Plaisirs Simples

The other day was one of those days that are such good days for no particular reason (well for a lot of little reasons). First and foremost, it was sunny outside for the first day in a while, which meant I could actually see the Alps; there’s a very strong correlation between the amount of sun available and my mood anyway, but being able to see the Alps again made it even better. Not only was it sunny, but it was actually pretty warm; I think it got up to like mid-50s, which I wouldn’t have thought warm 2 months ago but now totally appreciate. Another nice surprise was a package from my mom that had a ton of things I had been wanting/needing – there were some more socks, which meant I didn’t have to wash mine as urgently, some food from back home that I haven’t had here, a few practical things that were nice to have, and some little extras like peanut butter M&Ms (the best kind and the first peanut butter I’ve had since coming to France). Plus it was nice to know that someone back home is thinking about me and looking out for me :) since I didn’t have class until 12:30, I went into town and spent some time at the FNAC (basically like Barnes and Noble), which automatically puts me in a good mood; I looked at some books and bought a cookbook for students so I can hopefully learn to cook and make my own meals some while I’m here, which is an exciting prospect for me. Plus I got asked directions from 2 different people, and even though I couldn’t really help them since I’m still kind of new to the city, I took their asking me as a sign that I sort of blend in here and don’t immediately look American. I got onto campus half an hour before class and got a Panini from the place right next to the tram; delicious, as usual. Also, I unknowingly had a conversation with a deaf guy (I’m such a spaz), but it was still nice because I gave him my last euro towards his campus charity, which just makes you feel good inside lol also, I got to see Cecilia and Shana before class, which was super exciting because I missed them like crazy while we were apart haha unfortunately class kind of sucked because we had a substitute, and I had to try and catch up from 3 days of being absent, but I just reminded myself that I had been in Nice, so that made things easier. After class, I met Cecilia at her apartment so we could chat while she made a traditional Polish dish that I can’t currently remember the name of…we always have a lot of fun together because we’re both totally silly and ridiculous yet also have really mature discussions about life. Her host mom came home while I was there and invited me to stay for dinner with them and her boyfriend; even though I knew I was going to be my usual awkward self, it was a good opportunity to practice French and get some French culture. It ended up being really nice despite the fact that I’m so self-conscious with my French that I barely talked; I did understand almost everything, so that was a little reassuring in my French skills. It was really interesting though because we talked about things like music/movies and then politics; so it was definitely a cultural experience. Plus the food was “dumb good,” as Cecilia would say, and it meant I didn’t have to find food for myself for a night. Since we didn’t finish with dinner until 10, I had to leave soon after to get home and do my homework and such, but overall it was a really good day! I think a lot of my excitement has come from finally getting a hang of the pronunciation of the letter “r” in French; I know it sounds really random, but they pronounce every “r” using a sound that I’ve never had to make before, so I’ve had to teach myself and my throat muscles how to make the sound. It’s actually really hard, so until recently, I couldn’t do it and essentially spoke with the equivalent of a lisp. But I’ve been practicing, and I’m finally starting to get where I can do it more and more easily; I think once I’ve got it down, it will help my pronunciation so much and is really the difference, I think, between sounding like you know French and not.

La Côte d'Azur

It’s currently Carnaval, and since Nice has one of the biggest Carnaval celebrations in the world and is only about 5 hours from Grenoble, the CUEF decided to take a trip there; API is going the last weekend in April, but since half of us aren’t in the extended program and will be gone by then, we got to go on this trip instead as a sort of “make up.” Although I was really excited to be missing 3 days of class and to be there for Carnval, I do wish that Cecilia and Shana could have come too; though I did get to spend a lot of time with Sarah, whose company I enjoy more and more every day. The bus ride down there went more quickly than expected thanks to my iPod, frequent naps (catching up on sleep from Geneva), and the French countryside, which is every bit as beautiful as portrayed on film. I did learn a few fun facts from our tour guide/trip organizer, Vincent. For example, of the 3 mountain ranges that surround Grenoble, only the Belledonne are Alps; the Vercors and the Chartreuse are technically “pre-Alps.” Also, the autoroute that we took to Nice is the most heavily traveled highway in the world. It was dark by the time we got to Nice, so even though we couldn’t see it in all its glory, it was still pretty at night. We went to a restaurant that Vincent knew and everyone got the menu, for simplicity’s sake (there were about 30 of us). It actually ended up being really good with a salade Niçoise (salad with tuna, eggs, tomatoes), steamed veggies, bread (of course), fries (lol), chicken, and a super chocolaty éclair. Afterwards, some of us just walked around looking at the Carnaval stuff until we found a bar we wanted to go to (ironically, it ended up being the “American Bar,” but since there were more non-Americans than Americans, that’s not why we picked it haha). Sarah, Brittain (another girl from AIFS intensive), and I shared some wine, which was so relaxing and prompted me to go to sleep as soon as I got back to the hotel. The next morning we ate the hotel’s continental breakfast (which included a ton of “pain au chocolat”) and everyone took a bunch of food to eat later haha we drove by the Mediterranean to get to the autoroute, and oh man was it beautiful. We drove along the road that follows the cliffs and the coastline, which offered so many great views. The little town of Eze is on the way to Monaco, so we stopped there for a couple of hours to eat lunch and look around; we toured a perfume factory, which would have been more interested had it not smelled so strongly that I got a headache. Afterward, Sarah and I just walked around the town and up to the “fort,” which is where a lot of the little streets are; the best way to describe Eze is “charming.” Then we continued onto Monaco; most of the group went to the Musée Océanographique, but Sarah, Tamela, and I decided that we wanted to spend what time we had there looking around and not in a museum. We walked through this beautiful park (it was pretty warm and the sun had come out!) which was next to the water, so the views were amazing; I kept thinking how much my Grandma would have enjoyed seeing it…then we saw the royal palace (where Princess Stephanie lives, represent!) and the changing of the guard. We spent the rest of the time walking through the streets and just enjoying the weather. We got back on the bus and went to Monte Carlo for about an hour and a half; it was “très riche” like the rest of Monaco, so it was an interesting juxtaposition with quaint little Eze. By the time we got back to Nice (what should have been a 45 minute drive took a lot longer because of traffic), we were all tired and really hungry; I would have eaten anywhere, but Tamela and Brittain were looking for something more specific, so it took longer than I would have liked. However, the place we went ended up being really good, so it worked out fine. Afterward, we just went back to the hotel and to sleep after a day of tons of walking. The next morning was the same deal with the breakfast (and stealing it haha), and then we got on the bus for Cannes. We had about 3 hours there, so we spent most of it at the fort/church on top of a hill and on the beach. I liked the city of Cannes a lot, but it was a little anticlimactic since I was hoping for more about the Film Festival; it was only the building and a “walk of fame” of sorts with a lot of people I didn’t really know. The hill provided some nice views (despite it being cloudy), but my favorite part was the beach; we spent a lot of time walking on the sand and sitting out on the rocks nearby, which was really therapeutic. We got back to Nice around 1 before the parade started at 2:30 (it was, after all, Mardi Gras!); before we even got to our seats, we were assaulted by confetti and Silly String and all sorts of crazy costumes. It was such a fun atmosphere with music and dancers and people and such an amazing and beautiful parade; I’m so so grateful that I got to experience that. Easily one of the coolest things I’ve seen. All of the floats had some sort of underlying political message, and there were even balloons of Obama and the Statue of Liberty; I never want to hear anyone say that the French hate us again because I have so much evidence that they don’t (but more on that later!). After it ended, we walked around looking at the various Carnaval-related things (like an actual little carnival) before getting a coffee. We went out on the beach (which is made up of millions of smooth, beautiful rocks and so different from what I’m used to) for a while and decided to have a picnic the next day for lunch (my idea, btw lol). We went to the same row of restaurants we had been to the night before and found the best little restaurant; the food was amazing, it ended up being cheap since Sarah and I shared a pizza, our waiter was such a fun guy, and I laughed my ass off at Sarah’s hysterical self. Yet another good life decision! I watched some TV and took a shower since Lexi wasn’t in the room and then went to sleep again before she got back. Sarah, Tamela(Brazil), Brittain(Iowa), Kaïsa(Finland), and I decided to get up kind of early so we would have time for our picnic and the bastille before the Bataille de Fleurs (“Battle of Flowers”). Unfortunately for all of our plans, the long-promised rain had arrived, so our picnic was already out of the question; we still all managed to climb the hill, which afforded a nice albeit cloudy view, and spend some more time on the beach. The Bataille de Fleurs ended up being cancelled, which was disappointing, not because of the 10 euros it cost, but because that would have been so cool to see. Mais c’est la vie. Even though we had 2 ½ hours before the bus left, I was so tired and frustrated and my feet were soaked, so I headed back to the hotel. It ended up being pretty fun because some of us in the group played Uno (which was interesting in French haha), and Sarah and I bought snacks/food for the bus ride home so we wouldn’t have to pay more for them later. The bus ride was pretty routine; lots of sleeping on my part, and once again it went by quickly. When we stopped for dinner, the Olympics were on so we watched some; it’s funny because I feel so detached from the rest of the world over here. Not that France doesn’t have access to all the things the United States does, it’s just that my lifestyle here doesn’t make things like news and TV shows and all that as readily available as back home. I really did have such an amazing time, despite the weather, but I would love to go back when it’s warmer and sunnier; I took a ton of pictures, and none of them do the amazing scenery justice. France as a whole is such a gorgeous place; not necessarily more beautiful than the US, just novel to me, which is nice (haha get it?). And weirdly enough, I missed Grenoble after only a few days; I’ve already formed an attachment to it as “home,” so it was nice to be back “home.” I also missed Shana and Cecilia, who I haven’t not seen for more than a day since I met them; though it was really nice to meet some other people from other places where, once again, our only common language is French (well, most people speak English too).

Day Trip to Genève

Since Geneva is only about an hour and half from Grenoble, we decided that would be a good first trip to kind of test out the trains and our dynamic and everything without API. It being so close also allowed us to see the city without having to get a hostel for a night, which probably saved us a lot of money in a city as expensive as Geneva. Shana, Sarah, Cecilia, and I bought our tickets from the SNCF office Friday afternoon for about 30 euros roundtrip. Our bus was leaving at 6 am the next morning, and since Grenoble's public transportation doesn't start running until about that time, Sarah and I wouldn't have been able to get into the city before our bus left. Luckily, Shana and Cecilia could put us up in their host homes for the night. We met up around 5:45 and walked to the train station (since it was close and walking was faster than waiting for the tram would have been). Jack was supposed to come with us, but when he was trying to work out his tickets, they tried to charge him like 60 euros for a day trip to Geneva so he understandably didn't want to pay that much. I was still pretty excited, so I talked poor Shana's ear off for a little while before we all went to sleep haha both the bus ride there and back were mostly in the dark because of the time of day, so I didn't feel guilty sleeping through it. Overall my impression of Geneva is that it's a beautiful city, but it's both expensive and confusing. The expense for us personally was because we had only euros, and they still use their Swiss Francs because they haven't joined the EU; so we would pay with Euros, which was fine, but we would always lose some money if we got change (which we didn't with some of the stupid machines) because it was in Francs, which are about the same as the American dollar. It was confusing even to navigate the train station and certainly to find the office of tourism, which was our first stop to plan things to do for the day. Also, the weather was less than ideal; somehow we all underestimated how cold it would be (it snowed on us all morning) so that quickly influenced our plans toward something indoors. Since we only were there for a day, we wanted to see as much of the city as possible; we opted for a bus tour that would take us to all the big sights (UN, WHO, the lake, etc.) and was in a warm bus. I hadn't planned on paying for much once we got there (we even packed lunches and stuff to not have to buy food), so I was a little mad about paying 30 Francs for it, but I really do think it was the best decision. Our tour didn't start until 1:30, so we walked around and went to a watch museum (when in Switzerland, you know lol), which was really interesting, but again we had to pay for it. Then we stumbled upon a market, where we looked at some of the stands and talked with some guys our age about a music festival they're trying to bring to Geneva. We ate lunch in a Starbucks (oops) and headed out to meet our bus. The tour was exactly what we needed to see the city; it wasn't the best circumstances for taking pictures, but it was definitely a lot better for seeing the city as a whole. And it was warm. My favorite things to see were the United Nations building, the World Health Organization building, and the UNICEF building; that's definitely my favorite part of Geneva. We also saw a lot of other buildings that I don't have time to talk about right now but will come back to. The tour ended at 3:30 and our bus didn't leave until 6, so we went in some gift stores and chocolate stores :) and just killed time until the bus driver would let us back on the bus (not until 15 minutes before we left and it was super cold outside). We slept on the bus ride home since we were all somewhat delirious from fatigue and cold, but again, it was dark so we didn't miss any scenery. Overall, it was a beautiful city in terms of the architecture and the lake and everything, and we had been forewarned about the expense, so that wasn't a bad surprise. It was really cool because everyone spoke French, un-accented English, and probably German too; in fact, some percentage of the population of Geneva (I want to say it's like 25%) is comprised of people from other countries. I don't think I would want to live in Geneva (unless I somehow swing a job with the UN or WHO), but it's definitely a nice place to visit. Despite the cold and some frustration, it was a really good day, and I can't wait for our next trips :)

Laser Tag, Bar Hopping, Teaching Foreigners "That's What She Said" Jokes, and a Blizzard

The past few days have mostly consisted of class, trip-planning, and conversation at cafés, coffee shops, etc. Shana and I found this one coffee shop (appropriately named French Coffee Shop) that I think will be where I spend a lot of time and money over the next few months; they had a drink called a Chocotella (chocolate + Nutella), which I think should justify things completely. And unlike the majority of the last couple of weeks we've been here, the weather lately has been consistently cloudy and colder; most days have been snowy, but it hasn't stuck to the ground. Until yesterday. Shana and I met at another favorite restaurant, Pain et Cie, for what turned into breakfast and lunch haha we got coffee and croissants for breakfast but realized that we would need more food and more warmth to brave the cold for class, so we ate soup and bread until we were both about to explode. It had already been snowing for most of the day and was starting to stick, so we knew to expect at least some accumulation. By the time we got out of class at 4:30, it was starting to snow harder and was, I think, actually colder. We had to meet at one of the tram stops for our "Laser Game" at 5:45, so that didn't give us time to go home first. Shana, Kelly, and I got to the stop, which was more in the center of town than the university, and it was coming down really hard and the wind was blowing like crazy; Samantha had said to Ashley that it was a blizzard, and at that point we believed her. It was far too cold to wait outside (especially since I hadn't brought gloves or a scarf in my hurry out the door and was also wearing Converses instead of boots because I knew we were playing laser tag) so we found the nearest café, and sat in the warmth for as long as possible. We met some other kids at the stop and went to the laser tag place to wait for Marie; eventually there was a pretty good group of us, despite some people getting stuck on trams and in traffic because of the snow. Laser tag was awesome, of course, and running around for 45 minutes thawed out my toes. I came in 3rd overall, which was pretty awesome, but I think everyone had a good time (Shana quote of the day: "This is the most fun I've ever had!"). We were all hungry so were going to go with some of the Language and Culture kids to get pizza, but instead Lexi, Ashley, Sam, Shana, and I went to this café right near Place Notre Dame. Getting there was pretty bad; we had to wait in the snow for the tram, cram like sardines onto the tram, walk through the snow and slush (still wearing crappy shoes), and decide where to go. This place ended up being totally delicious and worth it; we all got their "menu," which was a ham, egg, and cheese crêpe, a salad, and some kind of alcoholic cider drink for like 10 euros. After dinner, we went to the first bar, London Pub, which I had heard good things about and been wanting to go to. It's such a cool place; good music, all of this tacky but awesome British shit on the walls, the people speak English, which comes in handy certain times, there were a lot of cute guys, AND I got a glowstick in my drink! Sam's friends from class Kuba(no way I spelled that right), who's Polish, and Maui(again, probably wrong), who's Spanish; we all talked and explained to them what a "That's what she said" joke is haha it was a lot of fun. We then wandered for a while trying to find Darrell's bar (this guy who used to be in API and stayed here on his own but still hangs out with API people lol), Le Couche-Tard; meanwhile it was still snowing, and I was having more issues than normal with coordination (we were on a sidewalk that was in between a car and a wall and there was a lightpole in the middle of the sidewalk; I misjudged my width and thought I could fit through but got caught right at my hips, which did leave multiple marks haha). We got to Le Couche-Tard (which is the French phrase for someone who consistently stays up late), which wasn't as awesome as the London Pub, but at least Darrell got us free shots. We crammed everyone to a table, but I was sitting on Shana's lap, so when someone at the table next to us left, I scooted over thinking the bench kept going...and ended up on the floor with yet another bruise down my back. I promise I hadn't been drinking that much; I'm just not a graceful person under any circumstances. Ashley, Maui, and I had to leave to catch the last Noctibus back to the dorm, but I would still call it a successful night out, especially since we braved the most snow Grenoble's seen in a while (according to "Mama Goose" Marie).

"Ma tête est fatiguée"

The days now are getting less significant; not in the sense that they don't matter to me, but in the sense that the things that are happening aren't anything I think anyone else would be interested in hearing about haha I'm starting to make connections in my head of where things are located in relation to one another, and I'm enjoying exploring new parts of my new city :) Class continues to be good; we got some new students who changed levels and there isn't really a set syllabus or anything, so we still haven't gotten into much of a routine yet. The workload is super easy, especially in comparison to nursing, but the class itself is mentally exhausting from constantly having to actively listen and translate. (P.S "ma tête est fatiguée" means "my head is tired" and was said by Shana one night as she was trying to talk to the waiter haha she's adorable.) I've also been frequenting the API office before or after class; I usually need to ask a question of Sarah or Anna or Marie, but even if I don't, I'll probably find an excuse to go anyway just because I like it there haha I've been spending most of my free time with Shana, Cecilia, and Sarah just hanging out various places around the city (in coffee shops, on trams, at host families' houses). Oh, but Cecilia, Sarah, this guy Terrell (who's in the Language and Culture group), and I went to what we thought was a jazz concert (the pamphlet mentioned Wayne Shorter so we thought we were getting a great opportunity to see him perform) but actually ended up being a lot of old French people listening to this guy ramble on and on about who knows what and be really awkward; and also, his "jazz band" was not even as good as Lexington High School's. It was disappointing, but at least we made the most of it and now have a funny story to tell. We're starting to plan out some trips; Sarah and I are going with API to Nice this Sunday (more on that later), but I think Sarah, Shana, Cecilia, and I are going to Geneva on Saturday :) it's our first non-API outing as well as our first non-France outing so I'm pretty excited to try it out for ourselves. The rest of the week should be pretty much class and casual hanging out; API is playing laser tag on Thursday (it's on like Donkey Kong, btw), and then I think a lot of us are going out afterward, so that should be a good time. But um...yeah I think that's all for now. Next time I have nothing to write about, I'll comment on life in the residence thus far, and I want to write a post about French culture and their perception of Americans, but I think I need to do some more "research" for that one first. A bientôt!

I am such an idiot.

Sometimes you do things that make you feel like you're so much more capable and mature than you originally thought. And then other times things you do make you realize that you're still a stupid little girl who has no business living abroad. Tonight I met Cecilia and Sarah in town around 5; we rode around Grenoble, talking and planning some trips. Then Sarah had to go, so Cecilia and I went back to her host mom's apartment to just hang out and talk. Well I had checked the time of the last regular bus, but I would have had to leave in like an hour and figured the night bus wouldn't be a problem as long as I checked the schedule. So it gets to be around 11, and I get to the bus stop in plenty of time. Well, in true Grenoble fashion, the public transportation is nonexistent after dark and especially on Sundays; so, no bus, but the trams were still running. I map out the extremely out of the way route and get on the tram; it's not until I get off the tram that I realize the next tram line I need doesn't run after 9. Fantastic. I wait at the bus stop in the middle of East Jesus Nowhere for another 15 minutes with some of the creepiest people I've ever seen (granted, I was a little paranoid). Now I'm back to Victor Hugo with absolutely no public transportation to take me home. At this point, I'm deciding how long it would take me to walk home and how likely I would be to get mugged, or worse, when Cecilia, my knight in shining armor, gives me the number of a 24/7 cab service. I call them but of course, they speak no English, and I'm far too flustered at this point to remember any French. So I make terrible conversation and somehow by the grace of God, get a cab arranged. Also by the grace of God, there was an ATM nearby because I had like 5 euros, which would have gotten me like down the street a ways instead of back to Houille Blanche. The guy was super nice, also doesn't speak English, and he got me home really quickly, which I certainly appreciated. On the phone, I thought I heard "quarante euros," which is forty, but it was only "quatorze euros," which is fourteen; I just hope I tipped and thanked the guy enough for most likely saving my life, or at least my sanity. It worked out fine, much better than expected, because I honestly thought I might die or be assaulted in some way; even though Grenoble is exponentially safer than Columbia, I'm never alone at night in Columbia, or if I am, it's at least way more familiar. I'm mostly just really mad and frustrated at myself; I honestly should have checked the bus schedule more closely and just left early. But thanks to Cecilia for being such an amazing friend, and to who or whatever was watching out for me because it could have been a lot worse. I can kind of laugh at it now that I'm safe, but I will definitely remember this and learn from it so to avoid this complete stupidity in the future.

"Le Bonheur" is ironically named...

After waking up late yesterday morning and frantically getting to class, it turned out that we didn't have class that morning. We have schedule which tells us when and what room we have class each day, just like in American universities, but the difference is that they often change our schedule at whim without any kind of approval or email notification. Now this wouldn't be a problem because I've been in class every day, except that where I'm at with my French right now, allows me to understand most of the words and then take what I know and make assumptions about the rest of what they're saying. Usually, this is totally fine, but unfortunately, this time it wasn't; what I understood to be an optional movie-watching class after our original class was actually our class for the day. So Kelly (who has been sick for 2 days so he got my crappy relayed information) and I had 4 hours before class started, and since he takes the bus for like an hour each way, he wasn't going home; now I could have easily gone home, but I 1) felt like it was my fault he was there at the wrong time and 2) thought maybe it would be better to be out in the city than sitting like a recluse in my dorm room. So we rode into town and eat breakfast at McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's. It was good though; b-fast at McDonald's has always been the better option, especially now that I drink coffee lol then we walked around the Ste. Claire Market to get some vegetables and fruit since my diet is currently lacking them. After that we decided to head back up to campus and check out "la piscine" which is where you can sign up for clubs and where there is actually a pool lol unfortunately by now, it hard started raining and was colder than when I left for class, so by the time we walked back to the API office, we, or at least I, looked a mess haha we hung out in there for about an hour and a half with the Language and Culture kids, which turned out to be fun. It ended up being nice because I got to talk to Kelly and find some things in common (like loving surfing, the Caribbean, and How I Met Your Mother!), since he's the one I know least well in the group. We both reluctantly went to class, where my professor, whom I normally love, talked for like 35 minutes about the movie before we even watched it. Then, we all GOT ON A TRAM to get to the cinema. This was a legitimate field trip, apparently, which I had interpreted correctly, but assumed that I hadn't. The logistics of all of these people awkwardly getting to, onto, and off of the tram was just absurd. I think I got hit with like 5 umbrellas and was not happy about it. We walked from the tram stop, still in the freezing rain and still with wet feet on my part, to the theater were it took another 30 minutes for everyone to get seated, for someone else to talk about the movie, and then to actually start the movie. We got to leave as soon as we were done instead of at the set time, so naturally I wanted things to hurry up, especially since I had expected to be done with class at 12:30 instead of just starting it then. And then the movie...Le Bonheur (which means "the happiness") is kind of to French culture what Gone With the Wind is to Southern American culture: everyone knows it, can reference it, names their children after it. Let me summarize the plot for you: man loves his wife and kids (despite both parents being kind of terrible and neglectful when they're too busy being "in love"), man meets a hottie with a body who looks remarkably like his wife, man falls in love with her and starts having an affair, man tells wife he's having an affair but convinces her he still loves her, wife dies/kills herself(I couldn't tell which), man is sad for like a day and then, here's the kicker, brings in mistress to be replacement mommy like nothing ever happened. Kelly and I discussed the movie afterward and honestly couldn't find any redeeming qualities; I don't mean to be insensitive to French culture because maybe there's some underlying thing there that I'm missing, but I didn't like the plot, the acting, the camera work, the music (which was Mozart so it was nice at first, but they played one song over and over), anything. We have an assignment to pick our favorite scene and tell why, and the only one I can come up with right now is "la scene dernière parce-que j'ai enfin pu partir," which means "the last scene because I could finally leave" lol I'm hoping our discussion in class will shed some positive light on it, but probably not, since I most likely won't interpret it correctly anyway ::sigh:: With the weather and the day's events, I was already frustrated, so when I got home and found that the package my mom sent me was ready to be picked up, I thought maybe that would be a nice change. Nope. The notes they gave me were in French, which I expected, but it was hard to translate them and understand what I needed to do; I went to the front desk to ask, but the communication barrier made it impossible to determine what I needed to do. But I felt a little better after I watched Lost and vegged out a little before Lexi, Ashley, and I went into town. We went to O'Callaghan's, an Irish bar in case you couldn't tell, but none of our group was there yet. So we walked around for a bit and found another, classier bar where I unintentionally got the biggest gin fizz ever haha it was good though, and we just took our time there. By the time we went back to O'Callaghan's, Kelly and Christian had already left, so we talked to the Language and Culture kids some before heading back home courtesy of the Noctibus. Not the most successful night out, but it was our first time trying; we still have plenty of time :) Today we're going on a mini-excursion with API to the "Grottes (caves) de Choranche;" I'm pretty excited because even though it's raining and cold and, you know, caves already are those things, it's with a good group of people, and it's an API excursion so I'm sure it's awesome!

I've only been in Grenoble for a week...

...yet it feels like it's been a month, and we were talking tonight about how we all feel like we've known each other for years. Which is really exciting; I was prepared for time to go by as quickly and seemingly insignificantly as a semester at Carolina does. The Alps still continue to amaze me every day; I feel like I'm the only one still staring at them open-mouthed and taking pictures, but I'd rather be on my end appreciating them than taking them for granted. Plus it's either getting warmer or I'm completely adjusted; today I was walking around in just a long-sleeved t-shirt :) Class continues to get better too; I'm realizing that I'm definitely where I'm supposed to be because my writing and comprehension are better than most of the class, and even though I thought my speaking was way below everyone else, it's really not. And I'm still really enjoying the class itself; my professor and I get along really well (what's the French phrase for "teacher's pet?" lol), and I haven't felt this successful in school since like high school haha I'm getting to know my classmates too; today we did a group assignment, and I got to talk to one of the Chinese guys in my class (I wish I knew how to spell his name). He is actually an English major, whoa impressive, and spoke English pretty well; we talked (in French) about Finding Nemo and KFC, which they do have in China haha I had class in the afternoon so was on my own after we finally got done. It was nice though; I went out the wrong door and found another tram stop on the "Ligne B," so that will make life easier. Plus this lady walked up to me and asked directions, which must mean that I at least look French! But as soon as I opened my mouth to tell her "Desolée, je ne sais pas," she was like "Oh sorry" because obviously my French is THAT BAD haha but I rode to the Maison du Tourisme stop and got a chicken panini from one of the vendors who are always there. It was so good, plus it was CHICKEN! All they eat here is ham (jambon) and beef (boeuf). So now maybe my diet will consist of at least a little more than bread, cheese, and chocolate (though it's totally okay with me if those become their own food groups). Then I walked to Victor Hugo, caught the bus, and came "home" for a little bit before the theater (théâtre); I was late to the theater because I missed the bus and then the next one took just long enough that the tram I needed closed almost on my fingers so I couldn't get on. FML. It worked out okay though...we went to see Le Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger (all of those are cognates so I shouldn't need to translate); it was entertaining, that's for sure, but I feel like I didn't "get" a lot of the (probably political) metaphors they were going for. Tomorrow I have class in the morning, but after that I'll have to decide between going to see a French film with my class and volunteering at the soup kitchen; je ne sais pas quoi je vais faire, mais je dois decider à midi demain.

Dude, I got this (Dude, j'ai ça)

So I had no reason at all to be nervous about my class; I'm exactly where I should be. I understood probably 85% of everything my (awesome) professor said, and even though I feel like I'm a little sub-standard on pronunciation, I think the class will help a ton, plus I'm setting up with a language partner tomorrow. The class is so so cool though because there are only 2 Americans, Kelly and me, and then Chinese, Brazilian, Syrian, Arabic, and Mexican students; and the best part is that French is our only common language so 1) we have to communicate in French but 2) at least we have a common language coming from such different places. And also, I totally was all "American pride" today because it's easy to get cynical when you're surrounded by "stupid Americans" and that's not exotic at all; it was nice to kind of be equally exotic somewhere. But my professor is so funny and doesn't "dumb it down" for us because no one in the real world will; plus she totally loves me because I asked questions and participated and knew what adjectives were. I will say that I've never had to listen so intently to a class, probably ever; if I zone out for a second I'm lost. But being in this class has made me so much more confident about using my French, which will ultimately help me get better more than anything else. Which segues to...Shana, Chris, and I met Ashley, Lexi, and Samantha (new addition to the group) and Cole (one of Shana's classmates) at a restaurant in Grenoble. What we didn't know was that it was a soup kitchen of sorts where they give discount and free meals to people who can't afford it; well we felt terrible at first and apologized profusely, but it worked out perfectly because they were going to just throw that food away because it was the end of the lunch period. Also, we paid for it, which helps them, AND Shana, Chris, and I are most likely going to end up volunteering there. The ladies who were volunteering today (benevol) were so patient with our French and so so good to talk to; one was probably early 60s and the other maybe early 70s. I could have talked to them all day because it just worked so well. I can't even put it into words. Plus now we can interact with other French speakers AND help people at the same time. PERFECT. Shana and I went to the API Office to hang out with our amazing staff there and tell them about our day (we were laughing that it was like running home from the first day of school to tell mom haha). Then we met Cecilia after she got out of class at 4:30 and went and got crêpes, since apparently it's Crêpe Day(?). Then we just walked around and bought school supplies ,totally geeking out the whole time, bien sûr, and they totally helped me find somewhere to pee (haha it was an emergency and public restrooms are sparse); I'm just grateful that I have so many good friends no matter where I go.
On a completely unrelated note, Lost premieres tonight, and even though I'm sad to be missing it, I wouldn't trade it for even the worst second of what I'm doing here.

Placement Test

So today we had our placement test at the CUEF (Centre Universitaire d'Etudes Françaises) to determine what classes we started out in for the semester. Now if there is any test you shouldn't have to study for, it's a placement test because you want to score based on what you know instead of how much you can memorize and regurgitate. So I didn't really do any preparation because I didn't want to place in a level too high for me and wasn't really nervous about the test; I wanted to do well but didn't want to place inappropriately. Well we got to the test, and it was hard. I expected the listening to be hard, which it certainly was, but thought the writing/reading part would be easier, which it really wasn't. After that slaughter, I was glad to be done when I found out, much to my dismay, that we still had the oral testing to do; pronunciation and speaking are my weakest points, and I was already discouraged about the rest of the test. If that weren't bad enough, I had brought the wrong form and didn't have my necessary paperwork. Luckily I was able to call Anna, one of our beloved API Grenoble staff, to get my passport number and could bring the pictures for my student ID by later, so it all worked out. The oral testing was terrible, let's be honest, and the lady kept looking at me like I was an idiot (especially after I accidentally used the Spanish word for family instead of the French). HOWEVER, we got our scores back and apparently I'm in A 2.9, which is the highest level of beginner; I'm also the 3rd highest in my group, even though I felt like almost everyone was ahead of me. I personally feel like I guessed lucky and that maybe the interviewer took mercy on me, but I guess I'll see how it goes when I get to class tomorrow. We can switch out of our level if we feel after a week that it isn't appropriate, but I'm hoping I'll surprise both myself and probably everyone else and actually belong in this class.