Au sujet du temps, here's a typically Parisian day: overcast gray clouds, overcast white clouds, sun, overcast, sun, overcast, sun, overcast dark gray clouds and wind, three drops of rain, sun.
Morning. I work on blog and then homework from French class. Read a very interesting article by Simone de Beauvoir, written in 1949, about the situation of women at that time (obviously, she's fairly negative about it!) and then answer questions. I have to look up a LOT of words in my new French/French dictionaire so it's slow going. Leave the apt at about 12:30. I'm using my colorful LeSportSac bag (thank you, Joan!) as a bookbag for school. (My backpack is my "handbag" with all my other stuff in it.) When I exit the front door, there is a huge (for Europe anyway) truck backing up in r. de la Verrerie (which is a pedestrian thoroughfare where I am) literally inches away from the cafe chairs/planters on either side of the street. No one could walk by until the truck backed up far enough. Drivers here are amazing in how they can manouver in small spaces.
Luxembourg Gardens. I finally got around to looking at a map to figure out the best route to the Alliance, and it actually is shorter. Quelle surprise. Part of the route takes me through the Luxembourg Gardens where the flowers are divine. Red, yellow, purple: the colors I associate so strongly with French gardens. Must photograph if I ever get my camera situation sorted. There are palm trees around the reflecting pool. Very nice tennis courts.
Noted on walk:
1. Never cross the street without waiting for the little green man. (Bus - no horn, just a little bell ringing, like a bicycle bell).
2. Woman carrying beautiful woven basket, lovely cloth in bottom, with bread and leeks poking up from the top.
3. Place de l'Odeon is very different from Carrefour de l'Odeon: tres calme. Two hotels worth investigating: Hotel le Palais Medicis and Hotel Michelet Odeon.
4. All of the trash cans (les poubelles) in Paris are now sturdy plastic bags hanging from metal frames. I wonder if they are biodegradable bags since the French seem very conscious of l'ecologie. I'm happy to say I have seen no SUVs this time, other than one parked Land Rover.
5. UPS truck: Services Mondiaux
6. Arcimboldo (1526-1593) exhibition at the Musee du Luxembourg, 19 r.Vaugirard, from 15 septembre to 13 janvier. Add that to the list. He's the guy who painted all those people made up of fruits and vegetables.
French School. In class today, Camille gives us a vocabulary "test" (no grades; everyone is just here to learn) in which we have to match up various verbs having to do with speaking with their definitions. The basic verb of speaking is dire, literally "to tell" , but these words all have to do with various nuances of speaking, like "to scold," or "to tease." Out of the 12 verbs, I get exactly 5 of them correct. Of course, all the definitions are in French so there's that problem too! Here's one of them:
Calomnier - Jeter voluntairement le discredit sur quelqu'un ou quelque chose en faisant courir sur son compte, par esprit de malveillance, des accusations graves et inventees de toutes pieces. It means "to slander" but then you knew that, didn't you? :)
Mes confreres. It turns out that there are two more people in the class who weren't here yesterday. So there are six others, only one man, and me. I don't know all of their life stories yet, but give me a few more days. Only one other, Banning, is from the US. She's a dancer from Tennessee, went to Juilliard at age 17, was in NYC for 7 years either in school or dancing free lance, then got a job dancing with a group in Stockholm where she met son copain who is from Paris. They eventually decided to live together so she moved to Paris two months ago. She speaks French very well; in fact, we had this entire conversation in French.The other students are:
-Daniel (from Italy) is an architect;
-Fabienne (from Brazil; she's married and came here because of her husband's job, he's a consultant of some sort);
-Shwu (pronounced "Shoo"), from Malaysia; she may leave the AF to take classes at the Sorbonne);
-Adouanne, from Egypt. She's married and expecting a baby.
-Iromie, another pretty young woman who's from Japan.
Mariages! Here's something else we did in class (among many other things -it's three hours): Camille showed us part of a French film, Mariages!, that has a wedding scene. He muted the sound and had us watch a clip of first the priest, then each of the four witnesses, then the mother, the father, all saying or indicating something by gesture . . . and we had to imagine what each of them were saying. Since we are studying indirect discourse, we had to structure each "conversation" that way. So rather than saying, for example, "I am leaving." we had to put it this way, "He said that he was leaving." Or instead of "I read this book." we would say "He told me that he read this book." Or instead of "When I have finished my studies, I will go to Japan." this "He told me that he will go to Japan when he has finished his studies." Ok, so that doesn't look so hard, right? Well, it is, because in English we don't really conjugate verbs (well, we conjugate them, but they all have the same form except the third person singular) but in French, every verb tense is spelled if not pronounced differently. I really need to be in a class for Remedial French Verb Tenses. I'm going to have to bone up in my spare time.
After class, Camille shows me the Alliance library and media center. They have lots of books and DVDs but it turns out that you have to read or look at them on the premises. I wanted to take home "Le Diner de Cons" to watch it again because I have bought a ticket to see the play which is being performed at the Theatre Porte-Saint-Martin during October and November. So I'll have to plan ahead for that or find a local video rental place.
Noted on Walk Home:
1. Luxembourg Gardens: pony rides, school children, have to walk bicycles through park
2. Well-dressed man working on car (wearing disposable plastic gloves) parked on the side of the street. He finishes, locks the car, and then gets on his motorcycle parked across the street and drives away. I guess one doesn't give up one's parking space easily.
3. Finally found un traitteur that has celeri remoulade. First one I've seen. It's conveniently located next to a cheese shop, a bakery, and a wine shop at Place Maubert, the intersection of r. Lagrange and Blvd St Germain, about a 15-minute walk from my apt.
4. Restaurant La Mediterranee, Place de l'Odeon, looks interesting.
Dinner. Omelette fromage, salade verte, vin rouge in little cafe (le Fleurus) on the way home. A simple meal but 12,30 euros.
Evening. Read (Digging to America), nap, talk to Eleanor, work on blog. It's late and I'm tired; will have to clean this up and finish tomorrow. Pedometer: 8049 (I told you it was shorter!)
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