C'est ce qu'elle a dit...

a.k.a. "That's what she said"


So guess who's really behind on the updates? Oh. You already knew? Well, gee willikers! I'm sorry! But hey, no laptop + short library hours = little time for da Net.

Okay, here's how things have been going down in La France:

Last week I didn't accomplish a whole lot, but for the first time I actually enjoyed myself at a bar! My friends and I went to "Le Petit Barcelone" to celebrate officially deciding to go to Spain and to watch a match de foot, which was only interesting in that many of the French and Argentinian soccer players could also be Abercrombie models. It cost 4 euros to get in (some students were saving up to bring school supplies to needy kids), but we got a free drink, so I tried a little bit of "punch sangria" (side note- en français, punch is pronounced poonsh- ha!), and it was foul like most of the alcohol I've ever tasted. Luckily, Laura and I entertained each other for the rest of the night with "that's what she said" jokes and trying to get the attention of surprisingly beautiful men (we failed miserably...but one of the dudes took off his coat to reveal a ridiculously tacky sweater, so he lost a lot of appeal then, and his desire for a smoke every two minutes demolished the little bit of attraction he had left...). Anyway, at one point, our friend, David, had to explain to Arnaud in French what a "that's what she said" joke was and that was the highlight of my life.

Well, it was until we went to a little restaurant/bar called Hendrix (yes, dedicated to the one and only Jimi Hendrix!)... David was trying to make Laura recall a place they had both been and at one point he said, "The place with the cheese hat! The Cody cheese hat!" Like- Cody from "Step by Step". OH MAN! And that little bit sparked a serenade of American TV show theme songs by David and Arnaud (our only French buddies that night) and I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time. They asked if we had heard of A-Team!!! But I think my favorite part was when Arnaud was explaining how awful the show, "Dallas" is (although I have met someone at a tram stop who feels differently...) and he acted out how a character in "Dallas" whips their head around dramatically - it was hysterical! I guess you kind of had to be there for that one...

But the point is- bars can be fun without alcohol, so long as you have enough room to breathe, enough material for a "c'est ce qu'elle a dit" joke and enough sit-com minstrels to keep the atmosphere lively.

However...

I also played my first drinking game last week. And this was also amusant...But I did not get drunk because that's not my style, yo.

The game: Waterfalls. The beverages of choice: vin rose and mimosa. Sooo, the game involves cards (obviously) where each card means something different. Seven, for example, is heaven and the last person to raise their hands when the seven is drawn takes a drink. Another card is called "The Rule" and each time a person draws that card, he/she creates a new rule that, if broken, will force the offender to take a drink (a rule could be, for example, "No one shall use the word, 'I'", so you see how this could become troublesome). Another fun card is called "Questions": each person goes around in the circle trying to make the person to their left laugh, and thus drink, with a silly question. These usually end up involving family members-- "What was your Mom doing in my room last night?" -- but they can be anything, really --"Why are all these monkeys in my garage?" Anyway, the game gets it's name from the Ace(?) which is Waterfalls and the one who draws this card starts a round of drinking that cannot terminate until the person next to you has stopped drinking. During these rounds, however, I only took sips because...well we all know the point of that card...

I didn't drink very much at all because I didn't plan on getting drunk (and in fact, I didn't know we were going to play at all that night until I got to my friend's room...) and I don't really want to do that in general. But I did have a few small glasses of wine and I tasted mimosa (which was actually quite delicious!), so hooray for new experiences?

Afterwards we went to a dance party in the basement of the Polytech building (there are parties there basically every Thursday night- I've been to three or four already!) and they had the most delicious Domino's pizza I've ever tasted!!! French Domino's trumps American Domino's by far. How, you ask? With a bazillion types of cheeses, that's how! Anyway, at some point they played the Cotton-Eyed Joe and I went crazy! I felt bad for poor Laura, though. She wore her Jay-Z shirt but couldn't get the lame French student DJ to play any of his songs. "Noooo, we only play mellow techno around here! If you want to do more than light swaying with a side of bumping into strangers, you'll have to go to Spain..." All right Frenchies! If we must! (Seriously, though, the French do NOT know how to choose their dance music.)

I think I saw "Les Noces Rebelles" (Revolutionary Road) last week too...That was an intense experience...I have so much respect for Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, but oh! They break my life! Love? And I don't know if the very end was supposed to be funny, but I found it completely tragic.

On Sunday I went to La Cimitière du Père Lachaise with Julia to celebrate our birthdays!!! And yes, I do think we're pretty much the shiz for doing so. We looked all over for Edith Piaf's, Oscar Wilde's and Jim Morrison's graves (but I'm almost glad that we never found Jim's after my host brother told me something particularly disgusting about what goes on at that site...), but we had plenty to entertain during the search. And we did find Chopin's grave! It was satisfactorily unobtrusive unlike most of the elaborate and ostentatious mausoleums there. Not to say that everything wasn't beautiful, but seriously- you're dead. What is the point of spending three-years worth of sustenance on a sculpture of your bearded-moustachioed face? I just hope that whenever I die, I don't leave a burden of debts upon my family.

Sorry, I was getting on a tangent... Here are some pictures to make up!


Chopin!!!

God was watching over us at the cemetary. (Yes! It is a real cloud!)

AHHHHH!!!!


I just love the way this painter is sitting- teehee...

This stump was growing out of the grave! I want a tree on top of my grave!





And some random photos...

Snow day! This is the lake that runs through campus.

All the Americans at my birthday party!



After the cemetary, Julia and I got a snack at a patisserie and I bought cheesy bread- the most delicious cheesy bread in the universe!!! Vive le fromage!!!! And we tried to meet up with Joanna at the Opéra Garnier, and we succeeded, if only for a few minutes. I'll talk more about the beautiful opera when I've actually been inside.

This week was my birthday, blah blah, my friends are awesome and I threw a party, but to recount all that right now would be exhausting.

I promise to update more once I have my laptop!!!

Last message: to my dear family- I miss you all terribly! Even though I don't get to talk to you much, I wanted to let you know that I think about you everyday and I love you infiniti squared infiniti times! :D