I woke up at about 6:15, got up, and finished what I was supposed to do in the morning. I started by studying French Grammar for 1 hour. Recently, I realized that French is not that difficult a language to learn for a Japanese person who speaks English. However, what has been bothering me is the feminine and masculine stuff. I sometimes feel like some grammar rules in French are ridiculous. For example, why do I have to change the forms of adjectives, articles, and verbs based on feminine or masculine nouns accordingly? I think that reading is much easier for me than speaking and listening. I have been studying French for the last couple of months, and I feel like listening and writing are the hardest parts because of the spelling and pronunciation rules. Hopefully, I can finish the current grammar book soon. Also, I read a paper book called “A DIFFERENT MIRROR” written by Ronald Takaki. I have already finished reading this book once, and this is the second time. This book is about how the United States of America was formed by different races. This is the only book that I brought from the US because I did not want to make my suitcase heavy.
And then, I went to Angoulême downtown to explore the place. I took a bus from a bus stop that is 5 minutes away by walking from this dormitory. I realized that as I got closer to the destination, the bus was going up hills. It took about 30 minutes to get there. In the area, more businesses are going on. A lot of restaurants, shopping centers, and supermarkets. I have seen many young people who looked like old teenagers, but I am not sure. For me, all European-rooted people look older. Anyway, after I arrived there, I was looking for a lunch place. The restaurants that caught my eye first were Noodles, a poke bowl, and a Thai food restaurant. My taste buds still crave Asian foods after more than 3 years of staying in America. I eventually entered the Thai food restaurant, and customers are supposed to order themselves with a machine. As I looked at the menu, it didn’t really look appetizing for me, so I changed my mind to go to a noodle restaurant. The reason why this restaurant caught my attention was that many customers were eating meals that looked like noodles outside. I have gotten used to seeing people eating outside in France.
I entered the restaurant and I sat down in a high chair and a table made of wood. I was looking at the menu, and I did not understand what was on the menu, except bœuf (beef), riz (rice), and ravioli. I couldn’t find noodles, so I was disappointed. There might have been noodles on the menu, but I gave up. Now I know that they have noodles… I looked up from the menu and found a small blackboard that showed today’s lunch food or something. So, I eventually ordered that. I was also thirsty, so I ordered de l’eau (water) in my broken French. The server asked me sparkling or another one, which I couldn’t catch, so I ordered sparkling. Afterwards, I realized that I did not have to order just regular water…. While I was waiting for the food, I was reading a travel book on my tablet. I also realized that this is a Chinese restaurant. I didn’t notice that at first because the server was an young European lady. After about 10 – 20 minutes, the food came out, and eight raviolis looked like dumplings and a bowl of white rice. To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed about the volume. The taste was awesome, though. I loved the sour sauce that came with it. Also, I was kind of satisfied with the volume after eating everything. The female server came to my seat and asked me something in French, and all I could catch was un café. So, I thought she offered me a cup of coffee, so I said no to her. She gave me a little bit of a strange look, so I am not sure whether she actually said that. She was super nice, though. I like the way that French servers treat customers. Specifically, while eating, they let me be alone and focus on the meals. They don’t ask me like in the US, where they ask or offer something while eating. I just prefer the French style. After paying the bill, which was about 20 Euros with tax, I went outside to wander around the area.
It was a beautiful day, so walking around the area was amazing. I have been surprised by how big the gap of temperature it is here. In the morning, the temperature is about 40°F (4°C) and it gets up to 70°F (21°C) at 16 – 17 o’clock. Because of it, on the way back, I was sweating on the bus. That was pretty much everything that I did today. It was nice to have a full day off for the first time in 2 weeks.
Also, the good news today is that the chauffage (heater) has finally become available. I haven’t been able to use it, so it was very cold in the room in the morning. Even so, the only people who have been bothered by that in the dormitory were one American guy and me. I am wondering if other French neighbors were not bothered by the low temperature in the room.
Anyway, that’s it for today. Thank you for reading. à demain (See you tomorrow).
