Le Trog: 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!