this morning morning we all woke up and headed to a museum of music. It was really fun to see the old musical instruments. Our guide spoke a lot about the birth of opera. It's interesting to think of opera where the musical instruments used were quite different than they are now, i think there must have been a very different sound. at one point, the guide asked if anyone knew the difference between a harpsichord and a piano is and i thought he said if we would like to know so i said very loudly "yes" and then had to explain to everyone that i misunderstood. I realized after someone said the answer that i knew at one point because mom told me. Oh well. Apparently there is this instrument that looks like a cello only it has like twice as many strings. It was weird to see that. they also held the bow a lot different. In one painting, there was a man who was playing a violin looking instrument only he was holding it more like a guitar! Being there almost made me want to take the class because i want to know how to underdstand music better. The class is more about the history of music and, although it would help me understand my cello a bit better, i'm thinking it's not going to be in the way i want to. hm.. we'll see. i have a couple more days to decide. ugh.
After that, Ricks' whole family came to meet with us for lunch. we couldn't find anywhere close and the boys decided they wanted McDonals. As tacky as it is, i miss hamburgers and none of us objected to the idea. It was also pretty cheep for food and all of us are feeling the expences right now. it was just a tad embarrassing being obviously american in there but it was a good cheep meal and i got fed french food by the family that night anyways.
after that, Courtney, Ariel, Chelsea, haley and i went on the second marais walk. I have to write blogs about the walks i take so i'll just quote what i wrote here so you can know more about it. "The second walk was pretty fun but it would have been so much better if the Picaso museum had been open! We wondered what would take till 2012 in there to finish. We had the same problem in Saint Chapelle, too. We didn't get to buy any falafels this time because we had just eaten but i def want to go back to get some. The Musee Cognacq-Jay was pretty cool i guess, but i was surprised by all the somewhat erotic paintings it had in there and how women were often displayed with their tops coming off and the like. I suspect that was all during the romantic era and when realism started to become popular too. I could really relate to how many realist works point out the hypocrisies of the romantic genre while i was in there. I almost feel like even with the two walks in the Marais, we missed a lot of the cool stuff that's there. One of these days when I'm all done with the walks, i'm going to go back with my little Paris guide book and figure out what i missed." After the walk, Haley took us to a really cheap thrift store there that had ten euro coats and all sorts of stuff for pretty cheap. a lot of it was pretty crappy but there was also some really cute things. Haney found this pair of over the knee boots (flats) that were super cute but just a bit tight on my feet. It's probably a good thing they didn't fit that well or i would have been EXTREMELY tempted to buy them. i didn't get anything in there cause it as a little crowded and i had the beginnings of a migraine so i skipped out for that trip. Maybe i'll take the girls there when my family comes to get me!
Ok, i thinhk i'm going to quote those more for you guys so you can know more about my walks, but if you want more details about my past walks, here's the blog i have to write for my class: http://pariswalksjournal.blogspot.com/
So the other day, i wrote a post card to one of my missionaries who hasn't written me in about 4 months. It read something like "write me, jerk!" Well, it turns out that when mom came home, there was a package from him waiting for me there. It had chocolate and pictures and a tape recording and a letter. Now i feel bad about the post card, lol. I'll have to write to him to appologize but i almost want to wait till his letter gets here in france so i can write him a better letter. oh the bad timing...
Just had dinner with the family. The oldest girl was here. I didn't catch her name though. I saw her fiance again. His name is Remi and they both speak english pretty well. it was nice to take a break from trying to speak french all the time. it's good that i practice so much. Speaking french is difficult because when i write it, i am able to think about conjugations and the like and take my time but when i'm speaking i really have to know those off the top of my head. Well the parents had a date or something so they left while we were eating. lauren brought a friend of hers. I was mostly quiet the whole time beause all the kids were having fun talking to each other. Lauren's boyfriend came over at the end of dinner and he bent over and did the little kissy cheek thing before i could stand up so that was funny. He's pretty cute. a tall blond hipster looking guy. he has scratchy cheeks. I didn't know if he was her boyfriend so i tried to ask lauren. i always learned that petit-ami means boyfriend but she didn't understand and so i said boyfriend. I don't know, i guess they have a different word. I told her we always learned "super chouette" (i never learned how to spell that) to say cool and she looked confused. when she figured it out she busted up laughing and told her friends who started laughing. apparently long after i went into my room they laughed about it and said it over and over again jokingly. that's what courtney said. glad i can entertain them. :) I wonder what sort of english words they learn that are super archaic.. like groovy or something. For dinner we had rice with a sauce that had sea food in it. It wasn't freaky sea food like one would expect. There was salmon, cod, shrimp, and i assume it was crab but it may have been something different. and mushrooms. it was ok. not my favorite here.
Well all the kids are hanging out in the living room, and i'm just chilling in my room... as always. i can't wait till i'm comfortable enough wtih my french to just join them. I'm also listening to good american music on my computer and i want to sing along to it. too bad these doors are def not sound proof. oh well. and my hair looked really bad at dinner. it as really frizzy after my nap. oh well
ok, well i'm sending this tonight even though i sent one yesterday :) And Katie: i bought the last of that shirt from the store :( :( i was going to buy a matching white one but it had a hole in it so i ended up not. I'll keep my eyes out for something cute for you, though. if not, i'll take you shopping when you come! <3
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