Integration Weekend wrap up

We got back from La Rochelle last Monday, La Rochelle was the not so secret destination for our integration weekend.  Not so secret because I guess someone had leaked the name of the city a few days before but we all were not sure if it was true or not.  So when we eventually found out where we were headed the surprise factor was gone.  Anyway we had to depart Cergy at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday (try 5:20am!).  Of course there was a little drama, one student managed to get lost and another missed the train...but it all worked out in the end and they made it to La Rochelle eventually.  La Rochelle is a beautiful port city in the south-west region of France, and it was the perfect destination for this weekend.  We caught the train to La Rochelle and then had to get on a chartered bus to Vende where we stayed for the weekend.  Prior to the weekend, we had been given a list of requirements to bring with us which included things like sleeping bags, torchlight, speedos for men (YEAH, that was quite clear too...no shorts/trunks!), and also alcoholic beverages from our country.   Just so you know how much business these people meant, immediately we boarded the train bottles of vodka, rum etc. started opening all over the train car.  I thought I had been de-sensitized earlier to the level of alcohol consumption when on our first orientation day they actually served wine with lunch...but that was obviously nothing!  When I say it was a drinking fest on that train ride, I definitely mean it. It was just complete madness during the entire ride.  A few ppl had walked around in the beginning making sure that every single person had a shot of one drink or the other.  We arrived our destination before noon and a lot of people were definitely shit-faced by then.  

The kicker though, is when we arrived the 'camp-ground' we would actually be staying in for the weekend. It was an old farm that was restored to a kind of vacation site with individual family units - what they called bungalows...however, you guys in the states would understand them better as trailers.  Yeah men, I came to France and got my first trailer park experience :).  But what was even more interesting was that for us each of the 'bungalows' were co-ed. In my bungalow, there were three of each sex, and two bedrooms, so me and one girl slept in one room with a double bed, the third girl had to sleep in the other bedroom with one guy but thankfully it had two single beds and the last two boys slept in the livingroom. I think one bungalow even had only one girl in it. I'm just like whoa!  You give us lots of alcohol, you take us to a lovely destination, and you mix up the genders in a small space...there will really be lots of integrating going on!  

So Day 1 - we visited a local market in Vende immediately upon arrival, then went to settle into our homes for a little while, had lunch and then set out again to visit a vineyard. We had to listen to the whole winery presentation (blah) after which they served us their wines -  white, red, rose and we also had some excellent brioche (yeah!).  At this point I started to feel really bad, I had a headache, felt really woozy and felt a slight nausea.  We headed back to our campground  and played some more team games...team work is definitely a big thing here at IMHI.   One of the games we played involved each team trying to form the longest line with articles of items off our bodies and being as creative as possible.   In the first round we pretty much used clothes, shoes, etc. and then we laid down on the floor to use ourselves to elongate the lines as much as possible.  We thought this was as radical as you can get, but tell me why in the second round, they all started stripping to their underwear.  Like the guys were down to their briefs (u know boxers are really an american thing) lol!  Even this one older lady had stripped down to her panties.  It was hilarious!  And here I will mention again the notion of France being REALLY liberal...no qualms whatsoever in taking off clothes at the drop off a hat.  Later, when we remarked to the lady, who must be in her 30s or 40s (she's french btw), about how brave she was to take off her clothes in public like that, she simply just dismissed it saying "whats the big deal? it's just underwear, just like it could have been my swimsuit". Its totally not the same thing for me but I guess different strokes for different folks right?

Anyway, fun and games continued on but by dinner time I was feeling absolutely horrible. I couldn't eat or stand being close to food, I went back to my room and got sick for the first time in like forever.  Sorry to be giving you gory details but, you have to take the good with the bad please.  Anyway, I decided to rest for a while and I felt better especially after throwing up...so in true Dami fashion, what do I do?  I decide to head back out to join the party.  It was great, they had a dj booth set up in the multi-purpose hall where we had dinner so it was our own little club right there. After shaking my tail-feather for a little while and getting a healthy dose of alcohol in my system, I decide to head back to rest up for the rest of the weekend.  Most of my classmates shared the same consensus especially considering the fact that they had started the madness pretty early in the day, so it was an early night for most of us.  

Day 2 - I wake up to news that one of my 'bungalow' mates had gotten sick in the toilet in our bungalow...thankfully someone else discovered it so I didn't have to deal with anymore vomit.  I was feeling much better that day so it started out great.  The activities that morning were either soccer or aquagym, and I wasn't interested in either. So I just laid down on the sidelines of the soccer field where a group of us were watching the players and knocked out on the grass.  Sun burning on my face, dewy grass underneath...it was glorious...

*pardon-moi, mais the rest of the weekend and more on what's happened so far this week will be continued in next posts, its past 3:30am now and my bed has my name all over it right now*

Intro to French Men 101 - Part deux

So to continue where I left off about the french guy, It Ain't seemed quite interested.  I mentioned that I lost my itunes library when I changed computers and he invited me over to get some of his music.  Dude had a ton of music!  He's a real music lover, had really great music in his library and a wide range too so that really got my attention.  He also gave me a ton of stuff to help furnish my room, you know just being an over-all gentleman so when he asked me out to dinner that friday I definitely had no hesitations.  

He didn't tell me where we were going to go, just that it was in Paris and that I should dress 'fancy' so I was even more excited.  The week continued with phone calls, text mesages, random visits and all that silly flirty stuff that in my mind made me build up the date even more. At the most I guessed we would probably do dinner and visit a really nice hotel because earlier we had a conversation about boutique hotels.  I just got this feeling that he spent a good deal of effort trying to plan a nice time for us...boy was I right!  So friday morning I got a really sweet text message from him in which he also mentioned that he got a car for the evening so he could pick me up from school whenever I was done and bring me back home before we head out to Paris.  Ok I'm digging this :)  

But then unfortunately things took a turn in the wrong direction after this point...you just have to keep reading.  So I had to stay late in school that day, working on a group project and I didn't make it back home till about 11pm, the whole time he was texting me to ask where I was and when I would be done and I was feeling bad about messing up plans especially since I had gotten kinda tired and wasn't feeling up to going out anymore.  When we were done, I got a ride back home, and headed to his room first to break it to him that I didn't want to go out anymore ( I thought this would be nicer in person than over the phone), and he's like yeah we missed the dinner reservation and its too late for dinner now, but we could still go out for drinks and stuff...and here's the kicker - he tells me that it was supposed to be a surprise, but that I should pack an overnight bag because he got a hotel room in paris for me!!!  With my slow self, I'm still like hmmm...a hotel room...I head to my room and on the way back it hits me like, wait does he realize what that means?  I call D who has lived in France before and is more knowledgeable about the culture so maybe I was just over-reacting but she pretty much felt the same way.  So I call him back to decline this rather 'tempting' invitation, he actually didn't sound surprised, he apologized and explained why he thought a hotel was a good idea - he wanted to maximize the time in paris, didn't want me to worry about getting back home really late, etc.  But I'm thinking what was the car for then, and if he meant well why won't he have asked me in advance if I was ok with getting a hotel room.  Lets just say I dodged a big one there by being a dilligent student and working late with my group because otherwise I would have been out with him and probably after dinner, he would have told me about this bright idea of his and it would not have been pleasant.   Thank God, is all I can say.

The next day I got a text from him inviting me to go tour chateau de versailles but I was in class and didn't respond until later in the evening and in the response I mentioned that D and M would want to come too.  Well that def didn't get me a response until about later in the night so he maybe he had some plans at versailles too. Who knows, the whole thing was just a little weird, not sure how to anaylze it all so I'm just taking it as a good story to tell.  

Anyway thats the framework of my experience with french men so far...they come on really strong.  But we'll see what happens next.  Tomorrow we're all going away for our integration weekend...so fun!  It was organized by the student association of the program who are students in their 2nd year and so a few 2nd year students will be coming.   I am excited to go away, we don't know where we're going, just that its another region in France. Everyone is hoping its the south, for nicer weather but I'll just be glad to discover a new place.  And of course I'll let you know all the interesting occurrences. LOL.

Intro to French Men 101 - Part un

Ok so my very first day in France, like a cliche what happens?  Of course, I meet a French man :)

He goes to my school (ESSEC) and he's a 2nd yr in my hospitality MBA program (IMHI)...pls remember these acronyms because I'll refer to them often.  Anyway, so Day 1 in France, I am touring my residence with M, another new American student at IMHI, when we stumble upon one of the gym rooms.  As we're going in, this tall, dark-haired guy is coming out. He obviously just finished working out as he was drenched in sweat and ripling...oooh la la.  We all say bonsoir and keep moving, and then he comes back because he recognized M from facebook; a former student had put them in touch because M had bought some furniture that he was holding.  So we introduce ourselves and he promises to invite us out that weekend.  The next day we get an email from him (he will be known as It Ain't henceforth, you'll find out why) doing just that and we decide to go out with him to dinner at a nearby restaurant and then an ESSEC party in Paris.  Dinner was cool, he seemed really nice, talked quite a bit.  But I got a good vibe from him and boy do these french kids know how to party, 20 bucks, open bar, weird music...I had a blast.  He had some interesting dance moves at the party, I had to laugh at that.  The party had a disco theme and I started doing some move at one point which he immediately recognized from Pulp Fiction, a movie he apparently adores there is even a poster in his room...perhaps it was at that moment that he went gaga.  Lol.  It was a fun night, I met a couple other IMHI students and a good time was had by all.  

After leaving the party, we decide to hang out with a former IMHI student at her place in Paris for a while before heading back home, so the four of us pile into a taxi and head to her place.  She is english, has a fab job and fab apartment in a great part of town, sorry I can't remember which arrondisement but anyway we get to her place, settle down with drinks, some music and she starts rolling her own joint. Loves it!   She speaks like a mile a minute, fluent french and is obviously quite talented so the whole weed thing was really so out of place for my puritan American ass, and I get why France is regarded as such a liberal country.  So anyway, It Ain't gets this name because suddenly while we're chilling at the former IMHI's place he goes it ain't so....and I'm like that is not english, thats not what you should be saying while you're still learning english, leave out such slang till you've become a fluent speaker...and it kinda became a running joke.  

It Ain't comes off as a real gentleman so far, we (me, M and him) finally get home at about 7am that morning and he offers me his extra duvet because I had complained of being cold and the blanket that came with the welcome kit in my room wasn't quite adequate.  I follow him to his room, grab the duvet and leave, no untoward advances, etc.  And he promises to give us a tour of Montmatre in Paris when we are all rested later in the day. Nice huh? 

So later on the three of us head out and meet up with the former IMHI student and we go to Le Marais for a late lunch before heading to Montmartre.  Le Marais is a little touristy but its a lovely district with typical french restaurants, parks, art galleries, boutiques etc.  I loved it and I will definitely be taking you there if you come visit.  After an amazing lunch (pls why is french food always sooo goood?) we head off to Montmartre.  This is a hill which I believe is supposed to be the highest point in Paris and there is a famous old church there called Sacre Coeur.  I mean the views were just to die for, there was a concert in front of the church, the whole city spread out right under our eyes, awesome weather...I felt so at peace with the world just sitting there and taking it all in, of course aided by the good company and some crappy french wine.  Le bon vivre oui...

The Arc de Triomphe, the night before
This was a little of our view from our spot on the hill

Me in the street, tourist shot

The Sacre Coeur at night, I think that means sacred heart...my french is good n'est pas?

Pardon moi, I think I digressed a little...this post was meant to be about It Ain't - the guy who gave me a crash course in french men 101. But I'm sure you don't mind, I will be back with more on this riveting story and others to come.  Off to bed now, its now 2am and I have this class tomorrow at 9, a ton of reading to do and a 4,000 word case report to contribute to. Mind you real classes haven't even started yet this is still just the pre-MBA stuff...

Do you speak ebonics?

Haha!  I got asked this question today by a classmate from India and this probably shouldn't be my first post on this blog because it is not totally indicative of my experience thus far.  But I have been meaning to start this blog for the longest time and today I finally decided to just go for it.   I have been in France for about 2 weeks now and so much has occurred in that short span, so I will start with today, go back to a few interesting things that have happened in the past two weeks and go forward with this.  I'll try to make sure I hit the things I think you are wondering about like; do i love it? how are the people? how am i coping with the language? and of course most importantly...the men???  lol.  we'll get there...

So today, I'm sitting in class right before a lecture starts and D (who is another black girl from Seattle) is updating me on the recent development with this lebanese dude who is sort of coming on to her...she's in a very serious relationship so this whole thing is all quite humorous to us. Anyway I'm listening intently to this gist when I feel a tap on my back and I turn around to answer, he goes "can i ask you a question"  really seriously and I'm like sure shoot...and he's like "do you speak ebonics?"....YEAH!  He seriously asked me this, and I'm just like, "well do I look like I speak ebonics?"  I guess he realizes at this point how ignorant he sounded so he had the shame to look apologetic and went on to explain that he likes it and he wants to learn, as if ebonics is a language you learn like you would learn chinese. And I'm like sorry I can't help you there maybe you can go and try to learn on the internet. I thought I was done with this ignorance, until he asked if D could speak it, and thats when I just had to cut this pointless conversation short.  I thought it was just interesting to note how 'unpolitically correct' people are outside of the U.S.  Its not like any of us project that kind of image that we are ebonic-speaking kind of people, D is this oreo-type girl, who went to culinary school, lived in France before and is very articulate in class. And I don't exactly think I come off as an ebonic-speaking kinda person. I figured he just wanted to talk to us and he thought something like that would break the ice and score him cool points...I don't know.  But I was definitely cracking up over that for about 10 mins into the lecture, and he's been looking really sheepish everytime I've spotted him since then.  LOL.  

Sooo just so you know, this will be a very interesting, eye-opening experience, in more ways than one.  Its culture shock many times over because although we are in France, my class is populated by so many different nationalities, I think its about 50% french and the rest are people from all over.  But I absolutely love it, and I'm glad I made the choice to do this. I'm learning so much about myself, the world, where we all come from, where we are all going, and where my place is in all of this.  So if I don't bore you, hopefully you'll join me as I continue on this journey...maybe not physically, but I intend to try my best to put a lot of what's happening into words on this blog.  Wish me bon voyage!