Getting Cultured

So Wednesday was my four hour class (in English), "From Modern to Contemporary Art in France." What a joke. Legit, I could have taught that class since I've already covered all the material at TCNJ and all the professor did was just show us slides of Impressionism and ask us what we thought- didn't even give any sort of background or history on the time or movement. I'm sorry, but where I come from, an art HISTORY course generally includes some snippets of historical information, and in regards to Impressionism, it's kind of important for explaining the development of the movement.

-Side art historical lesson for a moment: Before Impressionism, the French Royal Academy reigned over the art world. Art was only considered "good" and salon-worthy if it followed certain guidelines outlined by the Academy, in terms of both subject and style. Historical and religious paintings were valued, the brush technique was generally more solid to replicate a realistic effect, and more conservative colors were used (see works by Jean-Leon Gerome). Enter a few artists who essentially said "to hell with that" and began to paint in a completely opposite manner- painting scenes and landscapes from everyday life, using a much looser brushstroke and much brighter colors to mimic not the reality of the scene, but the "impression" they experienced upon viewing a scene (like Monet).- (This is my knowledge of the subject; feel free to research it for yourself)

So yeah none of the above info was covered, she just starting showing us slides for 90 minutes, then showed us a video that was completely pointless, in my opinion. But its not like this class counts really counts for anything, so I have no problem sitting through it and contributing what I know.

Wednesday night, everyone in the ISA programs here went to the Opera Garnier to see the ballet "Caligula." I probably would have liked it more if I understood the story beforehand, but it was still really good, if not a bit bizarre because of the interpretation. And the Opera house is gorgeous- exactly like in the "Phantom of the Opera!"

My other class this week was "The Main Periods of French History." It wasn't too bad. The professor seems like a complete sweetheart- she really just wants to grasp the main ideas from each era and won't test us on anything we haven't extensively covered in class (a.k.a the EXACT opposite of RMK).

I don't have class on Fridays so today I had me-time. After talking to my parents (at 6:30am their time- you guys are troopers!) I headed to St. Michel to grab a couple of books- Pride and Prejudice and something by Moliere- from the French bookshop (so when I'm reading in public or need to avoid the stares on the metro, I'm not pegged as the American with her English books), then had lunch in a nearby cafe. And as I was sitting there, I fully understood why Americans get a bad rep in foreign countries- this group of American college students was loud, obnoxious, and pretty rude when the waiter couldn't quite understand their ordering in English. (Newsflash: you are the foreigner in this situation. Not everyone is going to know English when you are in a non-English speaking nation. Please adapt.) After that, I headed over to the Louvre to look at some paintings I studied in class on Monday (French Art: Renaissance to Impressionism) and will see again this coming Monday as well. And let me tell you, there is nothing better than learning about something in class, then have the ability to go see it in person. Like this painting by Le Brun. On the computer screen or on a slide projector, it doesn't look that imposing, but in person, its about 12 ft by 30 ft. Ridiculous.

Other pictures from the Louvre:

(The view from one of the windows- Eiffel Tower to the left, giant Ferris Wheel to the right)

(All the tourists in front of the Mona Lisa. Oh, how I hate that painting.)

(The Great Hall. It's rather impressive.)

"It's like Harry Potter- maybe you need to tap on a brick or walk through a wall or something..."

Sunday wasn’t too bad weather-wise: no sun, but no rain, so I’ll take it. I decided to be a tourist and went to Notre Dame and met up with Grace and Joscelyn. The cathedral is absolutely gorgeous! Granted I thought it would have seemed taller when seeing it in person, but the decoration of the interior and exterior is incredible! I could literally just sit in there for hours and just look around in awe. We didn’t go up to the bell towers, though- saving that for another day.

 

Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of class and I felt like I was going off to kindergarten all over again. Seriously. Thankfully, it was an art history course (Art in France from the Renaissance to Impressionism) and I felt right at home with the lecture. And with all of the courses I’ve taken at TCNJ, I know a good majority of the material already, or at least enough to get me by and let me really concentrate on the French itself and not the material as well. I think that’s going to be the main concern with my classes- I know the material for the most part, I’m just going to have to concentrate on the French. And the professor, who seems like a total sweetheart, told us that we’ll be having class IN THE LOUVRE in two weeks. Completely awesome.

So today I had my 9am French language course. Ugh. I hate early classes in the States when I only have to leave my room 5 minutes before to make it there on- imagine me having to leave 45 minutes early to ensure that I make all my metro stops and have enough time to walk there and get to my class. Ok so, I take a new route today that’s supposed to be quicker (but it actually takes the same amount of time as the other one), find my classroom, and wait to go in the classroom with a few people I know. Professor comes, we walk in, and sit down. All’s good. Come to find out a minute later that this class was for Japanese students (don’t laugh at me- a majority of the students at the Catho come from Asia and the ratio was the same as my class yesterday so I didn’t think about it). So we walk out, see that we were in the wrong room, and look for the correct room. Funny story- it’s not there- as in the classroom number is crossed out on the sign. Huh. Cute. Scenes from Harry Potter start to come to mind, with us needing to tap on the damn wall or something to find this class. So we ask a nearby professor, who confirms that the room we’re looking for isn’t in the building (although it clearly says it is on all of our schedules) and suggests that we go to the room it’s supposed to be in on Thursday (I have this class twice a week in two locations). Ok, it’s worth a try. So we hike it all the way across the campus and try Thursday’s classroom. No such luck- there’s a different class in there. So then we decide to go to the secretary in case they changed the room or something and didn’t inform us. We get there and tell the secretary “La salle de classe n’existe pas- ce n’est pas là” (The classroom doesn’t exist- it’s not there). Now she’s looking at us like we’re insane, which is a possibility at this point, so she decides to help us find the room (while thinking we’re insane- nbd). So as we enter the building again, she was going to go up the staircase like we originally did, but then one the people I’m with spots some non-descript sign the NO ONE saw the first time, saying we need to go back outside through a mini-courtyard and enter through a hidden side staircase, then go up two levels. Seriously? WHO THE HELL IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?! AND WHY ISN’T THE DAMN SIGN LARGER?! AND PLACED IN A VISIBLE LOCATION SO I DON’T END UP IN A CLASS FOR JAPANESE STUDENTS?! We finally find the class, and the professor is more than understanding, thankfully- he actually seems really chill and we do nothing more that introductions and bs-ing for the three (well, two and a half, in my case) hours that we’re scheduled for.

After grabbing some lunch and discovering that everyone I know has class in the afternoon, I decided to do a little exploring of my own since it was such a nice day. As in the sun was visible. No clouds. Marvelous! (You need to understand that I haven’t seen the sun for more than a total of one hour since I set foot on French soil and the weather report this morning was calling for rain/snow/wind/cold. So yeah.) So I grabbed my journal, my book, and my iPod and headed over to the Eiffel Tower- why not? So I took a few pictures, was assisted by a few nice American tourists that let me hop in a few photos of my own, and just relaxed. It was lovely.

(The view from my park bench)

And dinnertime continues to be one of my favorite times of the day. The food is good, but really, between all five of us (Me, Louise, Daniella, Ana, and Nana), we’re never at a loss for conversation and we easily sit there for an hour and a half/two hours, just talking and eating. It’s not too much different from what I do at home! And I was complimented on my accent- everyone was saying that a speak really well, with none of my “Americanness” (their word, not mine) showing through my French, so snaps for me!



Rain, rain, go away...

So back to Thursday when I ran out…a bunch of us ended up going out to a bar where the friend of one of the girls on the program works. Good times and a very late (or early, depending on how you look at it) bedtime.

Friday was the first time that we didn’t have anything scheduled, meaning I slept in until 1. Don’t judge me. Grace and I went to Odeon to grab a bite to eat, then met up with a few others to see a movie. (I highly recommend “The King’s Speech,” btdubs) Then I came back and just relaxed. And today has been much of the same. I woke up early (10am- for me that’s early), saw that it was raining, then went back to sleep until 1 or so. I walked around the neighborhood for a little bit to familiarize myself with it. From my adventures today, I think I can walk to the Eiffel Tower from where I live, so I’ll try that someday when it’s not pouring. I also ventured into the Office Depot across from where I live. Very small and just a bit pricey for school supplies. If it's still rainy like this tomorrow, I'll just head to the Louvre; I've got a free pass, I might as well use it.

 And I was just introduced (literally) to the new girl that will be living with us for the next two months. Her name is Anna and she’s from Venezuela and she seems really nice. Gotta say, this is truly an international household with people from the US, Venezuela, and Brazil. And Louise is Indonesian. It’s kinda crazy.

I really haven’t done much this week besides trying to settle in. With classes starting this week and me being able to move into my room this upcoming weekend, I think that will make it better. This is a big change coming from South Jersey to here.

Let’s see, what else:

-The metro is an interesting experience, but I think I’m getting pretty good at it. I mean, I do miss my car, but I def would not want to drive here in Big Blue.

-Little Parisian children are the cutest. Ex) Monday on the tram, a little boy was asking his dad about St. Valentine and what he should get for his “petite amie” (girlfriend). Too cute.

-Les pains au chocolat are the best things ever. I think today was the first day since I’ve been here that I haven’t eaten one.

-One that note, I don’t feel bad about eating all of those pastries because of the amount of walking I do. Oh, and the stairs. Seriously. GRBF- we are comparing calves when I return- I bet you that mine are better.

-I’ve also already been called out on my Jersey accent. And my Jersey attitude. I thought I was doing good at keeping them both hidden. Oops.

-I miss the quiet. To me, it’s weird hearing sirens and taxis and vespas and whatnot at 2am. It’s also weird living 8 floors up in an apartment building, but I’ll get used to it.

-“French” foods tried so far: foie gras (pretty damn good when eaten with a baguette), lamb, croque madame, PAIN AU CHOCOLAT (so good), every kind of cheese imaginable after every dinner- I’m not sure if I’ll get used to that, but Camembert is pretty good

-I have yet to try crepes and macaroons. I’ll get there, no worries.

Alright, peace out cub scout.

Pictures! (so far)

St. Germain-des-Pres (complete with eerie organ accompagniment)

 the Louvre! (and I even hopped in a picture myself!)

 the Eiffel Tower all lit up

ok so at the Musee d'Orsay, they have these giant sculptures of animals out front- please don't ask me why or who made them, because i have no idea haha

 and of course van gogh! even if he was certifably insane...

Adjustments

I know, I'm bad at updating, but you people know this so whatever. The past few days have been really crazy trying to adjust to everything. I've had meetings and tours and tests since Monday, while trying get used to my new urban surroundings. And it's definitely not the easiest thing to do, for me at least. But I'm trying to go with the flow as best I can.

Monday consisted of meetings for most of the day with ISA. They were nothing particularly new, but necessary, I guess. Tuesday consisted of an academic meeting and a tour of the Catho. I hope I remember how to get there everyday since the back entrance is practically hidden from the street. Wednesday, I had an oral placement test...womp womp. It was actually the most ridiculous thing ever. A professor looked at my schedule, asked me 4 simple questions (Why are you learning French? Why art? Why history? What are your problems with the language?), then said "You're fine." Apparently my answers that only consisted of a few simple sentences were enough for her to deem me "fine." So I travelled all that way (I take two metros and a tram to get to school in 35 minutes) for a 2 minute Q & A. Ok.

I haven't seen too much of the city yet or done a whole lot. I'm still trying to settle in and it's kinda tough not having a roommate or someone else from the program with you when you want to do something or go out. I'm lucky to have someone live within a few blocks of me, but still.

Tuesday, I walked around the area of St. Germain de Pres with Grace and Joscelyn. We ended up sitting down for a glass of wine at Les Deux Magots, which was where many of the literary and artistic greats (like Hemingway, Picasso, and Breton) used to congregate, so that was kinda neat. And Tuesday night, a bunch of us met up and ended up at some bar near St. Michel. It was the most bizarre place- the waitresses wore silver face masks, we were given sparklers, and Kung-Fu Panda was on the TV. Don’t ask- we didn’t. From there we tried to get into a club, but were denied for reasons we’re still not sure of? Which probably wasn’t the worst thing to happen since we were able to get home on the last metro. We were also able to see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe all lit up that night, which was really neat.

Yesterday found me at the Louvre in the early afternoon. That place is huge. And I mean HUGE. It’ll take me forever to get through it; thank you ISA for giving me a handy-dandy Carte Jeune, which gives me free admission whenever I want. Score. Then last night, the entire program went on the Bateux Mouches, the river boats that give tours up and down the Seine. They definitely give you a different view of the city. And I was finally able to catch up on some much needed sleep- close to 10 hours, which I’m pretty sure is more than I’ve had the entire time I’ve been here. Hopefully I can use the next few days to fully regulate myself, since classes start on Monday.

Today I was able to wake up at noon which was WONDERFUL (to be said in a sing-songy voice). Then I hiked it over to the Musee d’Orsay. I absolutely LOVE that place, and I’m pretty sure I could spend all day there. We had a guided tour, which I guess would have been neat had I not seen and learned everything (and more) in my Modernism seminar and general knowledge of art history. (Side note: fellow MOD students: HE COMPLETELY IGNORED MANET’S “DEJEUNER SUR L’HERBE.” I’m literally thinking to myself, “How in the hell do you do that?)

And now I’m getting ready to head out for the night…I promise to post more (including pictures) tomorrow!

“Excuse us folks, but we’ve had a computer error reading…”

So I’m off! (And I apologize in advance if some of this doesn’t make sense or it rambles or words are misspelled or I switch languages- I’m suffering from some serious jet lag after crossing 6 time zones and having about 3 hours of sleep in the past 27 hours or so.) Momma and Daddy Eckardt dropped me off at the airport around 4pm yesterday, and shockingly I didn’t pour tears like I thought I would. After passing through security, I had some time to kill, so naturally I people-watched as I ate my watermelon and Cheerios. (Side note to any and all travelers: When traveling, please be aware that people can see you and what you are wearing. While it may be comfortable to fly, it may not be acceptable or decent to wear in public. Thank you.) Then I was able to help a lady, who was either French or French-Canadian, and did not speak a lick of English, get on our flight. She said my French wasn’t too bad, especially since she was able to understand me and we had a short conversation about school and whatnot. Then once everyone is on the flight and we’re taxiing out to the runway, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker and says, “Excuse us folks, but we’ve had a computer error reading.” Um, say what?! Apparently, one of the computers that operates the wing flaps malfunctioned so we needed to get back to the gate so the mechanics could take a look at it. That was something I definitely didn’t want to hear, especially since it was a 6 hour flight and across a large open body of water for 95% of it. Great. But we were up and running within 15 minutes and taking off.

 Everything pretty much ran smoothly from there. And even though there really wasn’t any turbulence, thank god, and I popped 2 ExcedrinPM, I still couldn’t sleep for more than an hour, which was a major bummer because now I’m completely exhausted. Once we landed, de-planed, and I got my luggage with the help of a nice gentleman who saw me struggling to lift my 71-lb. suitcase, I was able to meet up quickly with Rebecca from ISA, who is an absolute sweetheart. We talked for a while with another student, Colin, while we waited for a third student to land. From there we hopped in the shuttle that took us to our homestays.

Since I’m in a homestay without an ISA roommate, I had no idea what to expect or what to do once I hopped out of the shuttle. So I’m standing on the sidewalk with all of my luggage, a paper in my hand with the door code I need to get into the building, and I can’t figure out how to get in. I punched in the correct code and pulled on the door and it wouldn’t budge. Now what the hell do I do? I don’t have a phone on me and I can’t see one in the near vicinity, so it’s not like I can call someone. Thankfully, a very nice Parisian lady took pity on the lost and confused American student after I explained my situation. She tried the door code again and pushed it open; apparently doors open in instead of out- I consider that a safety hazard. Anyway. So I make my way up to the 7^th floor (on an elevator) and rang the bell, then realized the lady I’m living with for the next 4 months, Louise, was running the vacuum so she didn’t hear me at first. Then I tried again, and she heard me this time. She is the cutest Asian lady who is fluent in both French and English so right now we communicate using Frenglish. It’s effective. Her apartment is beautiful, by the way. Very nicely decorated. So we sit and talk for a little bit, and I come to find out I’m not the only student staying here, which is awesome. There are two girls from Brazil, one of which is leaving in the next two weeks so I’ll move into that bedroom then, and there is another girl from Venezuela. All of them have been studying French for less than a year and all of them are better than me- like WAY better. Note to the American schools: PUSH LANGUAGES BECAUSE WE ARE FAR, FAR BEHIND! But since French is the only common link that we all have, I know that mine will improve over the semester, and that’s why I came here in the first place.

So yeah, since I don’t move into my bedroom for another two weeks, I unpacked what I could and left the rest folded in my suitcase because it was just easier that way, and then took a cat nap because I desperately needed a little bit of sleep. When I woke up, I figured out the wireless internet (which is a godsend) until it was time for dinner at 8:15- now that is definitely something I’ll have to get used to. Dinner was really nice with the five of us sitting around the table talking. Granted, I didn’t do much of the talking, but it was neat to see them all talking with each other and I did understand about 75% of the conversations. After dinner is bedtime for me because I am that damn tired.

Random Fun Facts:

-One of the flight attendants looked like Kristin Wiig from SNL. No joke.

-Apparently macaroni and cheese translates to macaronin-fromage. Who knew?

-On US Airways international flights, you get your own individual TV screen and there's an option that let's you track your flight across the Atlantic. Cool in its own right, but they also labeled all the famous shipwrecks that occurred in history. I know, I'm a geek.

Thank God for space bags and my mother.

Somehow, I fit all of this:

into just this:



I know, we're awesome. We also may have shoved some things wherever they fit and sat on the suitcase a few times, but it's all in there! Now hopefully I didn't forget anything since I leave tomorrow!

"Back to school, back to school..."

(sorry, had to get my daily Billy Madison reference in) As some of you may know, I'll be studying at the Catholic University of Paris during this semester. It looks kinda neat from the outside:

I'll be studying within the Language division, in the Institut de Langue et de Cultures Francaises; this means that even though I'm attending the university with French students, I'll be contained within the division that deals with foreign students whose main purpose is to learn French. Apparently, a majority of the foreign students that come to study here are Japanese and German- go figure.

As of right now, I'm enrolled in 4 classes, with 3 of them being completely in French: French Language (duh), Art in France from the Renaissance to Impressionism (yay!), History of France: 13th-18th Centuries (I'm a geek, so sue me), and then I''m also signed up for Contemporary Art (in English). My hope is that since I've already taken a course similar to this one last semester, I'll just breeze through it, giving me more time for my other courses and for some extra fun. And- I HAVE NO CLASS ON FRIDAYS! Ballin'.

"...lived twelve little girls in two straight lines..."

So I (finally) received my housing info the other day!

I'm living in a duplex in the 15th arrondissement (highlighted in red on the above map), where I'll have my own room (thankfully), with a lady named Mme Chambert-Loir. From the info I was sent about her, I don't think I could have been placed with a better host.

"She is of Indonesian origin. She is very well-traveled and interested in other cultures. She studied in London and describes herself as particularly talkative. She loves cooking and enjoys sharing her culinary knowledge with the students."

Like I said, could it get any better than that? And the area I'm living in is pretty awesome too- close to a metro stop, there are a ton of shops, cafes, etc. close by, as well as the post office and hospital. It looks really awesome (shout out to GoogleMaps)!

"In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines..."

If you know me well enough, you know I've wanted to spend time in France ever since I discovered Madeline, Genevieve, and Miss Clavel when I was about 6 years old. Now that I'm finally getting the opportunity to study in Paris for four months, I don't know if I've ever been this excited for something in my life. This is truly a dream come true (cliché, I know, but give me a freaking break- how else would you describe it?) And since I know everyone would like to keep up with all of my adventures, I figured this would be a good way to keep everyone in the loop. I guess it doesn't hurt that it would make pretty kick ass memento, as well!