Today was my first day of classes. This week, however, is limited to something called propedeutique, which is basically a series of intense review sessions concerning nothing but French language and grammar. Luckily they are quite simple and the two hours pass quickly. Afterwards, I enjoyed a cafe au lait with a couple of girls from IES.
Note on people on the IES program: I know, I know... everyone who had done this program before warned me. Don't expect to make a lot of friends at IES. Well, I thought they were simply afraid to take risks to get to know people better. Now, allow me to say that despite my having been here a mere week, they were right. Where does IES find these people?? Anyway, I am lucky to have Kiley around as well as a few girlfriends from highschool on other programs and several girls in my actual program. Of course my resolution is to get friendly with some French monseiurs as well but so far I have not had much of a chance to attempt this.
Yesterday I spent a brief period of time in the Marais district (will promptly return for people watching, challah nomming, and fripping--thrift store shopping). It was lovely. Packed, too, as I was there on a Sunday. I stopped by Kusmi Tea which is basically designer tea but I couldn't help myself. Later Carol and I had some Chinese dumplings in the Belleville area which is somewhat sketchy but loaded with cheap and delicious Asian eateries. After Carol departed, I spent an hour or two in a nearby park, Buttes Chaumant. It was popular and I saw that people in Paris actually do work out (there were a lot of joggers). There were also a ton of couples with baby strollers, couples walking hand in hand, couples sitting on benches, groups of friends smoking, older people playing cards in the grass, and a few stragglers, of course. I felt a bit like one of them until I located a lovely grassy hill upon which I sat for a good hour.
I saw a lady walking a cat on a leash!!!! Kitty and the City.
Yes, it is January. But the weather here has been incredible since I've arrived, hardly dropping into the 30s, and often in the low 50s. I know it won't last so I've been taking advantage.
Speaking of taking advantage of spending time outdoors, I spent another good hour wandering through Cimitiere Montparnasse on my own today. After my morning course, I had four hours to kill and whereas the bartenders will allow you to sit with your cafe for an hour, four is really pushing it. So I accidentally wandered into the cemetery. It was beautiful and large and ancient and interspersed with "Famille X" and "Famille Y" were graves of people like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simon de Beauvoir. I located the aforementioned grave and sat and journaled for a while. I can tell I am going to be spending a substantial amount of time alone this semester, but I am really looking forward to it.
In general, I feel more at ease every day and actually already felt sad that I would eventually have to leave this incredible city. But that's like being sad about eventually dying when you're still alive. So I am working on soaking up every minute of my time here because eventually it will all have passed me by.
A few lessons for those of you who have never been to Paris: The cliches are true--men, women, and children walk/scooter the streets with baguettes tucked under their arms. It's adorable and hilarious. It's true that people wear mostly black and make out in public all the time. I actually don't mind it at all, except that it makes me kind of jealous. Instead of saying "bonne nuit" for "have a good night," everyone says "bon soiree" because apparently "bonne nuit" is something you only say to your sweetheart before you roll over to sleep (I learned this after telling a bartender this very thing upon exiting his bar). And instead of "bon soiree" people say "bon courage" which basically means "good luck." I don't know why they're constantly wishing each other luck but why the hell not. One thing I really need to work on is to stop smiling at strangers. Nobody does that here, and my inability to unlearn my friendly Seattlite behavior costs me my Parisian camouflage.
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