Now that I'm close to hitting the two month mark, I am officially out of the "honeymoon phase" of study abroad. Not to say there aren't hardships in the beginning of a study abroad semester, but you have more of a fire and determination when facing challenges early on. I am currently at the point when I am getting frustrated when I continue to have trouble with the language, and wonder why I am not progressing faster.
I am amazed at how I can feel so high and so defeated through the course of one day. I have heard about how hard study abroad is, but I always kind of thought that I am independent and mature enough to handle it. But, it really can be exhausting! When I want to say something, I have to think about every conjugation, every tense, every pronoun, even the way I position my mouth in order to avoid miscommunication, which would lead to further exhaustion. I will say, I am getting better at both the language and the cultural norms, but here are a few funny stories that I've accumulated over the past few days:
-I'll start off with a short one. Basically, eating is meant to be slow and enjoyed here, not something done on-the-go. So, when Meghan and I got on the train eating small bags on popcorn and sat down next to two men, they looked so disgusted. Then, of course, a small kernel had to fall out of my hand and onto the floor next to the one man's shoe. He stared right at me as he nudged it away from him, very annoyed. Whoops!
-Last Friday, Meghan's host mom invited her and her friends to a free play that she was hosting. Free is one of my favorite words, so a few of us decided to culture ourselves. During intermission, we learned about the different organizations that they were taking donations for that evening, and a few people came around with donation baskets to collect money from the crowd. When the woman passed our row, all of us did the very American thing to do and just kind of avoided eye contact or looked down, to which she responded in the most disgusted voice "Ce n'est pas gratuit!"/"This is not free!" Oh my gosh it was humiliating. We couldn't believe she called us out in front of everyone.
-Then, this Tuesday, I was eating a pain au chocolat in the Jardin des Tuileries while looking at a restaurant menu, simply trying to see if it was an expensive restaurant or not, when a French man came up to me and asked if I was French. I said no, and he told me that when the French see someone eating while looking at a restaurant menu, they think that that person is thinking about their next meal while still eating their current one. Aka a "gourmand", or someone who is excessively obsessed with food. Aka fat. Normally I probably would've been embarrassed, but I was actually really thankful for the cultural advice! I wish more French people would just lay it out like that.
-During dinner with my host family tonight, I asked my Swedish host sister "As-tu une fete pour ta grand-mere ce week-end?", meaning "Did you have a party for your grandmother this weekend?", and everyone at the table stared at me. Apparently my phonetics were way off track because everyone thought I asked her if she had a party for grammar this weekend...
^The point of this story is that I don't enjoy making small talk in the first place, so when I am unsuccessful and laughed at, it is VERY tempting to just never try again. But, alas, that's why I am here: to speak French.
All of these stories are funny, but they can really take a toll on you! But, even though things might get frustrating at times, it is ALL worth it for moments like last night, when I watched my favorite movie, Midnight in Paris. It was the first time that I've watched it since coming to Paris, and I was ecstatic when I recognized almost every place filmed in the opening sequence! It was a really amazing feeling to know that I once watched this movie and gazed upon the beautiful buildings, gardens, roads, etc., dreaming about someday visiting Paris, and now these are places that I pass every single day.
There is always something fun to do here. This past weekend, there was a wine festival in Montmartre. One might call Montmartre the "hipster" part of Paris. It is on a hill in the northernmost part of the city, so it has an amazing view. It is also the home of the Sacre Coeur if you are familiar with that (there is a picture below). Back in the day, a lot of famous painters and poets used to go to Montmartre to make their art (and drink absinthe). Today, there are still a ton of artists selling their beautiful paintings. If only I had 100 euro to blow, sighhh.
At the festival, there were different wines from all over the country, delicious food, and amazing street performers. It was such a great festival that I went back again on Sunday! Currently wishing I had one of the sausage sandwiches right now... SO good.
I am amazed at how I can feel so high and so defeated through the course of one day. I have heard about how hard study abroad is, but I always kind of thought that I am independent and mature enough to handle it. But, it really can be exhausting! When I want to say something, I have to think about every conjugation, every tense, every pronoun, even the way I position my mouth in order to avoid miscommunication, which would lead to further exhaustion. I will say, I am getting better at both the language and the cultural norms, but here are a few funny stories that I've accumulated over the past few days:
-I'll start off with a short one. Basically, eating is meant to be slow and enjoyed here, not something done on-the-go. So, when Meghan and I got on the train eating small bags on popcorn and sat down next to two men, they looked so disgusted. Then, of course, a small kernel had to fall out of my hand and onto the floor next to the one man's shoe. He stared right at me as he nudged it away from him, very annoyed. Whoops!
-Last Friday, Meghan's host mom invited her and her friends to a free play that she was hosting. Free is one of my favorite words, so a few of us decided to culture ourselves. During intermission, we learned about the different organizations that they were taking donations for that evening, and a few people came around with donation baskets to collect money from the crowd. When the woman passed our row, all of us did the very American thing to do and just kind of avoided eye contact or looked down, to which she responded in the most disgusted voice "Ce n'est pas gratuit!"/"This is not free!" Oh my gosh it was humiliating. We couldn't believe she called us out in front of everyone.
-Then, this Tuesday, I was eating a pain au chocolat in the Jardin des Tuileries while looking at a restaurant menu, simply trying to see if it was an expensive restaurant or not, when a French man came up to me and asked if I was French. I said no, and he told me that when the French see someone eating while looking at a restaurant menu, they think that that person is thinking about their next meal while still eating their current one. Aka a "gourmand", or someone who is excessively obsessed with food. Aka fat. Normally I probably would've been embarrassed, but I was actually really thankful for the cultural advice! I wish more French people would just lay it out like that.
-During dinner with my host family tonight, I asked my Swedish host sister "As-tu une fete pour ta grand-mere ce week-end?", meaning "Did you have a party for your grandmother this weekend?", and everyone at the table stared at me. Apparently my phonetics were way off track because everyone thought I asked her if she had a party for grammar this weekend...
^The point of this story is that I don't enjoy making small talk in the first place, so when I am unsuccessful and laughed at, it is VERY tempting to just never try again. But, alas, that's why I am here: to speak French.
All of these stories are funny, but they can really take a toll on you! But, even though things might get frustrating at times, it is ALL worth it for moments like last night, when I watched my favorite movie, Midnight in Paris. It was the first time that I've watched it since coming to Paris, and I was ecstatic when I recognized almost every place filmed in the opening sequence! It was a really amazing feeling to know that I once watched this movie and gazed upon the beautiful buildings, gardens, roads, etc., dreaming about someday visiting Paris, and now these are places that I pass every single day.
There is always something fun to do here. This past weekend, there was a wine festival in Montmartre. One might call Montmartre the "hipster" part of Paris. It is on a hill in the northernmost part of the city, so it has an amazing view. It is also the home of the Sacre Coeur if you are familiar with that (there is a picture below). Back in the day, a lot of famous painters and poets used to go to Montmartre to make their art (and drink absinthe). Today, there are still a ton of artists selling their beautiful paintings. If only I had 100 euro to blow, sighhh.
At the festival, there were different wines from all over the country, delicious food, and amazing street performers. It was such a great festival that I went back again on Sunday! Currently wishing I had one of the sausage sandwiches right now... SO good.
That's all for now! I decided to opt out of the trip to Marseilles this weekend and take a bike tour in Giverny instead. We are going to visit Monet's Garden before it closes for the year which I am very excited about.
Bisous,
Claire
Bisous,
Claire