It has been one full week since my last blog, so there is a bit to catch up on! In the interest of time, and for the sake of your reading satisfaction, I will blaze through these past few days!
Monday, I officially started my first full week of classes. Getting through two 3 hour classes was pretty tough, but thankfully I have a two hour break inbetween (just enough time to grab lunch and walk around a bit). After classes, I returned to my foyer for an early dinner and time to relax. We had a foyer meeting that night - an hour of listening to our director about being a good neighbor, respecting communal areas, etc. I'm not going to lie, it was a bit painful to sit through. Especially since she kind of rambled on in French! That night, I went to bed BEFORE midnight (which back home would be extremely rare) and even woke up on Tuesday before my alarm!
Tuesday, Roanne and I had our morning exercise and then proceeded to run errands with Dustin. We went to the bookstore Gibert Jeune (it's pretty amazing. think about Half Price Books but split up into 5 different stores by genre) and also to the Monoprix! After class (I only have one from 2-5pm, my fashion class!) I went with my friends Emily and Caroline to the big Tati to help them get necessities. Being here in France for the semester is a bit strange, it always slips my mind that I am actually a student here - as if I were back at Trinity (I still have to go to the store to buy things like paper towels, toiletries, etc as if I was still stateside). Dinner that night I made in my foyer (though I can't exactly remember what . . .) and was able to catch up with friends back home. (The best times to chat are in the evenings for me, most likely afternoons for you!)
Wednesday after class, Dustin, Meghan, and I went to the big Tati (YEP I went again) and helped her buy her foyer necessities. That night I also joined Roanne for dinner at her foyer (some foyers have dining services that they provide and give a set amount of meal tickets to residents per month. luckily, Roanne has some extra!)
On Thursday, I ran again (yaaaay! I have a pretty regular exercise schedule/wonderful workout buddy!) Ymânne stopped by the foyer one last time (I was so happy to see her!) and she even helped me with my French homework! That afternoon, Roanne and I went with our friend Lin to Chinatown! I was pretty excited to go to that part of Paris (apparently though, there are two Chinatowns. I will explore the other one sometime in the future) to see all the Asians! When we arrived, Lin took us to two different grocery stores (the second one was better!) and we purchased food to make for Sunday's dinner (which was tonight, and will talk more about in a few more paragraphs). Needless to say, we had to return back to the foyer to put away the food right after, so my exploration of Chinatown was limited to the grocery stores. No worries though, I WILL RETURN!
We met up with our program for Bateaux Mouches (which is basically just an hour long boat tour on the river Seine in front of the main monuments of Paris). It was pretty interesting, the translation cd repeated each blurb in 6 different languages (Swedish sounds the coolest).
Friday morning Roanne and I went running again and then had lunch. After my phonetics class ended, Dustin and I went to another Monoprix! (If you have questions about why I went so many times, please feel free to ask me. It is one of my favorite shops in Paris!) They had bananas for 0.99 Euros/Kg (yes, that sounds pretty expensive, but is actually very very very reasonable for Paris fruit). I ventured back to Foyer Didot again for dinner, and it was super delicious!
Saturday morning I met up with Roanne for our morning exercise, and then the two of us met up with the rest of our program for an excursion to Versailles (a really huge castle not too far outside of Paris)! The weather was so beautiful - sunshine and mid 70s. We brought our lunches and ate in the garden. It was kind of cute because there was classical music playing from the hedges (wouldn't it have been cool to have been a musician and actually played their during Versailles's hay-day?) Martin, Dustin, and I ventured around the grounds and into the castle. I don't want to be shunned or anything for this next statement, but I do feel that Versailles is a little too extravagant. During our visit, there was also (and still is, until December or so) a Japanese artist exhibit. There were random sculptures in almost every room and, though they were really cute manga-type creations, they looked very out of place.
Saturday night I saw Inception (in English with French subtitles thankfully) with Dustin and Martin. The theater that we went to was so nice! And, guess how much our tickets were? 3.9 Euros! You can't even watch a movie back in the states for that little - not a more recent one anyway. And, on a Saturday night! Needless to say, I think we will be watching a few more movies this semester (this particular theater shows the movies in their original form). France loves people under 26 (the special deal for the tickets). There are so many more free/discounted things to do if you fall under the -26 category! The movie ended around 12:45 am and I ventured back to my foyer on my own. Though, I wouldn't necessarily say venture is the right word to use. I knew where I was going! And, it wasn't scary at all! There were still many many people out at that time and I returned safely!
This morning I woke up early for church (though it doesn't start until 11am I went to help with the hosting team). I got to wear a cool Hillsong shirt (maybe I can bring it back with me at the end of the semester?! not sure if they will need it back), help with envelopes, and show people where to sit! Afterward, I had a leisurely lunch with Majd and Nastia, and then time to relax and do homework. I met up with Roanne this evening for an evening run, and then we made dinner with Lin! (I was in charge of making the gai lan - thanks to all who gave me tips on how to make it!) It was pretty tasty! Lin is from Canton (kind of near Toysan, so he understands what I say in Chinese. haha it's kind of funny) so he cooks food that reminds me of home! He even made lots of rice (I suppose he knew that I hadn't had any for a while)!!
Well. I thought this blog would have been a little shorter, but alas it is not. I have been in France for one month now, and time seems to fly by! My mom, uncle, and aunt are coming in town on Wednesday and will be here until Monday. I cannot wait to see them and spend time with them! I'm sure I will have lots more to report on their visit in my next blog! But, until then, enjoy these memories via photograph! There are more posted on facebook!
À plus!
 | |||
| A freezer of Dim Sum at the grocery store in Chinatown! |
 | |
| Waiting in line to check out with Lin (the lines were so long) and our rice baby! |
 |
| Roanne and me on our way back from Chinatown riding on the T |
 |
| Seasons actually exist in Paris. Note: different color leaves on trees |
 |
| The main path of Louis XIV's backyard. Does it look real? |
 |
| In the Hall of Mirrors. Yep, a smiley flower ball right in the middle of it! Oh, and there's me. |
 |
| The steps of Versailles! |
 | |||
| Tonight's dinner. See my gai lan?! But . . . Lin made everything else (cabbage dish + rice + soup. bahahaha!) |
Thanks for reading! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment