La Première Semaine

Hey all,

I'm very excited to write my first post from overseas. Unfortunately, my internet isn't letting me sign into my Flickr account (the internet at my résidence universitaire isn't always perfect), so this will be a text-only post. Hopefully I will get a chance to upload some photos of my résidence and around Cergy next week. But for now, since I am pretty much settled in and no longer as jet-lagged I couldn't put of a first post for much longer.

My flight was wonderful. In addition to having a comfy seat, a private TV, two full meals and some snacks, the plane was only about 1/4 full so everyone had the chance to spread out. I left the States at about 6pm and arrived in Charles de Gaulle at about 7am (CET).

Quickly the difference between textbook French and conversational French became apparent. Despite my decent knowledge of the language, hearing native speakers talking at normal pace blurs together most words that I would otherwise understand. Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement? (Can you speak slower?) is a phrase that I have used a lot.

Two professors with the FAME (French-AMerican Exchange) met us at the Aéroport and drove us to our résidence in Cergy. Cergy is what could be considered a suburb of Paris, but it is a city in its own right. This week, as I have been exploring the town, I have been fascinated with its diversity. Forty story buildings, shopping centers, huge glass-front university buildings and expressways share the land with quiet brick streets built into the hillside, expansive parks and green spaces, and abandoned buildings with shattered glass and French graffiti. My résidence is about a five minute walk from ENSEA. It houses students that go to many different universities in Cergy (there are at least a dozen that I know of in the immediate area). All the students in the FAME program are staying in the same building, with about 15 other students. Each appartement is made for one person, complete with its own kitchen, closet, bed, desk, bathroom, and shower. One interesting point is that we do not have keys. We each have a small key fob that opens the building and the appartement of the person to whom it belongs. The door into the building also doesn't have a physical lock. It is held shut by two strong electromagnets that release when the fob is scanned (same as the entrance to ENSEA).

Our first day we went on a shopping trip to the local mall with the aide of fellow ENSEA students. Every student at ENSEA is required to be proficient in at least three languages, with English and French being mandatory. Most students choose either Spanish or German for the third language and also must prove their comprehension of English through standardized testing in order to graduate with their engineering degree. Because ENSEA is of the top five Electrical Engineering schools in Europe, it draws students from across the world, especially the Middle East, India, and Asia. So as it turns out, some students at the college are quadrilingual, even though they do not necessarily speak English with the greatest of ease. Having a student with us the first day, especially when setting up a phone contract, was extremely helpful. We also went shopping at the supermarché Auchan to buy cookware, groceries, and a few essentials. Both these stores are situated amongst the Préfecture, a name referring to the expanse of shopping in the heart of Cergy and the administrative building for which it is named. This past week we have seen protestors outside the préfecture because of the budget crisis, and especially since Président Nicholas Sarkozy announced his plan to raise the TVA (sales tax) earlier this week.

We took a brief trip into Paris on Sunday. The Paris mass transit system (RATP) is extensive, probably around the size of New York City's MTA. There are 16 main lines that run throughout the city. In addition there are is the RER train system that connects the suburbs up to an hour away with the metro. The metro also connects to Charles de Gaulle Aéroport, as well as bus lines, and the 300km/h TGV rapid train that goes throughout the entire country. A person under 26 can purchase a billet jeune (young-person's ticket) that gives unlimited rides throughout the RATP system for only about $8 USD, so going to Paris is quite cost effective.

Though we mostly walked around, myself and another student went to evening mass at Cathédrale Notre Dame. I took a few pictures, which will be up eventually, but the immensity of the structure is hard to capture with a photo. The mass was conducted in a mix of Latin and French. All the hymns and prayers were said in Latin, while the readings and sermon were in French. (An interesting note to Catholics: the response for the liturgy was "Et avec votre esprit" meaning literally "And with your spirit", so I guess they say it here too!)

The college atmosphere here is slightly different than in the US, or at least at UB. The college is only open until about 8pm Monday-Friday and is closed on weekends and holidays. The library closes even earlier. Students take classes once per week, but at two to four hours at a time. All my professors speak English fairly well and they seem very knowledgeable about their subjects. This week has been the elections for Bureau des Élèves (like the Student Association) so there have been free food and games each day throughout la rue (literally "The Road", its the central point of the ENSEA complex that you have to walk through to get between buildings A,B,C and D). Even professors have been serving free food and drinks along with the students! The class schedule also has two 16-day breaks throughout the semester that I look forward to taking advantage of.

Anyways, a new post will be on the way shortly. Hopefully Flickr will be up by then and my next post won't be such a wall of text. Take care in the states!

-Adam