It's a Good Day

So today rocked for the following reasons. I'll put them in order from exciting to excitingest (yes, I made up that word, but I'm an English major. I'm allowed to make up words and pretend they're real. seriously, what else is the major good for?*)

1. We talked about relationships in class today. As relationships are my forte as a future trashy romance novelist, I understood everything that was being said. I was actually able to talk about things. Which led to...


2. I talked in class so much today that my teacher (who formerly used me as the example for "timid") said, "Look at Meghan! She's speaking so much today! It's like she's a different person!" Only she said it in French because I'm taking a French class.


3. I met my roommate! I think I already mentioned she was from Spain. She doesn't really speak much English, but between French and Spanish we communicated really well. I was nice to have someone understand my mixture of French and Spanish. (I seriously can't help it if the Spanish words slip in. French and Spanish are like the same language only the French don't pronounce any of the letters. It's like "Let me take this long Spanish word that should be seven syllables and make it two.") She sympathized with my problem, saying that learning French had made her forget a lot of the English words she knows. She's from Madrid. She said there hasn't really been anyone in my room before because the other girl that was here left after three weeks last semester. I'm lasting longer than that.


4. I bought laundry stuff for my clothes. So now I can wash my clothes again! (Side note to all the horrified people thinking I haven't washed my clothes since I left a month ago: they were cleaned right before I left Tours two weeks ago.)


5. We're going to the Opera tomorrow, and I plan on fulfilling my dream of being kidnapped by the Phantom of the Opera who conveniently resembles Gerard Bulter:


6. This MADE my day: Christine, my bestest friend in the whole wide world (bestest is also totally a word), is coming to visit me this weekend! I get to see her on Friday!!!!!!!!!!! Yay life!

*Disclaimer: English majors are good for many jobs because they help you write better and many companies like when their employees can communicate well. English majors should not be considered burdens to society or be referred to as "the future unemployed people of America."

In Which Meghan Gives a Lesson in French

I think I'm doing better at French. I still suck, but I don't suck as much. It's a very important distinction. My teacher told me I was getting way better, but that I'm much better at writing than speaking. I'm thinking that I should probably just carry around a notebook and write whatever it is I want to say. I can pretend I'm a mute or something. There are a lot of strange people in Paris, I would only be slightly odd.

Mimi helped me with my French homework last night. I had to write a letter from a man whose wife had asked him for a divorce. I wrote it and had her read it over. She basically had to rewrite it, but at least I tried. We've been learning the words for relationship things, so I gave the guy a mistress.

Interesting side note: the word for mistress is maîtresse, the same as the word for teacher in French. A commentary on French culture? Perhaps.

I have also learned the word for drag queen which is un drageur. Sadly, I didn't learn that one until today. Otherwise, the man would have been a drag queen as well.

My teacher thinks that I'm going to be so overwhelmed in my French cinema class that I'll go crazy, so I think I'm going to have to drop it. They offer it at a lower level but it's on Fridays until 5 PM. I love movies, but not that much. If it was a class where we ate chocolate the whole time, I might reconsider. But 5 PM on a Friday? I don't think so. All the cheap planes leave on Friday morning, so it would be automatically more money to go somewhere.

I've decided to take a theatre class instead. We memorize things in French and practice saying them with the proper amount of emotion. I can totally do that. And plus, there will be elementary level kids in my class (I'm intermediate 1), so I'll automatically be the kid who's way more intelligent than everyone else and who everyone wishes they were as cool as.

Mimi has invited me to her school party on Friday. It's apparently at a hip club with free drinks and free lollipops. (I'm not sure why they have free lollipops. I'm too scared to ask.) Molly and I are going with her and getting dressed fabulously. Mimi has a lot of clubbing clothes that she's willing to share. I haven't seen them, but they've been mentioned so many times that I'm convinced they're legendary. I'll tell you if the collection lives up to its reputation.

Being a Tourist

I wrote this yesterday night, but the internet died as I was posting it:

Last night, Molly, Steven and I went to this really amazing place for dessert. Molly and I shared three desserts and Steven had none because he's a vegan and they aren't allowed to eat good food. The desserts were fabulous.

We also bought Canadian maple syrup for the pancakes we made this morning. Nothing in France is really open on Sunday unless it's in a tourist area, so things have to be bought on Saturday. Or you can just go hungry, but I actually like food. It's a law that you have to remain closed on Sunday. Sounds like a great way to boost the economy.

Molly and I were tourists today and walked around everywhere. First, we ventured to Sacre Coeur. One of the artists tried to convince us that we should let him draw us for free because Molly's French was so good. (I'm guessing he would draw us for free and then demand money from us if we wanted the actual picture.) He then saw my ring and went "Oh no! Are you engaged?" and when I replied in the negative he said, "Good, because I love you." I suppose this is the point where I should have said, "I'm not engaged; I'm married," but I chose to walk away instead. It worked and no further declarations of love were made to me throughout the day.

We also traveled to the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. My monthly metro pass has come in handy. Pictures shall eventually be posted on facebook. When we came back, Molly's Moroccan friend, Mimi, needed help with her English project. She's studying advertising and the topic was Victoria's Secret. I don't believe I've ever heard the word "sexy" used so much in a project for school before. That must be one interesting class.

I'm pretty sure I didn't do that fabulously on the test. And by pretty sure, I mean I didn't do well on the test. Ah well, it's just a test, right?

For one part she gave vocab and we had to explain the vocab. I got most of the words, but one was "cancre" and I had no idea what that was. I vaguely remember it being mentioned in class, but I did the math and I'm already attempting to learn at least 40 words a day. Some words are bound to slip through the cracks (or, in my case, most of the words). It looked like the word "cancer" so I just wrote that someone who was a cancre was born in July and that cancre was their star sign.


Yeah, so cancre means a dunce. That should be interesting.

I think I got most of the other words. The only section I completely bombed was the listening portion, so I might actually be ok. I mean, that was only 1/4 of the test. And maybe my teacher gives points for effort.


I went out with a small group and we went dancing. I danced with a guy from Columbia, but every time I tried to speak to him in Spanish it came out in French. (No, I wasn't drunk. That would have at least been an excuse.) I found this ironic because everytime I try to speak during class in French in comes out in Spanish. I thought it might work if I tried to speak in French so that it would come out Spanish, so I attempted that but it didn't work. *Sigh*

We went to a concert on Thursday. It was at a really hip cafe. I could tell this because there was a tree sticking out of the middle of our table. I can only assume this is the epitome of hipness. There was also a stop-motion claymation projection going on behind them while the music was playing, which also is the epitome of hipness.

I'm taking today as a day of rest. I've been going all over the place and I just needed a day off. It's been very nice, and now maybe my brain will be able to speak in French.

Meghan Can Now Legally Drink Without Her Parents in the US of A

I know what you’re all thinking: Meghan missed a day of blogging because she got shwasted on her birthday.

Sadly, it’s not true. I didn’t get shwasted. I actually remember my 21st birthday, so I probably didn't do it properly. I did have two glasses of wine, though!

OH! I forgot to mention this: I found trashy romance novels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The good kind with people in compromising positions on the covers! I actually found them when I was looking for shampoo. I turned and BAM! there was an ENTIRE WALL of pure happiness. Now that I've learned the past tense (I learned three tenses in two days. I'm powering through the French language), I can actually understand them kind of! I haven't bought one yet, but I will.

Today I actually wrote a story in French. We had to write about a painting, and mine was an old woman. The painting was entitled "Grand-mère," which is grandmother in French. We had to write about their personality, so I'm going to translate it into English for you right now. (I assume my French version had a lot of grammatical errors anyway.)

Her name was Grandmother. She had another name, but it got lost in 1839. Everyone just called her Grandmother. She looks kind and sympathetic in the picture. She's not. It's a facade.

Before she died, she wasn't speaking to any of her children because she thought they were stupid. She was cold and impatient. She hated children, dogs, cats, doctors, policemen, the sun, candy, and happy people.

She was intelligent and had a sense of humor. One of her sons hated vegetables, so when she died she gave him her vegetable garden. The son who loved vegetables got nothing. I think she was a horrible human being. The whole world was happy when she died. I believe she was probably lazy as well.

Wow, I'm a morbid person. I'm not entirely sure I filled out the assignment correctly, but that's what my teacher gets. I think it's decent for someone who could only say "hi!" and "The dog is brown" three weeks ago. Although, for the word "facade" I was just like, "Hm, it sounds French so I'm just going to put an 'une' in front of it and hope it's right."

I have a test tomorrow, so cross your fingers that it goes well!

The Last Day of the Twentieth Year of Meghan

My brain is too exhausted for actual English paragraphs, so I’m writing in list form today. Parts are just me ranting, so bare with me.


1. Bootcamp does not equal a French party. It was named properly.

2. 6 hours of French a day is... a lot of French.

3. Bootcamp will be 3 weeks, not 2. Shelley lied. Bad Shelley.

4. That’s 90 hours of French in 3 weeks.

5. Merde.

6. I understood everything up until hour 5 when everyone started talking about the French school system and then my brain shut down of its own accord. Thing I learned: the French go to school.

7. In French there are three million exceptions to every rule. It gets to the point where you’re like “Ok guys, if it only applies to three things it’s not really a rule, it’s a coincidence.”

8. I’ve already found grammar errors in this entry that I’m not going to fix. I know, I’m such a rebel.

9. I bought a frying pan and a plate, and both made it to the foyer unharmed.

10. I cooked food.

11. I’m kind of jealous of the kid who doesn’t speak French because when asked what he did today in class the response was, “I had so much fun! We played games and went on a tour and I learned the French word for monster!” which he then proceeded to pronounce incorrectly. I feel like he’s going to preschool and I’m going to big kid school. Everyone knows preschool is more fun. You get naptime.

12. Naps. We need to bring those back.


Well, I’m off to do homework and then crash. Sleep how I love thee…

A Room With A View Of Another Building

I got shampoo! I ran out of my travel sizes so I had to buy a new bottle. It’s the original Herbal Essences, not that new Herbal Essences. It’s the biodegradable kind that’s no longer available in the USA because we hate the environment. That kind where you open the bottle and all the sexy men come out and wash your hair while singing “She’s got the urge to herbal!” (http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=8gg8xfxRSUs&feature=related) I think I scared Steve (the other kid from Central College in my foyer) in my excitement. He’s a boy. He doesn’t understand.

I went to my school for the first time today. It's very large and impressive looking. As this is my top priority in whatever school I go to, I'm very pleased. We got tested for our French levels again. I've already surpassed my elementary level and am now in Intermediate 1. Clearly, I rock.

Ok, so picture time:

This is my bedroom. Note the expansive white walls. This should not be seen as a reflection of my boring personality, but rather as the product of having no tape to put up things and no things to put up. I suppose I will have to work harder on my goal of finding a Frenchman who wants to win my affection through painting and convince him to paint a mural on the wall. Although, we're not allowed to have guests upstairs in the foyer so this might be a problem. I also think they'd count the mural as a damage and make me pay to repaint the wall.

Ok, no mural. I'll accept paintings instead.

Here's my room from the other side. Note the extremely starving artist-esque window. It's entirely possible that the shutters date all the way back to the 18th century. They have enough rust. I'm pleased that my room looks like something out of La Bohème with the exception of the laptop on the desk. And the Coke bottle.

I made a foyer friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His name is Jonathan, pronounced Jon-o-ton... I think. Well, it's the French version of Jonathan so just make it sound French and it's probably right. He's from Africa. I'm not sure exactly where because I still can't really understand spoken French (thank God I'm taking classes entirely in French for letter grades that get factored into my GPA). We spoke in Frenglish (French and English mixed together), but I think I did pretty well French-wise. I was able to get that he's an accountant and he wants to stay here to work after he graduates.

As soon as I told him I was from Illinois he goes, "OBAMA!" which is pretty much the response of the world whenever Illinois is mentioned. Although, he did take it a step further and say, "Blagovich! Governor!" So we get to be known for corruption too. Yay us.

Tomorrow classes start. I plan on taking my Frenglish to the next level.