The day before my first weekend in Paris

I'd like to start by saying thanks for the nice comments, Aunty Ann! It's really good to hear from you. And Dad, don't worry, I took a nap today. I also showed Lionel and Catherine the pictures of my family and house, and Lionel said, "That's your dad? He's very young, isn't he?" No, I did not make that up. I told him your age and Lionel said, "Yes, like I thought, very young!" (I think Lionel is one year younger than you, Dad). I told him how I always call you old and that you'd be very happy to hear that.

I went out to lunch today with some of the other students. Here's a tip: if you're in France and are eating at a restaurant, DO NOT ask for a "bouteille de l'eau," which is a bottle of water. They will give you mineral water and it's really expensive. I almost made that mistake, but then I remember you're supposed to ask for a "carafe de l'eau," which is just a pitcher of tap water, which is free. I had a ham, egg, and cheese crepe and it was very good. Afterwards, a girl named Lauren and I took the metro to this area that she wanted to visit because there were a lot of stores. I finally bought my "carte de Navigo" which is a metro pass. I got the monthly one, and for 55 euro I can ride the metro as many times as I want until the end of September. When traveling in France, it's really expensive to buy individual metro tickets (roughly 1.60 euro per ride), especially since it's possible to use the metro 20 times in one day. I bought a watch, which I forgot to bring. Lauren and I found some junk stores, sort of like dollar stores, so it was a cheap watch, but I like it and am really happy to have one because they don't have many clocks here. Lauren bought these cute little coffee cups that had "bistro" written on them for her mom.

Let me just reiterate: the metro is probably the best mode of transportation ever. It goes everywhere you could possibly want to go in Paris, and there are tons of places to get on it. There's a digital sign that lets you know how long until the first metro train arrives and then how long until the next one comes. The longest wait I've ever seen is six minutes, and I've only had to wait about 30 seconds each time I took it today. It's always on time (according to everyone that's ever taken it) and even though there are a ton of stops (handy because then you get dropped off very close to where you want to go), you only stop at each stop for like 20 seconds, which is enough time to get on and off but not enough to waste your time traveling. If you're ever using the metro, here are some key French words to know:

Interdit = forbidden. There are lots of signs that say "passage interdit," so you don't want to be the idiot tourist walking the wrong way through the metro tunnels.

Sortie = exit. It's kind of important to know where the exits are.

Also, for France in general, the phrase "Defense de ...." means "Don't do ...." such as "Defense de fumer" which means "No smoking."

And remember... don't smile at anyone! They will think you're strange!

I gave Catherine and Lionel the Fannie Mae chocolates and a book about the South Shore line today. They thought the chocolate was good and the book was cool, I think. Lionel also told me I should tell my parents that I was raised well, or had good manners... it was some kind of compliment. I think it was that I was polite and respectful. Either way, I think they like me. I know they think I do weird things, though, like not wearing slippers. French people are obsessed with their slippers and wear them all the time. I'm getting used to them correcting me though. Now it doesn't bother me as much because I know them better, and we had a very nice dinner because it was just me, Catherine, and Lionel so it was much easier to understand their conversation.

Tomorrow I'm going to Chartres! It's about an hour away from Paris, and me and some other students are going to take the SNCF (a train) to get there. Chartres is home to the tallest cathedral in France, I think. The last time I was in France I went there, but it was under construction, so I'm eager to go back. Plus I don't have class on Friday (there aren't any, I believe), and anyway class hasn't started. I have a three day weekend, so I thought I'd go somewhere. The tickets for the SNCF were only 23 euro, which I thought wasn't too bad for a two hour round trip. Looking ahead in my calendar, I have a five day stretch for fall break, so I'll have to plan a long-distance trip, I think.

At the IES center we're supposed to only speak French, but I've found that the other Americans/other students don't. They're always talking in English, which I don't really like because it's sort of a waste. At lunch today two of the girls were speaking in French and two in English, and eventually the conversation just switched to English. It doesn't bother me to speak English outside of the IES center, but I know we're not supposed to inside the center and I don't know why everyone is ignoring that rule. I wish they'd enforce it more strictly, and maybe they will, but until then I doubt people will speak French unless they're forced to do so.

I asked Lionel and Catherine if it was okay that I went to Chartres, and after they said sure, it was fine, Lionel asked how I was going to get there and I said I had bought tickets for the SNCF, and then I felt kind of awkward because obviously, I planned on going and only asked them out of courtesy. But I doubt they cared. We were discussing it, and I mentioned how I didn't have anything to do tomorrow, and Lionel said, "Oh! You should have said something... there's always the laundry and fixing the refrigerator and so on and so forth." And I said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what those words mean, it's impossible for me to do that." Catherine thought that was hilarious! It was my first French joke!