Verdun in the Rain

Well, as lovely as Paris was in the rain, Verdun is not.  It's been raining since I got here.  However, it's still a very charming city, and the people are very nice.  Most of them realize that I can understand them if they speak slower than normal.

Let me travel around my apartment to give a sense of what it's like.

The stairs:
I call them the stairway of death, not because they are dangerous, but because I'm sure that there is a dead animal decaying under them.  How do I know? The smell gets better as you go up.  They also creak spookily in the night.

My Kitchen:
I was so happy to see that my kitchen is yellow, just like I wanted!  Now I totally know that this is what I want when I get my own home.

I had a choice between a very large room and a bedroom.  I chose the bedroom because it had a fabulous closet.  People keep asking me why.  I don't know; it's cozier and the light actually works. Plus, I can't hear the traffic from the street.

The day I got here, one of the English teachers picked me up from the train station.  He's a Brit who was an assistant several years ago, which is really nice because he speaks English AND knows about the program.  So far he's been really helpful, especially helping me open my bank account (ok, so I thought I was doing good with the speaking speed thing, but when I got to the bank, the guy I talked to went REALLY fast.  I was told that this was normal, but everyone else talks just a tad slower.  I think it's just a conversation thing.  Or a banker thing.)

After I unpacked, I got to meet everyone in the admin offices.  They're all super nice and helpful.  I have one of the French teachers as my flatmate, which is great because she is helping me with my French (although she says I speak well).  Every now and then I have to ask her to repeat something, but I understand her for the most part.

Well, it's raining again.  I was planning to visit my other school today, but I guess that can wait.  It takes four keys to get to where I am sitting now (I have a love-hate relationship with one of the keys.  It never seems to work on the first try.  Sadly, I was just introduced to another door that requires this key. *sigh*).

So you want to see Verdun in the rain? There you go:

A bientôt,
--Mary

I Survived Paris

I didn't have internet here until this morning, so here is a post I wrote earlier this week.  On another note, I don't have access to Facebook, so I won't be posting links to my blog there anymore.  So people, BOOKMARK THIS PAGE!! Merci.

Well, here I am in Verdun.  As I am writing this, it is Monday and I have just finished unpacking my previously very heavy suitcases and am now sitting on my new bed, enjoying some fresh air.  I don’t know how to use the internet here yet (I may not have access to it in my room), so I don’t know exactly when this post will be published.

Before I describe my new surroundings, I should probably back up a couple of days to when I was still in Paris.  On Saturday, Laura and I and a friend took a train to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet, the famous impressionist painter. (If you haven’t heard of him, you must live under a rock.)  First, we went to lunch at a charming country café that was called…something about water lilies. I tried their cider (or cidre, en français) and a “poppy” salad.  That said, the salad didn’t actually have poppies in it, but was an artistic arrangement of cheese and tomatoes on a bed of lettuce.   Because of the gardens and generally country atmosphere, there were actually bees and sparrows flying around the café.  (One bee was so bothersome that our friend Jonathan had to kill it with a resolute smack of his knife.  These were among the first insects I’ve seen out here.  Perhaps Paris is only their summer home, or they don’t like cities at all).

The gardens were beautiful, but they are probably more in bloom in spring.  The most interesting part is the pond across the street where Monet painted his water lilies.  There are actually several green bridges throughout the garden (I guess I was expecting only one). 

Here are some pictures:

Monet’s house was pretty too; each room was a different bright color.  My favorite was the dining room which was a bright yellow.  After we finished looking at the gardens we walked around the town for a bit, took a bus to Vernon, and had a drink at a café while waiting for our train.  Giverny, it seems, is off the beaten path, so to speak.

Since we didn’t have any dinner plans, Jonathan took us to one of his favorite cafes where we ate Nutella Tiramisu (after the real food, of course!). Mmmm…

The next day, we went to Versailles.  Unfortunately, we bought tickets only for the general gardens, which we only realized by the time it took to walk out to the Petit Trianon (which costs extra, by the by).  So we just chose to walk around a bit.  Then, to our surprise, the fountains went on!  That’s why our ticket was so expensive.  We’ll have to go back to see the chateau, but the fountains are definitely worth it.

I’ll write about Verdun soon,

--Mary

 

Paris in the Rain

Comment allez-vous, mes amis?

Today, we got to see Paris in the rain, which according to a certain movie, is when Paris is the loveliest.  Well, it was fun at any rate.  We sat under an archway at the Louvre, watching people and pigeons hopping about the square (yes, the pigeons were also hopping). 

WELL! Yesterday was a very tiring day (hence no posts from either of us). We slept really late and then went to Notre Dame.  Right behind it is this really cool bridge where lovers put bicycle locks and throw the key in the Seine.

 Notre Dame was cool of course.  Right across the street there is this really cool bookshop called Shakespeare and Co. filled with English books.  It made us feel a little more at home.

After zipping around on the metro a bit, we decided to walk from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Republique (there is a long straight road between them...so how could we go wrong, right?).  We did take a slight detour to see Victor Hugo's house in the Place des Vosges--a very pretty garden.

It kind of reminds me of the Royal Circus in Bath, England. Then we took the metro to the middle of the Champs Elysees and walked to the Arch at one end and then down to the Tuillerie Garden.  That is one looooong walk.  Near the garden is the Egyptian obelisk in the middle of the Place de la Concorde.  Let me tell you, crossing that takes talent.  After all that walking, we decided to chill in the garden for a bit and then went home and watched some American cartoons (we do this a medicine for culture shock.)

Today, we just went to the Louvre.  We spent all day there and we didn't even see half.  We'll have to go again sometime.  That's why we were sitting outside it afterwards, in the rain, literally soaking up the atmosphere.

Well, that's all for now.  I'm super excited because I just heard back from my school about my arrival. 
--Mary

You can lose yourself in Paris, literally

So, this morning we got up at the bright and early hour of 9:30am.  We didn't sleep too well last night because we were being serenading but a large crowd of French guys in the bar downstairs.  It was hilarious.  I had no idea they like to sing THAT much.  It sounded like they were really enjoying themselves, although today I saw a sign that said something like, "Silence Zone, no drinks or obnoxious behavior beyond this point."  The rest of the night was well-rounded with a HUGE argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend in the street below, both shouting at each other at the tops of their lungs.  Finally, some lady went out and made them stop.  The French certainly are passionate about their opinions.

The first thing on the agenda today was to get new phones.  We figured out that we could just use our cell phones from France and just buy SIM cards.

So we set out in what we thought was the right direction.  About an hour later, we found ourselves at the same place we had started from.  I don't know what we did, or how we did it.  As it turns out, the phone shop was literally a half a block from our hotel.

We went in, and, I am so proud to say that we completed the transaction completely in French, which made me feel a lot better about myself.  They know you're an American just by looking at you, but they can be very helpful in understanding that you may not know their language very well. SCORE!!

After that, we decided to try the metro.  I think I like the Tube better, but the Metro was not a bad experience.  As far as sightseeing goes, we saw Le Tour Eiffel, the Rue de Bac, and the Paris catacombs.  The Catacombs were really cool, and kind of creepy.  Parts were lined with bones.

After the catacombs, we decided to walk home...across Paris.  It was through the part of town where it seems that the normal Parisiens live.  I liked it a lot better than the touristy parts..  Unfortunately, we got lost several times, and then went to chill in the Luxembourg gardens, where I got sunburned.

Somehow, we managed to get home, after walking in the wrong direction, around the block, and backtracking.  Now we are in our room, enjoying ham sandwiches and chocolate.  After a shower, the French seem so much better than they did 24 hours ago.  Showers put everything in perspective...I don't know why, perhaps the decent plumbing?

Now we are going to watch a movie and go to bed.  I'll post more pictures soon.  It just takes a real long time to load them.

--Mary

Paris, je pense que je t'aime ?!?!?

Bonjour from Paris!

Everything has been such a whirlwind. First, our flight got delayed due to some bad weather.  The Captain kept say things like "this is a situation which is totally out of our control"  which REALLY made us feel insecure.  What he really meant was that man cannot control the weather, and he was perfectly right.  We did take off eventually.  I slept as much as I could, but it was very cramped.  I always had to remind myself how bad airplane food really is.

The airport was easy. I expected a few more questions at the border, but the guy simply stamped my passport.  Sweet.  Then I failed to understand the first thing a french person said to me.  I can tell that I need to brush up on my French a little.  By a little, I mean a lot.

We took a taxi to the hotel (a so-so experience...we were both motion sick from the plane, and the driver's driving didn't do us any good) and then slept for a few hours before going out to see the Luxembourg Gardens.  Then, we basically sat and watched people, too tired to talk (or too embarrassed?).  It's one of those things, you know, that if you speak, they'll know where you come from.  So we didn't.

But then we got hungry (and a little lost), so we headed home and bought some food.  I got a bruchette poulet and a pain au chocolat for breakfast tomorrow.  The bruchette wasn't bad...plus the fact that we ordered in French and the lady understood us completely.  Score!  My feelings of culture shock went down considerably.

Now we are attempting to stay up late so we can get on a regular schedule of sightseeing tomorrow!

--Mary

Three Days

So here I am, on the cusp of my adventure.  It feels like I will never be completely packed (how did I EVER manage to fit all this stuff in my suitcases when I went to England?!?!?). 

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of packing and visiting friends...and the fact that I decided to make a dress the week before leaving.  Well, now the dress is finished, the friends are visited, and the packing... let's just say that I'm still working on that situation.

Things I will miss most about America:

My Family :)
Some of the food (like Polish food, Chic-Fil-A, Potbelly's, and Red Mango...)
My friends, those I got to visit and say goodbye to, and those I didn't
coffee (I really hope the French make good coffee, because otherwise this little lady is done for)
The English Language (let's face it, it's pretty awesome)
Spending the holidays at home


Things I am looking forward to in France:

Improving my French (c'est une belle langue!)
Making French friends
Traveling
EVERYTHING about French culture (ok, maybe not everything...)
the FOOD, (French food makes American food look like dirt)
Going to Mass in French :) :)

Things I am nervous about:

Speaking to French people (to combat this, I have decided to talk to random strangers about the weather and such...the goal is to speak as much as I can without breaking down.  Asking people if they speak English is a cop-out)
Getting my luggage through Paris (eep! Once I do that, I will be capable of conquering the world)
Going to confession in French (which will no doubt be a mortifying, yet powerful and useful experience)
French school kids...

Now I'm off!  The next you will hear from me will probably be from some café in Paris.

À bientôt,
--Mary