Call me a chameleon...

Greetings from the land of cheese, baguettes, and mimes. Oh, and berets. And wine. And Gerard Depardieu -- can't forget him. Well, I guess one could say that France is known for many things. Though surprisingly, that classic "French laugh" that we all know and love (you know: hon hon hon!) doesn't really exist here. Le shocking. And I guess the French don't necessarily appreciate the stereotype, either. Whoops.

I've finished my first week of classes. Generally interesting, midly frustrating, and most certainly tiring, my courses cover a pretty broad range of subjects. My first course of the week is my internship seminar, which doesn't actually start until the week after next. So for now, I've got a hole in my schedule. My first real class is Traduction (Translation). I can already tell this is going to be difficult. It's tough trying to translate idioms and very specific turns of phrase from my native English into my not-so-native French, but I am bound to learn a lot from it. The next course on my academic menu is called Questions d'esthétique, or Questions of Aesthetics. Depsite having to study 18th century operas, I enjoy this class immensely. Our professor is very knowledgeable, entertaining, and not too difficult to understand. And finally, there is my course on Institutions et vie politique de l'Union Européenne (Institutions and political life of the European Union). My professor is an energetic, young Italian man with an Italian accent to match. His is probably my toughest course. I've only studied a small bit of political science and economy at DePaul, so I've got my work cut out for me. But this is also probably my most important course in terms of relevancy, as A) I'm currently living in the European Union, and B) France currently holds the presidency of said union.

I've heard a lot of other students grumbling about their professors or courses in general, which is normal at any school, but I don't really see their reasons. Ok, I admit that some lectures might be a bit disorganized, but that has pretty much been my whole experience with this trip. Everything seems a bit vague, a touch last-minute-ish. So I've made the necessary adjustments and continue on with life. It's all a question of adaptability. Some of you may know that I pride myself on being adaptable. Call me a chameleon.

Speaking of adjustments, I've noticed that it's getting a whole lot easier for me to comprehend large amounts of the French language all at once. Class lectures aren't quite as mentally taxing as they once were. Newspapers don't look quite as much like minefields of unknown words as they used to. And my host family doesn't have to slow down their speech quite as much anymore (I think). While I am by no means fluent, it's definitely getting easier. All this suggests to me that total immersion in a language really does breed understanding. Which makes me very happy that I chose to study here for a whole year.

Apart from my classes, this week has been decent. I've gone on a couple outings, shared meals with good friends, and gotten to know the city a little better. Last night, returning from yet another trip to Place St. Michel for dinner, my friends and I stopped to watch a dance group on the sidewalk. They had set up shop right next to a Métro station, drawing a formidable crowd. They were supposedly "break dancers," but I wasn't too terribly impressed. A couple of them were very good. Literally, only a couple. The rest (all 5 or 6 of them) had dance moves only slightly more complex than if I were to become their choreographer. Still, they entertained the crowd, so they've got something going for them. We didn't stick around too long, wisely slipping down the stairs to the Métro just before the dancer holding his upside-down hat could ask us for money. I would feel bad if the dollar were a bit stronger. Maybe.

And now on to a new segment in my blog I like to call, "Love It or Leave It." Here, I will give one reason for which I adore Paris, and one for which I might find myself tempted to leave this city. I'll try to do this as often as I can. It might be interesting to see how my opinions change throughout the year. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, here it is: Love It or Leave It.

Reason to Love It: All the random musicians in the Métro. Guitars, accordions, mandolins, harps, keyboards -- you name it, I've seen it played on a train or in a station.

Reason to Leave It: Feeling so out of the loop concerning American politics and news in general. Yeah, I usually complain about the petty arguments in campaign ads at home. And yeah, I find local news reports tiresome and depressing most of the time. But damn it, I miss it all.

(ok, I know I can read the news online and whatnot, but it's just not the same...)

With that, I bid you adieu.

Happy Travels
-- Cody