Week 2 Back at School

Well it was my second week back at school after the holidays and not too much went on.  I had school, bénévolat, homework; the usual stuff.  However there were some fun things that I did do during the week.

Lundi le 9 janvier:

Today I ran errands and that evening I went over to the apartment that Ang and her boyfriend, Matt, were renting in Paris while he was here visiting her.  Perry joined us as well and we had chicken fajitas and chips with salsa.  It was all very good.  I was in charge of bringing the dessert so I found a delicious red berry tarte that was so good.  We had a really nice time and just hung out and talked.  I went home around 10:30pm and read a bit before going to bed.

This is the delicious tarte that I found at a boulangerie which is right by my bus stop

Mardi le 10 janvier:

Well I had school today and that went fine.  My afternoon class, Tourisme & Gastronomie, went on a field trip and so that was a lot of fun.  We got to try some different cheeses, some bread, a cup of coffee, and some Berthillon’s ice cream.  It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon despite the fact that it was ridiculously cold and we were all frozen by the end of the walking tour.

Jeudi le 12 janvier:

Today I had my really big language exam and it actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be.  We will see how the results turned out.

Vendredi le 13 janvier:

So this morning I did laundry and that wasn’t very exciting but it was necessary!  In the afternoon I went over to Hôtel de Ville and went ice skating with Perry, Ang, et Matt.  It was a blast!  There is an ice skating rink right in front of Hôtel de Ville and it is there during the winter, I am not sure how long it stays there during the winter but nonetheless it has been there since the holidays.  Anyways, I had so much fun ice skating, I had not gone ice skating in years!  I think the last time I went I was down in Kentucky visiting the Medinas.  I was afraid I was going to fall because well it had been a while but I didn’t fall once!  There were a couple of close calls though.  Afterwards the four of us headed over to McDonald’s and each got something to munch on.  It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.  Sadly, I don’t have any pictures but I didn’t bring my camera because I was afraid I would fall and break my camera and I didn’t want to take that chance.

Samedi le 14 janvier:

So I woke up today and wasn’t feeling too well but I got ready for the cultural visit that is run by retired people (whom I do the conversation hour with once a week).  I am glad I went because well it is free and I got to learn about the Quartier Latin de Paris.  There were four other students that came along on this adventure.  We visited a couple of churches and whatnot.  I had fun but it was freezing cold out that morning!!  Towards the end I could barely concentrate because I was so cold!

Musée du Moyen Age (we just walked around the outside of it)

The group listening to Mr. Rondet explain the architecture

Walking through Paris, it was sunny but cold!

One of the churches we visited, St. Eustache, which is right next to la Pantheon

After the tour finished the lady who helped guide the tour with M Rondet invited us four girls over to her apartment for a cup of coffee and lunch.  She lives not too far from Hôtel de Ville.  It was very nice of her to do such a thing.  We got to talk with her and we found out that she has done a lot of traveling and has lived in a lot of different places like Australia, South America, and Japan.  It was so neat to see her apartment because it is full of stuff from all over the world!  She is a well traveled person to say the least!  Afterwards, one of the girls, Jessica, and I went over to BHV, which is a big department store and walked around.  We then walked down rue de Rivoli and just talked.  Around 3pm I went home and went I got home I wasn’t feeling well at all!  I slept for about three hours and woke up and had some dinner.  I then went to bed at 10:30pm.  I was so miserable and could barely even move because I felt so sick.  It wasn’t fun at all.

Dimanche le 15 janvier:

Well today I was feeling a little bit better, I could actually get out of bed and not feel sick to my stomach when I stood up; which was a good thing because I had promised Jessica that today we would go to a museum together in the afternoon.  In the afternoon I met up Jessica at the Grevin Museum, which is the wax museum in Paris.  It was ridiculously expensive so I will not be going back but I can now say that I have gone.  It was interesting though and we had a good time making fun of the wax people, there was George Clooney along with some really gross ones like the history of science in France and a guy dissecting a hand.  I didn’t take any pictures of the gross ones. 

Le Petit Prince, I would have to say this one was my favorite

Even Indiana Jones was at the wax museum

And here is my old pal, Albert Einstein

Afterwards we walked over to l’Opéra and there was a group of students playing music on the steps leading up to the Opéra so we stopped a listened for a while.  We then said goodbye and I went home to take it easy because I am still sick and don’t want to push it.

Students playing on the steps of the Opéra (they were all wearing orange in some way)

I did facetime with my family back home and I got to see my two favorite little guys!  Stephen and Elijah were over at my house for the afternoon and I got to talk with them briefly.  I knew that they would be bigger but they have changed so much especially Elijah!  Oh my goodness, he is running!  The last time I saw him he was only crawling.  It made me realize how much I miss being around little kids and how much I miss the kids that I know back home.  It also struck me that things back home are changing too and when I get back stuff won’t be the same anymore and I am not exactly sure how I feel about that yet.  By July 22^nd, things will definitely be a lot different and I will have to be readjusting to life back in the States.  Ugh, but I am not going to think about that too much at the moment because I still have a semester (4 months) in Paris, a month in Spain, and three weeks with my family exploring more of Europe before I have to get on a plane to go back to the U.S.