Part 2: 01/12/15 - 01/18/15
On Saturday, I had to go shopping to find
a warm coat in order to face the cold weather here. I went to Century 21 and
found a down coat with 50% off. This place is definetely the paradise for
shopping addicts. There is plenty of big discounts everywhere. There is even a
whole floor dedicated to "Haute couture".
Sunday, I had some rest to recover from my
hectic day of shopping...
Monday, I went to a French friend's home
to have a "real" meal (We miss French food!). As she lives in Harlem,
we strolled in the neighborhood. At night, I reached my former French roomate
and some friends of his in a jazz club, the Fat Cat. It seems to be a famous
place here. You can play ping pong, billards, chests or just have a drink,
while a band is playing live music jazz.
I have suscribed to a free website
"Conversation Exchange", which allows people to find a conversation
exchange partner. I teach French. In exchange, people teach me English. But,
there are a lot of other languages available.
On Tuesday, I met up
Dan in "cafe noir" in the Upper East side. He is a New Yorker and he
speaks French fluently. He happens to be in Paris last week, because he is
humorist and performed in French the warm up of the French humorist comte
de Bouderbala, who is a friend of him. The world is so small!
On Wednesday, I had an event with
Internations called "Internations talking French". It was a kind of
afterwork in a wine bar with people from all around the world who are fluent in
French. There were a few French people, but I was very impressed by the French
of all these foreigners. We spoke a lot about the terrorist attacks in France,
about the political correctness, and about the boundaries of the freedom of expression.
On thursday, I met up another conversation
exchange partner, Deepak in the Hudson hotel. The place was very fancy and
nice. There are several large rooms. We went to the library room, which is a
cozy place with shelves emptied with books, bools tables, and photographs of
cows wearing a hat on every wall .
Deepak is learning french on his own. He is
Indian. He originated Bangalore, but he used to study in a famous
college in Atlanta. He has been working for Bloomberg for 5 years. He is
married with an Indian woman. He likes watching French films like l’auberge
espagnole, intouchable, but also very old films that I have never
watched. I was very impressed by his knowledge of the French culture. He loves
Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg. His favorite French
song is "La mer" from Charles Trenet. He is very well educated and
interesting.
So, as you can see, my weeks are very
busy. I meet everyday amazing people!
And to conclude on a funny note, here is
the link of a very peculiar community "The Outdoor Co-Ed Topless
Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society". It's a kind of reading club which
encourages its members to read topless in Central Park. Their motto is
"Burn bras, not books".
New yorker seems to appreciate taking off their clothes in public areas...
As you must know, New York is expecting an
historic snowstorm... I am a bit afraid, but I made my grocery for the week
this morning. I just hope it won't be too harsh.
Cheers
Laëtitia
