And one final post...

This is one final post-- at least for the time being-- to inform you that I am safely back in the U.S. I say "for the time being" because I will likely add a post or two when I return to France in the future-- which is to say, roughly 10 weeks from now. I feel fortunate to have had such an incredible experience. Words are inadequate, so I will leave with you with these few French feline photos and best wishes for a splendid summer!

La fin de la fin de la fin de la...

Noyant d'Allier, Auvergne

Noyant d'Allier, Auvergne

I spent last weekend during the canicule (heatwave) in Noyant d'Allier, visiting my college roommate, Doris. My what a difference from my visit in early February when there was still snow on the ground!

Noyant d'Allier, Auvergne

Prior to this May visit to Noyant I went out to Senlis, in Picardie last Thursday because it was the Ascencion holiday, so I did not have class. Since seeing the movie Séraphine, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9raphine, which revolves around an artist in Senlis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9raphine_Louis, Susan and I had been discussing a trip to Senlis (where she used to live many years ago) to see some of Séraphine's artwork. It did not disappoint, nor did the church!

Senlis, Picardie

As for disappointments-- what's with French grading!? Also, why are my language grades markedly better than my average law grades!!?? For the uninformed, French grading is out of 20, unlike the American "A" to "F" system. French grading is also notoriously rigorous, especially compared to the typical American grade inflation. In France, anything above a 10 is passing, but it's virtually impossible to get anything about a 16! My grades range from an 11.13 to a 16 and a 16.5. Evidentally I did not entirely understand the French expectations, format, wording of the questions, etc. Tant pis. Oh well. I'll take it, but I'll engage in that favorite Jewish pastime and kvetch a little too.... *winks*

Senlis, Picardie

Observations upon babysitting

Month old French kittens in the jardin. There were 4, but only 3 are in this photo because mama cat wasn't letting me too close.

Misty, don't be jealous, dear; I'm not cheating on you with French kitties. I promise!

Exams are over and life at the Alliance Française is going nicely! I am meeting amazing people (e.g. a Hungarian law graduate, a Jordanian woman raising kids in France while her husband completes medical training here, a Chinese film director, a Mexican computer programmer, an Irish nurse, etc.) and learning, even if not 100% enough to understand this culture. Nonetheless, for the second time since in France I accepted an offer to babysit. I understood the kids much better than the first time. I marvel at how much in these past couple of weeks I am grasping more and more; language acquisition is a phenomenal process. Query: are little kids this thrilled when they become able to convey new ideas in their mother tongue?! As my French improves, it is like an image on television slowly coming into focus, or like tuning a viola and finally hitting the right pitch.

So, Saturday night Geraldine and her husband went to a concert in Paris, I looked after their five-year-old Hortence-- Ok. I appreciate cultural differences in naming, and as Shakespeare aptly observed (see Romeo and Julliet) a rose would smell just as sweet if named something else...but!?-- and her twelve and thirteen-year-old brothers Ambroise and Gregoire. Though not an au pair-- thanks for incessantly asking-- I must have some "expertise" to share, having now babysat for two French families; thus, some observations:

(1) "Cacao" is evidentally universal. So is "Nesquick."

(2) Dora (la exploratrice) is also universal. BUT...um...chers français, my Dora speaks English and Español. My Dora does not speak Français! Hortence was adorable; when her maman introduced us she was initially shy, but then we discovered we had Dora in common. Then, after her parents left she would not let me out of her sight and wanted to be BFFs (best friends forever). Until....

(3) Well, let's just say that all five-year-olds are the same:

Me: "à ta chambre?" [To your room?] "Tu es prête à dormir?" [Ready to sleep?]

Hortence: "Non! laissez-moi tranquille" [Leeeeeemee alone!]


*Her eyelids get heavy, but she keeps fighting sleeeeeep*


Me: "Mais, c'est mieux dans ta chambre!? Vas-y!" [But it's better in your room! Go along!]


Hortence: "Non!"


*She proceeds to fall asleep on the living room couch with the Dora blanket.*

View of Place de la Concorde, from La Madeleine

View from atop the Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Cat is what's for dinner?

Because I have exams this week I suspect I will not be updating this blog too frequently. Thus, I am going to simply leave you with the above photos and get back to studying. Doesn't it feel like such a shame to be in France and be sequestered in a room studying obscure legal provisions?

1. Exams, 2. Sketchy Train Dude, 3. Future Flight

Photos in this post are in Conflans and along the Seine near where I am living. Often I think to myself, this must be the most beautiful place in the world...especially walking along the Seine...I couldn't imagine being anywhere else!

1. With one meager week to spare, the Université de Cergy-Pontoise finally informed us of the days and times of our exams. Merci...mais...I was scheduled to be in Paris in a much more exciting-- not to mention educational-- French class at precisely the same time. C'est dommage! So, after a tense day of exchanging pissy e-mails, I have arranged to take my French class in the afternoons, and my exams in the mornings. After this zaney week of exams and class, I will have two splendid weeks of just French class, just for me. This is at the Alliance Française Paris, not for academic credit, not for anything save for my own edification and enjoyment. Thus far, it has been the highlight of my time here. Honestly, law classes here have left me a little uncertain. The universities are in upheaval; the semester has been tumultuous and disorganized. Though I can appreciate difficulties in a different system, I feel caught in the middle and compromised....

2. Speaking of "caught," tonight Susan and I are walking the dog and this guy comes up to us-- this sketchy guy who she evidentally knows. Then I realize this is the same sketchy guy I've met and talked to twice in the train station. The first time was early in the morning when I was going to visit my friend Doris and sketchy train dude and I talked about Bush and Obama, with my crummy French, and I was pretty sure he was going to try to either rape me, or kill me, or both! Something is really not mentally right with him! Then there I was tonight and Susan knows this guy and he knows her. A bizarre conversation ensued, with all the typical french kissing on the cheeks, etc., etc., etc. A few weeks ago sketchy train guy had also randomly remarked to Alain (Susan's husband) "DO YOU KNOW!? There's a blonde girl living in your house!?"So then tonight sketchy train guy proceeds to ask me, how long I have been in France. And I reply in French "I am leaving at the end of this month." Then it starts thundering and lightening so we take the dog inside. Yes! A convenient exit. So here I am.

3. Here I am and here I go. June 1 I return to Maine. I'll work. Then at the end of the summer, August 15-29, I will return to Paris. Right now the details are up in the air. The only thing I know is that I have a round trip ticket from Logan to De Gaulle. Presently, that is all I know, all I need to know, and thus all you know. Bonne soirée!

Post-- Fontainebleau Fun

1. Le mardi dernier je suis allée à Fontainebleau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontainebleau pour voir une amie. I never realized that Christine, who I had an English class with during university, had lived in Fontainebleau. Her father is a professor and had taken a sabbatical year to teach here, about twelve years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INSEAD. Each year he continues to return, and this year for the first time she returned along with him. Thus, we decided to meet in Fontainebleau. It was a marvellous day catching up, enjoying a yummy lunch and white wine, and seeing some of the chateau, forest, campus, and village. She starts law school, http://www.northeastern.edu/law/, in the fall-- good luck to her!

2. In other news, I am contemplating fun things like the July 2010 Maine Bar Exam and courses for my LAST year of law school! Next fall: (1) Business Associations, (2) Immigration Law, (3) Independent Writing advised by Prof. Norchi--http://mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profiles/norchi.jsp, (4) Taxation, (5) Trial Practice. During fall semester I will also continue to study French. I could have the opportunity to return to France for my final semester, spring 2010. I am very conflicted about this; there are many pros and many cons. Ultimately, I think it is likely I will take my last semester in the U.S. and return to France for a more extended time to live and work after the bar exam.

3. I have also been thinking about the remainder of this semester! One month from today I return to the United States. While I am happy that two days after that I will be in Immigration Court on a pro bono case I have been assisting for awhile, and one week after that I will be starting my summer position at Robinson, Kriger & McCallum www.rkmlegal.com, this semester in France has not been nearly long enough! Next week my four weeks of intensive French at the Alliance Française http://www.alliancefr.org/ commence. Supposedly, the following week, I have exams for my law courses in Cergy, but it has been impossible to get an answer from the law faculty regarding when precisely these alleged exams will be held. I e-mail the dean and program secretary daily, not to mention speaking directly to the secretary everyday I am on campus. I have only been trying to ascertain this information since last fall. I am growing frustrated, but I know that everything will work out in the end. It has only taken me one semester in France to learn how to spell the word "bureaucracy" correctly in English!

Les vacances III: Strasbourg [AMENDED, May 1]

I am back from Strasbourg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg with my arm still entact, despite the best efforts of the Paris Metro to amputate it! Thank you unknown man who pushed the doors apart, otherwise I would be pecking away at the keyboard one-handed! I'm going to upload pictures later because I have to get them developped and scanned. It was not until I was onboard the TGV http://www.tgv.com/FR/ and some schmuck started snapping photos--nothing like flash dazzling your eyes at eight AM-- that I realized I'd left my nice camera back in Conflans. So, when I arrived in Strasbourg, I headed directly to the Monoprix http://www.monoprix.fr/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoprix and for 4.50 euro purchased a disposable camera. [May 1 UPDATE-- thank you 1 hour developping at Auchan Cergy, 20-some-odd-euros later, plus scanning, plus cropping, plus blablabla, we have some images!]All in all the city was charming in an overly-touristy-type of way. It was nice, but I can't quite put my finger on what I disliked. Was it all the porky Alsacian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace food? The feeling of being more in Germany than in France (both the attitude of people and the architecture and...)? The offputting mall http://www.placedeshalles.com/ built essentially atop what was a synagogue in the 1800s until the Nazis destroyed it in 1940?
Don't get me wrong, there was plenty that was very appealing about Strasbourg-- the European Court of Human Rights http://www.echr.coe.int/echr/, kugelhopf glacé http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gugelhupf, bretzels http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretzel, fleur d'Alsace glace (think vanilla/kirsch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirschwasser ice cream), the sweet gentleman in the Gingerbread Store with whom I had a delightful little conversation in French, the stunning cathedral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_Cathedral, etc. It is just that after Nantes, and Conflans, and Paris, and yes, even Cergy, Strasbourg is not home.... Nice to visit, and glad I did, but that is that!

Les Vacances II: Je suis revenue de Nantes

J'aime beaucoup cette très jolie ville! I love gorgeous, enchanting Nantes. This city has restored my faith in running in France. Since arriving I have only run several times, which is bizarre since I used to run virtually every day in Portland-- usually on a treadmill during winter. Here, though, I quickly tired of strange looks and comments outdoors, not to mention the gym at Cergy (a sketchy, male-dominated sauna with limited equipment-- read: not even worth the 16 euro fee for the semester). Now that it is warmer I do see more runners in parks, but almost never just on streets, and always men, rarely women.

Thus, I was delighted when the first morning in Nantes there was a marathon. Even non-racers were out jogging each day, even in rain! In fact, while waiting at an intersection for runners to pass, a lady--clearly a native French speaker, not from Nantes-- asked me if I was from Nantes and proceeded to ask directions before I could even explain that not only was I not from the city, or the country, but that I'm hopelessly directionally challenged. Also, I was wearing an American sweater, French pants, and holding an Italian umbrella, but okay.... *giggles*

I'm trying to do this chameleon-blending-in-thing. You know, it seems to help so that every sketcho on public transportation doesn't make disgusting come-ons to you in French. The unintended consequence, though, is getting asked for directions! Do I look like I know where I am going? I wish I knew where I am going. I mean that in a different sense, though...a sense that perhaps is a little larger...perhaps.

In terms of direction, I am working on this language learning schtuff, and it was splendid to spend several days just using French. My language skills are limited, but it was enjoyable to go to restaurants (particularly Creperie Heb-Ken and La Cigale http://www.lacigale.com/), go to movies (see "Welcome" if you get the chance-- it was quite well done, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314280/, http://www.premiere.fr/film/Welcome), and do everything in French. This was essentially the first time in France that I have not been travelling with other English speakers. I am realistic that this language acquisition thing is entirely a work-in-progress, and I will return to the U.S. and continue learning and learning and learning...and have I mentioned learning?! There are moments when I despair that I will never really speak French. Stupid neural networks-- language learning DOES get harder as you get older. I didn't have these problems with my first three languages, honestly!

Well, I ought to go finish unpacking from this Nantes adventure and get repacking for Strasbourg! À tout à l'heure!

Les vacances: Part I

Bonsoir à tous! Mom and I have said our goodbyes. She was visiting France this past week, mainly in the Paris area, but also with one day at "les plages du débarquement" in Normandie.

First, we started at the museum in Caen, http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portail/index.php. Then, we saw Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_American_Cemetery_and_Memorial, and several of the other beaches.

There is this still palpable sense of history always alive here. It is eerie. I recall when I first arrived in France during late last January and early February and meeting people who after learning I was American would start talking about WWII and express their appreciation. Likewise, the woman I live with (who is American, although she has lived in France for the past 28 years) has described how an elderly French lady at her Church gives her little gifts of gratitude like a clock, because for this French lady she symbolizes "America."

Tomorrow mom will fly home to America. Tomorrow I will travel to Nantes mainly to explore the area and see if it would be livable were I to return to teach, after I complete my J.D., in spring 2010. Thus, my "Les vacances: Part II" blog entry can be expected once I return from Nantes...probably around Wednesday. The third installment will come about a week from now when I return from another mini-excursion to Strasbourg. I figure, train rates are affordable, and I should explore as much of France as possible in my remaining time here. The reality is that time is rapidly running. Before I know it I will be back in America myself!

Joyeuses Pâques, Pesah, etc.

Bonsoir! I hope you all are having a splendid spring holiday season.

Pesah, the Jewish Passover, is in part a story about being strangers in a strange land, the need for tolerance, welcoming guests, and remembering one's roots. It seems particularly fitting this year to be in France sharing some of my family's traditions, while also learning more about Easter and the traditions of the family with whom I am living here.


Easter chocolate eggs, animals, etc.-- virtually edible pieces of art, much more exquisite than I had ever seen in the U.S.-- are infinitely more exciting than hunting for a piece of afikomen (the crumbly piece of unleavened bread--matzo-- that kids search for at a Passover Sedar meal). Also, a fifth question to add to those infamous Passover "4 Questions": why does French matzo taste so much better than American matzo? One can even find it in an orange/wine flavour here, apparently from an Algerian recipe!


Sweets aside, though, it is fascinating to see our shared traditions and values and also the interesting differences, both between Judaism and Catholicism, but also between America and France....


Today my mother, who is visiting for the week, and I chopped up some haroset (the apple/cinnamon/wine/walnut mixture typical during Pesah) to complement the Easter lamb meal we shared with the Soufer Family.


I am quite lucky to have been welcomed by this wonderful family, in this wonderful country. I don't know how to express that without simply sounding corny (no pun intended for you observant Jews of ashkenazic descent who do not eat corn during Passover). Seriously, though, I am very thankful for this experience of this spring semester in France. Naturally, spring is always a season of rebirth, of the earth blossoming again. This year spring feels all the more acutely a time of renewal, though. Is this partially a function of the precarious times in which we find ourselves?




I grow pensive...introspective...and that is independent of my visit earlier in the week with my Dutch friend Sanne to several museums, including the Rodin Museum http://www.musee-rodin.fr/ , where the pictures in this long overdue blog entry, including one of the famous "Thinker," were taken.


On that (thoughtful?) note, I have to start contemplating which courses I will enroll in next fall back at UMaine Law, so I am going to conclude the present post. A happy and peaceful spring to you all!

Post- le vingtième

Apologies for the long delay in posts. Last weekend with a group from the university I went to Mont Saint Michel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_St._Michel). It was marvellous! Absolutely beyond words. Even these photos don't do it justice!

The next morning, I came home to one of those horrendous "This is a terrible way to tell you, but..." e-mails, informing me that a high school friend, only 23 years old, had died in a motorcycle accident. Again, no words are sufficient.

We take each other for granted, never stopping to contemplate the fragility of life, never stopping to savor every second.... I don't say it frequently enough, but thank you people for being part of my life. Thank you.

Post- le dix-neuvième

I marvel at how quickly time vanishes. This past week (after last weekend's fun with Jenny at the museum and then Kristrun--from Iceland's-- party at her charming Paris apartment) I've had a myriad of classes. Also, among some interesting highlights, Tuesday night I celebrated St. Patty's Day at Cergy's Irish Pub! Thursday, there was another grève. http://www.19mars2009.fr/ In the two months I have been here there have been two. I didn't find this problematic. In fact, due to the reduced train service I was even able to leave French Class early on Wednesday evening!

As for French class, I am feeling frustrated and impatient. Maybe it is best to characterize my relationship with this language as a love-hate relationship? I know, though, that I tremendously want to continue learning French when I return to the U.S. Initially, my plan had been to go to Vermont for the summer to continue studying French....

Then, I got a job offer. I will be back at the law firm where I worked last summer-- Robinson, Kriger & McCallum (http://www.rkmlegal.com/). I'm very excited about this employment, but I am also thinking of how to best build upon the experience of this semester. Maybe this is just my tendency to pre-plan to an absurd degree...but there is a large part of me that knows I am happiest studying language and literature. There is certainly a strong corrolation between such studies and law. I mean, the basis of what we do as lawyers is to use language, to write, to persuade, to argue...but...je ne sais pas.... I just feel so...ALIVE...here. I can't really explain it, and that might be part of the allure....

I know I should not be trying to live my future yesterday, or even today...but this is my neurotic tendency. I'm trying to do better about letting life develop as it will, and not worrying as much about precise planning. What will happen will happen no matter how much I try to micromanage....

In that light, trying to savor moments and live without worrying and getting tangled in planning for the future, I went to Lyon yesterday, where I visited my friend Jacquie, who I have known since elementary school, but have not seen in many years. It was wonderful to see her and to see Lyon, where she has been living and teaching for the year. Next fall she will go to Duke University in North Carolina in the U.S. to start her PhD in French Literature.

Lyon was very charming, and much less chaotic than Paris. All of the pictures on today's post are from Lyon. Jacquie and I, along with Lauren (another Portlander!) had a delicious lunch and delighted in various sights, including a silk factory where I purchased a gorgeous scarf http://www.atelierdesoierie.com/gb/lyon-silk.asp, a very intriguing minatures museum http://www.mimlyon.com/site.html, and an incredible shop with phenomenal little chocolates and pastries http://www.bernachon.com/shopguide.htm. Yum. You see the important priorities...silk and edible deliciousness. lol.

Well, on that sweet note, I am going to sleep. Tomorrow promises to be an early day, as I have to go to Paris for the next installment of my Company Law course. I'm quite excited, actually, as we will be meeting in La Défense, the major business area. It actually is a little surreal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_D%C3%A9fense Standing there looking from the Grande Arche http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Arche down to the Arc de Triomphe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe...it escapes words.... I mean, I can cut and paste all the links to wikipedia that I want, and that does not remotely convey the sensation of it. More pictures and words to come! Surely those, too, will fall short of the full impression, the full experience of living it, but I will try to express something, even if that something is destined to be incomplete....

Post- le dix-huitième: In which she is asked "are you miss america?"

*Hier I was asked by a male friend of my French friend, "are you Miss America?" After a couple of very confused minutes of French and English I realized that this was supposed to be "do you miss the United States of America?" Um. I'm still not actually sure I can answer that question. Is it wrong that I really don't miss the U.S. (and I'm certainly not Miss America!)? To "miss" seems to imply a lack, a void. I don't feel that at all. In fact, maybe I feel less of a lacking here. If that makes any sense whatsoever....


*The question, though, was very genuine and kind, unlike the creepy, smelly, middle-aged (40-something?) black guy who sat down beside me this morning on the train and proceeded to give me his phone number and tell me to call him tonight. I took out my assorted European Court of Human Rights opinions to read and in French told him I was sorry but I had no phone (not true) and that I was very busy and had to read my homework (only partially true).


*Clearly this was too polite because he kept talking, asking me my name, commenting on my accent and hazarding guesses as to whether I was Belgian (was that a joke?) or Portuguese (what are you smoking man? bonjour, les yeux bleus, come on!) or British (that at least could be plausible). I told him, in French, yes, yes, I know I have an accent, but I need to read this right now. I deliberately never mentioned my mystifying nationality. Um. How do I manage to attract all the crazies? Can somebody teach me some curses in French that mean something along the lines of "kindly please fuck off"? You know, something good enough to get rid of sketchos, but like not so strong that I end up getting murdered in broad day light on a train....


*After all of this insanity I finally made it to the Musée d'Orsay (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html), where I had a lovely afternoon enjoying the art and getting to know Jenny, a friend of my friend from Portland, Sam. Jenny is studying at Hampshire College, where Sam studied, but this year Jenny has been studying here in Paris. This is additionally interesting because she is originally from China (which naturally when she took the map of the museum all in Chinese led me to have to remark, "wow, that's all Chinese to me!" and I then took a copy in French). She was very kind, and it was especially interesting to talk to her because she has recently taken the LSAT (on which she did considerably better than me, lol) and is contemplating law school options, etc., etc., etc.


*In fact, the afternoon at the museum and getting to know a very nice person thoroughly compensated for sketcho-ville on the train in the morning. I had an uneventful ride home, and now I am getting read for my fun and exciting evening. News on that later.


Lots of love,
Amanda


*p.s.-- What do people think? Would it be absolutely insane for me to go back to law school in the fall, then graduate in spring 2010, sit for the July 2010 Maine Bar Exam, then come back to Europe and do some type of work (perhaps unrelated to law)? Just putting that out there.... Feedback, thoughts, ideas, etc. always appreciated....

Post- le dix-septième

*Why do the French put egg on everything, kinda like sunny-side-up-ish? This is actually really yummy, but it is certainly quite different! Egg on pizza. Egg on hamburger. Egg on crepe. So, I am getting plenty of protein. I should be running more, too, but I have been too busy and it has been too drizzly.



*Monday, I met up with the group visiting from my law school (http://mainelaw.maine.edu/) and a group of French law students from Le Mans involved in an interesting seminar program (http://mainelaw.maine.edu/students/academic-program/franco-american-seminar.jsp) and went to the Conseil d'État. Then Tuesday after my Droit de la concurrence course I again met up with them and went to the Conseil constitutionnel and the Assemblée nationale. I understood little at the Conseil d'État, but at the Conseil Constitutionnel I understood nearly 100%. I think it helps that this is an institution I have actually studied at length. I understood a fair amount at the Assemblée nationale, also. It was some sort of health care reform they were talking about....


*Mostly, though, I was just exhausted! I wake up at 6h45 to make it to Paris for the 9h00 course on Tuesdays.... After the Assemblée nationale, I took the metro to the Marais (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_des_Rosiers) to purchase hamentaschen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamentashen) because I had no time to bake them fresh and I wanted the family I'm staying with to taste these traditional Purim "cookies." My recipe is actually better than the 6 that I purchased for 9 euros!! They were pretty good, though, and my opinion may be biased.... Or perhaps just sleep deprived.


*Thus, I am going to go collapse in order to get up at the rump-crack of dawn again tomorrow for another busy day of classes.... Corporate Governance will be attrocious, but I am actually really enjoying my French class, even though we had a conjugation test last time and a dictée (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictation_(exercise)). It's probably entirely wrong that I dread the law classes but enjoy the language class, right? Well, it's not fair to say that I dread the law classes...the EU Human Rights Seminar is actually quite compelling. It is just the business law focused classes that seem to...er...lack focus? Je ne sais pas.... But I do need sleep...so off I go.... Bonne nuit!


-A

Post- le seizième

I. La semaine dernière:

This last week was a busy week of classes and studying. Significantly, I was informed by my school, UMaine Law, that assuming I receive grades of "C" or better, I will actually receive credit for each course I am taking, including my French Course. Yay!


II. Hier: Je suis allée à synagogue. Yes, an egalitarian Massorti (analogous to "conservative" synagogues in the U.S.) Synagogue in Paris in the 15th arrondissement. http://www.massorti.com/adathshalom/ I really like this neighborhood. It is near the Eiffel Tower. It was a pleasant walk in my heels from the metro stop to the synagogue. The service was interesting, particularly because there was a bat mitzvah. Clearly everything was in French and Hebrew. The melodies, etc. were almost familiar to me, but the cadence was slightly different. The bat mitzvah's d'var torah (sermon) was about anti-semitism. I understood the main ideas, but like everything, I feel I'm missing something...I understood maybe 50-60% of the words...and it was good practice for my French, but I really need to learn more.


I grow impatient with myself. I've been here long enough to speak more, right? It does not help that many people want to speak English with me. It also does not help that my French Course at school is so large and includes such a wide range of levels. Although we are all supposed to be roughly at the same level (there was a placement exam earlier in the semester) everybody brings their own educational and cultural baggage and some students are clearly more advanced in certain ways than others.


So, for example, I really enjoy the amount of writing we do, but that comes very easily to me. There are simply too many people in the course to really improve my speaking...particularly my pronunciation.... My vocabulary is also hopelessly limited...and having formally studied the language so briefly before coming, my knowledge of grammar is essentially all self-taught.... My speaking seems to improve more by trying to buy train tickets, or trying to ask directions, or things like that. I don't know. I just don't know....


III. Aujourd'hui: In a few hours I will meet with a lady and her teenaged son. The son wants additional help with his English because he has a difficult teacher in school. Since my French is quite limited I hope I will be able to actually be helpful. I was pleased, though, that I entirely understood his mother over the phone. That's just it. I understand far more than I speak, or am able to speak.... Aaaaaargh. This lady seems very nice, though. She is a friend of the mother in the family I am living with. The problem was that over the phone I understood and I was able to say a few things and solidify a time and place to meet, but all of the little polite niceties I would have casually said in English were very strained and even somewhat inaccessible for me in French. Sometimes that type of thing is easier in person? Sometimes I hope I don't come across as rude...it is merely that I have a very limited vocabulary...really.... Somebody...please help me with this.... Please....


Well, after meeting with these people this afternoon (and hopefully better assessing where he is at proficiency-wise, and what we can work on together) I will head into Paris for a dinner at La Coupole. ( http://www.flobrasseries.com/coupoleparis/carte/). This dinner is with a group of students from my school who are visiting France during this week as part of a seminar exchange program (http://mainelaw.maine.edu/students/academic-program/franco-american-seminar.jsp). It should certainly be interesting to see them! More on that later, as I really ought to continue with my never-ending homework.... Hyperbole? Or....


-A

Post- le quinzième: elle revient à France, etc., etc., etc.

[apologies for blogspot messing up the paragraph spacing/layout of this post]

1. La semaine dernière:

*Rome! Wow! It was a really marvellous week that escapes description. The night before I left, I went on a boat on the Seine, an excursion organized through the school. It was marvellous fun, but coming home was fairly nightmarish. My night bus (trains don't run after a certain hour) was stopped by the police to control several rowdy individuals. I finally stumbled (purely exhaustion and the beginning of a PESKY cold) back to Conflans about 5h30 the day my train for Rome was to leave at 18h52.

*So, after sleeping a little and sniffling a lot I made it to the tiny couchette, a compartment where they put six people but should really probably only put one small child. A compartment where the seats folded into precarious bunks. A compartment where I spent 16+ hours sneezing and coughing into tissues and praying I was not getting a sinus infection. A compartment where one Italian woman, three French men, and one French woman gave me awful glances for 16+ hours, likely praying to not catch my horrid contagion.

*Thankfully after a day or two of gnocchi, fish, white wine, pizza, etc., etc., and 12/13 degree (celsius!) the sniffles diminished. Even so, what an interesting way to arrive in Rome, where my buddy Ethan was waiting for me, equally (un)fresh off his 10 hour train from Austria.

*So, over the course of the week we took in the Forum, the Colluseum, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Basilica (including walking up all 500+ steps to the magnificent, awe-inspiring view of the Vatican and Rome) a myriad of other important and beautiful locations that utterly escape description. I think all the steps also provided a convenient excuse for abundent gelato. In fact I pretty much went nuts regarding gelato, savoring marrone (chestnut), nocciola (hazelnut), etc. Splendid!

*One day we also went to Napoli, a dirty, seedy, bizarre city that was worth it essentially only for the nice little old Italian grandma lady at the cafe where we enjoyed beverages and cannolis. The picture below where you can faintly see Mt. Vesuvius in the distance makes it look better than it was. Seriously.

*By the end of of our stay in Italy I was very excited that I would ask questions in Italian and actually get responses in Italian that I understood. Somehow my handy French-Italian phrasebook was actually functional. Between that and my very limited French and very limited Spanish it was really neat to see how much I understood. Returning to France was somewhat disorienting, especially no longer saying "grazie," but I seem to have readjusted.

2. Hier- Auvers sur Oise:

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auvers-sur-Oise Of course, by readjusted, I mean being overly ambitious and alighting from the night train back to Paris yesterday, showering, and then taking off only several short hours later with friends to go visit a multitude of interesting Van Gogh related locations, http://www.chateau-auvers.fr/accueil.html, including his tomb. Then, we also enjoyed a nice cafe with amaaaaaaaaazing hot chocolate.

*Some times I have to pinch myself. Even today, which has mainly been consumed by oodles of homework and chores like laundry. A little running too, which was refreshing. This week will be quite busy with classes starting up again, but nonetheless, this sometimes feels slightly surreal.

3. Le futur:

*Speaking of surreal-- I happen to have 3 days left on my France-Italy rail pass. It expires April 22. So, what should I do?! I would like to make reservations for travel fairly soon, given the fiasco Ethan and I had returning from Rome. The Italians kept telling us the computer was malfunctioning because of some issue in France and that the entire train was full. Well, when we finally made the train Friday evening, schleping bread, salami, cheese, nutella, bananas, and water (yay train picnic!) it was virtually empty.

*In fact, only two other people ever joined us in our compartment. This was nice because they spoke French and I was able to explain to them how the beds folded down, as I had travelled on the train previously. Thank you Doris for teaching me convenient French vocabulary about beds, etc. *giggles*

*Seriously, though, if anybody has ideas as to where might be nice to go for three days of train transportation, I'd be open to such suggestions! I'd love to go to the south of Italy where Salvatore Zumpano (my great-great-great grandfather is that?) lived, but I fear that might be overly ambitious. Even Pompeii might be a stretch.

*Milan, Turin, Firenze, those are options that might be somewhat more realistic. Then again, I've always dreamed of seeing Mont Blanc.... http://www.readprint.com/work-1366/Percy-Bysshe-Shelley. So...really, there are too many places and too little time!!

*Outside of those three days of train pass, I entirely intend to do a little travelling in France, too, at some point. Again, far too little time-- not to even mention money-- but I'm going to squeeze it in somewhere, somehow!! Having now become addicted to Eurail passes, I also am contemplating a little further travel for when classes are over, if I can fit it in before returning home to Portland for summer work. If I can, I would ideally get the 5 country 10 day pass and go from France to where my ancestors come from in Romania, Austria, and Hungary. It actually looks like there might be a train connection to where Fred Froimowitz lived in Romania!!

*So, in any case, any input y'all have, dear readers, would be tremendously appreciated. Particularly on the France/Italy travels. Now having left you with many pictures, many words, and even a homework assignment, I shall get back to my riveting reading for the evening-- a contract, a franchising agreement. YES! *smiles*

-A