Week 2 of Paris, week 0 of class...

Still waiting for classes to start. Because of the strike, every class but one that I've gone to has had a professor who comes in and announces that there will be no class this week, maybe not next week... maybe we'll have class after February vacation. Just what I need, more unstructured down-time. At this point, I hope I can scrounge up enough classes to meet the 12 credit, full-time student requirement for my college and my loans... A bunch of people from my group and I went to the student march the other day -- 5,000 ppl, it seemed like, professors and students from public universities all over France on Boulevard St. Michel and Boulevard Montparnasse. The turnout was really incredible, but unfortunately for us study abroad kids it means that classes won't be starting any time soon.

Luckily, I like my host family and don't mind spending the extra time here with them. They're a family of 4 with a daughter a few years older than me and a son my brother's age (who mysteriously appears and disappears for days at a time...?) and they're super nice and laid back. The daughter is working toward her doctorate in film/theater and the family loves to watch old movies, so it's become a sort of tradition (or it was and has been continuing since my arrival) to have dinner and then watch an old movie before going to bed. So far we've seen A bout de Souffle, La beaute du diable, Safety Last, Psycho, Psycho the remake, Deathrace (lolled and threw up in my mouth a little), In the Dead of Night... and there'll be more to come. I also played Monopoly France with her once and she totally kicked my ass because I bought up half the board and she waited and pub hotels on the "Boardwalk." I lost as soon as I landed on it 'cuz I didn't have the 15 million euro to pay the rent. I finally got to use my phrase from French In Action, "15M euro? Qu'est-ce-que c'est que cette histoire?!" She laughed, apparently nobody really says that.

The mother is really friendly and softspoken, the father is friendly, but much more aggressive in conversation. My first dinner with the family, I sat across from him and I don't know how he had time to eat, he was so eager to tell me all about the history of France which led to the history of his wife's family, the history of his wife's education (mind you, she's sitting right there...) the French educational system... I made the mistake of saying I was going to take a history course (because it's required by my major) and he went into the attic/library to find me a number of textbooks that had been his daughter's... Later I got to hear about his experiences as a gynecologist (hello!), etc... He seems really smart and eager to share his knowledge, but I wish it came a little slower, a little softer, and a little less often.

I have been trying to get out of the house and see the city, too. Today we went to the Museum of Modern Art and walked under the Eiffel Tower, the other day I had a reconnaissance mission around the Paris Opera house, I'm hoping to go to the Museum of Fashion and Costumes sometime this week, and the week after that, and maybe the week after that...

Speaking of fashion, I found out recently that my host mother used to be a fashion photographer. She had some German friends over for dinner and they asked to see her photographs so we all went upstairs and she started pulling out frame after frame, saying, "Ah yes, this was Dior, this was Chanel..." I almost peed myself. She stopped working at the beginning of the 90s because the designers thought her work was too personal and drew too much attention away from the clothes, apparently. But they were gorgeous, and had to be a hundred of them, one beautiful image after another, it was amazing...

Study abroad may be a misnomer...

So there's a constant struggle in the public education...sector(?) in France. Currently, there's a huge strike going on with professors, students, etc., such that the school I'm supposed to be attending this semester may not have classes. Our program director, however, encouraged us to attend regardless. Our grammar teacher agreed but said we may not be able to push through the picketing students next week. Worst comes to worst, I won't be able to take a full courseload this semester and probably lose my loans...and then need to make up for lost time when I get back to Bard.

That aside, I've been enjoying myself for the most part. Last night our group went to see "Feu la mere de Madame" about this dysfunctional couple who find out at four in the morning that the wife's mother has passed away. It sounds like it'd be sad, but it was fucking hilarious. It was in this black box theater type place and it was incredibly funny. I understood a lot of what was going on, but luckily a lot of the humor was action- rather than dialogue-based, anyway.

Afterwards we went out for drinks which turned into a 45 minute walk through Paris because we got off at the wrong metro stop and finally we arrived at "La Perle." Once we found a table, we went up to order at the bar and the guy in our group was served just about right away, but it took the bartender about 5 minutes to remark the other two girls standing beside him waiting their turn. I ended up paying 10euro for a white russian, not knowing what to order, and the guy said something to me in English about going up for more. The people at my table and I had no idea what this meant, we figured he must have put so much ice in my glass that he was offering me a free refill, to which I felt I was entitled. In any case, I finished the drink and went up again to ask him...for more, I guess, and he listened to the first couple words I said, noted my empty glass, nodded, and poured about two shots of straight-up-Kaluah (Kaluhah?) over the remaining ice. It's really much easier when they just speak French.

Now I have to go find someplace to recharge my cellphone because I used up all my time trying to call Bank of America internationally. I tried all day yesterday to call so they wouldn't cancel my debit card if I tried to use it here, but didn't have time (in the day or on my phone) to wait on hold for 6 minutes. I finally got through today, but all the calls I made yesterday to numbers that were "no longer in service" meant that my phone ended the call when I was in the middle of talking to the representative and so... I have to go spend more money so that I can call BACK and try AGAIN. Technology is not my friend this week.

Why did I bring the yellow duck boots?

I got to Paris with approx 3x the luggage of my fellow travelers, and about 4x the quantity of pink clothing. I tried to pack light, but apparently I suck at it. One week and 8 flights of stairs later, I'm finally unpacked and settled chez my host family. I've only had to use my umbrella once when it was sprinkling, and my yellow rubber duck boots are watching me from the corner. Even on the plane, I didn't want to wear them because I thought they'd stand out to much. On a plane, where nobody sees your feet, even you. Instead, I threw them in one of my 3 rolling bags, and retreated to the security of my converses. Maybe one day I'll feel kick-ass enough to whip 'em out and blind the Parisian population with their lemon-daffodil-sunshiney goodness. Just not this week. And probably not the next.