I got home so late last night that I didn't even have time to write my blog entry for the day. I have a few hours' break at the moment, so I am using the time to catch up on my blog and on my homework.
We met in the hotel lobby at around 9:30 in the morning to hear about the day's activities. Our observation activity of the day was going to a neighborhood market that has numerous outdoor stalls selling various things: fruit, vegetables, fish, cheese, non-food products, etc. It wasn't an extremely large market, but I think it was fairly typical. The stores lined the street, and we were supposed to observe various elements. For example, we listened to how the storekeepers announced their products, how they described them and tried to entice buyers, and then how the negotiation and transaction took place. We could also still look at forms of address and opening and closing greetings.
We had about an hour to walk around and observe, so we split into small groups and off we went. I just did a couple walkthroughs to get familiar with the space, and then I tried to discretely observe. That's really the hard part, because sometimes it's hard to understand what people say without looking directly at them. I tried to be a subtle observer without intruding too much or drawing too much attention. Still, I was able to make a number of observations. I heard the shopkeeper at the fromagerie, for example, talking about the fine Camemberts he had that day. Other shopkeepers sang little songs to draw in attention and were quite lively. It was a pretty interesting experiment overall. I also spent a few minutes in a bookstore and ended up buying another Camus book in French, The Myth of Sisyphus. I doubt I'll have time to really get into it here, but I will definitely be reading it on the plane home. I am still feeling a little bit awkward in customer/salesperson situations, but I think I am getting better.
Another minorly interesting incident was when a young guy came up to me on the street. I missed the first few words of what he said, but overall I got the gist, and he was just looking for a certain shop in the area. Who am I to give directions in Paris, but coincidentally I had just seen the shop a few minutes before, and I was able to point him in the right direction. It was a small victory, but nice nonetheless.
Soon enough, the hour had passed, and we met up again with the group. We still had about 45 minutes before the next activity, so we had a little time to kill. We were headed back to the PRC for a picnic and discussion, but we spent the intermediate time by walking through the Montparnasse cemetery which was just a few minutes' walk away. There are tons of famous people buried there, but of course there was only time to see a few. I saw, for example, Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as Pierre Larousse, who is the famous for the French dictionary porting his name. The cemetery differed from other ones I have seen. The tombs and markers will of all different sizes and heights. It was very heterogeneous and actually quite pretty. There were some graves that towered over me and others that were more subtly laid in the ground, and the cobblestones and trees made for a peaceful ambiance.
Right near the PRC, I got some kind of goat cheese and spinach quiche for lunch, and then we all ate together in the PRC courtyard. We then had discussion time and a lecture with our professor for an hour and a bit. We had a couple hours free in the afternoon, but we just returned to the hotel, as we have been so on the go that we have not been getting enough sleep. We pretty much all just took a nap for a couple hours until it was time for our guest lecturer, Françoise Gadet, at the PRC. I had actually seen her before, as she had given a talk at UF during the spring semester. She is a very prominent sociolinguist at the university Paris X. Her talk was very interesting, and she talked a lot about the data available that can analyse the French of the past as well as traits that characterize the French of today. We had read an article by her as part of our course preparation, and in fact, my Sociolinguistics of French course next semester uses the book that she wrote. So, it was really nice to be able to get some interaction with someone who has really done a lot for the field. After the lecture, we were free for the day.
My friends and I then went down to the St-Michel area for dinner. We ate in a small, inexpensive restaurant. It was definitely touristy but not so bad. Often in France, restaurants will have what is called a 'formule' for a certain price, where you have a combination of appetizer, main dish, and dessert (or all three) for a set price, and you can choose different options in all the categories. So, for example, last night I had a crêpe au fromage to start, then spaghetti bolognese, then mousse au chocolat for dessert. It was reasonably good, and actually it kind of tied into our activity we had had earlier, as the manager was persuading us to come in before we had made our decision to eat there.
After dinner, we walked around the area a little bit, playing the tourist and going into a few souvenir shops. By then it was dark and we could go off to what we had really been planning: seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. After a bit of a mix-up with the RER train, we decided just to take the metro over to the area, even though it was a little longer. Our final metro stop was one of the biggest I've ever seen- big enough to have moving sidewalks to take you from one end to the other. It must be newer, as most metro stops are in not great condition.
We made our way over to the Eiffel Tower, dodging the numerous souvenir hawkers, and when we did see it, it really was amazing. It was all lit up, and just so immense. The architecture really is incredible. We got tons of pictures and walked around underneath. We could also see the Tour Montparnasse in our neighborhood. It really sticks out as the only skyscraper for miles, and I can see why the Parisians would be upset about its construction. Unfortunately the grass on the Champ de Mars was closed, so we couldn't sit around there. Instead, we went the other direction across a bridge, where we got a more distant view and more pictures. We then waited around about 15 minutes until midnight, when the tower would light up and twinkle. It was quite a sight, and we just absorbed the atmosphere. At that point, we were ready to head home, so we took the metro back to our normal stop and walked back to the hotel. The days go by so fast, and my trip is practically half over! It's hard to believe. Paris is an amazing city, and I don't think you could ever be bored here.
Tonight I meet up with my friend Erica, who's visiting from Munich, and then we will spend the weekend together seeing more of the city. I can't wait!
Jenna
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