November pre-Nice continued

Well here is a continuation of what I have been up to before Thanksgiving weekend when I went to Nice.  As usual I will give you the highlights from what happened during these few days. 

Lundi le 14 novembre:

Shelley’s class, homework, dinner, put up some blog entries and nothing much other than that.

Mardi le 15 novembre:

So when I woke up this morning the electricity was not working in my room or my side of the hallway!  It was a pleasant surprise when I got up this morning and tried to turn on the light in the bathroom and it wasn’t working.  (I’m being sarcastic if you can’t tell).  Anyways I got ready for school and left a note for Perrine, my roommate, asking her to tell the people at the front desk because I didn’t have time before going off to school.  I had my language class and got a test back and did rather well so that was exciting (I’m easily pleased lol!).  Anyways I was going to take the bus to the CROUs for lunch but it was going to take forever so I walked and it was freezing!  I thought I was going to turn into a human ice cube!  I thankfully got to take a bus back to school because the wait wasn’t a ridiculous amount.  I got to drink wine in my afternoon class because we were learning about different regions of France and it was fun.  Definitely not something that would ever happen in an American University.  I could very much get used to a class like this.  After class I then went to my bénévolat and helped out a student with his English homework.  We got out early so I went home to work on my presentation for Thursday.  When I got back the electricity was working!  That was awesome!  I ate dinner with Sophia and we chatted for quite some time so I didn’t get as much work done as I wanted but oh well.

Jeudi le 17 novembre:

Well today I had my presentation and that went fine.  It is done and over with so that is good.  After class I went and got some lunch and that was fine.  I had my old people conversation (as I like to call them) and that went well.  I also treated myself to a delicious crumble aux pommes and I was eating it while walking down the street and this random lady said “bonne appétite,” it was rather funny.  Normal people don’t eat while walking down the street but it was too tempting to not nibble on it while heading to the bus stop.  I got home and tried out this new program that I downloaded which allows me to watch French dvds and it worked which was super exciting!  So if you ever plan on going abroad and buying foreign films make sure to download VLC Media Player (the best part is it is free).  Well now that I have given my little promotion for them I guess I will move onto a new day in November.

Vendredi le 18 novembre:

So today I went shopping with Kacey and we went to H&M and I got a warm scarf.  We then walked around a bit and stopped at the fnac where I picked up a movie and then said goodbye because I had to get home to skype with the lovely Allison.  It was fun getting to skype with my friend from Central and just catching up.  I then talked with Maissie on facetime so that was fun.  I eventually had dinner because it was late and I was starving.

Samedi le 19 novembre:

Did grocery shopping today as most Saturday mornings are spent.  As usual, I was sitting on my bed and was working on something and fell asleep.  When I woke up from my nap I got up and decided to go to le Musée l’Orangerie where there are Monet’s waterlilies.  It was rather crowded with rich American tourists but the paintings were just breathtaking.  I could have easily sat there for hours and stared at them.  I then walked around by la Seine and saw a gorgeous sunset (sorry no pictures because I hadn’t received my new camera yet).  It reminded me of how beautiful Paris is.  I walked some more along the Seine and happened upon the Christmas markets on the Champs-Élysées.  I only looked at them briefly because there were so many people!  It was super crowded and I just wanted to go home at that point.  I made it home and ate dinner with Sophia and Alessandro.  Some really nice German girls shared their cake that they made with us.  I then just hung out.

Dimanche le 20 novembre:

Bon anniversaire Maissie!!  In honor of Maissie’s birthday I ate a pain au chocolat that was delicious.  I then went to church in the afternoon and ran into Clayton, a guy from my program, after church at the coffee area.  We talked for a while and then he had to head back to his foyer to work on homework.  I also ran into Stephanie and Mar from church and we walked to the metro together and then I went home and eventually worked on homework.

Lundi le 21 novembre:

Well today I was on cloud 9.  I got my package from my parents with my new camera!!  I was super nervous that I wouldn’t get it in time for Nice however I did and will now be able to take pictures again.  I went to lunch and then went to the Central office for Shelley’s class.  She told us that tomorrow we get to skip classes to go get our carte de séjour which lets us stay in France.  One needs this along with a visa.  I had to go out afterwards and buy a 55 euros stamp and take some wonderful id photos at a photomaton.  After I got all that done I worked on homework and booked my hotel for going to Strasbourg for the Christmas markets!  I was super stoked about that.

Mardi le 22 novembre:

Well today I went off to the immigration office to get my sticker in my passport saying that I can stay in the country and that I don’t have TB.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I got there in plenty of time even though I woke up late.  It was like being at the DMV.  I walk up the stairs and there is a HUGE line!  I had to talk to some people at the front desk and they said that I then would have to wait until they called my name.  Let me tell you I am so thankful that my parents named me Amelia because the French can pronounce it and I can understand them when they call my name!  I waited for quite a while and then they called my name and they took me to another room with a ton of people and I had to sit and wait there until a nurse called my name.  So today consisted of a lot of sitting and waiting.  I got weighed and did an eye exam thingy which was kind of funny because I am so used to doing it in English that I started saying some of the letters in English but had to remind myself to say them in French.  I then went back into the waiting room and waited some more.  I then had to get a chest x-ray for TB and that was the most awkward thing ever.  If you want more details you can ask me in person when you see me, it is too awkward to put on here.  Anyways I got my chest x-ray and then had to go and sit and wait some more to talk with a doctor and she asked a bunch of questions and gave me my x-ray.  I now have a souvenir, lol!  After I was done talking with her I had to sit and wait some more and the receptionist called my name and then I got to go back into the first waiting room and wait some more.  I finally got my sticker saying I can stay in France!  I then went home and had some lunch and went to my afternoon class.  I had wine in class again and ate a ton of different types of cakes.  It was delicious.  I then went to bénévolat and then went to Bible Study and was late but that is ok.  It was really good and afterwards they had pie for Thanksgiving!  I got to have pumpkin, apple, and chocolate!  It was all delicious!  When I went home I wasn’t hungry for dinner.

Mercredi le 23 novembre:

Today was a regular day and I went to school and whatnot and that wasn’t super exciting.  I was having major difficulties trying to stay awake in my afternoon class.  I went home on the bus and there were a lot of families.  There was one family with 6 little girls and they were very chatty but super cute!  I also got a Thanksgiving day card from my family and was super excited about that.

Jeudi le 24 novembre:

Happy Thanksgiving!  Or as it is in France, Happy Regular Day (no holiday to celebrate here).  Today I went to class and my old people conversations.  We talked about how we celebrate Christmas in our countries.  It was interesting though because the majority of the students in my group are Asian and don’t celebrate Christmas.  Afterwards I went home and worked on laundry and skyped with the Tobeys and my family who were all together for Thanksgiving.  It was nice.  I then went out to a Mexican restaurant with Ang and Kacey and that was fine, nothing special.  I then went home and went to bed since it was getting late.

So yeah the month of November came and went.

Seeing as I am so far behind I am going to do my best to catch you up on my life before 2012!  When I was first looking back on the month of November it looked like I didn’t do too much and as if my life just consisted of going to school, bénévolat, and other stuff.  But now when I really look at it there was some really cool stuff that I saw and did.  I guess what I am trying to say is that everyone has this idea that studying abroad is all fun all the time and I did too before I arrived here in France but it is still regular life just in a different country, culture, and language…so it is also filled with regular things like going to school, doing homework, going grocery shopping, etc.  So I am going to give you an overview of the month of November because telling every little thing that happened can get rather dull but here are the highlights before going off to Nice.

Vendredi le 4 novembre:

Today I walked around le Jardin de Luxembourg because I had some time to kill before my meeting with Shelley and I came across a pétanque court (which is bocce) and I watched these old men playing (well it was a majority of old men) for about an hour.  It was rather fun to watch because they were getting really serious about it and were pulling out a tape measure and whatnot!  I then had my meeting and afterwards I went to the Rodin Museum with some other people in the program.  It was interesting, unfortunately I didn’t get to go into the gardens because that part was already closed.

Samedi le 5 novembre:

Today I went to Musée Marmottan, which has a lot of Monet paintings and other artists.  It was really cool because they have some Monet paintings there that I think are less well known and so it was cool just seeing more of his artwork.  I went with Kacey and we had a nice time just wandering around the museum.  I also got to Facetime with my family and it was so good to see all their faces!  I miss them but am glad that I am here no matter how difficult it is.

Dimanche le 6 novembre:

Well today I went to the American Church in Paris and really enjoyed it!  It was really nice to feel at home there and I met some really nice girls that are also studying in Paris this semester.  I then went home and just hung out.

Lundi le 7 novembre:

So today I told Shelley that I don’t want to do an internship in the spring.  If I did do one I have no idea where I would want to do it and would then have to spend three days of the week in an office and the other two in classes.  I had decided long before coming to Paris that this year would be my “year of fun” since the past two years I took full loads at school so I could easily study here for the year and still graduate on time and well that doesn’t really sound like fun to me so yeah no internship.  I am not sure yet if I will regret my decision but what is done is done so there is no reason thinking about what could have been.  I also went to go see a play today with my program.  We went to la Comédie Française and saw Andromaque.  Well, I did not enjoy it one bit.  I had no clue what they were talking about because it was like the equivalent of Elizabethan in English but in French and it rhymed and there was no action it was all talking.  So it was really really hard to stay awake towards the end of the play.

Mardi le 8 novembre:

So today was a long day!  I had left my foyer at 8:30am and didn’t get home until 10:30pm.  I had school like usual.  I then went to my bénévolat, that went fine.  I then went to ACP (American Church in Paris) to go to the young adults Bible Study and I was super late because it starts when I am in my bénévolat and is on the other side of the city so it takes a while to get there.  I could not sneak in because there is this squeaky metal spiral stair case that one has to walk down to get into the room and so yeah.  I did enjoy it though even though I was late.  Afterwards I went out to a café with two girls that I had met at church previously.  There are really nice and we had a nice chat.  I finally went home and had a sandwich at like 10:30pm since I was starving and hadn’t eaten since noon.

Vendredi le 11 novembre:

Happy Armistice Day!  Today was a holiday in France so there were no classes but that didn’t affect me because I don’t have classes on Fridays anyways.  I did get to hang out with Fabrice though.  We went to the movie theater and saw “Intouchables.”  It was a really good movie and was a really big hit here in France.  It is kind of like “The Blind Side” but not really.  The only thing that is similar is in seeing the difference between the social classes.  But it was really good nonetheless!  I was also really glad that I had Fabrice there to explain to me the culture references in the movie that everyone else in the movie theater was laughing at.  Also there was a lot of slang that was difficult to understand at times but I could figure out what was going on when I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  We then went to a restaurant called Paradis du Fruit for lunch and I had a really good salad and orange juice.  We then headed over to BHV which is a big store with all kinds of stuff and that was fun to explore.  We then said goodbye and so I went home and did homework.

Samedi le 12 novembre:

Well today I did some shopping around Hôtel de Ville and that was nice.  I picked up some stuff.  It was also such a nice day and I did not want to go back to my foyer so I just explored around that area.  I came across this cool little park area and a paper store that Janine would just love.  I did go into a beautiful cathedral not too far from Centre Pompidou (which I have yet to go into to).  I eventually headed back to my foyer and just hung out around there.

Dimanche le 13 novembre:

I went to ACP and that was really nice.  I met a girl named Lena who is really cool.  I also ran into the two girls that I normally talk with and we decided to go for a walk after church since it was nice out and stopped at a Starbucks (which yes, they do exist here in France).  I got a muffin, it was alright.  We walked around some more and then I partially walked home but got tired so I jumped onto the metro.

A Château, A Prince and A Fairytale

Well on my last day of Toussaints I went to the château, Vaux le Vicomte.  It is a beautiful château and was the inspiration for Versailles.  I really liked it because it isn’t as crowded with tourists as Versailles.  Unfortunately it was a rainy day when I went with Angela but that is ok we still had a nice time.  No there were no princes that I saw at the château but I guess some of the French princes had visited the château, and there were no fairytales but the gardens were very “fairytalesque”.  There isn’t much for me to write about today so I am just going to show you what it was like through some of my favorite pictures.  I took a ton of pictures but putting all of them up would be ridiculous.

Well here is Vaux le Vicomte, of course the dome at the top was under construction so we couldn’t go in it sadly

Looking out onto the gardens

Creepy “life like” animations that they had that would talk and yes the guy does have a squirrel on his shoulder, creepy I know.  (Also squirrel things were everywhere here and I'm not sure why)

Cool kitchen area

An office like room (and if you notice on the wall that is an arm holding the candlestick, interesting to say the least)

At last in the gardens, I love the fall colors.

Me in the gardens at Vaux le Vicomte (it was just breathtaking)

The gardens just went on forever and ever

A bridge that we sadly couldn’t get to  (sorry don't know what happened to the picture when I was adding it) :(

The amazing fall colors!

Looking at the back of the château

The amazing fall colors in the gardens

More of the gardens

Heading back towards the château before heading home  

I had a really nice time despite the rain and loved seeing the amazing fall colors at this gorgeous château, I can now understand why Louis was jealous and built Versailles.  It was a great way to end a nice Toussaints break!

Les Vacances de Toussaints--Partie 2 A Paris

Mercredi le 26 octobre :

Today I got up to go to the Louvre with Kacey and her friend that was visiting.  I did not want to get up and considered just staying in bed but I did get up and got ready to go.  I got to the Louvre bright and early and there was a long line of course so I jumped in line.  It was rather chilly out this morning but it was pretty to see the sun rising.

The sun coming up at the Louvre

Kacey found me in line and then we went in and got our tickets and found her friend that was in town.  We looked around and that was fun but then Kacey and I went to the CROUs for lunch.  We got on to the RER B and were heading the wrong direction so when we heard the name of the first stop we jumped off and got on going the right direction.  We finally got to the CROUs and had some lunch and just chatted for a really long time.  It was such a nice day out that I convinced Kacey to go for a walk with me.  She suggested that we go to the boulangerie where we have gotten other yummy pastries.  It was delicious!  I got a tarte aux framboises that was to die for!  We got our pastries and then went to the Catho to eat there and stop at a bathroom.  Since it was break there was no one at the school so we took the opportunity to take pictures.

The path that I walk down to get to the buildings where foreigners like myself take classes.

The forbidden garden that I have to walk past every day.  Only residents can use it and since I don’t live there I can’t go in.

Where some of my classes are, this is the courtyard.

After hanging out at the Catho, we walked to the métro and went our separate ways to go home.  I went back to my foyer and got to talk with my Dad and Maissie on facebook because my internet was actually working so that was super exciting!  I then just hung out for the rest of the evening at my foyer.

Jeudi le 27 octobre:

Well today wasn’t that exciting of a day.  I got up and got ready for the day.  At lunch time I went to the CROUs like usual and then after lunch I went over to the Sacré-Coeur area to find the hostel that Maissie made a reservation at and to find some of these cheap stores that my Mom was telling me about.  Well I found one of the stores and bought a plate (since I accidentally broke my only plate, I really need a plastic one but they don’t seem to believe in plastic plates over here) and some dish towels.  I then was searching and searching for the hostel that Maissie made a reservation at and could not find it!  I was starting to freak out thinking the worst.  I finally realized that I was looking on the wrong side of the street and just crossed the street and found it right away.  It was definitely a blond moment for me, which I seem to have those often.  Anyways after walking around for a while I went to the métro station and sat down waiting for the next train to arrive.  This lady that was sitting next to me started asking if I could read French, of course she asked me in French.  I said yes (in French of course) and so the lady asked me (in French) if I could read her text message aloud to her since she doesn’t have very good eye sight.  So I read it aloud to her in French and she was very thankful and when the métro arrived we said goodbye and went our separate ways.  It was interesting to say the least, I have never had to do that for anyone before but I didn’t mind.  I then went back home and just hung out there for the rest of the day.  I did do some much needed grocery shopping though so that was good.

Vendredi le 28 octobre:

Not too much to report from today.  It was a rather boring kind of lonely kind of day.  I realized how lonely studying abroad can be.  I did work on some homework but still had a bunch more to do.  I ate another tarte aux framboises and it was delicious!  Other than that nothing too exciting.

Samedi le 29 octobre:

Today I hung out with Fabrice.  It is always fun hanging out with him and always an adventure!  We met up over by St. Michel and just hung out.  We did some shopping and by we, I mean he did some shopping.  It was fun though.  We eventually ended up over by Chatlet les Halles and he showed me the indoor pool there and we then went to this church called St. Eustache.  It was really big and pretty yet very eerie at the same time.

Me and Fabrice (not one of our better pictures but this was the best one from that day)

St. Eustache--cool yet creepy.

We just hung out and had fun.  After we walked around some more we went over to Hôtel de Ville and then walked around some more and eventually jumped onto the métro and said goodbye because he had to head back home.  I went back to my foyer and then just hung out for the rest of the evening working on homework and whatnot.

Dimanche le 30 octobre:

So last night we fell back an hour and I was so confused when I got up because my phone didn’t automatically change so I thought maybe I misunderstood and it would be a different weekend.  But no, it was this weekend that we fell back an hour.  I guess with my cheapo phone you have to change it manually.  Life in Paris, always an adventure.  I just hung out around my foyer in the morning and in the afternoon I went to the American Church in Paris to check it out because the contemporary service is in the afternoon at 1:30pm.  It was interesting/good.  It wasn’t the regular band so it was a bunch of gospel music which was kind of weird but that is alright.  I then hung out after the service at the coffee time but nobody talked to me and so I was rather discouraged by that.  When I went home I talked with my parents since I was really homesick.  Seeing all those families at church really made me miss mine.  I then just worked on homework and had dinner.  Nothing too exciting.

Lundi le 31 octobre:

Well today I got up and had a rather normal day.  I worked on homework and went to the CROUs with Kacey for lunch.  After lunch I went back to my foyer and worked on some more homework and did some laundry which was good because I had nothing clean to wear!  I don’t know how other people in my program go so long without doing laundry!  It is kind of gross when you think about it.  But it isn’t my problem.  There was a Halloween party in the foyer but it was rather lame and so I went back to my room and just hung out before going to bed.

Les Vacances de Toussaints--Partie 1 Chez les Cousins

Vendredi le 21 octobre :

Today I got up and packed my bags for going to Les Sièges to spend a long weekend at the cousins’ house.  I went to a little boulangerie and picked up some cookies to give to the cousins and then sat around my room twiddling my thumbs before heading off to the train station.  So I got to Gare Paris Bercy early, and I knew I wanted to be there early but I got there really really early!  But that is alright.  I knew I had to composter my billet but I had no idea where to do this so I asked a guy that worked there and he said at the yellow box so that is what I did.  But then I was still rather confused because there was a silver box too and said “compostez ici” so I got my billet stamped there too!  I think I did a little too much stamping of my billet but whatever.  The train finally arrived and I got on and headed off to Sens where the train lets off.  The scenery was just gorgeous and it only took about 50 minutes to get there!  When I got off the train Françoise was there waiting for me with Caline.  We then headed to Les Sièges and stopped at a friend’s house along the way to have a café and chat.  We then went to the house and hung out until later in the evening when we went to a different friends’ house for an aperitif.  That was really nice.  We then went back home and had some dinner.  We watched tv and then they went to bed and I facetimed with Maissie until almost midnight!  It was so great being able to talk to her but then I didn’t sleep very well because I was so excited from talking with my wonderful sister. 

Samedi le 22 octobre:

Today I got up kind of early but not super early since I didn’t sleep very well the night before.  I then got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast.  When Françoise saw that my hair was still wet she insisted that I borrow an extra hair dryer that she had this weekend.  I was thankful because I was still sick and didn’t need to be going out with wet hair.  After breakfast and blow drying my hair Françoise and I went to Villeneuve to get some stuff we went to the market and it was freezing standing in line waiting at the meat stand!  It was rather cold out this morning!  We ran into Manu’s dad and Manu’s dad’s twin brother!  That was fun!  We went home after shopping and chatting for lunch.  In the afternoon Manu and I watched the second Lord of the Rings movie, it was in French of course, and happened to be on the tv.  It was rather amusing to hear the characters speaking in French!  But it was still good nonetheless.  After that Manu left to go somewhere and then later Françoise and I went to a friend’s house and Manu was there because he installed a heater thing.  We hung out there for a while and I got to try some cremante (sorry I have no idea how to spell it).  It was really good!  I had one glass with cassiss in it and then had another glass without and I liked them both.  After hanging out for a while we went back to the house and then dropped off Caline at Gilberte’s because we were going to a different friends’ house for dinner and pry wouldn’t be getting back till late.  We had beef fondue in wine and it was really good with potatoes and salad and bread of course!  There was one couple that had a little girl there and she was adorable!  It made me miss the Petry kids a lot and that I could see them.  At dinner I had a delicious glass of rosé and then with dessert which was a homemade tarte aux pommes we had champagne.  It was a nice time but I was super tired since I didn’t sleep well the night before and was still sick which wasn’t making things better.  We finally went home at 1:30am and I went straight to bed.

Dimanche le 23 octobre:

Well today I got up rather late but that is ok because I really needed the sleep.  I watched the final rugby match with Manu and it was France against New Zealand for the World Cup.  Sadly, France lost and came in second place.  We had lunch with Gilberte and then after lunch Manu’s parents came over with Manu’s sister and her husband for an aperitif.  It was a nice time; they mostly talked while I did a bunch of listening and not much talking but my French isn’t that good.  After they left Gilberte went to her house and then we just hung out watching tv the rest of the afternoon.  It was so nice outside and I was really antsy so I wanted to take a walk but wasn’t sure how to ask/tell Françoise that I wanted to go for a walk so I just hung out at the house.  Dinner time rolled around and afterwards we just hung out and then went to bed.

Lundi le 24 octobre:

Today was another nice day in the French countryside.  Françoise and I went shopping in Sens at les marchés and that was fun.  We said hello to some friends of hers that have a stand at the marché.  We then went to the indoor marché and looked around.  There was a lot of food there! 

Inside the indoor marché

We then checked out some stores and I didn’t get anything but Françoise picked up some stuff.  We eventually had lunch and that was really good!  I had a galette which is a type of crêpe and mine had brie cheese in it.  It was delicious!  We of course got a café afterwards and then looked around at some more of the outdoor marchés. 

Françoise is on the left

Anyways we were walking around and my stomach started feeling upset so I told Françoise that I needed a bathroom.  We drove to the grocery store and I stopped in the bathroom there.  We will just leave it at I had an upset stomach and it wasn’t very fun.  I got a hairdryer at the store and then we went home because I started not feeling well again.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon not feeling well.  And of course when Manu got home Françoise had to tell him that I had an upset stomach, ugh so embarrassing.  I just chilled around the house and was so frustrated that I had to get an upset stomach!

Mardi le 25 octobre:

Today was my last day at the cousins’ house.  When I went into the bathroom to go take a shower I saw a huge wasp by the window!  I started silently freaking out!  I thought maybe I could take a shower really quickly but no I couldn’t do it.  I went downstairs and tried to explain to the best of my ability that there was a huge wasp in the bathroom!  Françoise came upstairs and opened the window and out flew the wasp.  Of course it was like it was no big deal.  I was so thankful and then took my shower.  When I went downstairs after getting ready and the huge bug fiasco, Françoise pulls out this huge croque monsieur (it is kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich with ham) and said it was for me to take home for dinner!  It was so sweet of her to do so!  She then made me take the left over rolls that I had been eating for breakfast.  She must think I am not eating enough in Paris or something.  We then went into town to stop at the boulangerie, boucherie at Gilberte’s house.  When we were by the boulangerie I took some pictures of the church across the way.

The church in Les Sièges

We then went back to the house and had some lunch.  Manu and Fred came home for lunch and then said goodbye to me since I was leaving later that afternoon.  Françoise and I just hung out until we had to leave to go to Sens so I could catch my train back to Paris. 

The view from the cousins’ house

We then left for the train station and made it there in plenty of time.  Françoise said goodbye and then left.  I hung out until my train arrived.  On the ride back the scenery was just gorgeous with all the fall colors.  It started to rain and I saw a rainbow on the way back to Paris.  Once I got to Paris I had to take the metro back to my foyer.  I was rather bummed to be back in Paris because I liked being at the cousins’ house where I could just relax and not have to be on my own.  I was super thankful though for the time that I did get to spend at the cousins’ house and I pry won’t be out there again until February when Maissie is in town.

In the In Between

So this week was a week in between two fun weekends.  The previous weekend (or previous blog entry) was a lot of fun because I got to spend it with a familiar face from home.  Then the next weekend (or the next blog entry) I got to spend at my cousins’ house in the countryside for part of Toussaints break.  There isn’t much to report from this week so it will be a brief blog entry and sadly no pictures well because I really had nothing to take pictures of.

Lundi le 17 octobre:

I had Shelley’s class in the afternoon and afterwards I went to a crêperie with Angela and Lauren and I got a really yummy sucre crêpe (sucre means sugar).  I could have easily eaten 10 more of those!  I then went home and went out to the Monoprix to buy some tissues because well I am sick with a little cold and my nose won’t stop running!  I then went to the pharmacie to get some medicine and was trying to explain to the lady that I wanted pills to take but I had no idea how to say “pill” so I was doing hand motions and pry looked ridiculous doing so!  She finally figured out what I wanted and I got some medicine.

Mardi le 18 octobre:

Suffered through my classes today, I made it through though!  I then went to my bénévolat and I didn’t really do much because no one really wanted/needed my help but that is ok it was still fine.  Then afterwards Kacey and I took the métro to Gare Paris-Bercy (I did mention what gare means in a previous blog entry but for those of you that don’t remember it means train station).  I bought my tickets to go visit the cousins this weekend for a nice long weekend far away from Paris in Les Sièges!  I had to buy it from a machine and I will admit I did put it in English but in my defense, I was sick and I did NOT want to misunderstand anything and buy tickets for the wrong day because that would be horrible!  But next time I will do it all in French because it isn’t hard.  I then headed back to the metro with Kacey and we went into the entrance that was closest to the Gare and I scanned my pass and went in and realized that this one did not have the line I wanted to take.  So I then had to leave and go to the further entrance to get to the line I wanted.  I scanned my pass there and it said “déjà validé”!!!  I was sooo upset because it wouldn’t let me in!!  I went to talk to a guy at the counter and he pointed to the right and said something but I had no clue what it was and I was so frazzled and frustrated and tired and I didn’t feel well since I was sick and it was getting late and I just wanted to go home and go to bed!  So I saw this guy coming up and he scanned his pass and I snuck through after him but with one slight problem, my messenger bag got caught in the doors!  I was sooo upset and was on the verge of tears, it was not my proudest moment.  I yanked my bag through and finally made it home.

Mercredi le 19 octobre:

A girl from the foyer, Wen, let me borrow her hair dryer this morning!  I was so excited because I didn’t want to go outside where it was cold with wet hair and make my cold worse!  My nose was already running and I was coughing.  I didn’t need to be making it worse!  It was so nice to use a hair dryer.  I went to class and suffered through yet another day.  During my afternoon class about half way through I could not keep my eyes open to save my life!  It was horrible!  After classes I went home and did homework, had dinner and went to bed.

Jeudi le 20 octobre:

I got up kind of late today and got ready, I got to use the hair dryer again and that was super awesome!  I went to class and had lunch, class seemed to go by rather quickly today.  I then went over to a shopping mall like place near bld. St. Germain and I bought a scarf for 10€!  It was a great deal!  I then went home and did some laundry.  I had dinner with Wen and then we went to the Champs-Elysées because there is a Gap store there and they were having a private sale that Wen had a ticket to.  So we went and it was rather funny because the sale was only 30% off, nothing that spectacular.  It was all too expensive for us even with the sale but it was fun to get out of the foyer.  At this even that they were having there were “bouncers” at the door checking to make sure you had a ticket.  They also were serving free cocktails!!  That was the funniest thing ever!!  I would never see something like that in the States but this is France.  I didn’t get one because well I had just taken some cold medicine and mixing the two is never a good idea.  We looked around and then went back to the foyer and I gave Wen her hair dryer right when we got home.

Weekend with Germaine

Jeudi le 13 octobre:

So I got a text from my Mom saying that Germaine was back in Paris and would like to get together so I texted Germaine telling her that I would like to hang out this weekend.  I was just about to head into my class at 9h00 when I get a text from Germaine asking if I would like to join her at the Jules Vernes restaurant in the Eiffel Tower!  I of course said yes because I wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity like that which I will pry never get again!  My class ended at noon and it just seemed to drag on, I couldn’t concentrate to save my life.  I had to be at the restaurant at 13h00 and considered going back to my foyer and getting my camera because I had left it at home that day.  Well when I got to the metro I decided that I wouldn’t go and get it because then I would be late and miss out on this wonderful opportunity.  I would rather enjoy it than miss it because I am trying to get a silly camera!  That means though that sadly I don’t have any pictures from this but that is ok!  So I got there in time and took the special elevator up to the restaurant, it was very cool!  When I got there Germaine, Rene, and Joan were already seated.  I felt very out of place in my jeans but I had no idea when I got up that morning that I would be going to the Jules Vernes for lunch!  The food was definitely a LOT better than whatever I would’ve ended up eating at the CROUs if I hadn’t gone.  It was all so good!  Oh my goodness.  The view was also breath-taking!  There were luckily not very many clouds in the sky, it was such a clear day and was just amazing to see the city from the restaurant!  When we were leaving they also gave each of us a package of Madelines!  Those were really good too!  I then took them on the metro and dropped them off right in front of the Arc de Triomphe.  I had to say goodbye because I had to go back to my foyer and drop off my stuff before going to my bénévolat.  I took the metro back and hung out in my room for a little while and then left an hour before I had to be there.  I thought for some reason that it would take me an hour but it only took me half an hour!  So when I got there I got to help out with the little kids and that was a lot of fun!  There was this one little boy that didn’t want to work and I tried motivating him to work but he just wasn’t having it.  Then it was time for them to go home and the middle schoolers to come.  That went well and I enjoyed working with them again.  I then went home and had dinner with a girl in my foyer, Camille, and we had a nice little chat in French.

Vendredi le 14 octobre:

Today I got up and texted Germaine saying that I would love to hang out and so I took the metro over and met up with Germaine, Kris, and Joan there.  I took them onto the RER C (which is the most complicated one).  Kris and Joan wanted to go to Musée D’Orsay and Germaine wanted to walk around the Luxembourg garden area.  We dropped off Kris and Joan and then Germaine and I continued on our way to St. Sulpice.  I showed her where my school is and we walked through the courtyard.  Then we made our way to the Jardin de Luxembourg and found a spot to sit and talked for about 45 minutes and just enjoyed the sun and watching the Parisians enjoy the park.  We then made our way over to the St. Sulpice area so that she could find a special soap that she has got in this area before.  Also to find the hotel that she stayed in with her daughter when they came to Paris several years back.  We were walking around for quite some time and she was starting to doubt that it was in this area when she saw the store!  She got her soap and was so sweet and got me some soap too.  We then walked down the street and found the hotel!  I took a picture of her in front of the hotel to show her daughter.  It was right down the street from St. Sulpice, which is a church.

   Germaine and me kind of in front of St. Sulpice (building behind the bus).

We then decided to walk over to Boulevard St. Germain and find some food.  We both got a really yummy hot goat cheese salad at Café Mabillon.

The yummy hot goat cheese salad that I got, I could easily eat that several times a week!

We then met up with Joan and Kris at St. Sulpice.  They made it there just fine on the metro!  I was so proud!  They had to ask several people but that is ok!  We then went inside St. Sulpice and looked around and then headed out to walk around and look in some shops.  We stopped at a boulangerie for café and a patisserie.  I got a really yummy tarte aux fraises (which is strawberries).  I got a French version of a café which was an espresso, pry not the best idea seeing as it was getting later in the afternoon but that is ok.  We walked around the area and made it over to Notre Dame which was just gorgeous because the sun was setting and the colors were just breathtaking!  Sadly when we got up to the doors though they had just closed them!  So we didn’t get to go in but I just told them that it is a reason to come back to Paris.  We then found the metro and they got off at their stop and I went home.  I had dinner and then just hung out.

Beautiful Notre Dame de Paris, it was just gorgeous!

Samedi le 15 octobre:

I got up early today so I could go to the hotel where Germaine and her friends were staying for petit déjeuner (which is breakfast or literally translated means little lunch).  I got there half an hour early so I hung out in the lobby since they pry weren’t ready for me and it was rather amusing to watch people come in and out.  It was really enjoyable because the escalator wasn’t working so you had to walk up and when people would get on they would just stand there for a few seconds and realize it wasn’t moving.  It was too funny!!  There was this one lady that was so boulversée (I can’t think of a good way of saying this in English so I just put the French word) by this, she could just not understand why it wasn’t working and stood there for literally a minute wondering what was going on.  She was the funniest to watch!  I got a text from Germaine saying that I should come up so I headed up to the room and dropped off my coat and we then headed to breakfast.  I ate soooo much for breakfast!  Normally I eat half of a half of a baguette (with nutella of course) so I was really full from breakfast!  We hopped onto the metro and headed over to Montmartre to check out the sites there.  It was very crowded as usual but was a lot of fun!  We took the funiculaire up to Sacré Coeur and I got to use my Navigo pass so that was really cool!  It didn’t cost me anything!  We went in and looked around, Germaine took a picture inside and got yelled at because you are not allowed to take pictures, lol!  We then went to la Place du Tertre which is where all the artists are.  I loved all the works because they were all so different!  I lost Germaine, Joan, and Kris but figured I would happen upon them eventually and if not I could just call them. 

A very busy Place du Tertre!

I found Germaine and she texted Joan and Kris and they said they were at a café on the Place.  It was kind of funny because there are a TON of cafés!!  We had no idea which one!  We finally found them and they got ice cream.  Germaine I sat down at a café because we were tired of walking and a waiter came with a menu and seriously never came back (that is how busy it was)!  We at least got a free seat out of it!  We left after 20 minutes and got some ice cream, I got tolberone and it was sooo good!  We then head back to Sacré Coeur and sat on the steps for a while, Joan and Kris found us and then we walked down a really pretty path.

Me and Germaine in front of Sacré Coeur (the tourist with the funny face on the left makes this picture hilarious!)

The path we took down from Sacré Coeur, it was so green and pretty.

We ate a café that had an amazing view of Sacré Coeur and I had a really good Quiche Lorraine.  Then Fabrice met up with us and I introduced him to the ladies.  They thought it was some kind of date or something and I just laughed because Fabrice is just a friend and I had to keep telling them that it was NOT a date!  We took them to the métro and I showed them how to get back to their hotel and then Fabrice and I went shopping.  He got some stuff and we then ended up on the Champs-Elysees and just sat on a bench and talked.  However after a while we left because there was this guy sitting on the bench behind us and was smoking a cigar and I could not stand the smell!  Ugh.  I was glad that I got to hang out with Fabrice because I was sad that Germaine (my little piece of home) was leaving the next day and hanging out with Fabrice is always fun!  We said goodbye and I went back to my foyer.

Dimanche le 16 octobre:

So Germaine left today and I was super super homesick because my little piece of home got on a plane and went back to the land where things are easy, I have friends there, I don’t have to rehearse what I am going to say before I say it, and it is just easy, living abroad can be fun but it is also really challenging.  It is definitely not like when you visit Europe on vacation, living here is sooo very different, you see a lot more of the culture and it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns.  I did go to Parc Monceau with Wen (a girl from the foyer) and she ran a lap around the park while I checked my email.  She then found me and we walked a lap around (yeah I know, I am super lazy and not a runner).  We then went back to the foyer and I was just feeling super down and actually fell asleep while sitting on my bed and when I woke up at 14h30 I got up put on my coat and shoes and just started walking.  It was the most amazing thing ever!  I didn’t pull out a map once.  I just walked and had no idea where I was going or where I would end up.  I walked for 2 hours and enjoyed every minute of it.  I ran across a stamp market and ended up by Pont Alexandre III and les Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). 

Me on Pont Alexandre III (La Tour Eiffel behind)

I crossed the Seine at one point and happened upon the American Church in Paris and have been hearing a lot about this place so I will go and see what it is like next week.  I then crossed the Seine again and found métro stop and got on and went back to my foyer. 

Looking at the Seine and the Eiffel Tower from Pont Alexandre III.

I am very thankful for my time that I got to spend with Germaine!  It was so much fun and it was great to do touristy things with someone that isn't living here, it was just fun and enjoyable!  She spoiled me so much over that weekend and was just such great company to be around!  As she would say a lot “Merci, beaucoup!”