Firenze!

Hello everyone! I apologize for not updating for a while...it has been a very busy week, homework has picked up, and I was still recovering from our quick weekend in Florence!

Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for Provence for the weekend, but will be arriving earlier on Sunday night than this past weekend, so I should be able to catch up with a blog entry more quickly!

On last Thursday night, my friend Morgan and I flew to Florence with RyanAir...For a budget airlines, they were fairly efficient (despite the fact that our flight was about 2 hours late). We arrived late in Pisa and spent the night at a very cute little hostel. It was nice to wake up in Pisa on Friday, because we got to look around the town a bit and of course visit the leaning tower!

We took a train to Florence and arrived in the early afternoon, where we met one of our sorority sisters on the steps of the Duomo. We spent the afternoon with her, and walked all over the city before checking into our hostel. Our friend's school is in Northern Florence, and is managed by Syracuse University...it is GORGEOUS! The building is very old and has very pretty libraries, and in the center is a courtyard that must be beautiful in the spring.

Morgan's and my hostel was so cute! It was a very good deal, and we got "upgraded" to our own room -- lucky us! It reminded me of "A Room with a View," because our little window opened up onto streets and rooftops. The man working at the front desk was so warm and friendly, and the entire establishment very clean; it was a really pleasant place to stay.

After checking in, we went to the Duomo and climbed to the very top to look at the view of Florence at sunset...it was absolutely magnificent. There are 463 stairs, so it was a good workout as well!

That night, we went to Morgan's friend's lodging for dinner -- the Rockefeller villa in the hills of Fiesole, which has been donated to Georgetown to house its students on their abroad program in Florence. It was incredible to go up there and see the entire city at night, and the villa itself is phenomenal. It is such a neat experience for the students who stay there during the semester, and it was really nice to get to have dinner with them. They all sit at long wooden tables, and have a full multi-course meal together every night. Of course, I prefer to have dinners with Madame, and I think it benefits me much better for learning French, but the setting at this villa was really incredible.

The next day, we walked around all day long, through the street markets, piazzas, by the Arno, and finally ended our day at the Piazza Michaelangelo, after several gelatos, cappucinos, and other Italian treats. The view from the hill where the Piazza is located is phenomenal. I'm glad that I've been to Florence before, because on this trip I was able to walk around a lot and not worry about seeing every monument...it was fun to just explore.

On our last day, Sunday, Morgan and I went to the Pitti Palace and saw an interesting costume exhibit there...it showed the style of dress from the past few centuries. Then we walked around the Boboli Gardens for several hours, and just relaxed, before catching our trains, airplane, and bus back to Paris. It was such a beautiful weekend, and quite warm (for us, at least, after being in Paris) that we really enjoyed every moment of being outside. The gardens were a great ending to a fabulous weekend!

More to come soon, about Morgan's host family...some interesting, fun facts about the culture of the young French!

Also, photos of Florence are up to the right!

xoxo,

Ashley

Playing in the Country

Here's a short video I couldn't upload before of Morgan and I playing with Doushka, and attempting to speak French to her (as a bit of a response to Aunt Diana's comment, I don't think the dogs really like to listen to commands at all, but they do know how to "Assis!" or "sit!").




More to come next Monday or Tuesday...I'm off to Florence for the weekend tomorrow!

xx Bisous,

Ashley

My Weekend in the Country

A friend of mine on the program, Morgan, lives with a full family in the 16th Arrondisement, who happens to own a country house north of Paris. This past weekend, they invited her to come there with them, and told her to bring a friend, so she invited me!


It was an incredible weekend, straight out of a Conde Nast Magazine French Countryside Special. It didn’t hurt that we were there on Valentine’s Day, so the picturesque experience fit the weekend perfectly!



The funny thing that wasn't mentioned about the house until we got there, however, is that it isn't a house....it's a chateau!

On Friday night, I went over to Morgan’s family’s apartment and had dinner, and then we all drove about an hour and a half north to a town called Boran-sur-Oise, where their family chateau is located. It originally was built for a courtesan’s/noble’s mistress, and was passed on through the family for a couple centuries. Uncle Christian (one of the many family members there this weekend) joked that his in-laws are descended from a sinner! Over the years the building has also been a working farm, a barracks for German soldiers, etc, but now it is simply a home for the extended family.

The view from our window




Morgan and I were showed into a lovely room on the second floor, which was covered on all walls by portraits and paintings of Napoleon (they’ve probably been there since the 19th century…). The next morning when we woke up, we realized that our windows looked out on either side of the house, to the front driveway and lawn, and to the back field. The property was immense!
We started the day with a breakfast in the “servant’s” kitchen, and then took a lovely stroll through the fields and then the horse pasture. We were in need of a good boot cleaning afterwards! There were so many beautiful horses out in the field, and I believe the family owns two of them that their daughter rides. We then threw sticks to the three dogs that were there for a long time…One of the dogs, Doushka, is a five month old puppy who is indefatigueable…she could have kept playing fetch for hours!

The Chateau behind me and the horse field

We all had lunch, and then Morgan and I set out for a 3 hour bike ride through the countryside! We were aiming to find a Chateau in Chantilly (I forget the name), and ended up finding another one, which had been converted into a hotel. Only in France do you get lost in the countryside and come across the wrong castle!

on the bike ride:

We biked around for a really long time, probably about 15 miles, and made it home just before dusk. We had a lovely dinner with Morgan’s family and extended family, and then all gathered in the huge living room (which has a mish mash of antique furniture, and 20 foot ceilings) to watch “Borcalino & Co,” a movie from the 1940s about the French gangs in Marseilles. It was very entertaining!

The next day, we slept in, had breakfast, and then took another walk around the property and played with the dogs some more. They made me a little homesick, because they reminded me of my Ebony back home L We also found a very old pond and well, but the layer of water on top of the pond was completely iced over! We spent literally half an hour taking pieces of the “ice-glass” and making a make-shift sculpture out of it. I felt like a little girl again, when Avery and I used to play in the yard like that.

After lunch, and a short afternoon nap in an armchair, we drove home with Morgan’s host-sister’s aunt and uncle, who live down the street from them in Paris. It was a wonderful weekend, and I am so well-rested! Morgan’s host-father implied that we should come back in the spring time, so I hope I get to…it was such a relaxing break from being in the city! And so gorgeous and green.

For more pictures, see the album to the right in the list of links!

Versailles dans la Neige

Last Friday, I went to Versailles during the day and was lucky to see it covered in snow! It was a cold, wet day, so I felt lucky in that a) Versailles was not crowded with tourists and b) it was incredibly beautiful.





















We took the train out to Versailles from right in Paris, which was relatively cheap (only 6 Euro roundtrip), and took only about half an hour, if even. The walk through the town to the Palace is short, but the town is very cute. I think it has been about five years since I last visited Versailles with my family, and it is an entirely different experience in this weather, from what I remember.






The Palace, as most are probably aware, was built by Louis the XIV to be as opulent as possible, with thousands of different varieties of marbles, stones, metals, fabrics, gold, etc.

The entire interior is swathed in the richest materials, and is quite magnificent, and also suffocating in a sense.

I defintely prefer the gardens (I am my mother's daughter, of course), as they leave a bit more room to breathe, and are extensive and beautifully landscaped.









However, because of the Art History class I have been taking, it was very interesting to have a bit more context into the concept of historical and portrait painting from around the 18th to 19th centuries, when the interior of the Palace was decorated (for the most part). There are so many huge works of art in Versailles that have so much historical (and physical) value it is difficult to fathom.

I can't imagine how much work went into designing the palace and its grounds...while Louis XIV was certainly vain, he definitely had a vision!

I can't wait to come back to the Palace in the spring time when it is warmer and I can spend more time outside. We walked around the outer edge of the palace long enough to throw a few snowballs, but it was too cold and wet to trudge around for long. But

I'm sure in a couple months it will be just perfect!

For more pictures of my trip to Versailles, look at the new album to the right!

And for a humourous (and interesting) look at the interior of the Palace, here is my favorite Versailles video (a spoof on MTV's Cribs show), hosted by "Louis XVI"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Y_-1mAKLk

A Technical Side Note

NEW BLOG ENTRY BELOW THIS ONE!

I actually just realized that my blog wasn't comment-enabled for people without accounts at blogspot, google, AIM, wordpress, etc. I just activated it so that now, you can comment either by just typing in your name, or even anonymously!! So if you have wanted to comment and couldn't before, now you can!

Also, I just put up a new photo album, it's the top one on the list of links, to the right side of the page!

Merci for reading my blog, and merci aussi for any feedback!!

A bientot!

Bisous,

Ashley

Petit et Grand Palais

Today I had quite the museum experience...I was able to visit both le Petit et le Grand Palais!


At 10 am we had our Art History class at Petit Palais, to look at some Courbet paintings we had discussed in class on Monday. The Petit and Grand Palais was built in 1900 for the World Fair (not the same one for which the Eiffel Tower was built--that was about a decade earlier), and were turned into exhibition halls and city-owned museums. They are quite beautiful buildings, and constructed in the Baroque style that was very popular at the time. There is lots of glass, and therefore lots of light that shows off all the artwork beautifully

Children on a Field Trip...so cute

The Entrance Hall to the Petit Palais

I walked home after class, across the Seine and through the 7th (I'm becoming quite used to the walk past the Eiffel Tower now, I hardly look up anymore!), and did some work at home (and some exercises...I'm trying to ward off the cheese-induced-fat). Then this afternoon, I walked back to the Grand Palais, which is right across the street from the Petit Palais. There is an amazing exhibit there that ends tomorrow called, "Six Milliard D'Autres," or, "Six Billion Others." It is a video montage exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and the GoodPlanet association, in which 5,000 people from all areas of the world were interviewed the same series of questions.

View from my window today...such a gorgeous afternoon!


In the building there were several tents with themes such as Fears, Friendship, War, Women, Love, Childhood Memories, etc. In each tent was a viewing area with a screen that had a series of people talking about one specific subject. It was really incredible and gave so much perspective. I think the entire exhibit was the most amazing, eye-opening idea that I have ever heard of, and I hope the exhibit moves to the United States!


I only had time to see two of the video montages, those about Fear and Childhood Memories. It was so interesting because the fears of people in war-torn or impoverished countries are so different than those of people in the United States or Europe. For example, a woman in Uganda fears every day that the genocide will begin again, and a man in South Africa fears that he will get AIDS and not be able to take care of his family; a man in New York city said that his greatest fear is "to not be able to have kids...or, to not be successful." It really put into perspective the vast differences between the lives of people all over.


The Childhood Memories tent was a lot more uplifting, and focused more on the funnier anectdotes of the young child. One cute story was of a man from Canada, whose father was fighting in the Vietnam war when he was born. Every night until he was two, his mother told him to kiss a photo of his father and she'd say "Kiss Papa!" So, when the boy was two and finally met his father, he was very confused and didn't recognize him, as the father's hair had gone completely white, unlike the man in the photo's hair. So his childhood memory was of thinking for a long time that his father was the actual photograph, until one day his parents tricked him into kissing his real papa by putting the photo up to his face, and then taking it away quickly! Funny little stories like those were frequent, but there were also some interesting stories from people in provincial areas, such as the Hunan region of China, whose only childhood memories are coming home from school and tending to the animals, etc.


I'm really glad I made it to the exhibit before it closes tomorrow; in fact, I might try to squeeze in some time between classes to see it again, because I really feel like I did not see enough. I really hope it moves on to other venues.


If you want to see more information, click on the following link, then click again on the picture that comes up, and then on "English" on the next page that pops up!

http://www.6billionothers.org/index_en.php


Really worth checking out!

Interior of the Grand Palais Exhibition: In the Center is a Montage of the Video Montages:

Haven’t posted in a while…the past few days have been quite busy! On Thursday night, as I had mentioned before, Madame’s former lodger, Robert, came to dinner with two friends. It was really funny because at dinner, we all spoke French together, even when Madame left the room (they are all American college students, at UC Davis, UCSB and UC Irvine). They were really nice kids, and Robert is now spending a semester in Bordeaux to study viniculture. He said that I was welcome to come visit with friends anytime! I appreciate that, because I really want to make the effort to visit cities and regions within France…we’ll hopefully be able to plan a visit down there at some point!

Friday afternoon was one of the most beautiful days I’ve ever seen! Perhaps I also appreciate blue skies and perfect fluffy white clouds now, as it has been fairly gray since we arrived. We had an orientation meeting about travelling at ACCENT, and then a few of us went to Montmartre to visit Sacre Coeur since it was such a beautiful day. From the top of the towers (over 300 stairs up, might I add!) was the most miraculous and piercing blue sky, with an incredible 360 degree view of all of Paris. We spent quite a while up there, taking photos and listening to traces of music wafting up from Montmartre. After we descended, we went in search of the music we had heard, and found an adorable Italian guy playing guitar on the steps in front of the cathedral. When we sat down to watch, he asked where we were from, and after telling him California, he played us “Hotel California”! The sun was shining so brightly, and we even took off our jackets because it was warm enough…That was the happiest moment I’ve had here so far.

We continued to walk around Montmartre, and then took the Metro to Montparnasse, where we had coffee and hot chocolate at one of the older and most famous cafes, La Rotonde. It had very classic French decor. After we left, I decided to walk home, and passed through Invalides, which is so imposing yet very peaceful. It is neat to see the soldiers still walking around the grounds (although in a slightly more relaxed for m than in the Napoleonic Regime, I imagine). It is amazing how much Bonaparte had built in Paris during his relatively short stint as leader of the Empire…

Friday night, we went to see a French film called “L.O.L.—Laughing Out Loud” at Champs Elysees. It was a modern day interpretation of the older film “La Boum” which probably came out in the 70s or 80s; in “LOL” Sophie Marceau played the mother of a teenage girl going through her ‘coming-of-age’ transitions. The film was quite amusing, and I really enjoyed picking up on the younger French generations’ diction and lingo. I think it was REALLY good practice for us, and it was such a cute movie! If it comes out in the States, it’s a must-see for learning more about the true French culture.

This Saturday (yesterday) we had a day-trip to Chartres, outside of Paris, to see the famous Cathedral and town. We took a bus there, and upon arrival, were lucky enough to receive a tour from Malcolm Miller, the famous historian who has been giving tours at Chartres and giving talks around the world for 51 years! It was a fascinating church…it is the most intact and consistent of practically all gothic churches, and the best example of the gothic period and its architecture. While I don’t personally find the gothic structures the most aesthetically pleasing, the cathedral was amazingly constructed and even an hour and a half there didn’t seem like enough to just visit. There is a story in each and every one of the thousand panes of glass, and thousands of sculptures outside the church. Amazing! And it was so lucky that we were able to meet with Malcolm Miller, who is so passionate about what he does.

After we visited the cathedral, we all had lunch at a restaurant down the street, which was delicious and quite nice on such a cold day—it was snowing! We walked around the town a bit after, and then took the bus home.

Last night, we went to the Latin Quarter, which was of course a little nerve-wracking because you have to be careful around so many rambunctious crowds, but also very fun because the streets are so filled with life! We met some interesting characters (and when I say met, I mean we were approached by and promptly removed ourselves from), including a clichéd, long-haired French Artiste, who insisted that we take a

photo of the moon because it was so full and enshrined by clouds, and because “C’est la meme lune dans tous les pays” … I think you can figure out the translation of that one. And then he insisted that we fit “the moon and the building and all the passers-by in the same frame,” etcetera. It was an interesting night, concluded with a nice bag of frites from one of the Latin-Quarter Greek restaurants!

Today I went to lunch with cousin Stephen in the Marais, and had a delicious Tartare de boeuf…I’m a fan. I’m so excited to have family here in Paris! Afterwards we met my friends with whom I was going to study with at a café, and Stephen left and then we did reading for a few hours. It was a relaxed day. I like that here, even if you don’t fit in a sightseeing activity, or do a lot, you still feel productive just going outside and walking around, because one never sits around in one’s room all day here.

I’ve uploaded a lot of new photos from my day in Montmartre, at Chartres, and from other various activities, so feel free to check out my photo albums, to the right!

Chez Poidevin

<---This one's for you, Mommy!!

Another dinner with guests tonight...

Madame Poidevin's ex-University student, Robert, is coming to dine with two lady-friends. Madame showed me a picture of Robert and I said that he was cute and she said "Non, pas mal..." (Not bad...). We shall see in person! I hear a lot of clanking and clanging of pots in la cuisine, so I think that it will be a bountiful meal.

Today we were able to go on a tour of the "American Library" in Paris, to which all of the students in my program are given membership for the four months we will be here. While I anticipate using the Sorbonne libraries more frequently, this little library is very close to my apartment, and will be a good place to study on days off. I really need a library in my life...I find it much more tranquil, and an overall more efficient place to get work done.

I'm already getting back into the swing of school. It didn't take long! I really like all of my classes, and have the feeling that it will be an interesting semester. I love it when my classes all correspond in some way, and these really do. For example, in Art History we were learning about Romantic and Neoclassical art, and saw a painting of King Sardanapolus; in French, there was a passage we read that referenced Sardanapalus...In IR, we are discussing religion in France and the separation of church and state (what the French call laicite), and we had also covered this history of the relationship of religion and France in my French class, and in my French History class last semester. I think it's so cool when there are little overlaps like these.

I also am so far enjoying my readings, especially in International Relations. French is a bit trickier, especially with some of the older poetry, but once you understand better the nuances of a particular poem, you realize that it simply would not be the same piece of litterature if translated into English...

Today after class and our tour of the Library, we walked to the Seine, by the Eiffel Tower, and by Trocadero, and then I walked home. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The buildings were framed by distant gray clouds, and above, the sky was a pretty powdery blue. Additionally, it was about 45 degrees today--that's practically bathing suit weather!! I was a bit hot when I returned home today in my puffy coat!

Taken from the Pont Bir Hakeim, which I take to get home!:

Whoever Invented Nutella is a Rich Man

"It's Coming"....But whatever does that mean?!?

A note to Heidi...I know exactly what film you're talking about - "Paris, je t'aime"! The same producers are in the process of developping "New York, I love you," which you will have to see as well!


This week, I started my classes. I have an Art History Class (Impressionism), a French class about the Avante-Garde in literature and Art in 19th/20th centuries, an International Relations course entitled Islam in France, and a grammar course at the Sorbonne. I started everything but my Sorbonne class this week (I'm still waiting to see what my placement/class is at Sorbonne and we start next tuesday). On Monday I have one lecture for two hours in Art History, and on Wednesdays, we go as a class in two groups to visit a museum and view the pieces we've been discussing. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have the Avante Garde class and IR. So far, all my classes seem very interesting, but I must admit, I already have a lot of reading to do and I am having a little bit of a mental struggle in terms of adjusting my mind to do actual homework. My break from school has lasted about six and a half weeks, so I'm a little out of practice...

Today, we went to the Louvre to see the Neoclassical and Romantic pieces we had discussed on Monday in class. I visited from 9:30 to 11:00, and we get to have student Art History cards that will admit us into the Louvre for free!! It was so much more interesting to go and have an instructor explaining all the pieces than to just go and browse...it was beautiful!

I'm not sure how many times I have visited the Louvre, but how could it possibly get old? While I am here, I plan to go once a week if possible...there is so much to see there. In an hour and a half today, we only went through two small galleries, and looked at about 12 pieces!

Afterwards, I tried to study outside in Tuilleries for a while but I only lasted half an hour - it was so cold! It was just me and some cute little seagulls, but then when I didn't feed them they left, and I was all alone, so I decided to walk a little to warm up. I ended up walking all the way home, through the 7e Arrondisement, and it was really nice. The sun isn't shining today, but there is a kind of mysterious gloom that has descended on the city, and which gives it a pretty lighting.

On Wednesdays, school children either get out of school early or don't have class, so there were a lot of little kids running around! I also got to see the open air market that is on Rue de Grenelle, where I live, and it was very busy... there are so many produce, cheese, fish, poultry, shoes and clothing stands!

Right now, after a snack of rice cakes, banana and nutella, I am about to finish my reading for tomorrow. It is much more pleasant to do inside a heated room! After, I might meet up with some people to walk around more before dinner, or perhaps will go to see Volt tonight (the French version of the animated film, Bolt, sans Miley Cyrus' voice). We shall see!

This Restaurant, Traiteur Asiatique, is exactly what it says it is...an Asian Traitor! It was delicious, but killed my stomach. But the experience going in was nice on a cold, frigid day!

Chez Père-Lachaise

On Sunday I visited Père-Lachaise, after a delicious brunch at the nearby Mere-Lachaise, a very French verison of Rick and Ann’s. (I had Tartare de Boeuf for breakfast!)

Père-Lachaise is a very famous cemetery, which was originally just a hill upon which the confessor of Louis XIV lived. The need for better cemeteries in Paris in the 18th Century led to the removal of bodies from certain central Arrondisements to Père-Lachaise when it was opened in 1804, and to the creation of the underground Catacombs (based off Roman models). For a more extensive and very interesting history of Père-Lachaise, go to this link: http://northstargallery.com/pages/perehist.htm.

To make a long story short, Père-Lachaise has become a status-symbol of the dead in the past 200 years …to be buried there is to be among the great writers, poets, and bards such as Moliere, Oscar Wilde, and even Jim Morrison. The cemetery is filled with mystery and melancholy, but didn’t creep me out at all, the way some cemeteries tend to…

We visited this massive cite, and it was quite something. I believe it is about 17 acres, and there are thousands and thousands of beautiful and worn out, large and decrepit, mossy and gleaming tombstones. It is quite a mix. The photography opportunities were amazing…check out my links on the right to see a full facebook photo album from Père-Lachaise (The album titles are different when you actually get to the facebook page, but the titles to the right are the actual descriptions of what is in each album)!

It was a cold, windy day…perfect for a visit to the Cemetery! My friend Maddie
(back in California) went skiing this weekend; I amused myself with a graveyard visit! It’s amazing what one finds to do here for fun on the weekend…the possibilities are endless.

But really, in all seriousness, the next time you find yourself in Paris, definitely visit Père-Lachaise in the 20th Arrondisement…it is so beautiful, and so interesting to see. I’m definitely going to go back before I leave! I didn’t get to say hello to Jim Morrison, which I will definitely need to do before departing, to thank him for his contributions to American music, and maybe ask for his autograph on my Doors Anthology Album. Kidding.

Well, Madame must be cooking something delicious for dinner, because I can smell it wafting into my room and that smell is DIVINE. Oh, and by the way, I must have done well at dinner last night because Madame said that her sisters found me adorable. Yay Me!!

A bientot!

Les Promenades

A few days ago, there was a Metro Strike, or Grève, and we didn’t have school! A few of us decided that even though there was no public transportation, we wouldn’t be stopped! So, we ended up walking about 15 kilometers that day, walking to the Tuilleries Gardens, the Louvre, Rue du Rivoli, and back to our respective houses. I was so glad we did this because it was the first truly BEAUTIFUL day in Paris…the sun was shining, there was barely a cloud in the sky, it wasn’t too cold…it was perfect.

On my walk, I passed through Champs du Mars and past L’Ecole Militaire, the Tour Eiffel, and Invalides. I met Morgan and Kate at Concorde, and we walked together to the Palais Royale, where we had a little lunch. Then we walked around the area, and went to the Louvre, to see the basic must-sees (aka La Jaconde). It was exciting because ACCENT center gave us “Art History Student” cards, which is only half-true since we have only one Art-History class, but it got us into the museum free! It was also interesting because perhaps this was there before, but now, the Winged Victory statue is mounted on the original stone helm of the ship that it was on in Greece…It is so beautiful! I love the Louvre…it is so majestic and gorgeous; if I had been Louis XIV, I would have stayed put! (Then maybe there would have been a lot less debt from the creation of Versailles and a lot of other future problems would have been averted….who knows!)

Anyways, we then walked all the way back after some lovely cafés, and by the time we arrived home, we had walked several miles! Of course, Madame had prepared a lovely meal for me and I ate to my heart’s content, knowing I had probably burned off about five meals that day. I love this city…

J'ai mangé trop!

On the roof of the Galleries Lafayette

Does the kitty come with the chair??

Mandatory Pigeon Photo

Monday Night:

It is midnight, and after a long day, I am laying comotose in my bed after a full meal. I have eaten more today than I have in all the other days put together. Ok, that is not exactly true, at all, but I am so full I couldn't even sit up at my desk to blog!

This evening, Madame Poidevin's two sisters, Francoise and Dominique, came over for dinner. Francoise is moving out of the apartment building (she and Madame live in the same building--how cute is that?) and out of Paris to where Dominique lives. Dominique came to the city to help her move, and Madame made dinner for all of us.

It was an interesting evening...I came home, around four o'clock, and did some work. Around 7, Madame came in and informed me that some guests had arrived, so I came into the living room to have some hor d'oeuvres and drinks with them. The guests were Francoise, Madame's sister, her son Jeremey, and one of Madame's friends. At around 7:30, Dominique (sister two) came in. I am not sure where she falls in age-order of the sisters, but from my own experience she is probably the youngest--she was decked out in beautiful fur accessories and pearls, red lips and nails, and she was very flustered because there was some machine that she couldn't move...or something. Needless to say, I didn't quite understand all of what ensued, but within five minutes the whole party had departed.

I later found out that there was some trouble moving a laundry machine with a dolly from Dominique's car or something, but at the time it was really confusing. My French is not yet good enough to catch what is going on all the time!

At around 9, everyone finally returned and we sat down to dinner. Madame's sisters were very nice but it is interesting to continue to see the differences between French and American culture/behavior/sense of humor/manners, etc.

For example, at dinner,

-The sisters complimented me on how good my French is. When I said, "Oh but my grammar is horrible," Francoise said, "Well that is true, it is horrible." I'm glad I'm not sensitive!

-Instead of commenting on what things are, they mention what they are not...ex: They were talking about someone's ex-husband and instead of saying "He's old!" They said, "He's not young..."

-It is polite to keep your hands on the table at all times, and to rest them on the sides of your plate when you're not using your utensils! That is the hardest for me to adhere to, since I am finally remembering not to rest my arms on the table at my own home!

The list goes on. French people are so different. It can be tiring, but it is fun.

The other night I went to dinner at a French friend of mine's friend's apartment, then to one of her friend's parties. The entire social dynamic is almost the opposite of what I experience in LA. Hard to get used to, but really nice in a sense...Everyone is much calmer, and overall more mature.

Oh! Today it snowed! I almost forgot to add that important detail!

I woke up at about 7:30 for class, and heard something outside, but it sounded too soft to be rain. I looked out the window, and it was snowing! It is supposed to snow more later this week. While it has to be pretty cold to snow, it didn't feel quite as windy or frigid as it has been the past few days. It was difficult to walk through in the morning, but the snow made everything so pretty!!