Day 67 - mercredi

6 avril 2011

            After breakfast I studied for an hour, packed my lunch, and left for school about 10:40 a.m. so that I could use the Internet there for a few hours. About 15 minutes before class started, my sister Maria called. She was up because the baby had woken up crying. It was nice to visit with her for a few minutes.

            At the end of the school day, Ngozi, a young woman from the States who will be studying at McGill University (Montreal) in the fall, asked if anyone wanted to go out for a glass of wine instead of watching the soccer match. I was happy to join her. We chatted until 7:45 p.m. 

Then I walked to a movie theater to buy a ticket for Saturday’s Metropolitan Opera performance of Le Comte Ory by Rossini. When I first arrived in Nice, I had searched the Met’s website to see if the transmission of the live opera was anywhere nearby without success. This week Mariette brought a leaflet with the entire season laid out that is showing at the local theaters. I was delighted! At the theater, however, I was told that I could only buy a ticket online, so that is a task for tomorrow. Earlier in the day, Fang Xu told me that she had gotten her tickets online, but I did not understand if she had purchased three tickets for this show, which would include one for me, or tickets for three different shows because it cost less per ticket this way. I will have to inquire.

It was not yet dark when I arrived home, but I was tired. After supper and watching a violent French drama where someone is shot every 5 – 10 minutes, I headed to bed about 9:30. Tomorrow (Thursday) I plan to be online after supper if anyone is looking for me.

Wishing you a good rest, Dear Reader. 

Day 39 - Mercredi des cendres (Ash Wednesday)

9 mars 2011

Morning class so the day started moving early. Over the noon hour I made plans with Fang Xu to go to the Conservatoire this afternoon. She wants to audition for the upcoming musical there. She will be bringing along another Chinese friend who speaks French better than either of us can. This will prove to be extremely helpful.

After the Intensive Class, I was already tired. Eric had us practicing making hotel/taxi/restaurant reservations, cancelling them, and modifying them. My head was spinning as now we are using future simple tense.

When class was over, Fang Xu, her friend, and I walked to the tram station and transferred to the no. 24 bus that passes the Conservatoire. We realized a little late that “we should have gotten off at the last stop.” Pas du problem. It was just a short walk back to the school.

The place was abuzz with people of all ages. The facility is relatively recent and seemed to be well cared for overall. After picking up the audition sheet, and attempting to fill it in intelligently, we finally read the last paragraph – (in French, of course) “sing a two minutes French song.” Well, this was a deficit for Fang Xu. She decided to let it go.

Because we were there, since she also needed to make an appointment for an audition, we were able to do that with lots of help from the staff to find the office. The secretary did not speak any English, but she managed pretty well as we struggled to find the words to explain what we had come for. After finishing Fang Xu’s purpose, I inquired about meeting with a professor who could give me some info regarding contemporary French art song. It seems that I need to meet with the same person that Fang Xu needs to meet, so we will return together in about 2 weeks.

As we arrived back in the lobby, Fang Xu’s friend strongly urged her to audition for the show, for the experience, both musically and for the language practice. She decided to go ahead; maybe she could sing something else for them today. At this point, I said “goodbye” so that I could get to the 6 p.m. Mass at Notre Dame. The bus connections were not immediate, but I was able to get back to the apartment to drop off my computer bag and head out the door to make it to the church in plenty of time.

The church was crowded. There were many children up front. These were the first communicants and older students who were coming into the Church. They carried a moderate size cross up the aisle in procession. Also, as the ashes were prepared for distribution, they went up, and Father gave them ashes first.

A cultural comment: no one has explained to the French people about taking turns. Everyone stands up and gets into the aisle. There isn’t really a line. The people from the side pews are standing there, too. Then those who have trouble walking are trying to return by the shortest route, which is back through the throng. The French sense of personal space is not as large as ours either. It’s important to get one’s foot into the aisle if you don’t want to be shoved into the aisle by the elderly woman behind you. Of course, for today’s Mass, we got to do this twice – ashes and communion.

On the way home from church, I stopped to buy a baguette for supper. It was whole wheat and was a great complement to the leftover vegetable soup.

The day has been long, and I’m quite tired, so good night, Dear Reader. Lenten blessings from this side of the world.

Day 38 - mardi

8 mars 2011

            Since school was in the afternoon, I did a load of laundry. I need to do another, but that will wait until Thursday. It takes the little machine over an hour to wash one load and spin it dry. It was a nice day, so there is a good chance that the blouses and pants will be nearly dry by the time I come home. While it was working, I was working, too, on my French.

            After class, I walked over to Notre Dame. There was a demonstration for International Women’s Rights Day. A small group of bystanders participated in singing songs and chanting. The leaders were dressed in various costumes representing women’s affairs – even one man in drag.

            Not much else to report. Tomorrow is an early day, again, for morning class. In the afternoon, I will accompany Fang Xu, another student who wants to study at the conservatory here in Nice, to visit the conservatory. Both of us are looking for a place to practice.

            I hope you had a great Mardi Gras celebration, Dear Reader.  

Day 26 - jeudi

24 fevrier 2011

I felt a lot of energy for the day as I headed to school. Last evening I found two helpful websites with rules for French grammar and some practice quizzes, too. Even on these sites I am very much a “beginner.” Ce n’est pas probleme. It is an exciting learning experience.

Class was a comfortable challenge today. I am enjoying more writing out our dialogues/sketches. Mariette was very affirming of my written efforts in French to describe yesterday’s visit to the Chagall museum. Every little bit of praise boosts my confidence to speak. The fourth week is nearly over; I have 8 more weeks to go. It is hard to imagine speaking with any of the facility the advanced students have, but  somehow, little by little, it does get easier.

I met a new student today, Fang Xu (Isabelle) from China. She is a singer, too. I hope that we will find each other several times a week. She knows a little English, but speaks French fairly clearly, so that will be our first language of choice.

This evening, thirty of the students got together to celebrate Claudia’s twentieth birthday and to say farewell to four students. We went to La Pizza restaurant on Rue de la France – about a 20-minute walk from school. We had the upstairs room nearly to ourselves for the evening. The pizza there is excellent.  Everyone had a good time.

I’ve just gotten in at 10:50 p.m., so this entry will be brief.

Good night, Dear Reader.