Thank goodness for thumbdrives, right?

Jeudi 18 Janiver, 2007

Ok, I’m typing this in Word because the Wifi (or WeeFee, like they say here) of the Ruszkowski’s isn’t working on my computer, (I’ve had this problem before, and I honestly think that in the process of protecting my computer dad, you made it next to impossible to connect to any networks except for ones set up by this computer.) so I should be able to copy this to my jump drive and post it tomorrow at the IES center, but we’ll see.

So, I guess I’ll start with le voyage, oui? Pretty uneventful, but good. There were a couple of highlights that you guys might get a kick out of…

-when we flew into Philadelphia, we passed over a shipyard, and you guys (all you engineers in my family that is) would be proud to know that you’ve had enough of an effect on my that I got a kick out of seeing a half constructed ship in a dry dock. Thanks for the geeky influence over the years, it’s really paying off J
-I ended up having a 4.5 hour layover in Philly, so I decided to get something to eat, and decided on Americanized Chinese food (who knows when I’ll get to eat it again, right?) so, after deciding on fried rice, Chinese vegetables, and orange chicken, I picked up my tray, and promptly spilled it all over the kiosk. Yup, all over the floor, and I nearly missed a woman standing next too me. Well, I thought I missed myself, and the people working there were nice enough to just give me a new plate, so I thought I was in the clear…after I finished eating, I wandering in a newsstand and the duty free store, and ended up in the bathroom. Lo and behold, I went to hang up my coat, and discovered that I had a hood full of fried rice. I probably had left a Hansel and Gretel-esque trail all over the airport too. So, I emptied the hood into the toilet, and washed it out in the sink, complete with a 20 minute drying period with the electronic dryers. Yup, I’m that cool
-the fight from Philly to Paris was good, the plane was only half booked so I got to stretch out a bit, which was nice. I watched The Departed, which, while good, was not a favorite of mine, and I don’t even know as to if I’d say I liked it. But, the acting was excellent, and it’s worth seeing.
-PS – if you come to France (through CDG at least) customs are a joke…a woman stamped my passport, said “bonne journee!” and that was it. I didn’t have to declare anything, there were no random luggage searches or anything…it took maybe 5 minutes. (in hind sight, this might have been because I had a visa, if you’re just traveling, I don’t know if it’ll be the same for you)

Ça suffit pour le voyage, oui? Maintenant, ma famille et ma maison française, oui ?

I think that I’m going to like living here a lot, it seems like a famille that I can adjust to, and that are very willing to help my adjust. Demitri (Dim) et Charlotte (Char-Char) are cute kids, but very energetic. Char-Char is very independent, and I don’t think she has quite decided what she thinks of me…she likes to be around me, likes to interact with me, but she does not like me to touch her, hold her, or to help her if she’s doing something, but I think she’s warming up to me. Dim is very loud, and I think he thinks I’m his newest playtoy…a Mr Potato Head included (“m. Pomme de Terre”), which I’d brought as a gift for him. But they are good kids over all, I think I’ll like living with young kids for several months.

Stan et Caroline (Caro) are trés chouette, I think they will be a very good match for me. Stan works for Warner Bros, he is in charge of the business transactions for the French branch of the company (from what I understand) and Caro works for a promotions company, and right now she is working with Nestle. Both of them want to find jobs either in Canada or the US and move to North America for a couple years, which I think is really cool. They are both trés gentil, je les aime beaucoup.

Oh yea, for my first night here, Caro asked if I liked asian food, and I said yes. She ordered some online, and it turns out it was sushi. I had sushi for the fist time yesterday, and yes, I ate it. It wasn’t bad, I liked the salmon roll and the California roll, but the tuna roll was too fishy for me. I don’t think sushi will ever be a fav of mine though.

La maison is really nice, it’s a townhouse with three apartments in it. Caro and Stan live in one, and Caro’s parents live in the otherm and i have not had a chance to meet the other neighbors yet. Stan and Caro’s apartment is quite large, including the basement (which I basically have to myself) there are 4 floors. I’ll put pics up eventually, je vous promis. I really like Phillipe et Marie Catherine, Caro’s parents. They are very nice, and very French. They are also hosting a student, Nathan, who is studying at a different program here in Paris, and so, Marie Cqthrine invited Stan, Caro and I over for un diner française tonight. It was delicious. We had grapefruit for l’entréem, coq au vin, des roasted potatoes, and poulards (cooked greens) for the main course, a course of fromage et pain (delicieux…the cheese here is much stronger, they don’t believe in pasteurization, they say it ruins the taste…it was a surprise the first time, but I’m already liking it), and yogurt et crème fraise for dessert. All with red wine. The meal was amazing, and I really liked the conversation. It was difficult at times, but everyone was patient with Nathan and I as we floundered several times.

Ok, I think that’s it for tonight. It’s midnight, and I need to get some sleep. I walked from Montparnasse to the Notre Dame de Paris (with stops at the jardin de louxembourg and the Pantheon along the way (btw, apparently Jacques Chirac was going to make an appearance there later today, and the other girls I was with wanted to stay for it, but I had no desire for it…no need to stand waiting for a couple hours to get a glimpse of a man from a distance in my mind. I’d like to credit Mom and Dad for my complete lack of a celebrity hunter/voyeur instinct…whatever I had, I think you guys have killed, and thank you for it!) and I’m tired and ready for bed.

A Bientot!