Yesterday, after class (where we went over a bunch of common grammar mistakes made by us students in our writing we did on wednesday), I walked along the Champs Elysée (pretty much the entire way) all the way to the Arc de Triomphe with a few people who hadn't been there. This time however, we climbed up. It meant even more stairs, but a great view of Paris (see picture above). And then we went on to Père Lachaise, a GIGANTIC cemetery, were we saw the graves of Molière, La Fontaine, Chopin, Delacroix, Bizet and a few other famous Frenchmen, among tons and tons of other super impressive tombs. Jim Morrison is buried there too, but we didn't have the time (or at that point the patience to find more famous graves.) The map that shows where the most famous graves are was off about a block of graves, so we would have to wander around the area a bit to find them, and often came upon the graves just as we had given up and were about to head on to another area. (This picture is from the top of this staircase looking over one area of Père Lachaise. It really is HUGE, as was the tomb we're walking next to on the left. No, it's not a wall, it's just the bottom of a giant grave.)
Today I went to Versailles with six others from my program. It was neat, but there were so many people! So that was exhausting. And there was so much-paintings, ornate doors, mirrors, chandeliers, beds, walls, ceilings, that it was really hard to appreciate anything, or stay too long in one room because of it. Still, it was cool to have been there. One of the things I liked the most was in Marie Antoinette's domain, which was the Queen's Theater. It was really pretty inside, and pretty much a little theater. And her garden was nice to walk around in. In fact, I think I liked the outside more than the inside of Versailles. (Also there was this little building in Marie Antoinette's domain (Belvedere) which inside looked just like the "I am sixteen going on seventeen" set from the Sound of Music, except there weren't benches all around. It was crazy. This next picture is in the Hall of Mirrors, and the one below that is looking over part of the gardens in Maria Antoinette's domain.
I guess the past few days haven't been too full of crazy stories, just some touristy visits, and lots of time on the metro. In terms of my family, I still don't spend too much time with the kids, but they continue to become super unruly when I'm around. Apparently they like me though...because my host mom told me that the other night when they were saying prayers before bed, and praying for their patron saints (I think, I'm not sure how that kind of prayer goes), but Maxcence, the 4 year old, added to the list "prière pour Saint Amy" even though there is probably no saint named Amy. So that was sweet.
Discussions at dinner also are sometimes entertaining. I spent probably 20 minutes trying to describe a fair/carnival that I saw in the Bois de Vincennes, but I didn't know any of the vocabulary in French, and my host mom didn't recognize any of the English words, so that was funny. Also, I really like when my host parents will tell me random information about Paris, or history, because it's often pretty interesting. My host father also pulled out some large books they have on Paris (with lots of pictures) for me to go through (on things like Castles in Paris, and a French art book). And even though they're not supposed to speak English with us if they know it, my host father likes saying various words or phrases in English, and sometimes tries to explain things or ask me things in English, and has me verify words. And speaking of dinners, the food continues to be great, and besides the bread and cheese course, there's quite a bit of variety-we had some sort of tasty fish dish last night, and quiche another, and lasagna another. Plus the salad is just a touch different in terms of ingredients each night, so that's nice.
Yesterday, after class (where we went over a bunch of common grammar mistakes made by us students in our writing we did on wednesday), I walked along the Champs Elysée (pretty much the entire way) all the way to the Arc de Triomphe with a few people who hadn't been there. This time however, we climbed up. It meant even more stairs, but a great view of Paris (see picture above). And then we went on to Père Lachaise, a GIGANTIC cemetery, were we saw the graves of Molière, La Fontaine, Chopin, Delacroix, Bizet and a few other famous Frenchmen, among tons and tons of other super impressive tombs. Jim Morrison is buried there too, but we didn't have the time (or at that point the patience to find more famous graves.) The map that shows where the most famous graves are was off about a block of graves, so we would have to wander around the area a bit to find them, and often came upon the graves just as we had given up and were about to head on to another area. (This picture is from the top of this staircase looking over one area of Père Lachaise. It really is HUGE, as was the tomb we're walking next to on the left. No, it's not a wall, it's just the bottom of a giant grave.)
Today I went to Versailles with six others from my program. It was neat, but there were so many people! So that was exhausting. And there was so much-paintings, ornate doors, mirrors, chandeliers, beds, walls, ceilings, that it was really hard to appreciate anything, or stay too long in one room because of it. Still, it was cool to have been there. One of the things I liked the most was in Marie Antoinette's domain, which was the Queen's Theater. It was really pretty inside, and pretty much a little theater. And her garden was nice to walk around in. In fact, I think I liked the outside more than the inside of Versailles. (Also there was this little building in Marie Antoinette's domain (Belvedere) which inside looked just like the "I am sixteen going on seventeen" set from the Sound of Music, except there weren't benches all around. It was crazy. This next picture is in the Hall of Mirrors, and the one below that is looking over part of the gardens in Maria Antoinette's domain.
I guess the past few days haven't been too full of crazy stories, just some touristy visits, and lots of time on the metro. In terms of my family, I still don't spend too much time with the kids, but they continue to become super unruly when I'm around. Apparently they like me though...because my host mom told me that the other night when they were saying prayers before bed, and praying for their patron saints (I think, I'm not sure how that kind of prayer goes), but Maxcence, the 4 year old, added to the list "prière pour Saint Amy" even though there is probably no saint named Amy. So that was sweet.
Discussions at dinner also are sometimes entertaining. I spent probably 20 minutes trying to describe a fair/carnival that I saw in the Bois de Vincennes, but I didn't know any of the vocabulary in French, and my host mom didn't recognize any of the English words, so that was funny. Also, I really like when my host parents will tell me random information about Paris, or history, because it's often pretty interesting. My host father also pulled out some large books they have on Paris (with lots of pictures) for me to go through (on things like Castles in Paris, and a French art book). And even though they're not supposed to speak English with us if they know it, my host father likes saying various words or phrases in English, and sometimes tries to explain things or ask me things in English, and has me verify words. And speaking of dinners, the food continues to be great, and besides the bread and cheese course, there's quite a bit of variety-we had some sort of tasty fish dish last night, and quiche another, and lasagna another. Plus the salad is just a touch different in terms of ingredients each night, so that's nice.
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