Grrrr i'm so annoyed right now. We had/have a class this morning with Monsieur le Grand - some freak obsessive french man who likes Zola's books far too much. Anyway, it was meant to go for an hour and a half. After wasting 45 minutes on rubbish group work - which is my absolute pet hate - it wastes time, you don't learn anything, and it's generally pointless - he then gives us a 20 minute break at the time that the class is meant to finish, and then expects us to come back! i was hoping to go online, talk to people etc and no, he's going to bring us back for more.
You know, if he hadn't wasted time with group work he wouldn't have extra things to tell us.
Also, Sylvia is creating a new class for us to have tonight, so a night i previously thought was free is now not free.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
In other news, half tempted to stop going places i'm not terribly interested in with people and start going around paris myself. I really want to go shopping - i think people have said the quartier latin has good clothes - and i'd rather waste my money on clothes.
anyway, just generally annoyed at the moment.
going out this afternoon - kill me now please!
xx
PS: thanks for the comments y'all
PPS: it's flash-flooding in Melbourne? i went on the age online - is this true? I thought it was 30+ degrees over there...
Later: (6.09pm)
Sarah fainted in class! (luckily at about the time that the class was meant to finish). And then M Le Grand got offended when we replied "no" when he asked us whether we wanted him to finish! I am absolutely loving Wayne - he went all Dr on her, he's also a really really nice man - doesn't treat us like we're any less than him. Wayne rocks. Go wayne.
(To his credit, James also came to the rescue - after a few minutes).
We had lunch - it was terrible tasting.
Then we went into the city - did a big walk around all of these places where shopping developed - you'd think it would be interesting - it's not. Then Sylvia tried to lecture us inside La Fayette - which is this huge myer-style department store in the city - bad move Sylvia, couldn't hear a single word you said!
then went shopping in La Fayette. So expensive, i nearly had a heart-attack and died. But then i am willing to splurge if i find the items of my dreams, no matter the shitty euro. I am really in a shopping mood. Things i want to buy:
* new boots - finish just before my knees
* new coat - short (well, finishes just under where my jeans start); fits tightly around my middle - sick of looking fat with big poofy jackets)
* new umbrella - good looking is the important thing, i don't care if it costs $60 australian
Nothing else in particular. Everything is soooo expensive here - even cheap tourist souvenirs - the general rule is that if in Australia you would pay $10 for it, it will be a reasonable price if it is 11 euro. It's just that ridiculous. So to the few people i'm buying presents for (family) - don't expect expensive presents people - it will be expensive, you just won't look at it and think "wow, nicola spent a lot of money on this". Just trust me that i did.
Um... After more than a week of the french diet i am thoroughly sick of it. The problem with our only cooked meals being served at CIEP is that if we don't like it, our meal is bread. I hated lunch today, so what did i eat? potatoes and bread. Breakfast is also yucky for me - usually bread, cornflakes or some weird cheese/yoghurt thing. I am seriously craving italian food - it's always been my favourite kind in Melbourne, but i need its colour. Tomorrow i think i might just skip the CIEP meal - i think it's dinner - and throw my money away by buying a small pizza. Or maybe i'll have pizza for lunch and then just have a salad at dinner - if the dinner is "au self", that is (whether it is or not varies). Au self is better because at least that way you can choose to have vegies. When it's a sit-down meal there is no choice in the menu, and sometimes it's absolutely disgusting.
In other news... mum, i think i'm becoming a pseudo-vegetarian. Don't have a heart attack - i hav meat when it's not obviously the dead body part of some small animal. For those of you who don't live with me... the few weeks before i left for Paris, i have been experiencing serious guilt / my stomach feels sick when i'm blatantly eating meat - mainly because my beautiful little bunny looks at me with his beautiful little eyes (i know, it's not rational, i've never eaten rabbit). By the way - i love you jed! But now in France - they don't even bother disguising the fact that they're eating dead animal. It's never meat in a pasta (i've not had pasta at all here... it's depressing me, it's my favourite food!), or in a mince, oh no. It's a full leg - top and bottom - of a chicken, with the strings and sinnews and you can see where it's foot was chopped off. Disgusting. Why can't they integrate their meat at least???
That's about it. I lost one of my diet cokes this morning (i put them on the window sill to cool because we don't have fridges here). i shall mourn it, even though Diet Coke here tastes like rubbish compared to coke at home. I've been drinking espresso coffees with heaps of sugar sometimes to sustain me if i need a big wake-up - they're not too bad - but it probably won't continue in Australia once the diet coke a) doesn't cost $6 aussie dollars b) tastes normal.
In a final point, i'm starting not to enjoy the academic aspect of this course. I found it interesting - the powerful people's use of propaganda when shaping the city, and seeing all the great monuments of Paris was kinda cool. Now it's all boring rubbish about how someone built a building that we can call the first ever shopping centre (like Highpoint). Big deal. Give me history with grand kings with political decisions and trying to curry the favour of the populace, give me castles, give me hygeine and water problems, don't give me "it was raining when they went shopping so they were sad. Then they put rooves over the spaces inbetween the shops and they were happy" fifty times over. You belie your own intelligence, as well as my own.
Also, ana has an incredible way of writing (not handwriting). Her use of descriptive words is amazing. I could never do that - i'm a practical writer. Also a bitchy one, as this entry demontrates.
That's all from me. My head hurts, and we have another class tonight! Kill me now. xx
Afterwards, 9.42pmI had a shower before the class, and ate my bread with butter. Felt much better - able to tolerate the class more, feeling generally more positive and whatnot. I'd remove the bitter angry annoyed aspect to my above post, but hey, it's what i was feeling at the time.
In final news for the night: my room still has steam in it from my shower 2+ hours ago.
And french iceskating boys won't stop messaging ana! ooooooooo
And am going to complain to BHV tomorrow - wish me luck! (they charged me twice for the one transaction).
a plus mes amours!!! xxxxxx
