pardon my french

After much ado, I have arrived safely in Paris with four gargantuan bags in tow (one almost too heavy to check!), no comment on how many pairs of shoes and a camera, flip & laptop to record my time here.

It is a frigid 37-degrees outside, but sun was shining and so far all the Parisians have been very polite and helpful…which has been quite comical with my mom over-enunciating everything in English. Well to be fair, she did try with our cab driver who brought us to the hotel…
          Mom: How much?
          Cabbie: Soixante
          Mom looks confused, so the nice man holds up six fingers to mime 60.
          Mom: Ohhh, seis (in her Michigan accent, saays)
          Me: Mom, that’s Spanish you know…
          Cabbie laughs…but she tips well, so he’s happy.
          Mom: mare-see-bow-coo
          We all laugh. He helps us in with the massive amounts of luggage. The trip is off to a good start.

She’s going to kill me for writing that, but it was classic ; )

Tomorrow I’m going to head out to the 15eme arrondissement to find Le Cordon Bleu! Orientation is not until Tuesday, but as Paris tends to confound my sense of direction, it’s probably best to get the first experience of getting incredibly lost out of the way…plus I can’t wait to actually see it. The real deal.

Truly, I am lucky to have my mom here to help me. Anyone who knows her can vouch that she is the taskmaster, and finding an apartment for me to live in is first on the agenda. Among the laundry list is getting phone service, a French bank account, and hair dryer with the proper voltage (crucial!). I’m sure it will only continue to grow when I start school. Not to mention the small detail of learning to speak French…yes, I really know nothing other than je m'appelle, s’il vous plait & the like. Hence the title of this blog…

On that note, I guess I should add a bit of the obligatory background info: I will attend Le Cordon Bleu from 5 Jan—26 August. I will be studying both cuisine and patisserie, completing both at the superior level to earn “Le Grand Diplôme.” Following graduation, most of the students go on to do a 3 month internship, so it looks as though I will be here just shy of a year.

I will do my best update this blog as often as time allows (as long as you forgive my lack of time to edit in exchange). I have no real outline or grand plan, but I’m sure I will include photos, recipes and general info about my life here and any excursions I am lucky enough to take.

I miss you all and will definitely give a full report of how orientation goes. I also have skype, so we can talk that way for any of you that have that capability (and if you don’t, c’mon…my grandma does it, you can do it!), as well as Facebook & email, of course.

But for now, it’s off to try to get some sleep to get onto Parisian time.

Bon nuit!