Coming home, coming home.

When I woke up this morning it was
7AM in Paris
12AM in Chicago
10PM in Phoenix.

When my flight left CDG, it was
12PM in Paris
5AM in Chicago
3AM in Phoenix.

When I landed at O'Hare, it was
10PM in Paris
3PM in Chicago
1PM in Phoenix.

When my flight leaves O'Hare it will be
2AM in Paris
7PM in Chicago
5PM in Phoenix

and

when I get in to Skyharbor it will be
6AM in Paris
11PM in Chicago
9PM in Phoenix.

Basically, today is the longest day ever.

Hello, USA. Goodbye, blog.

You can't ever go back.

When I was little I used to tape episodes of Full House when they came on during my piano lessons, so I wouldn't have to miss them. THAT'S how much I love Full House.

One of the ones I had taped was late in the series, probably season 6 or 7, when the girls go to summer camp. The episode takes place when they get home from camp and they're all sad and depressed because they want to go back. Eventually, they do have to go back because Michelle brought back a rabbit that needs to be taken home (or something like that, it's not important) and they find that it's not the same fun, exciting place when it's all rainy and deserted and camp is over.

Being in Paris right now is kind of like a super-scaled down version of that. The city is still beautiful. I still love it. I'm so happy to be here.

But without my beautiful AZ in Paris group, it just feels like there's something...missing.

Sigh.

Stars and stripes forever.

I thought it would be months before I could handle another museum (out of just the museums in my Paris travel guide, I've been to 14), but today we hit the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, and the "Heineken Experience", all of which were pretty awesome. I like Amsterdam.

I can't believe how soon I'm going home...I know I've said that a million times. I'm sure it's for the best, because I'm running out of money and desperately need to get back to work...but it's going to be weird, most certainly.

Here's an interesting fact. Before this summer I never thought of myself as necessarily "patriotic", or even "proud to be an American". America has done some pretty messed up stuff and there are still a lot of things I really, really don't agree with. And the tourists can be pretty obnoxious over here. (I could go on, but I won't.)

HOWEVER. There are certainly things I have missed since I've been here, differences I've noticed, things I can't wait to get back to. Moreover, I have had numerous experiences over here where my culture has been challenged, or insulted, or made fun of by Europeans. And actually, it really offends me. I don't think America is the Greatest Country in the World...but the fact of the matter is, I still am American, I have been all my life.

I agree that we can do some stupid stuff. But who doesn't? I try my hardest not to base judgments off of stereotypes when I interact with people from other cultures, and I guess I kind of expect the same courtesy back. It's one thing to discuss or joke about the shortcomings of my country with fellow Americans, but it's certainly another to hear that coming from someone outside.

I don't mean to get self-righteous and bitchy, and this wasn't sparked by any particular event. I guess it's just something I've been thinking about. I suppose being away has shown me that actually, I am proud to be an American; I do respect my country quite a bit - especially since this last presidential election. I've never been more proud of my country.

I just don't feel the need to write a crappy country song about it or anything.

Amsterdam.

Made it in once piece. I hate the first few hours in any new place, when everything is unfamiliar and unsettling. But I know by this evening everything will be fine.

The rest of this trip is going to fly by. I'll be home in less than a week. Part of me is ready and part of me doesn't want to go...

London Calling.

I've been in London for about 2 hours. 

Being here feels like being in a weird, warped version of Paris. I think it's the big city thing, the shops, the underground. So similar, except...not.

I'm happy to be here, with family, on to the next stage of my adventure. But my heart aches for La Ville-Lumière...

"In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight."

I've been in Europe for a little over 7 weeks now.

I've done a LOT of stuff in my time here...seen a lot of sights. Ate a lot of food. Took a fair few pictures.

I feel I've been doing my best to make the most of my time here, or whatever it is you're supposed to do when you're traveling in a foreign land.

However, I'm going to be quite honest here:

Sometimes nothing beats spending the evening in a hotel room, laying in bed and watching Pretty Woman with my sister. Whether it be in Ireland, Arizona, California, or anywhere else in the universe.

Vacation, all I ever wanted.

My grades from Paris have been posted! I got an A and a B and I'm so excited!! I was kind of expecting Bs in both classes, but apparently my compte-rendus must have been worth something in cinema. Score!

I was so stressed about my flight to Dublin, mostly, I think, because of how stressful the flight from Orly to Berlin had turned out to be. But in the end, the flight was magnificently, almost magically easy. No problems or hassles whatsoever.

I met up with my sister at the airport and we went on a quest to find someplace to stay. We ended up in a super cute, remarkably nice hotel that costs about the same as some of the hostels we were looking at. Our room has a trouser press and the an amazing shower - clearly two things of the utmost importance when it comes to a hotel in Dublin. It also has internet, which I really appreciate.

Last night we went and found dinner in town and then walked around for a bit and stopped for dessert and coffee. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but I really love this European thing of waffles for dessert instead of breakfast. Paris of course is full of stands selling crêpes and gaufres. Anyway, in Dublin, we ended up in this place called Lemon, with the giant-est menu of crêpes and waffles I've ever seen.

And I didn't even get a crêpe with Nutella...whaaaaat??

Later we came back and watched TV, and then went to the tiniest pub ever (literally, the sign outside says, "Possibly the smallest pub in the world") to have a Guinness. Because, you know, that's what you do on your first night in Dublin.

Incidentally, it turns out that I like Guinness. This was not always the case. However, the last time I had one I was probably about 17, so that could have something to do with it. At any rate...it was delicious. And this afternoon I believe we're going to go tour the Storehouse, which should be fun, and tomorrow visiting the Jameson distillery. This is what seems to be happening: The first 7 weeks of my trip are spent studying and eating pastries, the last 2 are spent relaxing and drinking. I'm pretty okay with that.

As far as Dublin itself, I love it. It's so cute and quaint and the people are so friendly. And they speak English! I didn't realize how weird it would be to come back to a place where people speak my native tongue, albeit with an accent. I don't have to think twice about what to say when I bump into someone, and I don't have to feel like an idiot when I don't think and blurt out, "excuse me!" Ordering food is simple. Asking for directions is simple.

It almost seems too easy.

Anyway, what it all comes down to is that I am fully at the point where I feel like I'm on vacation, and I love it.

Things I have learned about myself this summer (an incomplete list)

• Deep down, I truly appreciate my life in Tucson. I just need occasional reminders.
• Spending 6 weeks with a group of people who I have not known for long, and who have no expectations or ideas about who I am and what I stand for, has been really good for helping me understand who I am and what I stand for.
• I am capable of recharging a metro pass, buying hair products, ordering lunch, and watching Gone With the Wind...in French.
  
• I like beer, tomatoes, mustard, and a handful of other food items that I thought I hated. Not necessarily all at the same time, though.
  
• I'm in control of my life, what I do, where it goes, and what's important to me.
• Understanding the differences between cultures is hugely important, whether it concerns my relationship with someone I just met, or my relationship with someone I've known my whole life.
  
• I can live under the constant scrutiny and criticism of a kind-hearted and well-meaning old woman for six weeks, and still love myself at the end of it.
• Sometimes things really do turn out exactly how I wanted them to, or even better.
• I really, really love croissants aux amandes.
• It's okay to trust people.
  
• It's most productive to work hard towards the things I want to be able to do, rather than write myself off as a failure. This can be applied in so many different cases.
• The Four Agreements are important to remember even in France.
• My faith is so, so strong.
• My hair behaves best when I condition it regularly.
• I want to learn to speak both French and German better. And I WILL.
  
• I have always taken clothes dryers and shower curtains for granted.
  
• I really, really love Monet.
• It's okay to admit, "Okay, you're right, you did tell me so."
• Running away from things still doesn't work - but running off for awhile to get a new perspective, and the strength to try again, does.
  

This is what true friendship is:

[Via Facebook Chat]

Maya: I am homesick.
Ryan: You're almost done though.
Maya: I know. And I'm meeting my sister in Dublin tomorrow, and I'm excited for that. But for some reason I just feel really sad right now.
Ryan: Hmmm is it rainy?
Maya: OMG how did you know?!
Ryan: Yeah...that's why.
Maya: ...you're smart. I didn't even think of that.

New forever, world without an end.

I'm loving that I have this transition period between studying in Paris and traveling around with my sister and dad, to relax, and catch up with friends and family via Skype, and battle my homesickness, and ponder the last 6 weeks.

I'm sitting on a huge couch, blogging by the light of a salt lamp, listening to the soothing sound of Crina's yoga in the background, breathing in the fresh night air...I got to talk to some of my favorite people today, who I haven't talked to in so long. Even though today was kind of busy, and stressful at times, I'm happy to be right here, right now. I'm happy that I could come to such a lovely place, to regroup with a lovely friend.

Tomorrow is my last day in Germany and I can't believe how fast the last few days have gone by. Every time I come here, it's not enough. But it's certainly better than not at all.

I'm looking forward to meeting up with Roya, because at that point I won't have to travel alone anymore. I love traveling, and for the most part it doesn't really matter whether I'm with someone or not. But at this point...I don't know if it's because I've been away from home for so long or what, but I will be glad not to have to navigate through foreign airports and figure things out all by myself. Sometimes it's so nice just to have someone next to you, even if they don't know what to do either.

All in all, I think I planned my trip out well. I appreciated arriving here with my mom and A.B., to adjust to France a little bit and not feel all alone and disoriented in a strange place. I enjoyed my 6 weeks of school, however busy they were, and I'm glad I planned this time in Germany afterwards, to take a break with a friend. And I'm so glad that I get to continue on to meet up with family and go out the way I came in, comfortably, easily.

There are things weighing on my mind, as there always are, but I feel so content and grounded right now despite them.

Life is pretty gorgeous, when you think about it.

Tout le monde.

Everyone! Left to right (and top to bottom): Jerris, Morgan, Ben Harper, Valentina, Tierney, Hanna, Ava, Haley, Devonne, Caroline, Mme Ayoun, Anne, Little Ben, Shelby, Other Caroline, Me, Alex, Laura, Liza

Picture!

This isn't our whole group, but I thought this was a good picture. From left to right: Anne, Jerris, Me, Liza, Devonne, Caroline, Shelby, Ben

Partir, c'est mourir un peu.

At our last dinner together, my host mom commented that generally around the 5 or 6 week mark, the students that stay with her tend to get a little homesick. She asked if I was feeling that way and I told her that honestly, I wasn't really feeling homesick at all. Which was true.

Now, for the first time since I've been away...I do feel a little homesick. Homesick for both Tucson and Paris. I miss my host mom and her apartment, I miss my Arizona in Paris friends who basically became like an Arizona in Paris family (a few treasure hunts from hell and early mornings together in Rennes will do that). The rest of Paris will be there when I go back, but those things won't.

Of course it's better to focus on the beauty of the fact that I got to have that experience, rather than the fact that it's over. So I'm trying to focus my energy on happy memories; on the view of the Eiffel Tower from the boat on the Seine, and the hilarious experience of seeing one of my teachers in a fairly inebriated state...the metro platform at Châtelet and Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot...listening to my host mom whistle while she made dinner, and watching old movies dubbed in French...following Mme Ayoun's lightning-fast steps and the inevitable call, "Tout le monde est là? Qui n'est pas là? On y va...Attendez. Regardez la plaque. Qu'est-ce qu'elle dit?"...horrifying moments in elevators with Morgan, and on the flip side, his 'walking up and down the stairs' songs: "Annnnnd, we're walking walking walking, annnnnd, we're talking talking talking..."

So many things that are so fantastically wonderful, and so not as exciting to read about if you weren't there. Sigh.

I'm glad I was there.

I also for the first time am starting to look forward to Tucson. To be in my own bed, to cook in my own kitchen, to catch up with Audrey. Being away for a long enough time makes me appreciate the familiarity of my home, something I definitely was not doing before I left. I think this trip has salvaged Tucson for me; I think this trip has salvaged a lot of things for me.

At the moment I'm in Berlin, relaxing with Crina and Bax, probably boring her to death with all of my talk of Paris, but I think she understands. It's so beautiful here, with all the trees. It's calm and peaceful, and I feel a little less self-conscious about the things I do...it's also nice to be, for the first time in 6 weeks, with someone who knows me well, inside and out; with someone I've been friends with for a long time, with whom I can talk about things and I don't have to explain any back story. I missed that while I was in Paris, though I'm happy to have cultivated new friendships there as well.

Paris was the most amazing experience, even more amazing than I could have dreamed. I can't believe how lucky I was to have my host mom, and to have such an fantastic group to be with. I saw so many things, went so many places, learned so much about France and also about myself. I feel almost undeservingly lucky and blessed to have had this experience...it started out perfectly, and it ended perfectly. I couldn't have asked for more.

In three days I will see my sister, and I can't wait for that either. My trip is rapidly coming to an end, but the good stuff just keeps on coming.

Adieu.

What to say, what to say. My time in Paris has come to an end. By this time tomorrow, I will be in Berlin...which I'm grateful for, because if I was leaving Paris to go back to Tucson I think I would be pretty sad. At least I'm going somewhere awesome to be with someone awesome!

The last few days have been a whirlwind. I've started writing this blog entry so many times but I just don't even know what to say, what would be interesting. I feel like I've gotten so close to our wonderful group that half of what I want to write about wouldn't be interesting/exciting/funny to anyone except for us. Which is not helpful when it comes to blogging.

I'm about to have my last dinner with my host mom, who I haven't really seen in the past 3 days because I've been out doing things all day and then out until 4am every night. It's amazing how drastically different these last days have been, compared to the first.

I've never loved a place like I love this place. I love everything about it, I love the million and one sights I saw and did fiches ludiques about, I love the nutella crêpes that I could eat for every meal and not get sick of, I love the frites and the croissants aux amandes and all the other foods that aren't the same anywhere else, I love the metro, I love the unpredictable weather, I love the crazy drivers, I love the Seine. I love it all. I'm positive I love it more because I have to leave. But I guess that's just how it works.

I could write about what I did over the last few days, but it wouldn't be interesting, it wouldn't be beautiful the way it's was when it was happening. Suffice to say, I had a kickass last few days and I couldn't be happier...I mean that in all seriousness.

La bonne nouvelle...

I'm done with schoooooooooooool!




The bad news, of course, being that I only have 3 days left in Paris. :(

Let it be.

I definitely forgot to update about Friday night, which is unacceptable since that was one of the best nights I've had since I've been here.

After the Musée de Cluny and arènes de Lutèce, I went home and showered and made myself human again and then met Mme Ayoun and Pierre and Ben and Alex to go see "Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot," a film by Tati, whose exhibit we saw at the Cinémathèque Française last week. The movie was fantastic, and absolutely hilarious. It's an old one and I recommend it.

Afterwards we raced to Montmartre to meet up with the group for fondue. (Note to everyone reading this: If you ever are in Paris, and you take the métro to Abesses, DO NOT EXIT BY TAKING THE STAIRS. There are about 85 million of them. Those people crowding around the elevator? They're there for a reason.)

Anyway. We got to Montmartre and nearly the whole group had dinner together at this tiny fondue restaurant called Le Refuge des Fondues, which...has a lot of character. It's so small that everyone sitting long the wall had to literally climb over the table to get to their seats. There was no ordering, just a cocktail, some light appetizers, lots of fondue (cheese and meat), and wine...in baby bottles. Never in my life did I think I would ever drink wine out of a baby bottle. But now I can say that I have! It was really, really fun. And at the end, Mme Ayoun ended up paying for all of us, which was...beyond gracious, and a wonderful surprise.

Afterwards, probably as a result of a baby bottle full of wine (which definitely holds more than one glass), I agreed to go to a karaoke bar with my classmates. The DJ was awful and the music videos were terrible but it was so very much fun. I didn't sing anything alone, but everyone just ended up singing together the whole time anyway. Lots of Michael Jackson, of course. We pretty much had the upstairs to ourselves.

There was a moment when someone requsted "Let it Be", by the Beatles, and it got all quiet and everyone started singing together and it reminded me of my 10th grade Speech and Debate trip to Berkeley when we were driving in the van at night and the same thing happened - that song came on and everyone just shut up about whatever they were talking about and started singing, all together. Very, very cool.

Eventually it got late, and I took a cab home. I'm glad I went out at least one night in Paris. The circumstances were perfect. I had a wonderful time. And now no one can bug me about it ever again!! Hah.

Now I'm really done blogging for the night. Mainly because my internet is down to one bar and I suspect it won't hold out much longer.

Too many random things for one title.

I love Paris. I love my program. I love the people in my program, the teachers, my host mom, everything.

However, we've reached that point where most of the roommates are ready to kill each other, finals are lurking, and we find ourselves wondering, after literally crossing the entirety of Reims twice in an afternoon (in addition to climbing a tower and doing the rest of our activities), is this really necessary?

It's not a personal thing. I love that I'm getting the opportunity to do all of this and I'm grateful that my teachers gave up their whole summer to lead a pack of 18 rowdy, often hungover, college students across Paris. And I'll bet starting in about a month or so, I'll really appreciate it. But right now all I can think is that once this program ends I never want to set foot in another museum ever again, and the worksheets are getting a little out of hand.

On the bright side, we got to go champagne tasting yesterday. I would have liked to bring a bottle home, but carrying it around for the next 3 1/2 weeks seemed like a slightly terrible idea. I did buy a bottle for my host mom who, in case you were wondering, does not drink much wine but is a big fan of both champagne and whiskey. Which I respect.

Yesterday was also, of course, the 4th of July. Let's just be real about it...in France, July 4th is about as important and celebrated as Bastille Day in America, which seems about right. So the only celebrating I really did was to order a cheeseburger, fries, and Coca-Light (French for Diet Coke) for dinner...and I don't know if it was because of the holiday, or because I hadn't had a cheeseburger for at least a month and a half, or because I had just walked 80 thousand miles in the sun, but it was THE MOST DELICIOUS CHEESEBURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN. From a pizzeria in Reims, France. Go figure.

Anyway, originally there was a plan to continue the celebration at this American bar that my group has apparently discovered, which I have not yet been to...but every single one of us just went home and passed out after the train ride. It was a long day.

Today was a fantastic day. I got up and took the métro to Tuileries and then went to a salon de thé called Angelina (I think) near the Louvre. They have a famous hot chocolate, which I wanted to try, but I didn't feel like sitting down and getting a table by myself. So I got just a basic hot cocoa to go, and a pastry, and then walked around. Originally I was headed to the Seine, but I happened to run into Ben and Morgan from my program, which was kind of random and crazy given that we're in, you know, Paris. I hung out with them for a bit until they went to the Comédie Francaise, and then I stayed outside the theater for awhile listening to a little orchestra, which reminded me of my own orchestra days and made me so nostalgic that I bought their CD.

Then I continued walking towards the river. I ended up strolling around Île de la Cité for awhile, then made my way to Île Saint-Louis for some delicious gelato at Amorino (pistachio and vanilla), and on the way I went to L'Occitane where I splurged for some high end shampoo and conditioner because my hair is suffering big time with the humidity+laziness+lack of conditioner up until now. Whew.

After that I came home and took a nap, and then met up with Valentina and Alex and Anne to go to the Musée d'Erotisme (oh yes, that's right, the Sex Museum). I ended up pretty much going through alone because I had limited time until I had to be home for dinner. But it was really cool and I'm glad that I went. There were 7 floors and each one is really different from the next. If you're ever in Paris, I recommend it. It's different than any museum I've ever been to.

I came home to rabbit for dinner. I can tell when my host mom makes something she thinks I'll be wary of, because she doesn't mention what it is until I'm done eating it. She did the same thing when we had chicken livers. But I picked up on her antics and totally knew it must be rabbit the whole time. It was really good!

Today was an awesome French language day for me. Which is exciting since I didn't even have school today. But I did a ton of money transactions (recharging my métro pass, buying hair stuff, museums, ice cream, etc.) and not once did the clerk switch to English. And at dinner my host mom and I had a pretty involved conversation about knitting and rabbits and hunting and veganism and I held my own pretty damn well if I do say so myself. Which is good because lately I've been so exhausted by dinner time that she literally laughed at me one time and said, "You don't speak French anymore!" Hah.

Now it's almost bedtime...my feet will be glad for the rest. Tomorrow begins my Last Week in Paris.

I've done so much and at the same time...there's just so much I haven't done yet!

Crunch time.

Yesterday on my way to school, walking with Pierre, the kind-hearted graduate assistant who is part of my program, whose French I can barely ever understand due to the heavy Quebec accent, I learned a new phrase: compte à rebours. Countdown.

(This is where I would break out Europe's "Final Countdown" on my iPod, if this were real life and not the Internetz.)

I have 9 days left in Paris. In addition to the sudden realization that this means I have *gasp* 2 FINAL EXAMS next week, it also means I only have 9 days left of this beautiful city and the Seine and all the places I haven't gone yet, and the soldes I haven't taken advantage of enough yet, and of course ALL OF THE PASTRIES AND CRÊPES THAT I AM CLEARLY NOT GETTING ENOUGH OF. (This might be a slight exaggeration; I am eating my fair share of French deliciousness. But when your time together is finite...there's really no shame.)

I've noticed that at the beginning of the program I thought I would keel over from all the walking and excursions that seemed neverending. Towards the middle it got a little easier and I remember thinking, "Well hey, this isn't too bad!" Now, however, I'm convinced that we got a break in the middle for good behavior and it's back to the grind, because my feet HURT. It's a good kind of hurt. The soreness I feel upon waking is the good kind of sore, the "I walked up a kajillion steps AND meandered through 3 museums AND changed metro stations 8 times yesterday" kind of sore. It also means that when I get home in the evening I only want to shower, eat dinner, and go to sleep.

Hence, the speed version of the last few days:

Tuesday - Montmartre. In the heat. Do we walk up a gazillion steps to Sacré Coeur with the sun beating down on us? Or do we jam ourselves into the funiculaire with 87 sweaty parisians in an airless chamber for 5 minutes (which feel like an hour)? We cram in the funiculaire on the way up and nearly die, then take the stairs on the way down and nearly die again. Like everything in Paris, it's more than worth it at the end, so of course my complaining is over.

Wednesday - Musée Marmottan-Monet. Super cool photography exhibit. Movie of Paris from above, with fun music. Lots of Monet. I love Monet, and I thank Paris for that.

Thursday - Musée Rodin. Another very cool museum. Was going to see a movie after, but that didn't pan out, so I did some clothes shopping instead. And was actually somewhat successful. Score!

And now it's Friday. The first Friday in weeks that I actually got to sleep in! Going to a cookbook-store in about half an hour, then Musée de Cluny and the arènes de Lutèce. And then fondue for dinner tonight, if I recall correctly, as a group outing, because our group is so wonderful that we do stuff together even when it isn't required or planned by school....that's true friendship.

I know that wasn't a very exciting or insightful view of what I've been doing. But it's better than nothing, right?

Anyway, it's time for my morning croissant aux amandes.

A few short words.

Paris is really, really hot.
Air conditioning is not big here.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.


(I love it here anyway!)

No one wants to be defeated.

A lot has happened in the last several days.

The weekend in Normandy was fantastic. I saw Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetery...spent an afternoon at Mont-Saint-Michel, which is every bit as beautiful and special as my host mom said it would be (she grew up in that area)...finally went out one night with the group, in Rennes, which was a lot of fun. I'd do that more often if Paris was as calm at night as Rennes is. Unfortunately, it isn't. Such is life.

We spent a great deal of time on the bus driving around, and the radio was on most of the time while we were on the bus, and in case you were wondering, Michael Jackson's death is BIG NEWS in France. I'd imagine it must be pretty chaotic in America, considering what it's been like here. We got back Saturday night and yesterday afternoon apparently there was a big tribute event at the Eiffel Tower. I would have liked to go...

However, I spent all of yesterday in bed with what I'm guessing was food poisoning. Which was not so much fun. I actually was kind of sick all weekend, but especially Saturday night/Sunday. I finally feel okay right now, though, which is good because my host mom suggested that if I'm not better tomorrow I should go to the doctor. And I do not like going to the doctor. I think it will be okay, though.

This afternoon we went to the Cinémathèque Française, which is a museum about film and cinema. It was really, really fun, and extra cool because I'm currently in a cinema class, so I felt very knowledgeable. I see stuff in Paris all the time that relates to my history course; it was nice to see some examples of the cinema stuff too.

It was HOT today. In fact, all day I kept trying to tell myself, it's not that bad, it's hotter in Tucson. And of course it is...but it's humid here, too. Basically, the sun is nice but today was rather unpleasant trekking around in the heat, and with an upset stomach at that. On the bright side...I'm in France. So it can never be too bad!

I've started reading a French translation of the book "Eat, Pray, Love", which if you haven't read, you should, because it's fantastic. In French it's called "Mange, Prie, Aime" - one of the few books where the title actually translates directly. And it's so beautiful in French!! I think I'm falling more in love with this language every day. And getting better at it, too. I was kind of impressed this evening by my ability to have a conversation about soap operas, cinema, and gastro-intestinal issues with my host mom without too much trouble. (Too much information? Oh well, it's my blog.) I think she finds it really hilarious that I'm starting to be able to keep track of the characters in "Plus belle la vie," which is our soap. It's VERY complicated.

What else? My classes are going well. Lots of homework - I must confess, as much as I'm going to be so sad to leave Paris and finish this program, it's going to be really nice to not have homework for awhile. Just sayin'. But really, I am going to miss all of this so much. I can't believe I'm 2/3 of the way finished already. I'm becoming better friends with the people in my group all the time, and I'm really happy that we'll all be back in Tucson together come fall (unless Crava decides to stay in Paris forever, which is a whole other story).

All in all, despite the loss of my beloved Bonzai (not to mention MJ, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and BILLY MAYS) and the food poisoning and whatnot, I'm feeling so overwhelmingly lucky and blessed with everything in my life right now. I truly couldn't ask for more.

Bittersweet.

Tomorrow I have to be at Gare Saint Lazare at 6:45am to take a train to Normandy for the weekend. I'm very excited. I'm also planning to go to bed basically as soon as I'm finished with dinner so I can at least get some sleep.

Yesterday we went to the Musée Jean Moulin, and saw the Étoiles du Rex in the evening. This afternoon we went to the Invalides. I have things to say about all of this; however, having just received the news that my cat passed away in Flagstaff yesterday, I'm ready to go home instead of sitting around blogging at McDonalds.

I'll be back on Sunday to catch up.

Panda Jolly.

I suppose I've been slacking a bit lately when it comes to blogging...I blame that on being ridiculously busy/tired, though. And lacking in motivation to spend an hour at McDonalds when I could be doing something else!

Let's see, where did I leave off? Saturday we went to see another castle, the Château d'Ecouen, which was fun. I've decided I really enjoy train rides...such a nice opportunity to lie back and listen to music and read. Mmm. After that I went home and relaxed for awhile, and thought about going out...but then this Offenbach tribute concert came on TV while I was eating dinner and my host mom and I ended up watching the entire thing, because it was AWESOME, and by the time it ended I was tired and went to bed. Not a bad way to spend at Saturday night, in my opinion.

Sunday morning I went to Centre Pompidou with Liza and Devonne, which was super cool. That building is fantastic. We saw an exhibit of Kandinsky, which was probably my favorite art that I've seen so far on this trip. The modern art exhibit was all of this crazy feminist stuff that I didn't like at ALL. I am all about feminism, but not so much the extremists, and I can think of better things to do than look at a black and white film strip of a naked woman holding a chicken, thank you very much. It was enough to convince us to leave and go get lunch and crêpes (oh yes, both lunch and crêpes, not just crêpes for lunch). Then we wandered around a bit, and split up to go home for awhile before the fête de la musique.

We met up in the evening and went first to "MTV Shake ton Booty", which was...an adventure. I've never felt so white in my life, but that's okay. There were sooo many people there, and I actually really enjoyed the music. They had a special guest who turned out to be Flo Rida...so I got a chance to learn who Flo Rida is and realize that I recognized one of the songs grâce à Audrey. Fun!

Someone had said there was going to be reggae going on at Bastille, so afterwards I headed over that direction with Morgan, Devonne, Liza and Valentina. There was no reggae, but there was still a lot going on. We walked around a bit and then went and had a fantastic dinner with a really adorable and friendly waiter. I love how long and drawn out dinner is in France; I think we were there for at least 2 hours.

When we got back outside we met up with Ben and Jerris, who had just come from the Comédie Française. Not long after they arrived, as we were trying to decide what to do, all of a sudden something happened (I still don't know what) and out of nowhere all these policemen showed up. A LOT of policemen. They had flare guns and everyone started running away...we ran and then stopped to look back, and then like a million police cars showed up with lights flashing...and then everyone pretty much started running again and more and more police kept showing up. It was chaotic and I basically just latched onto Ben and said, "Please take me home now!" So we ended up all getting on the metro, and we went to Châtelet and the entire group walked me all the way to my front door. Which I appreciated because Châtelet is pretty sketchy even when it's NOT the night of fête de la musique. When I got up to my apartment I told my host mom about it and her response was, "Oh, yeah, that's Paris at night." Hah. It figures, the one night I actually stay out past 11 I end up running from the police...adventure!

Yesterday was just long...I was exhausted from the night before and then after class we did a "treasure hunt" from l'Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées all the way to l'Église de la Madeleine. It wasn't very much fun and I was kind of grumpy at the end, but I guess I can't expect every single day to be wonderful while I'm here. Anyway, as with the last treasure hunt (the one in the Latin Quater in the rain), my host mom managed to redeem my day by watching a super awesome movie with me on TV after dinner. Last night was King Kong - the original 1933 version. Dubbed in French. SO cool.

Today was relatively uneventful; after class we didn't have an activity planned so I went to lunch and then "went shopping" with Devonne and Liza, meaning that they shopped and I remembered how terrible I am at clothes shopping because I'm so picky and I know nothing about clothes. But that's okay, because I had fun anyway, and after I went home I went to the Forum des Halles where there's a Swatch store and bought a super awesome watch. From 2 cute French guys who chatted with me, and continued to speak French with me even after they found out I spoke English, which was awesome and doesn't happen very often. Success.

And now I find myself at MacDo again, getting up to date on life outside of France. I don't miss home, but I do miss the people! Tonight we're going out for sushi to celebrate Ben's birthday, and I'm looking forward to that.

P.S. This car is parked outside of my school every day, and it makes me SO happy every time I see it:

Photos and such.

Photos of Monet's garden:






Today I'm not going to MacDo because tout le monde is out and about (this is an instance where I think it's quite appropriate that the French use the same phrase for "the whole world" and "everyone"), so I'm going to post this quickly before my stolen internet goes away. I went to the Forum des Halles for a little bit with Liza and Devonne and it was so crowded that it just made me want to go home and read and not leave the apartment...so that's what I intend to do, at least until after dinner. Today was pleasant, we went to a castle. I like castles. I've also officially been in Paris for 3 weeks. Time flies!

Sur la terre comme au ciel.

Today we went to Giverny to see Monet's garden. It was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever experienced.

Each time we go to visit a church I'm struck by the beauty of the art, the stained glass, everything created so carefully in devotion to God. This garden was like the opposite - God's gift to the world.

I feel like I can't accurately describe it with words, and my pictures are still stuck inside my camera. But there are many, and they will be shared. Because there's no way I could keep that kind of beauty to myself.

I think I'm still just kind of in awe. I don't have much more to say.

It all comes down to sensitivity and the Four Agreements.

The last two days have been a little slow, and I'm grateful for that. The last three weeks have been jam packed with onethingafteranother and while that's all been totally more than worth it, it's nice to be able to breathe a little bit. Especially since we're jumping back into activities at 8 tomorrow morning, joy of joys.

I spent a good deal of time yesterday just laying in bed reading, and it was so nice. I've vowed not to read any English books until I get home, but I'm quite engrossed in my current novel, which is one I've already read in English that's been translated into French. I love the feeling of getting lost in a book for a few hours because it's so good, but I love that feeling even more when it's in another language!

I had two successful transactions today, at the post office and at MacDo, where English never came into the picture. Sweet!

I'm starting to notice more of the cultural differences between my host mom and I, and the ways in which they present themselves. There are some things that are really nice - that we can both be at home all afternoon and not feel the need to make small talk. I'm awful at small talk. But some things can be difficult and I have to remind myself not to take things personally.

Last night I was clearing the table and she commented that she guessed I probably had never helped my mom clear the table when I was younger. I replied that of course I had, and she said I didn't seem to know what I was doing. I am well aware that I don't know what I'm doing, but that's because I'm in a random French woman's house and don't want to mess anything up, not because I never did chores when I was little!

A somewhat similar situation came up when we were talking about travel, or something, and she asked if my parents had given me a lot of money for this trip. She seemed really shocked when I told her I had worked a lot all year to save up my own money, and for a second I found myself getting offended that she would assume that I hadn't earned the money myself.

Between these two instances, it seems to me that the real misunderstanding is that of the difference in work ethic between Americans and the French, and that's why I'm training myself not to let things like this get to me. In the culture in which I've been raised, a person's job is very important. People are proud of their work, and they are proud of how hard they work. The first question people ask you when they meet you is, "What do you do?" For me, to hear my French mom comment on me not working to help my mom when I was younger, or to have her assuming that my parents pay for everything, that says, "You're lazy and you don't work hard enough." But of course that's not what she's saying at all, because the French aren't raised with those same values being forced at them. They value things that actually matter, like food and family. Go figure.

To go off topic for a minute, it reminds me of the other night when she asked me why I don't eat very much butter (because I can't bring myself to put as huge of a slab of it as she does on my plate when we have dinner). Because people in my country come at me from all angles telling me that butter is bad, of course! We're all a bunch of crazies on the other side of the ocean. She also likes to talk to her friends on the phone right outside my door so I can hear her joking to them about how I "don't eat anything". If eating the way I have been constitutes "not eating," I think I'm in trouble!

Another thing I notice is that, just like in the situation I mentioned above, she's always asking me about when I lived with my parents. Did I help my mom in the kitchen? Did I help cook? Etc. Sometimes I want to shout, "I've lived on my own for three years! I know how to take care of myself!" But I don't, because it's irrelevant and doesn't matter. Even if I interpret her words as telling me I don't know how to take care of myself, I know that's not really what she's saying.

I didn't mean for this to turn into some skewed commentary on cultural values, its just something I've noticed. Something that I've noticed many other times in my life as well, when dealing with people who were raised in a different culture from my own.

Really, I just need to write out the Four Agreements and stick them on my wall by my bed, where I have them at home...

The Four Agreements
1 - Keep your word impeccable
2 -Don't take things personally
3 - Don't make assumptions
4 - Always do your best

Girl Without a Country?

First of all, the coolest thing about using WiFi in France is that The Internet knows that I'm in France. My Google searches automatically scan through Google.fr instead of Google.com. My login screens for Facebook and Blogger are all in French. It makes me smile.

In the last two days I've discovered that I'm not immediately recognized as an American wherever I go. I think this is a good thing. Although I have a lot more pride in my country ever since our president was elected, the behavior of a good deal of the American tourists I've encountered is enough for me to mutter, "Je ne parle pas anglais," when they barge up and ask "WHERE IS THE _____" without even saying "Excuse me," or "Do you speak English?" I would really rather not be grouped in with them.

But anyway. Yesterday at dinner my host mom brought up the fact that apparently I don't have an American accent when I speak French. I wouldn't know, obviously (the only thing I can recognize accent-wise is that I can understand Africans speaking French better than anyone else - I think they speak slower)...but she said that I don't really have much of an accent at all and the little accent I do have doesn't sound American. Go figure. At any rate, it made me feel good.

Then today, when I got to MacDo and ordered my hot chocolate (at the ever-so-classy McCafé - it came in a tall glass with a long spoon and whipped cream sprinkled with cocoa powder, and even the tray is all fancy looking!) I had a little bit of a stumble in communication with the woman at the counter (who, by the way, was MUCH nicer than McNugget Woman from the other day) and she asked what my native language is, and her first guess was Spanish.

I guess this strikes me as particularly interesting because it seems quite the contrary of what the rest of my classmates are experiencing. I know many of them have mentioned being greeted in English immediately upon entering an establishment or ordering food. I believe part of the reason for that is because some French people like to practice English when they have a chance - but I wonder why it's different with me; if it has to do with who I learned French from, or something. Hmm.

I don't have much more to say that's really interesting. Last night I watched 3 episodes of "La plus belle vie," which is a soap opera-type show that my host mom loves. Usually it's really intense and dramatic, but last night it was hilarious! I like spending my evenings reading and watching TV in French.

This afternoon we went to the Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits, and we got to learn how to write calligraphy they way they did in the Middle Ages, and then seal our papers up with sealing wax. It kind of felt like elementary school, but it was really fun!

Not much more to say...I still love it here, and I can't believe I've been in France for 3 weeks already!

Bodies, bodies, bodies.

Yesterday we went to the Basilisque Saint-Denis, which worked out well, in my opinion, since it was raining. Even despite the rain, the stained glass was amazingly beautiful. Even cooler than the stained glass, though, were the tombs. There are tombs everywhere in Saint-Denis - in the church itself, upstairs, and of course below in the crypt, where Marie Antoinette lies, among others.

As mentioned previously, we went to the Catacombs last week. Which of course is an underground tunnel packed with bones and skulls.

Today, we spent the afternoon at the Cimetière Père Lachaise, which is, obviously, a cemetary. Another area of space occupied by dead bodies. Three different presentations of death and what happens after death; three different presentations of where you get to go when you die in Paris, depending on whether you were poor, or a king or, you know, a regular person or Jim Morrison or whatever.

All in all, very cool.

A funny thing happened on the way to the FNAC...

Yesterday I left my apartment to go to the FNAC to buy some books in French, since I'm almost finished with Fascination. The FNAC is located in the big shopping mall (the Forum des Halles) behind my apartment, and in between is an open square with a fountain in the middle. I got to the fountain to find a huge group of people shouting.

As I got closer I realized that they were shouting in Farsi, and most of them were holding signs or green balloons, many of them with scarves tied around their mouths. It was a protest against the results of the election that took place in Iran a couple of days ago.

It was amazing to see the amount of passion in everyone, and the solidarity among them. I saw tons of people finding their friends in the crowd, kissing cheeks and speaking Farsi. They had all kinds of signs, some people were handing out pamphlets.

I listened to them sing, and chant:

"Où est mon vote?"
"Where is my vote?"
"Sol- sol- sol-...solidarité...international!"

And many other things I couldn't quite catch, or don't remember now.

I stayed for at least half an hour, and then went to the FNAC (where I could spend a day easily without realizing it, but I limited myself to 45 minutes or so) and when I came out, they were still there, and the group had grown. I stayed for another hour, watching and listening on the outside. It was all very moving.

Notes from l'Hexagone

This entry is not about my day; it's about everything else. The huge things, the minor things, and everything that periodically makes me go, "Oh wow, I'm in France!"

There are small things that I know I'll have an interesting time readjusting to when I get home. The way the toilet flushes, for example, with a handle instead of a button. For that matter, the toilet actually being in the actual bathroom. The lack of rows of tiny cafés punctuating every street, and how much wider the streets are themselves.

And how damn classy the McDonalds' are here; the one I'm sitting in currently is newly renovated, with a pastry counter (McCafé!) as you walk in, two floors, and new, clean modern furniture. From upstairs I sit at the counter at the window overlooking Rue de Rivoli, home of my metro stop. The service, however, is much the same as in the U.S. I ordered my food, desiring McNuggets, fries, and a soda...but as soon as I said "Chicken McNuggets" she immediately grabbed them from behind her, told me my total, and held out her hand for my money. Had I been in America, I would have politely told her I wasn't finished ordering. As I am in Paris, where my French is embarassingly elementary (and lacking in the constant reassurance from my teachers at home!), I told myself that soda isn't good for you anyway, and since I'm planning to get ice cream with my friends later, I really don't need fries.

This, I think, is the reason that I find myself engaging in English conversations with my friends from the program here. Because even though I can get by in daily life, find my way from place to place, hold conversations with my host mom, there is just so much more that I want to say that I can't communicate in French, and thus remain silent. But I want to talk about the crazy thing I saw on the metro this morning, or recount my McNugget incident, or worry that the creaking floor is waking up my host mom in the middle of the night when I get up for more water...and that is when English comes into play. That, and the understanding of my peers, who are going through the exact same thing.

That is something that is really helping to keep me grounded, as well - having 17 other students who I see every day, struggling with the same things that I am. I find myself slightly better prepared than some of the students, since I've spent considerable time in France before. After hearing multiple times of the drama of trying to use the pay phones here upon arrival, I am brought back to the time I spent here at age 18, on my own and trying to call Jessica from the train station, asking a million different people to please help me out with the phone - and at that time, having only my high school French experience to back me up.

And what is it about French pay phones? I notice so many instances where the French seem lightyears ahead of us in terms of convenience, and at the same time, an equal number of times when I wonder how on earth the haven't caught on yet. Credit cards, for example, are so much easier here - if you're from Europe, that is. Americans have difficulty. Why? Because the French have discovered the simplicity of embedding a chip in their credit cards that allows them to simply be tapped or inserted into machines, where we are stuck with the primitive magnetic strip. Because of this ancient piece of plastic, I can't use my credit card in most self-serve machines at the metro and find myself continually bugging the person at the window for help. Restaurants and grocery stores present a similar problem; I've wasted a great deal of time trying to explain that you have to swipe the card, quickly, or it won't work.

This, so advanced, and yet I still can't figure out how to take a simple shower due to the lack of curtain, laundry hanging, and handheld showerhead. Is it so difficult to use real showers? And the aforementioned payphones, with their sneaky telecartes - which thankfully present less of a problem as more and more people get cell phones - but it just all seems like more trouble than it should be.

Anyway, that's the end of my complaining for the day. I can be nit picky and find the things that are less than perfect, but I mean, let's be real. I AM IN PARIS. I am madly in love with this city, more than I ever thought I could be with such a huge area, being such a small town girl myself. I find myself baffled by how lucky and blessed I am to be here, doing this. Even when I miss home, I know that I'm happier here. I get frustrated with myself when I can't understand some small encounter in French, but my self confidence grows exponentially on the occasions when I can handle myself in French, even though it is clearly evident that I'm American (which it seems to always be).

Plain and simple, I love it here. I love my classes, I love our excursions, I love my host mom and the apartment. I love waking up and remembering that I'm here, I love falling asleep hearing the noise outside my window. I love taking the metro, and I love wandering around like a tourist with my handy little map of Paris. I love it all.

This is how I feel here:


And now, I must remind myself about the main thing that got me here...time for some homework!

Shakespeare and friends.

Today was pretty much the first day since I've been here that I haven't had anything to do. Not to say that there wasn't anything to do, just that I didn't have any pressing plans or engagements. A day all to myself...awesome.

I slept in late and the laid in bed for a long time waking up. Eventually I met up with Laura at the Forum des Halles and we stopped at La Croissanterie and had a hot cocoa and an eclair and explored the FNAC for a little while. Next time I go there I'll have to buy a book, since I'll be done with my current one soon. We eventually dragged ourselves out (I could spend a whole day there, easily) and met up with Alex at Fontaine Saint-Michel. Then we walked up Boulevard Saint-Michel and stopped in a little bookstore for a bit, and then continued to Luxembourg Garden. We sat around and talked for awhile (long enough for me to get a little bit sunburned; oops!) and then Laura left and we met up with Valentina and had lunch at Quick, which is a French hamburger joint. It was good, nothing special. I felt really bad though, because I had such a hard time understanding the woman at the counter...even when she started speaking English. Oh well.

Then Alex and I went to Shakespeare and Company, which has to be the best bookstore in the universe. To quote Wikipedia:

Shakespeare and Company is an independent bookstore located in the 5th arrondissement, in Paris's Left Bank. Shakespeare and Company serves as both a bookstore and a reading library, specializing in English-language literature. The bookstore also houses young writers, known as "tumbleweeds, who earn their keep by working in the shop for a couple of hours each day...It was located at 12 rue de l'Odéon and was open from 1919 to 1941. During this era, the store was considered to be a center of Anglo/American literary culture in Paris. The shop was often visited by artists of the "Lost Generation" such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, George Antheil, Man Ray, and James Joyce.

It is seriously an awesome place. There are two floors and both are jam packed with books; new books, used books, all kinds of books. There are also books spilling out onto the sidewalk in front on tables and shelves. I wandered around inside for awhile, but the first thing that jumped out at me before I even went in was a 4 Euro used copy of "Gone with the Wind", which I bought, finding it very appropriate after watching the movie in French last week. When I bought it, the girl stamped the inside cover to say that I bought it at Shakespeare and Company, which I find incredibly awesome.

After that I came home, and spent the next few hours resting my feet and making this blog. At 8:30 I met up again with Laura and Alex and Valentina, and we went and had dinner in the Latin Quarter at a little restaurant with a funny waiter and delicious food. I had onion soup, duck, and crème brûlée; Alex tried escargots for the first time.

When we finished dinner we wandered around the streets for a bit, listening to the different people playing music on the sidewalks. Then we went to the Pont des Arts, which is a bridge over the Seine. We saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 11:00, and then we walked across the bridge, which was completely covered in people, mostly around our age, having picnics and drinking wine and playing music and hanging out. It was really, really neat...I want to go back some night with a picnic dinner.

Around 11:30 Laura and I decided to come home so we wouldn't have to ride the metro alone super late at night. Now I'm getting ready to go to sleep, and I'm really excited that I get to sleep in again!

I feel like I have many observations to write about, regarding my experiences and what I've seen...but I think I'll have to save them until another time when I'm more awake. Probably tomorrow! :)

Hey, I have a blog!

I decided (finally) to start a blog about my study abroad in Paris. I've been here for about 2 weeks already, but I've been keeping a journal (as I tend to do most of the time anyway), so I've picked out the good parts and placed them here. Apparently Blogger lets you change the date of a post to whatever you want, so I went back and dated everything appropriately (hence why each entry prior to this one says "(posted from the future)"). Just in case you were curious.

Anyway. Here's my blog, I'm sorry if it's boring, but if it is, you can go ahead and stop reading. I won't be offended. At any rate, when people ask how my trip is going, I can direct them here instead of saying, "Oh, it's great, I'm in love with the city!" Because, I mean...you probably already knew that much, didn't you?

Versailles (posted from the future).

Today was long! But fun just the same. We spent the day at Versailles – I didn’t sleep well because I woke up in the night with a sore throat which persisted all day. We met at 8:30 to take the RER…so I was kind of exhausted all day. Oh well.

Anyway, Versailles itself was very cool. The palace is HUGE! And the rooms are gorgeous, and there was an exhibition with all kinds of costumes from that period.

It’s amazing the kinds of things people wore, and it’s crazy to realize that real people actually wore those exact things I was looking at. I have the same trouble when we go to old houses – trying to fathom that real people actually lived there at one point!

Anyway, we saw the palace and then had lunch at a little café in the garden, then looked around some more and then split up to go our own ways. Most everyone went home right away to pack and leave for Amsterdam, but I stayed behind with Alex and Valentina to look around the garden some more, even though I wasn’t feeling well, just because it was so gorgeous. I’m really glad I did. We wandered and took pictures and then took a little trolley thing to the main gate and looked around there for awhile. There was some sort of movie being filmed by the fountains, so there were all these people in period clothing. We watched that for a bit and it was really cool.

Eventually we took the RER back home and I took a shower and was lazy for awhile before dinner. Then we ate and now I’m being lazy again…I probably should do homework or something, but I’m just exhausted and anyway I have the next two days completely free. I can afford to waste a little time.

Tomorrow Valentina and Laura and Alex and I are going to go to some bookstores and then go out in the evening, and also hopefully have dinner because tomorrow is the night where I’m on my own for dinner.

I’ll probably do a little homework tomorrow, and most of it on Sunday. I’m not too worried.
Time to read and watch TV and go to bed!

Jardin de Luxembourg (posted from the future).

Today was fun. After class we went to the Jardin de Luxembourg, which is gorgeous. I’m going to go back there this weekend, I think. Then we went to the Pantheon, which is huge! And really cool. I saw Victor Hugo’s tomb, and also Marie Curie and Louis Braille. After that we went up to the dome and had a really gorgeous view of Paris, which was worth having to go up and down a ton of stairs (going up the stairs is hard, but going down the stairs just freaks me out!)

Then Valentina and Laura and Alex and I went and had crêpes at a cute little café. We’re all going to go out some night this weekend and also go bookstore-ing while everyone else is in Amsterdam. I’m excited!

Then I went home and got my laptop and went to MacDo to use the internet, and then I came home and watched the news and had dinner and read my book in the living room while my host mom sketched and watched TV.

I think some people in the program are jealous of how awesome my host mom is. I don’t blame them!

Tomorrow we’re going to Versailles and I’m so excited! I remember seeing some documentary on it when I was in junior high or high school, and I’ve wanted to go ever since. I think it will be a lot of fun. I’m also excited to take the train there…I love trains.

I can’t believe the second week is almost over. Time is going by so fast! I don’t want it to end…everything is so wonderful. I’m having such an amazing time. I think I need to keep enjoying it and quit thinking about how it’s going to end eventually…!

I think my French is starting to get better – I do think it’s helping that I watch TV and read in French. But I really want to start talking ot my friends in French more, too.

Life is good.

The Louvre (posted from the future).

We went to the Louvre today. I can see why Mme Ayon hates it there – so many tourists. But I also see why so many people go there in the first place; it’s amazing. There’s so much stuff, it just blew my mind.

As a group we went downstairs and saw the foundations and medieval structures from when the building was a fortress. Then we got to go off on our own, so I went with Laura and Ava and Valentina. We saw the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, of course, and then we went to the Egypt exhibit, which was AMAZING, and then the Iran exhibit, which was also VERY cool, and then the Apartments of Napoleon. We were there for almost 3 hours.

Then I came home and got my computer and went to McDonalds. I got a dessert and used their free WiFi; it was nice to have fast internet again for once. I was sitting at a booth and this random woman came and sat across from me, which was weird until she took her own computer out. But then she started asking me all these questions about something she was doing online, and I helped her, and THEN she was having trouble with the internet itself so I tried to explain what she needed to do – connect to the network and then open a new window to verify – and she got all frustrated and was like, “you don’t even speak French!” which pissed me off because my French was fine, she was just dumb and didn’t follow my directions. So I stopped helping her.
I had a nice dinner with my host mom, and now it’s bedtime. Still loving it here!

Tales from the Crypt (posted from the future).

This afternoon we went to the Catacombs, which was certainly interesting. LOTS OF SKELETONS! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It was creepy, but definitely cool, too. There were depressing quotes and poems on some of the walls, which was interesting.

Afterwards I had hot cocoa and dessert with Alex and Laura at a café. I really adore both of them. Then I came home and took a shower and did homework. I got some of my graded assignments back today and I got an A- on my history composition, which is the best I’ve done so far on an assignment!

Apparently a bunch of people in my program are going to Amsterdam this weekend because we have both Saturday and Sunday free. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I think I’m going to stay here. I’m pretty sure Roya and I are going to go to Amsterdam at the end of my trip, so it isn’t crucial that I go now, and I think for me it would be too much for one weekend. I think I’m going to check out some bookstores such as Shakespeare and Co.

Tomorrow night I think Alex and I are going to go out after dinner for a glass of wine. That is exactly the kind of “going out” that I enjoy and I’m excited! We’ll probably go somewhere in the Latin Quarter.

My cold is finally starting to go away, I think (knock on wood!). I’m still coughing, but not as much, and less congested. I’m glad. I hate being sick.

The time is flying by; I can’t believe we’re almost halfway done with the second week. I feel like this trip is going to be over before I know it!

I love being so productive and busy and seeing so much cool stuff. I’m exhausted every night and my legs are constantly sore from all the walking, and I love it!

I’m reading Fascination and I think for my next book I’m going to choose something a little more grown up. It’s good for me, though, I think.

After dinner I watched “Patriot Games” dubbed in French with m host mom. I’m enjoying watching movies every evening! I think my host mom thinks I’m boring, though. She asked if any of the other students in my program are as quiet and serious as me.

Maybe I am boring.

But maybe I’m okay with that! After all, I’m enjoying myself, and I think that’s what counts.

Musée d'Orsay, Laundry and "Gone with the Wind" (posted from the future).

Yesterday was my last day with Mom and A.B. We went to the Musée d’Orsay, which was huge and neat. We were there for about 4 hours (including eating lunch there) and we only saw like a floor and a half – we started with the impressionists, and that was my favorite part. But there were so many amazing paintings and statues everywhere, and the museum itself is pretty spectacular. It used to be a train station. We had a really nice time.

Then we walked around for awhile – we went over to the Louvre to see the glass pyramid, and we went to some little tourist shops, and eventually we took the metro over to Saint-Germaine-des-Près. We walked a bit and ended up in this quirky little café for dinner. The décor was all purple and orange, and they were playing all this old American music from disco to the Beach Boys. We had a nice meal and then said goodbye, and I went home to finish my homework and do laundry, which was an adventure in itself…

The washing machine turns out to be very loud, which I didn’t know, and I felt bad doing it at night. But my host mom didn’t seem to mind. When it came time to take the laundry out, I couldn’t get the door open until I realized you had to turn the dial over back to a certain place, and she came in and was like, “Qu’est-ce que vous faites?!?!” (“What are you doing?!”) Then she saw that I had figured it out and laughed and said not to worry (it was pretty late) because she’d had coffee that afternoon and was totally wired and couldn’t sleep anyway. Once I got the laundry out to hang on the line I also noticed that I’d left a tissue in the pocket of my jeans, so I had a great old time picking out little tissue bits from all my clothes. Oy.

Today we had class and then we met up at Fontaine Saint Michel for a treasure hunt in the Latin Quarter. Which would have been all well and good except that it rained ALL DAY. So we were wet and cold, carrying umbrellas and worksheets and walking in circles all over trying to find streets and plaques and buildings. It wasn’t much fun; all our papers got soaked and were falling apart. This morning was sunny and warm so I was dumb and didn’t bring my jacket – won’t make that mistake again.

Eventually, finally, we made our way to the Sorbonne and then met up with Mme Ayoun and had hot cocoa and eclairs at a café. Which was delicious, but I’m not positive it was worth it. I probably would have appreciated the neighborhood a lot more if the weather had been nice. Oh well, it’ll be a good story later.

Then I came home and changed into warm clothes and did a bunch of homework, and wrote some postcards. I’m not used to having to find time to do my homework; usually I have tons of time and just procrastinate, but here I really do have to make time to do it because we’re so busy every day. Yesterday most of my classmates just spent the day catching up on sleep.
After dinner tonight my host mom told me that “Gone With the Wind” was going to be on TV, and asked if I had seen it. I told her no, and she said it was one of her favorite movies. So we watched it together on TV – dubbed in French, of course. It was fantastic; I can’t think of a better way to have spent this evening!

I’m enjoying watching all these movies and TV shows in French; I think it’s really helping me. It’s also helping that I only speak French with my host mom. Now I just need to work on speaking more French with my classmates when we’re not in school!

Trois Églises (posted from the future).

Today was jam packed and certainly an adventure!

We met up at noon and went inside the Notre Dame. It was absolutely breathtaking. We walked around in there and then went to the crypt underneath which unfortunately was not quite as exciting as I’d hoped. It was raining though, so it was nice to be inside.

Then we went to Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. Sainte-Chapelle was even more amazing than Notre Dame…the stained glass upstairs left me speechless. I feel like I could spend forever in there. The glass all around the room depicts the Bible, from La Genèse to L’apocalypse. It was amazing.

Then I took the metro to Montmartre to see Mom and A.B. It was a little stressful getting there because the metro trains I was on kept stopping for some reason and they kept making announcements that I couldn’t understand. I made it eventually, though. I saw their apartment and walked around Montmartre and went to Sacre Coeur, which was another incredible church to be in. There were nuns singing and it was so peaceful and lovely. Then we made dinner at the apartment.

I wanted to go out tonight but I still have this cough and I thought it would be better just to rest. I did manage to get a bunch of homework done though, which was good. Tomorrow I’m going to spend the day with Mom and A.B. and hopefully do some laundry…and of course finish my homework. Can’t forget the homework!

Berthillon and the Parents (posted from the future).

I have a little cold, I think. A cough and stuffy nose and some wheezing. It’s inconvenient, but I’ll live!

Yesterday after classes we went to the Pavillion de l’Arsenal and saw an exhibit on the history of Paris, which was really cool. Then we went to Île Saint-Lous and Île de la Cité…we had Berthillon ice cream which is famous for how good it is (and it is definitely good!) and saw the outside of the Notre Dame, Hôtel Dieu (which is still a functional hospital today) and Palais de Justice.

After that I met up with Mom and A.B. near Notre Dame. We walked around a bit in the Latin Quarter and then took the metro to my neighborhood and had a drink with my host mom, which was fun. She complimented my French and spoke really cute “Franglais” and said her only worry about me is that I won’t go out enough with my friends at night (because most of the people in my program go out drinking most nights, and I haven’t gone out yet). So I think I’m going to go out tonight with my classmates, maybe.

Then Mom and A.B. and I had dinner at a restaurant near where I live. I had stake and fries, A.B. had steak tartare (ew) and Mom had pig shin. It was an adventure! Then I came home and went to bed.

We didn’t have an activity planned for this afternoon so I was going to go to Montmartre to see Mom and A.B.’s apartment after class, but we ended up going to the tower of Notre Dame. We’re going to the crypt underneath tomorrow.

It was fun, but there were SO MANY STEPS! My legs were shaking when I got down. There was an incredible view from up there, though. Afterwards I walked around for awhile with Shelby and Morgan and Ben, and then I came home to do homework. I want to try and get at least some of it done before the weekend.

Tomorrow after Notre Dame I’m going to meet up with mom and A.B. in Montmartre to make up for today, and we’re going to spend the day together on Sunday. That will be nice.
I finally asked my host mom about doing laundry, so I’ll try to get that done this weekend. Which is good because I’m running out of clean clothes!

For my history class, Mme Ayoun took the 5 of us to the National Archives today. It was really neat, there were a lot of really old documents and some really gorgeous rooms. Afterwards she treated us to lunch at the BHV, which was really fun!

I’m so happy to be here; happier than I’ve been in a long time. This whole trip has been amazing so far and I can’t believe how lucky I am to be here, doing this.

Musée Carnavalet (posted from the future).

Today I got up and went to class at 10; my host mom had already left for her painting class. I got there a couple of minutes early and found my classmates, and then Pierre came down to show us where to go. Both my classes were really fun, and I really like Mme Ayoun. And I don’t have too much homework (yet) which is nice. After class we had a couple of hours where we went to make some more copies and grab lunch, and then we met up at the Musée Carnavalet, which was really neat. It was a huge hôtel particulier with all these gorgeous room and a garden in the middle and an exhibit about the architect who designed Versailles.

After that I wandered around a little bit with Shelby and Devonne and Morgan and Ben, and then I went back to Châtelet and went to the Forum des Halles and bought the first Twilight book in French (called Fascination), and I looked at bags because I need one big enough to hold my laptop, but I was really tired so I gave up and came home. Then I did my homework and now I’m just catching up on stuff.

I’ve only been in Paris for 3 days but it feels like ages – I’m already starting to get my bearings and I’m not even homesick.

Basically everything is going awesome, and I’m so happy and blessed to be here!

Le Marais, and Copies (posted from the future).

We didn’t have class yesterday because of Pentecost (I think), but Shelby and I met up at 10 to try and find our text book at FNAC, only it was closed (the ONLY store closed in the entire Forum des Halles, which is the big shopping mall near where I live). So we got a SIM card for her cell phone and then we went and got ham and cheese and a baguette at the Monoprix and made sandwiches and had lunch with our class at the Place des Vosges. After lunch we walked all around that area (Le Marais) and the Jewish quarter and ended up at the Memorial de la Shoah, which is a World War II Holocaust memorial. It was really sad and I wish I had looked at it a little more but I was so tired and my feet hurt from walking around all day. Everyone else was in the same boat, so we didn’t stay too long.

After that my cinema classmates and I went to find a place to make copies of our text book since no one could find it – Mme Ayoun gave me her book to make the copies. She had pointed out a vague area near Centre Pompidou, so we found our way there and then had to ask like 3 different people where to go, and when we finally found a place it was closed. At that point everyone was exhausted and grumpy so they all left to go home and Shelby and I decided to walk back to Châtelet and get a soda on the way. When we were on our way we found another copy shop that was open so we made the copies for everyone.

Finally we made it back and Shelby got on the metro and I tried to find my way home, getting a little lost on the way. Finally I found it and rested for a few minutes and then I went out again to meet up with Caitlin, who was spending a few days with her parents in Paris, for dinner. We walked a bit and stopped at a little Italian restaurant for dinner, and then got gelato which we ate on the way home. It was really fun!

Finally I went home and took a shower and I’m finally getting the hang of that, kind of almost – a word about my shower: it’s a handheld showerhead, and there is no curtain, and there’s laundry hanging above it. So you have to sit down, and somehow maneuver it so that you don’t get water everywhere due to the lack of curtain, and it’s nearly impossible. I hope I get used to it eventually. It seems like such a simple thing to fix…I don’t understand why it hast to be so difficult! Oh well, such is life, I suppose.

Group meeting (posted from the future).

Had my first meeting with the group today. We went and saw where the school was and visited Place des Vosges, which is a gorgeous square/garden. When I was getting on the metro I ran into Shelby, from my program, who was with her host dad on her way to the same place, so I went with them. We met up at Place de la Bastille. There turned out to be a misunderstanding about the book for my film class, which was a little stressful but we pretty much figured things out. Our whole meeting only lasted about an hour and then I went and got a soda at a café with Ava, Laura, Devonne, Liza, Shelby and Caroline. Then Shelby and I took the metro together back to Châtelet where I got off to go home and she changed to a different line.

When I got home I read for awhile and went online and then had dinner with my host mom, and then we watched the movie “The Sting”, with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, on TV, dubbed in French. It was awesome. I didn’t really follow the whole thing, but I still enjoyed it. And then I went to bed.

Beginnings (posted from the future).

This morning Mom and A.B. drove me to Paris and dropped me off at my host mom’s apartment. They were going to come up for a drink and meet my host mom, but it’s impossible to find a parking spot in the middle of Paris (it’s impossible to drive in Paris, period) so we nixed that plan. A.B. pulled over and Mom walked me to the elevator, which was too small to fit me and my suitcase and her. So we said goodbye.

My host mom lives on the 4th floor of the building in a little apartment smack in the middle of the 1er arrondissement of Paris, near the Châtelet metro station. She is perfect for me! She’s so nice; she welcomed me in and we sat down in the living room and drank coffee (I don’t even like coffee, but somehow this I enjoyed. Go figure). Then she took me for a walk around the neighborhood, showing me her favorite flower shops (she bought some flowers for her miniature “garden” on the balcony) and the grocery store and the FNAC, which is my new favorite place. I couldn’t tell you now where any of that stuff was, but at least I know it’s nearby somewhere. The FNAC is a huge book/music/computer/everything store, and it turns out my host mom loves books just as much as I do, which bodes well for our relationship.

The apartment is tiny, but perfect for two people. I have a cute little room with a big window and several mirrors and an armoire. There’s a little livingroom with a TV and another window with the balcony that holds the little garden, and a little kitchen and a little bathroom. The floors creak a lot and some of the ceilings have gorgeous moldings. It’s so old and cute and…perfect.

Kind of like my host mom. She’s probably in her 60s; she has a daughter who’s 35 and lives in another part of Paris. She used to be a psychologist, now she’s retired and she’s a painter. She really appreciated the painting I brought her of the mountains in Flagstaff, so I guess that was a good choice on my part! I think I’m going to be very happy with her.

When we came back from looking around I found a weak WiFi connection on my computer, which lasted about 5 minutes before I lost it and couldn’t find it again. My host mom doesn’t have internet, which is inconvenient but I know it’s probably really good for me. I managed to send a belated happy birthday message to Audrey and check my e-mail to find messages from Dad and Roya. My host mom said I should be able to get internet at the garden near by, so that’s good. Anyway, those few minutes made me feel a little more grounded and connected to the world, and that was nice.

Now I’m just hanging out in my room trying to get my bearings and not flip out; I don’t think I’m really in any danger of flipping out, this is all just very new at the moment.. It’s exciting more than anything. I know I’ll get used to it soon, and things will start to feel familiar.

Apparently my host mom has students from Arizona in Paris stay with her every summer, and other students throughout the year. She said she’s been doing Arizona in Paris for around 20 years – basically, my entire lifetime. That makes me feel good and not so nervous; she obviously knows what’s going on.

Later in the afternoon a friend of my host mom’s came over. She was very friendly; she’s from Venezuela. I felt a little awkward because they were chattering away and I was trying my best to understand but I was still a little out of it from all the new-ness. No big deal, though. Later in the evening we ate dinner and then watched part of this awful French soap opera that she’s addicted to, and then a documentary about the Incas.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be meeting up with my group and I think that will be really good – to see some familiar faces and have people to do things with. And I’m really looking forward to Monday and starting classes and having a schedule and everything. I have a feeling that once that starts, time will fly by.