Meandering Down the Seine

Today, I woke up late and then got a call from some friends to meet them at the Musee d'Orsay. So I got out of bed, threw some clothes on, and left for the museum. It was about 1:30 when I got there, and I was so excited to use my new Carte Jeune (youth pass), which gives me access to the museum for free and I get to cut the long lines waiting to get in. IES gave that to me for free. The lines were so long, and I would have been standing outside for an hour if I didn't have this card.

I quickly met up with my friends and we went to a special Picasso exhibit where he drew and painted a bunch of pictures that were all interpretations of one Degas painting. They had the Degas painting there, too, so you could compare the original to Picasso's versions.

After Picasso, we wandered some more, and I found the Monet painting where the women are walking through a field of poppies. Very famous! I also spoke French to a docent and he told me about the sculptures in the main hallway. He was so impressed that an American spoke French.

I didn't see many things, because I decided not to stay long at the museum. I love this card, because now I can go to the museum at my leisure, and I don't have to cover everything in one day. So I left after about a half hour and went on my own to try out the new walking tour cards I bought before leaving for Paris. They are 50 individual cards, where each has a different walking tour. I decided to try it out and picked up the tour of the the Seine. No doubt, the card was worth it! I got to learn some history, as well as see some wonderful sights, and get to know the Latin Quarter better. Also, I enjoyed my time alone, wandering along side the quiet river, stopping to sit on a bench and admire the Notre Dame on the other bank.

After my walking tour, I went back home, but first I went to the grocery store and bought a pizza to throw in the oven and I got some pesto to put on my spaghetti for tomorrow's dinner. This weekend, my host family is in the country, except for their son, Charles-Henry, so it has been pretty quiet here. Tonight I'm staying in and reading. Maybe I'll do some grammar homework. Tomorrow, I'm headed back to the Notre Dame because it is the first Sunday of the month so everything is free in Paris. The Notre Dame tour will be free, as well as all the museums and other churches. A few friends and I are going to meet at the Notre Dame at 10am, then we're going to another church. I forgot which one. We'll skip the Louvre tomorrow, because we get in free any day, and I'd rather go when there are less crowds.

Well, another day in Paris, and I still feel like I'm living in a fairy tale. It is such a grand town, indeed. Everything is how I pictured it, but probably even more beautiful.

Leah

Weekend Excitement

Yesterday, I went to the catacombs with a group of friends because it was right next to school. Overall, it was a very creepy experience. I learned some interesting facts about the catacombs: there are six million skeletons there, most of the catacombs are blocked off to the public, and most of the people in the catacombs died during the French Revolution. The paths were very dark, and we were far underground, so there was ground water dripping on our heads as we walked down the paths. The visit reminded me of seeing skeletons in Austria buried underneath a church.

After we were done with the long winding walk down the catacombs, we decided to go to the Luxembourg Gardens. That was magnificent, to say the least. Palaces, ponds, and glorious fountains dotted the area, while children played tag on the dirt paths. An old woman asked us if we wanted to sit next to her in one of the lawn chairs, but we politely declined, because the girls in my group had somewhere to be. After the gardens, we went to a brassserie, and I got Tartine. I didn't know what it was. I just ordered it because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. It turns out, it was bread and butter. But, it was very delicious bread and butter, probably the best I've had!

I went out to dinner last night with a group of friends that live in the 16th like me. I had mussels, steak-frites, and vanilla ice cream for dessert. The girls told me that their host families had maids and cooks! I guess the 16th really is the wealthy part of town! I don't have a maid or cook, however, which makes me happy, because I wouldn't fit in in such a rich environment.

After dinner, we went to the bars in Place St. Michel, the Latin Quarter. This is the area where the Sorbonne and other universities are, and is apparently a very hopping place at night. It was certainly crowded, but also extremely expensive. We stayed out until about 1230, and then I took the metro home with a friend.

Today, I don't know what to do. I might just laze around all day, because I'm kind of tired, but I found out that I have free admission to all the art museums in town, so maybe I'll take advantage of that and pop my head in somewhere. I am taking an art history class called Paris Museums, and in Paris, if you are taking an art history class, you get a special card to get free admission and enter in a special door to avoid all the lines. This means I'll be able to go to the Louvre for 10 minutes everyday if I wanted. I think I'll go to Musee d'Orsay for an hour or so today, if I feel up to crossing town again. There are too many art museums around town. There is a Rodin museum that has The Thinker and The Kiss. There is the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, a Monet museum with the water-lilies series on exhibit there, and a million more places. It will take me the whole semester before I see all of them, I think.

More will come soon as the weekend progresses, I'm sure. Now, as I open my window, I see it's such a sunny day. Perhaps I'll visit another garden or the banks of the Seine...

Leah

School Supplies and Public Transportation

Today was "black Thursday". There was a strike on a bunch of public services in France in response to the economical crisis. I really didn't understand how closing down the metro and the bus would solve an economic crisis, but, I guess that's France's way of doing things. So everyone made a big deal about today and how we wouldn't be able to get around everywhere. I even made plans to go to school with Charles-Henry, who is the son that lives with us. But, alas, this morning came, and Charles-Henry crossed the street to check the status of the metro....and voila! Everything was still going as usual. I guess the strike wasn't as massive as they expected. In fact, I traveled all over Paris today with only a few problems, but that was due to other complications.

This morning, I left early for French class, which meets at 9:00 am. I am not thrilled about such an early class, but I guess it could be even earlier. Before class, I walked to Monoprix, which is a French supermarket chain. I have been on a mission recently to find school supplies (notebooks, pens, etc.) and this has not been easy at all. Of course there are no Targets or Meijers to buy such things, and everyone I ask tells me to go to Monoprix. So I went there and they did not have a good selection of things at all. They had a few packs of paper, some weird piece of folded cardboard that I guess was supposed to be a folder, and that's about it. So I wasn't able to buy anything there, and was very disappointed. I left and walked down the Rue Daguerre towards school. Along the way, I passed an open air market with fruit shops, cheese shops, a horse butcher, wine shops, and a few cafes and bakeries. Each shop that I pass every day gives off a strong smell. The fromagerie has a moldy sour smell. The flower shop smells wonderful of course! The fish market smells like a cold day on Pier 39. Sometimes, I feel like a dog pulling on its leash towards the sights and smells around it.

Class was not interesting. Grammar exercises are never ever fun. Plus, the class is two hours, which is way too long to be talking about verbs and nouns. The only interesting part was at the end of class when we talked about the news surrounding the greve (strike) and a little bit about Sarkozy's government.

After class, I didn't know what to do with myself, so I wandered a lot. I had packed a lunch, but I didn't know where to eat it. The only place I could think of that was near school was the Cemetery of Montparnasse. I thought that might be a little creepy picnicking in a cemetery, next to the graves of Baudelaire and Sartre, so I hopped on the metro to see what I could find. For some reason, I ended up in the Galeries Lafayette, a big shopping mall, so I went to a store called FNAC that is a cross between Best Buy and Borders to look for school stuff. There were about 5 floors there, but none of them had any kind of school supplies. So I left and walked back towards the metro. Of course, as bad with directions as I am, I got myself completely turned around and walked forever to find the metro. I ended up at a different station than I started, but whatever, at least I made it. Before entering the station, I had the salami sandwich and clementine I packed for lunch on a bench.

Entering the metro again, I didn't know where to go, because I had to be back at school by 4 for a meeting with my advisor, so I thought this break might be a good time to explore. I went back to the Eiffel Tower, which is much less crowded on a Thursday during lunch. I walked down the Champs du Mars and then realized that I was far from the nearest metro. I didn't even know where the nearest metro station was. I ended up at the Invalides, but couldn't find a station there, and I couldn't understand my map very well, so I just walked down random streets hoping I'd find the metro. Eventually I found it, and it was the line I needed, which was very convenient. Inside, there was an announcement overhead that of course was in French and I didn't catch most of it. Something about an accident somewhere. Then, all of the people in the station got up and left, so I knew the metro line must be closed or something. I walked to the next station and that, apparently, was the sight of the accident. There were police cars and firemen everywhere, and the station was barred off. So then I didn't know what to do, but I saw a bunch of people at a bus stop, so I jumped on, not knowing where it would take me. I asked an old woman what happened and she said a young woman blahgalghg in the metro and it was very bad. I didn't know what the woman did, because I didn't understand the old woman's French, so that is the whole story I know. I replied to the old woman "Oh that sounds awful!", and then looked away.

Conveniently, the bus stopped at another metro station, so I got off, and realized I didn't know what line to take to get back to school because my line was closed. So I got out my map and figured it out, and then knew I was going to be really late. I had to call IES, and I could barely hear them speaking French to me on the phone. Eventually, they had to use English, but I couldn't even understand that, until finally she yelled "What is your name?!" I told her, and she was all the sudden friendly again and said "Ah, bon, we'll see you later then".

My meeting with the advisor was quick and then I ran into a friend who told me to check out Gilbert Jeune, a bookstore in Place St. Michel, for school supplies. So again, I took the metro across town and ended up at St. Michel with a big beautiful fountain, decorated with sculptures of gold and bronze greeting me at the road. The book store was right next to the metro station, and finally, I found some school supplies! It took all day, but I found some folders and some journals with graph paper (they only have graph paper here, no lines), and then I finally went home and cooked spaghetti for dinner. Now I am so tired and it isn't even that late. I think I'll go to bed early tonight, and then spend the whole day sightseeing Paris again tomorrow. That's all for now! Au Revoir!

Leah

Faire du Shopping

Today, I didn't have to be anywhere until 3:00 PM, so I woke up at 11:00 and went to the supermarche for some more groceries. I got some couscous, a baguette, some different types of cheese, and some salami. It was not very expensive for all I bought; about 10 euros. I went back to the apartment and tried the brie cheese that I bought, and oh! C'est horrible!!! Absolutely disgusting. It tasted like a dead person's feet. So I decided to throw it out, and tomorrow, I'm going to find some Gruyere, which I remember liking quite a bit.

After the cheese experience, I left for school. Today, at orientation, we talked about meeting French people by volunteering and what not. It was very brief, and then I left with some friends to go shopping. You see, the government mandates two sales a year; one in January, and one in June, I think where all the stores have to go on sale. So I was able to buy some things for ridiculous prices. I didn't spend over 10 e total. I bought boots, some earrings, some leggings and a shirt. Now that I've bought a Parisian outfit, I don't have to go shopping anymore.

After shopping, I had dinner with my host family. We had salmon and then potatoes with cheese, and then of course cheese, wine, and fruit for dessert. We talked about Moby Dick and argued over whether he was a whale or something else.

After dinner, I took the metro across town to the Bastille where there were some bars to hang out. We went to an American bar (eck!) because someone from IES was friends with some other people abroad in a different program and it was their last night in Paris. They were playing all sorts of motown oldies music very loud. It was kind of strange, and there were way too many Americans there. We didn't stay there long, because we had to go be back at the metro before it closed for the night. The reason we went out tonight, though, was because the transportation system in Paris is going on strike tomorrow, and we will not have any way to get around. The buses, trains, and the metro will all be closed. They said that they think it will only be 24 hours, but they aren't sure if it will go longer. They probably will have to cancel meetings at IES on Thursday, because to walk would take over 3 hours for most people.

Tomorrow, I will meet with a group for an intense language workshop. I am sad, because my meeting is early (at 9am), so I'll have to wake up at 7 to get there on time. So for now, I must go to sleep. Bon nuit!

Leah

Eating: A Cultural Experience

Bonsoir! I am sitting in my room, cross-legged on my bed, listening to the clock tick on into the new morning. Nothing new today, just boring lectures all day in a language I still don't comprend(understand). The metro chugged me back and forth across town all day. First, in the morning, I left early (before the sun rose) for orientation. It took me an hour to get there on the metro. Then, we had lunch at the conference center, and it was very gourmet. First course, we had an appetizer of asparagus and a pastry, then we had le poule avec des pommes de terre (chicken and potatoes) for an entree, next we had chocolate covered orange and a cream cake for dessert, then a small espresso to end. The lunch was provided by IES. That was probably the second best part of the day. The best part was my rendez-vous avec ma famille d'acceuil (meeting with my host family) for dinner. I guess I like to eat.

At least in Paris, eating is a very elegant event. I am always scared that I am not practicing the right etiquette, and my plate always has lots of silverware around it for dinner (I never know which one to use!). We had some broccoli something or other to start with tomato sauce over it. This is the second dish they served with tomato sauce. Then, for course two, we had an italian dish kind of like lasagna. Then of course we had fromage du chevre (goat cheese) on bread with wine. Then after, we had a cheese that comes in a yogurt container, but tastes like whip cream for dessert. I learned some new dinner etiquette today at orientation. You are always supposed to have both hands on the table (not one in your lap) and bread should never be on the plate. If you have a roll, it should sit on the table by the plate, because apparently it is considered disgusting to put bread on a plate touching the rest of your food.

The dinner conversation was pleasant as always. I found out that my family's ancestors made swords and that the swords were on display in a museum across town. I also found out that my host brother, Charles-Henry, will be moving into his own place for the first time in April. I thought that was strange because he is 27, but his parents were as sad as parents leaving their kid at college for the first time. I also told them that my brother was studying nuclear astro physics, but i couldn't say that in French, so i said he is studying "la physique des etoiles" (the physics of the stars). I thought that was a nice way to put it. Other dinner conversation that we have talked about for all our dinners is that their car is broken and in the shop. I think the oil is leaking; they mentioned oil. I told them that my dad knew a lot about cars, and they were very impressed! "C'est magnifique" they said.

After dinner we retired to our rooms, and now I am off to bed. I don't have to wake up early tomorrow, so I will "fait la gras matinnee" (sleep in) in the morning.

Adieu,

Leah

Adventures in Montmartre

Today, I woke up early to go to the open air market in Passy. It is in the 16th Arrondissement. I was very nervous to buy things, because my French isn't very good. Mostly, if anyone talked to me, I just said "Oui" and then watched what that got me. The first time I said it, I got a basket to put my stuff in. The second time, I got half a loaf of bread. And the third time, I got the bread sliced. My method seemed to be working out well. I went to the butcher to get some meat, but it was all very strange meat, and then there were oysters and I didn't know how to cook any of it. I also didn't know what to do about cheese. There were too many kinds at the fromagerie, so I skipped it all together, and will go back tomorrow when I figure out what kind of cheese I want. To drink, I bought an orange juice and an Orangina. I also bought some red bell peppers and some fruit. I'm not sure how all these things will go together, especially since I don't have meat or cheese to put in a sandwich. I found a supermarket down the street from me, so I will go there tomorrow to find meat and cheese.

After grocery shopping, I went to meet up with my friend Maria from the airport and her friend Chloe to go to Montmartre. Montmartre is the artsy part of Paris that was a famous hangout for the bohemians at the turn of the century. Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, and Degas all hung out there. I brought my little black tour book with me so that we could have a little map and a guide to the places around the neighborhood. First, we went to the cemetery of Montmartre where Emile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, Degas, and La Goulue (the woman Toulouse Lautrec often painted) are buried. We wandered around trying to find the famous graves, but it was hard, because there was only one sign pointing us there, and the graveyard was very crowded with massive tombstones. We were able to find the grave of Dumas, but I couldn't find Degas. Instead I found a grave of de Gas. I'm sure if I stayed longer I could have found his grave.

Anyway, after the cemetery we went to the Moulin Rouge. It wasn't much to see, just a bunch of tourists taking pictures. It was cool to see the cabaret that inspired so many of Toulouse Lautrec's paintings though. Today, the Moulin Rouge has a Las Vegas style showgirl show. It is very cheesy. Also, the area surrounding the Moulin Rouge is kind of a red light district (it always has been), and it isn't the safest part of town at night.

After the Moulin Rouge, we went to the Sacre Coeur. First, along the way, we stopped at a food stand and I had a sandwich avec jambon et gruyere (ham and cheese). It was actually very gourmet. After, for dessert, I had a crepe with Nutella. It was so delicious and warm, it felt good in my hands on such a cold windy day. We sat on a bench under the Sacre Coeur to eat our lunch, then we climbed the millions and millions of steps to the church. The view from the Sacre Coeur is wonderful. You can see all of Paris. We walked into the cathedral and there was a mass going on. It was very strange because there were so many tourists walking around the cathedral during the middle of the mass. It was kind of a creepy church inside; very dark and there were nuns singing gloomy music and a priest talking about the sins of the world.

After we left the Sacre Coeur, we stopped at Place du Tertre, where street artists hang out painting pictures of the street and the passersby. I liked that little square because it was full of small streets with cute boutiques and cafes. I bought a hat there, and then we went back to the metro and now I am back here.

Tomorrow, I will go to IES in the morning for orientation and a language placement test. Hopefully, soon I'll get to go out at night and check out the social areas in town. C'est tout pour maitenant. A Bientot!

Leah

Arrival

After waking up too early in the morning (2 am!) for my flight out of Detroit, I arrived in Miami tired and cold. Miami was about 40 degrees! Of course, because I had a layover there for 9 hours, I decided I had to explore the city a bit. So I hopped on a bus and went to the beach. The bus ride was about 40 minutes, and when I got to the beach I was surprised that I was in a Jewish neighborhood. Very Jewish. The men wore yamikas(I know that isn't how to spell it) and had long beards and long curly sideburns and the women were wearing all black for some reason. So I passed many people speaking Hebrew while I strolled along the beach looking at the pieces of coral and shells that washed up to shore. My time at the beach was short because it was very windy and cold, so I soon took the bus back to the airport and sat around there waiting all day for my flight.

When we finally boarded for Paris, of course something had to go wrong. Apparently, a pebble hit the plane when it landed on its previous flight and they couldn't determine if the damage was significant or not. So it took them 3 hours to determine that the damage was significant and they made us switch planes. While waiting to reboard in the terminal, I met someone else who was in IES(my study abroad program). Her name was Maria and she was from Colombia.

Finally we boarded the plane a second time. Everyone on the plane spoke French, it seemed, except for the stewardists and the captain. I sat next to a French man very briefly before he left for another seat, and I had the whole bench to myself. For this reason, I had the most comfortable plane ride of my life! I made my two seats into a bed with lots of pillows and blankets and stretched out over them. It was wonderful. I woke in the morning for breakfast, and soon we had landed at rainy Charles De Gualle.

I met up with Maria again at the airport, and we took the metro together to our homestays. This took a very long time because CDG is way out of town. Also, I had to lug my bags up and down the stairs through a bunch of different metro stations. It was totally impracticle, but I saved a lot of money. The price of a cab from CDG to town was about 60 Euros! I got to town on about 10 Euros.

Finally, I arrived at my homestay and I recognized everything from looking at my street on Google Earth. I knew exactly where to go. I met my host mother and she was very nice and showed me around the apartment. She doesn't speak a word of English, so I'm excited to be totally immersed in the language. After my tour of the apartment, I unpacked and then fell asleep for a while because I was very jetlagged. I woke up later that evening and had dinner with her and her husband. We had soup, salad, wine, and a galette du roi for dessert. It was all very good food! They were very friendly to me, and we talked about Obama, and my trip to France, and I even told them about Gran Torino and how my uncle plays the organ in the first scene. Now even Paris knows! I went to bed after dinner and woke up the next morning prepared for orientation.

I had to take the metro all over town to get to La Rue Daguerre, where IES is. It was a small street of a big boulevard called Avenue du Maine. I walked up and down the street a thousand times trying to find IES, but it was nowhere. No signs or anything. Finally, I knew I must be late for orientation, but I didn't have a watch or a phone, so I was completely disconnected. I saw a few people speaking English and I decided to follow them, and Voila! They went right to the IES building. There was no sign on the building; I think it was to keep a low profile.

So I arrived late, and then I had to sit through boring orientation where they told us the rules and yada yada (all in French of course), and then I bought a cell phone for $20, which was a pretty good deal, I thought. After that, I went back to the apartment and tried to set up my internet. I finally got it working, and I emailed someone in my program to see if they wanted to get together today. We set up a time and place, and I then had dinner again with my host family. For dinner, we had soup and salad again, then we had cheese and wine for dessert. We had very good goat cheese on a baguette, and I told them that I used to own dairy goats. They were very surprised about that! Then we had a cheese that looked like yogurt and it came in a little cup. We put sugar on it and it was absolutely delicious! I scraped every bit off my plate.

Today we met up at Le Tour d'Eiffel, and took a free sightseeing bus around the touristy part of town. We went down Le Champs-Elysee and past the Louvre and many pretty parks. I saw Napoleon's tomb and L'arc de Triomphe. The tour was about an hour, and after it, I went to a cafe with some people from IES. The cafe was not very French, because we were in such a touristy area, but we were able to convince them to speak French to us. After the cafe, I made plans to get together with the IES students again, and then I came back to the apartment and made some tea and read some F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tomorrow, I am completely free again, but I hope to go to the market to get some groceries for the week. Well, I must go now. I will update again soon!

Leah