So, today was my first day of CIEF classes, or actually just orientation (again), and yesterday was my first day of classes at the "real" French University. All was well, and actually fairly easy. All of my teachers seem very nice, and I can't wait to get started on the semester. I really think this is going to be a good one for me.
I hope to go out tonight, to a movie with friends, and maybe do some tequila shots. We'll see. I have to catch the 5:46 am train to Paris tomorrow (yay) and then I'm staying there to see a concert. LIVE MUSIC. I can get through this, I know it. The weekend after, Imma chill in Dijon some more, and then the weekend after that (the 23rd) I'm driving to Frankfurt with Daniel, Olga, and Hyo. I can't wait to go to Germany. Seriously. Gonna be so bomb. I hope I can eat some bomb ass food. As well, I'm making plans to go to the Christmas Market (Marché Noel) in Strasbourg in mid-December. There's a Clark sponsored trip to Geneva the same days that I'll be in Frankfurt which sucks, but I think I can handle not going to Geneva. I'll go there some other time.
As well, I got a french cell phone finally, but I have yet to apply for my carte de sejour. Oh god. We can only hope that I'll be let back into the country. I should be...it wont quite have been 60 days lol. It's so weird that it's already early-mid October. Time is really flying. Apparently halloween isn't very popular out here. Sort of makes me sad. I would have liked to have a huge party out here.
Currently apartment hunting. Not the Vero's place is bad, but I feel that for 22 Euros a day, it's not really worth it. I could get a studio in centre-ville all to myself for half the price. As well, the other Japanese girl, Ioka, and a canadian boy, Billy, have arrived. They're my new housemates. Both very nice. Each strike me as sort of quiet, but that's not a bad thing. I hope I don't come on too strong to either of them.
I'll keep this updated with any more happenings when I get back from Paris.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
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.
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.
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