FRANCE, part 7

7.23.2007

One more week. Classes went by relatively quickly this morning; that is to say I wasn’t looking at my watch every five minutes. For lunch, I went to a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for quite some time. It’s kind of like a tapas restaurant, except French-style. I had chèvre with an aubergine caviar and some sautéed vegetables, completed with a nice glass of red wine. In the afternoon, I sat in the park and finished reading my last play. A little old lady came over and sat next to me. We had a little conversation, to the best of my language abilities, and I think she was very glad to have someone to talk to.
This evening was the night I had reservations for Le Roi Lear (King Lear), and so did, coincidentally, Françoise. It was in the Cour d’Honneur at the Palais des Papes, so I walked there and back with her and her friends. I was very much looking forward to seeing a performance on that gargantuan stage! Right before the show was supposed to start, though, it started to rain. I couldn’t help but think that if only we were in the Amphitheatre in Arles during the Roman ages, they could have just covered the whole courtyard with a giant tarp! Nonetheless, they waited out the rain, and an hour later, the stage was mopped and everyone was re-seated. I had much difficulty following the play because I am not familiar with the story in English. The first half was extraordinarily long. After a while, I was too tired to try and make sense of the language, so I instead observed the incredible technical and artistic aspects. They had a raked stage with all kinds of trap doors. As the play progressed and the king became more and more crazy, the stage broke into moveable pieces that drifted further and further apart. At one point, a stray cat came wandering across the stage! I started laughing because I thought that only happened at the BHP! Intermission finally came at around 1 am, and three of the students I was with left, leaving only Jessie and I—the hard-core theatre geeks. Fortunately, the second half wasn’t as long as the first, and it was full of stimulating combat scenes. I ended up getting back to the apartment at 3:30 am, but it was SO worth it. What an incredible experience to be able to see this first-rate production in the Palais des Papes! And the fact that my ticket was 13 euros blows my mind. Too bad I have class tomorrow at 9 am. We’ll see if I wake up on time…

7.24.2007

I did, indeed, make it to class this morning on time. Thanks to coffee and adrenaline, I felt pretty darn good! The only sign of my 4 hours of sleep, as my parents pointed out when I video-phoned them, was the huge bags under my eyes. Whatever; I’ll sleep when I’m dead!
After my penultimate morning of classes, I went to lunch at a restaurant called “L’épice and Love.” It’s a “franglais” play-on-words—“épice” means “spice,” but to an English speaker, it sounds like “Peace and love.” Anyhoo, I had one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time: egg-plant stuffed with spinach and a ricotta-ish cheese, followed by an ever-so-rich, but oh-so-delicious chocolate mousse. After the institute closed today, I went out with my usual group of friends for a drink. I am really going to miss these cafés when I get back to the US! Stupid 21st amendment… I ate dinner with Françoise and spent the rest of the evening working on my theatre essay and organizing my life for the next week. I have quite a bit to do in these last few days!

7.25.2007

As I expected, my fatigue caught up with me today. After History class, I went out to get a pastry for a mid-morning snack, and as I was walking back, a bee flew into my sandal. Before it could sting me, however, I stung myself by stepping on it. Fortunately, my super-calloused (fragilistc?) feet protected me from getting stung too badly. When I got back to the Institute, I was very tired and very out of it. For the second time, I have greatly regretted not bringing Benadryl with me. I went out for lunch and for dessert, I had a wonderful tarte aux framboises (raspberries). After that, I began to feel much better, even though my concentration was practically non-existent for the rest of the day.
My last theatre class was this afternoon, and afterwards, I immediately rushed off to see a show for which I had made reservations yesterday. It was part of the Festival In, and was a theatre-dance production in English called Nine-Finger about a child soldier. The energetic show was VERY bizarre, but I really liked it. It was what I’d call “experimental theatre,” pushing the boundaries and rejecting conformism. I’m not so sure the French audience received it as well, however. During the curtain-call, I think I heard some “boo’s,” but they could have been “whoo’s” too—I’m not sure.

7.26.2007

Je suis finie! It feels SO good to be done with my finals and to not have to worry about school work for another month. I took my history exam this morning, followed by my theatre exam this afternoon. Both were essay tests. I hate writing under time-crunches because I focus so much on the content that my grammar/style/form is defenestrated. (I love that word.) In between tests, I treated myself to a new pair of shoes. I bought what I originally though were some really ugly, but very European sandals. I tried them on with no intention of buying them, but they were just so comfortable that I could not take them off. While I’m still not convinced that they are cute, they are growing on me. ; ) After my theatre final—in which I got to write a lovely essay on “What is black? But first, what is color?”—I went out with my friends to drink some sangria in celebration. I came back for dinner with Françoise and then began packing. I HATE packing. My duffle back is ridiculously heavy, thanks to all my school books/papers/etc. Then I went to meet Jessie to see Swan Lac but when I got to the theatre, I found out that the show had closed on Monday. I was a bit disappointed, but c’est la vie. That would have been the 17th show I’ve seen, and for some reason, 17 just doesn’t sound as good as 16…ah, the psychology of numbers… Instead, Jessie and I walked around town and ended up having some hot chocolate at a café while reminiscing about our past 6 weeks. I am glad I took these classes (even though I complained about them so much), if nothing else, for this wonderful feeling of having finished them.

7.27.2007

This is the last time I will have internet until I'm home, so this will be my last post. Tomorrow I get on the train to Cagnes Sur Mer where I will spend the weekend with Andre and Danielle, my host parents from last year. Then on Monday, I will leave Nice at 9 am, and arrive in RC at 7 pm. A 24-hour day of traveling jammed into 10 hours...but then I'll be HOME!

As always, peace and love. See you soon!