Vendredi

Teenage version:

We had a few meetings this evening.  We all went out to eat at a restaurant with our teachers.  The food was good.  My French is getting better, and I am making friends.
Bye.

Grownup version:

       So much has happened since I last blogged that it is incredible to think that it has only been a day and a half.  I am starting to forget English words for things, but I think that’s a good sign.  After I blogged last we had an orientation meeting at FIAP which, like most orientation meetings, only left me less oriented.  However, afterwards we met up with Blandine, the APA assistant, and she led us to Le Hydrophobe for dinner.  It was not a far walk, and the restaurant itself was very small but quite nice.
To greet us were all of our teachers for these next two weeks, savory pastry things that looked like cream puffs but tasted like they had some sort of cheese worked into the dough, and a glass of white wine flavored with a black current juice.  These last two things are apparently very French and so much so that I have had the wine cocktail three separate times since I got here.  I sat at a table with Mme. Souraqui, our French teacher Melanie, and three other students Michael, Louvisa, and Mungyun.  As I have observed so far, the meals here are served in four courses: 1) bread and wine  2) tomatoes, cheese, bread, and wine  3) meat, vegetables, bread, and wine, and finally 4) dessert/cheese and bread plate with wine and coffee.  Please take note of the pattern here.  I ended up with a plate consisting of tomato, basil, and feta cheese stacked in a small tower, beef kabob marinated in lemon and spices, and a chocolate mousse with mango sorbet.  It was all very delicious, and several run-ins with raw tomatoes here have convinced me that they are somehow exponentially better that the ones I am used to at home.  These do not taste old/mushy/grainy/overpowering like the ones at H-E-B, but instead are quite mild and…I actually really like them!  Tomatoes aside, the real joy of the meal was talking with the people at my table and learning more useful French.
I learn so many new words every hour that it is hard to keep track of what I already knew and what I learned here.  All I know is that my French conversation skills have almost doubled since I arrived.  The grammar and spelling…not so much, but that is less important right now.  My new favorite words that I learned last night from Melanie are rez-de-chaussée/ground floor and sécheresse/drought.  I have used those two a surprising number of times since then.  She is a wonderful teacher because she takes time to explain the new word and its origin so that even if you forgot it, all you would have to do is think of her explanation and the word pops back up again.  For instance rez was originally the word for the very short haircuts of the soldiers and thus indicating something very low/close to the surface/not high.  Chaussée is similar to a whole host of words relating to socks, shoes, the foot’s contact with the ground.  So, rez-de-chaussée is the thing your foot touches when it is close to the surface of the earth = ground floor.  Absolutely fascinating and extremely helpful.  C’est chouette!
It was also good to get to know the other students at our table better, and our table was the very last to finish and the very last to leave the restaurant because we just hit it off so well.  I feel so lucky that all of us in the program get along, and I feel completely comfortable and enjoy having conversations with each of the other students which is rare for a group of 16 college students.  I think being in a foreign place and in the same boat goes a long way towards forming instant friendships.
When we got back to FIAP, we were all completely exhausted and I headed to bed almost immediately.  Of course, it was 12:30am by then!  Needless to say we all slept quite soundly last night.  Well, I must go to another meeting.
Au revoir,
Kate Alice