la mode et les cours....
11:36 AMZara. Eff you and your stupid shoes. I legitimately walked one single tram stop and was gushing blood from both heels because I chose to wear my brand new shoes to my placement exam the other day. I would include pictures of my battle scars, but my feet are actually quite mangled after this last week and a half (am I in Europe, or in some rural village in Africa? I’m confused...) Afterwards, I tried to wear the flats as house shoes since I stupidly forgot to pack my brand new pair of LL Bean “Wicked Good Moccasins” (quel dommage…) but immediately shuddered from les souvenirs d’hier upon slipping them on. Shame on you, les soldes.
TODAY, in typical girl fashion, I pre-planned my outfit and dressed up for le premier jour des cours. Off I strutted to the tram in over-the-knee black leather boots, black tights, a tight mini LBD (semi-appropriate for day wear), a red oversized flannel, and a thick high-waisted black belt; an outfit which some of my American friends commented on and told me they liked, but no comments from outsiders or new friends. Perhaps that means my style is blending in with their daily Euro-lifestyle, and someday, maybe someday, I just might be mistaken for a real French native? A girl can dream.
BUT other things have happened recently besides my style choices, such as placement tests and classes! The placement tests went decently well, besides a minor meltdown in front of one of my future professors while trying to explain what a “sorority” is (Je suis...une....delta?...delta delta?" apparently does not translate well). I have found out how frustrating it is to not be able to express yourself easily in another culture, especially when the things that define you don’t exist in said culture. And on a related note, I learned today that the concept/word of “awkward” does not exist in French culture. French Ming is being forced into a very different person than American Ming très vite…..
Classes are pretty much “hit-or-miss” here. My language/grammar class isn’t horrendously difficult (I learned today that the students from other countries are not very difficult to understand when speaking French despite accent, phoneme, and cultural differences, thank GOD), and neither is one of the lectures I went to today. However, the one I attended yesterday on la litterature francaise et francophone was incomprehensible for the most part. I guess it never occurred to me that I would be taking college level courses in another language, which is INSANE when you think about it. I have a new respect for international students.
ALSO, I am (finally) learning to sketch clothing like fashion designers (a leftover thought from my Project Runway binge a couple weeks back), and am using it to plan my outfits for the next day. I'm also trying to label clothing pieces, colors, patterns, accessories, and days I plan on wearing the outfits alongside the sketches in order to help drill necessary words into my brain (necessary for me, at least).
a toute à l'heure (la petite phrase du jour),
ming.
2 comments
I TAUGHT MY HOST MOM AWKARD TURTLE!! she didn't really get it, and then out came the french/english dictionary, and i feel like that still left things unclear
ReplyDeleteFashion designer...YES!!! Hope you post your sketches...
ReplyDelete...