Good Morning Paris!

No matter where I am in the world Sundays will always involve a) laundry b) avoiding homework...... so here I am, waiting to hang up my laundry (dryers seem to not exist in France!) and doing everything but my worksheet on indirect and direct objects and mes lectures (reading).

I'd like to first point out that, as evident by my back breaking homework load (yeah right), school in France seems to be a bit of a joke. We'll see as the weeks progress - but so far my classes seem to have a very light work load, balanced nicely by a heavy amount of learning. Who knew I could have easy classes that I'm actually excited for and motivated to learn as much as I can, without hundreds of pages of reading and endless papers every night? It is a very nice change. I also only have class 11.5 hours a week which is making my iCal look a bit empty.

When I first came to Paris I said to myself, "Clara, this is the year you don't pack your schedule with endless extracurriculars. Just live your life and don't panic over having free time." Well sorry folks, and self, I'm panicking. I'm about to finish the fifth season of The L Word, and after doing so I'm pretty sure I'm going to run out of things to fill my rather empty days. Sweet Briar warned us that life in Paris may involve a lot of alone time.... but instead I'm resorting to my old ways, extracurricularing the heck out of my life, and micromanaging everything. Some things never change. I've recently joined Sweet Briar's A Capella group - just established by some people in my group. I've never done anything like this before so I'm excited and ready to do something musically productive. I'm also signed up to tutor elementary school children in English, and I might be starting a Ballet class this week (blast from the past, I know!). Combined with weekend trips to the French countryside, an endless supply of museum visits, and impromptu grammar lessons from Alice (+10 bonus points for repeat readers who know who she is!) - I hopefully won't be spending this Paris winter hibernating in my room alone watching season 6 of The L Word.

Speaking of which, Paris is freaking COLD! Yesterday my host mom told me "Clara it's a bit fresh outside, be careful." I had no idea what she was talking about, until I realized later.... oh yes, it is a bit fresh outside. Frais - not quite freezing, but not at all warm. The Seattlite in me is heavily disappointed, but over the last two years I have unfortunately acclimated into quite the California Girl..... so much so that this 60 degree weather with sporadic rain showers really isn't doing it for me. I might even break down and buy an umbrella (I know right??).

Well I should probably go hang up my laundry and continue procrastinating.... I'll leave you dear readers with a few pictures from this past weekend. Enjoy!

Macaroon from the famous Ladurée bakery on the Champs-Elysées... an expensive but necessary treat. Anyone who comes to visit- we're going here!

My dear friends Nora, Katherine, Dylan.

The Techno Parade I went to Saturday morning. Paris really knows how to have a good time.

Bonjournée!

Clara

It Gets Better

This is my favorite thing on the internet right now. If you don't know about Dan Savage, you should. Subscribe to his podcast at http://podcasts.thestranger.com/savagelove/.

This is vaguely related to Paris (watch the video to find out why).... but I promise a more relevant and thorough update sometime soon. There's a public transportation strike tomorrow ----- oooh exciting! Today I went to the Musée D'Orsay, saw some Degas (my favorite painter), and then proceeded to eat A LOT of chocolate mousse. I also bought some pickles and ramen on the way home because... I guess those are my comfort foods.

Bientôt - je promis! Clara

A Typical Day with Katherine and Clara

Hello Readers!

I haven't written in a few days. I was attempting to update on somewhat of a schedule, but when wanderlust sets in it's difficult to have the time to just sit down and write. And who really wants to hear about me wandering the streets of paris, eating baguettes and taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower? oh... you do? Well in that case.....

To understand my life here in Paris you must first be introduced to my dear friend, and fellow Trojan, Katherine. This is she:

(smoking can cause a slow and painful death, by the way.)

Katherine and I spend practically every day together wandering the streets of Paris. We usually start out the morning with "so... let's not walk very much today...."...... 6 kilometers later and we're both left wondering where the day went, how we managed to take so many pictures, visit so many landmarks and spend so much money on coffee/sandwiches/perrier (Paris is très cher!!!) ,and when we're going to find the next comfortable place to sit down.

View What we did today in a larger map

However with so much to do in Paris and so many incredible monuments, museums and parks around every corner.... we often get so distracted we forget to rest. Nothing a spoonful of Nutella (now a permanent fixture in my purse) can't solve!

Katherine is the perfect tour guide of Paris (she has been here three times prior). As a French History major she knows who built what, who died where, and how many hundreds of years ago it was. I can merely point at something old and ask "what's that?" and promptly be given a riveting and informative narrative in return. It's like having a personalized Wikipedia in my pocket.... really who needs an iPhone anyways?

Now for a string of pictures with me and various monuments in the background... get ready.

Me and some tower

Me and a crèpe and the Moulin Rouge

Me and Sacre Couer

Me and one of Napoleon's mini arcs that was not the Arc de Triomphe (he had three built, according to History-Major-Katherine) on the way to the Louvre.

Another important monument, per se, in my life is my new sister Alice.

Alice (pronounced Aleeeeese) is 14 and very much obsessed with Gossip Girl, Glee, and getting on my nerves. Okay that might sound like a bad thing but in actuality I'm loving it. It's been awhile since I've had an adoring punk kid following me around repeating every word I say in a sing-songy voice. Also helps that she's a sucker for grammar and correcting my every mistake. Okay... maybe I'm starting to miss my little brother (way to nevvver be online Gabriel). I've also never had a sister before which is a wonderful thing to get used to. A few nights ago I was getting ready to go out and she came into my room. "Clara, that purse does not match your outfit. Here take mine. It's my favorite purse in the entire world, but you may borrow it. If you lose it you're kicked out of the family." After defying my protests of not being the most responsible person on the planet she promptly added herself into my cell phone as Alice La Plus Belle (Alice The Prettiest) and kissed me on both cheeks. I'm basically obsessed with her.

Well this is my life so far. My French is horrible, I'm spending too much money, and I miss California and Washington terribly.... but besides that I do indeed aime Paris.

Bonjournée!

Clara

I'm in Paris

The Lonely Forest |MTV Music

I'd like to start with this video. It's of The Lonely Forest, one of my favorite local bands from Anacortes, WA (represent!). Basically this video is quintessential Anacortes -- like there is no better way to visually describe it. And now it's on MTV which is weird... but anyways.... watching that today made me feel a million miles away from something that was so familiar to me for 18 years....

but now I'M IN PARIS! Yes it's true. I'm sitting here in an incredibly spacious apartment located in the 15th arrondissement. It's a half hour walk to the Eiffel Tower (which I intend on doing today). I have two cats named Madam Ouchka and Monssieur Picasso. I'm really happy about this! My host family is lovely : Mom (.... don't actually know her name?), sister Alice who is 14 and very hip, and Michelle (a student from UC Santa Cruz studying here for the semester. We're the same age and I look forward to having someone my own age). There are also two older siblings (21 and 24) that don't live at home but are coming over this weekend. It's interesting for me living in a house full of women - I miss my brother!

The apartment is very airy and bright and there is a lot of art and books around. And I have a little terrace attached to my room AND a tv covered in Heineken labels. This is all rather luxurious for me.

Well I'm going to get started with my day - which will include buying a map, figuring out the metro, and walking walking walking exploring avec mes amis.

Love, Clara

La Fin De Tours

Bonsoir Mes Amis,

I'm going to try writing in this more often. There is just so much to say here.

A lot of my time here is thinking about my language acquisition (or sometimes lack of acquisition). My host mother has taken to, instead of willingly answering my "Comment dit-on...?" questions, feigning ignorance and forcing me to explain which words I needs to learn - in French. Last night I was setting the table and there were only three placemats. "Uhhhhh Madam, est-ce qu'il y a un..... comment dit-on? uhhhh... uhhhherrrrrmmmm?" I began pantomiming placemat (someone affectively, if I do say so myself) but she just stared at me with an amused smirk. Eventually I explained "erremmmuhhhhh quelquechose pour protéger la table??"... "Ooooh oui un place de table, c'est la même en anglais, non?" Oh yeah, I guess it is the same in English. Basically this can be frustrating in the moment, but it is really an incredibly affective way to practice the language and really learn the language through the language.

My French abilities are dramatically improving. Every day in my conversation class we talk about "social issues" so I now have an immense vocabulary for talking about road access and my feelings on gay marriage - but I still fail to remember the word for earlier. My host sister has the same issues - yesterday at dinner she tried to convince us that her coat was made of "wood". I did feel like I made a major accomplishment a few nights ago when I explained The Borgen Project and my summer internship to my host mother. We had a very rousing discussion about the developing world and I feel like I managed to convey some very complex ideas IN FRENCH. Things like this bring me such joy.

It is also really fascinating for me to learn a language while entirely immersed within the language. There are certain words I have learned that I don't realize until days later that I only know them... in French. It's kind of hard to explain so let me give an example:

When I came to France I imagined I would be saying Bonjour more than anything else. This is not the case. There is actually a very precise process for greetings and it goes something like this -

Bonjour - This is said when first greeting a person, usually in the morning but it can bleed well into the afternoon as well. Technically one should only said Bonjour to a person once a day - this was never explained to me, but it's just how things seem to work here.

Bonjournée - When saying goodbye for the day one says Bonjournée. It is less "good day" and more "have a good day".... a farewell of good wishes for the rest of your journée

Rebonjour - I learned this a few days ago. Instead of saying Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour people say Rebonjour... it's like "hello again". It's actually rather amusing and I don't know if I will be able to say this with a straight face.

Bonsoir - This is the same as Bonjour, except in the evening. The transition seems to start around 5 pm, but 4:45 seems to work too. I spend a lot of the afternoon psyching myself up to start saying Bonsoir and not Bonjour - and then when I wake up I have to retrain myself back to saying Bonjour. Walking down the stairs to breakfast I often mutter to myself "Bonjour Clara, it's Bonjour... it's morning now you can stop remembering to Bonsoir."

Bonsoirée - Bonsoirée is much the same as Bonjournée, basically a wish for a good rest of the evening. It does have a sense of "you're going out and doing something enjoyable tonight and we might see each other later or we may not."

Bonnuit - In cases where one is most definitely going to sleep and not doing anything beyond that Bonnuit is appropriate. There is much a sense of finality and an understanding that we won't be seeing each other until the morning..... when the process starts all over again.

This is something that has been rustling around in my head the past two weeks, in French. It's just so interesting to be thinking in French and understanding things without having to translate them word by word into English first.

Beyond that my days in Tours have been filled with sitting in cafes, reading books, walking, shopping, eating (and eating and eating and eating), dancing, scaling the gate when our host sister locked it and forgot to give us the key, sleeping, laughing.... it has been wonderful.

Here are a few pictures of the last few days.

Tuesday there was a strike in all of France. The current age of retirement is 60 but the government is trying to raise it to 62, so all of the public transportation, teachers, etc. striked for what seemed only like 2 hours? It must have been settled very quickly? I really should be reading more about this.... I have been awful about keeping up with the news here.

Typical

My classroom in Tours

Some friends and me at Le Loire celebrating John's (on the left) birthday

As for now I am currently on the bus headed to PARIS! I'll post this as soon as I have internet again, and will most likely follow up with an I'm In Paris post later this weekend. Leaving Tours was a bit bittersweet. I am beyond happy to officially start my new life in Paris, but I am going to miss my host family and life in this simple, quiet town. Mme Crespe (ma mere d'acueil) practically begged us to come visit her again in Tours and assured us that we would always have a place to stay - so hopefully I will be able to do so before the year is up. She really was one of the nicest women I have ever met and assuredly made my transition to French life better than I could have ever expected. I think she really enjoys hosting students too and it got me thinking that someday I would like to do the same. It seems to be a great way to travel the world without even leaving your house.

Well I am now going to sleep a bit on this 4 hour bus ride (oh mon dieu!!!!) to Paris.

Bientôt mes amis! Vous me manquez beaucoup.

~ Clara

L'étranger

Je suis très fatiguée mais je voudrais ecrire dans mon blog.

My mind is absolutely reeling at all times. Whether it is struggling to keep up with my host mother's patiently slow French, allowing me to watch Amelie while typing in English on my blog (that's what I'm doing now), or taking a complete break from the language to skype with my friends at home in English. It doesn't matter what I'm doing.... French just keeps creeping in. Some words just fit better and I find myself speaking with a certain air of Franglais even without meaning to (my friends here can attest to la même situation). My vocabulary is intensifying.... but I find myself learning an assortment of very odd words like scholarship and bottle opener that are not always the handiest. I'm also making a habit of asking my host mom "Comment dit-on....?" at least 27 times a day. The nerd in me is realizing it doesn't matter how many times I hear a word, I really need to read it and have a visual representation to remember new vocabulary. This makes it difficult to learn just through conversation.

All of the mind-reeling aside, Tours is a very relaxing place to visit. I am just constantly consuming food (fromage fromage fromage fromage fromage... et beaucoup de pain) - but also art, music, architecture, people (consuming people?). There is just no end to the beauty in every day activities. A walk to school involves walking by building older than anything in the United States (everything is just SO old - in the best of ways). Family dinners mean conversations on politics, education, healthcare, art, books and life lasting hours. The sight of a castle hardly phases me anymore but I have also consumed enough wine to actually start having an opinion on it. So much consumption is both expanding my pallet as well as transforming the extraordinary into the merely mundane.

Enough of my ramblings - I'm sure you dear readers are looking for some specifics. Every day is exciting and new and very French. Language classes continue to improve my French and I am becoming closer and closer with my comrades. It's hard to be friends with 70 new people - but I'm finding I enjoy everyone I meet in the Sweet Briar program. Every day my friend Katherine and I finish class, decide that having another crêpe with nutella might be excessive, and then have one anyways. Every morning I speak French for three hours and every afternoon I go to an art museum, a castle, a wine tasting. The evenings are topped off with some of the best meals of my life with some of the most enjoyably conversation possible. The night life in Tours is enjoyable but in such a small town we Americans seem to overrun it a bit - and we frequent the same two places every night. I can't complain too much however - where else can I get a fruity drink the size of my head?

This afternoon was quite enjoyable. My host mother invited Amara and I to go to a wine tasting in Vouvray - an area right outside of town famous for their wine - similar to Champagne. I am learning quite a bit about wine and am enjoying sampling certain kinds, comparing. It's quite exciting to actually know what I'm talking about a bit (kind of... okay I'm faking it)

I think of this scene of The Parent Trap every time I swirl my glass around, smell it and take a sip (fyi - the swirling around thing is to figure out how sugary/not sugary the wine is for white wines and how old it is for red wines.... cool right?) Just watch 1:07-1:40 though.... or all of it because The Parent Trap is one of the best movies ever made.

Anyways it was a very enjoyable day. We went through the winery's museum which was HUGE and all in French (duh) but I managed to learn a bit about how wine is made. Then we took a little drive, somewhat against the rules perhaps (je ne sais pas??), through the grape fields. It went on forever - I've never seen so many grapes!!- and was probably one of the best things I have experienced here so far.

Well I'm going to finish watching Amelie. Merci for reading and Bientot!

Clara