Week 6

This week was extremely busy! I am so happy that midterms are over. I was really stressing, but when it came down to the test, it was sooooo easy. Even easy for the people that did not study which was a little disappointing because I felt like I wasted my time working so hard. But I guess I was “learning” so it really is not time wasted. Getting to practice was hard this week so I mostly worked out on my own which was torture. I had a really hard work out on Friday that I did not hit any of the times for. The workout was actually really depressing because I just could not get it right….. I feel like I also might have to start working out a little more by myself because the team I am practicing with is just not as rigorous…. Sometimes I feel like I go to their practices and waste my time too……

So I have not yet discussed what Paris is really like??? Paris marked with beautiful parks, streets, buildings and people. It has a very prehistoric feeling. When I watch French movies that take place in Paris, the building have not changed in almost 60 years. They have the same street signs and the same culture of cafes on every block. Everything is very traditional. Some people that I have met here reason that the French just simply do not like change, which could be true on the surface. Paris is also a typical city at the same time… Metros are always crowded. You get that usual funky smell every now and then when you are walking down the street….the streets are somewhat grungy, old and sometimes cobble stoned. You can bet that you will step in some dog mess at least once in Paris because everyone has a dog and no one “pooper scoops.” French pets are very interesting, mostly the dogs. The dogs are the most disciplines pets I have ever seen. French people take their pets everywhere, the train, cafes, and grocery stores. What you will often see at grocery stores are people’s dogs sitting outside or sometimes inside the door waiting. They are never tied up to anything and they never bother anyone. They just wait patiently, something my dog would never do. By the time I would have finished grocery shopping my dog would be in the next state.

Food in Paris is always fresh, especially the bread. Once they sell out for the day, they do not make any more either. Restaurants and cafes are usually open until midnight to 1am. Shopping is very expensive. I once was looking around a department store and I happened to be glancing at the planners and one of them that I was interested in was 300 Euros! For a planner, they must be out of their mind…..it was no mistake either.

This week I also saw a ballet for the first time at the Opera. It was a ballet by gorge Balanchine, called Jewel (Joyaux). There was no storyline but his goal was to represent the dance and music from different nations. It was nice to have gone once but I would not say it is something I would do again. But I really admire ballet dancers for their commitment to such a rigorous sport. I never realized how much strength and balance a person needs to be a ballet dancer.

Lastly, I took a short and very cheap day trip to Giverny, the home of Monet. It was the last weekend that his home would be open. Giverny is a little quaint home on the outskirts of the city of Vernon. While the house was beautiful, the best is his gardens. This was not the ideal time to go, as the flower were not in full bloom but there the beautiful autumn colors were just as beautiful as the summer and spring flowers I would imagine. My friend, Avery and I decided to walk back to the train station after our visit. They walked was a bit long and we thought we might miss our train so we hitchhiked!!! I always find myself doing something crazy with her, bungyjumping and hitchhiking! We met this nice man whose first topic of conversation was to praise Obama. Then he told us that he thought he was Muslim and asked if we thought that was okay. Lol We laughed and said that was a stereotype because of his name. But it was nice to see he still liked him despite what his heritage might be. It was a funny conversation but short because we only needed a lift about 5 minutes up the road.

Week 5

Things with my family have gotten a little better since that fight. Now that they understand me things have been okay. They are even letting me eat with them seven days a week which is not a part of my program so that I don’t have spend so much money on food at restaurants and what not.

I have been training with this French club team for two weeks now. My impression of athletics in France is that they are much inferior to the sports in the US. While I get a good work out each day, the work outs aren’t nearly as intense. I find myself having to do a lot extra on my own. I am still glad I get practice with other people because it makes training more fun and so much easier. My teammates call me "RiCan" which is the slang word for american.

I also don’t think the people on my team here take track as seriously. I feel like super woman when I practice with them. They warm up for like 10 minutes; I warm up for like 35 minutes. I do abs and cool down everyday but they just leave right after the workout. The weightlifting program is extremely easy. They lift 1 time a week instead of the two or three times I do. Also, they are always always late!; even the coach. One day, he showed up like an hour late. Some people on the team just left but I need to work out regardless so I did a running workout on my own.

I got another new roommate this week. This will be my third roommate in Paris. My second roommate was a male that was 30 years old, named Daniel. Daniel is from Switzerland and he took an intense French class in Paris for two weeks. His French was much better than my first roommate. He is confident and even when he doesn’t know the word or expression he still speaks. I liked him but it was a little awkward for us to ever go out together at night so we only ever communicated at dinner. My third and final roommate is here! She is from Columbia. Her French is soooooooo good! I am super excited to hang out with her. We had a very special dinner for her arrival. We drank champagne and red wine! I definitely did not get that when I arrived  but oh well, at least I get to have it in honor of other people.

This week, I went to a French cooking class! It was amazing; we learned how to cook salmon. It was probably the best salmon I ever had. It was only a 45 minute cooking class, so things were prepared very quickly. We rapped the salmon in this thing flat bread with tomatoes, onions and seasoning. We then cut the green beans and made a special mayonnaise sauce for them. Then the ten of us sat around the table had small talk while everything was cooking. It was difficult for me to following the directions in French but I did pick up a couple words like “preheat.” It was a great little cooking class and the food was soooo good. I also had some smoked salmon in Paris at this café called Paul’s and it was the best I ever had. Maybe salmon is just better in France.

This weekend my school had picnic at this park known as "Parc de Flora" next to Chateau Vincennes. It is a beautiful parc but it was raining so it was cold and wet. We had so much food, but it was mostly junk. It was a nice get together. I got to know a lot more people, french and american.

I have midterms next week! I think I am going to rip my hair out. I really don’t feel like I am ready. I barely understand the reading in French, but I am going to office hours to figure it all out. I have a presentation on Monday and a written midterm on Thursday. As luck would have it, my French professor decided to make it open book, she has mercy for us. Usually that means t hest is going to be harder but hopefully not. Pray for me!

Week 3/4

Time is flying by in Paris. I cannot believe I am about to start my 5th week. These past two weeks were a bit hectic. I am taking a large course load, so work is piling up. I was also doing a crazy search trying to find somewhere to train. It was not looking good for a while but luckily a family friend helped me get connected with some people to train with. I train from 6:30pm-8:00pm every day except Wednesday. I am usually dirt tired after practice but sometimes I have to force myself to go out and be social despite my fatigue. I practice with this young guy name Styves who likes to speak to me in English even though he knows I am trying to learn French. It is really funny to hear his views about Americans. Once he told me the best way for black people to make money in America was to play sports and rap and that is the reason why he wants to live in America……

I went bread tasting last week with my program in this little neighborhood called La Crimée. We went to a bakery that uses special ingredients to make the bread healthier. This bakery was also special because it was run by a woman. She explained that it is very rare to have women in this profession. This is ironic to me because in the US, I associate baking with females. The Bing Family who donates a lot of money to Stanford Overseas programs also funded a visit to La Comédie Française, the oldest theatre in the world. It was founded by Louis the XIV and is mostly associated with the works of Moliere, the father comédie.

Last weekend I also had a friend come and visit from Ireland. I had not seen him in six years. We went to middle school and high school together in Alaska. I remember playing the alto saxophone with him when we were younger. I took them around town for the weekend. We went to a Club called Erasmus, hung out in front of the Eiffel tower, and went to dinner one night. We also stumbled upon a small wine fest at Sacré-Coeur, a famous church near my apartment.

My family and I also had the biggest fight since I have been here. There was screaming and crying. Basically, the volcano erupted after my host mom, Nadine, came home and saw that I had made myself some spaghetti. She said it is not convenient to have me cooking in her kitchen and that she basically did not like sharing her kitchen. Then my host dad got involved, as usual, interrupting and yelling about how I didn’t recycle properly in the middle of my conversation with Nadine. Then he started saying I do not talk at all and maybe I should live in the campus dorms because I prefer to be alone. Then Nadine agreed with his suggestion because she said I do not transition well into the order of their household. She said she can never do her regular housework because I am in the house during the day instead of in class or out exploring. However, all my classes are in the evening so I sleep later and start my day later. Then are starting defending myself and my host dad though it would be okay to “sh” me while I was talking, and then I started getting loud and all hell broke loose. I told him that I thought he was anti-American because he is always criticizing how fat people are and I told him I did not like the tone he spoke to me in because it was condescending. Basically I told him I felt like he attacked me on a daily basis and that it was not very welcoming. This entire conversation was in broken French but I got it all out and he understood. After I told him how I felt he told me I was like a cat, always on the defense. After the arguing was over I went to my room, after which Nadine followed and she started questioning me again and that’s when I started crying.....Then she started hugging me like she was nice and then I went to the movies alone and ate two bars of chocolate. Before I did this I called Estelle, the director of the program and was crying to her and then I called my mom to complain.

Week 2

My host family and I had a falling out this week. I couldn’t really defend myself because my level of French is not where it needs to be. I happen to be the first American they have hosted and there are some really extreme cultural differences between the French and Americans. The biggest difference for me is the FOOD! My host family got mad at me for snacking. They also constantly criticize Americans for being “fat” or “grosse” as they would say it. This is a little frustrating, as I am not obese so for them to continue to make comments is insulting. The French also eat a lot of cheese and bread which to me is a direct link to obesity. The French think that they stay skinny because they eat healthier but I actually think it is because they smoke and smoking is known to reduce appetite. I tried to explain to my host family that eating 5 small meals a day is healthier then three regular ones but they insist that I am wrong. What I have noticed and appreciate more about the French diet is that they eat their meals very slowly. Meals can take up to 2 to 3 hours. When I take this long to eat my food, it is more filling then when I eat in 15 minutes. When I eat too fast, I find myself hungry within the hour.

I realized after the first week of dinner that all the main dishes were basically cheese, I had to let them know that I could eat like this for 3 months. So I asked them if they would make more chicken and fish. This is when they grabbed their scrapbook and showed me what students had wrote about their food after staying with them. Of course all the notes said the food was “fabulous,” which I think is totally subjective. I think the food is good, I just prefer meat and vegetables instead of cheese and bread.

I also later asked my host mom if she would give me a basket or a drawer for my underwear. Evidently, French people do not use drawers…. She also insisted that hang my jackets in my room instead of on the hooks for jackets in the hall. Seeing as my closet is 2X2Ft, I was not happy with this request. They got mad at both of my requests and said that no one else that had ever stayed with them requested these things. And I told them that I was not the other people that stayed in their apartment and that I would appreciate it if they stop comparing me to other students.

My French family also has a funny habit of just waltzing in my room when they feel like, and I am most of the time not dressed and after they see that I am not dressed they continue to talk to me about whatever they came in for….. In general my host family is just very judgmental and I cannot stand it. Once I told them that my French Politics class was a bit difficult because of the language barrier and my host dad responded by telling me it was so easy and that I should have a problem with it. I thought this was a very condescending thing to say as I am not French so of course it is going to be a little more difficult for me.

Besides the family drama, l also visited Musee D’Orsay. I really liked it; I think my favorite artists are Van Gogh and Manet. I think I like Van Gogh mostly because of his mysterious personality and the way he conveyed it through his paintings. My favorites are his self portraits; it is always interesting to see how people see themselves. I remember being really interested in Van Gogh when I was younger. I remade the picture of Van Gogh’s room with paint. I was also interested in Picasso but they did not have any of his paintings. My favorite painting by Manet is Olympia. This painting was interesting because the description in the audio guide said it was promiscuous not because she was nude but because she was nude and staring directly into the eyes of the person that is looking at the painting.

This week I also met up with an old family friend who is famous for the harmonica. He was performing at La Cigale, a famous theatre close to the Moulin Rouge. When I was younger I used to go over his house and practice the alto saxophone. I do not know how he tolerated my awful saxophone playing because he is now a renowned artist. We had coffee one morning and then went walking around the area. He took me to this little art neighborhood where dozens of artist just sat outside sketching and painting. We also passed by Van Gogh’s old apartment. He pointed out that you can distinguish between an apartment of an artist and a regular family or person because the artists have these huge windows in their apartments for good lighting. To get to these apartments we had to run up this huge flight of stairs next to the Sacre-Coeur. You would not think I was the athlete because I was soooo tired lol. He was running up them so fast and effortlessly.

I also met a Parisian. His name is Vira and he took me out to coffee one night, His mom is from Senegal and his dad is from Mali but he was born in Paris. He lives in this little apart of Paris that I like to call “Little Africa.” When you are in Little African you feel like you actually on the continent. Women are walking around in these bright colored traditional costumes and sitting on the sidewalks selling their fruit and vegetables. I got lost there one day while I was walking around. It was nice to get lost there because I was able to find all the hair stuff I needed! I actually met Vira on the metro, which is supposed to be really sketchy but he turned out really nice. He has a lot of patience too because it was a lot of work have a conversation together because of the language barrier. He speaks no English.

First Week in Paris

I haven’t said much about Vietnam because I just did not have time to write blogs. I will catch up on it later but right now I am having lots of thoughts about Paris. Obviously, I came very nervous about using my French. But when I stepped off the plane using French was like my survival skill. Many people might think that the most Parisians speak English but in my experience they don’t. If they do speak English, it is very minimal. When I arrived I had a 70 pound duffle bag with no wheels, a purse, and a small carry-on that had wheels. For the sake of getting to my destination for cheap and with as little hassle as possible, I first asked the representatives at the train station if they spoke any English so I would get direction in English and not get lost. To my surprise, they only spoke French. Despite this fact I still made it to my destination with little difficulties. While on the train I was bombarded by Parisians and it was very difficult to move around with all my stuff because I had to change trains a couple times. But it was worth the small hassle, 8 Euros opposed to a 60 euro cab ride. Another stereotypical thought about Parisians is that they are little more laid back. In some sense they are but not the way I thought. The stores and life definitely does not start until about 10 or 11am but in the train station, everyone was walking so fast. If you do not know where you are going, you better move out the way before you get run over because people will bump and push and will not even say excuse me. And do not ever ask for directions….

There is a lot I still need to get used to. One thing that is extremely annoying is the fact that you have to pay for public bathroom. I always have to go so bad and sometime I am on verge on wetting myself and I can never get in. The lack great internet access here is also very frustrating. But I guess the great bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, and the wonderful food makes up for that. There is also another concept I am very foreign to, “les bisoux,” which are the kisses they give to greet one another. I almost always put my hand out to greet with a handshake because forget the cultural difference. And the other day I was sitting in the hairdresser when a man came in and greeted us all and when I turned to try and give “les bisoux” I kissed him on the mouth! It was disgusting. I thought I was going to die from swine flu from kissing his crusty lips. Ugh! While I was at the hairdresser, I became friend which the lady that was doing my hair and she told me that this man has been trying to talk to her for a long time and he always comes in the shop trying to get her to go out with him. THIS MAN HAS A WIFE AND KIDS! She said the men here are like that….. She also said that it is in style for white men to be dating African woman….BIZARRE! Everything seems to be about style here.

The family I am living with is nice. They speak no English so we have t speak French. They get whatever food I want, clean my room, wash my dished, and do my laundry. Although, have gotten mad at me a couple times. The first night I locked myself out the apartment. I had no cell phone and they have no intercom to call up to the apartment. So I sat outside for hours before someone finally came home and opened the door. But then there is another door after the ground floor that I was still locked out of. After another hour of waiting I started searching my pockets and found my code. The next day I locked myself out again. At this point my host dad was like you are really irresponsible, which was in some ways true  They also got mad at me for slamming the front door when I come in and out the apartment. I live with another girl that is Japanese. She speaks no French and it is very frustrating because she doesn’t not understand simple things like, “where are you from,” or “what do you want to eat” So she only speak in English with me and I do not want to do that so I just don’t talk to her. Last think that was super awkward, yesterday my host family walked into my room while I was in my bra and underwear…!>!>!>!! And they proceeded to talk to me after they noticed! Awkward!

Interesting 2 days

Last night a group of us decided to go out to a bar for westerners across from the hotel. As we were walking out the same little kids I usually see outside the hotel were still there. I wonder where there parents are? They are only about 8 years old. They are very smart little kids. One of them speaks to me in french, english, and vietnemese. He usually wants me to buy a postcard from him. When I turned them down this time, they decided to pull a prank on me. I was just trying to ignore the little kids but they are so persistent. As they followed me down the street, they picked up a little lizard and decided it would be funny to place it on my back without me knowing. I started to feel it crawl up my back and I went crazy. I had just walked into the bar and I screamed so loudly, trying to frantically brush it off of me. My friend finally grabbed me and brushed it off and had to restrain me because I was surely going to march out and get those little kids back. The female bartenders came rushing over asking if I was okay. I didnt know what to do after that. One man in the bar told me it could be worse and that in India they put tarantulas on peoples backs.

Tonight was a free afternoon on our first day in Hanoi. Hanoi reminds me a lot of Saigon. We decided to explore the city a little. Me and my roommate Adrianna went walking around the hostel area in search for some lunch and some junk food. Finding somewhere to eat in Vietnam tends to be a struggle. But later on for dinner, we picked out one of nicer restaruants in town. We traveled in a large group to the restaurant. This always makes ths more difficults. Deciding whether we were going ride or walk was a task in itself. Finally we decided to walk. As we were walking a young vietnemese women in red who was obviously not right in some way started to follow us to the restaurant. She followed our every move. At first we thought she was trying to steal our purses but she was just ginuinely interested in us I think. She never said a word, she only stared. We thought this was a little creepy so we then got into a taxi.

On our way back home we decided to take a taxi from the start. But we accidently got into a "fake" cab. He had one of those meters that kept that moved faster than normal. He also drove like a lunatic. He acted as if he didnt understand me when I confronted him about the meter. Than I asked if he spoke french an he did. When I confronted him in french he still tried to ignore me. In the end we got jipped and almost ran over som bikers in the process because of his reckless driving.

September 3, 2009

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern part of Viet Nam on August 30th. I am traveling with 12 students from my university from all different backgrounds. We have students majoring in biology, mechanical engineering, international relations, and political science. My seminar is on American in Viet Nam: After Three Decades. After being here for five days I have had so many thoughts and reactions to the places I have visited and the people I have seen. I cannot help but continually compare my experience in South Africa to my experience here.

Ironically, it is rainy season here, like it was in South Africa, except it is actually really really warm outside. The heat here is the kind of weather that makes you feel like taking a shower every hour. One of the dress requirements of the trip is that we cannot wear shorts or spaghetti straps because the dress culture in Viet Nam is more conservative. Besides the weather the food has also been really great. Most of the dishes are composed of seafood, noodles, rice, and many exotic fruits. My favorite has been the catfish, spring rolls, and fried rice. I love all the fruits. We have not had any sushi. The breakfast is very Americanized so most of the time I feel like I am in America for this meal. I have my scrambled eggs, yoghurt, fruit, and coffee. All of our meal are family style because we our traveling on a tourist package so we do not have much freedom when it comes to choosing different types of dishes.

Vietnam is not so tourist friendly. Most people speak very little English or no English at all. Luckily we have to people in our group that are Vietnamese. Our group package also have been providing accommodations in hotels and restaurants that our very westernized and what our tourist guide refers to as “tourist sites.” I do not know whether to be frustrated that we are only getting a tourist prospective or whether to be thankful. Part of me likes to be pampered of course but it is like being a sheltered kid in some ways. Although, my professors continually warns that we have to be careful here. While Vietnam is by no mean dangerous, we are not to consume the water or eat fruits without thick skins, and stay away from street foods.
Our tour guides name is Cong; he is a character. He really gets on my nerves on so many levels. However, I feel that I should be more understanding towards his attitudes because he represents a generation whose thought are identified by old traditions and a lifetime of struggle caused by the Vietnam War or as they call it, the American War. He is about 60 years old, and I feel once you hit a certain age, it is difficult to change the attitudes and opinions of a person because at some point their thoughts and opinions are so ingrained. There is also a sense of seniority that they often feel entitled to.

I have been tired for most of the time I have been here. It is difficult to enjoy, the tours we have been going on because I am so jetlagged. We have very long days. We start as early at 8am and we are going until about 5 or 6pm. My group spends most of our time together. There is not much independence on this trip. I got a message for an hour that only costs $7. The services here are so cheap. Nails cost would cost me $1-2.

As I write this blog I am in Hoi An, Vietnam right now. This is considered central Viet Nam. It was an hour plane ride from Ho Chi Minh City. Flew into Danang, Vietnam and then drove to Hoi An. We are staying in a beautiful resort called Hoi An Trails. This town is very small and intimate and very relaxing. It is also shopping city. It is the town where you can get anything made: jackets, shoes, dresses, you name it, they have it. It has been raining a lot here though. The water is sometimes one to two feet deep. One night we went out to dinner and trekked for the water to look for a restaurant. We had very bad luck. However, we did eventually stumble into a hole in the wall that we decided to settle on because the rain was just unbearable. I could feel the chunks of dirt and trash run across my feel as we walk through the water. That was my queue to sit down and eat at the first place we found. It ended up not being too bad. We had good conversation and when I look back on it, it was sort of like an adventure getting to the restaurant.