Vis-à-vis my vis-à-vis

At first, I thought I'd have a huge problem with my room. The only window opens onto a big courtyard and looks directly into about 12 apartments. In France (and Europe?), this is a very common situation called a vis-à-vis. In some buildings (like the hotel where I stayed the first night--and where I heard two people having very loud sex at about lunchtime), the windows are literally feet away from each other. They open onto a glorified air shaft.

The great thing about the vis-à-vis is each apartment gets much more light, usually some green space below, and a bit more room for the odd window box or two. The bad thing is, I need to keep my curtains firmly closed anytime I need to get nekked.

But that, my friends, is the only downside.

I feel like a huge voyeur with my vis-à-vis, and that satifies my snoopy side. I can hear people talking privately inside their kitchens right here from my computer desk. I can also hear Madame on the phone upstairs, because she talks articulately and paces right past the window. I can hear people coming through the huge front door because the buzz carries, and people climbing the stairs past opened windows the size of normal doors sound as though they're right next to me.

I can also hear some pretty spectacular things. Right now, someone is playing scales and a pretty, lilting piece on the piano. Of course, with my window wide open onto the courtyard, I can hear sirens all the time. However, the exotic European ambulance siren is slightly muted, thanks to the courtyard walls: It's much more pleasant that way.

Last night we went from Paris je t'aime to crêpes, to a nasty bar in the Latin quarter, to the Bastille for a four-story Cuban bar. I got home late (early?) with my ears pounding and had a slight headache this morning. Our dancing left all the French men dumbfounded: I guess they've never seen girls grinding and swiveling around to R&B with the same panache as all my American friends.

Today, I had class, my first laundry experience (lugging about 20 pounds of semi-dry washing for half a mile on the street, while dodging dog shit, is a fun time), and tonight some people from the program are meeting at Trocadéro for the first rugby game of the Coupe du Monde.

Allez les Bleus!