Il commence...

I am writing this blog in the study of my French home. Chez Rochefort is very lovely, and I will try to post some pictures sometime. On the street, surrounded by shops and little restaurants in a set of doors, with an entry code. Then there is a gate with another code. Then you are outside again walking down a stone alleyway with houses on either side, all squished together like townhouses. Mine is the very last one on the right. Entering there is a living area with couches, a tv, a table or two, and a piano. Straight ahead is the back door to the garden. Up half a floor is a hall leading to the bathroom, the study, and another entrance. Up a twisting staircase is the boys' rooms, Timothee and Vincent, and up a half a floor on the other side is my room and Mme. Rochefort's room and her bathroom.

When I arrived on Monday morning, I got a taxi at the airport and gave him the address, arriving without a problem. When I got there I called Mme. Rochefort and she called her son to come retrieve me from outside the doors (I'd never received the e-mail she sent me with the codes). I slept for 4 hours (2 accidently). By that night I had met everybody.

The next day I went to IES for a brief orientation session (mostly just a tour of the site and the rules and regulations). That night Olivier, Mme. Rochefort's brother visited for dinner.

On Wednesday IES met at the Cite Internationale Universitaire, which is where many international students who study at Paris schools live. There are houses for each nationality. They also host all kinds of events, including concerts and musical performances. We continued with more information on this day of orientation. Mme. Rochefort had to go out of town for her work until Friday evening. Tu debrouilles, you'll manage, she assured me with a smile.

Thursday was the language testing for placement. I was really nervous, and I realized how much I've forgotten since high school. Both Wednesday and Thursday we had lunch courtesy of IES at the Cite Internationale Universitaire... Mmmm. We learned about some of the fun excursions that will be offered. Thursday night I cooked chicken and rice for Tim and me. He thought it was good. I'm eager to show my competence because they say the last student when left to her own devices put a packet of dry spaghetti in the microwave. I hope they were exaggerating.

By some miracle I am in the advanced group language and culture. Today we started the Propedeutique, which is a week of intensive French grammar. My professor, Mme. Teyssandier is very nice, though it was kind of intimidating. After class we could go on a tour of the neighborhood around the IES center. When that was over I went with two girls (that I met on my plane, incidently) to get un sandwich and we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and just walked around for a bit (it was a beautiful day today, a little cold). I've met many nice people at IES, including several from Occidental College in California.

Tomorrow is an open bus tour of the city (better to get these tourist things over with as quickly as possible). I am having a fantastic time so far. I understand about 30-40% of conversation, I am getting around on public transportation, I'm almost over my jetlag, I have internet, an incredible host family: tout va bien! I've heard some people living in upper class neighborhoods have very formal families that have no desire to interact with them; I have such the opposite case. My audtion for L'Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris is sometime soon (I don't know when yet). Vincent's girlfriend studied the clarinette there. Now she's studying at Ithaca College in New York.

Well, I should stop writing now. If you've read all the way to the end, sorry it was long. I miss everyone and I think of you all.

Love,
ep