Familiar Faces In Foreign Places

So get this, I’m now FILLING IN time. Wow. Miraculous. The last ten days have been pretty insane… As they seem to be these days.

 Last week I passed all of my tests for the end of the semester. This was preceded by a number of STINKY cheese parties that Aziz (my housemate) was throwing. Apparently in France during the winter months it's common practice to buy a ridiculously foul-smelling cheese called raclette, invite all your friends around and eat it melted with potatoes. Admittedly it's not that bad - but it stinks out your house. I, for example left all the windows open during the night to air the place from the smell - regardless, the stinky cheese smell lingered. Here's a picture of Aziz being enthusiastic about his cheese.

On Friday Julia joined me in Lyon (I may have squeezed all of the air out of her tiny lungs when I hugged her on the platform). Really, life without miss Hastings wasn’t quite as bright. It was awesome to have her in Lyon. Saturday evening I picked up Dominic from the airport with Julia and my friend Jérémy (who kindly drove us).

Sunday we set out to Fourvière, went to the basilica, visited the old Roman theatres (I’d been to La Croix Rousse with Julia the day before, so we didn’t go back). We went on the ferris wheel at Bellecour (fantastic views of the city. Mother, don’t freak out… I’m still here). We walked along the Rhône river and ate a bit of pasta that day…. It was good. It was all very nice.

IT SNOWED ON MONDAY! So, there wasn’t much… but I saw snow falling from my window when I woke up! That was pretty cool. The cars in the parking lot were covered lightly and when we went to the park there was a bit of snow around. It was all very exciting for me, my Malaysian friend and Julia…(we haven’t seen a lot of snow in our lives).

 On Monday evening Julia and I said a sniffly goodbye and Dominic and I took the train to Paris. The hotel we stayed at wasn’t exactly how I had thought it would be… meaning that it was in a pretty dodgy area that was difficult to access via metro. OH WELL. It was $30 a night anyway and was in Paris, after all. Tuesday we climbed Notre Dame (which was my first time up there!) and there were great views of Paris. We could see the Eiffel Tower, Sacré Coeur… many fantastic things. We also saw the famous bell (which, by the way is nearly 850 years old!).

After Notre Dame we had lunch at Hôtel de Ville (we walked past the ice skaters zipping around on an outdoor ice-skating rink. To my disappointment, Dominic couldn’t be convinced to give it a try). We went to the outside of Le Louvre, to Place de la Concorde, Les Tuilléries, then walked across the bridge and went to the Eiffel Tower. Many photos were taken here. Again. We then met up with my dear friend Nettra and had tea on a cute street before walking to the Champs Elysées. Dominic and I then saw l’Arc de Triomphe and Dominic did a bit of shopping at H&M. It’s funny. I know that this all sounds really cool and amazing, but I feel like I’ve done it so many times now that going to Paris seems like going to Melbourne. Is this bad? Maybe I’m just becoming a bit French.

 This brings me briefly to the funny thing about being surrounded by your second language 24/7. It drills into your mind (in no way is this negative)! The other day, for example when praying in English with my Brazilian housemate, I said ‘aussi’ instead of ‘too’ systematically. I had to stop praying while we just laughed. Then late last night when I wanted to sleep, I spoke to him in French. I was half asleep. Does this mean that French has entered my subconscious? I often find myself thinking in French, or imagining situations or conversations (with people who can in no way speak French at all) and they’re conversing with me in French. Wow. Language is weird, but cool! It’s kind of like a magic power. No, I’m not mad – perhaps a slight abstract thinker though, yes.

So where was I? Ok, so after the Champs Elysées we went to eat a crêpe. It was good. Montparnasse did not let me down.

Yesterday we did Versailles. This time I got to see Marie-Antoinette’s estate that was really amazing. An ancient, twisting wooden staircase that is no longer accessible was particularly intriguing. We then went to the city again and then went on an adventure trying to find a Chinese restaurant. We eventually ended up down a small, dark street in one. Dominic had rice and was happy. I was just relieved to be able to stop walking.

Finally now I'm in Denmark. It is dark. 4.15 pm now and I can't see anything. It's weird...I feel like I should be eating dinner and going to bed now.

Enjoy the sun, guys. Right now though, I'm not jealous. I'm with family.