Lundi

Today was my first real day of my course in Paris. My roommate and I got up around 8:30, since we needed to be at the PRC for orientation at 10:00. We got ready by about 9 and then went down to breakfast at the hotel. It was nothing fancy, but good nonetheless. They had an array of pastries and bread, yogurt, cereal, juice, milk, coffee, etc. So, I just had some bread and cheese with pain au chocolat, which is just like a pastry with some chocolate here and there.

Pretty much our entire group left for the PRC together, so we just took the metro as usual and we were there in about 20 minutes. The weather yesterday was rainy and a little chilly, but today was even colder. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and a jacket, which were thankfully sufficient. It also got increasingly windy during the day with some rain off and on.

At the PRC we went through an orientation, learning more about the professors, the courses, the staff, and some tips and warnings for life in Paris. It was pretty informative, but nothing too earth-shattering. We were also given our itineraries for the entire trip and another folder with maps and other useful info. They had more food waiting for us in the morning, and then later we were given a sandwich lunch. From there, we had a brief meeting with our professor to talk about the day's plans, which included a trip out to a shopping area to begin our observations. We were going to be looking at terms of address, like whether people used tu or vous (formal vs. informal 'you'), titles, greetings, body language, etc.

We took the metro together out to the area, Bercy Village, which is a cute little area with numerous chic little boutiques. The buildings were very, very old- medieval looking, but they had been restored into this series of shops and cafes. We also walked through a very nice park, Parc de Bercy, which was just adjacent.

Once there, we split up into pairs to go make our observations. It was a little difficult, as the weather wasn't too nice, so the area was not abundantly populated. Thus, we couldn't as much listen in- we had to make our own conversation. So, for example, I ended up inquiring about some makeup products in Sephora (and even getting them tested on me) to get some data. In another store, my partner bought some candy to elicit another interaction. We were able to get information, though- for example, "vous" was used without exception, titles like Monsieur or Madame were less common, and greetings were pretty much the uniform "bonjour". Overall, it wasn't a bad exercise, but the results were not that illuminating. I think, though, that it will get more interesting as time goes on.

After that, we walked over a pedestrian-only bridge across the Seine to get to the national library, which kind of equates to the Library of Congress. Our professor had intended on just taking us to the park to discuss our results, but we changed to the library to avoid the cold and wind. So, we discussed our findings inside the giant library. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much, since we would have had to have had a reservation for a tour, but we did see a couple huge globes that had been built and painted for Louis XIV. It was interesting to see the idea of world geography from back then- Florida was drawn on the globe, but there was no Louisiana, for example. California was also separated somehow from the rest of the continent and called an island.

After leaving the library, we found the nearest metro and took it back to the PRC, where we had a little break before our lecture. In the lecture, our professor introduced us to some notions in sociolinguistics, and we also reviewed the itinerary for the whole trip. It looks pretty intense, especially next week, where we take a 2-day trip to Rennes, a city about 2 hours away. I'm looking forward to everything we have planned, especially some guest lecturers who are fairly prominent in the field. I would like to take advantage of everything I can, ask questions, etc.

The lecture was done at 6:00, and then we were free for the day. A small group of us went back to the hotel for a few minutes and then left to seek dinner. We settled on a restaurant one of the students had been to a few days before, called Les Artistes. It was pretty quiet and a little off the beaten path. It is hard to find inexpensive restaurants in Paris unless you just want sandwiches, so it was about was I was expecting. For about 17 Euro, I had a tuna steak served with ratatouille (yes, like the movie). It was good of course, but I venture to say not spectacular. It was still presented (and tasted) very nicely, and I was not at all disappointed. We walked back to the hotel afterwards, and I am now sitting in my room to write this post.

It's getting close to 10:00, but all we have to do is be in the lobby tomorrow at 10 to leave for our activity. So, it's possible I may go out with the group, but I have not yet decided. If so, I will either edit this post or add it on to tomorrow's. Everything is going great, and I just confirmed plans for a friend to visit me this weekend, so I anticipate nothing less for the rest of the trip. If only I could afford all these fabulous boutiques I see lining the streets! I can see how Paris is the capital of fashion- I've been feeling a little out of place walking around in my running shoes, but at least my feet will thank me later. I will also have to stock up on scarves for the next time I'm here- they're everywhere!

Edit: We did go out! We just took the metro out a few stops to the Latin Quarter. It was pretty touristy, but the night scene looked pretty happening. We didn't stop anywhere but just looked around. We were also in the area of Notre Dame and took some nice night pictures. I also did a spin on "Le Point"- just kind of a metal circle on the ground marked for one historical reason or another. A girl in my group said that her French teacher told her to make a wish, spin on the le point, and you'll come back to Paris. What can it hurt, right? We then took the metro back one stop to explore a different neighborhood, filled with designer name stores. Everything was closed, but of course window shopping is always fun. We headed back home afterward- it was just a good night of exploring and seeing more of the city.

In any case, I hope everyone back home is doing well, and I'll be back before you know it. I think my readership is limited to my own family, but you never know. Feel free to leave comments. La prochaine fois, peut-être que je vais écrire un petit paragraphe en français.

-J