That's Interesting Man...

Elliot's missing tooth

Sum up for this post: Getting my hair cut, running into an old professor at the Louvre the other day, and going to see Pink Martini last Sunday.

So, my adventure for the day: getting my hair cut (finally). I had some time this afternoon, so I went in to this little place close to my appartment; 18euros for a shampooing and cut (shampoo is also called shampooing). Obviously this activity normally wouldn't be a big deal, but it was a bit difficult when there is a language barrier. The hairdresser (who was very cute) was very nice when I tried to describe what I wanted in French. I felt like a cave woman who might just as well have grunted what she wanted. Les chauveux beacoup boucle and then resorted to oui and bien and ca va . Uhg, I really need to stop speaking English, so my French will improve.

Last Thursday I had a lot of energy in the afternoon, so I decided to take on the Louvre. I've been wanting to go since coming here, but just haven't made the effort. So, I got my ticket, got my little headset and set out. I felt obligated to see the Mona Lisa, then went to Venus de Milo. After that, I just bimbled about because my philosophy for museums such as these is that if you try to make too many plans, you end up trying to get somewhere the whole time and never really enjoy where you are. After bimbling through the French paintings and the Italian ones, I came to the Greek ones. I was standing in front of a large one and turned to see my old professor coming out of the adjoining room! I knew she was in France, but she lives about two hours away AND of all the days in all the rooms in the Louvre we met in the same spot. CRAZY! Such a small frickin world eh? She said she will be in France until June and I hope to visit sometime next month.

Ok, so the best part of my week last week was definitely going to see Pink Martini play with the Orchestra National Ile de France on Sunday. PM is a band from Portland who play a bit of classical/salsa/rock/... Their singer, China Forbes, has an amazing voice and sings in 10 or 11 different languages. Thomas Lauderdale is the pianist and band leader. They also have an amazing horn section. They played at the Salle Payel which actually is only a couple blocks from my language school and is where the symphony normally plays. I tried to get tickets last week, but the concert was sold out, so I decided to try to go right before the show. I showed up an hour before the concert and my patience paid off! I got a ticket which was normally 35euros for 10 and my seat was front and center 1st balcony. The concert was absolutely amazing! They played three encores and I was incredibly sad when it was over. I wanted them to keep going! They are such amazing musicians and with the symphony playing behind them, it is such a grand thing. Below is a link to their website and a picture at the concert. I also took a short video, but I'm not sure if I can post it. I will try. Their new album is coming out early May. www.pinkmartini.com




Oh ya, and I had a crepe with grand marnier and nutella the other day. Oh soooo good!

The Fairy Tooth

Those crazy French and their verb/adjective order. This morning we discovered that Elliot lost his front tooth during the night. It was the first one that didn't have to be pulled out and he lost on his own. It was very exciting and tonight the fairy tooth is coming to leave one euro under his pillow. I'll have to take a picture and post it.

Last week was pretty good over all. Anne-Marie was freaking out Friday because she lost her passport, but it turned out she dropped it at the metro station and will have it back by next week. The weather has been incredibly shitty and cold, which makes for lots of indoor activities. These indoor activities include: using Lauren as a jungle gym, yelling, playing the new shoe game, which is one boy on each foot and I walk around (my legs are going to be so strong after this), playing Uno, playing teacher, and generally running a muck. Actually, it isn't that bad and the little ones are pretty fun to play with (when they're not fighting). Next week AM is going out of town for 4 days! I will be taking care of them on my own for the whole time. I'm not too worried about it though. It's not going to be much different than what I'm already doing. And, in two weeks, it will be school holiday and I will be off to Italy!

Oh, I forgot to mention what I had them call me when we play school. So I am the professor of course and they are the students. When they asked what they should call me, the first thing that came to my mind was Mrs. Intelligent. So, that's my name when we play school. I have to say, it's really hard not to bust out laughing every time one of them says, "ooh, ooh Mrs. Intelligent!" with their hands raised. Ah, this job does have some perks. Like the other night, Elliot was eager to help, so I showed him how to wash the dishes that can't go in the dish washer. He's happy, I'm happy, everyone wins. Then there was Chloe in the back ground walking around with her hand on her forehead making chirping sounds saying, "look I'm an emu". Ah, if only we could get away with walking around like emus everywhere we go.

Je ne sais pa...

I haven't really written much about my language classes. So, here's the latest... Finally I feel like I understand what is going on in class. The time line is a bit confusing, but basically, I started in one class that had been going for four weeks already. Then, switched into another class that was faster, but had just begun. While the first class was on holiday, I continued in the second class. After that month, the second class was over and I went back to the first class AND joined a conversation class. Several of the concepts have been overlapping and I feel like I'm starting to catch on. This is not the case still when I try to use French in the real world, though I have to say it is really nice to not dread going to class everyday for fear of not knowing what the heck is going on. We will see how I feel tomorrow or the next day though...

So today we (Denis and I) took the kids to the public library. It was pretty fun, but we didn't stay long. They have books in English for adults and kids, which is great because I was running out of bedtime stories for them. After the library, Denis had to go to work, so we ate lunch then went to the local pool. In Paris, there are several pools for pretty cheap, and one is only a couple blocks from the house. We had a great time playing cat and marco polo then came home and had afternoon tea (which really means eating some sort of freshly made pastry).

Oh, and I'm going to Italy next month. I'm playing in an ultimate frisbee tournament on the Adriatic Sea. Yes, the family has holiday for another two weeks and so do I. Buhahaha. I fly out the 5th because flying was actually cheaper than taking the train (40euros roundtrip!) and will be playing/partying for 5 days in Rimini. After, I hope to check out Florence, or I think one of my team members lives next to lake Como. We shall see. So, I'm playing with an Asian team that I found out about through a woman I met here in Paris who is from California. Crazy.
A tout a l'heur...

Sometimes...

Overall I had a pretty good week this week. It's getting harder for me to write every couple days like I planned to. It's jut so hard to write after a long day. I know...call the whaambulence. :) Today is Sunday and everyone else is off doing something. Pablo is off with Denis, the others are at the movies and I am doing laundry, catching up on homework, and hanging out in my jamies. It's extremely cold and crappy outside and I am fully taking advantage of it by just chiliing. The weather has been beautiful, but winter is not ready to release its grasp and this week is going to be very cold and rainy. I may go out a bit later, but it's too early to say at this point.

I had the kids alone from Tuesday and Wednesday. Anne Marie flew to England for work and came back very late Wednesday night. They were pretty well behaved except for Pablo who refused to unset the table, but all in all not too bad. After raising my voice and being stern, then explaining that everyone has to do their part to help out, you know what I told him to finally get him to help with the dishes? I leaned over and whispered to him that if he helped, then he can be the first one to brush his teeth that night. He then said that he would after he was done reading his comics (though he is 4 and can't read). I said alright and maybe 5 seconds later he started helping. I think I got the better end of that deal.

Wednesday afternoon we went to play in the park (chateau de vincenne) with Denis. Chloe and I climbed the “Eiffle tower” which was really a red rope tower about 30 feet tall and went on the slides. It was actually kind of fun, but I was most definitely the biggest one on both the tower and the slides. After making dinner of penne, pine nuts and spinache we all worked together to make some little origami flowers for Anne Marie when she came home. It was fun more because everyone worked together than the actual making of the flowers, though that was fun also. It's been a bit difficult to put the boys to bed because they seem really calm then all of a sudden get bursts of energy right before sleep. There aren't too many books that I can read to them because all of their books are in French, so I'm getting pretty good at telling stories. I'm considering not giving them anything to eat at night so that they won't have any energy before bed, but I don't think that will go over too well.

Chloe is a bit hard to figure out. Fridays we have to get to school early and last Friday we forgot. We all got ready in time and made it out the door. I knew we had plenty of time, but Chloe kept saying, "we’re going to be late" the whole trip to school (which actually isn't that unusual on other days as well). Then after getting there early and hanging around in the playground for a bit, on her way up to the classroom she goes by me and says, “see, we’re early.” I don’t get that girl yet. I think her way of dealing with stress is to be the boss and have everything in order. The problem with this is that no one likes to be told all the time that they are wrong. She is also always worried that she’s going to get into trouble is something is not done properly; for example, she I let Pablo play in the schoolyard after school while waiting for Elliot to get out of his class and she told me that he wasn't supposed to be doing that, which I found out later that it's true, but was worried that she was going to get into trouble for it. She also tells everyone in the family (including her mom) that they are not doing things the right way, even though sometimes they are doing it or saying it just fine, just a different way. She can definitely stress me out sometimes and I feel like she doesn’t say what’s really bothering her so she takes it out on other people at inappropriate times. I feel like she is going to learn the hard way that she can’t get her way all the time. Don't get me wrong, she can be really sweet, but usually it's when she's getting her way.

As far as my role goes in the family, I feel like I’m settling in a bit more. The first month was definitely rough. With the kids not really listening to me and one or more of them crying by the time we got home, I have to say I was not satisfied with my job performance. It came to a head when I got yelled at for not keeping the kids quiet while Anne Marie was on the phone. I did not like being yelled at and was at first worried that she thought I wasn’t doing my job, then a bit hurt then kind of pissed, then really pissed. I went for a run and came to the conclusion that this is a job. My job is not to worry about if I hurt the kids feelings or try to anticipate what Anne Marie wants. My job is to take care of the kids and be an authority. After the holidays I was much more strict with them and they actually are doing better because of it.

It’s just difficult to determine when the situation requires being caring and gentle or if yelling is the right approach. Obviously this is the eternal dilemma, but I feel like I’m learning and that’s why I’m here right. I think I do have to stay a bit more removed from the family, but it's really hard since I'm living in the house with them. I guess that's also part of setting boundaries.

Rodin

Finally after living in Paris for over a month, I went to my first museum. Since it was such a beautiful day on Saturday, I decided to go to the Rodin Museum because part of it has a garden where one can walk amongst the sculptures. The Rodin Museum is one of the smaller ones, but even still, you can spend days there. The sculptures are absolutely amazing. He is so good at making them look like they are in motion and tells a story with each one. The muscle detail and the way he positions body parts is incredible. You can spend days there because it takes so long just to figure one statue out and you don't really have time to give all the pieces enough attention in one outing. Anyway, I posted a couple pictures of some of his sculptures (and a pretty one of the Tower Eiffel ;*p)...

Late Night Escapade

This past weekend I learned that the metros stop running at 1am, but I thought that they stopped running at 2. I ended up getting home at 4:30 am then got up at 8:30 to go on an all day bike ride/treasure hunt around the city in teams of 3-5 people. Details below...

So, a couple of girls from my French class and I decided to go have a night on the town last Saturday. Nichole (from Colorado) heard of a place close to our school that had good music and cheap(er) drinks, so we decided to check it out. Note, my school is almost all the way across town from where I live. We had a good time, tried a couple of different bars in the area, had some drinks and a bit of creme brule w/ nutella, then decided to call it a night. Gunna and I have to take the same metro home, where Nichole has to head the opposite direction and is a lot closer. Nichole got on the train no problem. Gunna and I got to the station at 1:30 thinking we had plenty of time to catch the train home. After sitting for a half hour and realizing that everyone had left, we realized that the metro was no longer running. Shit. So, we tried another line and the same termine announcement came over the intercom just as we arrived. Hmm, how about a taxi then.

The taxis here are a bit expensive, but it was a lot better than walking home, which probably would have taken a good 1.5/2hours. In every other large city in the world all you have to do is raise your hand and a taxi will eventually come. In Paris, however, there are designated taxi stations and, especially at 2am all are either full or not running. We waited at the transit station (with a lot of other people by the way) for about 30 minutes until we realized that all the people waiting in the taxi que either spoke English or Spanish. Not a good sign. Final options: late night bus or walk. There was one bus headed in our general direction, so as soon as we saw it we jumped on. It wasn't til after we started moving that we realized it was the right line going the wrong direction. So, we got off at the next stop actually farther away than where we needed to be. Eventually the right bus came full of tired drunk people and we took it to Bastille and walked from Bastille. I eventually got home around 4/4:30 exhausted. I can't believe the metros stop running so early here!! It is so incredibly stupid. The bars don't close until after 2! Lessons learned: go to bars within walking distance, or plan your bus route ahead of time.

Just a bit about Sunday: I joined the Paris group through the Couchsurfing website. There are all kinds of people who propose different events and everyone who is a member (over 1000 people) are from all kinds of backgrounds. One of the events that was organized was a bike treasure hunt around the city. Like I said above, teams were composed of 3-5 people; each having to have at least one English speaker and one French speaker. The game was to answer as many questions about the different districts as possible in 5 hours, each question being worth a certain number of points, and the team with the most points at the end wins a prize of some sort. Our team was much more focused on stopping at parks and getting coffee in the afternoon than answering questions about the name of the church where such and such a king was beheaded and getting the most points. We also didn't really plan for efficiency either. At the end though, we still managed to not come in last and I had a blast all day (we came in second to last). I also know now where I can rent bicycles. Bike is a great way to get around Paris, but the weekends are really the only good times to do it as most everyone doesn't work and doesn't drive. There were probably about 60 people who participated in the event and of course we all met up at a bar afterwards for some beers and socializing. I met some really great people from Paris of course, but also from Mexico, the US, Canada, Italy, and England. I had a really great time, but had to make it home because the grandparents were in town last weekend, and there was no way I was going to miss out on grandma's apple tart.

salon du l'agriculture

I think the photo link was cut off again, so here the address for my alps photos below and the actual like above. Good luck...

Today I took the kids to the Salon du l'agriculture, which is a huge expo that goes on for three weeks in which the countryside basically comes to Paris. It was my first outing with just the kids and no one else and I had a great time! It is Wednesday, so no school and we had to take two different metros for about 20mins each to get there. We all got along fine, no one had any huge breakdowns (only tiny, normal ones) and no one got lost! We also spent probably about 4 hours there. The expo is kind of a combination state fair/farmers market and it is HUGE. The kids loved all the horses, pigs, cows, etc. and I loved the specialty food part. For lunch we ate up in the food pavillion and had thai actually (the kids all put the kabash on any of the local stuff). For dessert we had lemon and strawberry Italian gelato. mmmm. Anyway, not too eventful and tomorrow everyone has to go back to school.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=lauren.gross&aid=
576460762391742412&pid=&wtok=ION0B0uUV
1pBjAiO0SpIxQ--&ts=1172763025&.src=ph

The Latest

This is going to be a bit long, so read on mon amie...

OR Just Check out my Photos:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=lauren.gross&aid=5764607
62391742412&pid=&wtok=ION0B0uUV1pBjAiO0SpIxQ--&ts=1172763025&.src=ph

Though I had some really great times on my little adventure, the whole time I had this constant feeling like I arrived at a party before everyone else showed up and I didn't know anyone. You know, like I really want to have a good time and get to know people, but just feel awkward and out of place instead. I realize that I keep putting myself in situations where I feel like that and keep asking myself what the hell I'm doing, but I just can’t help myself. I have to say it was a bit of a reality check to leave my little English bubble here in Paris and venture out into the country. Yes, many people speak English, but many people also don't. For example, it is a very unnerving feeling when the train ticket taker looks at your ticket (20 minutes into the ride) and gives you a concerned look back. The first thought is, "crap, I'm on the wrong train." When actually, I was just supposed to get it punched before I got on and didn't know. Stuff like that happened to me all weekend. And, even when I did try to say a few things in French, it's a 50/50 chance the intended person will understand my pronunciation anyway. Some people are understanding and gracious and some definitely give a bit of attitude. And now a bit about my adventure...

Well, first, I almost missed my train to get there. I left for the train station right after French class. I got there 20 mins ahead of time (which is usually enough here). I couldn't print my ticket however because I don't have a French credit card. yada, yada, I got my billet (ticket), found the terminal and jumped on the train with two minutes to spare.

Three hours later, I arrived in Annecy (Friday around 6pm). Guilliume, the snowboard/ski instructor that I was staying with picked me up from the train station and we went to the restaurant where he and his friend/fellow instructors Matieu and Ava gave out awards for the week to their students (and parents). The restaurant was this little family owned place on the way up to the mountain and the whole place was filled. We ate raclette and drank wine and danced with the tourists to the sound of the restaurant owner’s son playing the accordion well into the night. Afterwards we went to a bar to hang out then went to another local bar/night club to dance, but didn’t stay long because Guilliume had to work in the morning. Raclette is a local cheese/dish where they melt the cheese on a hot plate until just toasty on the top then pour it over potatoes and cured meat. Hooooly crap it’s good. I love this country. It was actually sunny when I arrived in town, but the rain soon started and didn’t stop until it started snowing Sunday evening.

How did I meet this person and stay at his place in the Alps for free you ask? www.couchsurfing.com. It’s a really great website that connects travelers all over the world. You of course have to sign up, but it’s free and your level of commitment is up to you. I’ve hosted a couple people while living in Portland. One from England and the other from Bend, who was moving to town. I have to say they were some of the best experiences. I wanted to stay in the Alps, but didn’t have a place to stay, so I went on the website and emailed him about a week before leaving. He emailed back (through the website, so no personal info is given) and away I went. The other website I learned about is called Hospitality Club: www.hospitalityclub.com. Good stuff! Anyway, Guilliume is an instructor at Manigod, which is one of 4 main areas to ski in the area. He has been an instructor for 10 years (started when he was 19) and he and his cousin Oliver live/own a little house 10 minutes from the ski resort and about 40 minutes from Annecy. La Cluza is the town and is the main access to the ski lifts, though a skier can traverse back and forth to all four mountains if one wishes. He also hooked me up with some rental boots and skis for three days.

Saturday I was going to go skiing, but it was raining, so I read and slept most of the day. I was actually pretty OK with that since I had the whole place to myself. I did venture out to explore the area a bit, but he lives close to the highway in a neighborhood on the mountain and there isn’t really anyway to get to a hiking spot without transportation. Sat evening G’s friend picked me up to go to a restaurant with a lot of his friends. We went to his other friend Denis’ (Chez Denis in French) house for apertifs, meaning cheese balls, chips, sausage and wine/beer before heading to the restaurant. There was a couple from N. Carolina who were there for the weekend visiting friends. Though I'm trying not to hang with too many English speakers, it was really nice to be able to communicate! After apertifs, we all went to a restaurant in La Cluza (about 10 of us). Oh, the food was amazing! I can’t remember the name of my dish, but it had some green vegetables, three different kinds of cheese, and of course, cured meat and potatoes. I’ve never really eaten ham in the states, but I eat it all the time here. When we divided the bill all up, I think we paid about 30euros each, but that includes 4 courses and wine. They also drink this alcohol after dinner called chartruse. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a bit sweet and kind of has a plant/herb taste to it. I will do some more research, so I can describe it better. J By the time we were finished and ready to leave it was after midnight, so everyone went just went home. It was still raining outside when we went to sleep.

Sunday I was going to ski no matter what. I made it to about 2:30/3 and had to bail. The mountains are open til 5 here, but the snow was so wet and my legs were tired, so I busted out. I was in a crappy mood cause the weather sucked, I was tired, bummed that the snow wasn't very good, and my feet hurt from the rental boots. So, I went to the bar at the base of the chair to have a drink and change shoes. After drinking the best irish coffee I've ever had and getting warm and dry, I felt much better and was ready to face how I was going to get back to Guilliume's house. I ended up taking a bus headed to Annecy for 10 euros. I didn't know that I was supposed to get up before my stop so the driver would know. I just thought he stopped at every stop (plus, I wasn't exactly sure where it was). After passing my street, I went up to the driver, who eventually stopped about 2km away from where I was supposed to be. Ugh. No worries, though. I hitched a ride back up the hill and got inside the house right before it started to downpour. Guilliume got back later in the evening and we were both so tired, we watched the movie Big Fish in English (yeah for giving my brain a vacation) and then went to sleep. It started to snow Sunday night and continued on into Monday.

Monday: Unfortunately, though there was fresh snow, the whole mountain was enrobed in clouds. I went to La Cluza anyway, just in case, but the clouds didn't part and eventually I gave up and went home. La Cluza is a really cute town with a bunch of shops and I did walk around town for a bit though before taking off. There was a little open air market with people selling all kinds of artisan meats and cheese and soap and honey, etc... I would have bought one of each if I could have afforded it, but I settled on some Tomme cheese, which is one of the local cheeses in the area.

Tuesday the clouds parted and I skied all day. What a great day! I spent the better part of the day on Balme which is on the back side and the highest part of La Cluza. I just put my headphones on, turned on some Beastie Boys and rocked it down the mountain. Whatever rain and crap I had to go through up til now, it was all worth it for this. I ended up taking the little bus for 3,60 euros to the other little town down the hill called St. Jean and hitched a ride back to the house. It was much easier and cheaper to do it this way. Plus, it’s fun to meet people. I hitched a couple times up and down the mountain and every single time, though not everyone spoke English, the people were extremely nice and friendly.

Wednesday was my last day there. My train out of Annecy didn’t leave until 17:00, so I had a leisurely breakfast then made my way to town around 1 pm. Annecy is absolutely beautiful and has a lot of cute little streets with restaurants and shops. The lake is amazingly clear and with the Alps lining it, everywhere looks like a postcard. I stopped for lunch about 2:00 and ate tarteflette, which is another local dish. As you can probably guess it contained pomme de terre (potatoes), cream, cheese, and little pieces of ham. I also had a salade and some wine. I just sat and read my book and ate and had coffee for about an hour and a half while it rained outside. It was great. You’d think that I’d have gained 20 pounds by now, but in Paris I walk everywhere and though they eat a lot of fatty foods, all the food is fresh and the portions are not that big. They also don’t really eat a very big dinner, which makes a lot of sense to me. So, eventually I made my way to Gare d’Annecy (the train station) and headed back to Paris. I have to say, I was glad to leave the city and get some fresh air and mountains, but I was very glad to be back home again!! On to planning the next trip… J