New Year's Resolutions--2009

1.  Stay healthy: eat nutritious foods, get enough sleep, exercise, take vitamins.

2.  Meditate for 20 minutes everyday

3.  Stop procrastinating so much.

4.  Start planning for my future.

5.  Do not give up on love or humanity.

Vive Lyon

Bonjour from France!

So far I have been horrible about writing in this blog.  Reasons include: lack of free internet (it cost 4 EUROs! at the center.  4 euros!!!  Putain, I'm being ravaged by this euro-dollar exchange rate...),  writing in English hurts my French immersion, and lack of freetime.  Quand il n'y a pas de cours, je baladais sur les rues de Lyon, en regardant les francais qui me passent....

 I'm in love with my adopted city.  Lyon is a beautiful place, complex and nuanced.  Intersected by two large rivers au centre,  majestic stone buildings lead up to vieux lyon and the Cathedrel Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere, which overlooks the city.  (Pictures forthcoming).  My university, Universite Lumiere Lyon 2, a neoclassical building on the banks of the Rhone, is only a five minute walk from La Place Bellcour-the city center.  

Currently, we--as in the University of California Students--are being housed in the Centre International de Sejour a Lyon.  (CISL, or as Robert calls it: "Sizzle").   CISL is located in the 8ieme arrondissement, dubbed Lyon's "ghetto" by many.  This location poses a couple problems:  namely no restuarants within walking distance, with the exception of a horrible, horrible kebab place, and a supermarche across the street.  On the flip side, I can appreciate the 8ieme's diversity... It's heavily populated by French citizens of North African Muslim descent, as well as other African immigrants.  Not what you stereotypically consider "french", but an important part all the same.  I see many Muslim women qui porte la voile (where the veil) every day outside my bus stop.  Yesterday, A man wished me in french a happy ramadan at the supermarche???  (it must have been the necklace I was wearing).  On the bus, I always seem to sit next to the kid who blasts arabic an Rai music on his ipod.   Tellement j'aime la France.  Also, on the bus I have seen some of the most adorable babies eveer in my entire life.  I want to eat them.  And French baby talk is sooooooo cute....(note: see Ora's photogs for some adorable babies)

Last week, I met my apartment mate Sarah!!  Hopefully, as of this afternoon, we have an apartment...

Sarah invited me to her home in Grenoble for this past Shabbat, which was lovely.  Her mom was an AMAZING cook, and I ate pretty much a 4 course meal every night.  I also met some of Sarah's really cool friends, who were all so nice to me and expressed much excitement to meet a Jew from Los Angeles.   I can't wait for Sarah to indroduce me to her "potes" [<-slang for friends] in Lyon.  Sarah's cousin Emanuelle's mother offered to introduce me to a singer she knows in Lyon.  oh Jewish geography.....

Monday was the first day of our Intensive language program, that will last 2 weeks.  Walking around campus, I have the impression that everyone was staring at us, a loud group of Americans who definitely didnt fit in.  You know those groups of international students that wonder around UCLA in packs looking confused?  yep, that's me.  

I'm excited to move into an apartment and begin truly living, and hanging out with other French people.    As much as I love my group of American friends (Robert, Ora, Sahar, Victoria, Nilou etc),   when I'm alone, or with other French people,  I feel less like a stranger among strangers. (Holla, L'auberge espagnole!)

My allotted 3 hours of internet (for 4 euros,!!!! wtf) is about to run out, so this concludes my first actual blog post.  expect a more detailed one soon.  I miss you all!!

Bisous,

Mara

La Verité si Je Mens (or Would I Lie to You?)

"We strongly advice you to do the following before departure:"

• Listen to, read, and use French as much as possible in books, newspapers, magazines, films...

 Per the wise words of my EAP advisor, I embarked on a bit of a French movie marathon frenzy.  Overall: immensely helpful.  I know now for certain that I am screwed when it comes to understanding slang.  On the brightside, I  do comprehend about 95% of the dialogue .  Only remedy for my lack of French "street" talk is to live in France!  (huzzah!)  Anyway, since I have become a bit of a French movie connoisseur (c'est a dire: un peu snob), I thought a review post was in order.  Here are two movies that should interest all those foreign film enthusiasts out there.  Or anyone who just looooves Jews! (wow I'm beginning to sound like those annoying announcements on facebook)

La Petite Jerusalem

La Petite Jerusalem tells the story of a young,  beautiful French-Tunisian Jewish woman Laura (Fanny Valette) who lives with her Orthodox family in a very orthodox-sephardic quarter of Paris (appropriately called "Little Jerusalem").  Her traditional mother, a widow, constantly hounds Laura to get married and live a respectable orthodox life (get married, have babies, etc..).  Her sister Mathilde is having marital problems with her husband Ariel because she perpetually suppresses her sexual desire as a result of her misguided interpretation of the Torah.  For her part, Laura is a studious intellectual who prefers studying philosophy to trolling for a Husband.  She begins to fall in love with a young Algerian muslim colleague Djamel, whom she sees staring at her silently with latent desire.  Sheltered Laura eventually gives in to her urges, and the two have a passionate romance.  Now they both must chose between the love for eachother, and the duties they owe to their families.  spoiler alert: lots of sex, oh my!

By and large an enjoyable movie, if a little depressing.  The torrid love affair between Laura and Djamel gives this movie a very Romeo and Juliet-esque quality, and we see a glimpse of the everyday life for Ortho. Jews in Paris.  

La Verite si Je Mens!

Love, love love love this movie!!  Had heard that it is a favorite of French Jews, but was not prepared for the hilarity that ensues.  La Verié si je Mens (or: Would I lie to you?) recounts the epic story of a young French guy Eddie Vuibert (Richard Anconina) who is unemployed, broke, and about to be evicted from his apartment when by chance he is found by Victor Benzakhem, a wealthy Jewish textile factory owner, lying on the road after a fight.  Victor helps Eddie up, and gives him back a Jewish star necklace that is on the ground next to him, believing it to belong to Eddie (says Victor: La Magen David is precious!--or something to this effect).  Because he is mistaken for a Jew, Eddie begins to work for Victor in his warehouse, and he is soon promoted to a salesman.  He also is initiated into the tightknit community of  Sephardic Jews in Paris, where he rolls with some hilarious characters such as Dov Mimran (Vincent Elbaz)-a very attractive womanizer whose player ways eventually get the better of him-, Rafi Styl'mode- the delightfully metrosexual ashkenazi who owns a high end boutique-, Serge Benhamou (Jose Garcia)--a true character who begins practically all his sentences with "tu veux ganger de l'argent?? [do you want to get rich], and Patrick Abitbol (Gilbert Melki) who comes back from Israel engaged to a Norwegian supermodel.    Eddie must continue to feign being Jewish in order to  keep his advancing career in the garment district, and because he falls in love with Victor's daughter, Sandra Benzakhem.    This leads to some hilarious scenes such as when Dov invites Eddie to his home for Shabbat dinner--- When the kiddush cup arrives at a very uncomfortable Eddie, he naively begins to jug the rest of the wine, commenting to the aghast family: "Great wine!", when everyone finishes washing their hands, he keeps insisting on what a beautiful home the Mimran's have, not realizing that he is supposed to keep quiet---in essence, pretty much hilarious.   Eventually, Eddie's lie (I am ehhh...Ashkenazi....you know Vuibert is like Weber...like Dr. Bensard used to be Bensaid. etc)  causes him problems, but of course being a comedy, everything turns out OK in the end.   

Really hilarious movie, a must see to everyone who wants to appreciate the finer aspects of French Jewish culture.  Spoiler alert:  there is a Moroccan wedding scene with some bellydancers, lililililililililililil!

(the dashing Gad Elmaleh also stars in the La Verite si Je Mens 2!  I much await seeing him in it when netflix sends the dvd..)

Bon Voyage!

Late August. kiss my family goodbye, drive to SFO, and board a flight bound for Paris Charles-de-Gaule.  I will arrive in Paris,  then take a train to Lyon. 

 I will most likely not set foot on American soil for another year.  Despite the fact that I leave in six weeks, I have not fully realized the magnitude of a year away from California (no mexican food?  I can legally drink alcohol?!!!  Guys wear scarves?  people think I personally know Brad pitt and other LA celebrities?  (For the record, we have tea every tuesdays at his Hollywood Hills estate).  I don't think it will fully sink in until I am actually on the plane....and by that time, there is no room for regrets or second thoughts.  I embraced the idea long ago as an essential part of my college experience.

I have dreamed of studying abroad in France since before I applied to UCLA.   Traveling to foreign countries, immersing myself in a new culture, communicating in another language, though challenging, fills me with an incredible joie de vivre.    I plan on updating this blog occasionally to chronicle my adventures in France as an American, acclimating to French society, a French University, and slowly losing my ability to speak English.  please keep in touch.  Peace out, חברים! (i love throwing hebrew randomly into conversaton)

Bisous,

Mara