I'm leaving for Barcelona in several hours! I'm so excited to get out of Paris for awhile. After being with my family for a week playing Super Tourist, I can't wait to explore some sites that I haven't seen yet.
I'll be in Spain from today until Tuesday, and then Wednesday morning I'm leaving for Nice. Of my three travel buddies, I've never travelled with two of them, so I'm anxious to see how we wind up working together as a travel team.
Anyway, having my family in Paris was a fun experience. I hope that it's given them the bug to explore some more countries. In the meantime, I can't wait to have new travels in the future. Seeing as the 7-hour direct flight to Paris all but wiped them out, I can't see my family hopping on a 24-hour flight to head to New Zealand or Australia with me. Any takers?
I don't want to sound like I'm too good for Paris. Quite the contrary. Since I've been here, I've consistently been shown that Paris's standards far exceed mine, in terms of fashion, culture, and communication skills. I like to think that I've adjusted pretty well, but I find it pointless to try and pretend that I'm a French person and be serious about it. I have enough French friends, but it's not because I said to myself BON JE VAIS ME TROUVER DES AMIS FRANCAIS. Through working at the soup kitchen and playing frisbee, activities that interest me, I've had conversations with other people. And not just French people, but Tunisian, Algerian, Italian, American, Australian, German, Scottish, Irish, Spanish.. the list goes on. We all speak in French, Spanish, and English as necessary, and it's not a problem if we're not ALWAYS speaking French!
I do like the JYA Paris program enough, but the constant pressure to BE French and to MAKE French friends is stifling! If I thought to myself at the beginning of the year that I was just going to talk to French people all the time and try to work my way into their clique, I would've wound up miserable. PASSION is what really brings people together, no matter the language. Language comes next.
Anyway, that's enough. I'm still happy to be here, and I still have so much to see in Paris! I need to see pretty much every museum and cemetary ever. Thank goodness I still have one last First Sunday of the Month to see the museums for free. AND we're going to Parc Asterix! Log flumes and rollercoasters, here I come!
Showing posts with label frisbee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frisbee. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Fête de HALLOWEEN!!!!!!
WHOOOO alright here's the news: my host dad just left, which means I officially have the house to myself until Sunday night!!!!!! HUZZAHH!!!!!!
As any normal 20-year old in a foreign land with an apartment to herself, I have decided to throw a party. There's 10 of us in all, all Smithies (including one from Geneva that I haven't seen since last year, who decided to visit Paris! Yay!), and I've got the menu all set. You ready for it?
Apératif:
- white wine
- apple juice
- guacamole (I'M MAKING IT) and chips
- tomato and mozzarella
Diner:
- The Christines are making some sort of Halloween punch
- salade with tomates, concombres, and mozzarella
- rice
- ratatouille
- lemon chicken (I just woke up from a dream in which I made this. It tasted delicious.)
Dessert:
- Mom's recipe for chocolate toffee crunch bars (I'm substituting re-baked Madeleine cookies for Nilla wafers, since there's no way that they exist here. Though I just got A BRILLIANT IDEA to use Oreos. So good or no good?)
- Pears and hot chocolate sauce
- Apple clafoutis (like a pie, but BETTER. More custard-y)
HOW GOOD? SO GOOD.
I need to find a cowboy hat, though. I'm also going to start making some decorations to hang, but not many, since I don't want to take over the house. I thought maybe balloons? That might make it just Halloweeny enough without having to put things on the walls, but I don't know how I'd pop them afterward. I guess I could just do it during the day, but I'm sure they have noise ordinances in Paris.
ANYWAY. It's going to be awesome. We're doing it tomorrow. My plan is to make the desserts today, and maybe the guacamole. Also, I have to call Restos du Coeur back for real today. It's good that I'm in Just Do It mode, or I might not have even called them back today. It's been awhile. I really do not speaking French on the phone.
Alright, I'm on it! Can do it! WHOO!
OH and the international frisbee championship, hosted by PARIS of all places, is THIS WEEKEND. Therefore, another Halloween party on Saturday! Ahhh best weekend EVERRR.
As any normal 20-year old in a foreign land with an apartment to herself, I have decided to throw a party. There's 10 of us in all, all Smithies (including one from Geneva that I haven't seen since last year, who decided to visit Paris! Yay!), and I've got the menu all set. You ready for it?
Apératif:
- white wine
- apple juice
- guacamole (I'M MAKING IT) and chips
- tomato and mozzarella
Diner:
- The Christines are making some sort of Halloween punch
- salade with tomates, concombres, and mozzarella
- rice
- ratatouille
- lemon chicken (I just woke up from a dream in which I made this. It tasted delicious.)
Dessert:
- Mom's recipe for chocolate toffee crunch bars (I'm substituting re-baked Madeleine cookies for Nilla wafers, since there's no way that they exist here. Though I just got A BRILLIANT IDEA to use Oreos. So good or no good?)
- Pears and hot chocolate sauce
- Apple clafoutis (like a pie, but BETTER. More custard-y)
HOW GOOD? SO GOOD.
I need to find a cowboy hat, though. I'm also going to start making some decorations to hang, but not many, since I don't want to take over the house. I thought maybe balloons? That might make it just Halloweeny enough without having to put things on the walls, but I don't know how I'd pop them afterward. I guess I could just do it during the day, but I'm sure they have noise ordinances in Paris.
ANYWAY. It's going to be awesome. We're doing it tomorrow. My plan is to make the desserts today, and maybe the guacamole. Also, I have to call Restos du Coeur back for real today. It's good that I'm in Just Do It mode, or I might not have even called them back today. It's been awhile. I really do not speaking French on the phone.
Alright, I'm on it! Can do it! WHOO!
OH and the international frisbee championship, hosted by PARIS of all places, is THIS WEEKEND. Therefore, another Halloween party on Saturday! Ahhh best weekend EVERRR.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
So cranky.
I woke up today, earlier than I would've liked. I was sort of planning to sleep until around 1 p.m., since I've been lacking on the sleep lately and have been more than a little exhausted. Also, I'm afraid of getting sick (knock on wood) since I haven't gotten sick yet, and I'm taking little precautions where I can.
I had my first real live French phone call. I wound up crying afterward. It's also been that time where I get mopey and anything can set me off, so it's not really that surprising. I called Restos du Coeur because they had left a message for me saying that they wanted to schedule an informational meeting. I called them up, and the woman said the next one would be Monday at 2:00 p.m. She asked me if that was already, and I said not really and asked when the next one would be. She said she'd just put me down for that one, and I was too flustered to say anything back. My lack of firmness and purpose in my voice plus the fact that I back down when confronted with anything that doesn't flow...
Anyway, I think I'm going to call back tomorrow in between my million classes. It's pretty non-stop from 9:30 to 20:30 tomorrow. I've got classes and some time between them, but not enough to really stop home. I may do it anyway, since I really haven't seen my host family in awhile.
After my phone call fiasco, I met up with this girl who graduated from Smith this past year. She was abroad in Paris two years ago, and she lived with my host family! We got together for coffee to discuss Paris life and our host family. She told me a bunch of fun embarassing stories, including the one about how I got the bed that I have now. She told me about how it was December and she was really stressed out. She threw herself onto the bed, and the wooden frame on the bottom cracked. So now I have a newish bed!
She seemed like a really cool person, and I'm glad we got together. She had tons of fun stories, including re-settling into Paris life. After hearing about all the paperwork she had to do, I feel a little more grateful for the steps Smith has taken to make things easier for us (though I'm still pissed at Peebster for choosing not to help me with my Spanish class situation).
After that, I rushed home, got my stuff together, and headed out for frisbee. I hadn't eaten much all day. Before I went to practice, I figured out how I could get to McDonald's. I am CRAVING comfort food, and all I wanted was a McFlurry. The whole practice, I pushed myself, knowing that the end of practice would mean a tasty, creamy, icy treat.
I was on the metro, dreaming of my ice cream, looking out the window. I looked down to the sidewalk below and, written in chalk below someone special's window, there were the words "JE T'AIME!". It made me smile out loud. Yes, yes it did.
I got off the metro and was walking to McDo, when I saw those little plastic yellow yield signs that people buy for their cars. It said "Bébé à bord!" and it made me laugh that "Baby on board" really translates.
However, after the 15 minute walk to McDo at quarter to midnight, I asked for my "MacFleurrie", and the woman replied, in English, "I am sorry, no ice!" ("glace" in French means both "ice" and "ice cream")
I could've cried right then, saying my, "C'est pas grave". It really was grave!
Anyway, it kept me going through frisbee practice, and I guess that's all that matters. Now, time for shower, cheese and bread, homework, and SLEEP before I have the longest day of my life.
Good night!
I had my first real live French phone call. I wound up crying afterward. It's also been that time where I get mopey and anything can set me off, so it's not really that surprising. I called Restos du Coeur because they had left a message for me saying that they wanted to schedule an informational meeting. I called them up, and the woman said the next one would be Monday at 2:00 p.m. She asked me if that was already, and I said not really and asked when the next one would be. She said she'd just put me down for that one, and I was too flustered to say anything back. My lack of firmness and purpose in my voice plus the fact that I back down when confronted with anything that doesn't flow...
Anyway, I think I'm going to call back tomorrow in between my million classes. It's pretty non-stop from 9:30 to 20:30 tomorrow. I've got classes and some time between them, but not enough to really stop home. I may do it anyway, since I really haven't seen my host family in awhile.
After my phone call fiasco, I met up with this girl who graduated from Smith this past year. She was abroad in Paris two years ago, and she lived with my host family! We got together for coffee to discuss Paris life and our host family. She told me a bunch of fun embarassing stories, including the one about how I got the bed that I have now. She told me about how it was December and she was really stressed out. She threw herself onto the bed, and the wooden frame on the bottom cracked. So now I have a newish bed!
She seemed like a really cool person, and I'm glad we got together. She had tons of fun stories, including re-settling into Paris life. After hearing about all the paperwork she had to do, I feel a little more grateful for the steps Smith has taken to make things easier for us (though I'm still pissed at Peebster for choosing not to help me with my Spanish class situation).
After that, I rushed home, got my stuff together, and headed out for frisbee. I hadn't eaten much all day. Before I went to practice, I figured out how I could get to McDonald's. I am CRAVING comfort food, and all I wanted was a McFlurry. The whole practice, I pushed myself, knowing that the end of practice would mean a tasty, creamy, icy treat.
I was on the metro, dreaming of my ice cream, looking out the window. I looked down to the sidewalk below and, written in chalk below someone special's window, there were the words "JE T'AIME!". It made me smile out loud. Yes, yes it did.
I got off the metro and was walking to McDo, when I saw those little plastic yellow yield signs that people buy for their cars. It said "Bébé à bord!" and it made me laugh that "Baby on board" really translates.
However, after the 15 minute walk to McDo at quarter to midnight, I asked for my "MacFleurrie", and the woman replied, in English, "I am sorry, no ice!" ("glace" in French means both "ice" and "ice cream")
I could've cried right then, saying my, "C'est pas grave". It really was grave!
Anyway, it kept me going through frisbee practice, and I guess that's all that matters. Now, time for shower, cheese and bread, homework, and SLEEP before I have the longest day of my life.
Good night!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I'm posting my schedule, as much for your information as for mine
It's been friggin insane around here lately. My classes are all up and running, which makes me realize just how many things I wanted to take. I didn't realize that they would all clash with each other, and it seems that Smith isn't as willing to help with things as I had originally thought. I've been basically on my own as the only other person in the program taking a living Romance language, and I've been shit out of luck so far in trying to sort out my Spanish classes.
In any case, my fat lip has stopped swelling, the weather was gorgeous today, and I got to go to my teacher's apartment today by the enormous Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library, the huge François Mitterrand one). We discussed my interest in "Restos du Coeur", and she talked me through the process of applying. Also, she has a cute dog named "Eclipse". She took to me right away and even layed on me for most of the time. I'm glad I wound up going to my teacher's apartment instead of meeting at Reid Hall. I really liked getting to play with her dog, and I even found some really good pizza around the corner. The guy behind the counter playfully made fun of my accent, and when he was filling my bag with the pizza and apple juice I had ordered, he reached behind the counter and pulled out a pink straw for me. It was kind of adorable.
I also just love looking at the Bibliothèque Nationale. It's stunning! On the way back home, I took the RER, which is kind of like Metro North. It's the commuter rail, and the trains have two levels. I love sitting upstairs. I wound up taking the RER, since I knew I wouldn't have to transfer. I had never taken it alone before, and it was quite relaxing. I ate my pizza and people-watched. I got excited when we went above ground, and we even saw a Statue of Liberty that I didn't know about just along the Seine! It took probably 15-20 minutes longer than it would have if I had just taken the metro with the transfers, but it felt good to sit and look around for awhile.
Without further ado, my schedule!
Monday:
10:00 - 11:30: Spanish (Theme class) at Clignancourt
11:30 - 12:30: Spanish (Modern Version) at Clignancourt
13:00 - 15:30: La France et l'Europe (at Middlebury Center, which takes exactly a half hour to get to. Also, I got lost trying to get there the first time, so I've already missed 1.5 classes. It's going to be a pain in the ass to get from Clignancourt to Madeleine in exactly a half hour. I also have to remember to buy lunch beforehand!)
21:00 - 22:15: Indoor Frisbee Practice! (takes about an hour to get there and back though)
Tuesday:
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. YES YOU HEARD RIGHT. I'm about to fill out my application for Restos du Coeur, and hopefully I'll be volunteering on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since I don't have anything else. Except...
20:30 - 23:00: Outdoor Frisbee Practice! Less fun! Especially in the rain! (an hour there and back)
Wednesday:
9:30 - 11:30: Methodology at Reid Hall
12:00 - 13:00: Art History TD
14:00 - 16:00: Art History extra help course (every other week)
18:30 - 20:30: Art History lecture
Thursday:
Nothing! For real! No frisbee practice or anything! We might make it our salsa night, once people start getting their business together.
Friday:
14:00 - 15:00: Spanish lecture at Clignancourt
15:00 - 16:30: Spanish (Classic Version) at Clignancourt
So not too bad. It just sucks that my Mondays and Wednesdays are death. It meant that this week went by pretty quickly, which is nice. I hope that it keeps up, and I don't start stressing too much. Right now, I've just cleaned my room, I'm about to settle down to get all of my homework done that I have so far, and I have water with sirop de citron. Mmm.
Also, it's 7:00, which means dinner in an hour with all luck. I just heard my host mom come home, I think, so that's all you get for now! Bisous!
In any case, my fat lip has stopped swelling, the weather was gorgeous today, and I got to go to my teacher's apartment today by the enormous Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library, the huge François Mitterrand one). We discussed my interest in "Restos du Coeur", and she talked me through the process of applying. Also, she has a cute dog named "Eclipse". She took to me right away and even layed on me for most of the time. I'm glad I wound up going to my teacher's apartment instead of meeting at Reid Hall. I really liked getting to play with her dog, and I even found some really good pizza around the corner. The guy behind the counter playfully made fun of my accent, and when he was filling my bag with the pizza and apple juice I had ordered, he reached behind the counter and pulled out a pink straw for me. It was kind of adorable.
I also just love looking at the Bibliothèque Nationale. It's stunning! On the way back home, I took the RER, which is kind of like Metro North. It's the commuter rail, and the trains have two levels. I love sitting upstairs. I wound up taking the RER, since I knew I wouldn't have to transfer. I had never taken it alone before, and it was quite relaxing. I ate my pizza and people-watched. I got excited when we went above ground, and we even saw a Statue of Liberty that I didn't know about just along the Seine! It took probably 15-20 minutes longer than it would have if I had just taken the metro with the transfers, but it felt good to sit and look around for awhile.
Without further ado, my schedule!
Monday:
10:00 - 11:30: Spanish (Theme class) at Clignancourt
11:30 - 12:30: Spanish (Modern Version) at Clignancourt
13:00 - 15:30: La France et l'Europe (at Middlebury Center, which takes exactly a half hour to get to. Also, I got lost trying to get there the first time, so I've already missed 1.5 classes. It's going to be a pain in the ass to get from Clignancourt to Madeleine in exactly a half hour. I also have to remember to buy lunch beforehand!)
21:00 - 22:15: Indoor Frisbee Practice! (takes about an hour to get there and back though)
Tuesday:
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. YES YOU HEARD RIGHT. I'm about to fill out my application for Restos du Coeur, and hopefully I'll be volunteering on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since I don't have anything else. Except...
20:30 - 23:00: Outdoor Frisbee Practice! Less fun! Especially in the rain! (an hour there and back)
Wednesday:
9:30 - 11:30: Methodology at Reid Hall
12:00 - 13:00: Art History TD
14:00 - 16:00: Art History extra help course (every other week)
18:30 - 20:30: Art History lecture
Thursday:
Nothing! For real! No frisbee practice or anything! We might make it our salsa night, once people start getting their business together.
Friday:
14:00 - 15:00: Spanish lecture at Clignancourt
15:00 - 16:30: Spanish (Classic Version) at Clignancourt
So not too bad. It just sucks that my Mondays and Wednesdays are death. It meant that this week went by pretty quickly, which is nice. I hope that it keeps up, and I don't start stressing too much. Right now, I've just cleaned my room, I'm about to settle down to get all of my homework done that I have so far, and I have water with sirop de citron. Mmm.
Also, it's 7:00, which means dinner in an hour with all luck. I just heard my host mom come home, I think, so that's all you get for now! Bisous!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Frisbupdate:
So there's this girl Giovane, right? And she looks exactly like what Ruth would look like, if she were 100% Italian. She even started stalling me in Italian today! (uno... due... tre. I thought of you, Chris, if you read this!)
BUT THEN. We were both going for the disc, and now I have a fat lip where she smacked me in the face. I'm going to fetch something cold and take some Tylenol to help the swelling. Maybe.
Barghhh I don't want to look like Melanie Griffith!!!!!
Also, I had Spanish today, and I had 5 hours of class IN A ROW and I don't know if I'll survive Mondays. I'll tell you later, though.
BUT THEN. We were both going for the disc, and now I have a fat lip where she smacked me in the face. I'm going to fetch something cold and take some Tylenol to help the swelling. Maybe.
Barghhh I don't want to look like Melanie Griffith!!!!!
Also, I had Spanish today, and I had 5 hours of class IN A ROW and I don't know if I'll survive Mondays. I'll tell you later, though.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Guess what?
I bought a guitar! It is this one:
http://www.music123.com/Yamaha-JR1-Mini-Folk-Guitar-510692-i1146546.Music123
I love it muchly. I brought it to the Louvre today, which was a little bit of bad planning on my part. I had to check it with the coat guys, who were majorly hitting on us while we went to get our stuff afterward.
As neat as it was going to the Louvre for an art history lesson, it was kind of lame. Our professor was pretty condescending in a faux-sweet way. I'm glad I only have to see her once every two weeks.
Everything's going really well so far. The only thing that's bugging me is that I keep over-planning my days. I think that this has had a major impact on my sleeping schedules. Each night for the past 3 nights, I've dreamt about what I was going to do the next day, completely. Monday night, though, I remember dreaming that I went home for a day but I was trying to run around, get to frisbee practice on time, find the things in my room that I wanted to bring back to France, see everyone at Smith, and hang with the family. Somehow, my mom wound up at frisbee practice. It was really weird.
I think it might also have something to do with the fact that I've been using my computer in my bed. I think I should reserve my bed for only sleeptimes.
But it's hard! My desk is right by the window, and it gets so cold!
I'm going to try to go to sleep soon so I'm well rested for tomorrow. A bientot, tout le monde!
http://www.music123.com/Yamaha-JR1-Mini-Folk-Guitar-510692-i1146546.Music123
I love it muchly. I brought it to the Louvre today, which was a little bit of bad planning on my part. I had to check it with the coat guys, who were majorly hitting on us while we went to get our stuff afterward.
As neat as it was going to the Louvre for an art history lesson, it was kind of lame. Our professor was pretty condescending in a faux-sweet way. I'm glad I only have to see her once every two weeks.
Everything's going really well so far. The only thing that's bugging me is that I keep over-planning my days. I think that this has had a major impact on my sleeping schedules. Each night for the past 3 nights, I've dreamt about what I was going to do the next day, completely. Monday night, though, I remember dreaming that I went home for a day but I was trying to run around, get to frisbee practice on time, find the things in my room that I wanted to bring back to France, see everyone at Smith, and hang with the family. Somehow, my mom wound up at frisbee practice. It was really weird.
I think it might also have something to do with the fact that I've been using my computer in my bed. I think I should reserve my bed for only sleeptimes.
But it's hard! My desk is right by the window, and it gets so cold!
I'm going to try to go to sleep soon so I'm well rested for tomorrow. A bientot, tout le monde!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Doing laundry is always a good plan.
It seems that the dryer likes me today!
Also, I FINALLY bought pants here! I was in dire need of new pants. I bought them at the Monoprix, which vaguely ressembles a Target. Some are just supermarkets, some are supermarkets + clothing stores, some are really small essentials markets. In any case, I went to the one on Avenue des Champs-Elysees, which is basically 42nd Street but a lot more French. There's a movie theatre every couple buildings, car dealerships, gorgeous patisseries, and of course, McDonald's (or "Mack-doe", as they call it here). There's also a place called "Quick" which says, in English, "Fast hamburger restaurant".
I am never at a loss for amusing signs in English here. Yesterday, I saw a sign that said, "Alcool and stranger wine". I'm pretty sure they meant to translate it as "Alcohol and foreign wine".
I went to frisbee practice again this week. It's only Mondays and Tuesdays for now, while the hard-core players practice on Thursdays. Wednesdays are for super-beginners. I love how the French say "Ultimate". They call the sport "l'Ultimate", which is pronounced "lool-tee-MAYT". I made new friends: Emma (the Canadienne), Kevin (the Francais), Brilleu (which may or may not be how to spell his name), Giovane (easily Spanish or Italian), Kristin (the Amherst player), Jeff (the kid from GWU who's too competitive for my taste) Emery (the American who was quite taken with me at indoor practice), and Inga.
When I tell my Smithie friends about the people I'm meeting at ultimate, they get jealous because they haven't found any real groups that they feel a part of. That's what I love about ultimate frisbee: it's pretty much the same feeling everywhere. Spirit of the game is super important, everyone is ALWAYS late, but everyone works really hard for the team.
In other news, my blisters having blisters has gotten worse, and now my blisters' blisters have blisters. I could hardly walk today. We went to the Musée Carnavalet, which was all about the history of France and its people. It was really interesting, but I found it a little dry. It felt like a history lesson that I'd already had, but the building was stunning, as usual.
Afterward, Alix, Hannah, Rachel, and I went to a cute Israeli restaurant. They got bagels, and I got a mini veggie pizza with hot chocolate. SO GOOD. Alix and Hannah decided that we'd have to celebrate Rosh Hoshannah, so we went next door to check out the wine selection. No Manuschevitz, but there WAS Kedem! Woot!
We decided to walk home. Also a poor plan for my poor feet.
We walked along the yellow line 1. We were on the right, at stop Saint-Paul, and I had to walk all the way to the end, and then further along the blue line past Charles de Gaulle to Victor Hugo. It took about an hour, but it was a nice walk. I'm just worried about walking tomorrow, since my feet really are killing me. I may take a bath tonight. Mm, that sounds nice.
Tomorrow, we have our last official meeting of our orientation program. Mme Toumi (or just "Toumi" among us, pronounced "Too-mee") has us going on another jeu de piste (scavenger hunt) and will meet up with us afterward at the bar called "Deux Moulins", where Amelie went to in the movie Amelie! She also inferred to the fact that she may be sitting there drinking a bit while she waits for us to arrive.
On Saturday, we leave at 7:30 a.m. from Reid Hall to go to Chateau de la Loire. It'll take about 2 hours to get there. We're staying overnight, and we have lots of fun activities. Our first night there, we're having a fondue night for dinner.
Alright, I'm going to check on my laundry, take a bath, plan our course for tomorrow's scavenger hunt, and go to sleep! Good night, world!
Also, I FINALLY bought pants here! I was in dire need of new pants. I bought them at the Monoprix, which vaguely ressembles a Target. Some are just supermarkets, some are supermarkets + clothing stores, some are really small essentials markets. In any case, I went to the one on Avenue des Champs-Elysees, which is basically 42nd Street but a lot more French. There's a movie theatre every couple buildings, car dealerships, gorgeous patisseries, and of course, McDonald's (or "Mack-doe", as they call it here). There's also a place called "Quick" which says, in English, "Fast hamburger restaurant".
I am never at a loss for amusing signs in English here. Yesterday, I saw a sign that said, "Alcool and stranger wine". I'm pretty sure they meant to translate it as "Alcohol and foreign wine".
I went to frisbee practice again this week. It's only Mondays and Tuesdays for now, while the hard-core players practice on Thursdays. Wednesdays are for super-beginners. I love how the French say "Ultimate". They call the sport "l'Ultimate", which is pronounced "lool-tee-MAYT". I made new friends: Emma (the Canadienne), Kevin (the Francais), Brilleu (which may or may not be how to spell his name), Giovane (easily Spanish or Italian), Kristin (the Amherst player), Jeff (the kid from GWU who's too competitive for my taste) Emery (the American who was quite taken with me at indoor practice), and Inga.
When I tell my Smithie friends about the people I'm meeting at ultimate, they get jealous because they haven't found any real groups that they feel a part of. That's what I love about ultimate frisbee: it's pretty much the same feeling everywhere. Spirit of the game is super important, everyone is ALWAYS late, but everyone works really hard for the team.
In other news, my blisters having blisters has gotten worse, and now my blisters' blisters have blisters. I could hardly walk today. We went to the Musée Carnavalet, which was all about the history of France and its people. It was really interesting, but I found it a little dry. It felt like a history lesson that I'd already had, but the building was stunning, as usual.
Afterward, Alix, Hannah, Rachel, and I went to a cute Israeli restaurant. They got bagels, and I got a mini veggie pizza with hot chocolate. SO GOOD. Alix and Hannah decided that we'd have to celebrate Rosh Hoshannah, so we went next door to check out the wine selection. No Manuschevitz, but there WAS Kedem! Woot!
We decided to walk home. Also a poor plan for my poor feet.
We walked along the yellow line 1. We were on the right, at stop Saint-Paul, and I had to walk all the way to the end, and then further along the blue line past Charles de Gaulle to Victor Hugo. It took about an hour, but it was a nice walk. I'm just worried about walking tomorrow, since my feet really are killing me. I may take a bath tonight. Mm, that sounds nice.
Tomorrow, we have our last official meeting of our orientation program. Mme Toumi (or just "Toumi" among us, pronounced "Too-mee") has us going on another jeu de piste (scavenger hunt) and will meet up with us afterward at the bar called "Deux Moulins", where Amelie went to in the movie Amelie! She also inferred to the fact that she may be sitting there drinking a bit while she waits for us to arrive.
On Saturday, we leave at 7:30 a.m. from Reid Hall to go to Chateau de la Loire. It'll take about 2 hours to get there. We're staying overnight, and we have lots of fun activities. Our first night there, we're having a fondue night for dinner.
Alright, I'm going to check on my laundry, take a bath, plan our course for tomorrow's scavenger hunt, and go to sleep! Good night, world!
Monday, September 22, 2008
News brief!
- I went to find a ukulele or a guitar today. I had no luck in finding one within my price range, but my host dad is going to recommend a place for me tomorrow when he passes by music stores looking for something for Elise's cello.
- There really is no ABCDEFG in the music here! I asked the music store guy how a ukulele was tuned, and he said it in doremifasollatido speak. They don't assign letters to notes; only do-re-mi's!
- I COMPLETELY forgot about frisbee practice today until my host mom was serving dinner and told me to eat up because I'd be playing sport tonight. Oh lordy.
- Indoor was AWESOME. There were 8 of us, half-American, half-French. The old dude leading it, Emery, was super-cool and very taken with me. At the end of practice, he told me that I was a lot of fun to play with and he enjoyed having me. I met a kid named Jeff who goes to GWU and came to France to see his French lover, a kid named Brilleu? who is a lawyer, and I saw my Irish boy again WHO TOLD ME THAT THERE IS A UKULELE NIGHT AT A PUB SOMEWHERE!!! I think I am in love.
- My BLISTERS have blisters.
- I am so glad I found frisbee here.
REMINDER tomorrow the RER B may be closed because of strikes, so I have to find a new way to go to practice! It's the 3-hour practice which is sure to kick my ass, and my host mom bought me a sandwich in preparation for it. So cute!
- There really is no ABCDEFG in the music here! I asked the music store guy how a ukulele was tuned, and he said it in doremifasollatido speak. They don't assign letters to notes; only do-re-mi's!
- I COMPLETELY forgot about frisbee practice today until my host mom was serving dinner and told me to eat up because I'd be playing sport tonight. Oh lordy.
- Indoor was AWESOME. There were 8 of us, half-American, half-French. The old dude leading it, Emery, was super-cool and very taken with me. At the end of practice, he told me that I was a lot of fun to play with and he enjoyed having me. I met a kid named Jeff who goes to GWU and came to France to see his French lover, a kid named Brilleu? who is a lawyer, and I saw my Irish boy again WHO TOLD ME THAT THERE IS A UKULELE NIGHT AT A PUB SOMEWHERE!!! I think I am in love.
- My BLISTERS have blisters.
- I am so glad I found frisbee here.
REMINDER tomorrow the RER B may be closed because of strikes, so I have to find a new way to go to practice! It's the 3-hour practice which is sure to kick my ass, and my host mom bought me a sandwich in preparation for it. So cute!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Holy Jesus.
I JUST got back from frisbee practice.
That's right. It is MIDNIGHT.
IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD OMG I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR!
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.
THE BEGINNING. Okay. So I got back from the park with Hannah and Aarin at around 6:00. I got dressed, talked to my mom, got ready, and left an hour later. Before I left, I filled two water bottles, packed an apple, ate two little Mirabelles, and let my host mom coax me into bringing a sandwich that I'm pretty sure she bought for her real daughter. I got to practice EXACTLY at 8:30, when it started. I threw around with Hubert, the guy that I met yesterday. We ran SO GODDAMN MUCH. We ran around the track for the first 20 minutes, stretched, and then did running drills for the next half hour. Then, throwing practice with pairs of newbies/oldbies. I threw with a certain Mr. Benoit, who was surfer dude-esque and helped me with my throws. Then, we split off into groups based on skill level. I went into the newbie pile, since I didn't know where I fit. I met Marie, who lives by Gare du Nord like everyone else, Geraldine, Kellie, Lindsey, and KRISTIN???? Who played with Amherst??? What are the fucking odds of that??? And she said there are even more Amherst folk on the team, too!
That's what else. There WERE about 50 of us. We OWNED the stadium. I have never seen so many people on one team. It was definitely a lot more competitive than Lunadisc, but I assumed that from the start.
After throwing around, we broke into teams to scrimmage. At this point, I felt like I had bowling balls in my calves, which, if I jumped for the disc, held me flat down on the ground. Blisters were inevitably forming in my new cleats, my face was as red as a beet, and I was struggling to understand how to say certain terms in French.
Tomas helped me out a lot. I think he's some sort of captain, because he had a way of making his presence apparent. When I told him that I was studying here for the year, he said, "Oh, sweet!" Which is adorable, coming from a French person.
Anyway, we finished when the stadium lights turned off, which was at about 11:00. Oh! And I made a completed pass! Which led to a score! I called "poached" at the Australian guy when my girl wasn't marking me (do you know how hot an Australian accent is in French? I'm pretty sure it's a universally hot accent).
I left with this kid Vin (Vain? All I know is it's that horrible EUGHN sound that them French people make) and a couple others to walk to the RER station. When I switched trains, I ravenously took out my sandwich and chugged down both bottles of water. I can't believe that I hadn't eaten since noon! That's friggin CRAZY.
And now, I have dinner waiting on the stove, a bath that's calling my name as loud as the dickens, and I'm so afraid to get up for fear that my legs will just SEIZE. I nearly cried in pain while going down the stairs to the metro. I heard the horrible ring of the train about to leave, and I jumped on just before the doors closed. I must have looked such a mess, but it felt SO good to sit down. The two blocks from my metro station were pure torture. I'm glad I didn't decide to take the metro stop further from the apartment.
OH! I figured out what was wrong with my computer charger!!! It was the converter!! I never NEEDED the converter! I just needed the adapter, but I didn't know that my plug fit in it! YAHOOOOOOO ENDLESS COMPUTER PARTY TIME!!!!
So I'll be up for at least the next hour for shower, dinner, and homework, in that order. Bonne nuit, mes amis!
P.S. A monsieur G.T. Meliado has yet to make his presence on this blog. He should get on it ASAP.
That's right. It is MIDNIGHT.
IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD OMG I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR!
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.
THE BEGINNING. Okay. So I got back from the park with Hannah and Aarin at around 6:00. I got dressed, talked to my mom, got ready, and left an hour later. Before I left, I filled two water bottles, packed an apple, ate two little Mirabelles, and let my host mom coax me into bringing a sandwich that I'm pretty sure she bought for her real daughter. I got to practice EXACTLY at 8:30, when it started. I threw around with Hubert, the guy that I met yesterday. We ran SO GODDAMN MUCH. We ran around the track for the first 20 minutes, stretched, and then did running drills for the next half hour. Then, throwing practice with pairs of newbies/oldbies. I threw with a certain Mr. Benoit, who was surfer dude-esque and helped me with my throws. Then, we split off into groups based on skill level. I went into the newbie pile, since I didn't know where I fit. I met Marie, who lives by Gare du Nord like everyone else, Geraldine, Kellie, Lindsey, and KRISTIN???? Who played with Amherst??? What are the fucking odds of that??? And she said there are even more Amherst folk on the team, too!
That's what else. There WERE about 50 of us. We OWNED the stadium. I have never seen so many people on one team. It was definitely a lot more competitive than Lunadisc, but I assumed that from the start.
After throwing around, we broke into teams to scrimmage. At this point, I felt like I had bowling balls in my calves, which, if I jumped for the disc, held me flat down on the ground. Blisters were inevitably forming in my new cleats, my face was as red as a beet, and I was struggling to understand how to say certain terms in French.
Tomas helped me out a lot. I think he's some sort of captain, because he had a way of making his presence apparent. When I told him that I was studying here for the year, he said, "Oh, sweet!" Which is adorable, coming from a French person.
Anyway, we finished when the stadium lights turned off, which was at about 11:00. Oh! And I made a completed pass! Which led to a score! I called "poached" at the Australian guy when my girl wasn't marking me (do you know how hot an Australian accent is in French? I'm pretty sure it's a universally hot accent).
I left with this kid Vin (Vain? All I know is it's that horrible EUGHN sound that them French people make) and a couple others to walk to the RER station. When I switched trains, I ravenously took out my sandwich and chugged down both bottles of water. I can't believe that I hadn't eaten since noon! That's friggin CRAZY.
And now, I have dinner waiting on the stove, a bath that's calling my name as loud as the dickens, and I'm so afraid to get up for fear that my legs will just SEIZE. I nearly cried in pain while going down the stairs to the metro. I heard the horrible ring of the train about to leave, and I jumped on just before the doors closed. I must have looked such a mess, but it felt SO good to sit down. The two blocks from my metro station were pure torture. I'm glad I didn't decide to take the metro stop further from the apartment.
OH! I figured out what was wrong with my computer charger!!! It was the converter!! I never NEEDED the converter! I just needed the adapter, but I didn't know that my plug fit in it! YAHOOOOOOO ENDLESS COMPUTER PARTY TIME!!!!
So I'll be up for at least the next hour for shower, dinner, and homework, in that order. Bonne nuit, mes amis!
P.S. A monsieur G.T. Meliado has yet to make his presence on this blog. He should get on it ASAP.
J'ai toujours besoin d'une sieste.
Bonjour, tout le monde! I am at Reid hall, waiting for our excursion to the Senate.
Whoaz! A girl named Sarah just came into the computer room. She just said that she was a student that studied here two years ago, and now she's working as an English teacher here! AND she had the same family that I have now! Exciting!
So my weekend was WICKED awesome. Friday, I just chilled.. I think. The days are all kind of mushing together. That was the night we saw A bout de souffle. Then Saturday, I chilled most of the day, until nighttime when Rebecca, Hannah, Abby, and I went out to dinner. I had a thin crepe filled with cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It was like a pizza. Friggin awesome.
Afterward, we went to see the Eiffel Tower. Hannah NEEDED a street waffle, and I wound up getting a chocolate ice cream cone. We sat by the Seine to wait for the Eiffel Tower to do the sparkle shiny show. It was astonishing, as usual. While it was sparkling, we walked under it to see what it looked like from underneath. I felt like I could get an epileptic seizure from looking at the light patterns zoom by all around us.
Then, we stayed to watch four breakdancers do their thing. They were pretty awesome.
Sunday, we tried to visit Versailles. It took two hours to get there, whereas it would've taken a half hour, if we had taken the right trains. Paris transportation is still a mystery to me. Then, when we tried to get into the castle, we saw that there was a long line just to get in. We wound up just picnicking outside of the castle and people-watching, which was also very nice.
We didn't get to go into the gardens by the castle either, since we had to pay to get in (though we later found out that there are free entrances all around). Instead, we walked to a nearby park. It was GORGEOUS. We had a photo shoot and took a sieste on the grass.
I had my first ultimate experience, which was crazy. It took about an hour to get to the practice space, and when I got there, there were only two other guys there. They said that their coach wasn't there yet, so they weren't sure what to do. Luckily, I was the only one who brought a disc, so we threw around for awhile and ran some drills. I even taught them a go-to drill that they didn't know! Tonight, I think Aarin is going to come with me to practice. This is the real deal. Hubert said that there'd be about 50 of us tonight. I'm kind of nervous, since practice starts at 8:30, and I eat at 8. I feel bad about leaving my family hanging, but hopefully they'll understand.
I'm going to retire for a couple minutes in these wonderful chairs and take a quick nap before heading out for a tour of the Senate. J'espère que tout va bien, mes amis!
OH and I got mail today and that makes me really happy, so it should keep happening, okay?
Whoaz! A girl named Sarah just came into the computer room. She just said that she was a student that studied here two years ago, and now she's working as an English teacher here! AND she had the same family that I have now! Exciting!
So my weekend was WICKED awesome. Friday, I just chilled.. I think. The days are all kind of mushing together. That was the night we saw A bout de souffle. Then Saturday, I chilled most of the day, until nighttime when Rebecca, Hannah, Abby, and I went out to dinner. I had a thin crepe filled with cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It was like a pizza. Friggin awesome.
Afterward, we went to see the Eiffel Tower. Hannah NEEDED a street waffle, and I wound up getting a chocolate ice cream cone. We sat by the Seine to wait for the Eiffel Tower to do the sparkle shiny show. It was astonishing, as usual. While it was sparkling, we walked under it to see what it looked like from underneath. I felt like I could get an epileptic seizure from looking at the light patterns zoom by all around us.
Then, we stayed to watch four breakdancers do their thing. They were pretty awesome.
Sunday, we tried to visit Versailles. It took two hours to get there, whereas it would've taken a half hour, if we had taken the right trains. Paris transportation is still a mystery to me. Then, when we tried to get into the castle, we saw that there was a long line just to get in. We wound up just picnicking outside of the castle and people-watching, which was also very nice.
We didn't get to go into the gardens by the castle either, since we had to pay to get in (though we later found out that there are free entrances all around). Instead, we walked to a nearby park. It was GORGEOUS. We had a photo shoot and took a sieste on the grass.
I had my first ultimate experience, which was crazy. It took about an hour to get to the practice space, and when I got there, there were only two other guys there. They said that their coach wasn't there yet, so they weren't sure what to do. Luckily, I was the only one who brought a disc, so we threw around for awhile and ran some drills. I even taught them a go-to drill that they didn't know! Tonight, I think Aarin is going to come with me to practice. This is the real deal. Hubert said that there'd be about 50 of us tonight. I'm kind of nervous, since practice starts at 8:30, and I eat at 8. I feel bad about leaving my family hanging, but hopefully they'll understand.
I'm going to retire for a couple minutes in these wonderful chairs and take a quick nap before heading out for a tour of the Senate. J'espère que tout va bien, mes amis!
OH and I got mail today and that makes me really happy, so it should keep happening, okay?
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