Yesterday, I met with the AIFS people, and while I don't know if anything will really change, it was, at least, mildly successful in that it finally got the point across. It was very much one of those cross-things-off-the-list days, where you go all over getting chores and other assorted not-fun things done. I signed up and paid for the trip to Normandy this weekend, as well as for a concert, ballet, and theater that AIFS offers every semester (they give us a list of available shows, and on a first-come-first-serve basis, we get to sign up). Because I got there in time to beat most of the kids in line, I am going to see the Lion King musical in French on December 3rd! There's also another day trip in two weeks to Fontainbleu and the chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, where Man in the Iron Mask was filmed. I signed up for that, and for the fondue soiree tonight at seven.
My feet hurt because I was wearing heeled boots that I'm not adjusted to walking all over town in, so I hung around in the computer lab of the AIFS office for a little while, talking with some of the other kids. They were signing up for classes back in the States for the spring semester (USC doesn't do registration until November 10th!). I spoke to the Resident Director too and got my classes changed. Instead of taking any class in English, I'm now taking three in French plus the language course. La civilisation française (French Civilization), la societé française (French Society), and La peinture du XVIème au XVIIIème siècles (Paintings from the 16th through 18th centuries). The painting class meets half the time at the Louvre. I'm taking a class on paintings with the real, live paintings right there. At the Louvre. How awesome an opportunity is that?
Two girls decided to go get food, and I tagged along. We stopped for Mexican, which was very good but not at all Mexican food like I'm used to eating. I mean, they had burritos, but the flavors and such were just so off. Not off in a bad way, but noticeable that I'm much farther away from Mexico than I usually am. After that was the really boring part: I had to buy a passe Navigo. It's a pass for the public transit system that you can charge for up to a month at a time. To get one involves going to one of the offices around town and presenting both ID and proof of residence in Paris. Then they take a horrific photo of you, and hand you a card that you take to little machines all over the place and charge it. Unfortunately, my credit card wasn't accepted at those machines, and I had to go to an actual window to charge the thing. 55 euro for a month of metro, bus, RER usage. Not a bad deal.
In addition, has everyone been keeping up with the financial crisis? Of course you have. Well, it's spread across the pond too, and banks over here are failing, in need of government bailout, etc. Which means that the euro has dropped against the dollar in recent days. Any little bit helps. I certainly don't like the state of our economy, but as long as we're not the only ones in financial crisis, well, I don't mind it so much. Misery loves company, and all that.
So I had to take a break from writing this post to go to the fondue soiree, and while I got a bit lost initially, I eventually found it. I, along with pretty much everyone else, was disappointed with the dinner. I like bread and cheese as much as the next Frenchperson, but I need something more substantial for a meal. It was not very satisfying all by itself.
Afterwards, it was raining. I got myself invited along with a group of kids who were going to someone's apartment to hang out, because apparently it wasn't far from the restaurant. We bought bottles of wine at the grocery store across the street, splitting up into pairs to buy them. Then we sat around and chatted for several hours. It was nice to sit around with kids my age and just chill, even if we did spend a lot of time razzing on other people.
I have no idea what the plans are for tomorrow. I would like to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, but I don't know if the weather will cooperate. And I get my schedule card for my French language classes tomorrow; classes start officially on Thursday. Mid-October, and I'm only now starting classes. South Carolina has their fall break this weekend.
Nice life, right?
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