Don't Leave Me Alone Here!

So last night, I came back to an empty apartment. (I'm home for a day and a half in between Brussels and Copenhagen, mainly to do laundry. I'm cool like that.) The apartment wasn't empty because people weren't home yet - it was empty because...dundundunnnnn...everyone is skiing in the Alps.

So I unlocked the door, flipped on the lights and jumped 10 feet in the air. (I'm REALLY jumpy, for those who don't know.) No, there weren't dead bodies or any other chilling things in the foyer...but there was COOKIE.

Cookie is Priscilla's bunny. I knew s/he exists, but have never just been like "Hey, Priscilla, can I cuddle with the rabbit?" mainly 'cause that's socially awkward and Priscilla already thinks I am a weird American (long story involving cheese and me making animals noises. Caty would've appreciated it...).

So Cookie is chilling out in her/his cage, I filled up the water bottle 'cause there was almost none left...go to my room, check email, blahblahblah...and then I get hungry.

Damn.

I knew Madame had left me food in the fridge, so I head on over to the kitchen, where I am greeted with a note along the lines of "burger in the freezer. that's on top of the fridge. sorry i'm not here. bye." Cool. There were also carrottes rapee (aka, raped carrots! grated carrots...in english) cause she knows I like them...blah blah blah.

And then the problem starts.
The following phone call:
Me: MOM! How do I turn on the stove?
Mom: Um what? I'm in the car. Just turn it on.
Me: OMGOMGOMG Madame never showed me how to turn it on! And it's gas/match type deal. OMGOMGMG
Mom: Oh God, I'll give you the 10 euros to eat out, don't blow the place up.
Me: ...there's an electric coil...how does that work?
Mom: Turn it on and DON'T TOUCH THE COIL.
Me: Ok, cool, I'll call you if something bad happens.

10 minutes later
Me: MOOOOOOOOOMMM the water isn't boiling, can you wire 10 euros in to my account?
(pause)
Me: Oh wait, I think I see bubbles...sorry...call you later.
Mom: Cool.

Oh stove, you give me food and grief.

(disclosure: I can cook. Pretty well in fact - just no one ever gets to see the product of spending 2 weeks in the South of France learning how to cook at Insitut Paul Bocuse - because I am very lazy. )

So, moral of the story, I had some pasta and a "burger" that isn't really a burger. Thought I had a touch of salmonella in the middle of the night 'cause my tummy hurt and I thought I didn't cook the burger through enough, but all's good on my end.

And, even better, the eldest daughter flew in today from the UAE (where she's living with her future-husband - a French guy), so even though I decided to eat out this evening - duck confit to DIE for - I'm no longer alone in the house. YAYAYAY!

Off tomorrow bright and early to see Amberleeeee in Copenhagen. See you soon pengyou!!!

We can have 3 lunches, right?!

So I just came back home from seeing Ali in Brussels! I miss you already! Photo re-cap of the last couple of days:

We decided to go to Antwerp for the day.

Ali's great-great-grandsomething, chilling out in a square in Antwerp.

I introduced Ali to the joys of foie gras.

We saw the Mannekin Pis.
Ali with her fries.
Me with my fries!
Funny story: we went to Chez Leon to get mussels. As we walked in, I said to Ali "I wonder if I like mussels..."
My mussels.
Guess I do! yumyumyum

More Random Dinnertime Ramblings...

This is a test of “How Well Do You Know Michelle?”

Question: Does Michelle want kids?

Yes

No

Well, what do you think?

If you said no, you are correct.

I will never say never (and in all honesty, I probably will have kids), but I am not drawn to kids. Not my thing, the sticky fingers and diseases and fights and attention. Sure, I’d like to dress them up in cute clothing and teach them how to speak Swahili and write Chinese calligraphy with their toes – but honestly, kids are not my thing and are not in my current life plan.

So, to cut to the chase:

Last night at dinner, it was just Madame and I (everyone else – aka Monsieur and Priscilla - was out eating with co-workers/friends). I mean, I was cool with this – I’m a fan of Madame (aka, her cooking). I didn’t think I was about to get a 2 hour history lesson nor did I think we would awkwardly sit in silence.

So while talking - I don’t even know how this came up - but she asked, “Do you want kids?”

I swear to god, I thought I was going to have to perform the Heimlich maneuver (which, I’m 99% sure I’d administer improperly – but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?!). She was floored when I said no.

The next question (logically) was: Do you want to get married.

Answer: YES.

If there is anything that I am sure of in my future, it is that I want to get married.

Madame didn’t know what to think; this is a lady who has 5 kids, got married young (relatively young), and has spent her whole life running a household.

I was quite the oddity.

“Really? Are you SURE? How original! You know, they are much better when they are your own. They joy they bring! My, you really are quite original! I’m sure in 10 years I’ll get a letter from you saying how happy you are with your children…”

(Right now, my mother is sitting at the computer, enthused that someone else is trying to convince me that kids are good and cute and are worth having.)

I guess the moral of this post is to show a) what I talked about during dinner last night (actually, this is was one a wide variety of subjects - but unfortunately I can't post the funnier bits...) b) that I have the vocab to have such a conversation and c) I am feeling like a bad blogger and wanted to post.

I am leaving in a couple of hours - after helping Priscilla with her English homework, which I'm sure will be an exercise in patience for both of us - to visit Ali in Brussels. YAYAYAYAYAY! So excited! I'm off this upcoming week for my February break, so I'll be in Brussels until Tuesday, return to Paris Tuesday, stay here Wednesday, then off to Copenhagen to see Amberle on Thursday through Sunday. YAYAYAYAYAY! So excited times 2!

The Post You've Been Waiting for...

I apologize in advance for the kinda crappy pictures - I'm trying to use my ISO feature so the flash doesn't white-out the pics, blah blah blah...whatever, Enjoy!

The Salmon tartare I had for lunch today. Mediocre, but I haven't puked so it's a success.

I swear to god, the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side. Lo mien and wonton soup from the asian restaurant/french bakery around the corner from school. (I don't get the combo either...)Sarah's risotto with prosciutto that she had for lunch today.
This is an example of french cafeteria food - braised pork shanks with couscous. America, take note!
Chocolate cake at the Sweet Briar "Welcome to France" dinner. Crappy.
Chicken from the same dinner. Was cold and the rice was soggy. Ick.
The only decent part of the aforementioned dinner - quiche with leeks.
The first of many, many sandwiches that I eat/have been eating in France - a sandwich rosette aka, sausage sandwich. HOLLERRR!!! (I'm sure my arteries aren't thanking me...but my soul is :)

Dinner Time Conversation

Tonight, Madame started off the conversation telling Monsieur (yes - I call them Madame and Monsieur...) that I'm pissed about the strike (obvi). So he asks if I want him to give me a history lesson.

(all in French, obvi)

Me: (hesitantly) yes....
Monsieur: OK, what time period.
Me: 19th century.
Monsieur: OK, what subsection.
Me: All of it.
Monsieur: All of the 19th century during dinner? Ok...

2 hours later:
Madame: Guillaume! Stop! Michelle, you can tell him that you are bored and want to do other stuff.

2.5 hours later:
Monsieur: I think I'm on the 20th century.
Me: You are! OK, let's stop! The End. BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Monsieur: ...but there's more...
Me: Good Nightttt! (runs out of the kitchen)

This conversation was punctuated by them teaching me how to peel a pear w/ a knife (did you know that touching the knife with your finger whilst peeling is considered declasse?). Call me an ignant Amuuricaan...I never peel my pears...

Well, it's Def Different than China!

So in stark contrast to the prison which was my room in Beijing, my room here in Paris is quite lovely! It's about the size of a MHC room, for those who want a comparison, but instead of a closet, there are 2 armories...and a fireplace. Once again, I know I live a hard life.

This is my bed. There are birds on the bedspread, which doesn't really go with the pink Paul Frank pillowcase I brought from home. Whatever. The birds also match the drapes on the windows. (The room used to be the youngest son's room.)


My desk , chair, etc. To the left you can see the mantle, and under that is the fireplace. I don't think it's functional - and I'm not going to try it out! - and I have a bar blocking it anyway, so I can hang my coats and stuff. (Remember, no closet.)
The view from the left of my door. (There's a bathroom on the right side of the hallway, and 3 bedrooms on the left side.)View from in front of my room - leads to the front hallway/foyer/everything else in the house.

What's nice in my room - and I don't know if it's intentional or not - is that there are photos of horses and of asian people. (That last bit came out wrong, I know.) They knew beforehand that I'm a rider and that I speak Chinese (...or I did...) so it's nice that there are those photos in my room.

The walls here are padded too...or I mean, I think they are...there's give in them...or maybe I'm just going crazy...hmmm....

My Toes Hurt...

So as per the sub-header of the blog, I really like foie gras.

I Really, Really like foie gras.

As those who have eaten with me know, I am a big believer in foie gras and don't really care about the way it is produced, simply that I can eat it and enjoy it.

And last week, after I had foie gras 2xs in 1 day (shut up! it's better than smoking!) as well as having it 3 times earlier that week, Sarah proclaimed that I was going to get gout.

She's probably right too, which is the kicker.

And then yesterday, my limbs started to hurt. It's the power of suggestion...but no matter...

So I present you with my new "after-school" snack:

pate de campagne!

I joke, it's not really my new after school snack, it's mainly a "I was bored inbetween phonetics lab and history class" type thing. Which in retrospect, is worse...

WTF, Mates?

So I walk into Chinese today...and see only 3 other students faces staring back at me.

Cool.

In walks the Professor, who tells us - before she even takes off her coat - she is on strike and will not teach us today, but merely facilitate conversation.

Thanks for deciding to strike a month into the term, Professor!

Actually, it wasn't 1/2 bad, all things considered...but the moral of the story is, we are on strike until next Tuesday, and at that time there will be a "re-evaluation" of what LCAO will do. (LCAO is the college w/in Paris 7 that I am enrolled in.)

Bu hao y'all, bu hao...

Apologies, and more

In the last week or so I've been getting e-mails about my updating, or more specifically, lack thereof.

My bad.

As I stated in the last post, my internet in the apartment is rather shitty. I can get good signal in the living room (which is like sitting in a museum and where I'm still not 100% sure if I can hang out in...) and in the bathroom (why yes, I multi-task, thanks for asking). The internet in my room? Not so much.

But I've been here for a month now, so I guess it's good to recap what's been going on with me:

Paris 7 is still on strike, so I have dropped my history classes at Paris 7 for ones at Sweet Briar. Which is kinda nice, cause it's def easier and less work than at Paris 7. What remains are my Chinese courses, which are killers, but will let me continue learning Chinese.

The first day of Chinese class was kinda rough:

Professor: Vous, la fille en noir, la question 1, SVP.
Me: UGHHHHHHH

Moral of the story: always identify that you are a foreign student and that you didn't show up to the first class.

Perf.

Otherwise, the Sweet Briar classes are good and I think I'll learn alot there.

And even though I only have Chinese at Paris 7, I still get to use my fancy-schmancy student ID card/debit card.

The Homestay front is going well, too.

I mean, there are times when I want to blend in the w/ the wallpaper, but the family is good and they treat me well. And Madame can COOK. I mean, really, really well. It's still a bit awkward at times (like right now, I have a ton of laundry to do but don't want to start it right now 'cause I don't know if she's OK with me using the laundry machine w/o asking...) but they tell good stories.

So, dear reader, I promise I will try to update more often, and with more pictures and videos...I guess I'll just have to start to use the bathroom more often.

:)

Ugh

I promise, I am still alive. However, the internet sucks here. Sigh. Will try to do a longer, more photo/video intensive post soon.

And Then My Umbrella Flipped Inside Out

So 2 Friday's ago, Sweet Briar took us to Versailles, about a 1/2 hour outside of Paris.

It sucked.

No fault of Sweet Briar or the Palace itself, but the weather sucked. Example 1:


It was sometime after this picture was taken that my umbrella flipped inside out. Bummer.

The photos I got inside were mediocre and we couldn't really snap photos in the garden (it was still pouring out) but for the 2 non-rain filled minutes going from the Palace to lunch, Sarah managed to snap this photo of me, making it look like I actually had fun and making my legs look really long. Score!In all honesty, it was very interesting there, and the Art History teacher at SB gave us a really good tour (in French, bien sur!) but I think I will have to come back on a day with better weather, to best appreciate the palace.