Days 68 - 69 jeudi et vendredi

7, 8 avril 2011

            When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt generally more positive about approaching the last two weeks in Nice.  I studied for a short while then walked to school in order to do some online things. There I found out that a ticket for the Met HD opera transmission of Le Comte Ory was not available – the theater was sold out. After that I purchased my plane ticket for the flight from Luxembourg City to Trondheim, Norway. I am glad to have completed this task.

            After school, I went directly home to tea with Michele. She recommended that I try getting an opera ticket at FNAC (like Best Buy). At the end of supper, Michele and I had a piece of the French lemon pie. Then I headed to the Internet shop with my computer to Skype my mother and sister Shelley.

            On Friday, Michele was hoping to run some errands right away in the morning and she was waiting for a package of plants to arrive, so she asked me if I could be around; of course, I said “yes.” Then she remembered that the bank does not open until 10 a.m. so she said I did not have to wait around. Since I had put in a load of laundry that would not be finished churning for another hour, I decided to go to the little supermarket just two blocks away for a few basic things. The plants arrived shortly after I returned, and Michele headed out to do her errands.

            While hanging up my laundry outside my bedroom window, my brown pants fell to the ground. Oh. Of course, my first thought was to go out the garden door and retrieve it. But then there is Matisse the Cat, who loves to go into “his” garden. I knew that if I opened the door, he would be out in a flash. I was not sure that I would be able to corral him back into the house afterwards. So instead, I wrote a note to Michele (in French) requesting that she bring it in when she got home. She was grateful for the consideration.

            Making a peanut butter sandwich, I left for FNAC to see if I could purchase an opera ticket. The answer was “no,” and the woman recommended that a ticket be purchased at least 15 days in advance. There will not be a next time, unfortunately and fortunately. The tickets cost 27 Euros ($38.50) and there are no student prices here. I’ll be happy to see the next shows in Dubuque, thank you.

            At school it was so “Friday.” We watched a movie in the Standard Course – “Albert est méchant,” i.e. Albert Is Mean.  It is a funny movie. If it’s available in the States, I recommend this French comedy with subtitles.

            When I got home, Michele was napping on her bed in the living room. So I proceeded to make a pot of tea. The next time I looked in, she was awake. Then she told me that the bus she was on this morning hit a man on a motorbike. She had just gotten up to get off the bus and saw the impending accident. It threw her to the ground. She did not wait around for the police because she does not like “drama.” But she thought the man had been killed, and she was just bruised. I’m concerned for her because of the trauma, but I don’t know what to do for her except pray.

            After supper I met Ngozi and Nazia (from Toronto) for wine a local tapas bar. Before I met them, I stopped at the Internet store to use the computers for 15 minutes. Erika, who lives in Menton, had responded and I will see her in the early afternoon tomorrow. The evening ended before 11 p.m. for me as my throat was becoming scratchy. I may be getting the cold that has been going around school – lots of sneezing and stuffy noses. C’est la vie.

            That’s it for these two days, Dear Reader. Have a great weekend.

Days 68 - 69 jeudi et vendredi

7, 8 avril 2011

            When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt generally more positive about approaching the last two weeks in Nice.  I studied for a short while then walked to school in order to do some online things. There I found out that a ticket for the Met HD opera transmission of Le Comte Ory was not available – the theater was sold out. After that I purchased my plane ticket for the flight from Luxembourg City to Trondheim, Norway. I am glad to have completed this task.

            After school, I went directly home to tea with Michele. She recommended that I try getting an opera ticket at FNAC (like Best Buy). At the end of supper, Michele and I had a piece of the French lemon pie. Then I headed to the Internet shop with my computer to Skype my mother and sister Shelley.

            On Friday, Michele was hoping to run some errands right away in the morning and she was waiting for a package of plants to arrive, so she asked me if I could be around; of course, I said “yes.” Then she remembered that the bank does not open until 10 a.m. so she said I did not have to wait around. Since I had put in a load of laundry that would not be finished churning for another hour, I decided to go to the little supermarket just two blocks away for a few basic things. The plants arrived shortly after I returned, and Michele headed out to do her errands.

            While hanging up my laundry outside my bedroom window, my brown pants fell to the ground. Oh. Of course, my first thought was to go out the garden door and retrieve it. But then there is Matisse the Cat, who loves to go into “his” garden. I knew that if I opened the door, he would be out in a flash. I was not sure that I would be able to corral him back into the house afterwards. So instead, I wrote a note to Michele (in French) requesting that she bring it in when she got home. She was grateful for the consideration.

            Making a peanut butter sandwich, I left for FNAC to see if I could purchase an opera ticket. The answer was “no,” and the woman recommended that a ticket be purchased at least 15 days in advance. There will not be a next time, unfortunately and fortunately. The tickets cost 27 Euros ($38.50) and there are no student prices here. I’ll be happy to see the next shows in Dubuque, thank you.

            At school it was so “Friday.” We watched a movie in the Standard Course – “Albert est méchant,” i.e. Albert Is Mean.  It is a funny movie. If it’s available in the States, I recommend this French comedy with subtitles.

            When I got home, Michele was napping on her bed in the living room. So I proceeded to make a pot of tea. The next time I looked in, she was awake. Then she told me that the bus she was on this morning hit a man on a motorbike. She had just gotten up to get off the bus and saw the impending accident. It threw her to the ground. She did not wait around for the police because she does not like “drama.” But she thought the man had been killed, and she was just bruised. I’m concerned for her because of the trauma, but I don’t know what to do for her except pray.

            After supper I met Ngozi and Nazia (from Toronto) for wine a local tapas bar. Before I met them, I stopped at the Internet store to use the computers for 15 minutes. Erika, who lives in Menton, had responded and I will see her in the early afternoon tomorrow. The evening ended before 11 p.m. for me as my throat was becoming scratchy. I may be getting the cold that has been going around school – lots of sneezing and stuffy noses. C’est la vie.

            That’s it for these two days, Dear Reader. Have a great weekend.

Days 68 - 69 jeudi et vendredi

7, 8 avril 2011

            When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt generally more positive about approaching the last two weeks in Nice.  I studied for a short while then walked to school in order to do some online things. There I found out that a ticket for the Met HD opera transmission of Le Comte Ory was not available – the theater was sold out. After that I purchased my plane ticket for the flight from Luxembourg City to Trondheim, Norway. I am glad to have completed this task.

            After school, I went directly home to tea with Michele. She recommended that I try getting an opera ticket at FNAC (like Best Buy). At the end of supper, Michele and I had a piece of the French lemon pie. Then I headed to the Internet shop with my computer to Skype my mother and sister Shelley.

            On Friday, Michele was hoping to run some errands right away in the morning and she was waiting for a package of plants to arrive, so she asked me if I could be around; of course, I said “yes.” Then she remembered that the bank does not open until 10 a.m. so she said I did not have to wait around. Since I had put in a load of laundry that would not be finished churning for another hour, I decided to go to the little supermarket just two blocks away for a few basic things. The plants arrived shortly after I returned, and Michele headed out to do her errands.

            While hanging up my laundry outside my bedroom window, my brown pants fell to the ground. Oh. Of course, my first thought was to go out the garden door and retrieve it. But then there is Matisse the Cat, who loves to go into “his” garden. I knew that if I opened the door, he would be out in a flash. I was not sure that I would be able to corral him back into the house afterwards. So instead, I wrote a note to Michele (in French) requesting that she bring it in when she got home. She was grateful for the consideration.

            Making a peanut butter sandwich, I left for FNAC to see if I could purchase an opera ticket. The answer was “no,” and the woman recommended that a ticket be purchased at least 15 days in advance. There will not be a next time, unfortunately and fortunately. The tickets cost 27 Euros ($38.50) and there are no student prices here. I’ll be happy to see the next shows in Dubuque, thank you.

            At school it was so “Friday.” We watched a movie in the Standard Course – “Albert est méchant,” i.e. Albert Is Mean.  It is a funny movie. If it’s available in the States, I recommend this French comedy with subtitles.

            When I got home, Michele was napping on her bed in the living room. So I proceeded to make a pot of tea. The next time I looked in, she was awake. Then she told me that the bus she was on this morning hit a man on a motorbike. She had just gotten up to get off the bus and saw the impending accident. It threw her to the ground. She did not wait around for the police because she does not like “drama.” But she thought the man had been killed, and she was just bruised. I’m concerned for her because of the trauma, but I don’t know what to do for her except pray.

            After supper I met Ngozi and Nazia (from Toronto) for wine a local tapas bar. Before I met them, I stopped at the Internet store to use the computers for 15 minutes. Erika, who lives in Menton, had responded and I will see her in the early afternoon tomorrow. The evening ended before 11 p.m. for me as my throat was becoming scratchy. I may be getting the cold that has been going around school – lots of sneezing and stuffy noses. C’est la vie.

            That’s it for these two days, Dear Reader. Have a great weekend.

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 66 - mardi

5 avril 2011

            This morning Michele prepared an Italian Lemon Pie. The process is similar to ours, except that the pudding is cooked in a double boiler and the meringue is sweetened with sugar-water syrup. We had the first taste at lunchtime. It was delicious! I may have to try this method when I get home.

            School was a challenge. I’m glad when we have review sessions – today the Imperfect and Conditional tenses - but not when I am struggling to remember the patterns – ah, French verbs are so much fun. Also, the class gained several new people; they are from Switzerland and England. It will take a few days to determine the level of the group. Again, I think I will need to climb the ladder to catch up with them. This is good, but today it didn’t feel comfortable. It hit me that everyone with whom I started has now departed. With three more weeks left, it’s important to seek out new friends.

            After school and tea with Michele, I walked to the train station to buy my  ticket to Luxembourg. I will depart Nice around 8 pm on (Good) Friday, April 22 and arrive in Luxembourg City about 9:20 am (Holy) Saturday morning. I will have a sleeper car and it is a direct train so there’s no need to change trains.

            Later in the evening, Michele and I watched a show that she declared “really bad.” Despite this, or maybe because of it, I could catch more of the dialogue because it was simple and slow and “really bad.” After sticking with it for over an hour without commercial breaks (because in France after 8 pm there are no commercials), it is nearly 10 pm and my eyes and ears have had enough for one day, so I am going off to bed.

            May you have good adventures today, Dear Reader.

Day 65 - lundi

4 avril 2011

            The weather is definitely improving in Nice – temperatures are heading towards 21º Celcius, about 70º F., all this week. It will be pleasant enough to go out without a coat. The breeze off the water remains cool.

            Again this week, our classes have been put into every afternoon to accommodate the Italian groups/customers. This is a disappointment to many of the regular students because it makes traveling to sites outside the city and enjoying the promenade and the beach less accessible. In our standard course, only five of us were present. Tomorrow it sounds like we will have new students, for a total of 12, joining us.

            After school I stopped at the Internet shop around the corner to inquire about closing time. The shop attendant gave me the official time, then “translated” it in French to tell me 9 pm. However, I think he meant 10 pm because when I left a few minutes after 9 this evening, the shop was still hopping. Michele has not indicated that the Internet line has been repaired, so after supper, I walked back to the shop to ask if Skype could be accessed there, and if they had WiFi. When I found out that I could bring my own computer and use their WiFi, I returned home to retrieve my laptop. By the time I returned, it was already 8:40. Thinking the shop closed at 9:00, I hastily got onto Skype. Within the twenty minutes, I had both received and put in brief calls to Mary Agnes and Mary, my sister Shelley who was really hoping that I would get back soon, and my mother who is doing well. I will attempt another time to call on Thursday evening.

            Back at the apartment, I read through the daily paper, Direct Matin, which is a free publication Monday through Friday available at some of the bus stops. This allows me to read about what I’ve seen on the news during the supper hour, filling in a few holes of information because of my developing language skills – my reading skill has way surpassed my verbal skill, but this has helped me recognize some language structures that aid my aural comprehension and verbal ability.

            That sums up the day. Here’s wishing you a day of warm sunshine and smiles, Dear Reader.

Days 62, 63, 64

1, 2 and 3 avril 2011

Pictures of Park Phoenix, et al.

            It has been several days since I last posted on the blog. I hope you have not been worrying about me. This past Wednesday evening, the Internet and the cable TV reception “collided.” They come in on the same line at Michele’s house. So for now, it won’t be working until the “cable guy” can come on Monday or Tuesday. Michele found an Internet spot for me just around the corner. It costs 1 euro per 30 minutes, and the keyboards are French – more about that in a moment.  At school I have free access so my plan is to communicate from there each day. This will not work for Skype as the hours while I’m at school are not convenient for people in the States. This is frustrating for me, but even more so for Michele as it is an additional cost for her.

            Hopefully nothing else will “collapse” before I depart. Michele thought maybe the connection gave up because I spent so much time (one to two hours in the evening) online. It’s a logical theory, but I do hope it is for another reason and that the resulting fix will be better for Michele overall. Oh, the washing machine sounded really bad this morning when I did a load. My fear is that this will break down, too, and it will be because I’ve been doing two loads of laundry a week. Here’s hoping for the best.

            Yesterday, I purchased a “spring” gift for Michele – a potted gerbera daisy. It is a bright peach color. It added a lot to the table and now the garden. I hope that it will grow for Michele through the summer at least. She was very happy to get it.

            Friday evening we had a dinner at Casa Nissa, an establishment that features niçoise cuisine, to send off two of my good friends from school: Radovan and Rosa. I am sorry to see them go. The party was still hopping when I left at 11:15.

            Saturday afternoon I went to see the Museum of Asiatic Arts and Parc Phoenix with Wei Wei. These attractions are located side by side, across from the airport. It was great seeing everything with Wei Wei who is from China. We even found her home city on the map – it’s just southwest of Shanghai, on the southeast coast of the country. The park was beautiful, too. It included a large pond with ducks, geese, pelicans, swans, and of course some fish. There was a tank with otters and caged areas for kangaroos and macaw parrots. The planted beds and large fountain area were glorious on this sunny day. The botanical gardens had observation areas for iguanas, alligators, tortoises and flamingos. Many families were out enjoying the day with us.

            On the way back, we thought we could catch a bus going north on the other side of the street. But because the airport is right there, there were no stops in the direction we were going. We walked quite a ways to find one. It was still worth the ride, because the airport is quite a ways beyond the center of Nice where we live and go to school. I got home about 7:00 p.m.

            Today, Sunday, I went to Mass at Notre Dame. The pastor there gives a really fine homily. Now if I can say that and not understand every word, then he must be really good, no? The choir led the music, as it was Laetare Sunday.

After Mass, I had two messages on my phone. It took me a long while to figure out how to hear them – the instructions from the phone company are in French you see. I’ve discovered that “texting” a response saves me cent(ime)s, so I responded in this manner. The result: after the concert later today, I will see Vesna.

I went home for lunch, then off to Fatima’s apartment to help her with her college entrance essay. When I got to the front door of the apartment building, I realized that I did not know her apartment number: how would I let her know that I had arrived? She was not waiting at the door for me. I tried calling, since I had her number, but there was no answer. Then I doubted whether or not I had the correct number.

The only other way I might be able to reach her is via Facebook, so I walked to the Internet spot and paid my euro for 30 minutes. That time goes really fast when one must hunt and peck for the letters and numbers. The French keyboard has some significant changes. The biggest is that the “@” sign is a third symbol on one of the number keys. I could not figure out how to type it. After about six minutes of trying, I returned to the cashier. He did not speak English, but as soon as I started my French inquiry, he knew right away what my problem was and came straight to my assistance. After that, the time flew by. My first correspondence was with Fatima’s Facebook page, then a message to friends and family about my being out of the Internet zone temporarily. Just as I was reading Fatima’s reply, my time ran out.

Rather than adding more minutes, I walked back to Fatima’s apartment. I was not there more than two minutes when she came to the door. We worked for about 45 minutes then I was off to a concert at Notre Dame. The group was called “Polyphonius” and they had a fabulous blend: they fashioned themselves after the King Singers, I believe. Their repertoire was mostly sacred, but from renaissance to contemporary, including a good portion in English. It made me long for some real singing again.

After the concert I visited Vesna, but she happened to be busy moving furniture with a friend’s help. We decided that I would return later, which I did about 7:00. She had offered to me her computer so that I could talk to people at home, but by the time she and I set up the Skype account, I realized that I did not know how to change from one user to another. Oh well. After a little meal of soup, it was getting quite late for her, and me, so I left for home about 10:10.

Now the day is done, once again. Only three more weeks of school and then off I must go. I’m looking forward to that. Hav