Americans in Paris

Heeey all you beautiful people,

(that was for you Morgan. Just sing it to yourself for a small moment.) 

Where We Live.

I hope you're all having a splendid summer! We would love to hear all about your adventures as of now (plus look hugely popular opening mail in front of everyone at breakfast,) so anyone who's itching for a pen pal, go ahead, surprise us. Send your letters with no warning to this address:

Rachel Ostler

7E bd Jourdan

Colegio de Espana, Ch. 426

75014 Paris France

Note: even if you're sending the letter to Mariel, keep it addressed to Rachel. 

Week I

The People

At first it seems like this program is half Gay Club, half Nerdy Composer Club. And I guess it would be okay even if it was just that. But it is really so much more than that. Everybody's nice, some of the composers are quite interesting and anyway we're not really sure all of the Gay Club members are gay.

The Classes

Probably the most memorable class we take here is Chorale. Everyone here has to take it. (For a reason: I think there would be about five people total if it wasn't a required class.) Mariel detests it. We have to sing in French and Italian, neither of which we really know how to speak, and every time the choir director gets us to do/chant something that we would never do/chant in real life, Mariel gets this look. You know, the I-think-I-need-to-leave, I-can't-believe-I'm-here, deer-in-headlights look.

The Love Life

It is, after all, the city of luuuurve, right?

Well.This story shall begin with a phone number:

+33 068-807-624. 

Feel free to prank call him. His name is Eric. Perhaps you feel this is uncalled for (no pun intended.) But consider this: maybe a sixty-something-year-old businessman can start looking in his own age range? eh? Maybe he doesn't have to stop a random female pedestrian (who happens to be forty years his junior) and make her feel pressured to go on a date at a cafe near his apartment. With such insinuating facial expressions as I will not elaborate upon.

"How long will you be in Paris? a month? oh. Will you be around here tomorrow? Maybe we can have coffee tomorrow since you don't have time right now." Ehhh

The Sightseeing

Not terribly much, however, we've managed to go to the Eiffel Tower, participate in mass at the Notre Dame cathedral, attend a concert by Henri Gronnier (violinist of the Rosetti String Quartet, teaches at USC, coached us both this week, really nice guy) and visit Chopin's grave. My favorite by far was participating in mass. (Picture us trying to fit in with a crowd of really great Catholic people, singing Gregorian chant-like phrases in Latin back to the archbishop. We of course didn't know the words, so it was just like the old game Let's See If We Can Pretend to Know This Song By Matching Pitches and Vowels and Hoping We Blend In.)

Pictures 

The Tourist

Scores upon scores of scores

Notre Dame Cathedral

Wasn't me, I promise.

That Glimmering Thing
growing on my head
is the Eiffel Tower

The practice rooms: serene.

The Seine River