Back by Popular Demand

Well, someone asked me for another post, so back by some demand anyway. Today is the one week anniversary of me and Paris, and what a week it's been. My brain is overflowing with thoughts, so I'm just going to go freeform here.

My program, CUPA, is really fantastic. We're all set up with bank accounts, unlimited transportation cards (btw, [NYSubway --Dirt] x Regular Schedule = Paris Métro), and tickets to the Opéra and the Comedie Française. Sympa!! The next two weeks are full to the brim with orientation courses on language, culture and methodology of the French school system. Fun fact about Paris youth: they have a highly developed slang, called "argot," which is derived from the code language of the Mafia. Part of it is a system called "Verlan," which is "envers" ("reverse") backwards. They take a lot of words and flip them, then spell them phonetically (e.g. ziva = vas-y, the French expression for "let's go!") On top of that, they're all about abbrevs. We had to decipher this text message in the "langage jeunes": Slt ! Koi 2  ? Jvoulè savoir si tT OQP ou stup voulè paC tt à l'h ? @ + (Translation: Yo what's up? Just seeing if you're busy or if you wanna chill in a little bit?). Cool to think about, not so cool to learn--it's like I'm trying to learn a whole new language!

My host family is simply wonderful. I've been playing lots of games with the kids, and we wasted no time in discovering that we have a mutual love for dance parties. They're partial to Michael Jackson and Taio Cruz (they know all the words to "Dynamite"--too funny), so those are our jams of choice at the moment. Most French people that I've encountered so far listen to American music, which I think is kind of weird. My host parents had a dinner party Tuesday night, and Tupac and Amy Winehouse songs were playing in the background like NBD. (Side note: the French expression for "no big deal" is "c'est pas grave," so I think I'm going to have to start using "CPG" instead of "NBD." When in France...)

I've seen the Louvre (have yet to venture inside), Notre Dame, L'Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. Yesterday CUPA did a tour of L'institute du Monde Arabe, and today was a tour of La Marais, one of the trendiest quartiers (neighborhoods) in Paris. All of the buildings here are so beautiful and so old! I would love to read the stories embedded in their ancient walls. Friday night Evylene, my host mom, took me to a concert of L'Orchestra Philharmonique de la Radio France--her good friend plays the flute. It was fantastic!

Today I decided to try out a Protestant church in my arrondissement. Everyone there was super friendly and welcoming--one woman even invited me to have dinner at her house! What I found interesting was that almost everyone there was 60 or older--France, like much of Europe, is very much in a Post-Christian phase. Evylene explained to me that religion in French youth is almost nonexistent. It's an interesting phenomenon in a city filled with gorgeous cathedrals--I'll have to do a little more exploring and talk more on that later.

Writing for so long in English is weird--it's been all French, all the time for the past week. My comprehension and speech has already improved vastly. Learning a new language is really an all-consuming process--I'm only reading, writing, speaking and thinking in French for the next four months (well, alright, I'll make an exception for you, my dear Trog readers). But it's so rewarding--suddenly my world has opened to almost 500 million people who speak French as a first, second, or foreign language.

It's getting late here (already 22h12!), so I will leave you with a few photos. I hope wherever you are, whenever you are, you are well. A bientôt, mes amis!

My bed!

Where did it go? IT'S THE WALL!

Petit desk and window

My creative space

Robert (host father), Edouard (ginger), Hugo and Carla--oh, and the Eiffel Tower

Evylene (host mother) and Elia with L'Arc de Triomphe

Bonjour Paris!

I'm FINALLY here. Today was a multilingual whirlwind--I left Boston at 8:30 pm, arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland, at 1:40 am (6:40 local time), left at 2:50 am, and arrived in Paris at 6:10 am (around noon in Paris). FYI, Reykjavik looks scarier to pronounce than it is, it's just "rek-ya-vik." Oh, and here's a fun fact about Iceland--during the winter months it has about 4 hours of sunlight per day. Total.

Now I'm tucked away in my cozy little room in the 15th arrondissement. Our apartment is tiny, but so adorable with very edgy, modern decor. My room has one of those beds that you put straps around and fold up into the wall, and thank god it does, because it literally takes up the whole room when it's down. The wallpaper is this awesome stripey deal with different colors, and my window looks out into the courtyard--but I'm going to stop rambling and just post pictures later, that will be more fun for everyone.

My host family is the best. There are young 4 children, who are friendly and smart and extremely forgiving of my broken French. The parents are also wonderful, they have made me feel so welcome and comfortable. They are also really understanding with my languages struggles, and you can bet that there were a lot of them today (3 hours of sleep + 3 countries in 12 hours = me telling stories from the past using the future tense).

After lunch Robert, my host father, took me on a walk to the Eiffel tower with Carla (age 6), Edouard (age 9) and Hugo (age 10). It took us approximately 5 minutes to walk there. Just saying. We went to the park and played a game of soccer, and the most amazing thing happened. I saw all of these tourists walking around with their maps, speaking English, and I realized I was just part of the Parisian scene, yelling in (probably totally wrong) French and kicking a soccer ball with a family. Incroyable. We walked under the tower and along the Seine on our way back to the apartment. Paris is just beautiful--elegant old buildings and cobblestone streets. I haven't quite gotten the feel of the energy yet, but it's much softer than NYC. Much more...European. Go figure.

Ok I promise I won't spew like this all the time, but it seems appropriate on the first day. The clock on my desk reads 22:14, and I should probably get to bed--the first day of Orientation is tomorrow. Although Robert loaned me some French detective novels, and Camus' "La Peste" is sitting on my desk looking intriguing. Perhaps un peu de lecture, then some much-needed sleep. I'm incredibly thankful for safe travel and a wonderful start to my journey. Bonne nuit, mes amis!

Hi Mom and Dad!

Helloooo cyberspace! I never thought I would have my very own trog to maintain. I hope it's easier than a goldfish, because I never quite got the hang of that. 

This trog is primarily for my parents (hi guys!), but if you're here and you're not named Mom or Dad, welcome! I'll be studying in Paris, France during the spring semester of 2011, and I plan on extending my travel into the summer. June is pretty much a blank slate at this point, and July will be spent in Fes, Morocco, studying Arabic. I could talk about all of the excited, scared and bittersweet emotions I'm feeling in the face of my immanent departure to France, but I'm still in Vermont, and there are mailboxes to be shoveled out and wood boxes to fill. Talk to you soon, mes amis!