Note!!

The pictures down below are too large, and you have to click on each of them to see them entirely. I'm sorry :(

Some Pictures

Because I know you're all just dying to know, here are some pictures. The first few are of Dijon, and this bar that my friends and I frequent called Chez Nous. After this are some pictures from my trip to Paris.

1)


This is one of the main streets in Dijon, and the church at the end is Saint Michel.

2)


Another street leading to Place de la Liberation

3)


Petite Rue in Dijon

4)


The countryside

5)


Niklas and Markus in Chez Nous

6)


Niklas and Daniel in Chez Nous

7)


Victoria and I and at Chez Nous

8)


Here I am taking the wine for myself. A familiar gesture.

9)


The debambification discussion

10)


And encore

11)


Little Street in Paris

12)


Celine in Front of Notre Dame de Paris

13)


Notre Dame from the Front

14)


Daniel, Markus, and I wandering aimlessly

15)


Some of Paris from the Second Level of the Eiffel Tower

16)


Some shitty egyptian mime over the Seine.

17)


Victoria, Markus, Daniel, Celine, Me, and Regina in front of the Arc de Triomphe

18)


Regina, Myself and Daniel the Premier lost somewhere near the Champs Elysées

19)


Workin out the Metro

20)


The Inside of Notre Dame


And that's it for now! I had to steal this pictures from some friends, but it's all good. Last night was fun, but sad. It was the last night in Dijon for Niklas, Celine, and Daniel the 1st. I'm going to miss them all very much, but I'm hoping to go see them in Germany sometime soon. It's been cool out here, but now that October is starting, things are probably going to start to change a little bit. I hope not too much. There's been too much change for one month already!

I'll keep you guys updated! Miss you all back home, and I can't wait to see you again!

PLUS VIN ROUGE S'IL VOUS PLAÎT!!!

Okay. Whoa. These past weeks have been crazy! I can't believe I've been here almost a full month already. Time here has passed so fast. Before I know it, this is gonna be over. Not too sure how I feel about that, actually.

Last night consisted of: Picnic (with wine, duh) at the lake with Erasmus kids and my buddies, introductions with new japanese student who will now be living chez moi, returning to Place Darcy to meet up with the others, Chez Nous (duh), Place Kebab, and finally, Club Atmosphere. Yes. What a nice. ALL FOR UNDER 6 EUROS I AM KING. And I was smashed. Ohhhh boy. Can't even talk about that shit.

I am so late to class. Class began at 9, it's now 10:21. Thing is, I don't care. There is no way I could learn french grammar in my current state. And besides, Agnes doesn't typically care. She's such a fucking awesome person. She's the professor, and she speaks French, English, German, and Polish, though her native tongue is obviously French. Very funny too, she was talking to us the other day about how she used to be a groupie in the 60s.

Okay. So I should really go now. I love you all!

Poverty

I think I am officially below the poverty line. No money in my account whatsoever.

Last night, went out with some peeps to watch another football game. Realized, again, that "futbol" is not my thing (c'est pas mon truc! as the french say). May be going out again tonight, but we'll have to see. The idea of staying in bores me, and I've become super social all of the sudden, but I also can't really muster up the energy to not look like shit in order to be acceptable in public. Yes, the days of pajama pants and hoodies are over for me, at least for this year. I'd have no friends otherwise.

Eurolines = awesome. 60 euros round trip to vienna, and 45 to berlin. Holler. Imma be doing that shit mad quick, you know it.

Also, easyjet.com is my new favorite website. I love imagining that I can actually afford to travel.

My back hurts. I have to clean my room. Ate ratatouille tonight for dinner, mad good actually.

I found a bar called "deep inside" near my house. But like, how can I resist? We'll have to see.

My foreign friends (by this I mean, not Americans in europe) came up with a term for having sex with girls that are what we would call cock teases. They call it "debambinization". I died of laughter, I was so drunk, and all I could do was wheeze to death and cling onto the table for support. The inspiration? We were talking about this girl who was fucking with Niklas's brain, being all flirty and whatnot, but then not putting out? I think? I guess. Daniel informed me that its like "she's a little innocent bitch, like a little BAMBI! Do you know Bambi, Elias, like the cartoon??? She like that, and it's our job to debambi her so that she doesn't do this anymore!" AKA fuck her "eurostyle" so that she knows what she's missing. I died. Really. I could move I was laughing so hard. And of course this lead to a whole slew of jokes like "burn bambi out of the forest" and "shoot up the woods". God. Too much. I tried to tell them that since she's 24 and pretty attractive, she's probably already been "debambied" but I was then informed that it didn't count because "yeah, maybe she was American debambied, but the european debambinization is much better! After all, we all have 30 centimeter penises!". Again, more death laughing, as I'd never heard of penis's being measured as "big" in centimeters, although it makes sense, we are in Europe. This has taken up a lot of room in this entry, but it's totally worth it.

Alright hoes, I'll be back soon. Did well on my test yesterday. Gonna go out and debambi some hos, see y'all later!

Ouai, c'est comme ça

So, as ridiculous as it sounds, I've pretty much come up with a highly comprehensible list of food and drinks that I'll miss from France, as well as things that I already miss from the U.S. Food is a very big deal to the French, I've learned, and rightfully so-the food is incredible-but sometimes, they over-exaggerate the difference between all of the regional varieties, and the same variety of ethnic food does NOT exist here. So, here it goes:

Things I can already tell I will miss once I return to the US:

1) CHEAP GOOD bread. Like, giant baguettes for .79 centimes.

2) CHEAP wine at grocery stores. Again, like .98 centimes. It might taste like grape juice, but when all you want to do is have fun, it certainly gets the job done, and it's not too hard to drink.

3) Coca light. I think it tastes better than diet coke, though most people here seem to hate it.

4) Couscous with every meal.

5) French sauces---their obsession with sauces or dressings is a little strange, but they're all delicious.

5) The range of places that I can go for certain items that are insanely delicious and fresh every day. (Boulangerie= bread, Epicerie= mini grocery stores, patisserie= pastries, fromagerie= cheese, laiterie= dairy products, confiserie= candy, butcherie = meats of all kinds, all the "marchés" or markets for fresh food and vegetables). But even french supermarkets are pretty awesome.

6) Kebab. The french fast/street food. It's not actually on a skewer, it's like a sandwich, but it's insanely fucking good and cheap (and greasy). And they're usually open until after some bars close, so drunk munchies, bring it on!

7) French coffee and cafe culture. I won't lie, there HAVE been times where the HOUR to TWO hours it takes the french to drink their coffee and relax has been a little overwhelming, but overall, it's really nice to have waiters not trying to turn over tables, and the coffee is FUCKING DELICIOUS.

8) Tomatoes in France. They taste sooooo much better than in the US.

9) Bread with every meal. Clean up your plate with it, son!

10) The sheer abundance of lebanese pastry shops, all fucking incredibly sweet.

11) Cheap .5 pints of beer and wine in bars, especially Chez Nous, where we are treated like kings because we're pretty much regulars and always leave giant drunk tips. The wine cups may look tiny, but after 3 of those glasses, you'll be laughing like crazy, saying things you never thought you'd say.

NOW, things that I REALLY miss from the U.S.

1) A fucking BAGEL with cream cheese. It's like they don't exist here. And I'm wondering why, because they're pretty much the best things ever.

2) Cheap chinese food. Sounds fucked, but I've wanted crab rangoon several times, and there's really no where to turn at times like those.

3) Bottomless cups of coffee. At 5 euros a pop for a large cafe au lait, a simple black coffee refill cup for $ 2.00 becomes a point of contention.

4) The ethnic diversity of American Food and American supermarkets. French grocers seem to think people would only like to eat French food.

5) Pizza. It does exist here, but I strongly prefer US pizza.

6) Falafel. Nearly nonexistent in Dijon, especially as street or fast food.

7) Spicy foods, especially Mexican Cuisine. I ate at a mexican restaurant in Paris the other day, and while some were saying how hot the food way, I almost cried from how bland it tasted.

8) American convenience and abundance. Super size that fucking milkshake and lets GET OUT OF HERE. But no, that would never fly in France.

9) Hearty breakfasts, and pancakes. French people can't fathom the idea of pancakes with butter and maple syrup, but the thought of being without them for a year is really fucking with my head.

10) It's a southern thing, but chicken biscuits. Enough Said.

11) Apple Juice. It sucks out here.

12) Hot sauce and good hummus. Yeah, good luck trying to find that in Dijon.

And really that's all. Paris was amazing, fantastic really. But, you know what? New York is better. L.A. is better. Maybe not as pretty, but better in my opinion. That being said, I'm really looking forward to my next trip to Paris in a few weeks. WOOT!

9.6.09

So, it’s morning, getting brisk, and I’m just sitting here listening to “Stacy’s Mom” in bed. Couldn’t get much better than this. It’s been a good weekend, met some good people, and drank a lot of cheap alcohol on the street.

On Friday night, Jeremy, Jenichi (who did end up getting his grove on) and I went to Place de la Liberation to celebrate the festival that I previously talked about. We met up with some other CIEF kids there, and just ended up getting wasted and dancing and talking in French all night long. GOD my French is so much better when I’m intoxicated.

Anyway, it was just a great night. SOME things I won’t post here, because that’d be all too inappropriate, but you get the jist. Now I like France much more lol. This Austrian girl, Victoria, asked me that night “are all Americans so fun like you??” and I have to say I was very touched. But don’t worry, I stuck up for us, and told her yes, for the most part, they are.

Last night, Jeremy and I went to a bar (with Jenichi, go figure. More on this later in the entry, I promise) and watched UN MATCH DE FOOT! It was France versus Romania, and it was a pretty big game because if France had won, it would have secured them a place in the World Cup, but they ended up tying, so their fate is still undecided. Apparently. I was more focused on getting drunk than on watching the game, so who actually knows what I’m talking about lol, I just got this information from the bartender in French, so it could be all wrong.

So. Jenichi. Let me explain, back to the beginning. And be aware, this is about to sound REALLY mean, but I think I’m also in the right a bit. Basically, he’s attached to me at the hip. He’s not really a BOTHER necessarily, but it’s just too much too often. He’s this old (57! He lied! He’s not 51!Veronique told me!) man who insists on doing everything I do…even going to clubs, bars, the same restaurants, everything. And he keeps me on a timer it feels like! I can’t count the amount of times he woken me up saying “elias, rendez-vous with Jeremy at 1, no? Maybe get up time now!”. It’s like, wtf? Are you COMING? And more often than not, he does. He paces in front of the door like a nervous dog with his fishing vest and money belt and combover, all afraid that we’re going to be a whole MINUTE LATE, stressing me out, and oh god I just can’t handle it. He’s also entirely helpless sometimes. He’s this world-traveling Professor of English (he lived in Philadelphia for 10 years), yet he can’t find his way home from from Rue de la Liberation, even after I give him very CLEAR directions and hand signals. (Also, it’s easy….turn left on Rue du Bourg, go in a straight fucking LINE until you reach the house. Literally, that’s it.) And he’s walked it with me HOW MANY TIMES? But nope, Jenichi manages to get lost. I just have these visions of him getting mugged and how helpless he must look with his pegleg walk. I asked Jenichi what he does for fun back home to other day, and he told me “work!” and smiles all unsure, as if maybe that were the wrong answer. Okaaaay. let’s try that again, Jenichi what do you REALLY do for fun? “I like to sit in café and watch people. Very (velly) European, haha”. Okay, wtf dude!? I KNOW you don’t do that, you told me you’d never been to a café before! If you don’t have fun, which is becoming very apparent, just TELL me. Why say you sit in cafes? I don’t get it. And half the time that we talk to each other in French or English, I’ll ask him a question and get these responses that are entirely unrelated to what I asked. Like seriously, an example:

E: “Jenichi, do you what time it is?”
J: “Uh, excuse me?”
E: “J’ai dit, ‘est-ce que tu sais quelle heure est-il?”
J: “Oh haha oui oui. We leave in hour to go eat.”
Wait. What? No. Why would you think that?? I just don’t get it. My patience is wearing thin. And he told me he’s never had sex. Well, actually I asked him if he’s ever had sex, but he told me no. I just can’t believe this. He’s never “had” a woman! Or a man for that matter! I get the feeling that the only woman who’s ever loved him is his mother, but I’m even starting to doubt that. It’s just, there’s something about him that doesn’t really translate to paper that’s very unnerving. Maybe he’s just lonely? I know he has no brothers or sisters, his parents are dead, he’s single, no children…yet, sometimes I just want to hit him. Seriously. Like, wake up call dude! And he asked madame if he could stay PAST September for a whole semester! I’d just fucking die, I don’t think I could do it. I decided that I just HAD to talk to her, and she was incredibly understanding. She said “he’s not too sticky with you is he?” which was nice, because it was then her fault for bringing up Jenichi! I asked her about the situation, and said that if she had to ask one of our other students coming to stay to find another home, could she please keep the Canadian, because I’m just going crazy. She’s said to not worry, that “c’est pas possible!” for Jenichi to stay, which made me want to cry tears of joy. She also told me that she’s been finding notes that he writes to me taped to my door, but that they’re usually unimportant and bizarre, so she throws them away. Thank god. That’s seriously all I need to find in the morning.

ANYWAY, today I’m going to the open air market with Jeremy (and probably Jenichi, knowing my life), and now that I feel like a sufficiently horrible person, I can go in peace.

Alright guys, I love you! Contact me!

Elias

P.S. Still have not paid Veronique. And I’m forgetting certain English words! Fuck dude. It took me forever to think of the word “pacing” in this entry. I didn’t know it in either language :( for almost five minutes. Shit yo. This is NUTS. I am really starting to like France. I just wish my money would get here. I feel so good out here. I need to make some more connections, and put myself out there more. You only have one life, there’s no time to be timid.

Hmmm…what to say. I feel like I have simultaneously so much to say, because everything is so new to me, yet nothing to say because it just sounds repetitive if you aren’t experiencing it firsthand. Wow, that really wasn’t supposed to sound nearly that condescending at all.

Class today was good. We were working on grammar, which was nice. Here’s what I don’t get- why to teachers insist on teaching grammar in French? I’m talking about at Clark obviously, because here it makes sense because not all of the students speak English! But at Clark…wtf is that about? I’m all for immersion, but some things make better sense (so that you can USE the foreign language) when taught in one’s native tongue. Ugh. I’m just cursing Odile Ferly right now. Especially now that I’ve had some French professors IN FRANCE, I’m realizing that Odile Ferly is just actually a horrible person (obviously), and that her teaching personality has nothing to do with being French.

I learned an important fact today! That’s that one must not say “Je suis excite…”, which when translated directly to English means “I am excited...”. It’s not that the sentence is grammatically incorrect or anything, but rather that it apparently carries a highly sexual connotation, and is only used under “those” circumstances. Lol, I learned this the hard way. No pun intended.

Supposedly there’s a big festival in centre-ville tomorrow. Adi invited Jeremy and I to go with him to get drunk and see some live music at the festival. Oh god. I don’t know if I can do it. I’m pretty sure that everyone knows that I hate live music. We’ll have to see. If I feel up to it, and maybe if I’m drunk enough, it’ll be okay. Definitely getting fucking obliterated before I even attempt that though.

I also have an appointment to open up a French bank account tomorrow at 11:30. I apparently need quite a few things before hand! Jeremy had his today, and he said it wasn’t very productive. Whatever. I’m not in any rush.

Also, I found out that I might be able to come home for Christmas! This is because Veronique told me that if I were out of the house entirely for longer than 2 days, she wouldn’t charge me for those days! So if I’m gone for like, 2 weeks, then I can use those 300 euros (about 450 dollars!) to help buy a plane ticket, which would be AMAZING. Veronique also told me that nowadays, she doesn’t really care to see her children or family for Christmas lol, and that the holiday practically means nothing to her. Apparently she just enjoys going skiing during that time. She just cracks me up sometimes.

The bus was packed today, because it was also back to school for all of the high and middle schoolers. Sort of cute actually. I NEED to get a bus pass for the month. This is ridiculous. I’m wasting time and money.

Also, my professor, Agnès (pronounced almost like añes) help me to decipher cellular lingo, so that I could potentially buy a phone. I was going to just buy the phone and get a phone card for it, sort of like pay as you go, but she said that apparently that’s really expensive because you pretty much get screwed as far as the ratio of minutes to euros is concerned. She suggested a plan “forfait” where I buy the phone, but also purchase x amount of minutes per month on a contract, which are automatically renewed at the start of each new month. That sounds like the best plan to me. She said it can be as cheap as 25 euros a month (and a contract for forfaits are anywhere from 4 – 12 months, which is awesome!) and that the 25 euros give you plenty of minutes and text messages.

I’m at home now, and it sort of sucks because I only have internet at the school. Well, I HAVE internet here, but my mac won’t connect for some reason. Whatever. I can’t even really care right now.

Tomorrow I’m going to see a movie with some friends, and hopefully going out to eat and getting drunk for the festival. I’ll get back to you all very soon!

Elias

Side Note

So, all of the below entries were written on my computer on the date in the blog above them, but I didn't get around to posting them until today!

Currently at the school, just had some kebabs for lunch with some newfound friends, and hopefully going to buy a cellphone soon!

9.2.09

Today was a good day. I am definitely adjusting to life here. Not that I don’t miss home, but the shock isn’t so overwhelming, and I can definitely appreciate life here a little more now. Tonight at dinner, Veronique was telling jokes and stories, and I could UNDERSTAND them. Not to mention, I was actually ADDING to conversation! It was probably very poor grammatically, but it furthered conversation none-the-less, and I even made Vero and her friend LAUGH. God, it felt so good to participate in real conversation and not just bullshit “comment ça va?” stuff.
Also, I think I’ve lost weight here. I’m eating much more healthy foods, and I’m also eating less and moving more. As well, I don’t want to be the fat American all year long, so it’s sort of nice to know that I’m losing weight as of NOW.
We had a scavenger hunt in centre ville in Dijon today. God, I wanted to shoot myself. My partner was this Korean kid who really likes me. He’s very nice, but due to his heavy Korean accent, I can’t understand a fucking French word he says. Needless to say, it made the scavenger hunt a little difficult.
I accidentally stood Jeremy up for a rendez-vous tonight. I feel so shitty about it. We were supposed to meet at the Place de la Republique at 9:30, and I didn’t get there til 10 because dinner ran late. FUCK. He wasn’t there when I arrived ☹
We also went to the lake today. Lac Kir. Everyone here loves it, and it was very pretty, but not much to gawk at for too long. I got bored pretty fast lol.
Sometimes I forget I’m in France. The majority of the music on the radio is English. Lots of products here are from America. After you start speaking English, it’s almost like you’re back home. A rainier, prettier home, but still like you’re home.
I don’t think I’m sick anymore. Thank god. At least my voice doesn’t hurt now.
It was really good to talk to Charlie today. Thankfully the phone didn’t cut out until about 40 minutes into the conversation! That was definitely nice. It feels good to connect with people back home. I realized that what made this place so miserable at first wasn’t being in France, or even being far from home, but just KNOWING that this was the beginning of my life for the next year, and that it didn’t really include anyone that I love back home, as they were thousands of miles away. And that’s a really shitty realization. And then to have all the other shit on top of that?....it’s too much.
I think today onward marks the beginning of an upward curve. In comprehension, happiness, etc. Not that there won’t be relapses, but I don’t think they’ll be as severe as before.

I have so much more to say, but I’m so tired. I hope to talk to all of you so soon. I miss you to death. Wish me luck!

Salut!

Elias

8.31.09-9.01.09

I’m having trouble sleeping again. I keep going back and forth between being so amazed at the things I’m seeing here, and also being incredibly stressed and overwhelmed. Part of me wishes I were back in America, where life was already good and easy. It’s hard to imagine that I’ll be here for 10 months. I know that after a slight adjustment period, things will be better. I just wish I had some way to contact people back home. I feel very stranded sometimes. It’s weird being the foreigner. Sort of like looking in from the outside. I can see, hear, smell, feel and to a degree, even understand what is going on around me, but I’m not a part of it. I think the language barrier is playing a huge role in this.
On the upside, I can tell that even after only 3 days, my French comprehension is improving. There’s still a lot of “oui, oui, d’accord,” when I understand absolutely nothing of what was said, but I’m also learning to make mistakes. Conversation can of course be slow sometimes, but I’m making connections much faster than I was before. We took exams at the CIEF today to determine our French placement. Not too difficult, but I definitely didn’t do amazingly. No problem, I’d rather be in a level of class where I review a few things as opposed to a class too advanced for me.
Also, I found Jeremy at the CIEF, right after my housemate, Genichi (not really his name, but I call him that because I can’t remember his name and it doesn’t seem to bother him) and I received our cartes d’etudiantes. It was honestly such a relief to see a face I knew. There are a lot of kids here for just a semester from Colby. Sort of standoffish freshmen actually. Just some random information for you!
After the test, Jeremy and I wandered the campus for a bit, and we ended meeting this German boy, Matthias. He was very excited that we were American, as he apparently studied a year or semester at UW Madison. He said it was the time of his life, and that he loves Americans and America…certainly a new sentiment out here! He showed us where the student cafeteria was (called a RESTO-U) and spoke to us in a PERFECT Midwestern-American accent. He also told Jeremy and I that he could take us via his car to Frankfurt, where he lives, in October and let us stay with him during Oktoberfest. I might take him up on that.
Afterward, Genichi, Jeremy, and I ate lunch, and then walked back to centre-ville where I was able to show Jeremy my house. Vero was so sweet, I really think we will be fine living togetherj. We also found a cinema that shows American movies in English! Fuck yes. And it only costs 3.50 euros! Something cheap finally.
Eventually, I took a nap and went out later to meet Jeremy ad his host mother, Agnes, at the H and M in Dijon. I got an international calling card, went to a park with Jeremy, and eventually made my way back to Rue Montee de Guise, where I live. Dinner was great, as Vero is a wonderful cook. And now, I find myself awake at 2 am, reflecting on the day, which was actually pretty uneventful lol. I’ve got to be at the Uni by 8:30 am tomorrow…ugh. Not fun. C’est la vie. Alright, updates and hopefully pictures soon!

Ils me manquent!

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8.30.2009

Hello to all! I finally made it to Dijon last night after over 30 hours of travel due to my own last minute planning. Let’s re-cap:

I bought a greyhound ticket from Worcester to Boston, forgot my ipod (sweet Greg brought it to me) and while boarding the greyhound and CRYING, the driver then announced that the bus had indeed run out of seats. Great. So my very nice goodbye became very anti-climactic when I got off, walked back over to my friends, and asked Greg to drive me to the airport so I wouldn’t miss my flight. Bon. D’accord. So, I got my refund, and off we (Charlie, Lily, Carolyn, Greg and I) went.

Upon arrival, I said goodbye to everyone and made my way to the Virgin Atlantic Terninal—very nice. I even got a list of movies that I could watch for free (recent ones too! I chose Benjamin Button.) on my own airline sponsored DVD player. They also gave me beef stew, two rounds of tea, bread, salad, and of course lots of wine. Holler.

Heathrow=Shit Pit. The woman next to me, Andrea, was very nice and a good conversationalist, but she did bitch about us flying into Terminal 3. She said it was the “poor person’s terminal”. She was right. Not that I really cared, but hey, she said the truth. It looked like the terminal had once stored prisoners, and the customs line was fucking long as hell. It almost took me 45 minutes to get through, and I was in the front!

Note: UK Border patollers are mean, but French border patrollers are even meaner, if possible. That said, I finally got my luggage and got on the underground to St. Pancras Station---a 4£ bus ride, because I had to go through 6 zones…oh well. The underground was very easy to navigate. Very clean, also. Finally, at St. Pancras station, where the Eurostar is, I sat alone on the ground and slept, only to be woken up a ½ hour later by a cup of coffee. That’s right. Apparently, the man working in the café right by where I was sleeping felt “bloody sorry” for me, and made me some “roast” so that I wouldn’t be too fucked up by the time I got to Paris. A pleasant surprise!

In the station, after security, which was no easy feat getting through with all of my luggage, I went through the “way out” (it just kills me the British use this term instead of “exit”. I feel like this exemplifies British culture in a nutshell.) and into the waiting area. I met a girl from Smith college who talked with me for a few hours who is going to study in Scotland. She was very nice, and it was good to talk to another sleep-deprived American, to be honest (from MA no less!). Not gonna lie, it was sort of sad leaving London. Not only was it very pretty, but it was basically my last time for a while in the land of English speaking people! Not to mention the inhuman amount of helpful people and cute boys.

The train ride to Paris was nice. Only two hours! I sat by a 26 year old British male, James Howard, who was very cute and also gay. I’m pretty sure he was hitting on me. We talked about France, England, the States etc. It turns out that although he’s English, he lives in Paris for work! He started getting rather close to me while he was telling me how incredible the Luxembourg Gardens are. Eventually, I said something along the lines of “wow, that sounds great! I’ll have to go sometime!”, and his response to this was “well…how much time do you have between trains, because I think it may be nice to go with such a pleasant conversationalist!”. WOW. Talk about being flattered. Invite to Luxembourg Gardens with a cute guy who may or may not be interested? Oh, but wait…my next train to Dijon was leaving only 2 hours after we arrived at Gare du Nord. Fuck. So no luck there, but still. We ended up talking for most of the ride to Paris, and upon arrival he asked me where I was headed next- I told him that I was taking the RER (the RER is a part of the Paris Metro that connect the suburbs to downtown, and this was fastest way for me to get from place to place) to Gare de Lyon. Not only did he walk me to the RER and help me with my bags, but he proceeded to purchase my RER ticket for me (an 8 euro ticket!), saying that it was “no big deal, they’re just euros”. Well, thanks! Anyway, we “shared a hug” as he said, and then he told me that he’d soon see the rest of France and that if I find myself in Paris or he in Dijon then perhaps we could meet for a drink.

Anyway. My journey continued on the RER which was horrible. I got off at the Gare de Lyon, but needed directions. Some Parisians were nice. Some, not so nice. But all of them, regardless of how they treated me, made no sense. I could not for the life of me decipher what they were saying to me. Nor was Paris actually very pretty, at least from the train stations. I felt about Paris how I felt about New York at first- it seemed dirty, cramped, and overwhelming. Perhaps I was just tired. Either way, it was not what I wanted.

Finally, I got my ticket to Dijon, and remembered to use the “composter” which are essentially these yellow machines that validate your ticket. You know, everyone talks about how beautiful the French countryside is, and maybe it’s just because I’m color blind, but it all seemed rather drab to me. Regardless, a very nice Frenchman allowed me to use his cell phone after we arrived so that I could call Veronique, as Dijon has almost NO coin pay phones (they are all telecarte france phones that require a phone card or a French bank account). Véro answered the phone, and before you knew it, she was at the Gare picking me up. She is, thus far, a very friendly woman. She helped me load some of my things into her little euromobile, and then explained to me the rules of the house. Essentially, no wearing shoes on the carpet, put dishes in the dishwasher, do your own laundry, always lock the door, etc. Simple things, and she was very nice about it, saying “vous comprenez? Ou voulez-vous me repeter?” which means “do you understand, or should I repeat myself?”. Her house is very lovely, very typically French. Lots of cream colors, couches that nobody sits on, floral prints etc. Not MY choice of décor, but elegant none-the-less. The bathroom is super small, and trying to figure out how to flush the toilet was hell….it took me like 15 minutes to figure it out, as I didn’t want to ask Veronique and face any untold embarrassment. I unpacked, checked my emails on her computer, as I didn’t have a European adaptor for my own, and went to bed. I was exhausted. I’d been up since 10 am EST and didn’t get to bed until 3 or 4 pm EST the next day! Almost 30 hours of being in transit, which, although it sucked, was better than possibly missing one of my connections. Today proved uneventful. Woke up around 2 pm, got dressed, and went out on the town. A little scary. Everyone is so good looking and thin! People were very helpful and nice though, which was good. I also found a “tabac” (Sort of like a 7-11) where they sell international calling cards. I think 1 euro give me one hour of talk time? Not too bad, but Skype will be better and probably cheaper once I have the internet.

Tomorrow might mark the beginning of the stage intensif de Septembre….we’ll see. As of now, I like to pretend that school will not ever start and I’ll just stay in the bed that Veronique made up for me very nicely. One “student” arrives today. He’s a 51 year old Japanese male. One thing though: he’s a professor of English. YES. Thank god. And he’s only here until the end of September when a Canadian male and a Japanese female (both my age) arrive. One can only hope for the best. I’ll keep this updated as best as I can! I miss you ALL and America so much. This is definitely going to be a life changing year, for better or worse!

AU REVOIR MES AMIS,

Elias Mohr

PS- French is coming a lot harder than I thought. It seems the only person I can understand is Veronique, and forming sentences is proving to be extremely difficult around native speakers.