First Week...

Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004324&l=58595&id=1173293194

My first week in France is now behind me, overall a good week. The last several days I have had the pleasure of going to dinner with another young American who had spent a few months at the same office in Sully (I'm living in Orleans, working in Sully-sur-Loire). It was quite interesting to see this brash and bold American interact with the polite French waiters. He is a friendly guy with a good heart. Most of us try to adapt to a culture, letting the locals take the lead, but he had no such qualms and barged ahead as if he was bellying up to the bar. I almost laughed out loud as he asked questions in a typically blunt manner. After seeing the way the French converse in a social situation, the difference was dramatic. But the locals didn't seem to mind, they are somewhat embarrassed that they can't speak English better (as I am embarrassed that I can't speak French). And at the restaurants where he frequented the wait staff remembered what his tastes were and served ice cream without the typical whipped cream for him. It seems a harmless brashness is acceptable in a foreigner.

Unfortunately his flight for the States left this morning, so this evening I dined alone. The menus typically have the option of choosing a "menu": salad, entree, and dessert for a given price, then allowing 4 or 5 choices for each. Tonight I had a typical French salad: lettuce with a few tomato slices and a slice of toast cut into 4 triangles with a disc of goat cheese on each triangle of toast. I chose pizza with "jambon" (ham) for the entree. The ham is thin sliced as in a sandwich, spread over the thin crust with cheese, and an sunny-side-up egg centered the pizza. Dessert was tiramisu, excellent! The wine selection covered an entire page of the menu, but not being a wine connoisseur, I chose one of the 2 beers on the menu: the "1664" over Heineken. Not a surprise, it was a light beer.

This afternoon I had my first French lesson with a nice lady named Isabella. I am happy to learn, it is frustrating to know only "bonjour" and "merci". I tried my best, but I'm not sure how easily I will learn. After 90 minutes talking almost exclusively in French my head was spinning. She placed pictures of 4 people on the table, with names beneath them, drawings representing marital status, and flags, then asked me questions in French while I struggled to answer based on her prompting. There are sounds that I struggle to pronounce, particularly the oo and u sounds are unique in French, and there were a few words that required speaking as if your nose was clogged, something I usually avoid doing.

This weekend I am planning to visit Normandy and see the WW2 battlefields. I'm assuming this isn't on Shereen's list of top places to visit, so I think I am safe going on my own.