Today, March 20th, is the international day of the Francophonie. I didn't know this either but my teacher told me this in the afternoon.

"It's an opportunity, for French-speaking people of the entire world, to affirm their solidarity and to live together, with their differences and their diversity."

This afternoon I tried an on-line class for the first time, and it worked well. I really like my Tuesday classes, but want to practice more than once a week. I've looked for a teacher in Durham or near my work, but that turned out to be hard. So I went on-line and today I had a 1 hour lesson through Skype from a teacher in Lyon, France.

I've started a training course at work. It's called Bullet Proof Manager, and there's a session once a month. Today was the first one, and the topics were 'negotiating' and 'listening'. It was quite interesting, and I especially liked the role-play, a good exercise.

The training was in SciWorks, a technology museum for children, in Winston-Salem. There was a divers group of participants, from many different industries.

Soccer club D.C. United announced that the club will play an international friendly against legendary Dutch Eredivisie side AFC Ajax on Sunday, May 22 at RFK Stadium. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs from Washington, DC and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

AFC Ajax played in the RFK Stadium once before, in a 1-1 draw against the U.S. Men’s National Team on May 12, 1990.

“We’re excited to kick off our 2011 schedule of international games with one of the most honored teams in European soccer, Ajax of Amsterdam,” said United President and CEO Kevin Payne. “This match will be the first of several matches this season featuring top quality European opponents and we’re pleased that our season ticket holders will have the opportunity to attend each of these matches as a part of their package.”

“We are truly honored to be coming to the US and playing the most storied franchise in MLS history,” said Ajax manager Frank de Boer. “We are fully aware of the passionate D.C. United fans and we look forward to show casing our unique brand of Ajax football as we visit the States for the first time in many years.”

Update: AFC Ajax will also play the Portland Timbers in Portland, OR on May 25. More info here (Thank you, Dutch Seattle.com).

D.C. United vs. AFC Ajax
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Sunday, May 22. Kick-off is set for 5:00 p.m. ET.

Today was my first day back in the office. I drank the French Roast coffee, but it's not the same as a freshly brewed espresso in a Parisian café.

In the evening I went to Chicle to my French class where we practiced more on the subjonctif. It's not difficult, but you really have to get in the habit of using it.

The time difference, even though it's only 5 hours now, made it hard to stay awake. I'm going to bed soon.

We're in Paris, and life is good.

Highlights so far: a day in Versailles, the palace created by Louis XIV, and our first ever visit to the Louvre Museum. And the food, of course!

Sasha was at her conference yesterday and today; she'll be back in a while and we'll hit the town again. I took two French lessons, which was great.