When it got close to 10, I decided to take my refreshed and bundled up self out to the Cimetiere du Montparnasse and hung out with the late great writers, photographers, and philosophers who rest there. On Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre's grave, there were so many little notes that people had written about how much these two people had changed their lives. Considering that it rained last night, these must have all come from this morning -- that means before 10am when I arrived there. I thought about how many people might have written such notes over a lifetime and it boggled my mind.After my jaunt about the cimetiere, I met my program for lunch at the Resto U, curtosy of SLC. We went into a different dining room today, and I didn't like it quite as much as the one I usually frequent, but there were a lot more chairs and the deserts and salads were relatively the same.
After a delicious raspberry tart and a quick walk back to Reid Hall, I began my first day of French class with my new French teacher, Mme Roland-Gosselin. She is extremely French. We began the class with a dictation, and she had us go up to the chalkboard in front of the class to write it. If you have never been in a classroom outside of the US, this appears to be cruel and unusual punishment. However, Mme Roland-Gosselin is a sweetheart -- this is just how they do things in France, apparently. I love that since she hasn't quite learned all of our names yet, she calls us all "mon chéri" or variations of the sort.
Mme Roland-Gosselin informed us that we must have a classeur à anneaux, so I went over to Gibert-Joseph to get one. Let me take the time to inform you, in case you didn't know and don't want to look like the dumb confused American when you ask a salesperson for help like I did, that 3 ring binders in France do not exist. They have 4 rings. And you wouldn't want a 3 ring binder here anyway because the hole punchers punch 4 holes. If you wanted to bring any school supplies with you to France, think again!
Feeling much more educated, I left Gibert-Joseph with the 3,80 EUR binder and headed down towards the Seine. I've enjoyed walking when I have the time, since it is very easy and much more beautiful that the Metro. The street Saint Michel (where Gibert-Joseph is) leads me right to the Seine where I hook a right, walk till I hit Notre Dame, hook a left and walk all the way down to my apartment. Easy, right?
When I got back home, I did my French homework and made some dinner. I'm feeling pretty exhausted now because, even though I didn't walk that much today, I did get up pretty early. I think I might call it a night. Tomorrow brings more of Mme Roland-Gosselin and a presentation about our upcoming trip to le sud (the south of France)!
Total damages:
1 bottle of Champagne: 1,33 EUR
1 binder (4 rings): 3,80 EUR
No comments:
Post a Comment