Sunday, May 30, 2010

Miss you already

I'm leaving in two days and I don't know if I can handle it. I am going to miss this place and the people sooo much. My only consolation is that I know that I took full advantage of this opportunity and am leaving here with a different perspective on life than how I came. But enough mushy stuff... here is a list of some of the things that I will miss about Paris.

• My Paris friends!!
• Playing guess who the American is on the metro.
• My lovely host parentals
• Hungover cultural Saturdays
• Professor Bish and his red beard.
• Four course meals everyday
• Un gout de vin avec le fromage
• Hearing “mais ma cherieeee” from my grammar professor
• Not having to drive anywhere/ the metro
• Afternoons in Malongo
• Not having to see muffin tops and poorly dressed women
• Pregaming on the banks of the Seine
• Franglais
• Beautiful architecture all around me
• BAGUETTES from my boulangerie
• Pain au chocolat
• Mouffetarte!!!
• Wednesday tours and afternoon drinking
• Constant French speaking around me
• Drinking wine straight out of the bottle
• The Eiffel Tower when it twinkles
• Greek, Lebanese, and falafel
• Picnics
• Flaneuring
• Not having responsibilities
• Meeting new people from new places
• Café terraces
• Being le snob
• Adding articles in front of English words

Monday, May 3, 2010

spring breaking in spain and portugal

Oh dear, I just saw that my last blog post was in March... total fail! I have a very good reason for having neglected my blog so much and that is that I've been way too busy enjoying and soaking up all of Paris and going on my two week spring break extravaganza! I had been looking forward to this spring break since I arrived in Paris. I had all my flights and hostels booked, I knew where and when I was meeting up with friends... and then a volcano in Iceland with a name that cannot be pronounced by anyone in the world decided to blow up and send an ash cloud over Europe. That volcano may have prevented me from getting to Greece and Turkey, but it didn't stop me from have the best spring break ever! Take that, Eyjafjallajökull!

So, after I had my flight cancelled I got together with my friend Emily that I was traveling with and came up with the most glorious back up plan of all time. We decided to go to Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Lagos, and Madrid. However, the universe still had some tricks up its sleeve to try and prevent us from leaving Paris... the French train system was on strike (as usual). Therefore the only way to leave Paris was through a car or a bus. We opted for the latter. Since most of the schools were on vacation everyone and their mother was trying to get out of Paris and I wasn't able to book my bus ticket to Barcelona, so I ended up going to Madrid first and staying with my friend Hannah.

After a chaotic scene in the bus station and having pushed my way through a crowd of angry travelers, I finally got onto the bus with my friend Geena. Seventeen grueling hours later I was in Madrid! I stayed at my friends Hannah's homestay. She lives with a single woman in her sixties that is lovely but has a reputation for still having a colonizing attitude(ie she is pretty racist). However, she was very nice to me and fed me and let me stay at her gorgeous apartment. One day during dinner, Hannah and I were speaking Spanish and she was fumbling around in the kitchen. All of a sudden she turns to us and says that she was so happy that we were speaking Spanish and that I had to continue practicing Spanish with Hannah when we go back to D.C. but she warned Hannah that she was not to pick up my accent! Hahaha I think she is someone that definitely has to grow on you. Anyway, the Madrid study abroad program has a reputation that precedes them. All of my friends that had already gone to Madrid had come back saying that they are hardcore partyers. They did not disappoint. The nights that I went out I didn't get back home till the wee hours of the morning. So all in all Madrid was an amaazing time!

My next stop was Valencia were I was reunited with Emily. Valencia is a gorgeous coastal town in Southern Spain. It is a pretty small town so everything is walking distance and the architecture and landscape is gorgeous. Emily and I had already decided that we were having a relaxing spring break. We were going to take it easy with the museums and instead eat as much of the local food as we can get, drink too much for our own good, and spend as much time lounging in parks and people watching as possible. So, that is precisely what we did. We had lots of tapas, way too many empanadas, and lots of Agua de Valencia. The first day there we did the touristy things walked around a lot and had an amazing dinner. The next day we lounged at the beach and got sun burned then at night we did a pub crawl. During the pub crawl we were peer pressured into doing a Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick Shot and well with a name like that it didn't take much pressuring. It was a disgusting concoction of jagermeister, vodka, gin, and tabasco sauce, but we are Americans and we took it like champs... no chaser needed thankyouverymuch.

The following day we caught a train to Sevilla. A gorgeous town that was hosting the famous Feria de Abril. The feria is basically an opportunity for the people of Valencia to get dressed up in their flamenco gear and get wasted with the whole town. They have a gazillion tents set up on the fair grounds and everyone just drinks and dances until six in the morning. The hostel we stayed at was a bit sketch and I was a little scared that I would be raped in my sleep. Thankfully all went well except that I lost/got my phone stolen. But I decided to learn from the Spaniards and have a no pasa nada attitude about the situation. The second day we were in Sevilla Geena joined us. We all had a great time wandering the city. We spent a few hours in the Palace Alcazar which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and also had a tour of the bull fighting arena.

Our last stop on our grand spring break adventure was Lagos. And thank god it was our last stop because if it had been our first we would have never left and would probably have gone home with permanent liver damage. Our guide book of Spain and Portugal called Lagos a black hole because once people travel there they never want to leave. This was evident as soon as we got there. I didn't feel like I was in Portugal at all; it was more a giant melange of Anglophones... Canadians, Aussies, Americans, Brits all had just stayed there and made Lagos home. We stayed a a hostel called "The Rising Cock"... need I say more? So we spent the next three days sun bathing on the beach, meeting a ton of new people, and taking full advantage of the two euro shots there bars had to offer! Lagos has some of the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen. It has rolling cliffs, gorgeous beaches, and blueblue water. I will definitely be going back there again!

So, even though spring break didn't go at all as planned it was an amazing adventure and probably was better than Greece or Turkey would have been. It was my first real spring break but sooo much better than Cancun could ever be because there was culture added to the debauchery AND no one ended up on Girls Gone Wild. I was really impressed with myself and my friends for being able to literally pull out an itinerary for two weeks out of our asses and make the best of it. Although, now I really caught the travel bug and can't wait to explore more of the rest of the world STAT! My plans to marry rich need to get rolling!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Parisian Quirks

So after living here for over a month, I think I can provide a little bit more insight into the random little things that make Paris, Paris.

The metro smells like pee. Why does the metro smell like pee? You ask. Because people pee in it all the time and I seriously mean all the time, not just drunkenly at 3 AM. I saw a regular guy peeing at the entrance of my metro one day on my way to school at around 9 AM. Weird, I know.

People are OBSESSED with their dogs. They truly love their canine companions. Parisians take their dogs anywhere and everywhere: the metro, stores, cafes, you name it.

Because people take their dogs everywhere, there is dog shit everywhere! Apparently, the pooper scooper didn't make it big here. So, watch your step!

Audience decorum: When watching a symphony there is NO clapping between songs. Instead, you wait for the pause between songs to cough, sneeze, blow your nose, sniffle, and perform all other noisy bodily functions during this allotted time. Also, the French are very into encores. We saw a crazy string quartet performance in which there were four encores. You think they would be done, the performers would bow the stage would get dark... and then they would start to play all over again!

Picnicking is VERY in. As soon as it gets sunny and warm, people get their lunches to go and finds a bench, a bank, or a grassy area to sit and eat. It is quite lovely.

I know I continue to harp on this, but PDA is pretty much a way of life in Paris. It is out of control! I went on a date with a French boy who insisted on trying to kiss me at a cafe, in the metro, in a park. I had to remind him multiple times that I am American and only think its appropriate to make out in public AFTER I have had a few drinks.

People don't have dryers here. Therefore, my pants are permanently falling off because I have no means of shrinking them!

Smoking is not as in as it used to be in France. I remember the first time I came to Paris eight years ago EVERYONE smoked incessantly. Since then, they passed a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. Although, there are still way more smokers here that back home its not nearly as much as I remember and its mostly the young people that smoke.

Just an ordinary day

Hello all. I know, I know... I suck at keeping up with this. However, here I am ready to regale you with all of my wonderful Parisian tales. So, I wanted to start off by telling you all about my day. It's Tuesday, March 23, 2010 a very average and mediocre day, EXCEPT I'm in Paris. So here's what my day was like...

Wake up at 8 AM
Get ready for class
Have my petit dejeuner with my host parents and their adorable granddaughter Lucy
Get on the train to school
See the most beautiful view of all of Paris on the train. You can literally see the entire city!
Walk up the GIANT hill in order to get to class
Two hours of intense grammar (which to some may sound horrible, but is actually very interesting not to mention the fact that I am kind of in love with my professor because she is sarcastic and at times a bitch)
Walk 5 minutes with Sarah and Emily to the Jardin de Luxembourg
Get some McDo (which is wayyy more French than getting a baguette and cheese, which I did yesterday)
Soak in the sun, the beautiful gardens, and the people
Get back on the train and head home
Hang out with my host parentals and Lucy
Read/people-watch on a bench in a gorgeous park near my house
Go online
Exercise in my room while Lucy watches/joins in
Shower
Dinner
DONE

So basically, life is not sucking. I know that when I am old and all botoxed out, because I will refuse to be old and wrinkly, I will reminisce and say that this was the best time of my life.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Food and Booze!

Today has been one of those days that I realize holy shit... i live in Paris. Possibly because today was the first day I ventured outside, after having quarantined myself to my bedroom for two days because I was feeling a bit swiney. But I'm all better, the sun was shining today and I actually saw little teeny plants starting to pop up out of the soil, which means (drumroll please) SPRING is here! Well its almost here at least. Tomorrow is the one month anniversary of me getting to Paris, and for all this month I have been anxiously awaiting the days when its no longer gray and freezing. Finally, the ever cliché springtime in Paris is just around the corner! I foresee an array of picnics, strolls, and time spent basking in the sunshine. Ahhhh it will be quite delightful!

Anyway, things around here have been pretty good! I've been going to classes (although I feel like I'm on vacation), going out, and exploring Paris. Although, I have not been very good at going to museums and churches, I need to start doing that more often!

So, I have realized that I have yet to talk about the food in Paris! I found French cuisine to be EXTREMELY paradoxical. Some of the richest, most fattening and delicious food is made here... but everyone is skinny. How, you ask. Well, I think I have found the answer! So, since I've come to France... I've been hungry, a lot. First of all starting with breakfast. Now everyone knows this is them most important meal of the day bla bla bla, but more importantly this is my favorite meal. I am a breakfast person. As my father would say "el mal comido no piensa," so I take my breakfast seriously. However, in France, breakfast is bread. Yes, its a baguette and its nice. But bread just doesn't cut it for me. Where are the eggs?! But I digress. So, after having had my breakfast of bread I am usually STARVING once noon rolls around. So, I eat usually street food or sandwiches from adorable boulangeries. Its all quite nice, BUT dinner at my house (like the rest of France) isn't until 8:30 - 9:00. That's a looooong time without eating! So behold, the secret to French skinnyness, they don't believe in snacking. Seriously, they look down upon any sort of snacking! Fruit, granola bars, nuts? Nope, not for the French. I however, can't hack it. So everyday at around six I have to have an apple. Seriously, I don't think I've every consumed this many apples in my lifetime. But they are delicious, portable, and filling... so an apple a day it is!

Now that I'm done complaining about the food... let me tell you all the things I have loved about it! My family believes in courses. Every single day we have a starter, a main dish, cheese, sometimes dessert, and fruit. Now this sounds like a lot of food, doesn't it. But its not. Its the perfect amount of food. You know that feeling after you've gone to the Cheesecake Factory and you have to unbutton your pants because you can't breath... well that has never happened to me here. My madame is a wonderful cook and I'm really NOT picky at all. So this has made for wonderful meals!

Now back to the French paradoxes... Before coming to France, I have never in all my life eaten any sort of frozen meal (if you know my mother you would know why). I am the only American that doesn't have a microwave in the house. However, after I've come to France, the capital of fine dining, I have had soo much frozen food... and you know what, it's delicious! They literally have a store entirely dedicated to frozen meals. You can walk down your neighborhood and see your local boulangerie, fromagerie, charcuterie, and Picard (the store that can meet your wildest frozen food dreams).

Now to my favorite part of eating... drinking! I feel like I've been permanently dehydrated since I came to Paris. Seriously, people don't drink water with their meals. When you go to a restaurant and ask for a pitcher of water. They bring you the water with a bunch of teeny glasses and don't expect a refill. So I've made do with wine. Everything is expensive in Paris, EXCEPT wine and cheese. You can find perfectly delicious bottles of wine for two euros. Last week, I bought a bottle of champagne for 1.33 Euros. Ridiculous, I know. However, booze at your local watering hole is sooo expensive! Cocktails are all at least ten euros, and they suck! They are neither strong nor delicious. So, I have been doing some heavy duty pregaming with wine before I go out so I don't go broke.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The People of Paris

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been so bad about writing in this, I promise I'll do better! So here are the major updates: I started my classes at the Sorbonne. Its two hours of grammar everyday and one our of phonetics everyday every other week. So it is A LOT of hours of French. I've come to the conclusion that if I don't leave here speaking beautiful almost perfect French, then I should just give up! I'm starting the phonetics classes next week, and I will be picking which conferences, topic courses taught in French, I'm going to take soon. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take an art class, since I know absolutely nothing about it. So hopefully, I will leave here feeling a bit more cultured.

Hannah and Anna, two good friends from AU that are also studying abroad in Europe, came to visit this past weekend! Mr. and Mme Dupond were nice enough to let them stay over their house. We had a fabulous time, of course! It was nice to have some familiar faces around. I already posted a gazillion pictures of our weekend on facebook. It was an exhausting weekend! Both nights that they were here we didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning, followed by some intensive touristing! So, I need to do some making up for the hours of sleep that I lost.

I'm also very happy to report that I don't look like a lost tourist anymore! French people have actually approached me asking for directions. Although, I usually have no idea what the answer is, I'm very excited that they think I look like I belong here! I finally figured out the secret to looking French. First of all, you can't open your mouth. As soon as you say one word, it could be "bonjour" and they will hear your (and by your I mean my) atrocious American accent. Second of all, you have to take the sign off of your forehead that says "lost American." I have found that I can do this the best by obviously knowing where I am going and listening to my iPOD. I just make pretend that I am so knowledgeable about where I am going that I need a distraction to make my metro ride more tolerable. Third of all, you can't smile. This has been the hardest part for me. Whenever I make eye contact with a person I have the tendency to give them a polite smile. French people don't do this. You have to earn their smiles. So that pretty much sums it up! Don't look lost, don't open your mouth, and look like a bitch. Voilà you look French!

So that's pretty much what's been going on over here. Its been a lot of school, getting to know the city, and hanging out with friends. Ok so I thought I would leave all of my lovely readers (and by readers I mean my family and friends) with some of the insight that I have thus far observed during my time here concerning the people of Paris. I've done some intensive people watching since I've been here, so here is the consensus so far.

French Stereotypes Resolved:

Stereotype One: French people are rude.
Au contraire, my dears! The majority of the French people I've had the pleasure to encounter, with the exception of one rude ass taxi driver, have been extremely nice. They have answered all of my questions about how to get places and many have made conversation wanting to know where I am from and what I'm doing here. However, I can see how people have come up with this stereotype (see aforementioned story of how to look French). Anyway, this one is definitely false!

Stereotype Two: French people are skinny.
For the most part I have found this one to be very true! Although, not everyone is model skinny, there are just not many overweight/obese people!

Stereotype Three: French people smell.
Now, this is obviously a gross generalization. However, I have found that compared to the U.S. there is a greater ratio of smelly people here. I have encountered quite a few on the metro. But this is by no means the norm!

Stereotype Four: French people are really into sex, romance, and love.
Well, I have yet to make any discoveries on French people and sex; but, mon dieu, are people into making out in public here. They are everywhere! Couples kissing in the metro, on the street, on the steps to Sacre Coeur! Its like a pandemic of people that are in love and feel the need to show it to the world.

Okay, I'm out of stereotypes. But let me know if you know more that I should be on the look out for. Anyway, I'm sorry this has been such a ridiculously long post. I, clearly, should not wait so long between posts. Oh one last thing! I have completed something on my bucket list! I gave in to peer pressure from Hannah and bought myself a red beret. I'm pretty sure I still look touristy in it, but a damn cute tourist!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

I'm in Paris, bitch!

I HAVE ARRIVED! Actually I arrived on Wednesday, but this is the first chance I have time to sit down and write. So, the first day here we met up with the entire group at the ACCENT center, which is located in the 11th arrondisement. Its a very pretty district that has everything and anything you can want in Paris. We had an orientation and schlepped our bags (2 giant suitcases and a super heavy carry on) to the hotel where we stayed at for one night. I went out with some of the girls in my group and we had a very Parisian dinner complete with some delicious vin. Some guys at the restaurant approached us and told us that they were playing a concert nearby. So afterwards we went to a bar and then the club were the concert was at and had a very good first night in Paris!

The following days have been a whirlwind. There have been multiple orientations, we took our placement tests, and met our host families! My host family is adorable and oh-so-French. They are Monsieur and Madame Dupont, an elderly couple. They have four kids all in their thirties except for their youngest son which is my age and currently studying abroad in the U.S.. They are also hosting another girl. She is an Austrian doing an internship in here. The family lives in the 16th arrondisement which is a very nice area of Paris. Their apartment is enormous for Paris standards. I have my own room and share the bathroom with Julia, the Austian girl. I only speak to my host family in French, so I should be getting better and better everyday!

Yesterday, was my first official Saturday in Paris. I went to the Musee d'Orsay with some friends. From there we headed towards the Galeries Lafayette, where we stumbled across a protest (Parisians take their right to assemble very seriously, there is always a strike or a protest going on). The people were protesting the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It was VERY intense. The riot police were out with their shields and batons looking quite intimidating, but the protest remained peaceful. Anyway, after that we had a very nice meal in St.Michel, which is near Notre Dame and is a very cool area with lots or restaurants and bars. We were planning on going out, so we bought some bottles of wine, orangina, and vodka for a bit of pregaming on along the Seine. It was BEAUTIFUL, but freezing, so I'm really looking forward to the spring! We met some more Americans that were also pregaming on the Seine, and then we headed out to a bar nearby. All in all it was a very fun night! However, I still haven't crossed anything off of my bucket list, but I'm working on it!

So, since I love lists, I figured I would write one about all of the things I have learned about Paris/ France since I've gotten here!

1. Everything is made for miniature people. (i.e. showers, cars, rooms, etc.)
2. All staircases are winding.
3. There are not enough outlets anywhere!
4. French people are ACTUALLY very nice! They just have a haughty expressions.
5. The metro system is freaking enormous! There are a gazillion lines and different train systems. It can be quite confusing!
6. The people are really not that fashionable! I felt like my wardrobe has fit in juuust fine. (I think I was just expecting everyone to be runway ready, but that just doesn't happen in real life. Sex and the City (An American in Paris) really skewed my expectations wrongly).
8. PDA is everywhere! People are always making out all over the place, staring into each others eyes lovingly, and doing all sorts of things that Americans usually reserve for the bedroom. I don't know if its just that I'm bitter because I have no man here, but it is quite annoying!
9. People drive like maniacs and have no regard for pedestrians. Get in their way, and you're fucked.
10. Men can get away with a lot of fashion choices here that just doesn't work for Americans.