Have you ever had one of those days where absolutely nothing goes wrong and you are just so unbelievably happy all day? Well, today was my day. I can only remember two days like this in the history of my life. One with Emma James this spring and today. It feels great. It started off with a 7am bus ride. So early. Just like every day, the mountains just make me happy. The 40 minute commute to the CUEF is filled with incredible, breathtaking views of the mountains. This morning it was dark and cloudy at the tops of the mountains with highlights of bright sunlight shining through. Amazing. Every day. Man am I privledged!
I chilled out to Lupe Fiasco on the bus ride because I was super nervous for the placement exam that started at 8:30 this morning. However, the exam was MUCH easier than I expected. The pre-orientation classes were balls hard and this test was so so so so much easier. One might even say heavenly. After the exam, Molly, Greg, and I ended up splitting from the group because we wanted to photocopy our passports and get our OFII forms sent in so we can leave the country. Kind of important if I want to visit Switzerland in two weeks. Without getting that completed, which takes at least a couple weeks, we cannot get back into France after we leave. The French government has decided to be super annoying and go way overboard on security regulations and be extremely unclear about the directions on how to clear these regulations. Besides the complicated visa application we also need to get this OFII form just to stay for a semester. As far as I know, France is the only country that does this shit. Figures.
Anyways, after getting that all sorted out, we took the tram into the city and found a great Mexican restaurant. I got a burger. Yum yum. Apparently, the French think that the definition of America is burgers and obesity. So, I exemplified what America is with my food choice. Immediately after we went to a crêperie across the street. We chocolated out – with beaucoup de chocolate, ice cream, et bananas sur les crêpes. SO GOOD. (Please note my franglais). I also knocked down a sign on the wall with my backpack. Fail. Kind of embarrassing. Then we visited le musée de Grenoble and walked around for hours looking at the art. For some reason Molly and I had a neverending case of the giggles. We roped Greg in too. My crazy side mos def came out today.
 |
| Me and Greg at museum |
 |
| Musee de Grenoble |
 |
| C v. F - Greg you know what's up |
 |
| So French |
 |
| Life is so complex - Martial Raysse |
After the museum, we went to a café and got drinks. Basically the definition of our day was eating with a couple things in between. Haha gotta love France. I can’t get over the fact that we literally have nothing to do from lunchtime today till lunchtime tomorrow. It’s definitely not Bowdoin style living here in Europe. So chill. We people watched forever and tried to point out the European v. American trends. Here, guys wear capris, girls wear belts over dresses around their waste rather than below their chest, and flip flops are not as common. That’s all we’ve got so far. I don’t think people watching will ever get old.
After doing some errands together, we split ways and I explored the city for the first time on my own. It felt so good to listen to my ipod, stop in stores, and just wander around the city. I love being in a new place. It’s so exciting. I feel so grown up. I am almost ready to become a real person and get a real person job. When I said that to Molly she shushed me. I’ll leave that for the (somewhat) far away future and keep my semi-dependence on my parents for the moment.
When I got back to the house, I decided to hang out downstairs and help Nicole with the laundry, dishes, and other odd jobs around the house. Before today I’ve felt super uncomfortable making small talk and its felt extremely forced. But today, the French was just flying out of my mouth. I was telling her about my day and casually asking about hers. Then at dinner, I was actually contributing to conversation. Today was the first day where I literally have been able to comprehend everything. It’s been so frustrating to not understand what is being said simply at the dinner table. Before the words all slurred together and I couldn’t even recognize the vocab I did know. But finally, I can comprehend what is being said. I recognize the words that I know and ask about the ones I don’t. So excited! I also bought a super small notebook that I write down all the new vocab I learn.
Another cool thing that happened tonight is after dinner Elliot and I just went on for an hour talking about pronunciation, vocab, and sentence structure – all in French! He has been so nice, patient and understanding and actually seems to have fun helping me out. I told him tonight that from now on I want to only talk French with him in the house, except in emergency situations, and I want him to correct me whenever I do something wrong. So I threw a bunch of questions at him and now finally am correcting some of the mistakes I’ve been practicing wrong for so many years. This is exactly the individualized attention I’ve needed to take my French to the next level. Having Elliot as well as two native speakers in my household are resources I am finally figuring out how to take advantage of. Despite the doubts I had earlier in the week I am now 100% positive I made the right decision about this fall. I am going to be so much better at French at the end of this semester. I am just so satisfied that I am learning a practical skill that I’ve always dreamed of having. Soon I’ll be able to talk with my relatives in French and communicate with the peeps in my home town and across the border. Wadddup Canada?!?! Like I said earlier, today was just so, so happy!
As for the weekend, it was super chill. I slept in till 12 on Saturday, got woken up for brunch with the fam, went out to eat in town with Molly and Elliot, and went to the movie Tu Seras Mon Fils (which is so bizarre as are most French films). On Sunday I went for a run and ended up getting lost and running for 3 hours. Whoops! I’m excited for this weekend to explore more of France. The group is planning on going to Chartreuse. There is a sweet distillery there where there is famous liquor made only by the Chartreuse monks. There is also the longest liquor cellar in the world. Che Che Che Che Che Che Check it out.
A bientôt!
No comments:
Post a Comment