And today was a day just like any other...actually, just kidding. I woke up around 9:30 this morning and got ready to go to the market! There were a lot of vendors and I bought some fruit, potatoes, and chicken for my meals this week. The open air market is held every Wednesday and Saturday and the closed market is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I only spent 11 euro for my food. I thought that was pretty good!
After we came and unpacked the food for the market, the dad and I walked around the neighborhood. I bought the code to recharged my cell phone and after we took a walk in a small park nearby. In my neighborhood also is L'hotel de Ville. It's a beautiful building, especially since it is all lit up at night! It was a bit chilly out today, but the walk was nice.
When I came home, I attempted to charge my phone. What an ordeal. I had a code and knew the number to call, but when I called the lady spoke in French so quickly that I didn't know what to do. After 30 minutes of researching online, I asked my host dad to help me. He was able to interpret and we got it loaded.
Since it was a lazy afternoon, Danielle and I decided we would mapquest the way to find each other and meet half way and hang out. I asked my host mom if Danielle could come with me to mass and she said of course and that she could come over as well. Remember when CIEE told us that we can't ask for our friends to hang out over the house until at least a month and a half into the program and only IF we have a good relationship? Yup, that's right! Oh well. I have the nicest family ever. So I went on my merry way to find Danielle.
What an adventure. First, I turned the wrong way down my street. Realized about 10 minutes down. So I walked the other way and tried to follow my directions. After a bunch of phone calls to Danielle and walking quite a while, I called her back saying JE SUIS DANS LE 17ème ARRONDISSEMENT! Yup, that means I walked all the way to Paris....So now would be the time to head back to le banlieu. I asked a few more people how to get to the street Danielle was on, and ended up close by my house. I had to ask another person and realized I went the completely wrong way and it was back up where I just was (but before I got to Paris obviously). Needless to say, about an hour and ten minutes later, I found Victor Hugo Blvd and Danielle! Oh mon Dieu!
We came back near my house for some bread/pastries and then went to a cafe. Finally we got to relax. We went over to my house close to 17:30 because we were going to leave for mass. It was a special mass tonight since all the boyscouts were going to be there and it only happens once a year. We drove to church with the family, which was a surprise to me since I didn't know they had a car. It was funny when my host dad pulled up to a corner and actually parked there. Driving in Paris is very different than back home!
The church was huge and had a beautiful architectural design, like many of the buildings in Europe. It was unlike any other church I have been in being that it was very long. We sat towards the back and I couldn't even see the Priest. The rhythm was the same as mass at home, but they didn't have books so it was hard for me to follow. Overall, it was a great experience.
After church, Danielle and I went out to a Mediterranean restaurant on rue de President Wilson. I found that street name to be one of the funnier ones. The place was tiny, but the food was delicious. After dinner, we wanted to go out to a bar but everything is 'trop cher' around here. We decided to get some icecream and then called it a night.
I walked Danielle to the bus stop right outside my house, but we realized the buses don't run at night. Oh no! We didn't know what to do, so we came into the house to try to figure out how she could get back. We decided on calling a cab and hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to communicate. But of course, it was another voice recording and we didn't have the Parisian zip code. Luckily an operator came on the phone and understood Danielle. Right after Danielle hung up, she got a text message saying that her taxi will arrive in 7 minutes at the address she just gave her and told her what number the taxi was and what car it was. Very sophisticated. France, I love you!
Qui ne risque rien n'a rien
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