L'Entrecôte, etc.
Friday, I went to see Paranormal Activity with Anthony. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, to be honest. It was fun to see, but I'm struck by the oddity of the flood of horror movies that are coming out in December. It seems like now is the time for Christmas movies.
Afterward we met up with Xavier and Maria at Dick Turpin's, and ended up running into Carley and Danielle, some Canadian friends.
The next night, I went to Anthony's to watch Miss France, which was pretty much exactly what you would expect if you took Miss America and made it more French (which is to say, not any better). The announcers had a much more French sense of style, though one of them was wearing a dress that made both Anthony and I think she looked like an ostrich. The panel of judges included Jean-Paul Gauthier. There were lots of coordinated sort-of-dance routines with matching outfits. All of their swimsuits and bikinis matched (yes, there was a swimsuit contest AND a bikini contest). The "interview" consisted of asking the contestants where they went to school or what they did for a living. It was sort of a ridiculous attempt at pretending to care what they had to say. In the end, Miss Normandie won.
After, Maria and I hung out with Carley and Danielle again, and we hatched a scheme to go to L'Entrecôte tonight. It's this restaurant that only serves one meal -- steak and fries. An odd combination. We got there about thirty minutes early, because the line is always ridiculous, and when the doors were opened and the flood of humanity was ushered up the stairs, their system became evident. The number of people in your party sort of corresponds to the floor you're seated on -- the 4th floor is entirely made up of tables for four. Once seated, they bring you water and take your order, which is to say ask you how you like your meat cooked and ask if you'd like wine. If "yes" to wine, there are only two options: red or rosé. The next thing that happens is that the salad arrives. As soon as you put down your fork, the plates are whisked away. It was sort of remarkably efficient that way. The meal arrived, accompanied by a tray of extra steak and a steady stream of fries brought by the waitresses -- this part seemed sort of unFrench to me, as refills and large portions don't seem to happen a lot in this country. The meal was nice, but mostly just for the fact of it, because, since going out to eat is so expensive here, we don't do it that often.
After, we went to visit Carley's roommate at his job, and I came back to try to finish my paper. And I did. At last. Not a moment too soon, either, as 2 a.m. the day before it's due is sort of uncomfortably close. Tomorrow, I have to find a way to print it on campus. I hope the copy shop also has computers. It seems likely, right?
I also have to recheck the book I was reading for my linguistics project. It was due on Friday and, when I asked to borrow it for another two weeks, I was told that it must "spend the night in the library", and since they were closed for the weekend, I could come and get it again on Monday. Great. That makes a lot of sense.
I found out I have an Italian test on Wednesday, and a final for Phonetics on Monday for the Erasmus kids, kids who failed the midterm, and kids who were absent on the day we took it. I wonder if that means it's just going to be the midterm again. I hope we're given something different than the kids who failed the midterm -- 'cause it'll be kind of insulting if not.
Afterward we met up with Xavier and Maria at Dick Turpin's, and ended up running into Carley and Danielle, some Canadian friends.
The next night, I went to Anthony's to watch Miss France, which was pretty much exactly what you would expect if you took Miss America and made it more French (which is to say, not any better). The announcers had a much more French sense of style, though one of them was wearing a dress that made both Anthony and I think she looked like an ostrich. The panel of judges included Jean-Paul Gauthier. There were lots of coordinated sort-of-dance routines with matching outfits. All of their swimsuits and bikinis matched (yes, there was a swimsuit contest AND a bikini contest). The "interview" consisted of asking the contestants where they went to school or what they did for a living. It was sort of a ridiculous attempt at pretending to care what they had to say. In the end, Miss Normandie won.
After, Maria and I hung out with Carley and Danielle again, and we hatched a scheme to go to L'Entrecôte tonight. It's this restaurant that only serves one meal -- steak and fries. An odd combination. We got there about thirty minutes early, because the line is always ridiculous, and when the doors were opened and the flood of humanity was ushered up the stairs, their system became evident. The number of people in your party sort of corresponds to the floor you're seated on -- the 4th floor is entirely made up of tables for four. Once seated, they bring you water and take your order, which is to say ask you how you like your meat cooked and ask if you'd like wine. If "yes" to wine, there are only two options: red or rosé. The next thing that happens is that the salad arrives. As soon as you put down your fork, the plates are whisked away. It was sort of remarkably efficient that way. The meal arrived, accompanied by a tray of extra steak and a steady stream of fries brought by the waitresses -- this part seemed sort of unFrench to me, as refills and large portions don't seem to happen a lot in this country. The meal was nice, but mostly just for the fact of it, because, since going out to eat is so expensive here, we don't do it that often.
After, we went to visit Carley's roommate at his job, and I came back to try to finish my paper. And I did. At last. Not a moment too soon, either, as 2 a.m. the day before it's due is sort of uncomfortably close. Tomorrow, I have to find a way to print it on campus. I hope the copy shop also has computers. It seems likely, right?
I also have to recheck the book I was reading for my linguistics project. It was due on Friday and, when I asked to borrow it for another two weeks, I was told that it must "spend the night in the library", and since they were closed for the weekend, I could come and get it again on Monday. Great. That makes a lot of sense.
I found out I have an Italian test on Wednesday, and a final for Phonetics on Monday for the Erasmus kids, kids who failed the midterm, and kids who were absent on the day we took it. I wonder if that means it's just going to be the midterm again. I hope we're given something different than the kids who failed the midterm -- 'cause it'll be kind of insulting if not.
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