One month in...

So I’ve been in Paris for a month now! It’s flown by! Had lots of ‘firsts’ – starting with the first day at work, then my first night alone in the studio, first trip to the market, first lesson, first feeling homesick, first time eating peas that come from a tin (quite a strange concept), first French bank card, first French payslip and I could probably go on. What I mean, is that there are lots of new experiences all the time, and I’m enjoying most of them.

Work is going well, I’ve had three lessons now and August seems like it’s going to be an easy-going month as everyone appears to be on holiday! Food at work is good and I can eat 2 courses for about €2! There is loads of choice, especially if you eat meat (which I don’t, yet...). I think going to work takes away the boredom of living alone and getting paid is always nice of course!

I’ve been filling the weekends with cultural activities – tour of the Opera Garnier in French, Cimetiere de Pere Lachaise, Place des Vosges and Paris Plage, followed by lying in the sun in a park on Sunday. My plan is to do lots of different things that tourists wouldn’t necessarily do, and so far it’s working nicely at keeping me occupied. Ooo how could I forget the wander around Monmartre and seeing a rather cool (linguistically) wall – it has ‘I love you’ written in loads of languages :-)

Skype is amazing. It’s my connection to everyone back home and I can’t imagine having to stay in touch without it (although I have been sending postcards J  ). Chatting to nan and Nick more or less everyday is something nice to look forward to in the evenings and mum will learn eventually... Maybe by the time I’m in Spain at this rate!! (Get a move on mum!!) There have been a few nights where all I’ve done is call people in England and have a chat (which might not be the best thing to improve my language, but it’s a good end to the day)! Of course everyone must get slightly homesick, we are all human, and everyone will miss people and different things from home, be it cheddar, squash or proper frozen peas!

This morning I went to my first market, at 7.45am ish before work. The sky was a pretty powdery blue and it was nice and quiet and I walked to the market listening to Schandefreude (from Avenue Q) and songs from Hairspray, so there was a spring in my step. Surprisingly people were still setting up, so I found a stall that was more or less finished setting up, the guy was very helpful and it’s good French food practice! Came back with a bag full of fresh veg for a little over €3 and a quietly smug smile at realising that I do know some useful French, even if the grammar might be a bit dodgey now and then.

So that’s more or less my month in an A4 page! 

You know you're living in Paris when...

Metro:

·         You can read in a very small space standing up on the metro

·         You see there is no space in a particular metro carriage, so you just barge on anyway (I do this every morning – advantage of being little)

·         You can get on the metro in exactly the right place for the exit at the destination (kerching!)

·         You know when the metro station will require a ticket or pass to get out and you have it ready – unlike the tourist in front! GRR!

·         You have a Navigo (of course, better yet if you didn’t have to pay for it)

Monuments:

·         You see the Eiffel Tower every day just walking to work and you start to take the Parisian attitude towards it (maybe that’s just me though)

·         You use your free entry to museums for going to the toilet somewhere clean

·         The sound of an American makes you cringe (again, probably just me, but I hear them every morning on the RER going to Versailles moaning about how many people are on the train going to work :S hmmm)

Service:

·         You don’t expect any decent service anywhere

·         You hear the word ‘Facebook’ more than ‘svp’ or ‘merci’

·         the wine come in tiny glasses, so it’s better to order the bottle and be done with it (this is general for France, and no, I haven’t been drinking, but mum experienced this one on her first day here)

·         You know people only drink coffee because anything else will cost you five times the amount

Other:

·         You get used to not having an oven and your wardrobe turns into something not only for storing clothes, but also for drying them

·         You no longer pronounce ‘oui’ properly, but it turns into something resembling ‘whey’ (pretty sure this is for most of France though)

·         You know ‘je voudrais...’ is just something they teach you at school, and if you say it you’ll get a strange look

·         You eat most of the baguette whilst walking across the road back home

·         You can almost ignore the sound of the church bells next door (if you want to)

Parisians:

·         Don’t look where they’re going

·         Don’t keep time 

·         Rarely smile

Work after a week

Well, it seems to have gone quickly (July 14^th probably helped). It all seems a bit laid back. To be honest I’ve not had that much to do as everyone seems to be on holiday and the majority won’t be back till September. At least that gives me time to prepare some lessons, and raid the stationery cupboard :-D

I shadowed Carys for a few of her lessons as I said in my previous post. My main first task is to test everyone to see what level of English they have so that they can be put into pairs (most of them). I’ve already made my test, written and oral and should have a couple of people to test at the end of the week – it’s quite difficult making a test for a wide range of levels though.

 I've been preparing some lessons as well on lots of different topics and in doing so have read soooo much stuff on the BBC include this article:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14016993 about Hungary wanting to install a 'chocolate tax' and this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/water_and_ice/ocean#p00gbgkn about rubber ducks! 

The lunches are pretty good, most days my lunch has cost less than 2€ and that’s a large plate of pasta and/or salad with a bread roll and a can of drink. I’ve had lunch with quite a few different people, generally half in English and half in French, that way I get to practice my French a bit more.

Today I joined a presentation (in English unfortunately) on the differences in business behaviour in France and Israel. It was really interesting, it firstly talked about generalisations and then explained why the Israelis are how they are, going into history and religion and day to day life.

All in all, it’s going well so far and I’m enjoying it.

Getting a French bank account

Another topic that uni don’t seem to want to go into in any detail whatsoever, so here’s what I found. Banks don’t like people. Let me elaborate, unless you have a bill to the address you are staying at in France you will probably be turned down. 

Generally to open a bank account, take as many documents as you possibly can. I took:

-           the contract for my house

-          my house insurance (which had the address on)

-          my job contract

-          bank statements from the UK (to prove I have some money)

-          passport

Although Crédit Agricole wouldn’t accept all that as proof of residence and insisted on a gas or electricity bill (facture de gaz ou d’electricité).

The Post Office is the place to go. Yep, they have a terrible reputation and might not see you on the day, but they accept more or less anyone – me included. And the guy who served me was pretty helpful :-)

It took about 8 days for me to receive banking details, online log-ons, my cheque book (which has funky different coloured cheques) and a little longer to receive my card.

La Fête Nationale

Thursday 14th July

Well what a busy day this was! We started with the defilés (processions) at Champs-Elysées, arriving just after 8am and it was packed. People everywhere. Horrible really. We decided to wander in search of somewhere better, but found a bench to stand on and see stuff as and when it happened. No wonder the Parisians decide to watch it on TV.

There were people standing on benches everywhere, like us, followed by policemen telling them to get off the benches, like us. What did surprise me was the disrespect of some people, in particular a Chinese girl and a Spanish boy who decided to climb on someone else’s car to get a better view – although they weren’t the only ones in fairness.

Bex brought a friend and I’m not sure, but I don’t think she knew that it was a military parade... and she seemed to get bored pretty quickly! I wasn’t really expecting it to be like the Disney parade...

After the parade, well I say after, it was during really but meh, we decided to try to get to Champs de Mars, but you need to cross the Champs-Elysées which is impossible. However, we did end up wandering by where all the tanks and other vehicles were waiting, and I think the soldiers were loving the attention from everyone, although there were a few having their cigarette break and even the military seem to text whilst driving! I love noticing all these little details, in my opinion they make the day more interesting :-)

We ended up going home to have some lunch and a nap with plans to meet up with Bex later for the fireworks. Me and Nick didn’t think it’d be worth going to Champs de Mars to watch the fireworks but we thought we’d head over there just to have a look and see how busy it was – this was 5 hours before they were scheduled to start.

What a difference from the defile! The atmosphere seemed really nice, helped by the sun, and there was live music playing on a stage which was all broadcast onto screens everywhere. Armed with cards, pasta and carambars we decided to sit and wait. We must have played nearly every card game we knew, and Nick is terrible at two-player Gin Rummy! I heard the song ‘Aux arbres citoyens’ and saw ‘Touch pas à mon pote’ stickers everywhere (it’s a campaign against racism). It was lovely watching the sun set just by the Eiffel Tower and I did feel rather touristy trying to take pictures of the pretty sky.

So then the fireworks started. Obviously you get some absolute idiot who decides to set off a firecracker or a flare (GRRRR) and then some more idiots with lasers beaming everywhere. Then in front of me was some guy with a camera who watched the whole thing through it whilst trying to take photos – as Nick said, why not just enjoy the moment?! Oh and the smoke, I must have passively smoked the equivalent of about 10 cigarettes. Apart from that, the fireworks were really good and they were set to songs from Broadway musicals :-D right down my street! Though why you would choose to end the national holiday celebrations in Paris to “America” from West Side Story?!

It all ended and the manic rush began to get out and to metro stations, thankfully I live pretty close so it was just a 20 minute walk – piece of advice, if you own a car, don’t even attempt to drive on that night! It was a very busy but worthwhile day. It’d be a bit stupid to be in Paris and not go and see one of the biggest events of the year – even if you do get a better view off the TV. 

First day at work

Monday 11th July

So first day at work is done! It started last night with a strange dream about work. I dreamt that my first task was a game of doubles tennis with Joey from Friends on my side, and the winner would decide how much the clients would pay for some advertising. But a mosquito kept attacking Joey so he went into a shop and realised it didn’t follow him in there, so what he did was he bought some clothes and shoes to repel the mosquito. However, it was a lady’s shop so he had to buy some lady’s clothes which was rather funny. I also dreamt that I went to work with bed hair :-S but don’t worry, I didn’t!

Well, I was rather pleased that the reality at work was nothing like my strange, strange dream. Nick came with me in the morning and I was about 15 minutes early. First thing to sort was my card to get in and out and which also has the money on for lunch, then I had a little tour – got to see the stationery man who will provide me with lots of stationery as and when I need it. When won’t I need stationery?! On my tour I met loads of people with lots of “enchanté”s and names that I will never remember. I thought it was just one floor, but nope, 3 floors for me to get lost in – quite a labyrinth!

From there I met the other English girl who was teaching and we chatted about general stuff to do with lessons and planning and the fact that David Montero has left the uni. Then came lunch – which isn’t free, but only cost 90 cents (it’s heavily subsidised) and I get more on my salary to compensate for not getting a completely free lunch. Séverine (my boss) and Carys (English girl) had lunch with me and we chatted (in French of course) about vegetarianism (Carys is also vegetarian and the person before her was as well), holidays, jogging and other such general business.

In the afternoon I experienced two very different lessons. The first was with two very outgoing guys both with a good level of English and we did a mini debate and some phrasal verbs. The second wasn’t such a success unfortunately, he seemed to completely lack self-confidence and at one point I thought he was going to cry (we think it was the pressure of having two English speakers there, but who knows)!

Well, I made it through the first day and I’m actually quite looking forward to starting properly and giving my own lessons! Now we’re off to eat out to “celebrate” the first day :-)

Catch up time

Monday 4th July- an early start...

We met Bex nice and early to go and visit le Louvre – we arrived about 8 and a queue was already forming – crazy!

Once in we headed straight for that weird painting everyone wants to see – Mona Lisa or La Joconde.  My opinion is that people just want to see it because it’s famous and they can say “hey, I saw the Mona Lisa!”, which sounds better than saying something like “hey, I saw the Untitled by a relatively unknown artist!”. 

I think the best part was the Egyptian mummies and other remains which are all downstairs – slightly creepy and me and Bex had a good giggle!

We also wandered over to the Sacré Coeur – but unfortunately there were railings everywhere as the day before or so someone had tried to break a record for jumping on rollerblades the longest distance or something like that. I really like the view of Paris you get from the Sacré Coeur, and it’s strange to think it’s a stone’s throw from the Moulin Rouge (which is a bit of a dump).

Ooo how could I forget, shopping! Shoes!! Decathlon is going to become the new Dance Direct :-P Got two pairs of trainers in preparation for Disney for €29 and they are sooo comfy! What you do is buy the insole for €9 then buy the shoes for €10, so you only need one pair of insoles and then can buy many shoes :-D  This could be my new obsession...

Tuesday 5th July– Disney!

It’s taken 20 years for me to get there, but got to Disney at about 9and it cost €45 for a student ticket for one day for two parks.

First impression wasn’t great, as we queued for Big Thunder Mountain and it had broken down which was really annoying as we were quite near the front, but meh! I ended up going on it twice, which is pretty good for me as I hate rollercoasters. Also did lots of other mini rides – Buzz Lightyear was great until I got off and banged my knee and now have the bruise to show for it! Later on we watched the Parade and then rushed off to the Studio park where we watched one of the best cinema pieces I’ve ever seen, it’s called Cinémagique – but I won’t spoil it! We ended the day on Pirates of the Caribbean which is very clever and we also went on it twice.

One of the highlights though had to be Bex who seemed to think that a baby chicken is called a duckling and her impression of mining which looked like she was trying to stab someone. Oh, and the jumping in unison in front of the pretty castle thing! All in all a good, but very tiring day (with terrible food, but good chips... But I guess that’s because I’m a “picky veggie” in a very loose sense of the word).

Wednesday 6th July– Bank attempt number 2!

Not much really happened today, apart from my second attempt to get a bank account, which seemed to work with the Post Office (I’ll find out in a few days if my studio contract counts as proof of residence or not). Also tried to find some white t-shirts for Nick, but the French habit of smoking seems to have shrunken all their men.

Thursday 7th July- the pylon and then some real culture...

Eiffel Tower – yes, Nick managed to get up this time! We met Bex and some Americans in a queue and had the normal hustling of people trying to sell diddy Eiffel Towers and other people trying to get us to sign papers pretending they can’t speak GRRR.

We then went to a place that I’ve wanted to go to for ages – Musée de l’Orangerie – essentially the place where Monet’s huge paintings of waterlilies (les Nymphéas) are housed. They are some of my favourite paintings ever and they are displayed so well in an oval room which is light and really shows them off.

On the way to the Musée de l’Orangerie we walked over Passerelle Solférino and it reminded me of Florence as there were all these padlocks attached to the bridge, a symbol of everlasting love.

For lunch we ate at my local – the crêperie called la Cuillère en Bois. Two courses of crêpes = NOM! Savoury and a sweet. Just NOM. Another time for a good giggle, the waiter trying to speak English, Bex replying in French as he walked away, Nick spilling water over Bex’s napkin, asking the guy next to us which desert he was eating and chatting about how fat I’m going to be at the end of these six months and how I’ll have to waddle through the door sideways and will become friends with the old lady who also seems to go in every day.

Following a nap, me and Nick went off to Ecole de Danse de Paris, but mon mal, I got the times wrong and we were there two hours too early – oops! Especially as I thought we were running late! So we had a sit down by the Tour de Saint Jacques which is one of the starting points for el Camino de Santiago or le Chemin de Compostelle. Then we did a little shopping (found a white t-shirt for Nick in real men’s sizes) and grabbed a Subway, then wandered back to dance.

Dance was AWESOME. Nick managed to get by with copying stuff and ignoring the French and in our first lesson (level 2, whatever that may mean) we did 3 different types of link and whips in jive and then spent half an hour doing an open hip twist in rumba (not so awesome). Then came level 3 and I was just wishing that it wasn’t Paso. Guess what it was? Yep, Paso! Joy! *Makes horns with fingers* Still, managed to pick it up and met a guy who also hates Paso, so all good. The second half of level 3 was more jive and this was a bit more challenging with some chicken walks – but French-style (I hope I don’t come back with terrible technique!). 

I definitely agree with what Nicole said, I think it’s going to be the highlight of the week. But I’ve got to wait till mid-September till it starts again – so in the meantime two months of getting fat on crêpes!