chapitre deux

I wrote this whole awesome entry right after the last one, but the funky French computer kicked me off. Daccord; cest la vie. (Thats French for What you gonna do, ya know?)
In any case, before I start again; let me say for those of you who dont know, as I didnt, European keyboards are arranged a bit differently than American ones. if my spelling and punctuation are really strange; thats why. Also; there is no apostrophe here. I dont know why because the French use one all the time. Funky French computers.
So, where did I leave off. Well; I made it to the hotel; and things were pretty good: I had a big room, to myself. That was nice: the rooms are large and well appointed. I went into Paris right away and was immediqtely ripped off by a local: It made me feel right at home. Paris is gorgeous, as always. I took a long walk around Notre Dame and into Montparnasse to see all the cafes and beautiful Americanization. Embarrasing. Still, Paris is one of the most immediately stunning places that I have ever been to. It is a very modern city, but it is built on such seemingly ancient foundations. And everything we see in the movies is totally true: the accordian players, old men sitting with their coffees, all the lights. I mean I have seen it before, but it takes you aback if you havent been there in a while. I imagine it takes you aback almost every time. And this time of year is gorgeous: it is warm; but not hot. The sun sets late in the day, and the lights are on all night long. Its life made plain and obvious. I think that when I get caught up in all the stupidity of life that I will go to Paris for the afternoon; and that will remind me of what is really important in life: booze in public in the afternoon. Everything else is just the details.
So on Monday; i got my roommate. His name is Will, and he is Chinese. His full name is actually Will Wang.
Wang.
Truly, ours is a spiteful god.
I mean I know he is Chinese, but Wang? Thats pushing it.
In any event, those of you who know my history with roommates know that it is a long and storied one. This person is no exception. Aside from his unfortunate name, he also doesnt really sleep. If he does, its about 2am to 6am, maybe. He is always talking about how bored he is, but he refuses to speak to anyone but me and his girlfriend, whom no one has ever met. One last thing about my Wang, he feels it necessary to hang his underwear on coat hangers, and to hang those from the lighting rod in the room. Its very romantic.
In other news; the restaurant is amazing. I cant afford to eat the food I am making. The whole staff are required to be in full suits, and the service is impecible. The ingredients are so good. We use only Argentinian beef (very, very good); there is a cooler full of any cheese that I could ever want, and a locker full of edible flowers and truffles. We regularly stock foie gras for regular service, and the wine list is packed with bottles from Bordeaux; the Rhone and the Loire. Everything is locally grown and organic; its all in season too. Incredible. The actual restaurant is in the round, with curtains for walls. That room is set in a larger room whose walls are glass. Its pretty nice.
The Apollo serves a buffet of French Asian food and an a la carte menu. For the full buffet, not including a la carte options, it is 80 euros, which right now is roughly 140 dollars. One hundred forty dollars, for a buffet, people. I mean it beats the hell out of Old Country, but for those of you planning to visit, I would start saving now. I have had a good couple of days, to tell you the truth. I made the grilled rosemary salmon today, and yesterday a bearnaise sauce for the steaks. I made all the clubs for the restaurant; I made the caesar salads on the hot line yesterday, and I got to make naan with tandori chicken from scratch. I am really liking it. I mean, maybe that doesnt sound like too much to cook, but to be thrown in with no training, and to only be here for four days, I feel pretty good about what I have accomplished.
The chef is great; his name is Christophe. He is very welcoming. He does this thing where he doesnt yell at you for doing something wrong, but he is always wathching you, and if you mess up, he just kind of calls your name and smiles. He leaves it to you to fix, unless he knows that you dont know how to fix it. I like that, youre on your own, but supported.
The other cooks here are great. I am making friends with a couple of guys: Roman, Marc, and Frederico. The other interns are cool too. Its like the mini UN here. I am the only one from the US. The other interns are from Korea, France (duh), Spain, Morraco, China (Wang), and Mexico to name a few. Hardly anyone speaks French, but everyone speaks English, so communication is broken but easy.
One last thing of note, the other day I was called into la departement de directeurs des resources humaines (HR to you and me), and I was told that I would have a chance to tell them anything that I needed, so I was surprised when I entered a room full of men and women in suits, in theatre style seating. Still, I thought Well, maybe thats how they do things here, so I started composing in my head- Je mappelle Marc, et je voudrai une autre coleurcoutere parce que il fume et il met ses slipes sur les furnitures. Aussi, a quelle heure est la dejuner, parce que jai faim?
There were several other interns in the room with me, so when it was my turn, they only said- This is Mark from Kendall College in Chicago. He is working in the kitchen.
We were all told to leave then. Turns out that I was actually in the room with the hotel executive committee, so I was very pleased that I didnt have the chance to recite my little speach because I would have told this very important group of people- Hello, my name is Mark, and I would like another roommate because he smokes and puts his underwear on the furniture. Also, when is lunch?
So thats what is new. I miss home a lot and I am not able to speak with my family or Ruta very much at all, but I am learning a lot, so that is good.
Going into Paris this weekend to maybe watch some football (soccer) and hang out at a cafe after. Thats the plan anyway.
More soon, and goodnight!