Smokin'

Today I didn't really do any of the things I said I was going to do, but that's ok haha. I got up, couldn't find Modern Family online, shortly debated whether or not I should go running, decided upon "go running later," proceeded to get a phone call that our group was going to the Louvre, so I went, too. Instead of running I had a delicious crepe for lunch followed by a trip through one of the other wings that I didn't see before. I have to say, while the company is fun, it's definitely better to go by yourself. One guy kind of just took over and led the way, so everyone just followed him. We went to the Mona Lisa first.... We walked straight past so much other cool art. Even da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks is SOOO much better! And Mantegna's painting of St. Sebastian, which we learned about in Art History in high school. I think this was the wing for me, because this was all the stuff we learned about in Humanities, AP Art History, and AP Euro. It's so cool when you can see what you learned about in person. We then walked through the Neoclassical section, and I saw Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the Horatii and the Coronation of Napoléon I (I think...still working on translating the French descriptions of all the art). David is one of my favorites. I saw The Death of Marat at the Phoenix Art Museum, which was sooo cool. I just love the story behind that one: guy with skin condition spends most of his time in the tub to stop the itching, murdered while in the tub by Charlotte Corday during the French Revolution (as previously mentioned, Corday was guillotined in Place de la Concorde). After that, we went through Romanticism (again, really quickly) and we saw a bunch of Delacroix's works like La Liberté which I'm sure you all have seen. Then we went down to another wing, and saw Ancient Egyptian art. A lot of hieroglyphics and sarcophagi. The colossal sculpture of Rameses II was not very colossal haha. I'm definitely going back to the Neoclassical/Romanticism wing next time. At my own pace. Walking around in there is so exhausting, it's ridiculous. We left and walked down rue di Rivoli for awhile and found a little café and got coffee. Then we took the Métro back towards Cité (dorms) and stopped at a grocery store so people could get food. It's not the one close to me, so I didn't get anything. But at least my goal of grocery shopping was partly achieved haha. I did get stuck in the candy aisle for quite a while. They have so much chocolate. I die. Also, I've realized that the checkout line takes insanely long. It's like no one has any sense of urgency. It's terrible. We finally got out of there and headed back to Cité because with your student ID you can get a meal for 3 euro. Except I don't have my ID yet so I didn't eat there. I came home and finally got to do laundry, which was good because I have like one pair of underwear left (sorry if that's an overshare...deal with it haha) and no more clothes. I ate dinner in my room and then watched Taken. At first I thought maybe I shouldn't be watching that, especially since they're in Paris which I didn't realize. But then I saw how freaking stupid the girls were and I don't think I have to worry. Like, really? Share a cab, tell him exactly what apartment you're in, let him watch you punch in the code? It was a good movie though. Really intense. However, this might sound really bad, but I don't think the girl was traumatized enough. Like right after her dad got there she was totally fine. She was laughing when she got off the plane. And definitely was not grateful enough, and neither was her mom and stepdad. In my opinion, anyway. Agathe had a bunch of friends over tonight, and they came in and introduced themselves and said to come hang out with them after the movie was over. I went in, and instantly realized my mistake when I saw they were all smoking. I really don't get it. Do they not understand what cancer is? Emphysema? Secondhand smoke? Everyone in the States knows the "Tobacco: tumor-causing, teeth-staining, smelly, puking habit" mantra. Why did that not translate in France? I stayed in her room for maybe 15 minutes and then I HAD to get out of there. I've never ever smoked a single thing in my life (and proud of it!), but now I'm seriously concerned about my health, living here. I thought South Campus was bad. I went back to my room and I smelled like cigarette smoke. I had to change my pajamas and wash my face and rinse my hair. It's disgusting. And it's really a shame, because French guys are way hotter than most American guys (sorry, guys reading this lol I did say "most" in case you didn't notice and were offended), but the smoking just makes them so much less attractive :(  I also have a new goal: get Agathe to quit by the time I leave. And to try and combat the effect of the smoke, I'm going to try and motivate myself to go run in the park after class tomorrow. Hopefully people don't walk around and smoke there...I'm not going to get my hopes up, though. Tomorrow I have my new class that I switched into, with two other girls in my program so that's nice. And then I think tomorrow night we might be going to Montmartre. There's a cool pub crawl there I guess. We'll see how that goes....

Practice Makes Perfect! *in about 8 years*

This morning I had French again. I really like that class. I followed pretty much everything that happened, but again when it came to writing(/creating original sentences) I struggled. We read a poem and then went through and defined all the words people were confused about. The explanations were in French, but my teacher is so good at explaining that it all made sense! There is a new girl in my class, and I got to help explain some of the stuff that was going on, which made me feel better about being in that class. After that class I went to the office to change my electives to a lower level of French, and they were SO unhelpful. First, the receptionist girls were very unresponsive and then rude when I went up and asked for help. The lady who actually helped me wasn't very nice either. I walked in and struggled in French to tell her that my elective was too hard so I wanted to change to the lower level. I asked to change all three because I definitely don't belong in the intermediate level, and since these classes probably won't really count for anything really at UCLA I don't want to kill myself with work this quarter. She was like "you want to change ALL THREE?!" and I was like, sorry but yeah the others are TOO HARD like I said.... So now I'm in "le decouverte de l'art," "Paris ciné," et "l'acualité en France." The last one is probably going to be like the other media class, but hopefully easier (minus cute boy, though, so that kind of sucks). And now I have class Monday, Wednesday, Friday. No more three day weekend :( And Monday and Wednesday I'll be on campus from 9-5. Also, I just have to say that UCLA is so much more beautiful than le catho haha. The international students are kind of separated from the actual school, and we're supposed to stay in a different area than the French students, and it's super ugly. At least the rest of the city is AMAZING so I can't really complain :) I met another girl in my second class who lives around the corner from me, so we took the Métro home together. She was complaining about her program, though, before I even got her name. It was kind of understandable, though, because I guess she has to take 21 hours per week? I only have 15. Maybe she'll have cooled off by next week haha. When I got home, the baby was here :) He is so freaking cute I can't handle it. He's so little! He's been sleeping the whole time. I also got to watch Glee when I got home, which I had been thinking about all day. It was probably one of the funniest episodes so far, thanks to Brittany, and I definitely need to watch it again just to catch all the great lines. And the music was so fun! Love that show haha.

This is totally random, but I'm watching TV right now and I'm starting to kind of learn the commercial jingles haha. They're so catchy. They sound so much cooler than American jingles. Warning: total linguistic geek-out moment ahead: Everyday I'm still totally baffled by other languages. When I hear people just speaking French I think it's so weird that other people just speak French all the time and it's so interesting how there are so many different languages and how people learn their language, etc. I love hearing little kids just babble on in French, it's probably the cutest thing ever. And then I wonder "how is it so easy for them, I can't even speak French" and then I remember that it's normal that they would be better than me haha. It does make me feel deficient, though, when little kids can speak French AND English haha.

Tonight, instead of just sitting on the couch where I was very comfortably watching TV and eating delicious dinner, I went out with the group. We went to a bar called la Panatalon in the 5th. Someone told me to meet at the Pantheon, so I went there and called one of the girls and she was like "Yeah, just come inside." And I was like, "Um, I think I'm in the wrong place, I'm guessing there's not a bar inside the actual Pantheon." But it was right around the corner so it's all good. It was a cool little spot and we had a table in the back which was a nice change from Chez Georges where we all had to awkwardly stand in the middle of the room. I waited for the second group of people to get there before I had anything to drink. (Note to relatives and teachers reading this I was VERY responsible haha). I still think it's weird that we can get served here. Especially since in the States I'll be way behind everyone. When the next group got there they started instantly haha. We had two shots each, vodka and grenadine, the most brilliant combination I have ever seen lol it actually tasted good. Which is something I have never said about vodka before. I stopped there, because I was not looking to get plastered and just chill on a bench in a bar. Some of the other girls kept going, and it was pretty entertaining. One of them had brought her new French friend, and he brought one of his friends, Jean-Loup, who is originally from Seattle but has been in Paris for about 8 years. The girl who brought them said she was glad to have met an actual French person because then she could practice, but everyone proceeded to speak English alllll night. I took advantage of the opportunity, though, and spoke in French all night with Jean-Loup. We talked about what he does, the differences between the French and American university systems, how awesome all the buildings here are, etc. I'm sure I made a million mistakes but he was really patient and if I didn't know a word he said he tried to translate (he doesn't use English very much anymore, so he had forgotten a lot...so weird!) But I think I got what I wanted to say across fairly well :) And I know I'm the only one who would take advantage of said opportunity to actually practice, but it was so helpful and still really fun! I also asked him how long it took him to be fluent, and he said it was about 2 years before he could really speak and say everything correctly (more than just get his point across with the wrong conjugations, negations, etc.). Yay haha. Anyways, we left at midnight because the Métro stops at 12:30 and if you miss that, you're stuck (unless you want to pay for a cab) until the Métro reopens at I think 5:30am. Doesn't sound fun to me. About half of us went home, and we're all kind of in the same direction so we were on the same RER for a while. The more I'm here, the more embarrassed I am by American behavior. It is so much louder and more intrusive than French behavior. Like in the bar, one of the French boys commented on how semi-belligerent Americans are and how different that is, and all they seem to care about is getting schwasty-faced. Everyone was really loud in the bar and then on the RER and I was glad to get away from the group. It seems like some people are here for the constant party since it's legal. I, on the other hand, would like to remember my time here haha. Anyway, I got home around 12:45 and made pasta since I missed most of dinner before I left because I literally had to run out the door since I live farther than most of the people (farther from a Métro stop, at least). Goals for today: do laundry since I actually have no clothes left, go running since I've been walking less with school and that's not ending well, go to Monoprix so I have food other than yogurt and pasta, go to the bank and get cash, and finally do my homework for next week so I don't have to worry about it over the weekend.

Bisou bisou!

Headacheeee.

Yesterday was the first day of classes. I only have one class Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and then two classes on Wednesday. Classes are all three hours long, though, which is rough. Yesterday, my class started at 9. I woke up at 7 because I have to get ready, walk to the Métro, then take the Métro, and then walk a little more. That was the earliest I've had to get up since I've been here. It. Was. Strugs. But I did it haha. I got there a little bit early since I didn't know where my class was, and it's a good thing I did because I got lost. Turns out there are a few entrances depending on which building you're in, so a nice nun helped me find my building lol. My class is only about 18 people or so. It's so weird. I was seriously expecting to walk into a lecture hall like UCLA, but it's more like a discussion. So strange. It's mostly Americans in my class, but there are a few random people from Korea and Germany and Mexico I think. Some people have been here for about a month already and have been taking classes, so I already felt behind. Then the teacher came in and started talking. In French. And never spoke English the entire three hours. I'm really glad I got here a couple weeks early so I could start tuning my ear, and I was proud of myself for understanding most of what happened. We had to introduce ourselves to our neighbors, then go around and ask everyone else questions, and then present what we had learned about them. I've found that I can understand pretty well, but when it comes to speaking I'm still at a loss. After meeting everyone (it took about 2 hours out of the three), we got a sheet of verbs and had to conjugate them according to the subject provided. This is where I failed immensely. A lot of them were irregular verbs, and I missed about half. I was also mad at myself because I let my neighbor convince me I was wrong on how to conjugate "faire" (a super common verb), and I was right originally. Then we went over a bunch of the rules that applied to all these tricky verbs (like it's different if it ends in "dre" vs. "indre" etc.). No homework but we're supposed to study those and may or may not have a quiz on Wednesday, at that point I was exhausted and didn't catch everything that was said. We'll see how today goes with "Les médias en France," my French elective.

Last night, Michal and Mado hosted everyone at their apartment for dinner. We had Shepherd's Pie and salad and the apple pie we all won from the scavenger hunt. It was really good and fun to hang out with everyone (none of them are in my classes!). Dinner was really fast, and after we were supposed to go to Montmartre, but Sergei didn't come and he was kind of the leader of that excursion, plus I don't really want to go without a guy in our group because I've heard it's not super safe at night. So half the people left, and some of us stayed and we just hung out for awhile and then watched French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, which I had never seen before. I loved it. It was soooo funny, there were so many hilarious scenes, and I can't believe I've never seen it before! I got home around 12 and went to sleep, getting ready for my second day of school!

So that class was rough. After about 5 minutes I entered panic mode because it was legitimately all in French (I guess I knew it was going to be like that) and everyone else in the class had something to contribute (in French) which I was not prepared for. And there are only about 20 people in this class, too, so it's obvious if you're not talking. I was catching about every third word or so, and the lecture was about the media which I decided I don't really care about. I sat there for three hours, the only exciting moment being when we talked about the Dreyfus affair, because I knew what that was. After three hours of that, I have quite the headache. There's a guy in my class from UCLA, though! That was exciting. He's really nice, too. But he is fluent in French and was actually following what was happening. Hopefully even if I switch out of this class, I'll still have a fellow Bruin to go find somewhere to watch the UCLA football games with haha. So now I just have to wait for my resident director to email me back about the elementary electives...I'm really curious as to what the difference is. Maybe less class participation? Hopefully slower speaking? I wish there was one that had an integration of material with French, but not everyone else speaks English as a first language. I'll keep you guys posted!

Bisou bisou!

Wait, Sam Wrote a Short Post?

Today we had a "scavenger hunt" to see how well we knew the city/if we were good at getting around on our own. I met up with Michal and Mado at their apartment first, and then we walked to Place du St. Michel (where the huge fountain is). We met up with the other girls and Tawna was there to give us the instructions. Her little boy was there and he's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. He just kept burying his head in his dad's chest and looking out at us with the biggest blue eyes it was adorable. We got the packet and decided that we would just go as a whole group instead of break up into teams and compete. For those of you who know me, this was not my decision, I went into today ready to win haha. Today started out kind of chilly, and only got colder and more rainy...not the ideal situation for a scavenger hunt but we tried to make the best of it. The first stop was the Jewish Deporation Memorial at the back of Notre Dame. It was a very somber way to begin the scavenger hunt. Then we walked to Hotel de Ville, and we were all already starving at this point so we stopped for lunch. Once we got moving again, we walked to the Louvre, because we had to get a business card (carte de la maison...none of us knew what this was when today started) from one of the shops in the Carrousel du Louvre (the giant mall underground). We were here for awhile because we ended up waiting for Sergei and Odai, the 2 guys in our group, who got a late start. Then we walked, I repeat walked to L'Arc du Triomphe. It. Is. Far. We walked for at least half an hour and finally made it. I was definitely missing the Métro. Converse are not ideal cold weather/rain shoes. I have a feeling I will be investing in some boots in the near future. Then we walked to the Trocadero, which is just across the Seine from La Tour Eiffel. It's a really cool view. Then, instead of taking the closer Métro stop (I wasn't complaining though because at least we were getting on it) we walked to the Bir-Hakeim stop back across the Seine. While we were waiting for the train, some super sketch guy stumbling around on the platform grabbed my ass. That was fun. Not. Making sure to get in a different car than him, we headed towards the last place (after skipping a few...). It was a crepe place in a really random location. We were all super excited about this one, because after walking for literally miles we were all hungry again. I had a nutella crepe and it was the most heavenly thing on the planet. Even the savory crepes looked delicious. I could probably live on those. Then we realized we were late getting back to Cité to turn in our paper, so we hurried back. Since we all won, and someone told us the prize was two bottles of wine, I just stayed on the tram and went home. We're saving it for our cooking night tomorrow, anyway. I got home, stripped off all my wet clothes (and soaking wet shoes and socks) and took the hottest shower ever because today I felt like I would never be warm again. I will also be investing in a thicker coat. Which will be very useful when I get back to LA. Then I started reading HP again and passed out around 7:30 haha. I woke up for dinner at 8 and then watched part of a movie with Bibiane and Antoine, but this was a war movie and only had French subtitles when the characters were speaking another language, so I was really struggling to follow/wasn't very interested. Basically, we walked ALL OVER the city. And now I'm going to go to sleep (to the sound of pouring rain) because I have to get up early for the first day of school tomorrow!

One Bird Was Harmed in the Creation of This Post.

Yesterday, after waking up and watching Glee of course, I decided to go to the Louvre. It's next to the Tuileries, so I knew what Metros to take and everything. As I was walking to the Metro, someone in Montrouge asked me for directions. Plus side, apparently I blend in and look like I knot where I'm going; downside, I'm quickly learning that "je ne sais pas" is about as helpful as I can be to anyone (including a lady at the bookstore...fail). On the ride there, at one of the stops, someone boarded and was standing right in front of where I was sitting. I looked up and saw, yup, you guessed it, an accordion player. This situation is getting out of control haha. Also when I got of the subway, some girl, accompanied by a large group of girls, was going down the stairs on crutches, and then got into a wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs. And her entire group had to stop with her, standing like a barricade across the subway exit. I don't understand some people. Anyway, I got to the Louvre and followed the signs/masses of people for Carrousel de Louvre, which is like a huge underground mall area that I had no idea even existed. There were so many shops and restaurants all just underground! I hoped I was going the right direction, I'm pretty sure you could easily get lost down there. Then I got to the main area where the inverted pyramid is, and again I just thought of The Da Vinci Code. Then I'm pretty sure I cut the security line, but got through and got in line for my ticket. Which was free because I'm a student under 26! I just had to show my student visa, it was great. The ticketing area is under the big pyramid. It was really cool and beautiful, but so sunny! My eyes were watering it was so bright having just gotten off the underground subway and walking through the underground mall. I thought it would have been weird if I put my sunglasses on, though, since technically we were inside.

The museum is divided into three wings, and I decided to go to the Richelieu wing, because that's where the Code of Hammurabi is, and I've been told (many times) that it's a must-see. The Mona Lisa is in another wing, and I saved that one for another visit because I've been told (many times) that it's less than impressive. I went in through the Cour Marly, with all the Marly horses. The room was beautiful. It was all off-white marble with a huge glass ceiling. But not as bright as under the pyramid. I proceeded to see a lot of 15-17th century sculpture, which was all beautiful. Then I saw the Appartements Napoléon III, which were probably the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen. Everything was so extravagant and there were at least 20 chandeliers. I was just in awe the entire time I was wandering through. Then I saw paintings from Northern Europe (mostly Dutch and Flemish I think) including Rembrandt (!) and some French paintings. One of my other favorite rooms was a huge room filled with huge paintings by Rubens. Marie de Medici commissioned them, and it's a series of 21 gigantic works that depict her life. You can read more about them here if you want!

I knew the Louvre was huge before I went, but it's literally so gigantic I'm convinced it's impossible to get through the whole thing ever. There were SO many rooms and so much to see it was extremely overwhelming. I was wandering around for about 2 hours and was exhausted. I went to the Code of Hammurabi on my way out, which is the first written code of law with over 3oo rules engraved on it! After that, I decided that was enough for the day and made my way to the sortie (exit). I'm glad I went by myself, because I can't imaging having to go through at someone else's pace, or having to decide which direction to go, since it seemed there really wasn't a right way to go through. On the way out, I found a bookstore that had English books, so I bought the last HP even though I already have it at home, I couldn't find it before I left, so I'm really excited about that. Then, on rue du Rivoli I found one of the places my abroad company recommended for hot chocolate, but when I saw the hot chocolate cost, like, 8 euro I left without getting any. First of all it was a hot day, second of all, that is an absurd price for hot chocolate. Even though I was starving and dying of thirst.

Then on the way home, the Metro stopped for way longer than normal 3 stops away from mine. I got impatient so I just got off and started walking. I'm pretty sure right after I got off it started running again. It was a pretty long walk back to my house, I'm just glad I found it, though. I bought a baguette on the way home and made a delicious turkey and cheese sandwich when I got home. I was so tired from walking in the Louvre and then a lot of the way home. I think my host family thinks I don't do anything all day, because they always find me in the same place when they get home, but I always just tire myself out from walking everywhere.

Bibiane made a delicious dinner last night (even though the chicken was just thawing out on the counter all day...I haven't died yet so that's good), and I watched The Mentalist with her and Antoine. In French. I was très confused.  I stayed up until midnight so I could "set" my clock after changing it to an hour later somehow, and unplugging it at midnight is the only way I can figure out how to set it right.

Today I had no idea what I wanted to do. I want to go to Montmarte, but there was a national strike and I wanted to avoid taking more than one Metro/going very far. First I had to wait around for my phone to be delivered, which finally came around 11:30. It's the smallest phone I've ever seen and has the least features of anything I've ever used. I can't even figure out how to make it stop beeping every time I push a button. And I have no idea what the ringtone is so it'll be interesting the first time it rings. After that, I ended up going back to Notre Dame and just reading (HP7!) in the little garden outside for a bit. Then it started raining so I ran into a bunch of the gift shops looking for an umbrella (parapluie) and the instant I bought one it stopped raining, of course. At least I have one now haha. Then I walked over to Ile St. Louis because an ice cream shop over there was recommended by a few people. I found it, but the line was super long, and the girls behind the counter seemed extremely flustered (the group was not making their job any easier by trying to be polite or anything). So I went to another shop that was also recommended (filled with another tour group, clearly I picked the wrong time, but they were almost done) and I got strawberry and vanilla. They shaped it into a flower on the cone and it was delicious. The Bastille is really close to where I was, and I thought about going, but then I remembered that's where the big strike protest was happening. I guess they raised the retirement age here and people are mad. I could here the chanting and music coming from that direction, and I decided it would probably be a good move to steer clear of that area. I walked back over to Notre Dame and read some more, and then decided to head home. (HP7 SPOILER ALERT COMING UP SO IF YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK AND HAVEN'T READ IT AND WANT TO SKIP A LITTLE BIT) On the subway I was reading more, and literally almost burst into tears when Hedwig died and then when George lost his ear. I knew that happened but it was all I could do not to cry for some reason. I also got all geeked out over HP at lunch with my resident director the other day haha. (I HAVE to get to this premiere!) Then I read some more on the cute little outside patio at the house, and now I'm watching more French TV that I don't understand. And praying that MegaVideo comes through for me tomorrow because BONES FINALLY STARTS TONIGHT! (Yes, I do care, even though I'm in Paris.)

À bientot!


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So I didn't want to start a new post so this is Saturday morning. Yesterday, since my family thinks I don't go anywhere all day, I just walked over to the mall, went and sat in the Starbucks, and read HP haha. It was raining so I didn't really want to go exploring. I was there for a while, debating the entire time if I actually wanted to get a drink (because a tall is over 4 euro...). I ended up sucking it up because I didn't have lunch in preparation for our welcome dinner since it was already like 3pm and I didn't want to show up not hungry for a free dinner. After that, I went to the Monoprix to get my school supplies since I didn't bring notebooks or anything over here with me. When I walked in, the security guy was like staring at me and came up and said something (of course I had no idea what--people here need to speak louder I feel like everyone mumbles quietly) so I kind of just smiled and tried to convey my French is very bad. He took a step back and then after a few more seconds stepped towards me again and was like "you are very beautiful" and I was like, um...thanks. And he proceeded to watch me try and find nail clippers that weren't 8 euro. My search ended before I was successful because he was like staring at me so I snaked through the aisles trying to avoid him a little bit. In the process, I found hand sanitizer! Score! So I guess it all worked out. Then, in the notebook section, I quickly realized that lined paper does not exist. It's all graph paper, or what looks like wide ruled with like 4 more faded lines breaking up each main line (if that made any sense). Also paper is a different size. It's thinner and longer than regular US notebook paper. As I'm typing this, I'm thinking that you are all finding this less than interesting...sorry haha. I also got more yogurt since I ran out and had cereal yesterday with the milk that is not refrigerated (you refrigerate it after opening which I guess is comforting). The milk is like whole milk (like more whole than US whole milk somehow--Stephania you would looovveee it haha), which I love but I'm definitely not going to drink every day. I came back and just hung out until I had to leave for the program welcome dinner.


It was great finally getting to meet everyone else. Some people had just arrived that day! I can't imagine flying in and trying to find this place for dinner having never used the Métro or anything. I'm glad I had been here and knew(ish) where I was going. Dinner was comforting with regards to my French level. Besides the Sorbonne students, there is only one other girl who is in intermediate with me. Ordering was pretty entertaining. Dinner was delicious, and it was fun getting to know everyone and hear stories from the Sorbonne kids who have been here and started classes already. One of the girls also goes to UCLA, and we know a lot of the same people but not each other. There were also two other pairs of people who go to the same schools. And people outside those pairs who had mutual friends. I never cease to be amazed at how small the world is. After dinner, a group of us went to a place someone knew called Chez Georges. It is a REALLY small wine bar with glasses for 2.5 euro. We got bottles though, so it was more expensive, and I was kind of mad because I drank literally half of a baby glass because it was gross rosé. Also we were like awkwardly standing in the middle of the room for a long time because it was so crowded. We finally left that place and some of the group were going to go find another bar, but me and one other girl decided to leave. The dorm where a lot of people are staying is pretty close to me, and we're meeting there today so I went with the other girl to see where it was. It's only 2 tram stops away, which would be nice if the tram didn't only come ever 2o minutes. On the Métro on the way back, this guy was holding the handrail I was standing next to, and he kept trying to talk to me (again, very quietly and mumbly) and he was SOOO drunk. I told him (in French) that I speak very little French and that I speak English. It seemed like he kept trying to start a sentence in English, and then he would just start laughing and give up. Me and the other girl were like get us out of here this is so uncomfortable. We got off a few stops before his anyway, and I was really glad he didn't stumble out after us. As we were heading for the exit another girl turned to us and was like "'ee eez very drunk." It looked like they had a similar experience before we got on haha. After I got home, it started pouring (again, I was glad I didn't go out to the other place) and it was super windy. There's a huge tree outside my window that kept hitting it and it was so loud. Plus all the rain, it's crazy and kind of freaks me out. Thanks for the earplugs, Dad! haha. Today we have a little orientation, and then we're supposed to go on a boat tour on the Seine, so it better get a little warmer and not rain!


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I really need to get better about actually posting before I leave my computer. Usually I want to add a photo I haven't taken off my camera yet, so I hope you enjoy the novellas I've been posting. Today we all met up at the dorms (at Cité Universaire--called Cité for short) which is 2 tram stops away from me. Not everyone made it, but the group that came was solid. Since the group going to my school is all girls (one boy, who didn't make it today) we talked a lot about being safe, how the men are more forward here, etc. Then we went to St. Michel and went and got lunch. Right as we were leaving, we saw two people climb into the fountain, climb up a few levels, and start throwing around a frisbee (thought all my BLU friends!). It was the weirdest thing. Also it must have been freezing cold. After, we were able to take the boat tour, even though it was freezing. Thank goodness there was an "inside" of the boat that wasn't below deck or anything so that was nice. It was cool to see the city from the Seine and here the history behind a lot of the stuff. I had no idea that the Obelisk is the oldest monument in Paris. It's 3,3oo years old and used to stand at the entrance to the Luxor Temple in Egypt. How cool is that?! Place de la Concorde (where the Obelisk is) was also the site of guillotine during the French Revolution. I had no idea! It's where Marie Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre, and Charlotte Corday (murderer of Jean-Paul Marat--the guy in the bathtub in David's "The Death of Marat," one of my faves) were all executed. Crazy time in history.... Anyway, after that, we took the Métro to our school, which is an annex of the actual Catho. Ours is for all international students who want to learn French, etc. I'm excited to see who is in my classes (starting Monday!)! We had planned to go back to two of the girls' apartment to make dinner, but after getting to the store (and having split up from half the group) we decided it would be too complicated for tonight and it was already getting late, so I went grocery shopping with them (I got to be the one doing the translating for a nice change haha) and then we went back to their apartment to hang out for a bit. We were all just sitting at the table talking and then all of a sudden (one of my biggest fears) A GIANT BIRD FLEW INTO THE SLIDING GLASS WINDOW. Me and Mado saw it coming, but we both screamed anyway. It didn't die, but left a gross smear on the glass. I will most likely have nightmares about that tonight. Then we started to watch Gladiator, but it was getting increasingly cold outside and I had to go back by myself, so, being the super party soul sister I am, I left around 9pm haha. Michal let me borrow her jacket, which I was SOOOO grateful for because I was still freezing anyway and definitely would have succumbed to hypothermia or something without it. I got back around 9:30-10ish and showered to warm up and then made pasta which was delicious. We're saving cooking night for Monday (even though we all know the real cooking night is Wednesday night).

Oh, one last thing I keep forgetting to post on here. So on the walk to the Métro (which has somewhat lost it's original appeal since I walk it at least twice a day...), there is a little Greek restaurant stand type thing. You can buy a plate of food, and the word for plate in French is "assiette." They choose to abbreviate assiette (does anyone see where this is going?) Basically, their menu (giant words on the outside of the shop) advertises "ASS POULET" and "ASS BROCHE," etc. I wonder if I should tell them. Anyway, that's pretty much it for now. Until next time, when I write the next book in this series.


Bisou bisou!

Lulavs, Etrogs, and Accordions. And more...

Sorry this post is super long, it's a few days crammed into one post!

First of all, GO BRUINS! Yay finally a win on Saturday! I'm thinking my school here doesn't have a football team...just a wild guess. Anyway...


Today, my mom and I got up early (...10am) so we could go to La Marais, which is the Jewish Quarter. We went early because we had to be back early because the family was coming over for lunch (Guillemette and the new baby, so cute!!). We took the Métro, and there was

Welcome to the Jewish Quarter

another guy with an accordion who got in our car on the train. Apparently it's a thing here? Polka music + public transportation. So strange. When we got there, we walked around for about an hour or so. Since Simchat Torah and Sukkot are coming up, they were selling etrogs (kind of like a lemon) and lulavs (like a palm frond or something) everywhere! There was literally a table on every corner. We went to a place called L'As du Fallafel (Thanks, Izzy!!), and it was the most amazing falafel I've ever had. Sorry Bella Pita.... We walked by it on our way out and the line was sooooo long. Glad we got there early.

Move over Bella Pita...

There were a lot of cute shops down there, including an Adidas store advertising Star Wars figurines if you spent 100 euro...so random. They had a giant cardboard cutout of Chewbacca in the window. It started getting really crowded all of a sudden, and we had to get back to the house anyway, so we got back on the Métro (I'm becoming a pro) and headed home. Bibiane made an amazing lunch, and my mom and I made tomato mozzarella salad and mushroom risotto. We learned that the French spell "yum yum" like "miam miam" haha and since my mom is a chef they call her a "really good cooker." Also, the term MILF exists in France as well, but DILF is FILF (F for father I guess). Lunch was so good and for dessert we had a hazelnut cake with raspberries. Soo delicious. And the baby is adorable. He's one week old and he's so tiny, but he's perfect! He's really quiet, too, and just chills in his stroller/bassinet for hours. After lunch I totally passed out in my room for about half an hour (we were up too early...). We tried to get a fire going in the fireplace, but it died out really quickly. I really wish it had lit because my feet are constantly freezing. I wear my Uggs around the house and still can barely feel my feet. I hope they turn the heat on soon or I might be coming back sans my feet.

I think my French is getting a little better? Hopefully. I think the accent is going to take awhile, too, when I finally start speaking a little bit. I think the majority of the language is produced in the back of the throat, as opposed to English, which is mainly using the roof of the mouth and the teeth and lips (thanks Ling 20...). Also, a lot of the pronunciations we learned in French in high school were with a very thick American accent, so I just really need to work on that.

Yesterday my mom left early in the morning, so I was up to go with her to the train station. When I came back to the house, I was really tired still, but while I was laying in bed I just kept thinking of all the things I could/should be doing since I'm in Paris. So I got up and took the Métro to the Tuileries. It's a huge garden with statues and ponds and fountains between Place de la Concorde and the Louvre. Oh, I should mention on the subway there was not an accordion player in my car, but when we were at one of the stops I looked over and saw one in the train going the opposite direction. Anyways, I walked around for over an hour just looking at everything. From one point you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Obelisk, the Arc du Triomphe, and the Louvre. Talk about The Da Vinci Code. I was just waiting for Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou to come running around the corner (Audrey Tatou may also be found in Montmarte, home of Amèlie, planning to go there soon). I took pictures until my camera died. I also attempted a self-portrait by setting my camera on one of the

Failed self-portrait

statues, guessing where it would line up, and then standing awkwardly in the middle of the path for 10 seconds. It worked REALLY well. You won't be surprised to hear that I only tried that the one time. Then I was sitting on a bench looking at my map trying to decide where to go, and some random guy came up to me and started asking me questions and I stumbled over the answers in French, meanwhile being somewhat on my guard. Apparently he is from Egypt but living in France and I have no idea why he started talking to me. He asked where I was going and I said "Oh just to the Metro" and he asked if he could come with me and I was like "Um, no thanks, I'm just gonna go ok bye!" And I hustled off in the other direction. Maybe he was a good guy, but I don't have to have seen Taken to know to be extra careful. Also I don't have my phone yet here so all the more reason not to go off with strangers. I had planned to go to a café over there that supposedly has the best hot chocolate ever, but I realized I only had the street name but not the number, so that was a fail. So I hopped back on the Métro and headed home. We went through the coolest stop ever. At the stop for the Louvre, it looks like you just drove into a museum. There are statues and descriptions of the art and the way it's lit it's like you walked into a tunnel full of culture and history. But it's just a stop for the subway! Way to keep it classy, France.

Last night, after watching/not understanding a French TV show and then Castle in French, I went to meet up with Agathe and her friends Tiffany and Charlotte to see "Les Runaways." It was still in English just with French subtitles. They all loved it because it was very rock 'n roll, which I guess is really in right now. They also sang along to all the songs they knew, not very quietly I might add. After, we were walking across the street and the smallest car I've ever seen was stopped at the crosswalk. Like literally this thing should not be legal on the road. It looked like one of those things you attach to the back of a bicycle that you can put your kids in except with a motor. A very small motor apparently. It was really funny and trés bizarre. Whenever Agathe sees something that is weird or makes you wonder about the motivation behind it, she just looks at it and says "why?" it's the funniest thing. Like if you saw a person in a purple jumpsuit or something, she would just look and say "why?" and keep going. I guess there are no words anyway. I've also learned that a lot of things I learned in French class are less than helpful. I think everything we learned is overly formal and has way more words in sentences than they actually use, and we learned outdated phrases. For example, if something goes wrong, we were taught by our textbook from 1985 to say "Zut, alors!" which is like "darn." No one here says that ever. Ever. They say "fuck" in a French accent, which is funny. It's not considered a swear word here, so they just say it all the time, sometimes loudly, in situations that in America would not warrant it's use.

Today I set my alarm for 9 for some reason in order to be somewhere at 12. When it went off I was like why the heck did I set it this early it's not going to take me 2.5 hours to get ready. So I reset it and went back to sleep. In the process of doing so, however, I managed to set the time an hour later (something I can't seem to be able to figure out now that I want to change the time back, nor could I figure out how to set it when I first got it, so I just plugged it

Fontaine St.-Michel

in at midnight). I woke up at 9:45 having set the alarm for 10, but my clock read 10:45 and I had a mini panic attack which was fun. I had to meet with my resident director, Tawna, today. We met outside the Fontaine St.-Michel, which apparently is a very popular meeting place. She took me to lunch at this really cute crepe place, which was really nice. It was wonderful to speak English for a change and understand/be understood. Apparently I'm ahead of the game because I already have my bus pass and a map and everything. In my orientation bag there were a few bus tickets and a map and all that. And some food (including a bottle of milk...not refrigerated...so weird). My schedule was also in there, and I didn't get the art history class I wanted so that's a bummer. But I have no class on Fridays!! Hopefully I'll be able to travel on the weekends more :) We have a week off at the end of October/beginning of November, and I'm super bummed it's not like one week later so I can go the HP7 premiere in London without having to worry about class.... I guess I'll just have to not worry about class anyway.

After lunch, I planned on taking the Métro back to the house, but when I got to where it connects with the 6 line, I got off and took another train to the Eiffel Tower and just sat in the Champ de Mars for awhile. It's a really nice day today so I just sat in the shade and wrote some postcards (message me your address and you just might get one!) There are a ton of street vendors there and there were a bunch selling these weird little mechanical dogs that move around and make a really annoying squeaky sound. I don't know what sane parent would buy that for their child. I just looked at them and asked "why?" There was also a girl wearing a gorilla suit just sitting on the curb. I don't understand things sometimes. When I got back to Montrouge I went to the Monoprix and got air freshener and a candle for my room, and managed to ask someone for matches (except I just asked for "feu" - fire - because I couldn't remember the word for matches - "allumettes"). Now my room smells less like smoke and more like "Tropical Drink."

À bientot!

Soiree Camping

So yesterday was interesting. I woke up at around 11:30, which was early for me since I've been here. I had some fruit and yogurt for breakfast (I miss cereal!) and then my mom and I took the bus to Denfert-Rochereau because Bibiane told us there were a few good shops there. I got a cute coat at Zara, which doubles as a raincoat and has a removable hood which I'm thinking will come in handy since it's already rained twice since I've been here. Also, we passed a store I think is pretty entertaining. It's an underwear store called "Undiz." So clever. Then we found this really cute little shop down a random street, and we went in because they had wallets on display and I needed a new one because mine is a) broken and b) doesn't have a big enough pocket for coins (of which I now have a lot because of euros). It was owned by the cutest married couple and they couldn't have been nicer. They spoke nice and slowly so I could understand a bit, and told me to come back if I wanted to get any gifts for anyone and they'd love to help. Then we took the bus back towards La Vache Noir, but ended up getting off pretty quickly because it was so full and walking the rest of the way. We went to H&M again and I got a warm sweater and leggings which was good because this house is always freezing cold. Then we came back to the house (bested by that damn lock AGAIN!...good thing the housekeeper was here to let us in...) and dropped off our stuff so we could go pick up the 35 baguettes for the party. Normally, you would think "Oh, 35 baguettes, who has a car to help me go get them?" But here, you just walk and carry everything and it's no big deal. I think having a car would be more of a hassle than anything, especially since the lights are super confusing to me. The stoplights aren't above the street across the intersection. They're hidden off in the corner and I guess if you're used to looking there it's ok, but I'm used to it being blatantly obvious haha. Anyway, we headed towards the boulangerie right down the street, passing the little gift shop I keep forgetting to write about. If anyone wants an "I <3 Montrouge" t-shirt, let me know. Also, they have noodles (like for the pool) in a cardboard box with a drawing of a crab on it for 3 euro. It's kind of the most random thing ever. So we got the baguettes and carried two huge paper bags full back to the house. They smelled AMAZING and were still warm. We passed a guy on the way back and he saw all the bread and wished us "Bon anniversaire" (Happy birthday haha). Back at the house, everyone was busy getting ready for the huge party. I didn't really get the theme until people started showing up, but basically if you think of the tackiest American camping trip meets Jersey Shore, I think you'll be pretty close to understanding. A lot of people were wearing bathing suits under tanks with cut-off jeans. Some guys came dressed as girls, and some people came in bicycle racing gear. Needless to say, I'm not sure I understand. I originally was wearing a new outfit that I think is really cute (and warm since it was sooo cold) but I came downstairs and it was not the theme at all so I came back upstairs to change and ended up wearing a tank top over a bathing suit top, shorts, and sunglasses and flip flops. Who knows.... The music was pretty entertaining. It was a combination of tacky French songs that everyone knows and loves but doesn't take seriously and 80s American rock music. The American stuff was really fun because I actually could sing along. It's really great listening to French people sing along phonetically to American music. And they love it. It took me awhile (and a few glasses of champagne...) to get comfortable enough to dance with everyone, but when I finally did it ended up being really fun. I danced with Agathe and her friends for most of the night, and around 3:30am I was one of the first people to leave. (And by leave I mean go up to my room and put in earplugs and try and fall asleep to the blasting music.) I woke up this morning around 12:30, and everything was already cleaned up for the most part. You would never know there were 150 people here last night. Also, apparently 25 glasses were broken over the course of the night. I came downstairs and realized I hadn't really eaten anything since around 3pm yesterday and all I had then was a very small salad. So I had bread and cheese for breakfast, like we have for every meal it seems like. All the neighbors were over helping clean up and everything, and then everyone went outside to the patio and started smoking, so I went up to my room because I seriously can't handle it. I just don't understand how literally everyone smokes here. I need to start carrying around a gas mask or something. Today my mom and I are going to get a baby gift for Guillemette (the one who just had the baby) and I need to get a flat iron since mine, even with the adapter and converter, got SUPER hot and burned my bangs. Which now look super great, by the way. I've realized we plug a crazy amount of things into the walls and never think twice about it. Whose idea was it to have different voltages and outlets across the globe, anyway? Makes no sense to me. Anyway, so tomorrow the whole family is coming over for lunch, so I think we're going to try to prepare everything today so we can go do something tomorrow since my mom leaves on Monday. And then I finally start school on Thursday! Agathe is going out again tonight and invited me, but I don't know if I'm going to go because I'm sooo tired from last night, and as all of you are well aware I'm not exactly the type to go out and party every night, and I'm trying to ease myself into it haha. Also I should probably sleep early if I'm going to have to get up and go to Musée D'Orsay or the Grand Palais or something tomorrow.
A bientot :)

La Tour Eiffel et Cathédrale Notre-Dame

Today was a very touristy day for us. We started at around noon, and walked to the Métro stop at Porte D'Orleans (about a 15 minute walk-where I'll go to catch the train for school every day) and went to La Tour Eiffel. We had to change trains, and the second train we got on had very lively polka music playing, which was entertaining. It sounded like someone's Bar Mitzvah was happening in our car. The Métro is great, though, and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. It comes so often you never have to wait longer than 5 minutes for the next train. And it goes SO fast, it's amazing. Also, I think I've been doing pretty well with my germaphobia here. I thought it was going to be a big problem, and while it kind of still is, I'm doing better than I thought. For example, I don't instantly dive into the shower the minute I get off the bus/train. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that EVERYONE here takes public transportation, whereas in L.A. it's mostly bums who come up to you and tell you they're married to Jesus (true story, he had the ring for proof). I digress...Anyway, so we got to La Tour Eiffel and my mom and I did our requisite "Where is it?" "I think they moved it." "It's probably next to Ikea." bit like we did at the Coliseum and every time we pass Ikea (can't they make it any bigger?). The line was insane, but only for the elevators. That's right, we took the stairs, and climbed up. So. Many. Stairs. I can't even imagine having to build it back in the 1880s. The view was amazing, though. You could see the whole city. I also found out where the entrance to the Paris sewers are so I can pretend I'm Jean Valjean and go running through them. The entrance is next to this statue on the Pont de L'Alma, which they use as an unofficial way to measure the flooding of the Seine, which I thought was kind of interesting. Then we took the lift all the way to the top, which involved a long line and a lot of pushing by crazy tourists. It was a cool view from up there, too, but it was super windy and really cold. And I could have done without all the people shoving me around. It was so high up, my ears popped on the way up and back down. Back at ground level, we decided to find a place to eat, and ended up getting les sandwich jambon. People here eat more ham than any other kind of lunch meat. Also, I partly know why Parisians are not fat. It's because a ham sandwich is literally just one slice of ham on a baguette with a little bit of butter and *maybe* some cheese. No crazy "double meat" or tons of mayo and other toppings. Also, we walk everywhere. And we don't snack. So hopefully I won't be super fat when I get home, although I may be out of shape all the same since I breathe in vast quantities of cigarette smoke every day.... After we ate, we took a bus part of the way to Notre Dame. After a few stops, the bus got so crowded we could hardly move. People were just piling on like it was the last bus that would ever come. Also they all just got on through the back door, and you can't pay from there so I'm wondering what the rules are regarding that. It was so packed that we got off early and found a Métro.

We took that the rest of the way, and when we got off, I was looking at the map and trying to orient myself and find out which direction I was supposed to be walking to find it, and a man came up and asked where I wanted to go (in French) and I answered (in French) and he directed me (in French) and I understood what happened! Big moment haha. We were literally right around the corner. Notre Dame might be my favorite thing here so far. The Eiffel Tower was cool, but all the tourists were really annoying and pushy and it was really cold. Notre Dame was way calmer and so beautiful. Inside was amazing. All the stained glass is soooooooo gorgeous. They also had a bunch of confession booths where you could go in and talk to a priest, but it was behind a wall of glass so everyone could see you. It was kind of strange. It was really nice and quiet inside the church, and it was really warm, too. But, of course, we had to go outside to the other side to see the flying buttresses. If I only learned one thing in Schmidt's class back in high school, it was about the flying buttresses. They are the weird spider-leg looking things that are basically flying out the sides of the building and indicative of Gothic architecture. They're necessary to support the extreme weight of all the stone, and crucial to being able to have the stained glass windows. Without them, the windows would shatter under the weight of the stone, and the walls definitely would not have lasted this long. However, I'm pretty sure the flying buttresses we built out of people in class could give these a run for their money. After Notre Dame, we found another Métro and went to Au Bon Marché, a very expensive department store with a very expensive market attached. The market was really cool, they had SO much random stuff from all different parts of the world. Definitely a good place to get gifts for foodie friends. My mom was going crazy. I also had really bad hiccups during this little side trip, which was super fun. This was our last stop for the day, so we took the train back to the house, bought a baguette, and came back for dinner. I'm kind of getting to know my way around a little bit. When we got off the subway I knew which "sortie" (exit) to take, and which streets to take to get home. Once again, however, I was bested by the lock on the door, and Bibiane had to come rescue me. She probably thinks I'm an idiot for not being able to open the stupid door, and she showed be again, but I'm pretty sure I did the exact same thing she did except for me it was a fail. Then I watched as a bunch of neighbors came over to help set up the living room for the huge party tomorrow, which I still don't have a costume for. They brought in huge speakers, and a bar, and moved a lot of the furniture out of the way. I have no idea what to expect. Someone started playing a really cool version of "Bulletproof," though. It was a remixed version by Major Lazer, and everyone should look it up/listen to it. Then we had dinner outside (it was freezing outside, and I still can't feel my feet, 4 hours later). All the neighbors were over for dinner, and I was, once again, lost in the conversation. I think I'm at least starting to pick out individual words sometimes now, instead of everything sounding like one super long word, but either I can't remember the meaning of the words I can make out, or by the time I process they've moved three topics ahead.... I feel really inadequate on this front, as well, because I can't contribute anything to the conversation. It already takes me long enough to be comfortable speaking in new groups, and now I have to do it in a different language? Great. I went up to shower and go to sleep after I couldn't figure out "dix-huit heures" (18:00) did not have anything to do with 10:08--I forgot to subtract 12 from the time. I just keep telling myself it will only get better.

Shopping et plus...

Today I went shopping with Agathe, and got more clothes that are very "fashion" haha. It was a lot of fun, but kind of overwhelming because I feel like everything I already own is not in the "fashion." We got kind of a late start because we woke up late. Gossip Girl started last night, so Agathe watched it late. At dinner last night with her friends they were talking about "le scandeloos livez of Manhattanz ee-leete." Before we left we watched part of He's Just Not That Into You en français, which was funny. Then, to get to the shops on rue de Rennes (which is literally next to my school), we rented bikes right outside the house. It's 1 euro for half an hour, but you can return them at any of the "Velib" stations around the city. It was kind of scary because there is no bike lane and you can't ride on the sidewalk. Also they're these awkward big plastic bikes so that was interesting. We went to a few stores, including H&M (pronounced kind of like ahsh-ay-em) and Zara. Then we met up with a few of Agathe's friends, and they ate at MacDo (McDonalds haha). It was a really nice McDonalds, though, with paintings on the walls and all wooden booths, no plastic. The food even looked a little better. Keeping it classy. I tried really hard to talk to her friends en francais, but again it was proving very difficult. It was interesting talking to one of her friends. His English was better than my French, but it was still really hard. He's in a band here, and knows The Doors, and was really excited that I go to UCLA where Jim Morrison went. It's interesting not many people here know of UCLA. One of Agathe's friends did, though, and called it "Oo-cla."

After more walking around, we met up with more friends at les Jardines du Luxumbourg. It's a huge and beautiful garden that is right next to my school. I'll definitely be getting lunch and eating it there all the time. There are a lot of statues and so much grass and a massive playground for kids. They also have a mini statue of liberty in there. Again, I was surrounded by cigarette smoke...I always seem to sit downwind of everyone. I'm gonna have to work on that. After more time sitting there not knowing what was going on, we left to come back home. Crossing the streets here is really strange and scary. They have the little stop/go signs for pedestrians, but people walk when it says stop, and if it says go, it might suddenly change to stop without warning. And some of the streets have three stop/go signs for one street and you stop on little medians between them because they don't always say go or stop at the same time. We took the Mètro home because we were too tired to bike. Bibiane was making croques monsieur (grilled cheese with ham) in preparation for the huge party on Friday, so we ate some of that. Now we're watching Julie et Julia, which is fun since half of it takes place in France.

Tomorrow, my mom and I are going to La Tour Eiffel finally, and her plan is to walk up instead of take the elevator...we'll see how that goes!

Les premiers jours...

Wow it's been a crazy couple of days. So I had finals for summer school on Wednesday and Thursday, and then we moved into our new apartment ALL DAY Friday. I got there at 9am to finish signing the lease and everything, and then we started actually moving stuff around 10am. We didn't finish until 3am! We moved so much stuff, including our huge 8 foot couch (which fit in the elevator somehow - thanks, Danny), the really heavy and awkward futon, the dining room table and chairs, all our lamps, and our kitchen stuff, plus mine and Stephanie's beds and desks. Then, we went to Ikea and got some stuff we were missing, which we then got to bring back (and carry up in one trip - thanks, Mitch) and build. Which took until 3 in the morning. But our apartment is SO cute, I'm sad I had to leave it a mere three hours later to catch my flight.

Saturday was also insane. After sleeping for 2.5 hours, I got on a plane for Phoenix to meet up with my mom so we could fly to Paris. I got into Phoenix at 9:30am and went straight to my haircut. Then I had to go home and pack, and I actually fit in a manicure with my mom haha. Then we went back to the airport for our flight at 7:30pm. I didn't sleep at allllll. I tried since I hadn't slept in forever, but it just wasn't happening. I watched Date Night, Valentine's Day, and half of How to Train Your Dragon. We landed at Heathrow at some point and then got on another plane to Paris, but I don't really remember that much since I was running on no sleep. We finally got to Paris and I legit passed out on the shuttle ride to my new house. Outside, it doesn't look like much, but inside is AMAZING. There is so much cool art and it's huge! I have my own room for the first time in two years (even though I miss my roomies!!) and it's so nice. It was my host mom, Bibiane's, birthday just before we came, so we brought her a present: a Snuggie. It was hilarious. Everyone kept trying to put it on backwards when they saw it. The one we got has a pocket in the front, too. It was a huge hit because they haven't seen them here yet. Also, one of their daughters just had a baby so it's all they talk about and il est trop mignon :). Then we had dinner and I took a shower and passed out and slept for a solid 12 hours.

À coté de mon école.

Yesterday, we took the bus into Paris and walked A LOT. We passed Le Louvre et Les Jardin des Tuileries et Le Museé D'Orsay. We mostly just walked around the city, getting lost a few times. Also, I went to the bathroom at a department store and it was 1 euro! Ridiculous. It was a very long day and we took the bus back and since where we got on is one-way we got lost trying to find the house. We finally did, and by that point we were exhausted, but Maxime (host brother, Maddie's au pair for two summers, too) came for dinner and we all ate together for a few hours. The food here is so good! And I never feel super full because they eat so fast and take away the food before you can go for seconds, which is good because it's so good I would probably just keep eating until it's gone. It's interesting trying to keep up in French. I definitely have a long way to go. I'm trying to remember as much as possible from high school, but it's just not happening. Hopefully I'll pick it up quickly :/ I went to bed kind of late last night again, and slept for another 12 hours. When I woke up this morning I looked at my watch, then squinted at it to make sure I was reading it right, and then grabbed my iPod just to double check. It really was 12:45 haha talk about a fail.

The lock at the house really hates me, and each time I leave I spend about ten minutes trying to lock the stupid thing. You have to hold the handle straight up while you turn the key, and I guess I haven't been holding the handle up far enough, ending in a fail. But I think I have it figured out now. After much frustration. Anyway, today my mom and I went to le centre commercial (mall) called Le Vache Noir (the black cow) to look around and get a hair dryer because when my mom plugged hers in to the converter it didn't work, so she tried to go straight into the adapter and it was literally glowing red. I was like PLEASE never try that again haha. So I got the cutest little hair dryer for 9 euro. We also went to the supermarket, and it was so strange. My mom told me only to buy fresh bread, so I didn't get any of that. Also, I guess cereal isn't so popular here, so I didn't get that either. The milk was in boxes and NOT in the refrigerated section.... And the eggs at the house are in a little basket above the sink (not in the fridge either). I ended up getting a nectarine and 4 little yogurts haha. We'll see how long that lasts me. But I can walk to the mall and the supermarket from the house, which is really nice. I can also walk to the bus stop that takes me to the Mètro and my school, which we went to see today. It's so cool! It's pretty close, I could bike if I wanted to brave the streets of Paris. It's in Le Quartier Latin, which is full of students and so much beautiful architecture (see corresponding pictures on Facebook).

À mon école.

  After seeing the school, we came back home, and then I went out for dinner with Agathe (host sister) and her friends right back next to my school haha. It was REALLY hard to follow their conversation. They would speak in English for maybe 4 words and then be back to French, speaking at a mile a minute. Goal: be able to actually contribute to such a conversation in the (near) future. One of her friends is going to school on the same street as me, and asked if I wanted to get coffee sometime, which was really nice. It was a fun night, except they all smoke SO much. I knew people here smoked a lot, but it was A LOT. Hopefully I won't be at a table of 4 smoking people every night because my lungs will not be able to handle that :/ Oh, also, I had a glass of wine with dinner, it was so strange. My mom bought a bottle of wine earlier today and it dawned on me then that I could have bought it. So odd. We took a bus and the Mètro to dinner, but got a ride back, which was nice. And now I'm about to pass out yet again, hopefully not for 12 hours. À demain, Agathe et moi allons faire du shopping. I hope I don't spend all my money, and I hope I get a lot of cute clothes...the style is so different here I feel like I can't wear anything I have. Plus I have to get a costume for the party they're having on Friday. That should be interesting. Apparently it's going to be 100-150 people here. It'll be crazy, I'm sure. I'm going to try and write often!


Au revoir!