So, as of this week I have officially been in Paris one month. That sounds so bizarre to me, for a number of reasons. In a way, I feel like I have been here forever- we were so immediately thrown into day-to-day Parisian life that it seems completely normal to me now. At the same time, I feel like I just got here, at least in the sense that my list of things to do keeps growing rather than shrinking. It's quite the paradox, and I don't know quite what to make of it. Only having class 4 days a week is probably contributing to my confusion- my Monday-Thursdays are completely packed full and then weekends of course fly by, even if they are three days long.
Both of my university courses are underway now, so I'll reflect on each briefly.
First, there's my comparative lit class at the Sorbonne, which is certainly the most intimidating of my courses. I have two lectures a week with a Monsieur Masson, dealing with the origins of the myth of Faust. The lecture hall is the largest on the Sorbonne's lit campus- I would guess that there are about 350/400 students in my class. Coming from Oxy, with our tiny student body and 13 person classes, this is quite an adjustment. In such a large lecture, student behavior varies widely- there are the extremely studious individuals, frantically taking down every word that the professor says and constantly changing highlighters, pens, and notebooks in some complex note-taking method, and then there are the rest- students chatting nonstop, students on cell phones, students asleep, etc. I also have a 2 hour seminar section for this class, with about 25 students and a different professor. In the seminar we analyze the readings in the French style, and discuss occasionally. I'm the only foreign student in the class, but my professor knows and kindly does not put me on the spot- impulsive French in front of a room of native speakers is not my strong suit. The class is hard, but interesting, and probably the most authentic "French" experience I'll have while studying here.
I'm taking an interdisciplinary class at Paris VIII, on Said's Orientalism as applied to feminist theories as applied to works of fiction. Or something like that. Paris VIII is an entirely different entity- first of all, it's not actually in Paris, it's in the Saint-Denis suburb, which is, well, sketchy. The school is very run-down and dingy, and has a very odd feel. My class here is small, maybe 15-20 students, at least 10 of whom are American. I like the professor very much, and because the class is so much smaller I'm less hesitant to participate. The only drawback is that it's 3 hours straight, and sometimes my brain starts rejecting the wave of French coming at me around hour 2 and a half.
My daily schedule, then, goes something like this:
Mondays
-Wake-up, shower, eat breakfast, metro to the Sorbonne (40 min)
-12-1, lecture at the Sorbonne
-30 minute metro ride to IES, grab a sandwich or quiche at the boulangerie on the corner
-Do homework, be social, return to the boulangerie at least once for a pastry
-4-5:30, 19th century lit
-45 min metro home with the Jennas (a couple friends of mine who live near me. They're both named Jenna.)
-7:30/8ish dinner with my host sisters
Tuesdays
-Wake-up lamentably early, get ready, metro to IES
-9-10:30, French language and grammar class
-Do homework/drink hot chocolate from the machine in the student lounge
-12:15- later grammar class finishes, go grab lunch with friends
-1:30- same group goes back for pastries
-2:15-sometime in the afternoon, Paris Museums
-After museums I usually do some Parisian meandering with friends in the class, then either pick myself up dinner or make something when I get home
Wednesdays
-Wake-up early, get ready, metro to the Sorbonne
-9-11 Sorbonne seminar
-Grab metro across town and out to Paris VIII in the suburbs, eat my sandwich on the metro while attracting odd looks from Parisians (the metro is apparently not a dignified dining establishment)
-12-3 Paris VIII class
-Metro back down to IES with Ama, another IES student who's in the class with me
-4-5:30 19th Century Lit
-Metro home with the Jennas
-7:30/8 dinner with host sisters
-After that my brain pretty much rejects French for the rest of the day
Thursdays
-Last early wake-up day, get ready, metro to IES
-9-10:30 French language/grammar
-Run very very fast to the metro, catch a train to the Sorbonne
-11-12 Sorbonne lecture
-Metro home
-12:30-1:30 lunch with youngest two host sisters
-Metro to IES
-2:15-whenever, Paris museums
-Generally go on some sort of exploration with people in the afternoon/evening that includes food
My weekends are up to me, and each one has been a little different so far. Last weekend was pretty awesome- I won this essay contest thingamabob at IES so I got to do a culinary exchange. About 8 IES Paris students met up with about 8 students who are doing the IES program in Nantes for a culinary weekend. Friday we had a lesson on French regional cuisine, which was interesting, and then a three course French dinner out. My appetizer, chevre (goat cheese) ravioli, was glorious. Then Saturday morning/day we did a cooking course where we prepared a three course meal. The menu:
Entree (which in France is the appetizer):
Terrine de legumes, Emulsion au basilic
-Basically a sort of veggie casserole with basil sauce
Plat (main course):
Grenadin de veau Forestier aux legumes epices, sauce au Noilly
-Sliced and sauteed veal, with julienne vegetables and mushrooms in between the slices and greens on top. The sauce was cream-bases, and was yummy.
Dessert:
Mousse de mangues au coulis de framboises
-Mango mousse with a raspberry jelly/sauce concoction
We then got to eat our masterpieces, which were delicious. We also got a free apron- nice. Later in the day we had a quick entree/salade at a restaurant near IES, then a Latin music concert at Cite Universitaire. Afterwards Dana and I hit up this adorable little creperie on the rue Daguerre for a truly French dinner- it was 11 PM.
In other news, my Paris museums class went to the Musee Jacquemart-Andres, which was like the coolest place ever. It's a very small, intimate museum. It's actually a mansion, that was built in the 19th century by an aristocrat named Edouard Andre and his wife, Nelly Jacquemart, who was a portraitist. In addition to throwing lavish fetes and bals and such, they were lovers of art, and amassed an amazing collection. When they died, they left their mansion to the city to be made into a museum. It's been kept much as it was, so you can walk through their bedrooms, salons, boudoirs, libraries, etc. The furnishings are amazing- these rooms exude luxury and comfort. And their collections are simply incredible. She was a portraitist, so she has all these phenomenal portraits by Rembrandt and David and Le Brun. There's a lot of French art, Boucher and Fragonard and Hubert Robert mostly. But what was coolest for me was the Italian collection. Andre was in love with Italian art, so the top floor is almost entirely his personal museum. The ceilings are Tiepolo paintings, and when you climb the stairs you reach an amazing Tiepolo mural. And in his personal museum there are Donatellos and Botticellis and Peruginos and it's just phenomenal. What I liked best was the fact that the art remains displayed the way they intended it to be displayed, and you can almost imagine living their life of luxury surrounded by only the most beautiful things. Little treasures like this are why I wanted to take this class- I never would have known it was there on my own.
What else... I've become a huge fan of le Marais, and finally hit up the oh-so-famous falafel place on the rue de rosiers, which is a famous jewish street. It was fantastic, and Lenny Kravitz-recommended haha. My Louvre count is up to 6, although most of those were visits to very specific pieces for class. I'm completely obsessed with crepes and boulangeries- it's really a problem. And I've found some fantastic friends here and am having a blast exploring with them.
So that's it for this update, random and meandering as it is. Love and miss you all!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Little Amusements
So, I spend a lot of time either walking or on the metro, and thus have devised a few little games to amuse myself. Today I was thinking about it and realized that a lot of them highlight little cultural differences or even just help sum up my daily life here. So, some observations:
Game: Metro race
It seems that people in Paris are always in a hurry. Always. So it can be quite amusing to watch people sprint through the metro station, often with pointy shoes and briefcases (yes, the men wear pointy shoes too. It's kind of weird). Then they'll take a leap of faith through the metro doors just as the buzzer sounds for the door to close. I've only tried this twice- once I made it, once I had to wait for the next train. Obstacles include couples who seem to think that the world will end if they stop holding hands and little old ladies with rolling shopping bags.
Game: Find the American
This game is no longer a challenge. Some Americans stick out like a sore thumb, others give themselves away more subtly (my main giveaway, for instance, is that I'm very smiley- Parisians never smile on the metro). But you can just about always tell- often from the shoes. As far as tourists, they're usually visible a mile away looking bewildered and beleaguered. I've recently modified this game to be guess-which-country-that-european-backpacker-is-from (usually Germany, ocassionally Britain).
Game: Hide the American
My fellow IES students and I pretty much spend all of our time trying to pretend we're Parisian, and blend in as best we can. We usually give ourselves away as soon as we open our mouths, because English is a dead giveaway and our French certainly doesn't sound anywhere close to native. However, for some reason French people like to ask me for directions when they're lost (standard answer: "Je ne sais pas"). And in all of my university classes so far whichever student happens to be sitting next to me has asked me questions about the syllabus/and or the lecture, at which point I'm forced to inform him/her that I'm probably not the best person to ask, although they usually figure that out on their own when I respond in accented, grammatically incorrect French. We all know we'll always be recognizably American, but we try anyways.
Game: Will it nuke?
The French really like food, and they really like fresh, homemade food. As a result, they don't really believe in the microwave. They use it occasionally, for things like heating up oatmeal or warming the occasional leftover, but they would never dream of microwaving a pizza. Even their bagel bites and hot pockets (which they have here) don't have microwave instructions. I don't generally have oven access, as it is super complicated, and very slow, and usually in use. So I've been experimenting with microwaving things that the French don't intend to be microwaved- ready made quiches, chicken cordon bleu, and the like. No disasters so far.
Game: Musical chairs
Oh the metro. Every line has a distinctly different personality, so the trains on each line are formatted slightly differently. But all trains have some combination of seats/standing room. There are usually 4-8 permanent seats in between the doors, and then in the little bay just inside the doors their are usually little folding seats that flip out when it's not too full and poles for hanging on to. And everybody wants to sit. The only sort of seat etiquette there seems to be is that very very old people get offered a seat, and women carrying babies get offered a seat. Other than that, it's very much a free-for-all scramble. Business men will race each other for seats, people vie for prime pole position, and generally everyone's goal is to find a spot in which they have enough room to open up their newspaper. I am awful at this- in my Americanness I am just not aggressive enough, although I have gotten pretty good at reading standing up without losing my balance.
In sum, I get bored on the metro and turn everything into a game. Yep.
Game: Metro race
It seems that people in Paris are always in a hurry. Always. So it can be quite amusing to watch people sprint through the metro station, often with pointy shoes and briefcases (yes, the men wear pointy shoes too. It's kind of weird). Then they'll take a leap of faith through the metro doors just as the buzzer sounds for the door to close. I've only tried this twice- once I made it, once I had to wait for the next train. Obstacles include couples who seem to think that the world will end if they stop holding hands and little old ladies with rolling shopping bags.
Game: Find the American
This game is no longer a challenge. Some Americans stick out like a sore thumb, others give themselves away more subtly (my main giveaway, for instance, is that I'm very smiley- Parisians never smile on the metro). But you can just about always tell- often from the shoes. As far as tourists, they're usually visible a mile away looking bewildered and beleaguered. I've recently modified this game to be guess-which-country-that-european-backpacker-is-from (usually Germany, ocassionally Britain).
Game: Hide the American
My fellow IES students and I pretty much spend all of our time trying to pretend we're Parisian, and blend in as best we can. We usually give ourselves away as soon as we open our mouths, because English is a dead giveaway and our French certainly doesn't sound anywhere close to native. However, for some reason French people like to ask me for directions when they're lost (standard answer: "Je ne sais pas"). And in all of my university classes so far whichever student happens to be sitting next to me has asked me questions about the syllabus/and or the lecture, at which point I'm forced to inform him/her that I'm probably not the best person to ask, although they usually figure that out on their own when I respond in accented, grammatically incorrect French. We all know we'll always be recognizably American, but we try anyways.
Game: Will it nuke?
The French really like food, and they really like fresh, homemade food. As a result, they don't really believe in the microwave. They use it occasionally, for things like heating up oatmeal or warming the occasional leftover, but they would never dream of microwaving a pizza. Even their bagel bites and hot pockets (which they have here) don't have microwave instructions. I don't generally have oven access, as it is super complicated, and very slow, and usually in use. So I've been experimenting with microwaving things that the French don't intend to be microwaved- ready made quiches, chicken cordon bleu, and the like. No disasters so far.
Game: Musical chairs
Oh the metro. Every line has a distinctly different personality, so the trains on each line are formatted slightly differently. But all trains have some combination of seats/standing room. There are usually 4-8 permanent seats in between the doors, and then in the little bay just inside the doors their are usually little folding seats that flip out when it's not too full and poles for hanging on to. And everybody wants to sit. The only sort of seat etiquette there seems to be is that very very old people get offered a seat, and women carrying babies get offered a seat. Other than that, it's very much a free-for-all scramble. Business men will race each other for seats, people vie for prime pole position, and generally everyone's goal is to find a spot in which they have enough room to open up their newspaper. I am awful at this- in my Americanness I am just not aggressive enough, although I have gotten pretty good at reading standing up without losing my balance.
In sum, I get bored on the metro and turn everything into a game. Yep.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Busy week!
Back again, after a very full week. Some reflections...
Classes have started, well IES classes at least. Other than possibly midterms and finals week they seem to be far less demanding than Oxy classes. There's certainly some work entailed, but just overall the material seems to be a lot easier... Of course it's all in French, but thus far that actually hasn't been a problem. I was worried that having 5 classes all in French would just be absolutely exhausting and overwhelming, but it hasn't been. Really the only difficulty has been that on Tuesday/Thursdays I have class starting at 10:45 and eventually ending at 3:30, with only 15 min breaks separating my 3 classes so lunch has been a challenge. But that's probably not so academics related. Of course IES professors know that we're American so they slow down their speech for us, we'll see about French university professors... Quick overview of my classes thus far:
-19th Century Lit- I really hope this class gets better. Right now it's just way too basic for me, and although the readings are fine the class itself has been deathly boring.
-French language and culture- the extension of my weeklong grammar session, with the same students and professor. We've got a good chemistry going, and along with the grammar we're starting to learn about Paris and the intricacies of the city. I like it a lot.
-Islamic art- interesting, surely, and probably the most challenging of my IES courses. Not really my preferred area of art history, so this class may or may not be dropped depending on the timing of my outside courses. There's good incentive to stay in though- since we have required museum visits we get a special ID card that lets us go to any museum in Paris for free. Professor's awesome, I actually have her twice in a row, for this class and then for...
-Paris museums- amazing. We spend each class in a different museum. And it's awesome. Loving it so far.
Tomorrow outside classes start, so we'll see how that goes. A lot is up in the air right now for me- I really want to take two outside classes, but the timing is nearly impossible because you have to factor in commuting time between campuses. But I will definitively be taking 1 or 2 of 3 possible classes, and I'm pretty excited about them in general. Slightly terrified, but excited.
Things, I think, are looking up with my host family. I think I'm gradually acclimating and vice-versa, as it is very much a mutual effort. Tuesday Aline (15) brought me a crepe for mardi gras, which was very sweet. She and I are getting along very well, which is really nice. Louise (10) has been teaching me some different French board games very good-naturedly, so that's been very fun as well. I haven't seen Charlotte (13) much this week, but hopefully I will next. I'm getting more comfortable with when and to what extent I can use the kitchen, laundry machine, etc., and so things seem to be falling into place nicely.
This week the weather was just perfect, beautiful days for the most part that were quite a bit warmer than the last two weeks (50 degrees!). So of course there were various adventures to be had, and I'll try to highlight some...
-Had dinner with Tali's grandma, who has a French companion in Paris (Heskel). Tali's uncle Tim ate with us as well, as he's enjoying a month-long sojourn here. I had so much fun, and they were so incredibly kind to me. We went to a little, hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurant that is Heskel's favorite, and the owner knows him and his favorite wine. It was very very French, complete with little dogs running around underfoot. It was also very very delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the company, and hope to see them again while I'm here.
-Wound up at the Louvre 3 times. Once was on my own, to see the works I studied with Prof. Frank last semester, once was with my paris museums class to see a painting that, unfortunately, turned out to be on exhibition in Spain for the week, and once was because Chelsea, Colin, and I had been walking for a long time and needed to find a clean bathroom. The Louvre is... A paradox. Kind of a fundamental paradox just upon looking at it, with its palace square and old passageways punctuated by the famed I.M. Pei pyramid(s). The museum itself is at once incredible and frustrating. The works inside are, of course, amazing. My favorite piece of art is there, as are so many of the works and artists that I studied last semester, so I set out intent on seeing two specific sections. That proved to be more difficult than anticipated, partly due to the layout, as the museum is simply immense, and partly due to the complete ridiculousness of the tourists. I was in the Denon wing, which, in addition to housing the Michelangelo sculptures and Titian paintings that I wanted to see, houses the Mona Lisa. So the crowds were absurd, and so many of the people just had no museum etiquette. I actually saw a woman touch the Winged Victory of Samothrace- then the guards grabbed her. But for me there are so many phenomenal pieces in the Louvre that it's worth the trouble. I anticipate being back there a lot- it's free for me, and there's so much there that even given all semester I may not see it all, but I'm going to try.
-Discovered Shakespeare & Co, decided that it rocks. Shakespeare & Co is this famed English language bookstore in the Latin Quarter that has been there since the 50s. It was originally located in Odeon in the 10s and 20s, and was the gathering point for all the famous literary expats (Fitzgerald and the like). The current location used to be one of Allen Ginsberg's famous haunts, and it's just generally a gathering place for the lit-minded community. The bottom is an English-language bookstore, with an incredible selection and some amazing antique books as well. It's crowded and cluttered, with ladders and shelves everywhere. The upstairs is hard to describe- it's a lending library of sorts, where anyone is welcome to come in, sit down, and read any of the books. It's funky and cramped, with more books than you can imagine in no discernible order crammed everywhere. There's a little typewriter where people pound out their thoughts or messages to post on the wall, as well as beds and couches for travelers who stay there and earn their keep by working in the shop. I found a spot on the bench right next to a window looking out across the Seine at Notre Dame, and curled up with a Harold Bloom book on Shakespeare that I happened across. Whenever I have some time to kill (sometimes you'll have the odd hour or two where you have no homework, your friends are in class, and it's not worth going home just to leave for IES again 5 min later) I intend to pop in and curl up with my discovery- I'm on page 97 of 800 or so.
-The Marais- is a trendy Jewish/gay quartier where my friend Chelsea lives. Spent quite a bit of time there this weekend with different combinations of people. For lunch one day we went to Breakfast in America, which is an American diner, and got hamburgers, french fries, and such things. It's a fun little place, and we certainly amused our waiter. We were back in the Marais later in the weekend for Lauren's birthday, which was at this trendy little place called the Lizard Lounge. Very fun neighborhood, with a lot to do and see.
-Other adventures- Paris is really not that big. It's crowded, but very very compact. So you'll start wandering and wind up all sorts of cool places, and we did quite a bit of that this weekend. Wandered around by the Eiffel tower, at Pere Lachaise again, around the Seine, in St Michel, and all over.
I've met some wonderful people here, and I'm really enjoying getting to know them. I think going to a school like Oxy, which is so small that most students know one another, makes it really fun for me to meet so many new people from all different schools. So that's been awesome, and I'm excited about spending a semester with my newfound friends.
I'm sure I'll be updating soon, with news about my foray into the French university system. I wish you all well, and send my love!
Classes have started, well IES classes at least. Other than possibly midterms and finals week they seem to be far less demanding than Oxy classes. There's certainly some work entailed, but just overall the material seems to be a lot easier... Of course it's all in French, but thus far that actually hasn't been a problem. I was worried that having 5 classes all in French would just be absolutely exhausting and overwhelming, but it hasn't been. Really the only difficulty has been that on Tuesday/Thursdays I have class starting at 10:45 and eventually ending at 3:30, with only 15 min breaks separating my 3 classes so lunch has been a challenge. But that's probably not so academics related. Of course IES professors know that we're American so they slow down their speech for us, we'll see about French university professors... Quick overview of my classes thus far:
-19th Century Lit- I really hope this class gets better. Right now it's just way too basic for me, and although the readings are fine the class itself has been deathly boring.
-French language and culture- the extension of my weeklong grammar session, with the same students and professor. We've got a good chemistry going, and along with the grammar we're starting to learn about Paris and the intricacies of the city. I like it a lot.
-Islamic art- interesting, surely, and probably the most challenging of my IES courses. Not really my preferred area of art history, so this class may or may not be dropped depending on the timing of my outside courses. There's good incentive to stay in though- since we have required museum visits we get a special ID card that lets us go to any museum in Paris for free. Professor's awesome, I actually have her twice in a row, for this class and then for...
-Paris museums- amazing. We spend each class in a different museum. And it's awesome. Loving it so far.
Tomorrow outside classes start, so we'll see how that goes. A lot is up in the air right now for me- I really want to take two outside classes, but the timing is nearly impossible because you have to factor in commuting time between campuses. But I will definitively be taking 1 or 2 of 3 possible classes, and I'm pretty excited about them in general. Slightly terrified, but excited.
Things, I think, are looking up with my host family. I think I'm gradually acclimating and vice-versa, as it is very much a mutual effort. Tuesday Aline (15) brought me a crepe for mardi gras, which was very sweet. She and I are getting along very well, which is really nice. Louise (10) has been teaching me some different French board games very good-naturedly, so that's been very fun as well. I haven't seen Charlotte (13) much this week, but hopefully I will next. I'm getting more comfortable with when and to what extent I can use the kitchen, laundry machine, etc., and so things seem to be falling into place nicely.
This week the weather was just perfect, beautiful days for the most part that were quite a bit warmer than the last two weeks (50 degrees!). So of course there were various adventures to be had, and I'll try to highlight some...
-Had dinner with Tali's grandma, who has a French companion in Paris (Heskel). Tali's uncle Tim ate with us as well, as he's enjoying a month-long sojourn here. I had so much fun, and they were so incredibly kind to me. We went to a little, hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurant that is Heskel's favorite, and the owner knows him and his favorite wine. It was very very French, complete with little dogs running around underfoot. It was also very very delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the company, and hope to see them again while I'm here.
-Wound up at the Louvre 3 times. Once was on my own, to see the works I studied with Prof. Frank last semester, once was with my paris museums class to see a painting that, unfortunately, turned out to be on exhibition in Spain for the week, and once was because Chelsea, Colin, and I had been walking for a long time and needed to find a clean bathroom. The Louvre is... A paradox. Kind of a fundamental paradox just upon looking at it, with its palace square and old passageways punctuated by the famed I.M. Pei pyramid(s). The museum itself is at once incredible and frustrating. The works inside are, of course, amazing. My favorite piece of art is there, as are so many of the works and artists that I studied last semester, so I set out intent on seeing two specific sections. That proved to be more difficult than anticipated, partly due to the layout, as the museum is simply immense, and partly due to the complete ridiculousness of the tourists. I was in the Denon wing, which, in addition to housing the Michelangelo sculptures and Titian paintings that I wanted to see, houses the Mona Lisa. So the crowds were absurd, and so many of the people just had no museum etiquette. I actually saw a woman touch the Winged Victory of Samothrace- then the guards grabbed her. But for me there are so many phenomenal pieces in the Louvre that it's worth the trouble. I anticipate being back there a lot- it's free for me, and there's so much there that even given all semester I may not see it all, but I'm going to try.
-Discovered Shakespeare & Co, decided that it rocks. Shakespeare & Co is this famed English language bookstore in the Latin Quarter that has been there since the 50s. It was originally located in Odeon in the 10s and 20s, and was the gathering point for all the famous literary expats (Fitzgerald and the like). The current location used to be one of Allen Ginsberg's famous haunts, and it's just generally a gathering place for the lit-minded community. The bottom is an English-language bookstore, with an incredible selection and some amazing antique books as well. It's crowded and cluttered, with ladders and shelves everywhere. The upstairs is hard to describe- it's a lending library of sorts, where anyone is welcome to come in, sit down, and read any of the books. It's funky and cramped, with more books than you can imagine in no discernible order crammed everywhere. There's a little typewriter where people pound out their thoughts or messages to post on the wall, as well as beds and couches for travelers who stay there and earn their keep by working in the shop. I found a spot on the bench right next to a window looking out across the Seine at Notre Dame, and curled up with a Harold Bloom book on Shakespeare that I happened across. Whenever I have some time to kill (sometimes you'll have the odd hour or two where you have no homework, your friends are in class, and it's not worth going home just to leave for IES again 5 min later) I intend to pop in and curl up with my discovery- I'm on page 97 of 800 or so.
-The Marais- is a trendy Jewish/gay quartier where my friend Chelsea lives. Spent quite a bit of time there this weekend with different combinations of people. For lunch one day we went to Breakfast in America, which is an American diner, and got hamburgers, french fries, and such things. It's a fun little place, and we certainly amused our waiter. We were back in the Marais later in the weekend for Lauren's birthday, which was at this trendy little place called the Lizard Lounge. Very fun neighborhood, with a lot to do and see.
-Other adventures- Paris is really not that big. It's crowded, but very very compact. So you'll start wandering and wind up all sorts of cool places, and we did quite a bit of that this weekend. Wandered around by the Eiffel tower, at Pere Lachaise again, around the Seine, in St Michel, and all over.
I've met some wonderful people here, and I'm really enjoying getting to know them. I think going to a school like Oxy, which is so small that most students know one another, makes it really fun for me to meet so many new people from all different schools. So that's been awesome, and I'm excited about spending a semester with my newfound friends.
I'm sure I'll be updating soon, with news about my foray into the French university system. I wish you all well, and send my love!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Lovely Weekend
Hello again from Paris! The week-end's coming to a close, but it's been quite an eventful one. So, from the top...
Friday it was rainy and COLD. Unpleasant. In the morning we had our grammar test, to see if we were paying attention during our language session I suppose. After that I went with a group of friends, some new and some old, to this cute little creperie that's tucked in off the Rue Daguerre. It was pretty good, and the formule (set menu) was a decent deal. Then I found out that IES had changed the time of my weekly grammar class, so I wouldn't be able to take the Faust course at the Sorbonne. I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to fix my now-mangled schedule, and eventually settled for and Islamique art class. So I only have one outside course now, but that may be a good thing because I didn't actually know anyone else taking two, they can be quite a bit of work. And now I have a little extra time to explore/volunteer/enjoy. After that I met up with some Oxy folk in the Latin Quarter, and it was a little early for dinner but we were too cold to stay outside. We started looking for a cafe or something to sit in for a while before dinner and wandered into what we thought was your average cafe. Turned out to be a gay bar, complete with bras hanging from the ceiling and lots of Madonna music. There were a lot of young female college students and gay interracial couples inside, as well as one really confused looking middle-aged tourist couple. It was warm and comfortable though, so we stayed there until dinner time and watched the waiters dance along to MMmBop. We grabbed dinner at this little place owned by an Egyptian gentleman who was also our waiter, and then met up with a group of girls from IES in the Bastille area, which is the place to go for Paris nightlife I guess.
Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day, with the sky pure blue and clear after the rain. And the sun was out, so even though it was still quite cold it was at least a more pleasant type of cold. A small group of us went up to Montmartre, the famous bohemian sector of Paris with more of a village feel. We went to Sacre Coeur, which is perhaps indescribable but I'm going to try. The butte Montmartre is the highest point in Paris, and at the very top of it is a beautiful basilica church called Sacre Coeur. It's huge, with "ice-cream scoop" domes that look amazing against the type of sky we had that day. You start out looking up at it from this little park area that has an old-fashioned carousel, benches, and a little playground. Then to get to the church you have to climb a series of steep, imposing steps. There are probably 5 levels in all, and you can stop at each one to admire the city laid out behind you and the church coming up in front of you. It was truly a phenomenal experience, and absolutely my favorite sight so far in Paris. At each level you can't imagine ever seeing a more amazing view, and then you get to the next level and it's even more incredible. We took so many pictures- I took well over a hundred. It's quite a melange of people as well, with Parisians enjoying the nice weather, couples taking advantage of its reputation for romance, and tourists tourists everywhere. There are also street performers, some of whom are quite good, or at least quite amusing- like this guy juggling with a fish bowl on his head. After quite a while of climbing we made it up to the church itself and went inside- it's incredible. The altar has one of the largest mosaics in the world, and the organ likewise is one of the largest in Europe. There's stained glass windows, and mural paintings, and each alcove is dedicated to a different saint. It's all seen by the light streaming through the stained glass windows and the candlelight from the prayer candles which anyone can light. Quite a profoundly moving experience. We then decided to actually go up to the top of the dome. It's a small fee, but it is absolutely worth it- the view from the top of the dome is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. You have to climb what feels like a thousand steps up these narrow spiral staircases, and then it's much like the experience of getting to the church itself- you stop at various levels, each more unbelievable than the last. At the top you can see all of Paris and probably beyond, and it's just indescribable.
After we worked our way back down we went exploring in Montmartre and Pigalle, stopping to take a quick picture of the Moulin Rouge (really just not cool anymore). We just kept on walking and exploring until dinnertime, when we wandered back to the Bastille area. We ate, and found a cozy little spot to spend the evening chatting. A random French guy sitting at the next table ended up teaching us French slang, and just generally amused us. On a random side not, there are actually a number or Korean restaurants in the area, but thus far I don't approve of any of their menus- none of them have bul go gi and they all seem more Japanese than Korean.
Today I woke up to another beautiful day. France is largely Roman-Catholic, so most places are closed on Sundays. I resolved to go to Pere Lachaise, which is the largest cemetery in Paris. It is likewise fantastic- absolutely huge, so big in fact that I had to buy a map of the cemetery. All sorts of people are buried there- Moliere, Balzac, Edith Piaf, Delacroix, Chopin, Gertrude Stein, the author of the Babar books... The most famous two tombs there are Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, whose tomb is covered in lipstick imprints (it's traditional to kiss his grave. I don't know why). Ironically neither are French. The cemetery also has a lot of history attached to it, and is traditionally associated with free thought. The wall against which a number of protesters were famously shot is now a monument, and the park also contains monuments for various tragedies, from unkown soldiers to concentration camp victims. It's astonishingly beautiful, and walking around the serene grounds among the 300,000 plus stone tombs and chapels and monuments was a great way to spend the day. I did get lost for a while in the crematorium trying to find Isadora Duncan, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I made myself dinner tonight- well, heated up dinner at least- a ham and cheese croissant from the boulangerie down the street along with French instant mashed potatoes- simple, sufficient, and satisfying. Tomorrow classes start, but since Mondays are my light day, with only one class that doesn't start until 4, I'm going to go to the Louvre for a good portion of the day. Looking forward to the week, and getting a sense for what my classes/routine will be like this semester. I hope the weather holds, but if it doesn't, at least I got to make the most of it this weekend! Every time I go someplace new it becomes my new favorite place, which means that right now Sacre Coeur is my favorite, with Pere Lachaise not far behind. Love you all, keep checking to see what next week's favorite place is!
Friday it was rainy and COLD. Unpleasant. In the morning we had our grammar test, to see if we were paying attention during our language session I suppose. After that I went with a group of friends, some new and some old, to this cute little creperie that's tucked in off the Rue Daguerre. It was pretty good, and the formule (set menu) was a decent deal. Then I found out that IES had changed the time of my weekly grammar class, so I wouldn't be able to take the Faust course at the Sorbonne. I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to fix my now-mangled schedule, and eventually settled for and Islamique art class. So I only have one outside course now, but that may be a good thing because I didn't actually know anyone else taking two, they can be quite a bit of work. And now I have a little extra time to explore/volunteer/enjoy. After that I met up with some Oxy folk in the Latin Quarter, and it was a little early for dinner but we were too cold to stay outside. We started looking for a cafe or something to sit in for a while before dinner and wandered into what we thought was your average cafe. Turned out to be a gay bar, complete with bras hanging from the ceiling and lots of Madonna music. There were a lot of young female college students and gay interracial couples inside, as well as one really confused looking middle-aged tourist couple. It was warm and comfortable though, so we stayed there until dinner time and watched the waiters dance along to MMmBop. We grabbed dinner at this little place owned by an Egyptian gentleman who was also our waiter, and then met up with a group of girls from IES in the Bastille area, which is the place to go for Paris nightlife I guess.
Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day, with the sky pure blue and clear after the rain. And the sun was out, so even though it was still quite cold it was at least a more pleasant type of cold. A small group of us went up to Montmartre, the famous bohemian sector of Paris with more of a village feel. We went to Sacre Coeur, which is perhaps indescribable but I'm going to try. The butte Montmartre is the highest point in Paris, and at the very top of it is a beautiful basilica church called Sacre Coeur. It's huge, with "ice-cream scoop" domes that look amazing against the type of sky we had that day. You start out looking up at it from this little park area that has an old-fashioned carousel, benches, and a little playground. Then to get to the church you have to climb a series of steep, imposing steps. There are probably 5 levels in all, and you can stop at each one to admire the city laid out behind you and the church coming up in front of you. It was truly a phenomenal experience, and absolutely my favorite sight so far in Paris. At each level you can't imagine ever seeing a more amazing view, and then you get to the next level and it's even more incredible. We took so many pictures- I took well over a hundred. It's quite a melange of people as well, with Parisians enjoying the nice weather, couples taking advantage of its reputation for romance, and tourists tourists everywhere. There are also street performers, some of whom are quite good, or at least quite amusing- like this guy juggling with a fish bowl on his head. After quite a while of climbing we made it up to the church itself and went inside- it's incredible. The altar has one of the largest mosaics in the world, and the organ likewise is one of the largest in Europe. There's stained glass windows, and mural paintings, and each alcove is dedicated to a different saint. It's all seen by the light streaming through the stained glass windows and the candlelight from the prayer candles which anyone can light. Quite a profoundly moving experience. We then decided to actually go up to the top of the dome. It's a small fee, but it is absolutely worth it- the view from the top of the dome is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. You have to climb what feels like a thousand steps up these narrow spiral staircases, and then it's much like the experience of getting to the church itself- you stop at various levels, each more unbelievable than the last. At the top you can see all of Paris and probably beyond, and it's just indescribable.
After we worked our way back down we went exploring in Montmartre and Pigalle, stopping to take a quick picture of the Moulin Rouge (really just not cool anymore). We just kept on walking and exploring until dinnertime, when we wandered back to the Bastille area. We ate, and found a cozy little spot to spend the evening chatting. A random French guy sitting at the next table ended up teaching us French slang, and just generally amused us. On a random side not, there are actually a number or Korean restaurants in the area, but thus far I don't approve of any of their menus- none of them have bul go gi and they all seem more Japanese than Korean.
Today I woke up to another beautiful day. France is largely Roman-Catholic, so most places are closed on Sundays. I resolved to go to Pere Lachaise, which is the largest cemetery in Paris. It is likewise fantastic- absolutely huge, so big in fact that I had to buy a map of the cemetery. All sorts of people are buried there- Moliere, Balzac, Edith Piaf, Delacroix, Chopin, Gertrude Stein, the author of the Babar books... The most famous two tombs there are Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, whose tomb is covered in lipstick imprints (it's traditional to kiss his grave. I don't know why). Ironically neither are French. The cemetery also has a lot of history attached to it, and is traditionally associated with free thought. The wall against which a number of protesters were famously shot is now a monument, and the park also contains monuments for various tragedies, from unkown soldiers to concentration camp victims. It's astonishingly beautiful, and walking around the serene grounds among the 300,000 plus stone tombs and chapels and monuments was a great way to spend the day. I did get lost for a while in the crematorium trying to find Isadora Duncan, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I made myself dinner tonight- well, heated up dinner at least- a ham and cheese croissant from the boulangerie down the street along with French instant mashed potatoes- simple, sufficient, and satisfying. Tomorrow classes start, but since Mondays are my light day, with only one class that doesn't start until 4, I'm going to go to the Louvre for a good portion of the day. Looking forward to the week, and getting a sense for what my classes/routine will be like this semester. I hope the weather holds, but if it doesn't, at least I got to make the most of it this weekend! Every time I go someplace new it becomes my new favorite place, which means that right now Sacre Coeur is my favorite, with Pere Lachaise not far behind. Love you all, keep checking to see what next week's favorite place is!
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