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| Like two weeks ago, I met some of Keisha's French friends (and one american one) at her birthday dinner. They were really cool, but we didn't really have much time to talk and get to know each other better. They decided to invite us girls to go bowling on Rue Moufftard and so last night we went out.
Let me just say that I hadn't been bowling in like maybe four years or something, and this would only be like my third or forth time ever. So we were talking over drinks waiting for our turn to use the bowling lane and they ask me if i was a good bowler, but i let them know that i've barely bowled in my life and that it been so long that i was propbably really horrible at it. We all ended up making a bet that whom ever lost would cook dinner for everyone else... just to make it a bit more exciting. As it turn out i happen to be the first one on the screen and so i warn them not to laugh... so i grab a ball, just something that i could actually hold up and (what do you call it?) tossed, therw, bowled... (however you say it), and made all but two pins fall, which was cool. Then i get another chance to bring down the other two, one of which was right in the middle and the other off to the left side and so again did the same thing and what do you know, but i hit BOTH pins! I was so excited, but you know thought it was just luck or whatever. I'm not usually one to boast, buti played extreamly well the whole night, with a total of two strikes and a bunch of 9/10 whatever you call that... (as you can see my bowling vocabulary is not very extensive :) ). I mean how did i not know i could do this? It was awsome being really good at something that you don't even know you're good at.
The whole night was so much fun, and not because i played well, althought that might have helped a little, but because i love doing activities with friends and just the whole admosphere was so fun and relaxing. It was cool being able to spend time with french people, actually speaking in french having conversations in the "real world" and not just in class or at work, but just for purpose of talking and getting to know them.
As long as i've been in france now, i can't really say i've made friends with many fench people. Most of the people i usually end up hanging out with are either american or other foreign students, which is cool and all but you just don't really practice speaking french, with is one of the reasons i came here in the first place. Not that french people are easy to find. I mean they are everywhere, but they're just not very easy to approach. Making friends is not at all easy. They kinda stick to the people they know, and for us with an american perspective, they seem to have this hard shell that's not easy to break through. You have to have someone you know and who they know to introduce you and then you become one of the pack. So it was a good experience and it was so much fun!!!
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| This has really been a good semester so far. I'm enrolled in the highest level of oral and written French classes as well as a literature class which totally freaked me out in the beginning since you're supposed to be practically fluent to do well in them. Last semester seemed almost a joke, since i barely did any real work, besides some worksheets and other busy work.But i didn't really feel like i was learning anything in my classes. I kind of expected pretty much the same thing this semester, with different teachers, but it has actually been nothing but good, very useful information, that I've learned so far.
First of all, for the first time ever, I have male French professors. All my French teachers, since high school, have always been women, and this semester they are all male except for one, which for me is kinda cool i guess. Also last semester, i never really spoke up in class-maybe because i wasn't very comfortable or the subjects were just not interesting, but whatever the case this semester is totally different. As afraid as I am of speaking (in French) for the whole class to hear, it seems that i always have something to say, and i actually say it. The teachers (one in particular) will correct me once in a while, but for the most part, i feel pretty comfortable when I speak. ---- So does this mean 'm becoming fluent?...Honestly, in class i feel a lot safer than in the real world, which i guess makes sense, but I've noticed that i speak better when i don't think about what I'm going to say too much. Like if someone asks for directions or something, but if i play things over in my head trying to get them right, i get paranoid about the right conjugations and tenses and it just makes me nervous and that's when i make more mistakes.
It makes me happy to realize how much I've improved, but at the same time, it's sad to think that it's going to end. I think that at the end of last semester, if someone had offered me a plane ticket home i would have taken it. I was kind of home sick and i thought i had had enough of Paris, but now i don't want it to end. I still miss home, my family and friends, but i have this new sense of confidence, and maybe even peace, that if it wasn't for the fact that i have to finish school, would have considered staying another year. i think I'm just scared that 'm going to forget how great it has been to be here or forget to speak like i do now or even better how I'll speak when it's over. Even now, i still have over three months left and I'm already thinking of "the end."
Once I get back it's back to science and nursing, which i must admit i do miss- as hard as is and everything, but there's just something so...magical about learning a language.You also learn a culture and lifestyle, specially living here. And it's so much more than just learning tenses and conjugations or translating texts; it's being able to talk to people, or even just listen to people talk when you're on the metro or walking down the street. Something that still even a few months ago sounded like beautiful noise is now completely (or almost completely) comprehensible words and conversations.
I think I've just begun to realize that I've fallen in love with Paris and the French language. Before it had been a superficial crush, but i started to get to know it better, even when at times it got me frustrated or upset, it's the little things that made me give in.The small details, like how the sky looks when the sun is setting, or the smell of croissants early in the morning on my way to work, the beautiful museums and pieces of art, maybe sitting along the seine having a sandwich or reading a book, or just sitting at a cafe, drinking coffee and watching people go by.
I know there are certain little habits that 'll take with me and that'll remind me of my time here, and i Know that I'll be back, and there's even a little part of me that wants to keep some things for whenever i return. Either way, i know 'm going to make the best of the time that i still have in this beautiful city and i know Paris will always have a special place in my heart.
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| OMG i'm going to London! yay!!! it feels like i just got back from Amsterdam and now i'm going to London (in a few weeks). Traveling around Europe was a definite on my list when coming to France for the year. The first semester however none of that happened so i'm super excited that i'm actually doing it now.
I went over to Elaine's yesterday and we started to plan for a trip to Italy for the spring break since our plans for winter break kinda fell through. We looked at ticket prices and hostels and hotels. After much online searching wedecided to stop for the day since were both getting kinda tired and we now had at least a better idea of what were going to do.
I was going to get ready to leave when i remembered Elaine mentioning London. She has a cousin who lives there, but they are moving to Bangkok soon, but before they leave they let her know she could go vist and bring a friend if she liked. She has already been there since she's being in france, but when do you get the chance to stay with family in an awsome city without having to pay for lodging? Being as awsome as she is, she's bringing me with her.
This was all yesterday, we figured out what days would be good and she messaged her cousin to make sure it was ok. He responded while i was still at her place so we booked the train tickets right then and there! It was great, I was and still am super excited. I can't wait  Now i just have to figure out what I want to do on our visit to London 'cause like Elaine let me know, this trip is all about me...
P.S. -I dont' mean to sound selfish although it totally does doesn't it? I totally don't mean to, i just meant, i'll finally have time to relax and enjoy and do whatever...
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| So much has happened since my last entry. Last week was crazyness trying to figure out my schedule for the new semester and trying to balance it out with my work schedule. After finally getting something close to what i wanted i had most of the week off from classes, even thought i still had to work. I ended up going on a feildtrip to see a play with my students. It was good althoug i don't think most of thestudents actuallly understood it since the actors spoke so fast and it was all in English.Something I noticed that i thought was very intersting was the difference between the kids i teach and someof the other groups that were also there. When we arrived at the theater we had to wait outside until they were ready to let us in. Right behind us, another bus full of students arrived and started to get off right next to where we were. Standing next to them i noticed how diverse my group was compared to this other school and then other schools that arrived after them. I work in a middle school right outside of paris and most of the schools there were from within the city. What surprised me the most was that although i have been working with them for months now it never occured to me that this diversity was not the norm in schools all over Paris.
All my life i've been a part of a very diverse community first living in LA and then in San Francisco. When comming to France, it had been one of the things that worried me a bit- being latina in Europe. However arriving here, I saw Paris was just as diverse as any of the cities as i have lived in, but then of course, it is Paris- and I don't know i can say the same thing for the rest of France. Paris is the life and heart of the country and people come in from all around for school (universities) and work, but to actually live in the city is crazy expensive so i guess it would make sense that usually minorities or the kids of more recent immigrants would be liviing and going to school in the surrounding cities like where i work.
On a totally different note:
This past weekend,
from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon, Elaine, Keisha and I went to Amsterdam. it was so last minuite, but it was totally worth it 'cause I had
such a great time. It was really good to get out of the city for a bit and
it's always exciting to visit another country even if it's only for a
short while. We went to a few museums like the Anne Frank house and the Rembrandt
house and to one of my favorite artist's the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum.
We also watched a movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, at the film museum next to our hotel, which was awsome. The whole weekend
was really good, the weather was great and it was nice just to walk around and see
the city. It seemed like everything that weekend went well. I really enjoyed my
time there. Even the food was amazing. We found these two great little restaurants that were truly amazing. I have to say they had the best pancakes I’ve ever, it was like a mix between an american pancake and a french crêpe. I wish I could find those in the states-it would be unbelievable. Also the atmosphere was great and the people were super nice!
Returning to Paris was coming back to
reality. I’ve got back to work yesterday and today I started my second semester
classes. If the rest of my classes are
anything like they were today, I think I’m going to be very happy and am going
to enjoy them very much. But I guess you never know what the semester’s going
to bring, but i know it goign to be great and i can't wait for more exciting trips to come.
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| Today was an awsome day.
I woke up this morning feeling well
rested and full of energy, something that unfortunately isn't very common for
me. It looked nice out, even though it was still cold. I got ready and then
Elaine Susie and I went to IKEA to get some stuff and have the awesome 1 euro
breakfast they have there. I still can’t believe that we only paid 1 euro each-
so cool. Anyway, that went well got some things I’ve needed and hadn’t gotten
around to getting. Then I went to Musée D’Orsay were most of the XIX century art,
including some amazing impressionist artists, are displayed. I had already been there before, but it’s so
big and I like to take my time in each section- that I had never gotten to the
top floor before. Today, right in from
of me, lay some of the most famous paintings by some of the greatest artists
ever. There were paintings by Monet, Van Gough, Degas, Cézanne, Manet and many
others. I seriously could not believe my eyes. I could see each brush stoke,
the colors, the different techniques it was amazing… Being up close and
actually seeing these masterpieces right in front of me- there’s nothing that
can really compare. No matter how much you know about an artist or see pictures
of the paintings, nothing can measure up to actually being there. Finally to
top off the day, we ended up going a little restaurant right next to the museum
and had some great food and good conversation…
Like I said, Today was a good day!
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