Les nouveaux amis

part of the group (on the right, 2 of our mentors, fellow students from Rennes)

New friends~ Strength in numbers has never been more applicable to my life than at present.  My "maternal tendencies" have a way of bringing out the best in me, whether that means forgetting my own discomfort or speaking a language better than when I am alone.  Yes, the group of American students soon to live in Rennes has arrived!!!  We are from everywhere in the U.S., and we are incredibly different, but we share the love of French that brought us here.  Signing the language contract (promising to speak only French with each other and our host families, at the hostel in Paris, and in the classroom area of the university) was one of my first and favorite activities with the group.  With that signature came the genesis of a safe environment, where we can and do try to speak French no matter the time, place, or situation.  I was afraid that we would speak too much English, but for these two days, even the least confident of the group have begun to communicate almost solely en français.

"le calzone"

            We also share the desire to go to Rennes and meet to people who will be our families for the next few months.  But that has not made us enjoy our time in Paris any less!  We went to Notre Dame yesterday, a Moroccan “Salon de Thé” (tea shop), the Université de Paris, and the Latin Quarter, where some of us finished the day at an Italian Pizzeria.  I of course had to order the most intriguing menu item, the calzone, described as a “soufflé,” with ham, mozzarella, and egg.  It was a bit like mixing a large American breakfast with excellent Italian pizza crust—quite enjoyable if one is VERY hungry from walking all over Paris for two days.  The rest of the group, almost in its entirety, ordered the pizza margarita, and although it would have disappointed my dad (because of the presence of sauce and lack of sliced tomatoes and whole basil leaves), they seemed to enjoy it… Today we had a tour of the “Hotel de Ville,” an official government building where all of the “important” visitors are received in Paris.  We, of course, were not important visitors but merely a group of tourists.  Nonetheless, the welcome was gracious, and we learned a bit of history to boot.  This building embodies the spirit of the Republic.  It is the people’s through and through, with paintings of countryside farmers in the sale à manger (dining room), a room that couples authors with tradesemen, artists with scientists, and a reception room that resembles Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors.  We finished the tour with a countryside scene, illuminated by electric lighting, the first in a government building in France!  

painting of the people at the hôtel de ville

        As much as I am ready to discover my French family, this time is a beautiful grace period.  We are finding our feet again after long travels and a few initial experiences of discomfort.  We are, as a group, growing into the experience.  From successfully asking for directions to ordering drinks in a French bar, we are becoming more fully ourselves, fostering the love that drives us all, love of a place and some beautiful words.  And tonight…Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur!  What better way to find our hearts than to find the “sacred heart” of Paris and to look out at the city of love and light in all of her splendor?