of water (not anymore). We also saw some buildings where Jean Jacques Rousseau frequented during his 10-year stint there. The tour ended at a fountain with the front half of an elephant on each side, commemorating the Duc de Boigne? Yeah, me neither. People call it the ‘quatre sans culs’ which is a play on words of ‘quatre cent coups”. The second being the four hundred blows (as in strikes or hits) as in the war, and the former meaning the four without asses (aka, the elephants’ front halves).
After the tour we had a group lunch at a restaurant called ‘Le Sporting’. Salad, chicken, duck, potatoes, green beens, and chocolate cake…miam! As the French say. It was a two hour lunch, but that’s how they do it here. We then were set free to explore on our own. Some of us tried to shop because this is the time of ‘soldes’ which is a three week period of sales in nearly every store, but we didn’t find anything so wonderful that is was worth paying what was still a high price for being on sale. So three of us found a park and just talked for the last half hour or so before our train left.
When I got back, it was dinner time chez Isabelle, and she asked me, “You’ve been speaking English all day haven’t you?” Uh-oh…. It’s amazing that she can tell, and that my French declines that much by speaking more English just for one day. Our group is pretty good with balancing though. Obviously it would be the most beneficial for us to always speak French 24/7 with each other, but it is really taxing on your brain, and we already have very intense classes in French, along with talking with our families at mealtime, and navigating the French world that sometimes it helps (and is definitely much faster) to speak English. So it’s funny, because sometimes someone will ask a question, and without warning, another will answer in French, and then everyone starts speaking French. It shifts back and forth a lot.
After dinner 7 or so of us met at the movies for a relaxing night. We saw ‘Les Beaux Gosses’, which I would compare to a ‘Superbad’ in that it’s a comedy about awkward nerdy teenagers trying to pick up girls and (awkward) hilarity ensues. I was surprised at how much I understood because teenagers here use a lot of slang and in the past, movies in French have always been difficult for how fast they talk and the sometimes unfamiliarity of the subject matter. Anyway, it was very good, and because it’s Fete du Cinema this week, we got a pass that will get us into any movie this week for only 3E as opposed to 7.
Sunday I ‘slept in’, but not very late because I’ve gotten used to getting up early. I wrote my paper right away, in my pajamas, then showered and met a group of girls for lunch and ‘doing homework’. I was disgusted by the pigeons eating the leftover food from the people who had left the table next to us (outdoor café). I had pasta with pesto, which was strange. Usually I think of pesto as a kind of green sauce, but this was more like crushed green herbs, which I guess is what pesto is supposed to be, but it was still not what I expected. After that I went to the internet café and skyped Tanner until my computer screen went black. PANIC!!! I turned it off and restarted it but it happened again. A primal fear stirring in me, I rushed upstairs to see if plugging it in would help because it was on a special power saver mode, so I thought maybe it did that on low battery. It’s worked fine ever since, so hopefully it was a one-time thing.
We eat tomatoes a lot. Probably because it’s ‘what’s in season’. I like tomatoes, and Isabelle prepares them differently every night, so I don’t mind. But it’s interesting. It’s also very different that she gets all of her ingredients for dinner every day. As in, she really only keeps a few basic ingredients in the kitchen and every day has to go buy what she’ll make for dinner.
Monday for part of class we went to some strange exhibit about the history of the construction of the hospital? Bizarre, but it killed time. These first two weeks we have one class that lasts from 9-1. Monday is four hours of placement tests, and then we’ll have three days a week of four hours of classes, and the other two are 5.5 hours.
After class Monday we saw Transformers 2, in French bien sûr. It was surprisingly much harder to understand than the real French movie. But I realized it was probably because 1-their lips don’t match what they’re saying, and 2- French robot voices? No thanks. All the same, after a while, you got used to it and you don’t even realize that it’s in French anymore, and I followed the plot just fine.
After class today I went to the park for internet purposes, then went grocery shopping to buy lunch things. It’s too expensive, and not worth it (as in it’s not that good) to buy lunch every day. So, I bought sandwich accoutrements, yogurt, granola bars, and cookies/a different kind of cookie . The last two were an effect from me being so ravenously hungry when I went to the store- it being 3:30 and I had not yet eaten lunch.
I would say one of the most difficult things of being in a foreign country is giving up the fear of being really awkward and/or appearing really stupid. The latter is especially difficult for me. I bring this up now because at the grocery store, I had no idea where the ziplock bags were to put my sandwiches in. I first looked everywhere. Then I resorted to approaching a nice looking woman with not many people around and saying, “Excusez-moi, est-ce que vous savez ou on peut trouver les sacs en plastique ou on peut mettre les sandwichs?” And with a few pauses added in, which basically means, “Excuse me, do you know where I can find plastic bags where I can put sandwiches?” I didn’t know if they say “ziplock” here, or if sacs was even the right word to use for a baggie, or if mettre was the right verb to use (the meaning is correct in English, but there could be a different verb for this purpose), she told me they’re on the 1ere etage, which actually means second floor. In France, what we call the first floor is the rez-du-chausee, and then the second floor is the 1st, etc. So, I ended up finding the bags. I also had no idea what the (teenage) cashier said to me when checking out and telling me that there was no barcode on the cheese I was trying to buy, and to go back and pick out one with a barcode. I was only confused for a few seconds, and by the 3rd time she told me I understood, but it’s embarrassing with a line of people behind you!!! Oh well, barcode wasn’t in my medieval literature class ;)

Tomorrow class is another field trip, but all-day! We’re going to Vizille, an important town during the Revolution. This weekend it’s been decided that we’re travelling to Geneva! Will update autant que possible! Salut!

Hiking the Bastille Thursday, July 2nd!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Hmm, what has happened? Wednesday I don’t think there was much to report on, except that I ate lunch by myself (brave!) at a creperie. I don’t think the waiter discovered I wasn’t French until the very end (if he did at all?). Yesterday (Thursday), half of the class time was spent at the art museum! It was good- lots of religious paintings, which I always like (not kidding), no Renoir though- disappointing. However, there was one Monet, so it wasn’t all bad. I realized I’m starting my “I walk by myself at historic sites” thing. Not that I don’t want people to walk with me, or that I explicitly told people that, but often times in museums or other historical/cultural landmarks, everyone spends different amounts of time looking at things, and it’s more of a reflective, individual experience. So yes, I’m in the same room as other people from my group, and yes I still talk to them, but I don’t need people waiting for me or me waiting for them. I am enjoying something in my own time, which I don’t find anything wrong with.
I stopped in the gift shop afterward and bought a Renoir calendar. Almost bought some Robert Doisneau cards, but then hesitated because I didn’t like the selection. After the museum, we split up to get portable food and rendez-vous’d at Place Victor Hugo. I had pizza with gruyere cheese and tomatoes. I then persuaded the group to get gelato. I chose raspberry, good choice. We then spent some time criticizing our professor.

I have a 20 minute presentation on Monday. That meant I had to do double the homework last night to be able to give her my subject idea today. My presentation is on a book we haven’t started yet. So, last night I started to read it, and discovered: whoa, this is extremely difficult. And I had no problem with the first book, unlike some others in the class. My host mom, Isabelle, asked to see what we were reading, so I showed it to her. She started reading it and from the first sentences looked up at me with wide eyes and said, “This is difficult language!”. Um…..yeah. She then proceeded to go through the introduction with me- it’s only around 3 pages, but it took around an hour to do. It’s filled not only with lyric language written in an uncommon verb tense, but it’s choc-full of allusions. Am I supposed to know about the war between Lorraine and Germany? I didn’t think so. Anyway, Isabelle then asked how far we had to read for homework. When I showed her, she said, “Quelle vache! Ma pauvre belle” meaning “What a cow! (in reference to my prof.) My poor girl!”.
Yesterday I met Liza, Isabelle’s daughter. She’s 20. She talks very fast, but doesn’t use slang like some other French youth, so I could pretty much understand her. Apparently Liza later told her mom that she was very impressed by my French. Score!!!
A big group went out last night, but I was stuck with too much work. Apparently 2 girls in the group were followed by a man on the tram—Scary!!! And it was only 11. Today was alright. It’s depressing to admit, but today’s class went by much more quickly because we had a debate and an in-class essay. I then stayed after to try the wifi-with no success. Apparently it’s not working for anyone? (Including the technician in the media room, nor the regular internet on the computers in the room….awesome). So I gave up and took up my usual post at Place Victor Hugo. Got some more euro successfully from the atm. Tonight a group was planning to go out, but it’s storming so I don’t know if that will still happen. If it’s nicer out, I’ll go. We have an excursion tomorrow to Chambery, the “historic capitol of the Savoie”. Not sure what that means either. We have a guided tour of the city, lunch and then free time with an African festival?? Whatever, should be fun to be with the whole group.
One thing I keep forgetting to mention: the first day, Isabelle asked me how to say my name. She was like is it “keh tee” or “kah-tee”. So I said “keh tee” cause that’s the French way to say it, and that’s how all my profs. at school say it. She said that’s what she thought, but the program was like no, it’s “kah-tee”. So the next morning I woke up to find a note telling me she had gone to the market, and starting with “Bonjour Kitty!”. HAHAHAHA. So apparently I’m “Kitty”. Oh well, While in France…or something like that.
Till the next time- Katie. (or Kitty, if you prefer)