I've stealthily infiltrated the french life and culture by dating a local. That's right. "SkKKKOCCHHH T.Paine to Uncle Sam - we have breached the premises" And it is just as we suspected. Lots of kisses on both cheeks hello, few preservatives in food, and atheism abounds! My french is still lacking but I have good days and bad ones, and overall am only improving by immersing myself in love texts in an alien language and likewise the local drinking games.
On the other hand I haven't received packages that were sent to me 3 weeks ago. The french bureaucracy is notorious for it's lack of efficiency and after 2 weeks of snow halting all traffic in France, I fear there's a large backup somewhere.
Work goes as well as ever, only now occasionally I see students in my classes that I saw at the latest party last weekend. Awkward. And as ever, an experience to make the best of and blog about later.
I've also begun training for the Paris Half Marathon. I was talking about it quite a bit to random people for a while but now that the prospect of running 13.1 miles again has become painfully imminent to my knees, I'm keeping my mouth shut. Not that I expect to bail before race day, but... maybe I won't broadcast to the world (on fb, not blogspot) until I'm sure I won't be carted off to First Aid. Baaahhhh.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
happy new year en français
While I would like to be sleeping off my hangover from last night's New Years Eve party, after lying in bed for the last 2 hours wide awake, it appears I could be more productive with my time. By blogging!
I got blackout wasted. I literally blacked out from about 11pm to about 1am according to the time stamp on the photos that were taken despite my total incoherence. Looking at my fb album, I don't remember the majority of those photos. Worse, I don't even remember counting down! GAHH! I LOVE the countdown! Now it's freaking 2011 and I couldn't tell you the difference.
Yes I've been hanging out with P-baby and his friends all week and have been getting progressively more comfortable with them and with speaking french with them. I'll even say I'm funny. But last night started with a new crop of friends and an intimate dinner before the party started at some guy's house. Of course everyone spoke way too fast for me and of course I had to ask the host to repeat his question twice before I understood he was asking my name. Faaantastic. Then everyone else came and it just looked like I was shy, not necessarily that I was a foreigner, because everyone was talking or not talking and just milling about. And then the drinking began. I figured hell, my french needs a little boost from confidence juice - have at it, self! And so I boozed. And I became a little too comfortable, smacking the German guy around a few times, and actually bickering with him in english (because 99% of Germans speak excellent english). And then I blacked out.
(Insert countdown to 2011, everyone having champagne (including me), and vigorous dancing - all of which I know only because I looked at my camera around 4am)
I woke up on the bed in a guest room next to the party. I think I slept for around an hour but then fell back asleep and woke up to a boy plopping down on the bed beside me in the dark. I was willing to share the bed but then he kept reaching over to caress my face or something, and I got the distinct impression he was going to try to kiss me. So I jumped up after muttering some english and french about what an asshole he is, and again did the "I'm ready to leave!" scene and told P-baby I was leaving NOW. Sloppy. Then I thought I had lost my camera or that that kid stole it from me when he was distracting me with the creepiness factor, so I went back into the bedroom where he was still lying on the bed, and there were several people in the room doing something and started to look around him, under him, getting really worked up. I actually kind of fluffed and tugged the blanket underneath him bc I thought he was lying on it, and I was mad at him still for being weird and making me leave my comfy repose, and made audible noises of frustration until P-baby told me to stop it - in front of his friends who were still in the room. Then I stormed back to the dance party room looking for my camera, kind of crying at this point because the French are so stupid and keep doing weird creepy shit to me, and I'd lost my camera, when it occurs to me that I have my camera. I unbutton my coat and find it hanging on my arm from the camera strap, where i usually keep it during parties. And immediately burst into drunken laughter. Poor P-baby had been searching for it for me everywhere and was utterly relieved when I found it. Adorable. And TERRIBLY obnoxious of me.
Bonjour, je m'appelle Lauren. I make the language gaffes and cultural snafus. Beyond all of the above bs I actually had a fantastic time and only saw 2 students who go to my school, but whom I do not teach. Bonne année!
I got blackout wasted. I literally blacked out from about 11pm to about 1am according to the time stamp on the photos that were taken despite my total incoherence. Looking at my fb album, I don't remember the majority of those photos. Worse, I don't even remember counting down! GAHH! I LOVE the countdown! Now it's freaking 2011 and I couldn't tell you the difference.
Yes I've been hanging out with P-baby and his friends all week and have been getting progressively more comfortable with them and with speaking french with them. I'll even say I'm funny. But last night started with a new crop of friends and an intimate dinner before the party started at some guy's house. Of course everyone spoke way too fast for me and of course I had to ask the host to repeat his question twice before I understood he was asking my name. Faaantastic. Then everyone else came and it just looked like I was shy, not necessarily that I was a foreigner, because everyone was talking or not talking and just milling about. And then the drinking began. I figured hell, my french needs a little boost from confidence juice - have at it, self! And so I boozed. And I became a little too comfortable, smacking the German guy around a few times, and actually bickering with him in english (because 99% of Germans speak excellent english). And then I blacked out.
(Insert countdown to 2011, everyone having champagne (including me), and vigorous dancing - all of which I know only because I looked at my camera around 4am)
I woke up on the bed in a guest room next to the party. I think I slept for around an hour but then fell back asleep and woke up to a boy plopping down on the bed beside me in the dark. I was willing to share the bed but then he kept reaching over to caress my face or something, and I got the distinct impression he was going to try to kiss me. So I jumped up after muttering some english and french about what an asshole he is, and again did the "I'm ready to leave!" scene and told P-baby I was leaving NOW. Sloppy. Then I thought I had lost my camera or that that kid stole it from me when he was distracting me with the creepiness factor, so I went back into the bedroom where he was still lying on the bed, and there were several people in the room doing something and started to look around him, under him, getting really worked up. I actually kind of fluffed and tugged the blanket underneath him bc I thought he was lying on it, and I was mad at him still for being weird and making me leave my comfy repose, and made audible noises of frustration until P-baby told me to stop it - in front of his friends who were still in the room. Then I stormed back to the dance party room looking for my camera, kind of crying at this point because the French are so stupid and keep doing weird creepy shit to me, and I'd lost my camera, when it occurs to me that I have my camera. I unbutton my coat and find it hanging on my arm from the camera strap, where i usually keep it during parties. And immediately burst into drunken laughter. Poor P-baby had been searching for it for me everywhere and was utterly relieved when I found it. Adorable. And TERRIBLY obnoxious of me.
Bonjour, je m'appelle Lauren. I make the language gaffes and cultural snafus. Beyond all of the above bs I actually had a fantastic time and only saw 2 students who go to my school, but whom I do not teach. Bonne année!
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