Discotheques, Greek Cuisine, and Running up Hills

Have I mentioned lately that I love France? Well, I love France!

Last weekend there was a school party with the theme “Aristocrats.” It was held at a local discotheque. It was my first time ever going to a club like that, and it was so fun! I always pictured discotheques to be all about techno music and strobe lights, and it actually was kind of like that. 

The place was really nice, something I didn’t expect, and not only were there strobe lights (which I hate by the way), but there were also tons of other colorful laser-ish lights shining and moving in every direction. Anyway, they played a lot of dancey/upbeat music (not surprising). Unfortunately, real techno music gets kind of boring after a while since you can’t really sing to it (and I love singing along). It’s just the same beat over and over. That was the only time when the club wasn’t “hoppin.” It was funny at one point because they played “Celebration,” followed by “Cotton Eye Joe” and other old American “classics.” It was so weird. If you’re on the market for new music, here are two upbeat songs that I love and are quite popular in France…

1.       No Stress (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UqyOT0aS3w&ob=av3e)

2.       Keep On Rising (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvc4f3greHU)

New Topic…

Something that I’ve noticed is that all of my French friends text in English and all of my other friends text in French. My cell phone is set to be in French, so it’s much easier to text in French because the phone already knows the words. (The accents are all programmed too, which is fantastic.) Therefore, French is my default language, even if I don’t necessarily know how to say what I want. Oh well.

There are bats in France, and they just fly around like the nonchalant little speed demons that they are. I was unaware of their presence here until I saw one the other day. It gave me a severe fright. I was also surprised by how small it was. 

I received a package last week, courtesy of my wonderful mother. It was full of goodies, including Trader Joe’s pumpkin muffin mix, something that I don’t think I could go a year without. (They don’t have pumpkin “stuff” in France.) Thanks mom! In France they won’t leave the package if you aren’t home, because people don’t really have front porches (it’s just like a door in the wall), so my French host mom had to run down the street chasing the mailperson to get the package. Dedication.

This weekend I went to Paris to do the Paris Versailles run and it was amazing. Saturday I had to pick up my race packet, so after that I went to Sacre Coeur with my friend Greg. Sacre Coeur is a beautiful white church in the most peaceful neighborhood ever. It is probably my favorite place in Paris. 

There were a ton of tourists there Saturday, but it was still nice. On our way up the huge hill, we passed a cemetery. We decided to walk through it, only to discover there was no exit. Once we finally made it up to the church we rewarded ourselves with piping hot crepes. That night I stayed with the French family I know near Paris and they made me quiche!! MMMMmmmmm. 

The next morning I took the train to the race, and it was packed with a bunch of runners. It was kind of funny riding into Paris with all of them. Since there are about 22,000 participants annually, it took us a while to start (they start 350 people every minute.) Although the race began at 10:00 am, I didn’t leave until 10:45 am. It was fine though, because the race started at the base of the Eiffel Tower, so the whole time I was just admiring the majestic nature of the enormous monument next to me. Along the route of the race there were a bunch of mini orchestras. In America you get speakers blasting music, in France you get a full out orchestra serenading you as you run. The race was very scenic and had stretches of steep uphill climbs for three or four kilometers at a time. It was challenging, but lots of fun. Running through Paris was a little weird because the roads were blocked off, so it was like a giant parade of runners for miles and miles. Along the way they had water, oranges, and sugar (legit sugar!) that they were giving out to runners. The last kilometer was killer (it was a 16 kilometer race, which is ten miles) and I didn’t know if I would make it. Then I saw the Palace of Versailles looming in front of me, and I found some extra energy. I mean how can you not sprint toward that place?? At the finish line there were lots of enthusiastic volunteers to greet you. Unlike some of my other experiences in France, the run was extremely well organized and efficient. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a run in Paris. Not to mention, the shirt I got was suhhweeeeet. 

Today I cooked a Greek meal for my family! I made pasticcio, tyropita, greek salad, and green beans. They loved it! Cottage cheese doesn’t exist in France, but I made do with what I had. Also, I wanted to make baklava, but I couldn’t find the ingredients I needed. It took me about 6 hours to prepare the meal. Cooking in a kitchen I wasn’t used to, especially being in a foreign country, was really difficult. I had to initially convert all of the measurements into grams, etc. as well as translate all of the ingredients so we could buy what we needed at the store. The hardest thing to translate were the spices…they aren’t in the dictionary! When I was about to start I realized I didn’t have enough macaroni noodles, and the amount I had forced me to use 5/8 of each ingredient. I don’t recommend ever trying to “5/8” a recipe. Too much math. I had a lot of fun cooking though. It’s something I enjoy if I have time. The best part was that I got to ring the dinner bell (yes we have a dinner bell) when the food was ready. Oh, I even made my own salad dressing, which is something I’ve never done before. It turned out really well and my host mom even asked for the recipe(translated to French of course)!

French vocab: to cook = faire la cuisine

Something I am still not used to is being one of very few Americans here. It’s so strange. I know people that are from Poland, Spain, London, Italy, Mexico, Germany, France (obviously), Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, China, Singapore, Canada, and Brazil. Generally everyone speaks their native language, French and English. I feel so inadequate with only English and French! I wish I knew a ton of languages. Maybe someday… 

In class the other day we were discussing culture and what contributes to culture. Eventually we got on the topic of the siesta in Spain (long nap they take after lunch), and one Spanish guy goes, “Yeah, so this class really doesn’t work for me. It’s during my normal siesta.” Haha. I think the U.S. should adopt a nationwide siesta policy.  That would be great.

I was in the computer lab today checking my e-mail. (Side note… I can’t stand typing on French keyboards. I am getting more used to it, but gah!) The guy next to me was researching something on Wikipedia and he asked me to translate the word “launched.” It was a complete role reversal; usually I’m the one asking people for a translation. For once I wasn’t lost when it came to language.

Hahah that reminds me, earlier today I was in a building and I asked a guy where the bathroom was and he started laughing at me. I asked him what was funny and he was laughing because I said bathrooms singular and apparently they don’t do that here. (They use the plural.) Yeah, this story really isn’t as funny in English. 

Alors, je vais le dire en français… J’ai dit, « Où est la toilette ? » Et il m’a rie. J’ai dit, « Pourquoi tu ris ? » Il a dit, « Parce que on ne dit pas « la toilette », mais « les toilettes ». Mais ne t’inquiètes pas. C’était mignon. » 

I finally went to a French cinema the other day. We saw “The Town” and it was actually really good. It was in English (VO) with French subtitles. In France they show a lot of American films so you can see the original version with French subtitles (VO) or the film dubbed in French (VF). Tickets were 4 euros, which was half price since I’m under 26. In France there is tons of stuff that is free or reduced price for people under the age of 26. It’s pretty awesome.

One last thing to get a sense of what my life is like… 

A Week in the Life of Moi…

Monday: Wake up around 7 or earlier. Shower. Eat breakfast or grab some fruit as I run out the door to catch the bus. Swipe my student astuce bus card, which gives me unlimited bus access. French civilization class for three hours. Lunch break. International Human Resource Management for another three hours. Do as I please until I hear the dinner bell ring (usually between 7:30 and 8). Banks are closed on Mondays. I keep forgetting that.

Tuesday: Same as Monday, but this time I have class from 8:30 to 4 with two 15 minute breaks. Therefore, I bring a lunch with me.

Wed/Thurs : No class. Free day. Usually I sleep in and go to town or take care of business.

Friday: Same sched as Tuesday.

Weekend: Travel, hang out with friends. Speak French as much as possible.

Ok that’s enough for now. I hope everyone in the U.S. is doing well! I miss you all!

Videos!

Here are some videos of my house, my street, and my neighborhood in Rouen! You'll also meet Bernadette, the other exchange student living with the same family as me.

Numerical Notions

Bonjour!

1. Everyone in France loves the show “How I Met Your Mother.” I’ve never seen it. This poses a problem when they find out I’m from America and ask me if I like the show. I am going to start watching it.

2. In the morning the bus is so crowded you can’t help but be a part of everyone else’s conversations. Yesterday morning there were two boys next to me talking about Lady Gaga. It was funny, because all I understood was ‘Lady Gaga’. The name sounds way more humorous coming from a boy with a French accent. Trust me.

3. I love living with a French family. I get to eat meals with them and speak French. At dinner we talk about every topic imaginable. Usually we don’t get through dinner without consulting at least 2 reference books or dictionaries. The other night it took three books for them to find the English equivalent of the word for “chestnut”, and I don’t think that is even the word they were trying to express. (Keep in mind we speak in French, but since I didn’t know the French word for chestnut, the English translation was essential in this case.)

4.I was partners with a boy from Dublin the other day in class. He is the most Irish person I’ve ever met. His accent and personality made me feel like I was in a movie about Ireland.

5. At my school the classrooms change every week. It is extremely rare to find yourself in the same classroom more than once during the semester. This means it’s like the first day of class every week, with people coming in 20-30 minutes late. Totally normal. Also, you aren’t necessarily even in the same building every week. Kind of confusing.

6. I had my first day of my International Negotiation course yesterday. Among other things we did a simulation of a negotiation. We were paired with someone from another country and we were negotiating the details of a franchise contract. I was with a guy from Columbia. It took us forever to reach an agreement, and we technically didn’t even reach an agreement. When we got back together to discuss the simulation as a class, he described me (aka all Americans) as difficult to negotiate with and not very compromising. He said it was very tiring to negotiate with me as well. This was consistent with the view the rest of the class had of Americans. Who knew. It was really weird to be sitting in class listening to them discuss Americans.

7. Last night I met a bunch of girls from London, and I got to try out my accent. I was in heaven listening to them speak. 

8. I love practicing speaking French with my new French friends, but all they want to do is speak English!! Usually the conversations end up with me talking in French and them talking in English, aka there are a lot of misunderstandings and very few things get accomplished. There are a lot of people willing to speak French with me, though! Apparently they love the accents Americans have when speaking French. It’s so weird to think of having an accent when I speak French. I try to imagine the accents foreign people have when speaking English and reverse it, but I just can’t do it. Last night we were discussing Sarkozy at one in the morning….with the French there is always a stimulating conversation going on, no matter what time it is. Evidently, everyone “hates” Sarkozy, but if they were to have a vote tomorrow, everyone would vote for him.

9. Anyone familiar with those small square kids books that all represent a different attitude/mood? (The Mr. Men/Little Miss series…Mr. Happy, Mr. Lazy, Little Miss Chatterbox, etc. ) Well they have those in France too and I saw them in the bookstore so I bought one J It reminded me of childhood. I asked some French friends if they knew of the books and they said “of course!”. Even other international students from other parts of the world know of them. Funny that we all grew up with those books.

10. The French really know how to enjoy life. Yes, work is important and they work hard, but it doesn't dominate their lives. People enjoy meals, enjoy each other's company, and everyone isn't always in a rush like in the U.S. I love it. Life goes too fast in the U.S. In France they have relaxation down to a science, and packing too many activities into one day is unheard of. If you're reading this, go do something today that you truly enjoy. You have my permission =)

** Future Plans: This weekend I’m doing a run from the Eiffel Tower to Versailles. Should be pretty exciting with around 22,000 participants! I’ll also get to spend the weekend in Paris.

Au revoir!

Life Lessons and Highlights of the Past Week

Salut!

Everything in France has been just grand (aside from my unfortunate habit of missing the bus by about 30 seconds). Every day I feel like I learn something new. Here are the highlights from the past week…

A Lesson in French style/fashion:

The other day I was walking down the street, minding my own business, on my way home from school. All of a sudden I heard a furious honking/beeping noise. Looking around, I realized a bus driver was trying to get my attention. Odd. I was a little confused and slightly alarmed, because the bus was stopped in the middle of the road, not at a light and not at a bus stop. So there the bus driver was, waving furiously, and I was like "did I accidentally wander into the street unawares!?" So I looked around, but I was definitely still on the sidewalk. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, I proceeded to stare at the bus driver, a questioning look on my face. All of a sudden another man on the bus stood up and started making strange gestures. Both of them were yelling something at me. Although it seemed vitally important, I just couldn’t figure out what was going on. So I kept looking around when all of a sudden I discovered the problem....my skirt was pulled up and tucked weird, so it was really short. I pulled it down and the bus driver, other man and a few other passengers applauded while giving me pitiful nods as the bus drove away. This could possibly take the prize for most embarrassing moment of my life. The worst part of all is that the driver felt the need to stop the entire bus in the middle of the road to call my attention to the length of my skirt. Clearly, I should always cautiously check my appearance before stepping out the door. 

The story gets better.... I was walking in downtown Rouen about 30 min later when a lady jumps up from her chair at a cafe yelling "pardon! pardon!" until she got my attention. She proceeded to explain that I had a run in my nylons, and it was something I should take care of immediately. I thanked her and briskly walked away. (I mean really, how was I supposed to address that issue in the middle of the walkway in broad daylight??) How dare I lower French style and commit such a fashion faux pas! Don’t worry, the second I got home I threw my tights away and went to the store to get replacements.

Note to self: In France, appearance is of the utmost importance and not a laughing matter.

 

A Lesson in Café Etiquette:

 

After the embarrassment of the skirt/nylon incidents had slightly subsided, I went to lunch at a place called Chez Pépé. It is a little restaurant close to the site where Joan of Arc was burned. Although difficult to find, it was well-worth the search. This particular venue is apparently “the best pizza place in Rouen” and since I had been craving pizza for the past week, it was extremely satisfying. One of our friends was meeting us there, and evidently they won’t bring out your food unless everyone is there. So although we had ordered, the waiter spent 25 minutes avoiding our gaze and withholding our food. After a forceful look (eyes can say a lot) we got him to come to the table and expressed our desire to have our food brought out despite the absence of our third guest. Unlike any pizza I have ever had, the crust was extremely thin and it was delicious! Chez Pépé will definitely go on my list of restaurants to return to.

Note to self: You must be forceful, especially in food establishments, in order to get what you want.

The next day we went to a museum in Rouen called Musée des beaux arts. It had a special Impressionism exhibit and is always free to students! Rouen is one of the places that inspired Monet as well as many other impressionist artists. The paintings were beautiful, and it was so cool so be in the town where these works were made. The last painting we saw had the word “cerf-volant” in the title, and since that is currently my favorite French word (after my Kite Festival adventure in Dieppe) I was extremely excited.

As well as many interesting encounters in town, this week marked my first days of classes in Rouen. Only three of my classes started this week (French, Business French, and French Civilization), so I wasn’t too busy. I really like my classes and professors so far. All of the professors have their own unique character, and you can tell they are the type of people that always work to make their students engaged. All of the classes that started this week are taught in French; however, everyone in the class is an international student. Since there are only 37 students from the U.S. in the whole school, there was usually only one or two Americans in any given class. This made the discussions particularly interesting. I got to hear so many different perspectives on issues, and really learn about how other parts of the world view certain things. And yes, it’s true that the whole world thinks Americans are overweight and eat McDonalds all day long.

My Business French class is really interesting. It is kind of like a career class, but applies everything to France. Our first homework assignment was to bring a CV to class, which basically meant I had to translate my entire resume into French. Easier said than done.

Completely off the topic of classes…Laundry in France. My host family does my laundry for me, but I don’t think they have a dryer. It’s kind of awkward to walk into the backyard and see my underwear flapping in the wind. Oh well, such is life. The thing I really wonder about is what they do in the winter. Don’t the clothes freeze? I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Weather update: Apparently it’s supposed to rain a lot in Rouen. The only day it’s actually rained so far is a day when I forgot my umbrella, of course. Other than that it’s been blue skies and sunshine all day long. It’s gotten a little chillier this past week, but generally it’s in the upper sixties, making it quite enjoyable to be outside. 

A few days ago I opened a French bank account (so exciting). The cool thing was, I spoke French the whole time, so I must be improving! Granted we didn’t say that much during the fifteen minute period, but still.

This weekend was a lot of fun. Bernadette (the other exchange student living with my family) and I went to my French friend Simon’s flat to try a dessert he made. It was the first time he had ever cooked, and in the end he decided he didn’t like his dessert at all. Oh well. After that we went to an Irish pub. Surprisingly enough, the French love Irish pubs! On the way there we passed a church and a row of trees that always have tons of birds chirping away. Apparently the best chirping can be heard around 7 or 8 p.m., but we still heard a quiet chorus. The pub was lively, there was a soccer match on, and it turned out to be a great night. 

Something interesting I learned today is that the French don’t have a word for “to text” (as in texting on your cell phone.) Isaure, the daughter in my host family, told me that there is a word people use (that technically isn’t really a word) to describe the act of texting. The word is “textoter”. So for example “Je textote” would mean I am texting. (texto is a word for a text, so that is where the verb textoter comes from.)

Ok well it’s been a long week and weekend so it’s time for some tea and then I’m off to bed! 

Bonsoir tout le monde!