Strikes, art, football, and Disney

Well, I've been pretty much the world's most terrible blogger the last few weeks, but thanks to Jake and Ricky and their harassment, I shall resolve to do better. I think it will be more interesting to blog in the following weeks as I'll have so many exciting things coming up. Starting Thursday, I will be traveling every weekend for 6 weeks plus have Ela, Ricky, and Uncle Tony and Susanne visiting in November. It's going to be nuts, but I'm so excited for it all to begin.

The past few weeks here have had their ups and downs. As those who follow the news must have seen, France has been the home of some extreme unrest between workers and the government who is pushing through a retirement-pension reform bill. They want to change the age of retiring from 60 to 62 to receive partial benefits and from 65 to 67 for one's full pension. To us who can understand even the basics to economics, this seems a logical solution for a country with baby-boomers retiring, people living longer, and a debt poised to send the country into bankruptcy. Well, that's not how most French see it, especially the young high schoolers and university students. Protests like I've never seen before have been taking place the last few weeks with marches in the streets, severely limited public transportation, fuel blockages, schools shutting down, and trucks hindering traffic through the "snail method" of driving next to each other and at unbelievably slow speeds. You could say the country's going to pieces over this silly legislation.

The incredibly frustrating part is to watch so many people join the movement for the stupidest reasons. The young join mostly to jump on the bandwagon and also to be able to have gone through life having participated in one protest. Apparently, this is France's national sport and to not be involved in a manifastation throughout one's life is a life wasted. Hmph.

I was incredibly frustrated last Tuesday (my busiest day with 7 hours of class) when I commuted 30 minutes on the Metro each way to a class only to find the building locked up and closed in anticipation of "crazy students". Upon arriving at the gate, I see chains yet no other confused Sorbonne students. Apparently they all got the memo but didn't bother to alert us internationals. I am getting so sick of this university system. My host sister in her last year of high school was also blocked out of classes for the majority of this week, one measly week before the whole country goes on a week's vacation anyway. About here is where some might insert the 'lazy' French stereotype, but I'll do my best to only imply.

In other news, the classes have really been picking up and I've had a lot due. It's so sad when writing papers takes literally 4 times longer cuz of my language skills. I'm so jealous of those study-abroaders who have been practicing much longer than I have. I wanna enjoy Paris--not be stuck in my room typing and Word-Referencing.

Sorry for the negativity of this post so far. There were some very fun things that have happened since I last wrote as well. Firstly, Penn hosted a reception for all European alumni (and us) likely for fund-raising purposes at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hôtel de Talleyrand. This place was sooooo legit! It faced the Place de la Concorde with a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and it was the building where the Marshall Plan was signed. There we were wined and dined and had the chance to speak with tons of alumni from the area. Afterwards, the Young Penn Alumni Club of Paris took out all the people under 25 to a bar and we drank on Penn's tab. Siiickk. The best part of the night was just being around so many people who know Penn and Philadelphia. It made me feel almost back home, and it was so wonderful! Gutmann also made the hike out here!

My friends and I have done a few really fun things the past few weeks as well. A few of us went to Fountainbleau for a day of hiking through the forests. We got super lucky with a gorgeous day, and it felt so nice to get out of the city.

We also went to a French national team soccer game vs Romania where France pulled through at the end with a 2-0 victory. That game was so much fun and hilarious because we saw how the French support their team. We were pretty much the most decked out there supporting les bleues having all went out and bought t-shirts or jerseys the morning of the game.

And I believe the last really awesome thing we did was get ourselves to Disneyland Paris for a day of magical fun! It was so great, and we all felt like we were in America again if only for a day. All the good rides were there and in true Disney-fashion the place was decked out for Halloween! It felt so good to see someone caring about this holiday because in Paris it is hardly mentioned. :( I went on a quest to find a pumpkin yesterday but because of the rain all the fruit vendors called it quits and didn't show. I wanna carve and eat pumpkin seeds while watching Halloweentown!! At least Disney understood me.

It's also been quite the artsy scene for me in Paris lately what with my art/museum class taking field trips every week as well as knowing a girl who's mom works at the Met and has all these great connections. I got to go to a gallery opening for an artist from NYC who makes everything out of beads (portraits, flags, tables, chains, you name it) as well as a huge modern art fair where buyers come from all over to view and make some big purchases. I'm starting to develop more of an appreciation for the world of modern art (the Basquiat exhibit really helped this past week), though every once in a while I'm just totally stumped by the genre. Take for example a group of Obama-masked girls holding a boulder over a girl lying down on a pile of dirt for 70 minutes straight. Every 15 minutes, they would rotate jobs, but that was pretty much as exciting as it got.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Chantilly and Nuit Blanche

So, since Germany classes have been in full swing. Dropping most of my French university classes, I'm now really happy with the 3 I have at Reid Hall and the 1 I have at Paris IV (La Sorbonne). Trying to deal with this university system gives me so much more appreciation for the American school system. I shall do my best to never complain again at Penn. Here in France, nothing is done via computer, so when classes change unexpectedly to a different day, room, etc, you must check these enormous bulletin boards with all the other students crowding around. I miss Penn-In-Touch. I've already missed classes due to this method.

I'm ending up taking a History course at Reid Hall with the most charming professor ever. He's going to be taking us around Paris and teaching us about the development of the individual neighborhoods. I'm really loving his enthusiasm! I'm taking another which teaches us how art influences politics in France (we go to a museum every week!), and then the mandatory Academic Writing course which will give me the tools to navigate my French papers. Eww.

The University class is called Moyen-Orient which means Middle East. Though it's a lecture and a tad difficult to understand at times, I'm going to do my best to make French friends and learn more about the Middle East from a country so infused with immigrants from the region. I like it so far!

Besides our classes, last week a group of us ventured outside Paris for a day trip to Chantilly. Chantilly in French means whipped cream, and this is the birthplace of that wonderful substance. One would imagine that every storefront would be bragging about their claim to fame, however we pretty much had to ask where we could get the dreamy fluff. Apparently today the village is more known for its chateau and horse events. To the side is a picture of the Grand Stables. Yeah, they take them seriously here...

The chateau was lovely and we had a fun time walking around and looking at the art of the connected Musee Conde. They have a really large collection of pieces. My favorite room was a small room of all portraits. It felt like we were in Dumbledore's office. :)

After a long day exploring Chantilly, we stayed up extra late here in Paris because it was Nuit Blanche. This loosely translates to all-nighter in English, so needless to say people stay out late. It's a night full of modern art exhibits and music all over the city celebrating new artists trying to get recognized. We found some pretty cool exhibits around, though some were just downright odd. I just don't understand modern art most of the time. For example, there was a giant exclamation point hanging inside of a church made out of tinsle, fans, and glowing bright blue. It was times to music so that the blue lights would make odd patterns. It was pretty cool, just totally confusing. I was truthfully surprised that they could use a church as the space. Seemed slightly sacrilegious to me.

I spent Sunday in Pere Lachaise with my friend Susan. Pere Lachaise is a really famous cemetery here in Paris with tons of famous dead people including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and so many others. It's absolutely humongous, and we already have plans to go back and finish exploring it. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the place is that all the graves are above ground tombs. Some are incredibly elaborate with private sanctuaries to go into. Interestingly, people are still being buried in their family's plots; I saw a few 2010 dates. Creepy, yet beautiful area...

And lastly I visited Les Printemps, a luxury department store, to go to the roof-deck for some lovely views of Paris. Definitely think this is the best spot I've found for such amazing views. Check out the pics below!

Off to a Penn-Paris alumni event in a bit. Super excited to have some yummy food and meet some alums. President Gutmann is also going to be there oddly enough, so it promises to be an entertaining evening. I wonder if things will be in English or French...

Germany: a land of beauty, beer, and brezel

This past weekend, I ventured over to Bavaria for a once-in-a-lifetime experience of going to Oktoberfest. The weekend was amazing, and I was so lucky to spend it with my good buddy Ela.

It started off a little crazy cuz I had to book it out of my 12:30 class to make a train at Gare de l'Est at 1:09. Luckily, I scouted out the place the day before, so I made the train with about 4 minutes to spare. That train to Stuttgart was pretty uneventful until we just suddenly stopped on the tracks right about when we were supposed to get off. Now, I had a connection to Munich that they booked me on leaving in 12 minutes, so I was sort of freaking out. The announcer came on and consistently tried to say what was happening since a ton of these people were going to Munich, but since his French was really fast and his English was muffled and pretty rough, I had no idea what the problem was. I gathered as much that they would hold the other train for us for about 20 minutes, so when we finally pulled into the station I ran like the wind down to the platform. Literally, I squished myself into a random car and the doors closed behind me. I was sooooo lucky, but I feel bad for all the old people needing to make that connection who we left behind. No way any of them ran that fast. :(

On the bright side, I was on the train and trying to move down an aisle when a girl my age turned to me and tried to ask me something in German. I told her I didn't understand and she let out a sigh of relief cuz she was American. We spent the whole rest of the train together and she was so awesome! I made a new friend who's studying in Paris! Hopefully we'll meet up sometime here now that we're back.

Anyway, eventually got to Munich Hbf (even though we first got off at Munich-Pasing--apparently still not Munich) and I got myself on a suburban line which took me to Rosenheim where Ela picked me up. What a lovely reunion! It's so nice to see a piece of home in Germany. :) She took me to a lovely Bavarian dinner of käsespätzle (basically macaroni and cheese with fried onions on top) and schnitzel which was so satisfying after that long train ride.

The next morning we got up early and dressed in our dirndls for OKTOBERFEST! We had to leave extra early to hopefully get a table in a tent but alas, they were packed already when we got there (and it was raining which apparently doesn't deter people from wanting to drink still). Through some magic from Ela's friend Anna, we eventually worked our was into a smaller tent and got a table! It was so charming and adorable with the Bavarian musicians playing softly on the second level overlooking the tables. There, we all got our beers, pretzels, and a plate of assorted German specialties mostly consisting of pork. Mmmmmm.....I was in heaven.

Once the rain cleared up, we walked around and explored because besides a humongous beer fest, Oktoberfest is also a rather large carnival. Though, with rides costing upwards of 7 euros, I opted to watch. We briefly explored Munich before heading home for dinner where Ela's mom made us the most delicious meal. It was so nice to be in such a comfy and welcoming home! Truthfully, it got me homesick for my own family, but it was nice nonetheless. Ela and I crossed the border into Austria (check!) to go to a bar/hangout spot called Manhattan that evening with her friends, but since the day started to early we called it a night rather soon and headed home to sleep.

For my last day, Ela's dad and little sister took us to the "Bavarian Sea" which is a huge lake in Chiemsee with very large islands and cute towns nearby to explore. We went to Herrenchiemsee (Man Island) where King Ludwig II built his own version of the palace at Versailles. It was quite stunning though a bit funny because after awhile Ludwig went broke and some rooms are completely unfinished. I mean, grand hallways are gilded and adorned with fine details while others are totally and completely bare with basic wooden floors and walls of purely exposed brick. It was pretty funny looking.

But the area was truly stunning, and I was so happy to get to explore some of the countryside. Bavaria is really an absolutely beautiful place what with the Alps , the lush green friends, and all the picturesque German houses. I was sad to head back to Paris, but alas classes begin this week so I had to go. I took an overnight train (most uncomfortable sleep ever--go for the couchettes if you ever are in the same situation) and eventually made it back to the City for my week. So far so good, though today's first class at the Sorbonne was a little overwhelming. Hopefully it will turn out ok--I'm taking one about the Middle East and one about Media and Communications between the US and France. Ehhhhh, I need to find some French friends to share notes with.

Til next time!

Find the free things in Paris, and it's sure to be a good day!

Whew it's been a crazy week! Had a midterm yesterday and I'm getting ready to go to Germany tomorrow as soon as the essay standing in my way is finished. I can't wait to see Ela and a new country!!

This past weekend I got to do some pretty cool things because of it being les journées du patrimoine where lots of things were free and open to the public. I tried to visit Sarkozy's residence, but the line was legitimately 4 hours long so I decided against that plan. I really couldn't believe that people were waiting in such a ridiculous thing; virtual tour will be just fine with me. One of the cooler things I did was visit this Polish library on Ile-Saint Louis where university students were performing continuous Chopin for the public. It was awesome!!! 45 minutes of an amazing concert. These kids were so good--I wish I had learned piano long ago.

My other favorite activity was visiting L'Orangerie which is a small museum in the Tuileries showcasing a lot of Impressionist work but most importantly these humongous Monets which are seriously about 20 feet long or more. They are breaktaking!

 

I also visited an open-air market near my apartment which was lovely and hung out with Ariel in Place des Vosges which is a beautiful public square. I like to call it the Parisian Rittenhouse Square. Other than that, it's been a busy school week with lots to learn grammatically. I just cannot wait to head to Germany tomorrow afternoon. There will be lots of train switching which I hope goes well. With a little luck, I shall make it to Ela's around dinnertime. 

Next stop--Allemagne! Hope I have some good Oktoberfest stories to tell ya! Get ready to see me rock a dirndl!!

I'm a tourist...I know...

Though I shall always be a tourist in this wonderful city, I'm attempting to get my fill of the famous stuff before the weather gets too cold and also while I truly am new here. Hopefully in a month or so I can pretend at least that I'm a local. ;)

The last week has seen me going to my intensive French practicum for 3 hrs/day while getting in some sightseeing in between. It's been a fun way to start off the city, and as always it's getting easier and easier to talk to people and get myself around. Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the Seine, Sainte Chapelle...there are so many beautiful things to see here. Above you'll see first a taste of what the amazing stained glass is like in Sainte Chapelle (which was preserved through WWII because people had sense to take out the 13th century glass) with hardly a true perspective because in person the colors are just so breathtaking, Notre Dame on a lovely fall day, and Paris at night from the base of the Arc de Triomphe. Yeah, you can see why this city attracts so many people.

So, I though I absolutely refuse to eat there at home, after hearing so many people gush about the French version, I finally walked into the infamous MacDo on the Champs-Elysees last Friday night. Whoa, it is tres different than the United States!! Beside the fact that it's colorful, clean, and packed to the brim, French McDonalds have separate dessert bars filled with all the typical French fare you'd see in a patisserie like croissants, macaroons, etc. That was so funny to see! The French really know how to upscale our most basic restaurant. They also had these (surprisingly) delicious potato wedges in addition to the ever classic french fries. I feel like I cheated on my body for tasting things there.

Other than that, it's been a pretty low-key week. Just been going to class, sleeping in, and doing homework. With such late afternoon class, I'm making a promise to myself that next week onward I shall get out of bed earlier and perhaps start some of my days with a trip to Paris' museums (my program has written on our ID cards that we're all "Art History" students so that we can get into all the museums for free!). This weekend also apparently is a special weekend in France where lots of normally private places are open to the public. Apparently I can go to the equivalent of the White House, but I'll need to do some more research on that. I'm also a week away from OKTOBERFEST, so that's starting to get exciting. I hope I can actually drink a beer without gagging. :{

I'll let you all know if I see Sarkozy! A bientot!

Yeah, you know, I'm staying with the decendants of Charles de Gaulle...

Ok, so I know I've been a bad blogger this week, but Paris is going wonderfully!! I'm finally adjusted and starting to enjoy myself a lot. It's amazing how even after only one week I'm already becoming more comfortable speaking and participating in the French way of life.

I shall try to remember all the interesting things that have happened so far, but really it's been a long week of orientation at Reid Hall and just wandering around the city.

Few cool things that have happened:

1) I went out with my French friend Albane's sister (who spoke hardly any English) and had a lovely full conversation en francais!! It felt so good afterward to know that I DID it!!!
2) I gave directions to a woman totally and French and, here's the kicker...was correct! SUCCESS!!
3) Found out my host family is related to CHARLES DE GAULLE!!!! My host-dad's grandpa is his brother. Siiiiiicccckkk.

Other than that, just been taking tours around and hanging out with the kids in my program. They are all really great, so I know it'll be a fun semester with them. I've also planned a trip in 2 weeks to Oktoberfest to visit Ela, and in November when Ricky comes we're going to spend a weekend in Copenhagen and one in Rome. So excited for all the travels!!

That's all for now--promise I'll have more exciting stories as the days progress. Au revoir!

The beginning

Well, I am here! It's been overwhelming already. Yesterday was a whirlwind of getting acclimated, learning the area, and meeting the family. I arrived via taxi from Charles de Gaulle (chose this expensive option because my big suitcase weighed in at 71 pounds!) and was immediately greeted by my host-dad Laurent. He's a really nice man, and he helped me put my luggage in the tiniest elevator I've ever seen. I went in on the first trip with my carry-on luggage, and he told me to stand in it "comme les egyptians". Yes, it's practically coffin-sized.

I got up to the third floor and waited for the rest to travel up when suddenly the door to the apartment opened and little Blanche welcomed me in. She's the youngest daughter of the family and so far the easiest to talk to. We spent the next few hours together as she and I ate breakfast and got to know each other. Also around were the 3 older kids: Marguerite who is 19 and soon to be living on her own, Bertrand who is 14 and mostly away at boarding school, and Therese who is 16 and studying English. I hope that I can get to know the others well enough soon; so far, Blanche, Laurent, and my host-mom Carole have been the most helpful with getting me to feel comfortable.

Carole and Blanche took me on a tour later in the afternoon to get me used to the surrounding area. They live in a very nice part of the city with lots of shops and restaurants everywhere. We walked in a huge triangle so that I could see where the nearest Metro/bus stops are as well as the most notable sights of the area. We are especially close to the grands magasins or department stores.

Though I tried to avoid it, what with only sleeping about an hour on the plane I had to give in to my tiredness and fall asleep around 6 pm Paris time. Probably not the best idea considering I woke up for a bit around 4 am, but I just couldn't hang anymore. I did get up and surf the net a bit before falling back asleep until around 9:30. I hope this is a good amount of sleep to get my body back on track, especially because I start orientation tomorrow morning.

Today I would love to go the Louvre because apparently on the first Sunday of the month it is free. I'm trying to get a hold of a friend via Facebook who is also here for Reid Hall, but not having a phone makes things difficult. We might go phone shopping together later before dinner. I'm also a bit in limbo right now because my host family invited me to lunch with them here at the house but are currently at church and due back at an undisclosed time. Hmm...probably should have asked about that one, but oh well.

I hope today turns out to be a nice day. I'm uncharacteristically nervous to go out by myself. I keep thinking of Jake and how he just ventures out into Buenos Aires all alone and finds fun things, but I for some reason am really timid lately. I think I'm worried about my language skills. I know I just need to push myself out there and not worry, but it's really hard when I'm still a little homesick and tired.

It's still really surreal to think I'm here. After so long of waiting for this experience, it's bizarre to think it's come and is now. I know I need to go begin making the most of it, so I shall try and of course keep you all posted. Thanks for reading.