Quelques Pensees // More Thoughts

Paris in the Rain is SHIT.
A month ago I saw the film, Midnight in Paris,

The protag. is named Gil.
A successful screenplay writer.
Fiance a une belle et jeune femme riche qui ne l'apprecie pas.
Anyway, even though he can't speak French, he finds Paris gorgeous, stunning, aweful. His future in-laws couldn't give a stuff, and take taxis everywhere- this is hugely unrealistic in my opinion, because getting around Paris in a taxi would waste so much time. Paris is an extremely hard city to drive through. FOOLS.

According to him: // D'Apres lui:
Cities have transcendental beauty in the rain.
Paris is better in the rain.
While his fiancee spends a minute exploring the insides of her eye sockets, he bullshiterbates along this line of thoughts (je pense que si t'es pas anglophone, tu ne vas pas arriver a comprendre ca.)
I think the writers thought that it sounded nice and poetical.
Being in that rain as opposed to eating biscuits and patisseries in the Ritz in the 1er watching the rain are two very different things altogether. Yesterday (as now it's almost 00h30) I spent about 45 minutes dans la pluie en raison d'avoir oublie ma para-pluie chez moi. Quel Malchance!!
Anyway, I passed the Pantheon and walked around the 5th. I love how close everything in Paris is. It's about a 25 minute walk from Uni to the Notre Dame. From my appt. in the 11th  it's only a 1h45 walk.
I ended up taking a very circular path. It was a bit nostalgic walking around there en retrouvant all the streets and shops I saw in the first week I arrived in Paris. I realised how much of an impression it left on me- I was only there for about 4-5 days yet it seems as if I spent 2 weeks there. I've changed so much since then.

A little less afraid, more confident, I'm a parisienne now, I know where I'm going and what my purpose is.

UNORIGINAL MEN
When sleazy men call out to me on the street, it doesn't bother me, I don't even look at them.
I make like a french girl and keep on walking with purpose, orientation- quoi.
If anything, it's a bit repetitive. Come on guys, be a little bit more original!

• Being asked for "a little French kiss" outside a pub in Chatelet-Les-Halles.
• Salut!
• T'es manifique!
• Ca va
• WOW!
• Kissy noises at me.
• Wolf-whistled

Not trying to claim at all, because this happens to most girls. Especially foreigners.
I probably stand out here because at one end of the bell curve.


PARISIENNE, MAIS PAS FRANCAISE

• Everyone here has beautiful olive skin // I have rosy, white skin. Go figure
• French: Dark Hair // Tori: Blonde
• Dark Eyes // Blue eyes 
• ACCENT. This depends on how much English I have been speaking that day, how much time I've spent alone, how many lessons I've had that day. It's easy enough to transition into English, but harder to do the inverse. 

TANGENT
[Trust me, Paris is much better when you can speak the language, I'd recommend even enrolling in a short course at Alliance Francaise at least if you don't know any French]
Je peux pas comprendre ceux qui adore la culture francaise, qui parle de la cuisine francaise mais qui n'apprennent pas la langue du pays. Je comprends que tout le monde n'est pas doue pour les langues, c'est bien la realite. Ce n'est pas a moi a juger, mais d'etre citoyen du monde, il faut faire des efforts quand meme.

Mais, j'suis que snob. J'suis qu'une jeune meuf snob. C'est Verlan pour toi.


Voice Memos 
Possibly one of the best functions of my iPod Touch.
Why?
Because I can record my lessons. One of my teachers speaks insanely fast and the words slip out of my head before I can write any coherent notes. I like to play her at half-speed (in theory, only just started to do this).
Also because I can record groovy buskers on the street.