Chez Moi

ma porte

At last, I have a home (chez moi, en français). It is an apartment with four other students. There is a large kitchen, two showers, one toilet, and a dining room. We each have our own bedroom, and there are plenty of closets. We are waiting for internet, so I am posting this via my cellphone's network. The sunshine pours in through the windows during the day, making this place more and more like a home. The unpacking is going slowly -- my clothes are still in my suitcase. There are so many better things to be doing than putting away clothes!

My roommates speak French; they only speak English to me when we find no way to understand each other in French. They laugh a lot at my mistakes, but they are very patient with me. It takes some time, but once I get into the flow of French, it is much easier for me to listen and respond. Still, it is very hard to keep up with fluent French speakers. The vocabulary that I have is minuscule compared to theirs, and, just like English speakers, they speak rapidly without annunciating. I've also spoken with several neighbors in the elevator. Some of them switch to English without me asking; I guess my accent is that bad!

A week and a half ago, I had my first glimpse of Paris. The students in the intensive French course all shared a bus into the city. First, we drove all over the city to see the major monuments. My biggest shock was l'Arc de Triomphe -- photographs cannot do it justice! It is huge, with impressive inscriptions all over. After driving around for some time, we took a boat ride along the Seine. From here, we could see more of the city, and an audioguide gave us more history of the city. The bridges in Paris are all important, and each one has a name. Below is Pont de la Tournelle. On the left side there is a statue; this statue is of Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris.

Pont de la Tournelle

The city is beautiful. It is a remarkable feeling to look up at the Notre Dame one moment and the Eifel Tower the next. Our trip this time was a short one. Since we only had a couple hours (not enough for a museum, and I had no camera), we decided to try to catch the last of the Soldes. In France, to hold a sale requires a pile of paperwork... except for three weeks in January-February and three weeks in June-July. Every store was having major markdowns, up to 70% off. Since it was already the last week, the selection was slim. However, I managed to find two tunics and my first French scarf! My favorite part of the trip was taking the metro from where we shopped to the bus; while we watched Paris fly beneath us (it is an elevated train, like in Chicago), we listened to two guys playing accordions. The view was great, and the music was excellent. We will be returning to Paris soon, as the weather gets warmer. There is still so much to see! I saw a lot, but I am ready to reach out and touch the city.

Last week was an orientation week focused on getting us registered as students. We inscribed in the university, then registered for our classes. However, since it is France, it is much easier said than done. Classes start this week; the first week we go only to the lecture sections. By Friday, we will receive our schedules for the remainder of the semester. I am hoping to have class only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to allow for travel. 

Tuesday, of course, was Valentine's Day. I found out that while it is celebrated by couples here in France, it is not celebrated widely abroad. If it is, it definitely is not like the United States, where you give Valentines to friends and family. Many of my South American friends hadn't even heard of it. I was planning to pick up chocolates and tell my friends all about Valentine's Day at home, but I was pooped from a long day. Instead, I picked up a little Valentine for myself (in the form of a small chocolate cake from a nearby patisserie) and ventured over to a little wine shop. I spoke in French with the vendor about a good wine to drink with chocolate, and she had a suggestion that wasn't too expensive. That night, I had some chocolate and wine and relaxed with my friends at a restaurant nearby. A wonderful way to celebrate! 

As I've said before, most of my friends come from all over. As we move into our new houses and apartments, we've been going to each place for a big dinner. This weekend, the Argentinians had us over for empanadas. I am very, very excited to make empanadas when I get home :) They are like dumplings; doughy pockets pack with meat and veggies. There were probably twenty people in this tiny kitchen (no living room in that apartment either)- it was miraculous how the empanadas kept coming until we were full. I'm hoping to have them over soon, but I can't decide what to make! 

I have to say, even though the French systems of doing anything are very complicated, the French people are very warm. I've enjoyed meeting people and making small conversations in passing. I've also been enjoying their wonderful patisseries! I've decided that it is a perfectly reasonable thing to go out of my way to a new bakery without having any special occasion. They are much less expensive here, with greater variety and higher quality than home. I want to try every type of pastry there is, so I have a lot of ground to cover. It's not showing yet, but we'll see. 

Until next time!

Love,

Genevieve

Pierrefonds & l'Armistice

Château du Pierrefonds

Hello again!

I have had another great week here in France. I'm getting more and more familiar with Compiegne, my French is improving slowly, and my friends just keep getting better!

The intensive course is winding down. This is the last week: Thursday I will give a presentation on the United States in French, and Friday I will take the final. I am looking forward the presentation, because I am using it to show everyone what I love about the United States. It will be tough, since most people know so much about the US already, but there are plenty of good things to include. I spent last night "researching" -- searching Google for images of home, the U of I campus, state parks all over the country, and the famous Springfield Horseshoe. I even found an image of Obama eating a horseshoe! That will definitely make it into the presentation.

"Here, 11 November, 1918, succumbed the criminal pride of the German Reich, vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave."

This past Wednesday, we took a day trip to the site where the Armistice was signed and to the château in the town next to it. The armistice site held several large memorials (my favorite of which is pictured) as well as a very interesting museum dedicated to both World War I and World War II, as the site is also where the French signed the armistice in 1940. The castle at the top of the entry is the one we went to see. It was absolutely marvelous. It certainly had more of a castle-feel than the other palace we had seen. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. We explored the grounds around -- there were two catapults out on the hill! Inside, there were many old sculptures and interesting pieces, but in the basement there was a room entirely dedicated to the dead. There were huge stone tombs, with sculptures of their occupants lying on top of them. All I could think of was my conversation with Krista about how strangely we treat our dead -- I can't wait to show her this eery room :)

The temperatures here have been dropping below zero (freezing out the South Americans) for the past week, but we've been fortunate to have bright sunshine instead of rain. Yesterday, I explored the city on my own. I spent well over an hour walking; I had some alone time in the ancient cathedral and explored the grounds of the nearby château. This town is small, but the madness of the short and winding streets requires much exploration to get to know it.

This past weekend, we went to a nearby bar, geared toward campus-life. Since the French students are all on vacation, it was mostly only our group. We had the whole dance floor to ourselves and had a great time! We spent the entire night dancing and laughing together. Most of us have found our new apartments and will be moving out of the temporary apartments. While I'm excited for a real kitchen (and French roommates!!), we are also feeling sad that we will not all be in the same building. It has had a residence hall feel here in the hotel. If we want to see someone, we just knock on their door! People are constantly ringing our bell, moving in and out of the apartment. I'm glad we've had this month to get close; hopefully it will only be reinforced as we spread out!

I'm looking forward to beginning my explorations of France. Our class will be taking a trip á la bus into Paris on Wednesday, and I think it will finally sink in that I am IN FRANCE! Meanwhile, my railpass from my wonderful Aunt Sarah and my new camera on en route, and I will soon be mobile.

 I love you all, and I hope things are well at home! More soon, I promise :)