Yesterday morning was awful. This morning was much better! For starters, I made it to breakfast. Last time we were at the FIAP, we only had croissants to eat with either honey, nutella, or jam. Since we are staying longer we are allowed to eat the Francillian Breakfast. Here there is a variety of breads, cereals, yogurty, fruit, juice, and apple sauce to enjoy. I had been dreading the itty bitty breakfast we had before, so this makes me look a little more fondly at the FIAP. Especially since I could roll out of bed, through on some clothes, and go to this "secret" breakfast without feeling horribly underdressed.
I enjoyed my meal and chatted with a Mother and Daughter on vacation from America. The daughter lost a tooth on the plane ride to France, which tells you how old she is. They were from Louisiana, though I did not notice an accent. Her husband is a college professor who often brings students to the FIAP to study abroad. Whenever he goes he misses his daughter's birthday. Apparently she talks about it all the time.
I returned to my room and got ready for the day. I went downstairs to discover that class had been canceled, but we would be going to tea at 3:00 that afternoon. Taking advantage of the sudden free time, Jeanie, Melissa and I went to Zara, a clothing store. I bought another dress, at my sister Gabby's request. She told me to buy lots of sun dresses, and I am more than happy to comply!
We returned to the FIAP in time for the lunch rush. Instead of fighting the crowds I worked on my cahier until the line died down. When my stomach began growling emberrasingly loudly, I decided it was time to get food. Fortunately there was not a line anymore! I ate something that looked like a turkey sausage patty and vegetables in the courtyard with Jeanie. It was not fantastic, but I enjoyed it far more than the other means I have been served from that cafeteria.
I went up stairs to work on my cahier again. Kayla and I sat on my bed and she played soft music. Before I knew it, my eye lids started drooping. I curled up on my half of the bed and tried to sleep. I dozed off and on for twenty minutes until Kayla tickled my foot. She is lucky I was so drowsy or I probably would have kicked her in the face. She was going downstairs and woke me up to tell me so. As much as I would have liked to sleep, it was time to leave for tea and I was glad to be awake.
A metro, train, and short walk later, Casey, Josh, Melissa, Ashely and I found ourselves at a tea house called Mariage Freres, which means Brother's Wedding. They had so much tea! An entire catalogue of it! Green, black, white, and even red and blue teas! I did not even know those existed! I'm not really a tea person, so I decided to pick one with a funny name and put in enough sugar until it tasted good. So, I went for Elephant Blanc-the White Elephant. Our smiling waiter in all white served me my tea, steeped for exactly the right amount of time. Madame said that if I did not like tea from this place, I would probably never find a tea that I did like. With high hopes I took a sip...it tasted like hot water. I tried a little more with the same result. So, I put in a few spoonfuls of sugar and managed to enjoy the taste from then on.
Madame also ordered us three desserts to share. First, a cake that seemed to be coated with chocolate pudding, with gold leaf on top. It was creamy and utterly delicious. I was not sure what to expect from the gold leaf; I am not convinced it really added anything, but it looked cool! Next, we had a raspberry cake. A crunchy bottom with a layer of raspberry mouse, a layer flavoured with green tea, another raspberry layer, and raspberries on top. Smooth and fluffy, it was utterly delicious. Finally, a strawberry tart with a thin layer of custard between the fruit and crust. I only had a few bites of this, but I love strawberries and therefore enjoyed it none the less.
To make up for having no class that morning, Madame asked all of us, in French, what we did the night before after the picnic, and that morning before the tea. Since the other students had been taking French more recently, I went last. She gave me a quick review of the verb tense we were using and I began my story. Here is the problem; I like to tell stories, especially with a lot of detail. My limited French vocabulary does not led itself to excessive detail. I frequently interrupted myself asking how to say this and that and sharing far more than was necessary. But I thought I did a fairly good job, considering that before this trip I hadn't done anything with the French language in almost three years. I am almost inspired to take a French class next year, but I am unfortunately interested in taking many, many classes-and I am afraid I would feel behind the rest of the group. Considering that I may be switching my major soon, I really do not have the space. Even so, I think I may have to get a copy of Pride and Prejudice or Harry Potter in French and try to read it this summer. There are a plethora of bookstores on the West Bank of the Seine, finding one should not be a problem.
No where in my wildest dreams did I picture us spending two and half hours at tea. But we did, and I was over an hour late meeting Kayla for present shopping and dinner. I purchased some tea and walked quickly to Notre Dame only to find that she had, not surprisingly, already returned to the hotel. This was one of those times where I wished to have a cell phone. Then again, I like that I know her well enough to be able to guess, very accurately, what she had done when I did not show up. We have spent almost every single hour of the past eight weeks in each other's company-it's no wonder I know her that well!
I took the metro back to the FIAP and Kayla and I soon left for dinner. Both feeling very hungry, we went to the nearby kebab place. Here, the pile the meat, tomato, lettuce and onion on a sandwhich. I make a huge mess every single time! I much prefer a kebab in a tortilla that holds my food in a secure package so it cannot jump out onto the floor. It's almost embarrasing.
I am still rather tired and did not feel like geting crepes tonight, so we went back to the hotel. Now I am here, writing a blog. I'm hoping Casey and Josh will walk in soon so we, with Kayla, can watch some Chuck and I can go to bed at a reasonable time. In the meantime, I will ignore the elderly tour group in yellow scarves who sit awkwardly on the other end of my couch, and try to avoid riding the elevator with pubescent British boys who race through the crowded lobby and holler "Bonjour" at me before their elevator doors close. I wonder if they realize I speak English?
Speaking of English, when Kayla and I got kebabs I successfully ordered all of our food in French. And, I was riding the elevator earlier and a group of English speaking girls got on. Most exited at the second floor, but one rode higher with me and a French lady. In an effort to shut the doors, the English girl kept pushing the "open door" button, which obviously was not helping anything. The French lady, in French explained the problem, and the girl responded, "Desole, je ne parle pas francais." So I jumped in and translated. That's right, I translated. Some one else in France knew less French than me. I'm pretty cool.
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