Random updates/Cultural notes

- My twisted ankle is doing much, much better. Practically back to normal. Honestly I just have to laugh that I even did that. In speaking with one of my best friends, E. Lash, she said something along the lines of, "Kat, I'm sorry, but I have to say it: are you surprised? That would happen to you." She is totally right. But on the bright side, it's okay now and next time I trip on the flat ground wearing very flat shoes.... well, I don't know, I just hope it doesn't happen again this year. haha.

- Going to Montpellier this weekend (where I spent 1 month two summers ago) to visit some dear friends and take a little mini-vacation from Marseille. I'm SO EXCITED. I just love that place. I'll be taking the train Saturday morning, I'm excited to see the French countryside by train :D

- Midterms are next week. WHAT?! That being said, is it bad I'm not really intimidated/nervous for them?? Classes here work a lot like at Linfield, so individual opinion, so long as you support it, is what matters. There's not always a right or wrong answer. However, I am not taking science or math classes.... I love being a Bachelor of Arts major.

- I am finding that my comprehension level in French is traversing the plateau... That's to say, for the first 3 weeks or so I felt like I made small progresses. But now I'm going on 6 weeks.... French is becoming more natural than English (all of us Americans have discussed this and we are all experiencing the same feeling of strangeness when we speak English. That's to say, writing in English is much easier than speaking it in a French setting) and my comprehension level in non-conversational contexts (films, tv series, conversations of randos sitting next to me at a cafe, etc.) and conversational contexts (with anyone, but in particular with French people, with their slang and speeds of speech, all that jazz) has highly sharpened. It's the best feeling in the world to flip on "les infos" (the news) and know everything they're saying and exactly what they're talking about. Or to eavesdrop on bickering couple sitting walking behind me in the street and know what mister so-and-so did to piss of his girlfriend. Yes, there are still moments where I don't catch something here or there and I have to ask for clarification but for the most part, I'd say 95% of the time, I understand. Hell. Yeah. I can remember being a little girl and dreaming of being fluent in another language (haha honestly)....... and here I am- practically ;) Expressing myself or explaining something when talking about subjects I've never talked about in French before can still be, hmm not hard but, tricky, to find the right words and maintain the accent and grammar at the same time, but even then, since I consider myself to be kind of gifted with French, I still feel confident.

- Found out on Tuesday that we will soon be receiving contact information for our families in Morocco! Mme. Hilda MOKH, our Arabic professor, told us that we should contact them to start a connection/relation with them and tell them a bit about ourselves. It's so awesome- I can't wait to do that, and to go to Morocco :) I leave in one month!

- Speaking of Arabic... Sabah Alhair. Kaifa alhaal? Ana ismii Katherine. Ana thaaliba amrikiia. Askunu fi Marsilia alaana. Adrusu alfiranciia wa al'arabiia fi aljaami'a. Hel tadrusu/tadrusina fi aljaami'a? Maatha tadrusu/tadrusina? Min ayna anta/anti? Ayna taskunu/taskunina? Ila athhabu alsiinemaa. Sarkabu albos. Maatha taf'ay'lu/taf'ay'lina alaana?

That is my way of phonetically writing the little I can say in Arabic:
Hello. How are you? My name is Katherine. I'm an American student. I am living in Marseille right now. I am studying French and Arabic at university. Do you study at university? What are you studying? Where are you from? Where do you live? I am going to the cinema. I will take the bus. (Yes I know the future tense already!) What are you doing right now?

I feel like a five year old... But hey, after 4.5 weeks of Arabic, 2 of those weeks being just learning how to write in their damn alphabet, that's not that bad huh?!  PLUS one of my host mom's best friends is Algerian so a couple times she's helped me with my homework and I've gotten to practice a teeny bit of Arabic with her. Suzie is also a great built in tutor since she already majored in Arabic! She's the go-to-girl for all things/questions Arabic related outside of class for all of us. As for the alphabet, it really is all uphill once you've memorized it and know it. The hard part is hearing a word and trying to write what you hear because the sounds are so unnatural to the Romantic language speaker/English speaker's ear. It's getting better though and it's my favorite class besides Interreligious Communication. I love it.

- Our group of Framericans has started to create the habit of going to Cafe de Paris at the Place Castellane on Sundays when we're too tired from the night before to do anything else. They have the best (and kinda expensive haha) capuccinos with whipped cream :) I feel so French haha.

- So basically, everyone here smokes. During your morning coffee, you smoke. At lunch, you smoke. During your afternoon coffee, you smoke. After dinner, you smoke. At cafes, in the bars, in the clubs, outside of school, in the street, while on your motorbike (I am always fascinated by women who are fully dressed in heels and a skirt, hanging on to the back of their man, cigarette in hand, speeding down the busy street. I'm envious haha), you name it. And if you don't smoke, it's kinda weird. Or, if you don't on a daily basis, you do when you go out on the weekends. Basically once you're at the age of 15 or 16, it's socially acceptable to smoke. I am used to the constant smell of smoke everywhere now. I was just thinking today when I get back to the States, not that it smells bad here (well okay sometimes, but not because of the smoke), but it's going to be weird to not smell cigarette smoke everywhere I go.

- 16 days until Sardinia!!! :D

- There is absolutely no equivalent in French for the word "awkward." Which is really sad, because in young American culture, "awkward" is a STAPLE word, kind of like cereal or mac n' cheese is a staple food for freshman college students (for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner). It's just necessary. One of the few times my classmates and I use English words is when we throw "awkward" in the middle of our sentences. We just can't help it. Awkward is a very important word haha.

- That being said, there is no equivalent in English of the expression/the way the word is used for: "Voila" and "quoi." Voila is debatable. In English we could say, "Well there you go," for "Ben, voila." But not always..... "Quoi" literally means "What" but there are instances in which it is used usually at the end of a sentence/statement, and the best way I can translate it to English, is that in French it describes a feeling, like a feeling of finalization. Similar to my previous example, one could say, "Ben, voila quoi." The connotation is also very similar to my previous example, but I have literally sat and thought about this numerous times and I can't think of any kind of equivalent we have in English. It doesn't exist! I(Correct me if I'm wrong fellow Francophiles!) It's a very satisfactory expression in French. Like I said, it invokes a kind of "final" feeling, like, "Well there you go/that's that/that's what I have to say about that" kind of thing but that doesn't reallllyyyy capture it...

- I finally bought a curling iron last week. Hallelujah. Voila, quoi. :)

- Favorite French things:

1. "Bio" is an organic producer for anything and everything: butter, yogurt, cereal, crackers, milk, toothpaste (I don't recommend the toothpaste. Even if it's 2 euros cheaper, don't do it). Besides the toothpaste, their products are awesome.

2. La Laitiere- best. yogurt. ever.

3. ANY pre-packaged French biscuit/cookie/dessert. Go to any Carrefour, you will find an entire wall of different kinds of chocolate/jelly/butter biscuits/tartes/madeleines, you name it. Our selection at McMinnville's Albertsons, let alone most other grocery stores in general, does not even compare to any grocer in France. Also, Bonne Maman's chocolate madeleines are heavenly.

4. French bakeries/pastries. Nuff said.

5. The French male gender.......... nuff said.

6. Couscous. Nomzzz. (Especially when it's legit Maghreb couscous dishes).

7. My host mom's cooking. Not very much meat, and lots of vegetable dishes. But they're the best vegetables/vegetable dishes ever (think like Ratatouille, etc...). It's like that for most host families, I experienced the same eating habits in Montpellier as well. The French say protein (in the form of meat) before dinner isn't as good for you because it takes so long to break down that it's better to eat it at lunch time. Also, because meat is dead (obvi), the kinds of proteins in meat are somewhat unnatural for the body, which is why it takes so long to break down. So it's best to eat less meat and not in the evening. Each host family might differ with this in particular, there are a few days I go without eating any meat. But I know not each family eats so little meat, however I think most French families follow the no-meat-at-dinner rule, or the little-bit-of-meat-at-dinner rule. And we don't drink milk here either. But between the yogurt, cheese, an egg here or there, and other vegetables, I know I'm getting a healthy amount of protein.
Also, FUN FACT: a lot of French food ads (we've noticed this at movie theaters during previews), will have a little "Surgeon General's warning" at the bottom that may say something along the lines of "For your health, avoid snacking between meals." You see, in France, a small snack (meaning a glass of orange juice, or a piece of fruit, or a cracker or two with cheese) is acceptable every now and then, but it's more encouraged to eat a balanced meal three times a day. That way you won't have the urge to snack (apparently snacking during the day means your pancreas is always engaged/active, which apparently isn't good for it?). It's interesting how completely opposite eating habits are in the US.... Hell, "fourth meal" has even become acceptable in the U.S. and it's completely based off of consumerism!

- More varieties of alcohol and it's cheaper! I'm saying for all kinds of wine, beer, malt and harder liquors... My personal favorite is a product of this region of France: Pastis. It's got the flavor of anis (licorice) like Jager, only the flavor is softer and it's better in my opinion...

- The bars/clubs. Now, I'm biased because the only time I've been to any in the US was when I snuck into Cabana in McMinnville one night ('snuck in' meaning I walked right in without being questioned.... because it's Cabana... and it's McMinnville....) SOOOOO I don't have much to compare it to.

- The music. Now, the frats at Linfield will always have a very special place in my heart, but I'm sorry (besides some of the Pikes who play electro stuff sometimes), the Europeans are on that electro train and I am on that same train with them and I'm loving it.

- The architecture.... I think everyone can agree with me on this one. Each and every building has charm!

- The language. Language of love, people! Haha, but really. It's so pretty and I love speaking it 24/7.

- Public transportation. Portland, (I know you're trying but) step up yo game (McMinnville too for crying out loud).

- The bises (cheek kisses when you greet people). It's kinda fun and I feel so French every time I do it, and my American friends and I do it too.

- The style. The fact that mostly everyone looks their best almost all of the time, I'm forced to do so too. However there are days I really miss walking to class in yoga pants and a sweatshirt, haha. That is a luxury that does not exist in France.

- The 4 o'clock coffee ritual. I'm starting to love coffee... too much..

I could go on... but I'll spare you ;)
And know that all this being said, nothing can replace Linfield for me. And I'm soaking up every bit of fun and culture and everything here in France, but I know once it comes time to go back home, even if I'm heartsick for France, I know I'll be coming back again. Therefore, the American half of me will welcome my yoga pants and lazy days in my future apartment with my roomies, all my Phi Sigs, the meetings and events and functions (and even Rush! ;]), my classes that will be harder than here in France, procrastinating on Facebook in the library, and crazy Cabana outings and other shenanigans with my besties... with open arms....  :)

Bises,
Katherine