Place d'Italie

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I have found an apartment! I am living in this great neighborhood a 5 min. walk from Place d'Italie in the 13th. My situation is to live rather closely with a French roommate who is a financial analyst for RCA. She is GREAT. I moved in yesterday and there was a note on the door, which said "Welcome Home!" She sleeps on a futon in the living room while I have the bedroom, a bit odd yes, but working fine so far! She has had students from my program for the last 3 years and they all have left her fluent! Here's hoping.
On my walk home from the metro there are the following vendors: bread, flowers, cheese, meat, fish, fruit and veggies, and a supper market!!! Perfect. I am out of the center of Paris, so far from the tourists and among the Parisians.
Classes start in a week! This leaves a week open for trouble causing. Last night 6 or so of us from the program sat on the bank of the Seine eating bread and cheese, drinking wine and talking, it was amazing to watch the sunset on Notre Dame. I am ready for life here to settle into a routine. It feels good to not be living from a suitcase. Classes should be hard but good. For the first three weeks it is just 4 hours a day of French grammar work. We will be divided into groups depending on our entrance test scores (the test followed the night the program took us out to a concert and dinner with wine.....bad idea!!!). I am not worried as I know whatever I scored is going to put me in the right section.
After this intensive language program comes a weeks vacation-many proposals have hit the table already, Prague, Cinque Terra, Vienna, Barcelona....we suddenly have access to the world of Europe! I don't know where we will end up but someplace doing something.
Today was great! I awoke to the rattling of keys only to realize it was 11 (still jetlagged!!) and Chantal was returning with groceries for a picnic with her cousin, his wife and their three year old. I helped her cut some fruit and then they arrived. And let me just say, I don't speak three year old French! haha. There is no inflection and it is mostly just rapid fire questions and answers. Intense. This situation became even more foggy as Chantal hands me an apretif and after a quick toast down they went! I hadn't eaten anything yet so this licorise liquour was breakfast. I grinned and tried to drink mine at the rate of everyone else as not to offend. They took this as me enjoying it and made another for me when I went to the bathroom! I just sipped on that one as I was a bit tipsy as it was. Then off to the park for a picnic. It was great!!! There is a large park with a pond, ponies, a playground, a little trian and half naked French men just five minutes from me!!!! The picnic basket is opened and there is wine, lots of wine. It was fine as I felt my confidence growing, or perhaps my judgement was just shrinking but I was much more talkative over the course of the afternoon.
Tonight was dinner with people from my program at an Armenian restaraunt and back to the Seine where a group of guys were playing jazz. All in a days work as they say.
Tomorrow I have to work on my visa so the French don't kick me out of this place!
Love and misses

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Photos

Parc Montsouris
The site of our lunch

Comments

[anonymous]

How all deliciously grand!

[hank]

I was just wandering around and found your journal. How fortunate you are! If you don't mind a nosy question, could you give me an idea of how much the apartment rents are in Paris?

[ktfox]

Hank
i'd be happy to fill you in on costs, send me a direct message which will end up in my email box so I can reply to you.