Read, write, cook, BIKE!

Since I last filled you all in on our goings on here in gay Paree, one big important thing has happened: Charlie graduated from Basic Cuisine!!! The long hours in stressful classes have paid off (at least 1/3 of the way) and he proved to be a good enough chef to be allowed to move on to Intermediate Cuisine. He is now on his holiday break, or would be if he hadn't scored a chef's assistant position at his school for the next 6 weeks. So far, from what I understand, the big chefs are impressed with his work.

As for little ol' me, things are the same. My semester ends in a month and I have a large paper due every week from now until then and a final exam at the end of it all. I'm not too stressed about the writing, but I haven't exactly begun yet either. In fact, I still haven't chosen a topic for one of the papers. I'll get there. Mostly the exam is the scary part because I'm expected to pull all this theoretical stuff out of my brain on cue and in essay form, stuff which has not necessarily made it into my brain over the course of the semester. I don't think I'll fail (I better damn well not!) but I don't expect to wow anyone. I'll let you know how it goes...

Where non-school life is concerned, things are going pretty well. My French is still pathetic, although I learn new words every day, often thanks to my cheese lady, and have been practicing everywhere I go. I have even managed to make a couple of phone calls in French, which is no small feat. When I am out and about, I read signs and try to figure out what they mean and think about how to pronounce them. If there aren't too many people around I will just read things out loud. I'm sure people think I'm insane.

The last couple of weeks it has been getting colder here in Paris. The leaves are falling and we have had a few downright crappy, stormy days. You know, the kind that turn your umbrella inside out. This has happened to me repeatedly, in fact, and every time it makes me regret using an umbrella. I'm used to the more conventional hoodie method, but the rain here is not like Seattle's wimpy mist - it's REAL and will soak you to the core. It is also starting to look Christmas-y around here and from what I have seen so far, Europe is great at decorating for Christmas. There are beautiful light displays everywhere. I'm not talking about just hanging lights up randomly. They actually have giant lit-up, color/pattern-changing structures lining buildings, complex sparkly sculptures strung across streets and ridiculously elaborate shop window displays. The other day I walked out of class to find the Eiffel Tower being overrun by thousands of ants made of white light. It is absolutely gorgeous everywhere.

Along with trying to manage school work, I have also been attempting to take better care of myself mentally and physically so that I don't end up getting sick or having a nervous breakdown which, in the past, has been my college life pattern. As a result, I took up biking this week. And when I say "took up" that means I've done it more than once... thrice, to be exact. It's wonderful and I will try to keep doing it. It's a great way for me to get around considering the chronic ankle issue I have and I can check out and return rental bikes anywhere in the city. It's a little scary to ride in traffic, especially since I don't have a helmet yet, but there are plenty of parks to ride in too.

Anyway, as a result, the first chance I got I dragged Charlie out to ride bikes with me at the Bois de Bologne on the western limits of the city. It was a giant pain in the ass to get there and took me forever to figure out how to rent a bike, but once we got there it was great. As usual, I cooed at the animals while Charlie smoked. We both froze our asses off. Good times!

Here is the photographic/video evidence of the affair:

Arboreal vanity

Autumnmnmn

Hoodlum

Some crayfish die of natural causes.

It is not at all unusual to see people sucking face all over Paris, and parks are no exception. I think this statue was installed precisely to encourage such lascivious behavior. There are rumors about the goings-on in this park after dark too.

Taller than you.

And finally....