Saying 'hello' to the French, and to French culture

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Editor's note: Second-year Cottey students are in Paris, France, on an annual trip filled with required educational modules and with opportunities for soaking up the local culture as well. This is the first of a series of reports on the experience from Cottey College's public information director Steve Reed, one of the chaperones for the trip.

Bonjour Mama! (Hello Mom!)

We have arrived safely in Paris, my favorite city. No troubles to report. One of our Cottey flights that was routed through Chicago was canceled and those students were routed elsewhere. All's well that ends well; we're all here.

The first day is always the most difficile (difficult) as we are all tired and we're moving around even though our bodies are telling us it's the middle of the night (because it is at home). We got to our hotel around 10 a.m., which was too early to check in. We locked up our bags in a conference room, freshened up a bit and met our EF tour guide, Stephanie. She has a British accent from living in England for 10 years, but is a native of France and has lived in Paris the last four years.

Our hotel this year is in the Montparnasse area, which is sort of south central Paris. Our walking tour and Metro orientation covered the Opera and Louvre areas which are due north of Montparnasse.

We took a break in the Louvre carousel which is a shopping area/entrance to the Louvre museum. Stephanie told us there was an ATM "just 'round the corner" and we could take a quick lunch break as it was after 12. Most of us did not yet have any Euros, so we were off in search of the ATM. After about 30 minutes of fruitless searching, four students and I gave up. I led them back up to the street where I knew we could find one. ATMs are everywhere in the city. We quickly found one, but it was out of service. We found another. Again, it was down. I was beginning to think we were going to spend the day broke and hungry, but the third time was the charm. We were all able to get cash. We went back to the food court with disposable income and empty stomachs.

I ordered a tuna and mozzarella panini and an orange Fanta. I was pleased that I could order my "thon panini avec mozzarella" and didn't have to resort to pointing and saying "un, s'il vous plait." (uhn, see voo play=one, please.) I didn't study my French as diligently as in previous years, so I'm glad I can remember a few things.

On the Metro back to the hotel, Courtney, one of our students, got roped into a conversation with a local boy. I thought it might be some guy trying to flirt with her, so I stayed close to make sure nothing weird was going on. Courtney has had two years of French at Cottey and knows more conversational French than I, so it was interesting to see her struggle occasionally. Talking to a native speaker is so much different from textbook learning. On more than one occasion, I heard Courtney tell him, "Je comprends un peu." (zhe com prahn uhn puh = I understand, a little). Still, she did a very good job of explaining we were on a school trip (voyage). I was quite impressed with how she handled herself. We have some pretty good students with us, Mama.

After a shower and a change of clothes, several of us wanted to get a bite to eat before turning in early. (My goal was to stay up til 9 p.m.!) We went to a little bistro about two blocks from the hotel. I found a great alternative to expensive dinners, Mama. Omelettes are cheap and filling. I had a "mixte" (meeskt) omelette with hash browns and "jambon" (zham bone = ham). Very good and so much food I couldn't eat it all.

Oh, one more thing, Mama. I saw an advertisement for an English-language production of "Oklahoma" playing in Paris this month. After our recent successful run of "The Sunshine Boys" for the CCPA, I'm wondering if a Paris production is in order. Call Al Fenske and have him round up Charlie, Mike, Vicki, Tim, Lynn, Edi, March and Kim. Alfred has a cousin living over here somewhere, and I'm sure she could help with the arrangements. Have someone bring my script. I should probably brush up on my lines.

Monday will be our bus tour and then afternoon exploring on our own. Can't wait to tell you what adventures we find tomorrow! A demain ('til tomorrow)