kismet apres paris

in my search for work i have discovered that my menial knowledge of french isn't good enough to get a job. it would truly be a miracle if someone would hire me based on my experience and good looks alone. i need to communicate with the french, which means i need to speak french. yes, most french people have some knowledge of english, but it's not their native language, so when in france...

i have been studying on my computer program (rosetta stone) just about each day, but i'm not learning fast enough. so i decided to enroll in the alliance francaise, a french immersion school here in paris that is pretty well-known. i will be taking classes monday, tuesday and thursday, three hours a day for four weeks (to start).

my first day was yesterday. because i have some knowledge of french i was placed in a slightly advanced beginners class. i had to introduce myself to the other students and tell them what i do for a living, and they had to do the same for me. one of the other americans in the class is a young woman from new york (julia) who is a residential interior designer! she's not currently working, but i think we might be able to help each other; we are meeting for coffee next week to discuss business.

i decided that the class i was initially placed in was a bit too advanced for me; i could understand about 70% of what the teacher was saying. so today i was placed in a class one level down. still not complete beginner, but fairly elementary. in this class i understand the instructor about 90% of the time, so it's much better for me. did i mention the instructors speak only in french? we follow a work book that has illustrations as well as text, and the teacher uses her body a lot to describe what she is trying to convey. i sat down randomly next to a young woman from miami (millie). turns out she went to my high school in florida (go chargers!).

now what is the likelihood that i would make a connection with someone in both my classes? kismet! i just need to continue to find contacts and make connections in order to finally land a job. i hope that happens soon.

turning point

today i took a walk to the post office in the 5th (the latin quarter) because i had a letter waiting for me there. it's been raining here on and off for the last several weeks; today it rained all day. i got out of the metro and a couple of blocks away i saw a woman with a plastic bag on her head. no, not a plastic bonnet made for the rain, but a white bag meant for groceries with the loop handles near her ears. i was kind of staring at her, trying to decide if it would be p.c. for me to take a photo (it was bizarre and funny all at once) when she approached me. in french she asked me where the metro was. i told her "just over there" she thanked me and i said "you're welcome". all in french! i walked away kind of stunned and proud of myself.

previously when someone would stop me for directions i could tell they were asking for directions but it all sounded like charlie brown's teacher (whawhawhawha...or in yiddish yadayadayada). now i actually knew the words! i have also caught myself a couple of times in the metro thinking in french (e.g.: "line deux bleu", not "line two blue"). i have been studying my french on the computer every day. i think it's finally working.

the post office was very close to the pantheon, so i decided to continue up the street to have a look. in all the previous visits i have had to paris (four!) somehow i never visited this building. wow, what a mistake. it is unbelievably beautiful. if you like me have never seen it before, it's a must. some of the most prominent french are buried there (like voltaire, the curies, and even braille).

although i am still looking for work, today was quite satisfying. and what was at the post office waiting for me? two buffett tickets that i ordered! so if any of my parrothead friends decides to come to paris in the fall, keep september 24th open and come with me!