Not-So-Easy Street

Last night was the big ballet of Wuthering Heights at the Opera Garnier (and the official debut of my very cute new shoes), an incredible building that I believe is the most beautiful place I have been so far in Paris (and that is saying a lot).

I remember once I heard a children's story (I really cant remember where, though) about a little boy who goes to a big Broadway play for the first time with his grandmother and how exciting it was with the big orchestra and the old theater. Stupid, I know, but I felt just like the little boy in the story. I have never been in a huge theater like that, with boxes all along the sides of the audience, a huge orchestra pit, and the biggest stage I have ever seen in my life. This opera has an incredible history - Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte both attended productions there, the ceiling was painted by Chagal (one of my favorites) and Degas was inspired by its ballerinas.

I actually found the actual ballet kind of confusing and the seats pretty uncomfortable, but we had a terrific view of the whole theatre. I never would have figured out what was going on onstage had I not read the synopsis at intermission ( in the expensive program Mme Suraqui bought us). The dancers had a lot of trouble with unison at the beginning and it was never really evident when principle characters died. Edgar, husband of one of the leads, Catherine, just sat down on the couch and put his head down. I thought he was sleeping or something. But every single one of the male dancers wasn't exactly hard to stare at for two hours.

It was really exciting. Some friends and I are thinking we might buy tickets to Romeo and Juliet (cheap student seats in the nosebleed section) if they are not sold out already.

Oh, and I was almost late getting there because the stupid RER broke down on the way. I left an hour early (thank god) and had to switch to a metro line, then again to the RER, until I finally got there. I made it with just a few minutes to spare until the buzzer went off for the first act.

Today was a little harder than usual. It was pouring rain all morning and I totally lost my head getting ready for class. I forgot my homework, my pencils, and all the documents I needed for the meeting at the bank this afternoon. After class, I had to "run back" to Arcueil and get my stuff and leave again for the bank, where I was meeting my friend Kate.

I got off at a weird stop on the way to the bank and got lost inside the metro trying to get out (a new one for me) and then again on the way. It is SO completely frustrating living in a city that doesn't have letters and numbers like DC with absolutely no sense of direction. The meeting at the bank was totally in French (as is all my information on the account) and I still have to go through it all, although the woman was very helpful and sweet.

After that, a trip to APA to confirm some babysitting positions (hopefully, Ill have work for two families on Friday and Saturday afternoons). I also signed up (unofficially) for a cooking class once a week with about 7 other APA students. The school has decided to open up a class just for us at a convenient time for a reduced price. Very cool.

Back to Arcueil, where I had a heart attack over some recent bank account charges. I am having a really hard time with the euro/dollar conversion. In effect, it is slowly killing my spirit.

And now, the horrific truth about laundry day.

I have absolutely no idea what is going on.

It feels just like at home sort of. I gave my laundry to Francoise (there really wasnt much by my standards) and she started to seperate it by whites and darks. I'm still on the same page. Then, she tells me I have way too much laundry and I have to do it more often. It seems that what is by my standards one load is by French standards about 5. Im totally serious. And each load takes an hour. So she puts the laundry in the washer and turns it on. I asked her how she turned it on, and what I needed to do, and I got an answer along the lines of "dont worry about it".

An hour has passed and the family has now gone to bed and I have no clothes. The first load is sitting in the washing machine. I honestly think I am wearing sweat pants to class tomorrow. What do I do and WHY does no one ever explain their washing machines to me (Mom)?

I really dont feel right about giving her my clothes to wash all time (if Im legitimately gonna have to wash them at least once a week with these tiny loads).

Everyday is an adventure, I guess.

Love you guys. More later.

P.S. Ive been trying to upload pictures but there seems to be something wrong with the site right now. Ill try again later.