This morning, someone at the NYU center was leading a walking tour of Paris. I figured I had nothing else to do and I thought it'd be interesting, so I decided to go. Unfortunately, I missed the very important detail on the poster that said they were meeting at the Hotel de Ville, not the NYU center. When I got to the NYU center 15 minutes early for the tour, I met up with another student who had done the same thing. I didn't think we had enough time to get over there, because it was probably a 30 minute metro ride away, but we figured maybe we would run into them if we walked around that area. Well, we got there and couldn't find them, plus it was already 20 minutes after the meeting time. So instead, we just sat at a café where I got a café crème and she got an espresso. We sat there for about an hour and we felt so French, just sitting there on a street watching people go by.
Ce soir I'm going over to Melissa's house to hang out with some friends. I'm really excited to relax because this week has been rather stressful. I can't wait for real classes to start on the 20th.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Rainy day in Paris
So yesterday was the start of our preliminary French language and culture class at the NYU Center. I was expecting it to be this exhilirating class that I would love, but in all reality, it's actually kind of boring. I think what makes it so bad is that it is from 2-6pm with a couple 5-10 minute breaks stuck in there. Fortunately, we'll only have this class until next Thursday. My professor is really cool though. I like him a lot. He's probably mid-late thirties and is a professor at the Sorbonne. I was a tad surprised when he walked in yesterday wearing jeans, a button down shirt, and black Chuck Taylors. He's very interesting and engaging, but 4 hours is such a long time to be in a class.
Today I went with another NYU student and a French university student to l'Université Paris Diderot (VII) to look around and check out their course offerings. Although taking a class at a French university is rather daunting, I figure I should take a shot at it, because although I bet I'll come back to France in the future, I'll probably never have the opportunity to enroll in a French university ever again. I thought the University was very cool. It was modern but had an old feel to it, which I thought was neat. I'm considering taking either some type of Literature class, History class or a Cinema class. Who knows. Their classes start later so there's not a huge rush to decide right now. I'm still going to visit l'Université Paris I aka LA SORBONNE which was founded in 1253, l'Université de Paris III, and l'Université Paris X Nanterre, where Monsieur le Président Sarkozy attended, so we'll see. I'm a planner, so I wish I knew everything right now, but being here in France has taught me to savourer l'instant, même si c'est difficile.
Today has been super gloomy and drizzled all day, and malheureusement, my host mom said that Paris is like this a lot. That's okay though. I can deal. After all, one of my favorite works of art is entitled Paris: A Rainy Day.
Today I went with another NYU student and a French university student to l'Université Paris Diderot (VII) to look around and check out their course offerings. Although taking a class at a French university is rather daunting, I figure I should take a shot at it, because although I bet I'll come back to France in the future, I'll probably never have the opportunity to enroll in a French university ever again. I thought the University was very cool. It was modern but had an old feel to it, which I thought was neat. I'm considering taking either some type of Literature class, History class or a Cinema class. Who knows. Their classes start later so there's not a huge rush to decide right now. I'm still going to visit l'Université Paris I aka LA SORBONNE which was founded in 1253, l'Université de Paris III, and l'Université Paris X Nanterre, where Monsieur le Président Sarkozy attended, so we'll see. I'm a planner, so I wish I knew everything right now, but being here in France has taught me to savourer l'instant, même si c'est difficile.
Today has been super gloomy and drizzled all day, and malheureusement, my host mom said that Paris is like this a lot. That's okay though. I can deal. After all, one of my favorite works of art is entitled Paris: A Rainy Day.
Monday, September 6, 2010
FINALLY
So today I got up, had breakfast at the FIAP, and then checked out. I called 5 taxi companies to try to get a taxi over to the NYU center to hold my suitcases during the day, because my host fam didn't want me to move in until this evening. It took about 30 minutes for me to finally get a hold of a taxi company that wasn't full and after getting yelled at (in french, bien sûr) by the operator, I got a taxi to come get me and take me to the NYU center.
A little while later, we had to do a scavenger hunt across 2 arrondissements, which was SO lame. I was just like, seriously NYU, we're all 20 year olds and don't want to do this in the rain. Anyways, we got that done with and we had lunch. 2:30 began academic orientation which totally blew my mind and I'm so confused about what I'm supposed to be doing. Fortunately, I'm meeting with an advisor tomorrow morning who hopefully has a better understanding of what's going on than I do.
I moved in with my host family tonight and they're really great. They live in a 4 bedroom apartment which is really nice. Their 12 year old daughter Margeurite was constantly coming in and out of my room this afternoon while I was unpacking. She's really cute and I just can't seem to get away from 12 year olds, seeing as I worked at camp with them ALL summer. She would sit on my bed, holding their cat Nougat and just watch me unpack. Today was the husband's 50th birthday, so they invited me to eat dinner with them. We ate Paella, which is a Spanish food, but it was delicious! I wanted to ask them if I could run back to my room and get my camera, but I decided against it. We drank rosé and ate cheese. Of course, I ate the ever-delicious CAMEMBERT. Yum. Then we had this cake with almond, nuts, and meringue. The husband left the kitchen to go answer a phone call and when he was away, they got out the cake, put candles on it, lit them and then turned out the lights. They were the trick candles which he had to blow on for a few minutes until they finally went out, which completely cracked me up. Then he opened gifts and it was just an all around cool experience.
I can't believe it's only day 5. I feel like I've been here forever. C'est magnifique, non?
A little while later, we had to do a scavenger hunt across 2 arrondissements, which was SO lame. I was just like, seriously NYU, we're all 20 year olds and don't want to do this in the rain. Anyways, we got that done with and we had lunch. 2:30 began academic orientation which totally blew my mind and I'm so confused about what I'm supposed to be doing. Fortunately, I'm meeting with an advisor tomorrow morning who hopefully has a better understanding of what's going on than I do.
I moved in with my host family tonight and they're really great. They live in a 4 bedroom apartment which is really nice. Their 12 year old daughter Margeurite was constantly coming in and out of my room this afternoon while I was unpacking. She's really cute and I just can't seem to get away from 12 year olds, seeing as I worked at camp with them ALL summer. She would sit on my bed, holding their cat Nougat and just watch me unpack. Today was the husband's 50th birthday, so they invited me to eat dinner with them. We ate Paella, which is a Spanish food, but it was delicious! I wanted to ask them if I could run back to my room and get my camera, but I decided against it. We drank rosé and ate cheese. Of course, I ate the ever-delicious CAMEMBERT. Yum. Then we had this cake with almond, nuts, and meringue. The husband left the kitchen to go answer a phone call and when he was away, they got out the cake, put candles on it, lit them and then turned out the lights. They were the trick candles which he had to blow on for a few minutes until they finally went out, which completely cracked me up. Then he opened gifts and it was just an all around cool experience.
I can't believe it's only day 5. I feel like I've been here forever. C'est magnifique, non?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Lazy dimanche
I forgot to put this in here, but the other night, I went with Bethany and Melissa to the Eiffel Tower at night. One word. Whoa. Even though I saw it last summer, I still think it's great. Plus, it sparkles every hour on the hour and it's magical. This picture doesn't even do it justice.
So Aubrey and I decided to go to mass at Notre Dame this morning, even though I'm not Catholic. It was really interesting and I could actually understand some of what they were saying. It was really cool to actually be in a service in Notre Dame. Aubrey's catholic so I think she appreciated it way more than I did, but I still thought it was neat. She even took communion. I figured I probably shouldn't though.
After this, we decided to meet up with Melissa and Bethany and have a picnic for lunch. I ended up buying two apples, two pieces of WHEAT bread, and a diet coke. Most of the bread eaten here is french, white bread. It's delicious, but I hate myself for eating it! I'm so glad to get some wheat today. Plus, I had an apple and a piece of bread left over for lunch tomorrow. So perf. We ate near the Eiffel Tower in a park and despite the PDA of the french folk around us, it was really relaxing and enjoyable.
We chilled there for about an hour and a half and walked over to the Trocadero, which Aubrey had heard gives the best view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Well, that was one hundred percent true. It was absolutely beautiful and I want to go back there often. Seeing it took my breath away. It gives a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars all in a straight line. There were so many people there, but I guess that's a typical Sunday.
I just got off the phone with my host-mom (OUI, we talked in French), and I'm going to move in tomorrow evening after I get out of my meetings. I'm excited, but a little nervous. I'm sure it'll be fine though. Tomorrow is our last day of orientation and then Tuesday begins our 2 week crash French review/culture class. I think we'll be in class for three hours a day or something. Our real classes don't start until September 20th.
Incase you can't tell, Paris is rather awesome.
So Aubrey and I decided to go to mass at Notre Dame this morning, even though I'm not Catholic. It was really interesting and I could actually understand some of what they were saying. It was really cool to actually be in a service in Notre Dame. Aubrey's catholic so I think she appreciated it way more than I did, but I still thought it was neat. She even took communion. I figured I probably shouldn't though.
After this, we decided to meet up with Melissa and Bethany and have a picnic for lunch. I ended up buying two apples, two pieces of WHEAT bread, and a diet coke. Most of the bread eaten here is french, white bread. It's delicious, but I hate myself for eating it! I'm so glad to get some wheat today. Plus, I had an apple and a piece of bread left over for lunch tomorrow. So perf. We ate near the Eiffel Tower in a park and despite the PDA of the french folk around us, it was really relaxing and enjoyable.
We chilled there for about an hour and a half and walked over to the Trocadero, which Aubrey had heard gives the best view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Well, that was one hundred percent true. It was absolutely beautiful and I want to go back there often. Seeing it took my breath away. It gives a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars all in a straight line. There were so many people there, but I guess that's a typical Sunday.
I just got off the phone with my host-mom (OUI, we talked in French), and I'm going to move in tomorrow evening after I get out of my meetings. I'm excited, but a little nervous. I'm sure it'll be fine though. Tomorrow is our last day of orientation and then Tuesday begins our 2 week crash French review/culture class. I think we'll be in class for three hours a day or something. Our real classes don't start until September 20th.
Incase you can't tell, Paris is rather awesome.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Housing and such
So my housing situation was really stressful, but it has seemed to have worked out. I was originally with another student in a homestay in Boulogne, which is right outside of Paris. When we were told that our house was outside of Paris, we were just like WHAT? Anyways, we set off for our meeting at the house with the woman living there and ended up getting confused with the metro stops and what should have taken us only 8 minutes from the metro stop to the house, took us a whopping 45 minutes. We were unbelievably frustrated and stressed out when we got to the house. The house was nothing special and the woman wasn't the friendliest. We really just didn't get a good feel from her. So when we got back to the FIAP we talked to the housing lady and she said that there were no more options for two students in the same house inside of Paris, but if we wanted to split up, she could do that. So we had to decide if we wanted to brave being in a house by ourselves in Paris or be in a house together, outside of Paris. We eventually decided to separate and I was placed in a home in the 16th arrondissement. It's wonderful and I'm so glad I switched. It's about a 15 minute walk from where I'll be taking most of my classes and it's 20 feet from the metro station. Talk about perfect. Unfortunately the family is going to a wedding this weekend in the South of France, so I can't move in until Monday evening. I'm 1 of probably 10 students still staying at the FIAP, but it's fine with me, seeing as I'll be in a great situation in just a few days.
Also, yesterday we had a picnic at the Eiffel Tower for lunch. NBD.
Today I got up and did some exploring on my own around the Notre Dame/St. Michel area of Paris. After being by myself for a couple hours, I met up with Aubrey and Melissa, two other students, and we ate lunch and explored together. We ate lunch at a cute place and I got a Croque Madame, which is like a Croque Monsieur, only it has egg. Again, something so simple was so delicious. We sat outside and ate and it was hot, but very enjoyable. We shared a white Sauvignon de Tourraine which we all really liked.
After eating, we headed back over to Notre Dame and went inside this time. Even though I've seen it before, I really liked walking through it again. The stain-glass windows are insanely gorgeous, but I'm always impressed by the exterior of the cathedral.
Aubrey and Melissa got some gelato at Berthillon, the best place in Paris, but I wasn't very hungry, so I didn't get any. We sat along the Seine as they ate it and the weather was very comfortable. I enjoyed watching boats and people go by. After this, we decided to head to Saint Chapelle, because I'd never been there and really wanted to see it, plus it was very close. On the way, we saw a big mass of people and we went to go check it out. Lo and behold, there was a protest. It was SO cool. It probably stretched for a mile and people walked through holding signs for rights for the immigrants of France, bashing Pres. Sarkozy. I really enjoyed it and was given 3 stickers and a bunch of handouts! Talk about cool. I guess protests and such aren't a big deal for people in Paris or even Washington, DC, but for a North Carolina girl, they're legit.
Also, yesterday we had a picnic at the Eiffel Tower for lunch. NBD.
Today I got up and did some exploring on my own around the Notre Dame/St. Michel area of Paris. After being by myself for a couple hours, I met up with Aubrey and Melissa, two other students, and we ate lunch and explored together. We ate lunch at a cute place and I got a Croque Madame, which is like a Croque Monsieur, only it has egg. Again, something so simple was so delicious. We sat outside and ate and it was hot, but very enjoyable. We shared a white Sauvignon de Tourraine which we all really liked.
After eating, we headed back over to Notre Dame and went inside this time. Even though I've seen it before, I really liked walking through it again. The stain-glass windows are insanely gorgeous, but I'm always impressed by the exterior of the cathedral.
Aubrey and Melissa got some gelato at Berthillon, the best place in Paris, but I wasn't very hungry, so I didn't get any. We sat along the Seine as they ate it and the weather was very comfortable. I enjoyed watching boats and people go by. After this, we decided to head to Saint Chapelle, because I'd never been there and really wanted to see it, plus it was very close. On the way, we saw a big mass of people and we went to go check it out. Lo and behold, there was a protest. It was SO cool. It probably stretched for a mile and people walked through holding signs for rights for the immigrants of France, bashing Pres. Sarkozy. I really enjoyed it and was given 3 stickers and a bunch of handouts! Talk about cool. I guess protests and such aren't a big deal for people in Paris or even Washington, DC, but for a North Carolina girl, they're legit.
Miss and love yall!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Orientation
Today was a day full of orientation and such. They took us to the place where we would be taking classes this fall - NYU's Paris campus. It's a really nice place in the 16th arrondissement, which is an upper end, chic area of Paris. I really like it and am excited to be in that area a lot. I ate my first legit Parisian meal at a small café called La Favorite. I ate a typical croque monsieur for lunch - toasted sandwich with ham and cheese. How could something so simple be SO delicious? Ah. Must be the french. Along with that, I had a café crème and some water. It's going to take me a long time to get adjusted to the French way of drinking coffee- You only get a small cup. I'm so used to drinking 3-4 cups in one sitting, but it's really teaching me to savor the taste and enjoy the drink. However, this type of coffee is much stronger than that in the US. After lunch, we walked to La Tour Eiffel and it only took us about 15 minutes to get there from where we were. All I could think about was WOW, I'm legit in Paris for 3 1/2 months. Bring it on.
I had some issues with my housing situation which was pretty frustrating, but hey, adversity is all a part of adventure, right?
I had some issues with my housing situation which was pretty frustrating, but hey, adversity is all a part of adventure, right?
café crème
Croque Monsieur
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Ohhhh Paris
So I made it to Paris today with no problems at all. My flight from Charlotte to Paris was relatively painless, except I was only able to sleep for an hour. When I arrived at 7am, the temperature was 52 degrees! I couldn't believe how chilly it was. The rendez-vous I was supposed to have with Aubrey didn't happen and we missed each other at our meeting place by about 10 minutes, so I had to take a taxi by myself to the FIAP. At 8:45am, the traffic was horrible so it took me about 45 minutes to get to there. About 10 students on the program had already arrived so we went to get our metro passes all worked out and then walked around just a little. We are all extremely jet-lagged. We have a meeting at 4:30 and dinner at 6:30 and then most of us will probably head to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day full of orientation starting at 9:00 and then we get to meet our families/landlords!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)