First, some bad news: my little 11-year old host brother is being bullied at school. It makes me so sad for him because he is so sweet, cute, and smart. Sandra, my host mom, thinks it's because he's very small compared to other kids his size and more on the intellectual side. Apparently, Amoury has been teased at school in the past, and I feel horrible for the whole family (especially Sandra) because I can see how much pain it causes them. Sandra called some of the kids' mothers tonight, so hopefully that will help...
Otherwise, things here have been going pretty smoothly. This morning, I left the apartment at 8.30 to go to my "inscription pedagogique" at the Sorbonne for French literature classes. I didn't want to take a French lit class (I've taken so many that I was in need of a break from them), but it seems to be the only thing that will work with my schedule. Alas, I'll be taking a course called "Le mentir vrai"...we'll find out soon what that is supposed to mean. Surprisingly enough, registering for the course only took me 30 minutes, and I managed to therefore only miss 30 minutes of my European Union class that started at 9.30.
Today, I went to the Musée Rodin with Laura and strolled around beautiful gardens while checking out sculptures. It was glorious. We were both pretty tired, so we spent some time laying on the lounge chairs that had been so generously provided for public use. It was heavenly.
Speaking of Laura--she might be moving in with my host family! She is having some problems with her living situation (AKA her host mom be crazy), so she is thinking about moving. She's probably coming tomorrow or Thursday to visit with my host parents and see if it would be a good fit for her. It would be really cool (and convenient for going-out purposes) if we lived in the same apartment!
On Sunday, I ventured to Centre Georges Pompidou to check out some modern art. It was very different and slightly disturbing. There were lots of works that I didn't quite understand--paint splatterings on canvas, random words on white background, a chicken in a bathtub, a video of a fat naked woman rolling on the floor, a painting that was literally completely black aside from a white line down the middle, etc. Some of the works were a lot more interesting and really managed to affect my mood and the way I was feeling, often for the worse. Still, I thought it was really cool that a painting or other piece of art could have that effect on me. I left feeling like one of the main goals of modern art was to be unsettling/perturbing.
In other news, I have been watching a good amount of American TV shows. There's something so comforting about them, and allowing myself to just hear English for an hour or two feels like a guilty pleasure. I've been watching How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Glee (LOVE IT) and House....and yesterday I watched the first 2 episodes of Gossip Girl. I think it's really funny because I never watch much TV when I'm at home (last year all I watched was the Office), but here there is so much more of a sense of comfort and relaxation. Also, it gives me something to do before going to bed. :)
That's about it for now. Here's a picture of me and Heather enjoying wine out of baby bottles at a fondue restaurant on Saturday night:
Oh and my aunt and grandma are coming to visit me this weekend, so I'm really excited! Although I don't know Paris all that well yet, I'm looking forward to showing them around. Even more than that though, it will be nice just to see them and hang out with them. :) Can't wait!
Wow, that's crazy that Laura might be coming to live with you. I felt so bad for your host mom last week, but it might all work itself out in the end. Also that baby bottle restaurant looks really cool. I saw that they also cover their table cloths with paper towels, (I wish we had one of those here for my messy eating habits.)
ReplyDeleteAs for the modern art museum, I don't really like that genre either. It's really hard to understand and I'm more weirded out than moved by it. Honestly, who wants to see a naked fat woman roll around on the floor. It's laughable. I'm glad you at least got a little bit out of it. I probably would have made us leave really early.
So your French Lit class is called "The Lying Truth?" It sounds kind of intriguing, but you couldn't pay me to take a lit class in a foreign country. I'm so proud of how brave you are, baby.
I hope your Art class is going well today, make sure to take a picture of what you're studying when you go to the Louvre. And I'll talk to you later.
I love you so so much, and I can't wait for you to come back.