Christmas cheer has descended upon the City of Light. The
rues and storefronts have been strung with lights and decorations, and the Marché
de Noël is in full swing along La Défense and the Champs-Élysées. I’m currently
sitting in a decked out Starbucks in Saint-Germain-en-Laye trying to recall all
the things I want to write about since it has been a while since my last post.
Saturdays are the only days where I am able to shut off my alarm and sleep as
long as I want, so waking up today I felt like having a relaxing day catching
up on blogging, studying, and reading instead of venturing out into the city.
The mood since the Paris attacks has been fairly normal. I’ve
talked to a few French people just asking what the general attitude was among
the French. While I think it’s safe to say people are worried, at the same time
you just have to carry on and go about your normal life. You can’t be afraid to
step out of the house. You just have to be vigilant (every time I use this
word, I think “Constant vigilance!”
Harry Potter fans will understand that reference.) and just keep on keeping on.
People have asked me if I’m scared, and the answer is no, I’m really not. I can’t
really put a finger on why I’m not afraid, but I guess it’s a good thing. If I was
too afraid to be in the city, then I might as well just come home to America.
But I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to come home and live in fear, and I’m
certainly not going to let anything steal my time in Paris from me. I just have
to hope that the city stays safe, and that the collaborative efforts of the
governments fighting ISIS will be successful.
A week ago, I came to Saint Germain for the first time. It’s
a suburb (or banlieu) further out
than my town from the city center, but it’s so quaint and charming. As soon as
you exit the RER, you see the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a beautiful
building that sits on a large park that must be just gorgeous in spring when
everything is in bloom. If you walk to the end of the park, there is a great
view that overlooks the city of Paris. You can see La Défense and just make out
the top of the Eiffel Tower. I will definitely be visiting the park again when
it gets warmer. After walking around the park, I started wandering around the
winding streets and went into a couple of little shops.
I ended up at Starbucks to work on some French, and by this point it had started to rain on this already cold day. I was wearing my warmest coat and thought…this is not going to get me through this winter. So I hopped back on the RER and headed to Les Quatre Temps in La Défense in search of a parka.
The winter chill really only began a few weeks ago, and it will get colder still. And if you haven’t gathered from my previous posts, if I want to go anywhere, I walk. The rail system here is really good, so most people in the city don’t own cars. Many in the suburbs own them, but it’s really not common for someone my age to own a car. There’s really no need, because even if you did own one, you really don’t want to be driving in the city. Much more convenient to walk, because with the RER/Metro/Trains the entire city is easily accessible. When I first arrived, the weather for the first couple of weeks was amazing. It was warm and beautiful with clear blue skies, so having to walk anywhere was no problem for me. But it’s now November 28th. It’s cold and it rains a lot in Paris. I don’t have the luxury of staying inside on a particularly cold or nasty day, or the luxury of driving a car and only being outside long enough to walk from a parking lot into a building. I was laughing to myself the other day thinking about the few times where it was raining so hard in Lynchburg, the staff that left LUO at 4:45 would just stare out at the torrential downpour not wanting to walk the 50 feet to their car. I was one of those people. If that had been Paris, you just suck it up and walk. If it’s freezing and/or pouring rain, the kiddo still needs to get to school, I still need to go to French class, and the walk from the house to the school to the RER station is 0.8 miles. I use the RER and 2 different metros to get to class so it’s a lot of walking through different stations, then it’s a short walk from the last metro to my language school. I definitely get my exercise, that’s for sure. No complaints here though. Keeps me skinny.
The winter chill really only began a few weeks ago, and it will get colder still. And if you haven’t gathered from my previous posts, if I want to go anywhere, I walk. The rail system here is really good, so most people in the city don’t own cars. Many in the suburbs own them, but it’s really not common for someone my age to own a car. There’s really no need, because even if you did own one, you really don’t want to be driving in the city. Much more convenient to walk, because with the RER/Metro/Trains the entire city is easily accessible. When I first arrived, the weather for the first couple of weeks was amazing. It was warm and beautiful with clear blue skies, so having to walk anywhere was no problem for me. But it’s now November 28th. It’s cold and it rains a lot in Paris. I don’t have the luxury of staying inside on a particularly cold or nasty day, or the luxury of driving a car and only being outside long enough to walk from a parking lot into a building. I was laughing to myself the other day thinking about the few times where it was raining so hard in Lynchburg, the staff that left LUO at 4:45 would just stare out at the torrential downpour not wanting to walk the 50 feet to their car. I was one of those people. If that had been Paris, you just suck it up and walk. If it’s freezing and/or pouring rain, the kiddo still needs to get to school, I still need to go to French class, and the walk from the house to the school to the RER station is 0.8 miles. I use the RER and 2 different metros to get to class so it’s a lot of walking through different stations, then it’s a short walk from the last metro to my language school. I definitely get my exercise, that’s for sure. No complaints here though. Keeps me skinny.
So the key to not being miserable while making the trek all
over the place in any weather condition is all-weather gear. I invested in some
really good rain boots and snow boots before I came. I’ve only needed my rain
boots so far, but they’ve been a life saver. No need for me to avoid puddles or
be worried about walking all over the place with wet feet. Nope. I’ve noticed
that the French don’t seem to wear wellies when it’s raining. Standing on the
platform in my Hunter boots, I feel like I stand out, but I don’t care. I’ll
keep my warm, dry feet; they can keep their cold, wet ones. My nice snow boots
are going to be awesome once winter is full blown and the rain is freezing. The
problem though was my coat. I didn’t have much room to pack more than 3 coats. I
brought a trench coat, a black winter coat, and my Burton jacket. Last week
when I wore my black winter coat in Saint Germain, I realized that I needed
something water resistant and something the wind wouldn’t cut through. And while
my Burton is warm and all, it’s not really ideal if I want to stay super warm,
but I’m going out on the town with friends. I wanted something a bit nicer that
I could wear everywhere, but would keep me sane when having to walk around in
the elements. So I went to La Défense and found a black parka filled with down
feathers and a big hood. After a week of wearing it around, I can honestly say
that the €99 I spent on it was totally worth it. I literally can’t believe how
warm it is, and with the rain we’ve had this week, I can just brush the water
right off. Money well spent. Parka, rain boots, and umbrella are necessary if
you ever visit Paris in the fall or winter. Take it from someone who hates winter,
rain, and the cold. I will own this season. I will not be defeated.
Sunday after church, me and a friend took advantage of the
beautiful weather to visit the Marché de Noël. The Christmas markets are full
of booth after booth of artisan goods and foods, places to eat, and there are
even stalls of donkeys at the one in La Défense. I bought some Christmas presents
here and then we went down to the market along the Champs-Élysées, which is
much bigger since it runs down both sides of the street all the way to the
temporary ferris wheel that has been set up in Place de la Concorde. We wanted
to go on the ferris wheel, but at 12 euros for a ride, we were both feeling
cheap and decided to skip it. There were some carnival rides and even a temporary
ice rink as well. Yesterday, I went back to the market in La Défense with
another friend, and I tried vin chaud
(hot wine) for the first time. It was like a hot sangria with cinnamon, and was
really good. I still need to take a stroll down the Champs when it’s dark to
see the lights, but I have a month to make that happen before the markets pack
up for the season. I’m also hoping to make it to Disneyland Paris before Christmas
as well because…well, hello, it’s Christmas at Disney. I don’t need to explain
why.
The only other thing that has kept my mind occupied is the
French language. In the last two weeks, we’ve learned future and past tense, so
I am finally able to start saying things like “I’m going to go study in Saint
Germain” (Je vais étudier à Saint Germain.)
or “I just learned passé composé” (Je
viens d’apprendre le passé composé.). But passé composé (past tense) is super
complicated. Ce n’est pas facile. On
top of that, the French articles have been my biggest challenge. There are so
many, and they are of the utmost importance: la, le, les, du, de la, de l’, aux, à, des etc. etc. Use them
incorrectly, and what you’re saying won’t make a lick of sense. I’ve stopped
resorting to asking “parlez-vous anglais”
when I go somewhere, unless what I need to ask is completely beyond my
ability to communicate, or they start speaking back to me and I have no idea
what they are asking me. For the most part, the French I hear in the classroom
and with my host family I am able to understand. Sometimes, that’s not the
case, but I can usually figure out what I’m hearing. In class, I’ve done pretty
well on both my tests so far, so my ability to read and write at the beginner
level is definitely coming along. What’s still super difficult for me is
hearing really rapid French, and trying to comprehend it, and also forming the
words on the spot to respond in a conversation. If I’m alone in my room and
relaxed, I can typically figure out how to form a basic sentence that would
answer a question or explain what I am doing. But in the moment if I’m put on
the spot, it’s like everything I’ve learned falls out of my head. My language
teacher keeps telling me not to stress, because it will cause me to shut down. She
hasn’t been wrong about that.
PS, at this very moment, Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas” is playing over the speakers, and it’s everything in me
not to start singing along. Fun fact, that song was written for one of my all-time
favorite movies Meet Me in St. Louis.
That’s right. That song wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for that movie, and if you
haven’t seen the movie, you need to see the movie. Moving on…
The only other significant thing that happened was missing
Thanksgiving with my family. My mom is an amazing cook, so missing out on her
perfectly brined turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry relish was a
big bummer. But thankfully, I got to Skype with them for about 3 hours after I
got out of class and even got to watch some of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade, so I was there in spirit.
It’s a strange feeling seeing them and the
house and the lake and realizing I’m thousands of miles away and can’t just hop
in my car and drive to see them. But a positive thing about being an expat that
I’ve noticed lately is how comfortable I feel in Paris now. I still am learning
the language (obviously), but after being here now for a full 2 months, this
has become my new normal. It’s normal for me not to drive anywhere, it’s normal
to not understand most of the conversations happening around me, and it
unfortunately feels normal to not be able to call or text my friends and family
all the time. I literally am in my own world across the pond. I can’t believe
Christmas is almost here, and by that time I will have lived in Paris for 1/3
of my time here already. As much as I don’t want to wish away time, I’m super
excited for spring in Paris. I want to be able to walk through all the gardens
and spend my days outside. But winter is the red-headed stepchild of the season
family, and all the wishing in the world won’t make it pass by faster. Oh well.
I’ll make the best of it while I can, and use the winter to visit indoor
places. Around May or June, I plan to visit Normandy to see Omaha Beach, and
ideally I’d make one more trip to London to visit the Harry Potter studios
before coming home.
That’s all for now! I hope all my American friends and
family had an amazing Thanksgiving and are gearing up for Christmas. I love
this time of year (despite it being in the winter) and I so badly wish I could be
home with my family.
À bientôt!
