The title of this blog is a film by Truffaut. Direct Soir is a free daily newspaper and I read that the film would be on tonight. I'm watching it as I type. I took a French film class and all we watched were Truffauts films. There was always a beautiful powerful women and a weak man, scenes with a woman's legs were always to be found. I'm 30min into the film and this is already proving to be true...
Anyway the film is about a lady who goes around killing men at least that's what it's about so far...
I have a final Thursday which I have not yet studied for but I will...soon. My soeur said that the French don't volunteer information, maybe I shouldn't either. I tried to tell someone how something is and she tried to tell me I was wrong. Well whatever then! I just won't ever again.
I took a final today and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The professor brought candy; he is always so sweet. :) Then I went shopping, yes! Shopping! I know the soldes (aka: sales) started a month ago, but I have been so busy, sick, tired, and stressed, that I haven't had the chance to take advantage of this golden opportuniy. Well today I made the time. I went to Auber and the Champs-Élysées. I always try to go shopping on Monday and Tuesday early afternoons because that is when there is the least amount of people. I found fabulous things at fabulous prices! I have been searching everywhere since November for a wool jacket, a short one, fitted and perfect. I had such an image in my mind that I didn't want to settle for anything other than what I had pictured. I found it! I went to NAFNAF. Saturday, I saw Sara with a cute jacket and I asked her where she had gotten it, she said NAFNAF. I went and searched everywhere, I had almost lost hope when I saw it! It was hanging on a display rack among other ugly coats. It was my size too! The only one in the store! We were made for eachother! Ahhhhh...la vie est belle. I'm too happy.
Then it was off to work, Tom wanting to discuss drugs and Lucas talking about films avoiding all Spanish, of course! Ah...I'm so tired and the film is still going, she is still trying to kill men....aye aye aye...
QUOTE (from the movie): "Ce que disent les Italiens 'Tous les femmes sont des putaines sauf ma mère elle est sainte!'"
Her killing spree continues...
*~*PaRiS*~*
Where I've been...
lundi 28 janvier 2008
mardi 22 janvier 2008
I have a REAL job! YAY for my BLACKLIST!
Well...it's not really a job it's technically an internship. I am now a SUSI at EPITECH aka an English assistant at an engineering university in Paris. SWEET! Way better than my gigs I have now! Not that I won't miss my kids, but I got to do the best thing for my resumé.
Congratulations to Lily too, who also got hired! =) We both skipped our class in order to get hired. We'll get the notes from someone no worries.
I'm not sure when I start but no hurry.
I picked my classes for next semester I guess we'll see how that goes.
I had a final today and I'm not sure how that went, but I'm hoping for the best. I might go to Dupleix tonight...maybe not I'm tired and I have nothing to wear! LOL
Someone is on my blacklist but I won't tell who. AARRGGHHH!!!! Don't ask me who it is, if you don't know already maybe I don't want to share. I just wanted to vent about it on here.
Tomorrow should be fun I have Arabic and Hindi movie night with my soeur!
My landlady came in my studio without asking, that pisses me off, but oh well what can I do.
I mailed in my CAF and my medical receipts so soon I will have some dough in my pocket.
I feel better about Paris now...I just have to try harder when it comes to French., it's just that sometimes I get so frustrated I want to give up. >|
Congratulations to Lily too, who also got hired! =) We both skipped our class in order to get hired. We'll get the notes from someone no worries.
I'm not sure when I start but no hurry.
I picked my classes for next semester I guess we'll see how that goes.
I had a final today and I'm not sure how that went, but I'm hoping for the best. I might go to Dupleix tonight...maybe not I'm tired and I have nothing to wear! LOL
Someone is on my blacklist but I won't tell who. AARRGGHHH!!!! Don't ask me who it is, if you don't know already maybe I don't want to share. I just wanted to vent about it on here.
Tomorrow should be fun I have Arabic and Hindi movie night with my soeur!
My landlady came in my studio without asking, that pisses me off, but oh well what can I do.
I mailed in my CAF and my medical receipts so soon I will have some dough in my pocket.
I feel better about Paris now...I just have to try harder when it comes to French., it's just that sometimes I get so frustrated I want to give up. >|
dimanche 20 janvier 2008
c'est à toi...
I named this blog entry "it's your turn," because this weekend I met some people who are just starting this crazy experience.
Friday: I stayed up until 3am finishing my school work. I went to my last day of Marketing class. Then I met up with Jose Luis (a Spanish exchange student) to work on our oral presentation. He said my French was really good, I was very flattered! Whenever we spoke Spanish he would start to laugh. I finally asked him what was so funny he said "it's your Mexican accent when you speak Spanish," I thought to myself "whatever buddy." He was a nice guy and the presentation went well. A group presented on the French government funding films and we presented on the troubles of the banlieues (suburbs). At the end of class we had our oral final. I did ok sauf (except) for the nasales words ending in: -an, -en, and -on. No worries. When we finished I told the professor how much I loved Phonetics. She asked me how long have I been studying French and I said since I was 14yrs old. She asked me how it was that I spoke Spanish. I told her I was Mexican and my parents raised us bilingual. She said that helps when you have two identities. I guess it facilitates your adaptation and makes it easier for you to leave one identity and go to another. She said there are two kinds of people that learn languages one because they want it on their resumé and the other because they really want to integrate into society. Those who want to integrate will be much more willing to adopt the accent. I don't know if I believe this theory but it's some food for thought.
Well she again was very encouraging. I told her about my experience at La Comédie Française, and she wasn't surprised she said that even for the French those plays are hard to follow. Great it seems everyone knew how awful it was except for us.
Immediately after, I rushed to EPITECH a technical school for computer nerds. Lily and I arrived just on time. We were greeted by Ana (an English Tutor), she told us the nitty gritty the horrors of the job and what to expect. Basically a few rules : never be late, never speak French, no giving out your number or email to students. Then Emery comes in and uses 5things to describe himself: manic depressive, bipolar, alcoholic, grumpy, and alcoholic. Hmmmm oh and he won't hire guys. Perfect! :/
We all walk out of the meeting wondering whether or not we really want to do this. There were lots of new bees at the meeting. They looked so happy to be in France, but we quickly shot down their dreams of a wonderland. Of course maybe for them it will be different no major holidays to spend alone and no 4 degree Celsius weather to bear weeks without end...
Lily and I bought some booze and wandered to streets for a while then we called it a night.
Saturday:
My landlady invited me to have lunch with her. I went up and entered a fabulous apartment. It occupied the entire floor and had head to toe windows overlooking the street and the garden. It wasn't an old school place. It had lots of clean lines and bright primary colors. She made a full 3 course meal. We had grapefruit full of shrimp oil and chunks of grapefruit, as an appetizer. Then veal with cloves and carrots. We finished with dessert which was an apricot tart. She is quite a talker. Her daughter is living in Switzerland and hardly ever visits. this makes her sad and she is a heavy smoker. She was born in 1926. Her husband goes hunting every weekend in their country home and so she spends weekends alone. She had an aupair from Mexico many years ago when her daughter was young (now her daughter is 36) and still writes to this lady from time to time. She was prying into my life as well. Questioning me about why my parents immigrated, how I learned Spanish and if my parents English is any good. That kind of ticked me off. I had to cut our lunch short because I had to go meet my soeur and Lily.
The girls and I went to Gare du Nord and we tried the Indo-Mexi resto, it had nothing to do with Mexican food. Lily had never had Indain food but she liked it. They had chicken curry with nann and I had veggie samosas (they weren't very good) I was expecting something a lil' more spicy. We walked down the street and I gawked at the DVDs and elaborate Sari displays in the windows. Lily and I both want to get henna done before we leave.
We went back to my quartier and explored Sephora. Then we found a cheapy (by Paris standards) hair cutting place. So Liz and I got our hair cut for 22euro. It was alright but I think she cut off too much hair!
It was a good night. :)
Happy belated birthday to Allan and Topher may all your wishes come true!
Friday: I stayed up until 3am finishing my school work. I went to my last day of Marketing class. Then I met up with Jose Luis (a Spanish exchange student) to work on our oral presentation. He said my French was really good, I was very flattered! Whenever we spoke Spanish he would start to laugh. I finally asked him what was so funny he said "it's your Mexican accent when you speak Spanish," I thought to myself "whatever buddy." He was a nice guy and the presentation went well. A group presented on the French government funding films and we presented on the troubles of the banlieues (suburbs). At the end of class we had our oral final. I did ok sauf (except) for the nasales words ending in: -an, -en, and -on. No worries. When we finished I told the professor how much I loved Phonetics. She asked me how long have I been studying French and I said since I was 14yrs old. She asked me how it was that I spoke Spanish. I told her I was Mexican and my parents raised us bilingual. She said that helps when you have two identities. I guess it facilitates your adaptation and makes it easier for you to leave one identity and go to another. She said there are two kinds of people that learn languages one because they want it on their resumé and the other because they really want to integrate into society. Those who want to integrate will be much more willing to adopt the accent. I don't know if I believe this theory but it's some food for thought.
Well she again was very encouraging. I told her about my experience at La Comédie Française, and she wasn't surprised she said that even for the French those plays are hard to follow. Great it seems everyone knew how awful it was except for us.
Immediately after, I rushed to EPITECH a technical school for computer nerds. Lily and I arrived just on time. We were greeted by Ana (an English Tutor), she told us the nitty gritty the horrors of the job and what to expect. Basically a few rules : never be late, never speak French, no giving out your number or email to students. Then Emery comes in and uses 5things to describe himself: manic depressive, bipolar, alcoholic, grumpy, and alcoholic. Hmmmm oh and he won't hire guys. Perfect! :/
We all walk out of the meeting wondering whether or not we really want to do this. There were lots of new bees at the meeting. They looked so happy to be in France, but we quickly shot down their dreams of a wonderland. Of course maybe for them it will be different no major holidays to spend alone and no 4 degree Celsius weather to bear weeks without end...
Lily and I bought some booze and wandered to streets for a while then we called it a night.
Saturday:
My landlady invited me to have lunch with her. I went up and entered a fabulous apartment. It occupied the entire floor and had head to toe windows overlooking the street and the garden. It wasn't an old school place. It had lots of clean lines and bright primary colors. She made a full 3 course meal. We had grapefruit full of shrimp oil and chunks of grapefruit, as an appetizer. Then veal with cloves and carrots. We finished with dessert which was an apricot tart. She is quite a talker. Her daughter is living in Switzerland and hardly ever visits. this makes her sad and she is a heavy smoker. She was born in 1926. Her husband goes hunting every weekend in their country home and so she spends weekends alone. She had an aupair from Mexico many years ago when her daughter was young (now her daughter is 36) and still writes to this lady from time to time. She was prying into my life as well. Questioning me about why my parents immigrated, how I learned Spanish and if my parents English is any good. That kind of ticked me off. I had to cut our lunch short because I had to go meet my soeur and Lily.
The girls and I went to Gare du Nord and we tried the Indo-Mexi resto, it had nothing to do with Mexican food. Lily had never had Indain food but she liked it. They had chicken curry with nann and I had veggie samosas (they weren't very good) I was expecting something a lil' more spicy. We walked down the street and I gawked at the DVDs and elaborate Sari displays in the windows. Lily and I both want to get henna done before we leave.
We went back to my quartier and explored Sephora. Then we found a cheapy (by Paris standards) hair cutting place. So Liz and I got our hair cut for 22euro. It was alright but I think she cut off too much hair!
It was a good night. :)
Happy belated birthday to Allan and Topher may all your wishes come true!
vendredi 18 janvier 2008
Libres Sont Les Papillons
I shouldn't even be on here, I have a presentation tomorrow and I haven't even done my outline for it! Second of all I have an oral exam tomorrow which I didn't study for either! Oh well...i'll wing it :) So why am I on here? Well I had a GOOD day!
I cleaned out my fridge (stuff was moldy in there...), I went to get my boots fixed, and I bought some much groceries. I haven't seen my French TV in awhile so I decided to turn it on and check out the new French music. I was so wrong, they were playing the same clips (music videos, called clips here) and the same English songs. So, I turned it off.
Then I went to class for the first time in three weeks. I saw Imane (Ihaven't seen her in a long time) a Spanish exchange student that is half Moroccan (she helps me with my Arabic). It was a good class, I sat next to Marion and we chatted throughout the lecture.
I got home and had some Sangria and a chocolate sandwich. I also quit my job, the one where I teach the little ones to speak English. They are just too much for me to handle and I rather work at EPITECH. A lady I babysat for about two months ago called me so that I could babysit again, so weird I thought she didn't like me. Oh well, cool, I'll do it a lil extra euros never hurt anyone! Then I went to work. Lucas made a lasagna it was delicious. We talked about Colombia's drug war. We chatted about his girlfriends in Spanish and I taught him some vocab. Tom wasn't around, he went to Jujitsu class.
Then I rushed to the play. My soeur has wanted to see it for awhile. Artur was supposed to come but the damn ticket website wouldn't let me reserve one ticket, jerks! Anyway, so I had ten minutes to spare when I finally reached the theater. The play is called, LIBRES SONT LES PAPILLONS. It was awesome! It's about I blind guy who has a girlfriend. After the Comédie Française disaster I was not expecting to understand this play, but I did, I understood the whole thing! I feel there is still hope for me! LOL I really felt for the characters in the play, by the end of it I was so full of emotion! The CD was for sale and my soeur bought it (I'll burn it later, hehehe), the actress had a really good voice! I HIGHLY recommend the play. It's playing at Théatre Coté Cour. Métro: Parmentier. Tickets are 10euro (reserve by two) at billetreduc.fr
After the play we hit up MacDo. I had a KitKat McFlurry, yummmmy! We sat and were chatting in our own little corner. We, of course were speaking in English. I was settled and talking away to my soeur when a mec (French guy) comes and taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and I see a guy, average height, long curly hair, in khakis, carrying a duffel bag. He says to me "I-I-I...just wanted to say I really enjoyed hearing you speak American." I was completely caught off guard. I smile and say to him "thanks," and he runs out of the resto (what was I supposed to say? LOL). LMAO What was that? Whenever I speak English I was always get these disapproving stares and here was a mec telling me he enjoyed hearing us speak American LMAO! I guess you just never know.
Ok, I better start my outline...
This blog is dedicated to my brother.
I forgot to thank him in my previous blog. He really helped me get through my one week depression. He would stay up and Skype with me until I fell asleep. He is awesome; I love him so much! Thanks Brother!
I cleaned out my fridge (stuff was moldy in there...), I went to get my boots fixed, and I bought some much groceries. I haven't seen my French TV in awhile so I decided to turn it on and check out the new French music. I was so wrong, they were playing the same clips (music videos, called clips here) and the same English songs. So, I turned it off.
Then I went to class for the first time in three weeks. I saw Imane (Ihaven't seen her in a long time) a Spanish exchange student that is half Moroccan (she helps me with my Arabic). It was a good class, I sat next to Marion and we chatted throughout the lecture.
I got home and had some Sangria and a chocolate sandwich. I also quit my job, the one where I teach the little ones to speak English. They are just too much for me to handle and I rather work at EPITECH. A lady I babysat for about two months ago called me so that I could babysit again, so weird I thought she didn't like me. Oh well, cool, I'll do it a lil extra euros never hurt anyone! Then I went to work. Lucas made a lasagna it was delicious. We talked about Colombia's drug war. We chatted about his girlfriends in Spanish and I taught him some vocab. Tom wasn't around, he went to Jujitsu class.
Then I rushed to the play. My soeur has wanted to see it for awhile. Artur was supposed to come but the damn ticket website wouldn't let me reserve one ticket, jerks! Anyway, so I had ten minutes to spare when I finally reached the theater. The play is called, LIBRES SONT LES PAPILLONS. It was awesome! It's about I blind guy who has a girlfriend. After the Comédie Française disaster I was not expecting to understand this play, but I did, I understood the whole thing! I feel there is still hope for me! LOL I really felt for the characters in the play, by the end of it I was so full of emotion! The CD was for sale and my soeur bought it (I'll burn it later, hehehe), the actress had a really good voice! I HIGHLY recommend the play. It's playing at Théatre Coté Cour. Métro: Parmentier. Tickets are 10euro (reserve by two) at billetreduc.fr
After the play we hit up MacDo. I had a KitKat McFlurry, yummmmy! We sat and were chatting in our own little corner. We, of course were speaking in English. I was settled and talking away to my soeur when a mec (French guy) comes and taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and I see a guy, average height, long curly hair, in khakis, carrying a duffel bag. He says to me "I-I-I...just wanted to say I really enjoyed hearing you speak American." I was completely caught off guard. I smile and say to him "thanks," and he runs out of the resto (what was I supposed to say? LOL). LMAO What was that? Whenever I speak English I was always get these disapproving stares and here was a mec telling me he enjoyed hearing us speak American LMAO! I guess you just never know.
Ok, I better start my outline...
This blog is dedicated to my brother.
I forgot to thank him in my previous blog. He really helped me get through my one week depression. He would stay up and Skype with me until I fell asleep. He is awesome; I love him so much! Thanks Brother!
lundi 14 janvier 2008
life after Jan 4th...
Well my life has been pretty boring this New Year. I was sick with Bronchitis and the stomach flu from the 3rd through the 11th. During that time I locked myself in my room (I know, not healthy) and did nothing but Skype with the fam, watch Weeds, Gossip Girl, bollywood movies...I couldn't eat my stomach didn't want anything and I just kept hacking all this phlegm , it was disgusting but my bronchial tubes forced it out of me. I tried to be positive but it wasn't happening. I missed the first week of school and work.
On Monday the 7th I decided to go see a Doc. I called Nancy at MICEFA to get in touch with a Doc that spoke some English. She referred me to Dr. Wilson. I called and said I needed an appointment pronto, like today! He said "ouf! ok come at 16h45" he took my name and hung up. JERK! I'm fucking dying asshole! (I felt awful.) I don't know how I managed to get out of bed that day take a shower and stand the reeking smell of the metro, as well as the body odor, and coughs of all the stinky French people around me. I was stick to my stomach and by the time I got off I wanted to puke, instead I hacked another glob of phlegm. I walked for about 3 blocks and finally arrived 5 min early. He opened the door while I was still in the hall and said "come in" it was a messy office. He had a thick English accent and he himself had a cough (not as bad as mine). We went through the Q&A and he listened to my chest and said "looks like you got the two bugs that are going around" no shit fucker! Give me the meds! At this point I wanted to pass out! He said I'll give you a few days rest (I thought to myself oh hells no! I'm dying here, you better give me at least a week.) I demanded the week off and he consented. He made me pay 40euro (roughly $60) and buy 4 different meds including an antibiotic. I was out of there within 15min. What a diagnosis! (not!) I walked to the nearest pharmacy, where the pharmacist seemed to be moving at a glacial pace. I wanted to bust a cap in his ass for not moving faster! I spent almost 20euro on meds.
I got home in one piece. I crashed on my couch and popped the pills. I felt worse with all the meds in my empty stomach, but I couldn't stomach anything other than Orangina. I sipped through the corner of my mouth hoping I wouldn't puke out all the meds that would supposedly make me healthy again. My soeur came over and brought me edibles. The next day I still felt sick, Wednesday I still felt sick. Luckily, my soeur came by everyday that week to keep me company. This was the most grim week of my life here in Paris. I felt awful. I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be home with my family, where people speak English, where I don't need a metro, where I have TLC, where my friends are...Get me out of here! I wanted out. But my soeur reasoned with me and my immune system kicked up and I was once again ready to face the fact that I was living in Paris.
Reincarnation:
Thursday things started to feel alive again, and by evening I felt ready to face the world. I went out to see Marion and catch up on gossip and her vacation. Then I was going to see play with my soeur but we couldn't get in. I was getting my life back...
Friday.
I returned to school. I really didn't want to face my professor, I had missed the past 2wks of the class. But I went and it was fine. I got my Marketing midterm back and surprisingly did really well, I got a B! Things were looking up! I had lunch with Loreto and told her about my travels through Spain. Then I headed to Phonetics, my professor had so much energy that I quickly regained my interest in French. She went around the room asking what we had learned in class and how had it helped us? She looks at me with her Bette Midler smirk and says "et toi Romina, en quoi est-ce que ce cours t'as aidé?" I was so down and out about my French that I didn't know what to say. How do you say "I hate French, I want to get out of here!" But before I could get a word out she said, "tu n'as pas eu vraiement un problème avec la phonétique," I didn't know what to say, I was so happy that she had said that, I shrieked "really?" The class burst into laughter. My confidence was renewed and I had again found encouragement in this roller coaster of experience.
Saturday.
My soeur and I somehow thought that going to a play was a fabulous idea. Derek, my soeur, and myself found ourselves at the Comédie Française (a theatre in Paris), buying the left over tickets to Le Mariage de Figaro. Tix were 5euro each. The theatre was beautiful. I expected to be able to understand the entire play...We sat through 3hours of jibberish. The audience cheered and laughed while we looked on baffled by the dialogue and the lack of set design. We were completely bored and confused. What a waste. Then we went to Gare du Nord to get some Indian grub. Our waiter was cute but slow. We were in a quartier bursting with color, I was surrounded by Sari shops, markets, bollywood posters, Indian pastry shops, and plenty of Indian and Pakistani restos. I was in heaven! We even spoted an Indo-Mexi resto, that's right it was a resto specializing in Indian-Mexican food! So cool! After dinner my soeur and I found a bollywood DVD shop 4dvds for 10euro! Oh for sure! I bought the latest Bollywood films.
Sunday.
I went back to Gare du Nord, alone. Not the best neighborhood to be in solo. So I put on my don't mess with me face and walked in the shadow of a thick Indian lady carrying her groceries. hehehe. I walked into an Indian Beauty salon to get my eyebrows THREADED (threading is the best!) I walked into a gold and purple room, it had two salon chairs. The room was a little small and 5 ladies were sitting around gossiping. I braved the xenophobia and said to the lady behind the counter "do you do threading?" She said yes. She sat me down and tore a piece of thread off with her teeth. I held my skin, without giving her directions, I knew she knew how to fix my bushy brows. She whisked away while still chatting away in Hindi. She did my upper lip too and that was a lil painful but no biggie. I walked away with perfect arches and no waxy residue! I was so happy! YES!!!!! and all for 12euro! I'LL BE BACK!!!!! :)
That night I went to mass. The sermon was about Jesus' baptism. For some reason I wasn't really feeling the priest. Afterwards, we had our Youth group. We had a gift exchange. We were all assigned a character from the Nativity scene and had to give a gift to someone from the Nativity scene. I was baby Jesus and had to give a gift to the cow. What does baby Jesus give a cow? Well I gave him a jar shaped like a cow stuffed with chocolates. Sister Pilar was the cow and she loved the gift! Awesome! Score! The crib gave me a vanilla scented candle. ummm cool. We're meeting next week to talk about, Immigration week, the theme is "Jeune de tout pays, quels sont tes trèsors?" so we have to think about our "treasure" that we have to offer the world. Well we exchanged gifts and had a Gallette des Rois, it was yummy. I really like Sister Pilar, she always makes me feel so welcome! :)
Monday.
Looking fab with my new brows I went to class and watched the worst movie ever. I went to work and ate lamb and potatoes with the boys. We read about Colombia's problems with coke and went over vocab.
On Monday the 7th I decided to go see a Doc. I called Nancy at MICEFA to get in touch with a Doc that spoke some English. She referred me to Dr. Wilson. I called and said I needed an appointment pronto, like today! He said "ouf! ok come at 16h45" he took my name and hung up. JERK! I'm fucking dying asshole! (I felt awful.) I don't know how I managed to get out of bed that day take a shower and stand the reeking smell of the metro, as well as the body odor, and coughs of all the stinky French people around me. I was stick to my stomach and by the time I got off I wanted to puke, instead I hacked another glob of phlegm. I walked for about 3 blocks and finally arrived 5 min early. He opened the door while I was still in the hall and said "come in" it was a messy office. He had a thick English accent and he himself had a cough (not as bad as mine). We went through the Q&A and he listened to my chest and said "looks like you got the two bugs that are going around" no shit fucker! Give me the meds! At this point I wanted to pass out! He said I'll give you a few days rest (I thought to myself oh hells no! I'm dying here, you better give me at least a week.) I demanded the week off and he consented. He made me pay 40euro (roughly $60) and buy 4 different meds including an antibiotic. I was out of there within 15min. What a diagnosis! (not!) I walked to the nearest pharmacy, where the pharmacist seemed to be moving at a glacial pace. I wanted to bust a cap in his ass for not moving faster! I spent almost 20euro on meds.
I got home in one piece. I crashed on my couch and popped the pills. I felt worse with all the meds in my empty stomach, but I couldn't stomach anything other than Orangina. I sipped through the corner of my mouth hoping I wouldn't puke out all the meds that would supposedly make me healthy again. My soeur came over and brought me edibles. The next day I still felt sick, Wednesday I still felt sick. Luckily, my soeur came by everyday that week to keep me company. This was the most grim week of my life here in Paris. I felt awful. I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be home with my family, where people speak English, where I don't need a metro, where I have TLC, where my friends are...Get me out of here! I wanted out. But my soeur reasoned with me and my immune system kicked up and I was once again ready to face the fact that I was living in Paris.
Reincarnation:
Thursday things started to feel alive again, and by evening I felt ready to face the world. I went out to see Marion and catch up on gossip and her vacation. Then I was going to see play with my soeur but we couldn't get in. I was getting my life back...
Friday.
I returned to school. I really didn't want to face my professor, I had missed the past 2wks of the class. But I went and it was fine. I got my Marketing midterm back and surprisingly did really well, I got a B! Things were looking up! I had lunch with Loreto and told her about my travels through Spain. Then I headed to Phonetics, my professor had so much energy that I quickly regained my interest in French. She went around the room asking what we had learned in class and how had it helped us? She looks at me with her Bette Midler smirk and says "et toi Romina, en quoi est-ce que ce cours t'as aidé?" I was so down and out about my French that I didn't know what to say. How do you say "I hate French, I want to get out of here!" But before I could get a word out she said, "tu n'as pas eu vraiement un problème avec la phonétique," I didn't know what to say, I was so happy that she had said that, I shrieked "really?" The class burst into laughter. My confidence was renewed and I had again found encouragement in this roller coaster of experience.
Saturday.
My soeur and I somehow thought that going to a play was a fabulous idea. Derek, my soeur, and myself found ourselves at the Comédie Française (a theatre in Paris), buying the left over tickets to Le Mariage de Figaro. Tix were 5euro each. The theatre was beautiful. I expected to be able to understand the entire play...We sat through 3hours of jibberish. The audience cheered and laughed while we looked on baffled by the dialogue and the lack of set design. We were completely bored and confused. What a waste. Then we went to Gare du Nord to get some Indian grub. Our waiter was cute but slow. We were in a quartier bursting with color, I was surrounded by Sari shops, markets, bollywood posters, Indian pastry shops, and plenty of Indian and Pakistani restos. I was in heaven! We even spoted an Indo-Mexi resto, that's right it was a resto specializing in Indian-Mexican food! So cool! After dinner my soeur and I found a bollywood DVD shop 4dvds for 10euro! Oh for sure! I bought the latest Bollywood films.
Sunday.
I went back to Gare du Nord, alone. Not the best neighborhood to be in solo. So I put on my don't mess with me face and walked in the shadow of a thick Indian lady carrying her groceries. hehehe. I walked into an Indian Beauty salon to get my eyebrows THREADED (threading is the best!) I walked into a gold and purple room, it had two salon chairs. The room was a little small and 5 ladies were sitting around gossiping. I braved the xenophobia and said to the lady behind the counter "do you do threading?" She said yes. She sat me down and tore a piece of thread off with her teeth. I held my skin, without giving her directions, I knew she knew how to fix my bushy brows. She whisked away while still chatting away in Hindi. She did my upper lip too and that was a lil painful but no biggie. I walked away with perfect arches and no waxy residue! I was so happy! YES!!!!! and all for 12euro! I'LL BE BACK!!!!! :)
That night I went to mass. The sermon was about Jesus' baptism. For some reason I wasn't really feeling the priest. Afterwards, we had our Youth group. We had a gift exchange. We were all assigned a character from the Nativity scene and had to give a gift to someone from the Nativity scene. I was baby Jesus and had to give a gift to the cow. What does baby Jesus give a cow? Well I gave him a jar shaped like a cow stuffed with chocolates. Sister Pilar was the cow and she loved the gift! Awesome! Score! The crib gave me a vanilla scented candle. ummm cool. We're meeting next week to talk about, Immigration week, the theme is "Jeune de tout pays, quels sont tes trèsors?" so we have to think about our "treasure" that we have to offer the world. Well we exchanged gifts and had a Gallette des Rois, it was yummy. I really like Sister Pilar, she always makes me feel so welcome! :)
Monday.
Looking fab with my new brows I went to class and watched the worst movie ever. I went to work and ate lamb and potatoes with the boys. We read about Colombia's problems with coke and went over vocab.
vendredi 4 janvier 2008
je suis malade...
My sister left behind her germs and got me sick. I called my soeur to pick up her present from our friend Hondo and to have some company (to fill the void I felt after my fam left). She came over and put up with my illness. We watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a bollywood film. She slept over and I wouldn't let her sleep because I kept waking up in the middle of the night coughing. So sorry! She came back later the next day and nourished me with pasta and salad, brining tea bags and some Emergen-C, along with some magic meds! We ate, chatted, and watched the Karate Kid! I love that movie, Mr. Miyagi is awesome! She parted to let me rest and then I skyped with the fam until they made me go to sleep.
Today, I have awoken and feel 80% better, I'm still a little weak, a tad lonely, and without an appetite. I'm ready to face the world again!
I don't care about my marketing class! and I can't wait to be back in California, where the Mexicans roam, and the aztecs play, and tortillas are cheap!! I always thought I wanted to live abroad and now I don't want to! This experience was great but it just served to help me realize how much I love and miss home! Maybe it's just my illness talking but there's no place like Cali! But it's like Lily said in her blog, the life I had planned for myself, I now realize it's not for me, I don't want it anymore!
mercredi 2 janvier 2008
Depressed...
My mom and sis came and went. They were here and we spent a fabulous 3weeks together. I adore them. It was weird seeing them after so long, but within a few minutes we were ourselves.
They came and turned my Parisian life upside down. It was a whirlwind...I didn't want it to end. I felt at ease. All things must come to an end. They left today, leaving things behind that just serve as a reminder that they were here with me. When I was on the escalator on the way to the metro, I looked behind me thinking they would be there asking me what line we were taking next...I miss them. I cried at the airport and eventhough the sun is shining in Paris today. There is no place I'd rather be than in their arms in California... :(
They came and turned my Parisian life upside down. It was a whirlwind...I didn't want it to end. I felt at ease. All things must come to an end. They left today, leaving things behind that just serve as a reminder that they were here with me. When I was on the escalator on the way to the metro, I looked behind me thinking they would be there asking me what line we were taking next...I miss them. I cried at the airport and eventhough the sun is shining in Paris today. There is no place I'd rather be than in their arms in California... :(
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