It’s not as hard as it looks! That’s because my 4 fellow accordion classmates and I have a very basic version of the accordion. It’s small and cute, with only 2 rows of buttons on each side (as opposed to, like, 4 to 6 rows on each side). A friend of Alex who lives in Strasbourg is teaching us! He’s funny and very laid back, which is great since he teaches us in French! Here’s the song we’re learning, but I'm not the one playing it! [accordion polka] What I both love and hate about learning an instrument is the vulnerability. What I mean is, each of us is “put on the spot” to make sure we know what we’re playing. We aren’t reading music, so we memorize short phrases right away. We are corrected in front of each other. I felt awkward at first because I’d never even touched an accordion before my first class, and I’m guessing the others hadn’t either. The great thing is, it’s fun! And the stress of playing and messing up in front of the others isn’t really that stressful after all because I’m with friends, and I’m playing a unique instrument! It shows me that I can do things that normally I would avoid—typically I hate having any attention at all on me. Basically, what I like about playing the accordion is feeling like a curious, unafraid, and excited child.
As some of you already know, I temporarily have a French phone number. I ended up switching out my SIM card because it was so much easier than either: a) relying completely on WiFi for all texts and having no data (one of the reasons I got lost), or b) buying a new phone which was at least 60 euros. When I return home, I’ll just put my old SIM card back in. Switching SIM cards wasn’t hard at all, and the company I’m using is called Free. I pay less than 10 euros a month, and I have 50 gigs of data plus unlimited texts and calls in Europe. Pretty decent! Some of the other American students did the same thing. The day I got my new SIM card was also the day I tried actual French “fast food” for the first time! I was with a fellow US friend, Hannah, and we stopped at a place called Brioche Dorrée. The sandwiches are pre-made, not too expensive, and they’re healthy! I got one called Le Pagnol. It had zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, and goat cheese! And the bread was amazing. I also got a pain au chocolat, which I really love (if you don’t know what that is, look it up and I swear your mouth will water). We ordered and paid for our food all at once and then sat down at the place to eat it. I like ordering food in French because usually it’s easy to understand and speak. Anyway, it wasn’t hard to know proper manners in a place like Brioche Dorrée, because it was just like a fast food place/Panera Bread at home. But later when Ally and I went to a café together, we sat down, looked at a menu, and our drinks were brought to us. Ally ordered a coke, which came in an old-fashioned tall glass bottle (that’s actually common in French restaurants!) with a glass to pour it into. I ordered an espresso, another delicious French thing I love. We just didn’t know whether we were supposed to wait for the waiter to come back with the bill, to ask for the bill, or to go up to the counter. Plus I really wanted to keep Ally’s glass coke bottle and I didn’t know if that was possible...? Our next class was in 15 minutes. We decided to go up to the counter to pay. No one gave us any weird looks (that I noticed). I don’t order food out much anyway, so whether I’m in France or the US I could be doing it wrong. So we asked Alex later, and apparently it’s customary to ask for the bill (“L’addition, s’il vous plait!”) before you get up and leave. The waiter/waitress comes to you after you ask. That’s because in France you’re allowed to sit at a café or restaurant for as long as you want. But at fast food places here, I noticed you can choose “for here” or “to go.” For both options at a fast food place, you go up to the counter to pay like in the US. One more update—public transportation isn’t terrifying anymore! It always takes me like 45 minutes to get anywhere, but at least I mostly understand how it works. I wrote down some nerdy little notes so I’m all set for now. There are 3 different buses I can take that will get me to the proximity of the university. The next challenge is finding out how to get a monthly pass....otherwise bus and tram fares are way too expensive every day. P.S. Mom, I got to keep the glass coke bottle, and it’s for you! 😊 French words! à emporter—to go sur place—for here à plus, Elda
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AuthorHello! I'm Elda, a French/Anthropology major and Applied Language Studies minor studying in Strasbourg for a semester. Archives
May 2019
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