First week of school completed!!!

It was a really good day today. For starters, it was Friday, so the day was instantly better right from the start. I decided to take some pictures at school today, for those of you who are interested in seeing what our school looks like.

These two pictures are of the street that our school is on.

Entrance into school.

The courtyard.

Class went by super fast, and afterward a group of us decided to search for the Chipotle that we heard was somewhere in Paris (and yes, I already know the critical thoughts that everyone is thinking, but sometimes you just need a good burrito). While we were walking to Chipotle, we shopped around a bit. We passed by the Gallerie Lafayette, but didn't go in because it is way too expensive. The only thing I got was a simple white shirt from H&M. We finally got to Chipotle, where we all enjoyed wonderful burritos.

Unfortuanately, I decided to be daring and try one of Chipotle's margaritas......


I only look happy in the picture because I hadn't tried the margarita yet. It tasted like a Warhead, it was so sour.

A few of us headed back to the hostel, where I enjoyed a lovely nap and shower. We decided to go out tonight, in celebration of getting through our first week of classes in Paris.

After we were all clean and spiffed up, we headed off to the Seine with wine in hand.

We enjoyed yet another lovely night by the Seine and then we decided to check out a club that Jared had heard of. After making a few metro transfers, we finally got to the club. It seemed promising at first, and we had fun dancing for a while. However, it was a weird choice of music (for example, "Eye of the Tiger") and we totally weren't feeling it, so we decided to leave and just head back to the Hostel. We got back to the hostel around 1 am, we figured the club wasn't very fun because we got too early of a start. But it was a lesson learned and we had a good time in the process! Overall, it was a really great day :)

Il fait mauvais!

Today was a very long, annoying day. My alarm went off at 7, and I was definitely not wanting to get up at that time. However, some how I found the energy to drag myself out of bed and get to the shower. Class was long, 4 hours is an obscene amount of time to be sitting in the same classroom. It didn't help that I was still super sleepy and having trouble staying awake. After class, we had an academic advisement meeting at La Sorbonne Nouvelle, which is a campus that is pretty close to our campus. There was an hour and a half break between the end of class and the meeting, so Betsy and I decided to take our time and walk there, rather then take the metro. It was a nice stroll and we got to see a part of Paris that we hadn't seen before. It was nice to see more of Paris instead of staying underground and only seeing the various metro stations. On our walk to La Sorbonne, we stopped in a few stores and I was happy to buy a pair of shoes. We only got slightly lost for a few minutes, but we found our way quite easily. When the meeting finally started it was SO boring! It was 2 full hours of everyone falling asleep. It was dreadful. To top it off, when the meeting finally ended, it started pouring rain outside. Since the weather in Paris is so unpredictable I was only wearing a dress and sandals, so I was not happy at ALL. We ran to the metro where we all managed to get drenched. I was absolutely exhausted and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. However, everyone wanted to get falafels, so I decided to tag along despite my fatigue. The falafel was quite delicious and a really good deal, so that was one of the highlights of my day. When we got back to the hostel, I hopped right into a nice warm shower and Mikayla and I chilled in her room. I finally managed to fit a nap into my day and felt so much better when I finally awoke. This day has definitely not been an ideal one, and I think I'm going to turn in early tonight. I am so glad that the weekend is almost here!

Faire du shopping? Oui, s'il vous plait!

Today was a really good day. I slept the most that I have slept the entire time I've been here, so I was feeling great and refreshed this morning! We went to class, which was super easy and went by quickly. To make the day better, our first Cultural Adaptation class was cancelled today, so the afternoon was opened up! After class, when we went back to the hostel, Betsy, Amanda and I decided to have lunch in the Luxembourg garden and then go shopping.

 I went to BNP in hopes of opening a french bank account, but it turns out I need to open up an account at the BNP in my arrondissement, which I don't move into until Sunday, so I couldn't open an account today. Afterward, we went to a cool Papeterie and bought stationary and then we went to a bunch of cute clothing stores where we wanted to buy the everything. I might go back tomorrow and buy a few articles of clothing that caught my eye. When we returned to the hostel, we chilled for a while and then went up on the terrace to do our homework. It was a nice, breezy, slightly overcast afternoon.

Homework and Orangina. Typical.

 We then went inside and decided to make dinner at the hostel. So Mikayla and I ran to Franprix and bought some spaghetti sauce and bread, and Amanda provided the pasta, and we made ourselves a lovely homemade dinner.

 After dinner, we busted out the nail polish and decided to be girly and do our nails :)

 Then, of course, Mikayla and I decided to go out and get gelato which was delicious (obviously). I'm looking forward to going to bed early again, because I like this energized feeling! It's been a great day!

Fatigue

It's been a long day. I took two benedryl last night around 2 am because my cough has been making it hard to sleep the past few nights, so I thought it would be a good idea...wrong. I slept right through my 7 am alarm this morning. Luckily Mikayla came knocking on my door at 8 am, otherwise I probably would have missed class completely! Unfortunately, there was only enough time for me to get dressed, splash some water on my face and grab a piece of baguette before heading to the metro for school. So I was a filthy, sleepy mess. The benedryl was still in my system throughout class and I had an extremely hard time staying awake! I really just wanted to go straight home and take a nice long nap, but after class Mikayla and I needed to go to the MICEFA office because we wanted to complete our OFII (Immigration) forms. Annoyingly enough, the other American students from a different program arrived today and were clogging up the MICEFA office. We waited for a bit, and then decided to go get ice cream, in hopes that the office would empty out by the time we returned. It was an extremely hot day, I was wearing black pants, and the Marche Franprix (where we got ice cream) was not as close as I would have liked. When we finally got back to the office, the people were STILL there and it turns out MICEFA wasn't going to do any OFII forms for us today because they were so swamped with new students (annoying). So the trip to MICEFA was completely pointless and I could have been sleeping the whole time. When we finally got back to the hostel, I tried to take a nap, but once again my cough prohibited me from doing so. I swear, my cough always gets 10 times worse when I'm in my room, it must be exceptionally dusty or something because I can never breathe in there. I finally fell asleep for maybe 10 minutes, which was totally not satisfying. I chilled in the hostel for a long time and then a group of us decided to walk down the street and get pizza at Speed Rabbit. We all sat up on the terrace and enjoyed pizza, Orangina, wine, and showtunes, it was exactly what needed to wind down from the stressful, exhausting day. I got to Skype with my wonderful boyfriend for a bit, which always brightens my day, so the day ended on a good note. I think I'm gonna go to bed early tonight, because I need to catch up on my sleep! In the past 10 days that I have been here I have not gone to bed before 2 am, so I think that needs to change!

The beautiful sunset that we enjoyed from the terrace :)

First Day of School!

There are no pictures today, because it was my first day of school and nothing seemed photo-worthy. Real university hasn't started yet. Right now we are just taking PLP classes (Preparatory Language Courses) to refresh us and make sure we have the language down. Today we had a 4-hour french class, which was a great refresher. I look forward to the next 3 weeks of PLP and hope that it really improves my speaking abilities. Obviously 4-hour classes aren't thrilling, but the practice is much needed for me! Starting Wednesday, we have a Cultural Adaptation class in addition to our 4-hour language course, so the days will be getting longer! After class today, Betsy asked me to go with her to an apartment viewing in the 16th. It was quite a long metro ride, but we got there eventually! The apartment was in a really nice area, but she decided against it for many reasons. After the apartment viewing, we got back on the metro and went to the MICEFA office. I informed them that I got housing, and now I can make an appointment to get a french bank account! I'm so excited to finally get a french account and debit card; that way, I can get a cell phone and stop living in the dark ages! When I got back from the MICEFA office, Mikayla told me she was craving McDonalds for some reason, which was totally weird, because for some reason I had just been thinking the same thing! Perhaps we are both missing America, and McDonald's is the closest we can get to the US. While we were out getting McDonalds, we went to the bookstore Gilbert Joseph (which is like a french Barnes and Noble) and got our books for our classes. But of course, when I got back to the hostel, I realized I had gotten the wrong version of one of the books!! I ran back down to the bookstore and asked for an exchange. The transaction was successful....I think. The correct version was about 6.60 euros cheaper than the incorrect version that I had purchased earlier. The man handed me a slip that said 6.60 on it. I tried asking him what it was, but the language barrier was frustrating. I believe it's store credit, so I'm gonna save the slip and see if I can use it at a later date. I tried asking him what the slip was and if I was gonna get my money back and he just pointed to the slip and said "Oui". I'm getting really sick of not being able to completely express what I want to say. I'm sure these are the normal frustrations with culture shock, and that it will improve with time, but I just want to communicate fully and easily now!!

Lazy Day

Today was the first day that we didn't have anything going on and I didn't have to be anywhere at a specific time, so I took this opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I ended up sleeping till noon. When I finally got up, I went to gelato and le Jardin du Luxembourg with Mikayla, Amanda, and Betsy. It was a really nice day to just chill and relax in the garden.

 Afterward, we returned to the foyer and I decided to take a nap. When we all woke up from our naps, we decided to go out to dinner and get sushi. We went to a place called Sushi West, and it was so good! It totally hit the spot for everyone! On the way home, Mikayla and I decided to stop for our second helping of gelato for the day. I'm gonna get so fat, it's not even funny. I didn't do much today, but it felt so good to finally catch up on sleep and take it easy!

On our way home from sushi we past by a Chocolate shop. Can you believe that these hippos are made out of chocolate???

Amazing Day!!

Today was a very big day for me!! I had my housing/au pair interview with a lady today at noon. I was super nervous that I would get lost on the metro system, so I left le Foyer a little after 9. I didn't get lost at all though (which made me really proud, considering my horrible sense of direction); however, then I was in the neighborhood WAY too early! Luckily, the apartment building is right next to le Tour Eiffel and Champs de Mars, so I just sat in the park and people watched for a good 2 hours.

This is the walk I get to take to get from the apartment building to the Eiffel Tower.



My new neighborhood :)

 I finally went to the apartment for my interview and I got the au pair position/housing! The woman who lives there is named Beatrice Collet and she seems to be an amazing person. We talked for a long time and she showed me around her absolutely beautiful apartment, which has a great view of Champs de Mars and le Tour Eiffel. She then showed me to my quarters, which is my own studio apartment, two stories above their apartment. I can either get there from their apartment, or I have my own entrance. In order to live there, all I have to do is spend 2 hours a day from Monday to Friday with her kids. She wants me to be like an older sister to them and maybe help them with their English homework. I haven't met them yet, but apparently they are super low key and sweet. She hired me on the spot and I was SO excited because I absolutely love the neighborhood!
When I was done with my interview, I went back to the foyer and found that a bunch of people were headed to Pigalle, famous for having le Moulin Rouge, which evidently leads to a street consisting mainly of sex shops (tres scandaleuse!!!). We walked around for a long time and got an early dinner at a place that had epic salads that were huge!!! They were delicious! We were out for around 5 hours and finally decided to head back to the foyer.

While I was walking up the stairs to my room, another group of people were coming down and invited me to a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. So despite my fatigue, I decided to go with them. It was a lovely evening full of wine, food, and friendship. Besides a bit of cold wind, it was a lovely evening! :)

 

French Cuisine, Indian Food, & Gelato. Hello calories

We started off the morning by taking the metro to a french cooking class. My partner Mikayla, and I made puff pastries (choux) and a tapenade. Both of which were quite delightful! The main chef (and I believe owner of the establishment) was incredibly endearing and showed our group the wine cellar that he had in the basement. When everyone was done making their assigned dishes, we all sat down and enjoyed everyone's creations. It was a really great activity and the food was delicious! Afterward, I went to the MICEFA office to call a woman regarding a potential au pair position. I talked to the lady on the phone and she was the sweetest person ever! Her name is Beatrice Collet and she lives in the 7th arrondissement. In exchange for spending 12 hours a weeks with her children (which consists of hanging out with them and speaking in English to them), I get my own studio apartment in the same building as them for free! We set up a time to meet in person on Saturday at 12 pm. She said she really wants me to be like an older sister to her two kids, and I won't really have to take care of them because they are very self sufficient. I'm excited to take a look at the apartment and meet her in person! This opportunity seems almost too good to be true. I celebrated my triumph of finding this place by splurging and buying myself face wash. I know that sounds silly, but everything is expensive here, so I need to pick my battles. I only stopped at home for a little bit, and then I went down the street to buy some notebooks and across the street to le Jardin to write in my journal. There were a bunch of people, dressed in old-fashioned clothing, dancing on the stage in le Jardin, so I sat and watched for a while.

When I returned, a group of us decided to get take-out Indian food and take it up to the terrace to eat it. We enjoyed some good food and conversation and then we were back down the street to get gelato, which we can't get enough of.

 

 It was a very busy day, and I still get quite overwhelmed with some cultural differences. But I suppose culture shock is normal at this stage. I'm excited to finally get to the point where I am completely settled and feel 100% comfortable in this city.

Cine-Balade

I started out my day by walking to the MICEFA office and making a doctor's appointment, because I have developed this horrible cough since I've been here. Afterward, I returned to the hostel and ran into a few girls who were going out to lunch, so I decided to go with them. We just stopped at a little street vendor, grabbed some sandwiches and went to le Jardin du Luxembourg. We ate our sandwiches while watching all of the little kids play with their sailboats in the pond in front of the Senate. I then headed back to the hostel and met up with Melissa Weaver (one of the leaders of the group) and Priscilla (a fellow classmate). They were headed to lunch, so I decided to join them and only get an espresso, which was quite delicious and strong. When I got back to the hostel, it was time to walk to the Odeon station and meet everyone for our activity. It was a guided tour based on the movie "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen. We walked to a lot of the places where the movie took place. It was neat to see all of the places in person.
Here are some places that you might recognize from the movie:

 The outside of the restaurant.....

 And the inside....

 

 "Polidor doesn't accept credit cards since 1845" :)

L'universite de la Sorbonne.

 

 The side of this church was featured in the film, as you'll soon see below....

 The inside was beautiful

Here's the side of the church. This is where Owen Wilson's dream comes true and he gets transported back to the past.

 I had to miss the tail end of the tour though, because my doctor's appointment was at 5:30 and I did not want to be late. Luckily, Aurora Wolfgang (our Resident Director) offered to walk me there, which was a huge comfort because I was worried about getting lost. I met with this really nice British doctor by the name of Dr. Wilson. He checked me out and told me that my lung problems were most likely allergies due to the polluted air. I was greatly relieved to hear that it wasn't something serious. So he prescribed me some allergy pills, which will hopefully make me feel better! I returned to the hostel and hung out for quite a while. I then walked to Roger and George's room to hang out. They were nice enough to offer me some pasta that they had made, which I gladly accepted. After continuing to hang out for quite some time, a group of us decided to go get ice cream and go back to the Seine with more wine. It was a very chill, enjoyable evening with lovely people.

Festivities on the River Seine

This morning we all went to our oral exam appointments to be placed into either and intermediate or advanced 4 week long prep language course. I'm pretty sure I'll be placed in the intermediate, because I definitely need the practice! Afterward, we had the chance to look for housing/au pair positions. My roommate, Marlyn, and I decided to do a bit of shopping for shampoo and other various and sundry items on our way back from the MICEFA office (once we had finished our hunting for the day). When we got back to the hostel, we ran into a bunch of our fellow group members. They said they were going to get falafels in le Maree, so we decided to tag along. It was quite a long walk, but it gave us time to get to know eachother. And in the end, the falafels were really good! Then we got back to the hostel and I rested in my room for about an hour. I headed up to the terrace where a group of the same MICEFA students were drinking wine. So I joined them and we enjoyed a lovely afternoon on the terrace with good wine and good conversation!

Once we polished off about 5 bottles of wine, we decided to walk to the Seine and continue our festivities there. We took a lovely evening walk to Notre Dame.

We sat and chilled by Notre Dame for a while by this big statue, and broke out the wine bottles again. Luckily, there is no open container law in France.

Afterward, we walked down some stairs that are right near Notre Dame, and sat on the banks of the river Seine. It was a beautiful, breezy, warm night.

Once again, we polished off about 5 more bottle of wine between all of us and had some really good snacks.

It was an incredible night, and I already feel like I've made extremely good friends through this experience. I'm excited to see what the rest of the year holds, because so far, all of these people are amazing!

 Today I returned to le Jardin du Luxembourg and discovered more places in the park that I had not seen before, like this cool fountain that had cute French ducks in it :)

 We all had dinner at this neat french restaurant. I enjoyed good food and great conversation with new friends. As you can see, I am super sweaty because it is SO humid here!

 After dinner, we walked to the Seine. It was a lovely, warm evening for a walk and quite scenic.

We then went on a night boat cruise on the Seine and got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, which still amazes me everytime :) When we got off the boat, myself and a group of about 10 girls got separated from the group some how. Luckily we were in a large group and managed to get back to the hostel safe and sound after taking a few wrong turns :)

 I just walked across the street and explored le Jardin du Luxembourg. It was a bit crowded with tourists, but it was beautiful!

I ran into two girls who are also in the program I am going through, and they invited me to explore the hostel with them. So we went upstairs to the rooftop terrace and the view was extraordinary! In the first picture you can see le tour eiffel and les invalides (building with gold dome). And in the second picture you can see Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. I am in disbelief.

Arrival at le Foyer International des Etudiantes

Today I woke up around 8 or 9 am and met Emilie's sister, Flora. The three of us went out to Sunday brunch at a cute little place called "Les Bonnes Soeurs". Emilie and I each got a mimosa which was amazing!! Afterward, we went back to their apartment and rested for a bit because it is so amazingly hot here! Then Emilie took me to the bus station where I boarded with my enormous suitcase and I was off to find my hostel! When I first got off I was a bit lost because my sense of direction is ridiculously horrible, but after asking this nice woman, she pointed me in the right direction. I've already met a bunch of the people here and they're all very nice! My room is very endearing and I'm curious to see who my roommate is, because she hasn't arrived yet! The hostel is right across the street from le Jardin de Luxembourg, so I might run over there and check it out!! For now, I am decompressing in my room! It is finally hitting me that I am actually in Paris, and I am SO excited! :)

First Day in Paris

I arrive in Paris this morning around 8:35 in the morning. The airport was a bit confusing and it took a while to find Emilie and her family, who were picking me up. But once we found eachother, I was very relieved and we headed back to the Bernard's apartment. Emilie had to go to work, and her father was going out of town, so in the end it was just her mom and I hanging out at the apartment. She is an incredible woman who made me feel right at home and made up a bed for me to take a nap (which ended up being 2 glorious hours). She gave me a lot of advice about Paris, and we talked for a long time. I feel very at ease here. I ended up taking another nap for about an hour, or maybe two, with their lovely cat, Mona, who I'm pretty sure is the cutest cat ever. Now Emilie and I are just hanging out at the apartment, and relaxing.