Paris: Week Two, Day Two
Monday, July 3
Today is the first day of school! Yay! I don’t have much to direct me to the school other than an email from AIFS. The email say that it will serve as my student ID to get me past security. There is also the address of the school and a confusing map. My GPS says it will take about 15 minutes to get there. I’m planning for more time than that since I walk slow. We’ll see how it goes. I’m EXCITED!!!!
When I arrived at security, I was waived through to stand in a courtyard with a bunch of other lost students. We all stood in groups, not really talking to anyone. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. It was almost time for class and no one had come out to talk to us or anything. I saw some students start to get help from their points of contact. I didn’t have a point of contact from AIFS. It was just me. So, I pulled out my email, which did have the room number in it. I wandered around trying to find the Z floors. Once I found them, I commenced to climbing stairs. My classroom is on the third floor, room Z36.
When I entered the classroom, the teacher was at the desk. She didn’t even look up when I walked in. Other students were already there. No one spoke. Several chimes rang throughout the school. Then, the teacher started talking…in French. She immediately gave out important dates and started talking about the course. I was so confused. She spoke very quickly and used so many words I didn’t know. Immediately, I began to regret my decision to study in Paris. I looked around the classroom. Was everyone else understanding her? They looked like they did.
Here is a recording of my class. I didn’t remember until half way through to record. I’m going to record each day so that I can relisten to the teacher. I need practice! NOTE: This is a long file. No need to listen to all of it. It’s just to give you an idea of the level of French I’m facing at school.
After class, there was orientation.
I also recorded that meeting. It was a mix of French and English. I don’t know why these students were asking for French when most of them were English speakers and didn’t understand. It was kind of funny. The audio file includes some history of the school, which was originally a place for the Carmelites. There is some noise on the sound file that I can’t cleanup. It is temporary. NOTE: This is a long file. No need to listen to all of it. It’s just to give you an idea of the level of French I’m facing at school.
After orientation, we got a brief tour of the campus. On campus there is a garden, a church building, a crypt, and several other religious spaces which are still in use today. It’s a beautiful campus.
After all these exciting events, it was time for lunch. We got out so late that I missed the lunch hour. Most restaurants in this area close around 2pm and then reopen at dinner. So, I had a hard time finding a place that was open and that had good food. I’ve been shocked at the massive amounts of hamburgers, pizzas, and Indian food in this area. None of these are things I desire to eat while in Paris.
While hunting for food, I happened across my professor from last year and all her study abroad folks. I caught up with Max. Max is a student who was my neighbor in French class last semester at UMW. They are probably the coolest person I know right now. Seeing my teacher was weird. We almost went in for a hug and then stopped abruptly and went to a weird elbow bump thing! I just thought the hug might be awkward since she is my advisor and will still be teaching me next semester. Regardless, it was a mutual happiness to see each other. That’s always good.
I took a detour from my food search to tag along with this group for a bit. We hit up a comic book store.
And I saw a cool structure, but couldn’t get close enough to it for a decent picture. I tried though!
I got tired of following them, mostly because they were walking uphill, so I returned to search for food. I decided on l’Inspiration as my restaurant of the day.
Apparently they think Boylan drinks are something special from the US. I’ve never even heard of a Boylan soda.
I ordered my favorite, salmon. The menu made it sound better than it was. In fact, these were probably the smallest portions I’ve ever received of anything in France. At least it was delicious. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more. That salad was a delicious tease. And the salmon is definitely lacking in size. I would return here, but I would need to order two meals instead of one. After walking all day with no food, I needed a “hungry man” dinner. Not a kid’s meal. This is especially important since I usually get all my calories in the day from one meal.
I returned home after my meal. Upon arriving at the dorm, I decided to hunt for the laundry room again. I studied the evacuation maps, hoping for some hint of where this room might be. Maybe a water supply indicator, pictures of washing machines, or something. No luck. I did wander down some steps and stumbled across a gym!
My exploration wasn’t a total failure. I doubt I’ll walk these treadmills since I already do so much walking during the day. But, it’s good to know there is a space where I can jump around and not disturb anyone.
I spent the rest of my evening studying.
Check out my Paris, Week 2 album for more pictures.
