Just a picture from my walk with Mimi yesterday!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Halfway through the first session of school...
Well, hello again. Going to be a short post this week. Sorry, kind of let time get away from me. But I have pictures!
So, this week has been a good one for the most part. I finally got all the official stuff with the Immigration Office done, after 3 visits... At least everytime I had to go back it got easier and less stressful.
Wednesday morning some of the female students at the school had a tea party - that was really nice and gave us a chance to talk and connect in a different way. I'm thinking that I would like to move onto campus for the second session because I'll be able to participate in more things if I do that. And, I'll have more access to the internet, so maybe I'll be able to post a bit more often :)
Saturday, after lunch, I came to Mimi's for the night. It's always nice to come here and spend time with her... We just relaxed and talked and stuff like that. Today, we went to church and then to market and after that we went for a nice walk at a park. It's been a pretty good day, I think. Anyways, pictures below and till next week!
So, this week has been a good one for the most part. I finally got all the official stuff with the Immigration Office done, after 3 visits... At least everytime I had to go back it got easier and less stressful.
Wednesday morning some of the female students at the school had a tea party - that was really nice and gave us a chance to talk and connect in a different way. I'm thinking that I would like to move onto campus for the second session because I'll be able to participate in more things if I do that. And, I'll have more access to the internet, so maybe I'll be able to post a bit more often :)
Saturday, after lunch, I came to Mimi's for the night. It's always nice to come here and spend time with her... We just relaxed and talked and stuff like that. Today, we went to church and then to market and after that we went for a nice walk at a park. It's been a pretty good day, I think. Anyways, pictures below and till next week!
First, a couple of pictures of the school
And some of the tea party (sorry, not really of people...)
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Learning to let things go...
Well, I just finished my 3rd week of classes and have now been in France for 3 and 1/2 weeks. Whew... This week has been one of many great and many stressful things. Monday was Monday as usual. I went to school, went back to Nicole's, did some homework, ate supper, etc. Tuesday was a bit different. It was both stressful and relaxing.
First off, some background info: Because I am in France for more than three months, I have to register with the immigration office (OFII) and pay a tax - which I can pay in a Bureau du Tabac (which, if you didn't catch, is a tobacco store - among other things). Tuesday after school I went to a Bureau du Tabac and they couldn't process the tax for me. I bit later, I went to another one close to the school and they couldn't process it either. I was a bit stressed out because I didn't know where I was going to be able to pay this tax before my appointment on Thursday. Thankfully, I have a wonderful aunt who figured it out for me on Wednesday. After walking around doing that, I had a very enjoyable evening with other students at a potluck we had at the school. It started at 6:30 and I had intended to leave at 8/8:30 but then we played a game (yes, I actually participated and I had no idea what I was getting into - so no pictures of the game, but I do have some pictures of the food...), then had dessert, and then I had a great conversation with Annina. So, I didn't end up leaving till about 9:15. I then had to wait 20 minutes for the first bus, then another 15 for the second, so it took me about an hour to get back to Nicole's... Yeah, probably not the most prudent thing I've done - traveling at night, by myself, in not well lit areas... But, everything was fine - I was very aware of my surroundings and took any precautions that I could.
For those who are interested, for the game, we sat in two lines, facing each other and were numbered off so that our counterpart was the person across from us. There was a tennis ball in the middle of us, along with 4 batons made out of rolled up newspaper. The 'referee' called out two numbers and those four people ran to the middle and tried to get the ball to hit their wall (each line had a specific direction). It was a lot of fun, and apparently I can be quite aggressive, as can Annina, who was my counterpart. Oh, well. I mean, we may have been aggressive, but we were not mean or at any risk of hurting anyone, we just really got into it :)
Wednesday was an interesting day. I was stressed about my appointment with OFII the next day and I was physically carrying that all day. I went to market with Nicole, made lunch, took a nap (well, tried to but my nerves were so on edge that it was more that I just couldn't seem to do anything other than just lie there), did some homework, baked a cake, ate dinner and watched some French TV with Nicole.
Thursday I went to school like normal, but left before lunch to meet Mimi at La Croix de Berny RER (train) stop. She then took me to the OFII office and helped me figure out how I would get home from there. I was so uptight about this (Mimi definitly picked up on it), but once things got started and the people I interacted with were nice to me, I relaxed quite a bit. I do have to go back this Wednesday because I needed another paper which I didn't realized I would need. So hopefully, after Wednesday, I will be done with all the 'official' stuff I need to do to be here. And, as Mimi reminded me, the worst thing that could happen is I have to go home early, which is not what I want, but really isn't all that bad in the long run.
On my way home, I had a bit of trouble finding the RER station I wanted, but that resulted in a very positive experience in asking for direction completely in French!!! I'm sure my French was not very good, but the person I asked was really nice and made sure I knew where I was going. Yeah!
Friday, after school I went home with a couple (two other students in their fifties) for dinner and ended up spending the night. I had a really good time, but it's nice to be at Mimi's relaxing today (even though Mimi and Edgard are in Barcelona - hope they are having a wonderful time!). Tomorrow afternoon I'll go back to Nicole's and the week will start again... It's been an interesting couple of weeks of classes because I am having to learn how to change my mindset about taking classes. All my life I've just gone to school, done my homework, etc... but it never really felt like it was just for me. There were all these expectations and grades and stresses. Here, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm taking the classes for me. That they can be fun and that grades don't matter, there are no other expectations than what I decide I want out of class. It's rather freeing, when I can get there.
Everyday is a day of new stresses and having to learn to just let them go. I've always been one to worry about appearances and about the others around me, so much so that it can hinder my own ability to just be me. I think this year it is going to challenge this quite a bit. It will be interesting to see how exactly it does that.
Anyways, below are some pictures... Enjoy!
First off, some background info: Because I am in France for more than three months, I have to register with the immigration office (OFII) and pay a tax - which I can pay in a Bureau du Tabac (which, if you didn't catch, is a tobacco store - among other things). Tuesday after school I went to a Bureau du Tabac and they couldn't process the tax for me. I bit later, I went to another one close to the school and they couldn't process it either. I was a bit stressed out because I didn't know where I was going to be able to pay this tax before my appointment on Thursday. Thankfully, I have a wonderful aunt who figured it out for me on Wednesday. After walking around doing that, I had a very enjoyable evening with other students at a potluck we had at the school. It started at 6:30 and I had intended to leave at 8/8:30 but then we played a game (yes, I actually participated and I had no idea what I was getting into - so no pictures of the game, but I do have some pictures of the food...), then had dessert, and then I had a great conversation with Annina. So, I didn't end up leaving till about 9:15. I then had to wait 20 minutes for the first bus, then another 15 for the second, so it took me about an hour to get back to Nicole's... Yeah, probably not the most prudent thing I've done - traveling at night, by myself, in not well lit areas... But, everything was fine - I was very aware of my surroundings and took any precautions that I could.
For those who are interested, for the game, we sat in two lines, facing each other and were numbered off so that our counterpart was the person across from us. There was a tennis ball in the middle of us, along with 4 batons made out of rolled up newspaper. The 'referee' called out two numbers and those four people ran to the middle and tried to get the ball to hit their wall (each line had a specific direction). It was a lot of fun, and apparently I can be quite aggressive, as can Annina, who was my counterpart. Oh, well. I mean, we may have been aggressive, but we were not mean or at any risk of hurting anyone, we just really got into it :)
Wednesday was an interesting day. I was stressed about my appointment with OFII the next day and I was physically carrying that all day. I went to market with Nicole, made lunch, took a nap (well, tried to but my nerves were so on edge that it was more that I just couldn't seem to do anything other than just lie there), did some homework, baked a cake, ate dinner and watched some French TV with Nicole.
Thursday I went to school like normal, but left before lunch to meet Mimi at La Croix de Berny RER (train) stop. She then took me to the OFII office and helped me figure out how I would get home from there. I was so uptight about this (Mimi definitly picked up on it), but once things got started and the people I interacted with were nice to me, I relaxed quite a bit. I do have to go back this Wednesday because I needed another paper which I didn't realized I would need. So hopefully, after Wednesday, I will be done with all the 'official' stuff I need to do to be here. And, as Mimi reminded me, the worst thing that could happen is I have to go home early, which is not what I want, but really isn't all that bad in the long run.
On my way home, I had a bit of trouble finding the RER station I wanted, but that resulted in a very positive experience in asking for direction completely in French!!! I'm sure my French was not very good, but the person I asked was really nice and made sure I knew where I was going. Yeah!
Friday, after school I went home with a couple (two other students in their fifties) for dinner and ended up spending the night. I had a really good time, but it's nice to be at Mimi's relaxing today (even though Mimi and Edgard are in Barcelona - hope they are having a wonderful time!). Tomorrow afternoon I'll go back to Nicole's and the week will start again... It's been an interesting couple of weeks of classes because I am having to learn how to change my mindset about taking classes. All my life I've just gone to school, done my homework, etc... but it never really felt like it was just for me. There were all these expectations and grades and stresses. Here, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm taking the classes for me. That they can be fun and that grades don't matter, there are no other expectations than what I decide I want out of class. It's rather freeing, when I can get there.
Everyday is a day of new stresses and having to learn to just let them go. I've always been one to worry about appearances and about the others around me, so much so that it can hinder my own ability to just be me. I think this year it is going to challenge this quite a bit. It will be interesting to see how exactly it does that.
Anyways, below are some pictures... Enjoy!
First, some pictures from the Bateau Mouche
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower and two of the statues garding the Pont Alexander III Bridge
Le Pont des Arts Bridge. Those are all padlocks put on the bridge by couples as a testimony of their everlasting love. Makes for a very unique look.
The Notre Dame
Here are some pictures from the Potluck!
And lastly, here are some pictures of my dessert Friday night! It was delicious. I don't remember what it was called, but we bought it at a local patisserie. Yes, I will admit that I ate the whole thing (minus a couple of bites that the others took to try it).
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Coat!
Link to a music video of New Gospel Family!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO5fovbAr20&list=WL237031FFFD616808
And here are a couple pictures of my coat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO5fovbAr20&list=WL237031FFFD616808
And here are a couple pictures of my coat!
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It has a hood!
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The lining is sooooo soft. It's quite comfortable and warm. Very good investment, I think...
And a picture of me with Mimi shopping at Lafayette Accessories
And a picture of me with Mimi shopping at Lafayette Accessories
Rooms...
Hello all,
Here are some pictures of where I am staying... Not the most interesting of picures, but I thought someone might be interested...
Here are some pictures of where I am staying... Not the most interesting of picures, but I thought someone might be interested...
My bed at Mimi's - in her office (the desk is past the foot of the bed)
My room at Nicole's - in the basement, so it can get pretty cold, but with a down comforter, a fleece blanket, and warm pj's, I'm set
My bathroom at Nicole's - The toilet is off the left-hand side of the picture. Yes that is my shower - you sit on the raised section and hold the shower head. It works quite well, though you can't really get warm will taking a shower this way...but that means you take a shorter shower and use much less water, right?
Lazy Saturday... good day to buy a coat
Bonjour!
Well, I've survived my first full week of classes... I think that it was a very good idea of Mimi's for me to take classes this first while that I'm here. It gives me people to connect with and a purpose for right now. At the same time it makes for long days and I'm so tired by the time I get home from school, let alone by the time evening comes...
I didn't say last time, but my day starts pretty early (for me). I get up at 6:30, get ready, leave the house by 7:25 to catch the bus (well, buses), get to school by 8 (I prefer to get there early, because if something happens and I end up getting there later than normal, hopefully I will still be on time). If I leave school right away, I can get home by 4:30/5 but if I stay a bit later, I don't get home till 5:30/6. I'm usually really tired, so I take a short nap (30 minutes), work a bit on homework, try to help prepare dinner and then we eat at 7:45/8 pm. By the time we finish eating and clean-up, it's 9/9:30 and I usually still have homework or other things to do, then I shower, get everything ready and laid out for the morning, call home, and go to bed sometime between 11 and 12. Hehe... yeah... Oh, well. I've started doing some of my homework at school during the lunch break and that helps quite a bit.
This past Wednesday the school organized a trip into Paris to ride a Bateau Mouche, a boat that goes up and down the Seine River with someone giving information about the monuments, buildings and bridges you pass along the way. It was quite fun, but was much more tiring than I expected it to be. I had gotten up to go to market with Nicole, so I did sleep in, but not much. I left at 12:30 to get to the school and we left there at 1:30. By the time I got back to Nicole's that afternoon, it was 6 and I was exhausted. I ended up taking about an hour nap (by accident, but I guess I needed it). Anyways, Wednesday was a great day to take pictures, right? Except I forgot to bring my camera - of, course. Oh, well. I'll have other opportunities to take pictures of Paris and one of the other students said she could send me a few pictures through email, so I'll post those once I get them.
I'm at Mimi's this weekend, again. This time Mimi is actually here :), although Edgard is gone. Today has been a lazy day. I slept in a bit, we went grocery shopping and just a little bit of fun shopping. I bought a coat (didn't think I would buy one quite so soon, but I really liked this one and it was at a store that only has one or two of the same item and they only had one of these coats, so...). I really like. It was made in Italy, it's dark green and looks like suede (but isn't) and the inside lining is really soft and warm faux fur. Once I get a picture of me in it, I'll post it.
A friend of Mimi's is coming over for the afternoon and we'll go to church and market tomorrow, but other than that, I think it will be a pretty lazy weekend. It's a good weekend for that, as it's quite dreary and rainy outside...
Well, I've survived my first full week of classes... I think that it was a very good idea of Mimi's for me to take classes this first while that I'm here. It gives me people to connect with and a purpose for right now. At the same time it makes for long days and I'm so tired by the time I get home from school, let alone by the time evening comes...
I didn't say last time, but my day starts pretty early (for me). I get up at 6:30, get ready, leave the house by 7:25 to catch the bus (well, buses), get to school by 8 (I prefer to get there early, because if something happens and I end up getting there later than normal, hopefully I will still be on time). If I leave school right away, I can get home by 4:30/5 but if I stay a bit later, I don't get home till 5:30/6. I'm usually really tired, so I take a short nap (30 minutes), work a bit on homework, try to help prepare dinner and then we eat at 7:45/8 pm. By the time we finish eating and clean-up, it's 9/9:30 and I usually still have homework or other things to do, then I shower, get everything ready and laid out for the morning, call home, and go to bed sometime between 11 and 12. Hehe... yeah... Oh, well. I've started doing some of my homework at school during the lunch break and that helps quite a bit.
This past Wednesday the school organized a trip into Paris to ride a Bateau Mouche, a boat that goes up and down the Seine River with someone giving information about the monuments, buildings and bridges you pass along the way. It was quite fun, but was much more tiring than I expected it to be. I had gotten up to go to market with Nicole, so I did sleep in, but not much. I left at 12:30 to get to the school and we left there at 1:30. By the time I got back to Nicole's that afternoon, it was 6 and I was exhausted. I ended up taking about an hour nap (by accident, but I guess I needed it). Anyways, Wednesday was a great day to take pictures, right? Except I forgot to bring my camera - of, course. Oh, well. I'll have other opportunities to take pictures of Paris and one of the other students said she could send me a few pictures through email, so I'll post those once I get them.
I'm at Mimi's this weekend, again. This time Mimi is actually here :), although Edgard is gone. Today has been a lazy day. I slept in a bit, we went grocery shopping and just a little bit of fun shopping. I bought a coat (didn't think I would buy one quite so soon, but I really liked this one and it was at a store that only has one or two of the same item and they only had one of these coats, so...). I really like. It was made in Italy, it's dark green and looks like suede (but isn't) and the inside lining is really soft and warm faux fur. Once I get a picture of me in it, I'll post it.
A friend of Mimi's is coming over for the afternoon and we'll go to church and market tomorrow, but other than that, I think it will be a pretty lazy weekend. It's a good weekend for that, as it's quite dreary and rainy outside...
Sunday, September 8, 2013
J'ai fini la première semaine d'école!
Bonjour, ou bonsoir (pour moi)!
As usual, not sure if my title is correct... and I'm not sure if this situation would be imparfait or passé composé... imparfait being an ongoing activity (which school is) and passé composé being a one time activity - but I don't have my cheat sheet with me to know which catagory 'time' goes under... oh well, haven't learned this here yet, so hopefully it will get cleared up in time. And the order could be really wrong - perhaps the 'première' should be before the 'semaine'... Meh!
Well, it's been several days since my last post and quite a lot has happened...
Wednesday was an interesting day for me, emotionally... I realized I hadn't really let myself process all the emotions running through my body since first getting here, and well, my body decided it was time to do so... so BAM! brick wall for the day.
It really was a difficult day for me, but I'm feeling much much better now and am greatful for family I can call and an aunt I can hug... a lot :)
Wednesday evening I prepared dinner for Nicole and myself - tortilla soup - which Nicole said she liked, after commenting on how unusual the meal was. If any of you have eaten this version of tortilla soup, you would understand.
Thursday was my first real day of school. I have two teachers, Régine and Caroline. For those who are interested, here is my schedule:
Same activities everyday (Lundi, Mardi, Jeudi et Vendredi)
8h35-10h15: Cours généraux (general grammer course)
10h15-10h30: Pause café
10h30-11h20: Cours général (Vendredi only - Lab)
11h30-12h20: Permanences avec des professeurs (individual time with profs, if needed. Otherwise - lunch)
12h20-13h35: Déjeuner (lunch)
13h35-13h55: Culte (Chapel)
Different activities everyday
13h55-14h45 14h45-14h55 14h55-15h45
Lundi: Français biblique (Bib. French) Pause Phonétique
Mardi: Compréhension écrite Pause Expression écrite
Jeudi: Compréhension orale Pause Expression orale
Vendredi: Rattrapage (review) Pause Conférences (Lecture)
For the mornings, I always have Régine. I also have her for the afternoon on Monday and for the review session on Friday. I have Carolina for the afternoon on Mardi et Jeudi. For the Lectures, it depends on which topic I choose. Right now I have Cécile for French cooking - don't know what I'll do in three weeks (the options change every three weeks).
Thursday, I went to Mimi's for the evening. That was really nice. We just spent time together, went for a walk, talked, ate dinner, etc. I did have a little homework to do, but not the two hours promised by my teacher (yet).
Vendredi: School went well again. There are 10 people in my class right now, which is nice. After school, I went to Mimi's again, by public transportation (this entails taking a bus to the RER - a train, then transfering from the RER to the TVM - another bus that goes to/from the RERs, and then walking about 5 or so minutes to Mimi's). She and Edgard went to Normandie for the weekend, but I came to stay at their place for the weekend anyways.
Samdi: I went into school again that morning because there was a Fêtes des Associations (celebration/fair of all the clubs) in Massy. I went to that with some of the other students and ended up staying with them all day at the school, which was really nice.
Today, I slept in (yes, I know - no church, but... I was tired). I've pretty much been working on homework all day, doing extra practices with some verbs, working on vocab, etc.
Well, I'm going to go get some lunch/dinner... Bye!
As usual, not sure if my title is correct... and I'm not sure if this situation would be imparfait or passé composé... imparfait being an ongoing activity (which school is) and passé composé being a one time activity - but I don't have my cheat sheet with me to know which catagory 'time' goes under... oh well, haven't learned this here yet, so hopefully it will get cleared up in time. And the order could be really wrong - perhaps the 'première' should be before the 'semaine'... Meh!
Well, it's been several days since my last post and quite a lot has happened...
Wednesday was an interesting day for me, emotionally... I realized I hadn't really let myself process all the emotions running through my body since first getting here, and well, my body decided it was time to do so... so BAM! brick wall for the day.
It really was a difficult day for me, but I'm feeling much much better now and am greatful for family I can call and an aunt I can hug... a lot :)
Wednesday evening I prepared dinner for Nicole and myself - tortilla soup - which Nicole said she liked, after commenting on how unusual the meal was. If any of you have eaten this version of tortilla soup, you would understand.
Thursday was my first real day of school. I have two teachers, Régine and Caroline. For those who are interested, here is my schedule:
Same activities everyday (Lundi, Mardi, Jeudi et Vendredi)
8h35-10h15: Cours généraux (general grammer course)
10h15-10h30: Pause café
10h30-11h20: Cours général (Vendredi only - Lab)
11h30-12h20: Permanences avec des professeurs (individual time with profs, if needed. Otherwise - lunch)
12h20-13h35: Déjeuner (lunch)
13h35-13h55: Culte (Chapel)
Different activities everyday
13h55-14h45 14h45-14h55 14h55-15h45
Lundi: Français biblique (Bib. French) Pause Phonétique
Mardi: Compréhension écrite Pause Expression écrite
Jeudi: Compréhension orale Pause Expression orale
Vendredi: Rattrapage (review) Pause Conférences (Lecture)
For the mornings, I always have Régine. I also have her for the afternoon on Monday and for the review session on Friday. I have Carolina for the afternoon on Mardi et Jeudi. For the Lectures, it depends on which topic I choose. Right now I have Cécile for French cooking - don't know what I'll do in three weeks (the options change every three weeks).
Thursday, I went to Mimi's for the evening. That was really nice. We just spent time together, went for a walk, talked, ate dinner, etc. I did have a little homework to do, but not the two hours promised by my teacher (yet).
Vendredi: School went well again. There are 10 people in my class right now, which is nice. After school, I went to Mimi's again, by public transportation (this entails taking a bus to the RER - a train, then transfering from the RER to the TVM - another bus that goes to/from the RERs, and then walking about 5 or so minutes to Mimi's). She and Edgard went to Normandie for the weekend, but I came to stay at their place for the weekend anyways.
Samdi: I went into school again that morning because there was a Fêtes des Associations (celebration/fair of all the clubs) in Massy. I went to that with some of the other students and ended up staying with them all day at the school, which was really nice.
Today, I slept in (yes, I know - no church, but... I was tired). I've pretty much been working on homework all day, doing extra practices with some verbs, working on vocab, etc.
Well, I'm going to go get some lunch/dinner... Bye!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Day 7, Commencer l'école
Well, it’s day 7 so I’ve been
here a full week now. Hard to believe… It feels so much longer than that but,
if I remember correctly, the first few weeks of India and DC seemed really long
too, the last half or so seemed really short. I expect it’ll be similar here.
I’ve survived my first day of
school. Yay! It wasn’t really a typical school day, more of an orientation day.
Thursday will be the real test. My teacher seems nice. She says she assigns
quite a bit of homework (at least 2 hours a day), but she also said that this
is about our learning, not her teaching. If we are having trouble with
something, she really wants us to talk to her. That is both reassuring and not.
I’ve never been one to really go to my teachers for help, so I don’t know if I’ll be
able to start now or not. Maybe I can.
I bought my books – 4 in total,
plus a French bible. I also need to get Besherelle, a verb conjugation book. My
teacher wants us to have this one because it is the best out there, so… I need
to find that. I can get it online but she said many places would have it. I
just have to make sure I get the verbs
one.
Well, I’m not feeling like
writing much. This is really the biggest thing that happened today, so until I
have more news to give, à toute à l'heure!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Day 6
Bonjour, tout le monde (everyone)!
Well, I start school tomorrow! Not sure if I'm excited or not about that. Let's see here...
Pros: I'll learn the language faster (woot, woot); It'll give me something to do; I will feel better about the amount of energy Nicole expends because I am here.
Cons: It's school...; I have to get up early, I get grades again... :(
I just have to remember that I'm doing this for me. It's not for credit or anything other than personal interest. So, grades don't matter; comprehension does.
I guess since the pros list looks longer, it's the list to go by ;)
Anywho, Hier (yesterday) I was with Mimi, which was really nice. We went to her market (which is much much bigger than the one I went to with Nicole), I got a notebook for school (I'll get more things if I need to - not sure what I'll need right now), we looked at different things, Mimi got some pants and then we got her groceries.
Après ca, we went to church. It's a very non-traditional church and I think it will help me with the language because it's in English and French. For the songs, the French and English are projected behind the worship team, so I can look at both and see sentence structure and how things would be translated correctly (not literally which, by the way, is how the sentence at the beginning of post Day 2 is translated...). I think it will also help me with my pronounciation. All the speaking is in English with another person translating right after each phrase/sentence. Having it set up that way actually helps me because I know what to listen for in the French. I don't think I would catch quite as much of the French if it was vice versa.
Et après ca, we went back to Mimi's, had lunch, got my things together, mailed my papers to the Immigration Office (yeah, since I'm staying for more than 90 days, I have to go through immigration), went and got my metro/bus pass and then Mimi dropped me off at Nicole's.
I'm finding that mornings, and through mid-day, is the worst for me, emotion wise. My stomach has not been settled at all in the mornings yet and as the day goes on I continue to have little appetite and feel anxious/unsettled.The evenings have usually been better, but not always. Tonight is a little difficult, but I'm sure I'll be okay soon.
I keep thinking about people who immigrate to a country very different from that of their own. Here, I have Myriam and I can call home pretty much whenever (granted everyone may be asleep), and I'm leaving in a year (actually, I could leave whenever I want, since this trip is for me and I'm not tied to anything - not that I want to leave early, but...). I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be without all of that. Grandma and Grandpa Witmer (and Cathy and Mom - ages 6 and 3 or 4 months) came to France not knowing the language and knew it would be for 5 years before they could go home. That would have been really hard. Granted, they must have decided they liked it here (at least a little) because they stayed another 20 or so years (number?). Mom left France when she was 18 and went to college in the states. She couldn't call (except perhaps once or twice in a year) because it was too expensive and all she had was snail mail. Ahh!
I know that in a few months, or maybe a few weeks (cross my fingers) it won't be so overwhelming, but until I get to that point, it's difficult to keep that in perspective sometimes.
I think this experience will also help me with my carrier. I've learned so much in the different experiences, both positive and negative, I've had in my life (especially India and DC) that have given me wisdom I would never have gotten otherwise. This is going to be one of those growing experiences as well. I understand an eensy weensy bit better how some people I may work with in the future might be feel. It also expands my compassion for those who are in a new situation and anxious/scared/tired/homesick/etc.
Well, it's almost 10:30. Time to take a shower, call home, and go to bed. Bon nuit!
Well, I start school tomorrow! Not sure if I'm excited or not about that. Let's see here...
Pros: I'll learn the language faster (woot, woot); It'll give me something to do; I will feel better about the amount of energy Nicole expends because I am here.
Cons: It's school...; I have to get up early, I get grades again... :(
I just have to remember that I'm doing this for me. It's not for credit or anything other than personal interest. So, grades don't matter; comprehension does.
I guess since the pros list looks longer, it's the list to go by ;)
Anywho, Hier (yesterday) I was with Mimi, which was really nice. We went to her market (which is much much bigger than the one I went to with Nicole), I got a notebook for school (I'll get more things if I need to - not sure what I'll need right now), we looked at different things, Mimi got some pants and then we got her groceries.
Après ca, we went to church. It's a very non-traditional church and I think it will help me with the language because it's in English and French. For the songs, the French and English are projected behind the worship team, so I can look at both and see sentence structure and how things would be translated correctly (not literally which, by the way, is how the sentence at the beginning of post Day 2 is translated...). I think it will also help me with my pronounciation. All the speaking is in English with another person translating right after each phrase/sentence. Having it set up that way actually helps me because I know what to listen for in the French. I don't think I would catch quite as much of the French if it was vice versa.
Et après ca, we went back to Mimi's, had lunch, got my things together, mailed my papers to the Immigration Office (yeah, since I'm staying for more than 90 days, I have to go through immigration), went and got my metro/bus pass and then Mimi dropped me off at Nicole's.
I'm finding that mornings, and through mid-day, is the worst for me, emotion wise. My stomach has not been settled at all in the mornings yet and as the day goes on I continue to have little appetite and feel anxious/unsettled.The evenings have usually been better, but not always. Tonight is a little difficult, but I'm sure I'll be okay soon.
I keep thinking about people who immigrate to a country very different from that of their own. Here, I have Myriam and I can call home pretty much whenever (granted everyone may be asleep), and I'm leaving in a year (actually, I could leave whenever I want, since this trip is for me and I'm not tied to anything - not that I want to leave early, but...). I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be without all of that. Grandma and Grandpa Witmer (and Cathy and Mom - ages 6 and 3 or 4 months) came to France not knowing the language and knew it would be for 5 years before they could go home. That would have been really hard. Granted, they must have decided they liked it here (at least a little) because they stayed another 20 or so years (number?). Mom left France when she was 18 and went to college in the states. She couldn't call (except perhaps once or twice in a year) because it was too expensive and all she had was snail mail. Ahh!
I know that in a few months, or maybe a few weeks (cross my fingers) it won't be so overwhelming, but until I get to that point, it's difficult to keep that in perspective sometimes.
I think this experience will also help me with my carrier. I've learned so much in the different experiences, both positive and negative, I've had in my life (especially India and DC) that have given me wisdom I would never have gotten otherwise. This is going to be one of those growing experiences as well. I understand an eensy weensy bit better how some people I may work with in the future might be feel. It also expands my compassion for those who are in a new situation and anxious/scared/tired/homesick/etc.
Well, it's almost 10:30. Time to take a shower, call home, and go to bed. Bon nuit!
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