February 7, 2015

It was wonderful spending time with Sophie and her family in Paris this weekend. I had to speak French all the time, which was great because only Sophie's dad knows some English. It pushes me to be creative and improvise if I ever have trouble explaining something. I really enjoy my conversations with Sophie; I love having a friend with whom I must speak in my second language. There was a moment while we were driving to Versailles and I realized how much the language continues to be part of my life and I always want it to be. 

The sight of Versailles Palace was stunning and gorgeous in the daylight. We were lucky. It was beautiful out, but also really cold. We chose to take a small train that guides one through the huge gardens of the palace. I didn't have a chance to see the interior, but I'll save that for another time. Fortunately I was able to get into the buildings we did see like the domain of Marie Antoinette with my French student card for free. Sophie and I continue to teach other new words in our first languages, sharing many laughs in between. I have a life here that I love living within two worlds and balancing both is a challenge, but rewarding all the same. 

 The gates of gold 

In the evening, we saw the film Into the Woods together. It was in English with French subtitles, but I had forgotten to tell Sophie that it's also known as Into the Words, hence why there were many wordy and fast pace subtitles. It was interesting for me comparing how the catchy lyrics in English translated to French. I told Sophie how I remember playing the evil stepmother of Cinderella in my high school's production of Into the Woods. I also remembered how certain scenes were staged in our production, so it was a bit of musical theater nostalgia too. We both really enjoyed the film and I'm glad Sophie had no problem understanding the story, because the plot is complex at times, but she liked the music and characters.