We're working on the "passe simple". This is the tense I have so much trouble with. Thank goodness I really don't know to know how to write it with ease, only recognize it when I read it. I don't even think they are going to really test me on it. They will, on the contrary, test me on oppositions and concessions. Today I floundered through an exercise where I was supposed to "imagine" the first half of the sentence and make it work with the given "expression de l'opposition" or "concession". My brain went dry. Normally, I am quite and imaginary and creative girl, but not today. I will be sure to spend some quality time with that grammar book that Jonathan lent me before Thursday.

I'm not an electrician, but I made it work!- that dull, dusty stereo that has been sitting on a bookshelf in this apartment since 'who-knows-when'. I peeled the ugly yellowed tape and instructions on how to "turn it on" off the speaker and carefully applied a little fingernail polish remover to remove the "sticky" left by the aged tape. I dusted the sucker, cleaned the connections, reattached the wires and, VOILA! FRENCH RAP!!!! What more could a girl want???! (It was what Marco suggested I listen to ADO in order to orient myself to the subculture of eastern Paris.) I do have to say it is a good thing to have at least one constantly available stream of french broadcast available in our place. This morning's topic: Which God was the incarnation of true love? I listened to France's equivilant of Howard Stern banter with his fellow show-hosts until they decided it was some god I'd never heard of.