Bien sûr j’ai portée le verte aujourd’hui pour la fête de Saint Patrick!

I even explained the day to la prof, because there was absolutely no awareness of it here today.

Tired today. I have to think, Quel jour est-il? Ah, oui, jeudi. Hier c’était mercredi quand j’ ai présentée ma ville à la classe. I would love to say that it went perfectly, and that I knocked it out of the park. Truth is, it wasn’t a home run, nor a strike out. My friends today said it was great, and that they liked it.

(None of it would have been possible without the help of my brilliant daughter who coached me via video call on WhatsApp the night before helping me find a way to use my images in a slide presentation. We decided on Google Slides in PDF format. Bises to my girl! XOXO I only have my iPadPro with me, so it complicated things, technologically speaking. )

Here’s the rough part: Europe does not understand/use numbers the way WE do in America. So, when I opened with numerically describing the size of my country, and my town, little did I know, it was going to be the start of the critique when I finished. On-la-la! It wasn’t a mistake on my part, just something I didn’t know or think about. So American of me, I know. Lol! They don’t use decimal points, they use commas. So, saying that my country is 9.834 million kilometers, squared, needed correction. C’est la vie! (Imagine the critique if I’d gone all-American on her and said MILES! LOL! She’d probably still be talking about it.)

The high points included sharing the wonderful history of my town, and describing the Impressionnistes de Pennsylvanie and their history. I also shared photos of « home » during our beloved four seasons (en hiver, au printemps, en été, en automne) with the class — because a lot of them have never experienced this. La prof was beyond excited about all the animals we have. (Another detail I hadn’t considered!) My favorite part though, was when I explained that my town was only 3.67 kilometers, squared, with 2,528 inhabitants — and then added « Mais, depuis je suis ici à Paris… » that number is 2,527 right now — as I crossed out the 8 and changed it to a 7. Everyone got the joke, and that was a relief, and also fun.

On Tuesday, I decided I needed to do something about my hair. I ventured into a nearby hair salon that I’d been eyeing. (Talk about courage.) The shop was quiet, and I explained that I needed an appointment for color and cut. This went well. Demain? Oui. Tomorrow! I scheduled my appointment for Wednesday afternoon (yesterday).

So, après ma présentation, I went straight to the salon. What a wonderful experience it turned into. My stylist was quintessential française in every way, and a pure delight. She asked if I wanted coffee – mais bien sûr! – and I was served an espresso that knocked my socks off. I almost felt high it was so potent. We talked about my hair color, and I chose what I liked, and she concurred. As she worked on my hair, customers came in and out, and I really enjoyed hearing all the bits of conversation. I told her « Je crois que je pourrais rester ici tous les jours et apprendre plus de français qu’à l’école! » She told me I was welcome to do just that, and laughed. She also told me « Tu parles bien! » She said I speak classic French, which of course, is all I’ve ever been taught.

Then I had the longest hair washing of my life, which I loved. I was directed to her station, and sat down. After my hair was combed, she had me stand up. I stood so she could cut my hair. This was different, and I didn’t dare move my head. Their chairs don’t go up and down. When I had met her on Tuesday I told her my hair was very curly — she said she understood, and that her hair was also curly. (A bonding moment!) So, as soon as she started drying my hair, I knew she knew curly hair. My hair looked fantastic! I could have flown out of that salon. My hair was bouncing every which way and it put a skip in my step.

Today, after class, I stood in line to register for next semester. A conundrum. I’ve given French grammar 160 hours, plus another 120 hours in homework/projects. I’m ready for something new. I had enrolled in a conversation class, as I mentioned, but the online conversation class that started as A2, changed in one week to B2, including a new teacher and was not enjoyable. It was difficult to hear, and yeah, no. So, I thought an in-person class would be better, and had signed up for that. The counselor then informed me, that it started yesterday (not next week as I thought). Oh mon Dieu! Yesterday? Precisely when I was be-bopping around Paris with my new hair-do. OMG, how did I miss that?

Homework! I have hours of homework every night, and it’s all-consuming. So right then and there I made a decision. The counselor and I discussed my options. She removed me from the Saturday morning class, then she removed me from the class I missed (!) yesterday. We momentarily considered sliding me into the class in two weeks when it started over, but she said it would still be B2, and she didn’t think I would like it. She didn’t need to tell me twice. I agreed.

So, they refunded all my class fees, and I’m now enrolled in their Theatrical method of teaching French. It is not intensive, and meets in the afternoon only *3 days a week. Maybe this will be a class where I can actually USE all the grammar I’ve learned? I don’t know yet. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think it might be what I want, and it gives me scads of free time for museum visits, etc. Le yay!

*Correction

À tout à l’heure!