So first of all, MY SCHEDULE IS FINALLY FINALIZED which is a huge deal. Hopefully I'll be getting my student card soon so I can use it to get discounts, but I am officially registered and my schedule is finalized and it's great. I've got a class in English as a break that's really interesting about the (modern) history of Ireland. I'm a bit disappointed the history doesn't go further back but there's a ton of modern Irish history to study so I'm not too disappointed! The rest of my classes are in French. The next day I've got a class about the political crises of 19th century France. Then I've got European geography, which is interesting because I've never taken geography before. American schools don't really teach it. We don't even have it at my university. Then I've also got a FLE (Français pour les étrangers, or French for foreigners) class which is helpful. So yay! I'm now understanding somewhere between 40-70% of what's being said in class as opposed to 20% on the first week haha. It's still not enough to actually know what's happening or pass a test but it's tons less stressful.
I've met so many really helpful and friendly French students, and my professors have been helpful and nice. They're less outwardly warm than American professors but I am already used to the French reservedness and am can feel the genuine good-naturedness underneath. I'm actually not sure how I'm going to be able to handle Americans again after this. One of my professors is really smiley and happy and I find myself slightly off-put by it. It seems unnatural to me now! I am really enjoying being more reserved because it feels less fake and put-on. You can still be friendly without smiling at every person you pass on the street. If someone stops and asks for directions (which happens to me constantly for some reason) you can smile and use flowery effusive language and be helpful and friendly. It just seems more genuine and less effort!
Now, for what I've done. I've actually been pretty busy. Of course I've had my classes but I also visited Chartres cathedral last weekend with ACCENT. It was beautiful. It's one of the oldest churches in Europe and has a huge number of original medieval stained glass windows. It was fascinating because the cathedral was being cleaned for the first time in about 300 years, and you could see what had been cleaned and what hadn't. My pictures didn't turn out great because the windows were so high up and lots of things weren't cleaned yet; it was also a dark-ish day so the lighting wasn't great. But it was beautiful in person! My friends and I also stumbled upon another church in the town that was a Renaissance church called Église St-Aignan. It was really cool because it was more intimate and less crowded. The walls were painted all sorts of colors but was chipped from years of use. It was beautiful in that antique way, certainly in need of some upkeep but fascinating and genuine because of it. We wandered around the town as well and saw a quaint part-medieval town. Many of the buildings were very old.
The picture didn't turn out great but each little square in the long windows is 4 foot by 4 foot and original medieval stained-glass.
It was dark and this part hadn't been cleaned yet, but these statues were beautiful and stretched many many feet down showing the history of Christ.
The outside of Chartres cathedral
More beautiful stained glass in the Chartres cathedral. I repeat: each square is 4 foot by 4 foot!
The view from behind Chartres cathedral.
Stained glass window in Église St-Aignan. Notice the Renaissance style (and the fact it was closer to the ground and I could actually take a picture of it)
Église St-Aignan
The beautiful ceiling of Église St-Aignan. It looks like the inside of a Viking ship if it were intricately decorated.
Église St-Aignan
Chartres cathedral from the outside
On Sunday there was a Chinese New Year parade (yes I know the actual new year was the weekend before). I went but was too short to really see anything and in true French fashion the parade participants took lots of breaks and were not too high-energy haha. Eventually we got some food and another friend and I went to sit by the Seine and went back to Shakespeare and Company to read in their library upstairs. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite places. There are comfy chairs and books in English and there's always something interesting going on. Plus it's really close to the Seine and Notre Dame where there are tons of cheap restaurants and crêpe stands and interesting nightlife. So far it's on my list of top 5 favorite areas in Paris.
I forget at what point this happened, but I also witnessed an impromptu métro concert. If I haven't mentioned it, musicians from all over the world compete to get a license to play in the Paris métro (these are different from the people who actually perform on the cars who are performing illegally for cash). I've seen orchestras and African drummers and all sorts of groups. There was even a marionnette of Édith Piaf while someone sang La vie en rose. Anyway, this one was just a talented group of young men playing current pop hits, but tons of people had stopped and were dancing in the middle of the métro station. Everyone was laughing and clapping and dancing with strangers. It was really beautiful and a reminder that even though French people may smile less, they are actually warm, friendly, and happy people.
So that's all for now. I will really try to post more often if people can accept that I can't be posting so many pictures. Deal?
Bisous,
La vache espagnole
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