Room and Board

So admittedly I have not been keeping up with writing very well over the past month. Last night I was talking about the differences between college and "the real world" of young adulthood with a good friend from home, and she told me that in college she was constantly busy and worried about finals, papers, you name it. But now, she said, she isn't busy in the same way, but there are many different pieces of her life that she needs to think about all the time. Rent, insurance, bosses. These little things don't loom in the way that 25-page paper does, but they never seem to stop buzzing inyour ear. Add to her synopsis immigration papers and a language barrier, and you've got an assistant's life in Toulouse. All of this was my lengthy way of saying that for my first month here I've had to spend my ample free time concentrating on irritating details like getting my atm card (which took, I kid you not, more than 7 visits to my bank) rather than doing fun things like blogging and writing postcards and letters.

But here I have arrived! On the other side of the paperwork inferno... or as much so as I can be. I am living in a house in a residential neighborhood about 10 minutes from the city center by bus. It's a duplex, so we share one paper-thin wall with our neighbors (still haven't met them!). My housemate, or colocataire en francais, is a 22 year old french guy named Brendan. His girlfriend is also here 90% of the time. I like both of them a lot, and the don't speak english very well so I get to practice my French all the time. Here's my room below: it's simple but has a nice big bed. I'm working on the decor!

I have already met Brendan's family and been to dinner at his mom's house. She hosts foreign students often (currently they're hosting a student from New York) so their family is used to helping foreigners out, and probably also to understanding weird accents. They've told me that my accent is only slight and they wouldn't have known I was a native english speaker unless I told them! This is probably the best compliment I've received in France.

Tonight we had an 'extended' family dinner at our house, of which the participants were myself, Brendan, his girlfriend, his mom Marie Pierre, 13-year-old brother Alerie, and this other teenage boy whose association with the family I am still not quite sure of (these are the kind of misunderstandings I have learned to accept with the language/culture gap).

It was kind of potluck-- everyone preparing something or other. I made the entree, which I was extremely nervous about. I should clarify that "entree" means "appetizer" or "first course" in French, not "main dish" as it does in America. This makes a lot more sense, since it comes from entrer (enter)... aka to enter into the meal. Of course us dumb Americans appropriated the word incorrectly. In any case, not being a culinary genius, I first looked up "french appetizers" online. What I found was a bunch of recipes for cheese manipulated in some way or other. Here's another fun fact: the French never eat cheese before the meal. Cheese comes only after. So I ditched the anglo-style recipes and went with a simple spinach salad with apples and roasted walnuts. Not gourmet, but I thought it was pretty good!

It's such a fun experience to eat with the French. I like that they eat in courses. Meals aren't necessarily complicated; for example tonight we had my salad and a simple lasagna, with apple tart for dessert. But by serving the salad and waiting until everyone had had their fill of that before moving on to the lasagna, the meal lasted longer and we had more conversation.

As for me, I am slowly relearning how to cook for myself. I did some cooking last fall, but since living at camp I've really fallen out of the habit. Here in Toulouse I have no gargantuan kitchen to attend to my food needs (thank goodness... I couldn't take one more bite of summer camp food). So I am taking baby steps around the kitchen, getting bolder with my meats and recipes, and painstakingly stocking my cupboards with oils and spices. Not to mention trying every cheese France has to offer! I hope to soon write an entire entry about cheese. Ah the culinary joys of life abroad.... Bon appetite!