Day 4

Bonjour,

Yes, I know I skipped day 3, but it really wasn't eventful and I thought it would not be very interesting...

Anywho, yesterday was similar to Thursday, so if you really want to know what I did, read the post for day 2 ;)  Last night, though, I saw that Nicole has some books in French that I have read in English, so I'm trying to read them. I don't know what alot of word mean, but because I know the storyline and I'm reading slowly, I can figure out what is going on in the story (for the most part). Granted, I've only gotten to page 20 or so...

Today was a bit different. I got up at 8 in the morning so that I could go to Market with Nicole. That was pretty interesting. I've been to markets like it in the US, but it's not quite the same. The meat selection, for one thing, is quite amazing. Liver, cow tongue, skinned and gutted (but the liver or something was left in) rabbits with their heads still attached and eyes still in, and much much more. Then there was the typical stuff - vegetables, fruits, bread (though, again much more bread than I have typically seen in the states). It's the kind of market that has been around for years and years and is a very cultural thing in France, but in America it's just starting to come in (perhaps 'back in'). Anywho, it was quite interesting. Nicole is very conscious of the use of pesticides and other chemical sprays, so she buys what is called 'bio' fruits and vegetables. From what I can tell, it would be the same as organic in the States.

After market, we went for a walk, then heated up some leftovers for lunch. After lunch we relaxed on her back porch (I dozed for about an hour) then Mimi came to get me to go to her place for the night. Since I'll be riding the bus to school, we decided to find the bus stop I would walk to, wait for the bus, and then drive behind it to the transfer, wait for that bus and drive behind that one to the school. It's about half an hour total - pas mal (not bad).


Mimi and Edgard had some friends over for dinner, so I got to meet them. They were all very nice and even though I couldn't understand most of what was going on, it was very interesting to listen and watch. One thing is for sure, I have eaten very well since coming and in some ways I've been eating too much. I don't know if it's from the difference in food and cooking, that I'm eating so much, that I'm uptight, or a combination of all three, but I rarely feel hungry and my stomach has been a bit unsettled. Oh well...

Well, I'm going to watch White Collar ( in French) now, so until later...

Day 2

Oh la la, qu'ai-je me mettre en? what did I get myself into... (I may throw in some French words, but I can't promise they are used correctly, grammatically or otherwise, or spelled correctly, though I am using references to double check at times).

Well, the regret of not studying French before coming is definitly setting in. I am now living with Nicole (spent the night here last night) and though she is very nice and patient and trying to help and explain things to me, I feel so inadequate. We can communicate decently well. She is purposefully speaking mostly French, but she will translate sometimes. I know that this is good and that it will help me learn better and faster, but it's very intimidating. I just have to remember to take a deep breath, focus and absorb as much as possible. It's quite tiring, though, and I find that I often want to take a nap when I use/listen/try to communicate in French. Peut-être (possibly) this is also because of the time change, but I've found that I've adjusted pretty well, as long as I don't have to get up really early. I do need to start getting up earlier, though, so I can get up in time for school.

Deep Breath

Myriam brought me over to Nicole's à sept heures quinze (at about 7:15 last evening). She helped me bring my things in (Elle m'aide donner dans mes choses), expained the alarm system, and explained what my gifts for Nicole were (Wind chimes from the Dayton Farmer's market, homemade jam, and pepper with lavander and a recipie to use with lavander from the White Oak Lavander Farm - for those who are interested). She left after that (I won't see her again till Samedi après-midi  - Saturday afternoon- but I can call her if I need to) and I started unpacking my things (mes choses). À huit heures nous avons mangé (at 8 we ate) and we talked, or at least tried to. It was nearly 10:30 (dix heures trente) by the time we finished and I went downstairs. I believe she went to bed. I continued to unpack and organize, then called ma famille et mes grandparents (both sides). I went to bed soon after.


Today I was a hot mess when I woke up. Anxiety ablaze, I showered and dressed, putting off going upstairs as long as possible. I finally went up at 11:30, ate some breakfast and then went back downstairs to continue to organize my things (it sounds like I've spent alot of time doing this, but in reality, I've only had short moments to unpack, so it's not taking quite as long as it sounds). À treize heures (1 pm) we ate déjeuner (lunch), then we sat on her back porch with some café et chocolat. Après, nous avon lire (after, we read). She has some books that have English on one page and the French translation on the other that she is letting me use. It's difficult to understand the French, but I am picking up some things. I read the French first, then the English, and then the French again. C'est très fatigant (It is very tiring).

Well, it's seven and I think we are going to be eating soon, so until I am able to get on the internet again...

Day 1

Good Morning Everyone.

Well, I would have liked to sleep in a bit longer, but figured I should start getting my body used to my new time zone, so 10:30 it is but it feels like 4:30 ;)

I slept decently well (of course you all want to know that), and fell asleep shortly after posting my blog last night (of which I updated today - forgot some pictures and found some other mistakes). Had breakfast and another lazy morning. Pretty soon lazy mornings will be a thing of past - at least until school is out...

Plans for the day: shower, shopping (just groceries), lunch, visit the school, gather my things, and move into Nicole's house (Eeks!). I don't know what my internet access will be at her place, as I would need to plug in with an ethernet cord, hence the pre-update of my day.

Until I get on again...

Arrivée

Bonjour!
I've had a very pleasant and lazy day in Rungis (in the suburbs of Paris). Both of my flights went well. For my first flight I had the pleasant surprise of being moved from my original seat and placed next to one of the emergency exits. It was still a window seat (yay!) but now I had much more leg room. Taking off at night showed off the lights of Washington DC at their best as they became a sparkling array of intricate patterns beneath me. Over the ocean, all was dark, and we parted with the North American Coast with the farewell of the never sleeping New York City. I dozed off and on, but for the most part found it difficult to sleep. I can't say it was all for the worst, though, as I was awake to see the sun slowly light up the clouds, first with spots of red that melded into a landscape of orange and pink at the horizon of a mirror smooth blue-gray sky. Watching the texture of the clouds emerge filled my last hour or so of flight. The landscape became more and more varied in terrain, resembling first the slight wind ripples on the surface of the water. Then the wind-blown surface of a desert. Now an endless series of waves waiting to crash on the shore, frozen in place just as they began to break. Lastly, the hills and knobs covered in rippling prairie grass. We finally plunged through the surface of the clouds and were emersed in a grey, gloomy, blind world for far longer than I expected, to emerge into a still grey, still gloomy, but no longer blind reality of Iceland. Granted, it was 6:15 AM their time, so we'll give them a pass on the lack of sunshine ;)

My layover was fairly short and uneventful. I passed through customs, as Iceland is part of the European Common Market, and walked to my gate. We boarded, and I must admit, I slept through most of this flight. Well, slept may be a bit of an exageration. It was more a series of light dozes, interspersed with offers of water from flight attendants and thoughts of aching knees. Once at Charles De Gaulle airport, I only had to wait for my luggage to be unloaded and then I walked through the exit to see Mimi waiting for me.

She drove me back to her place where we ate a breakfast/lunch (depending on how you want to look at it). I showered, took a short nap, had tea and cookies, and met Nicole, whom I will be living with for the next several weeks. She is a quite lovely woman and I anticipate learning much from her about the language and culture. I was very excited to note that though I could not fully follow Mimi and Nicole's conversation, I could pick out words I knew and distinguish words and phrases, even if I wasn't entirely sure what those words meant. Not too bad for my first day, and an exhausting one at that. Let's hope it holds true and I make progress in leaps and bounds these next few weeks. I will be quite proud of myself if I can hold my own in a conversation by the end of the first session of classes.

One can be ambitious, no?...

After nap, drinking tea

Tea and cookies

Finishing Preparations

This past year has been one of preparation and anticipation. Saving, saving, saving for France. Trying to see all the people I will miss this next year (sorry, didn't get to everyone). Working, experiencing, and growing. Not working on my limited French skills... - Oops, but not surprising. Conversations with Mimi about ideas and options to learn, live, and volunteer.
Bags are basically packed, Visa and Passport are in my purse... now it's time to mentally prepare for the big changes that are undoubtably about to come. What better way to do this than the distraction (or really, lack there of) of going skydiving with a good friend. Quite the way to leave the US with a bang, right?
Well, sort of. I still have a week and that's plenty of time for roller coaster rides of anxiety and excitement.

For those who aren't familiar with my plans for the next year, I'll be living in France from August 27th till sometime next July. My aunt Myriam (or Mimi) lives there and has been wonderful in finding opportunities for me to volunteer and places to live. For the first 4ish months, I will be taking language classes at Les Cèdres in Massy. That will be 20 hours of classes and 10 hours of homework a week (yipee). After that, I'll be helping with an organization that Mimi has connections to. This will involve many different things, all of which I'm not even sure of. I do know that I'll be working with school children/teens when they are on holiday. I'm also hoping to do some traveling in France and around Europe since I'm there, so we'll see how things go. 

Till my next post...