La vie française: Au début...

Ay. Desolée...I've been horribly neglectful at this blogging thing. I guess I gotta start from the beginning of my journey. I will attempt to be consistent and use the same categories that I used when I first arrived in Ghana.

I am going to try to post some more. These crappy computers in the student don't seem quite equipped to handle picture downloading, so I'll have to figure that out. Other than that, it's every man for himself each day after class when it comes to finding a computer to use! There are not many for all the students at school...

The Journey and French America (i.e., Canada)
I flew from Newark to Montreal on Air Canada because it was - surprise - cheaper that way...and plus I can get frequent flier miles to hit "Premier" status (25,000 miles flown) by the end of the year. SCORE. Air Canada is quite good! The inflight magazine is the only one I've ever actually taken off the plane with me. And, of course, besides the inflight meal being so gosh-darn cute, it was also very good. A big bowl of non-limp salad! Gelato for dessert! God bless you, Air Canada.

I had to wait for a connection to Paris at Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport, which bears the mysterious airport code of "YUL" (does anyone know what's up with that...I know O'Hare's "ORD" comes from it being an orchard back in the day...but "YUL"?!?!). Continuing with airport experiences as movies (Kotoka=Speed), Montreal-Trudeau is the airport most like the one in "The Terminal," with Tom Hanks. It also simultaneously reminds one of a posh office building or hotel lobby (marble pillars, shining elevators, etc.). One must also add "amusement park" to the comparisons, because there was also some guy in a big fluffy mascot suit (a la Mickey Mouse) for one of the airlines (hitherto some mysterious European budget carrier), with French-Canadian kids pummeling it with their bodies. If ever there was a picture opportunity, this was it, but since I was designated as a potential terrorist during the trip to Accra, I kept my camera holstered. Taking pictures of airports won't help matters...

Also, I must add that my experience in the has encouraged me to never make fun of our neighbors to the North ever again. Really! First of all, everyone - from baggage handlers to customs - was superfriendly. Small sample-size, yes, but I don't see the airport employees at Newark or O'Hare smiling so readily. Also, I love the ease with which they switch between English and French, because it's darn OK to speak either one! No scornful looks! Everyone was like, "Hi..Bonjour," "Vous avez besoin d'aide?...Do you need help?", "How are you?...Ça va?" Delightful.

After I arrived in Paris, I took the train (TGV - Train à la grande vitesse) to Bordeaux. It kicks AmTrak in the ass and then stomps on its throat...just to give you an idea of how nice it is. ;)

Bordeaux: First Impressions
Bordeaux is the regional capital of the Aquitaine region (regions are the equivalents of states in the US). It's the biggest city in the Southwest, with about 260,000ish people. The city (the centre-ville, or downtown area, anyway) is really lovely, with buildings dating back to mostly the 17th and 18th century. Bordeaux, like most European cities, is also very sprawling and walkable.

Of course, the city is right smack dab in the middle of French wine country - probably the largest and most productive in the world, actually. You can imagine So I've already participated in a few wine tastings and visited a vineyard, but that's another story!!

Right now, it's winter, so it's a bit chilly, but not terribly so. It's bearable - maybe it's about 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit each day - so I'll take it! The only thing that kind of stinks is that it has probably rained everyday since I've been here. My parapluie (umbrella) is indeed my best friend here.

Ah...one very French thing. The French love their dogs, but they apparently don't like cleaning up after them. The sidewalks are positively covered with landmines of dog shit. I'm actually quite amazed at the different consistencies and textures of dog shit that abound...wait, that's gross, isn't it? Hee. My sister (who studied in Paris for a bit) warned me about this already, so it's been OK so far.

French Moolah
I won't insult you: it's the Euro. All you really need to know is that it's stronger than the US dollar now, and stuff in France is expensive. This all adds up to this: it sucks to be an American in France right now.

Also, for some reason, prices are still calculated in Francs. Presumably so that you can still use Francs and remain "French." As if anyone would (use Francs, that is).

Food & Drink
Words do not do it justice. It's just really, really good. I'm being stuffed with bread, cheese, pastry and wine - among other things. I don't think my host family uses the freezer at all - everything is pretty darn fresh. Each day, my family buys bread from the boulangerie. I tried to explain WonderBread to them, but they looked pretty disgusted at the prospect.

There's a boulangerie (bakery) and/or pâtisserie on practically every corner, so I often stop in to buy a chocolate croissant when I get the chance. Bad for me, yes, but I'm walking quite a lot...at least that's how I explain my recent gorging.

My Digs
Like I posted previously, I'm staying with a host family. They're an older couple named Patrick and Collette (civil servant and housewife, respectively). I am happy to report that they do not suck. In fact, they are pretty gosh darn nice. They don't speak much English and are very patient to boot, which makes for an excellent opportunity to practice French.

My room is the cutest room ever. Patrick and Collette are really into antiques, so my room is really well-furnished - I daresay better furnished than any other room I've had in my life. French beds tend to err on the tiny side, and my bed is perfectly YuhChic-sized - that is to say, no one over 5'3 could fit in this bed. In fact, I would feel sorry for them if they tried. The room is painted red, which I can't help but think is a bit bordello-like, but I like it (go figure).

The Language School
Ah! Besides eating pastry and drinking wine, this is actually what I'm here for! My school is the Bordeaux Language School, or BLS for short. It's oooook. No real complaints. My teacher, Jérôme, is amusing and pretty cool. He likes making fun of my American accent. I have classes each day for about 4 hours, then it's off to lunch and whatever else I want to do. Not bad.

Most of the students here are European. There are some from Asia (Korea, Japan, China) and Australia, but I've only met one American so far. Weird! Just about everyone speaks English, so a lot of people do so after class. I try not to, so I hang out with a lot of peeps who prefer to speak in French. It's cool. In any case, almost everyone is pretty nice and, at the very least, quite interesting, too. It's been fun so far.