Back to Basics

You would think that moving to a fellow "Western" country is pretty simple. There's the exchange rate (which you should really just ignore because it's too depressing to think about 24/7) and the signs are in a different language, but they make their meals with the same basic vegetables and meats and they have all the bare necessities of the 21st Century, right? I mean, it's not like I'm living in India or anything...

Or am I? There doesn't seem to be any air conditioning in our school, some of the teachers think they are God's gift to this universe and I should be honored to listen to them talk at me for two hours, and ah yes, the drying machine. Apparently a modern American luxury. I mean, why on Earth would I expect my clothes to be dry after putting them in the dryer?

I was still hopeful after the first failed attempt and was willing to give it another go but the machine ate the rest of my laundry coins. And the concierge was nowhere to be found. I then had two loads of soaking wet clothes and I was about to pull an Alice and fill the room with tears...

...but I channeled that distress into determination instead and set out to find a drying rack.

Lucky for me, I had no idea where to look or what the word for "drying rack" was in French. It's a séchoir à linge in case you were wondering. Instead, I just knew the word "to make dry" (sécher) and I wandered around the stores practicing my mime skills and asking store clerks to find me something that would sécher mes vêtements. I was literally acting out taking clothes out of the wash and hanging them up to dry. FINALLY a woman who spoke un petit peu d'anglais said she might have what I wanted and she brought me to a giant séchoir that could fit my entire wardrobe on it. I started clapping and thanking her profusely at which point she thought I was truly crazy. Oh well. My clothes are now dry, that's all that matters.

Other little day-to-day things:

• Security: I have to tap my key on a little electronic pad to gain entry to the overall campus and to my specific building. Super fancy. Oh, and when I tap my key at the second door getting into my building, a Siri-like voice announces vous pouvez entrer (you may enter). Why, thank you.
• Energy Conservation: pretty much everyone in the world except America is good at this. Even in common areas like stairwells and hallways, the light will either automatically turn on (and only stay on as long as you are moving) or you have to flick a switch but those ones are also on a timer. Like when I'm blogging in the common room at night and I have to wave my arms around like a crazy person every five minutes to get the lights to stay on.
• Stairs: all of the stairs. Everywhere. You want to know why Parisians are thin? It's not because they eat well or exercise...

  

  Exhibit A: The essentials of a Parisian diet (baguette + gourmetcheesethatsmellslikedirtyfeet + saucisson)

  ... It's because they walk up and down 10,000,000 stairs a day. Half the buildings don't have elevators and while most of the metro entrances/exits have options between stairs and escalators, there are several parts of the metro that *gasp* you can only get through by taking the stairs. Americans would have a heart attack. Quite literally. On the other hand, we might solve our obesity problem if we got rid of all elevators & escalators...
• Franglais: The language barrier is très intéressant here. There are words that look nearly the same in French and English like clandestin or simply need to be said with a French accent in order to be communicated properly (similaire) and then there are things that you can't directly translate or you'll sound stupid. For example, when you order food either for here or to go. If you literally translated that, you'd come out with pour ici and pour aller or something equally as strange. But the way they say this is actually sur place (literally: on site, on the spot) or à emporter (literally: to take). Reasons you can't just think in English and spit out the same thought using your French vocab. You actually have to learn to think in French. Which is much easier after a few glasses of wine. C'est bien vrai! I was nearly fluent after dinner Saturday night.
• And my last language lesson for the day... even when there's an English translation on the sign or the menu, it still won't make sense. I read these translations and I think I understand what I'm ordering, and then something entirely different shows up on my plate. Like that time I ordered poisson grillé and the entire fish showed up on my plate-- head, tail, and bones included. Le sigh.

It's all in good fun though. Traveling wouldn't be such an enriching experience if everything was simple! And I'm always surprised at how well I get on here. My French is (usually) much better than I expect sauf a key vocab word here and there (looking at you, séchoir). I even survived my trip to an ear doctor who didn't speak English! I consider that a victory.

Until my next misadventure,

xo A

Churches, Museums, and.. Sex Shops?

Never thought those would go together, huh? But alas, they can be found in the same neighborhood. Today, my friend and I decided to go explore Montmartre where you can find Le Basilique du Sacré Coeur, Musée de Montmartre et Jardins Renoir, and, at the bottom of the hill, the Moulin Rouge and the "seedy" district of Pigalle.

I've generally avoided using directions as much as possible so we usually end up doing a lot of walking. I think we spent a good three hours walking around today. My feet are killing me but it was worth it. We started by weaving our way up the hill towards the Basilica of Sacré Coeur. Of course it was full of tourists but the line wasn't long so we went in to look around. It was absolutely gorgeous and you could see the entire city from outside of it. You're not allowed to take photos inside and I decided to be a good Catholic, despite the number of tourists disregarding the rules, and keep my phone in my purse but here are a few from the outside:

View from the steps of Sacré Coeur

Side of the Basilica

On our way out we stopped to listen to a guitarist and a drummer who were actually quite good before grabbing some gelato and wandering towards the Montmartre museum. The museum was once home to many famous artists including Renoir who painted La Balançoire there in the gardens. Naturally, I attempted to replicate the painting. I think I did a pretty good job...

Le Balançoire by Renoir

Posing on the swing from La Balançoire in Renoir's Gardens

The museum itself was beautiful. They had some amazing pieces in their permanent collection, some of which carry a lot of history. Le Chat Noir (poster featured below) opened in 1881 in bohemian Montmartre and was the first modern cabaret.

1896

"Au Lapin Agile" (a logo drawn for a local Cabaret frequented by many artists)

After the museum, we wandered downhill hoping it would eventually bring us to the Moulin Rouge and the metro. I didn't realize all of the sex shops and peep shows (modernized since the time of the Moulin Rouge) would still exist on the main boulevard considering it was now a huge tourist attraction but well, I guess the French aren't shy with their sex. It's highly amusing to me that this district is so full of tourists considering what it's known for but then again, I'm guessing none of them come to visit after dark.

Boulevard de Clichy

We finally found the Moulin Rouge but I was irritated I couldn't actually go in to look around so I checked the prices for dinner & a show: €185. Is that a joke? Must be one hell of a show. You're better off going to the museums to learn about it.

We accomplished quite a lot but we were exhausted after walking around so much so we sat down for a bière/beer (it's cheaper than water here) then headed home to rest.

My First Week in Paris

I survived my first week in France! I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by. I'm exhausted but I'm loving it here. Last weekend, I traveled to Provence with my extended family to meet an entire side of the family I'd never met before. That was a little overwhelming but we had a wonderful time together and I absolutely loved the countryside.

Then I returned to Paris to be greeted by the cold, wind, and rain. Ah, Paris. The best city in the world to be depressed in (I'm not kidding, I read that somewhere). It makes sense now after seeing a week of rainy grey weather. But I've also read that Paris is the most beautiful in the rain. So I guess it's a choice of glass half full or half empty. I'm going with the glass half full on this one. Yesterday, I spent a few hours wandering around the center of the city in the rain. I metro-ed to the Louvre then wandered along the river, over the bridge, and followed the throngs of tourists toward Notre Dame. I took a deep breath in front of its beauty and then fled the scene as I was overwhelmed by English-speakers and crowds. I may have to do all of my sight-seeing early in the morning and at night to avoid this in the future.

I wandered around the back of Notre Dame by the beautiful gardens and then looped back toward the bridge and found a cafe along the river to stop for a snack. Crèpe with ham, cheese and egg. Perfect.

I tried to speak French with the waiter but he immediately switched to English when I forgot a vocabulary word. I've figured out how this works. In the center of the city near tourist attractions, they will speak English to you and scoff at your attempt to butcher their darling language (I don't blame them... it really does hurt your ears to hear some of these accents). However, in my own neighborhood, far from any tourist attraction as far as I know, I've managed to get by as a Parisian. I even had several people ask me for help one day (in French). I must be doing something right.

The other students and I have discovered that if you dress like a Parisian (leather jacket & scarf seems to be the fashion du jour) then people will treat you like one.

Of course, I also don't walk around with a map in front of my face. I still don't understand the people who do this. You might as well put a sign on your back that says "Please, take all of my money. It's in my back left pocket." Luckily, I avoid most of these people on the average day.

Every morning, I metro from the 13th arrondissement to the 6th/7th where Sciences Po is located. This is a very "posh" neighborhood with a few touristy things like the Cafe de Flore and all of the expensive stores you can think of. It's not quite the Champs-Élysées but I certainly can't afford anything there. I stop at a café for un café et un croissant, then I head to French language class from 9h00-13h00. No joke, we have class for four hours. I'm like a pre-schooler by the end of it jumping up & down, doing handstands in the corner so I don't fall asleep.

We get 1.5 hours for lunch (gotta love the French) then back to class. In the afternoon, we have other classes like Theater, Intro to French Politics, Oral or Writing Workshops, etc. (all taught in French) for a couple of hours and then we're done. Yes, it's an extremely long day and I hate it. On the other hand, I'm getting 6-8 hours a day of French immersion so it's worth it.

When do I have time to see Paris? I don't really. I feel bad for those who are only here for the summer. We barely have time to explore except on the weekends. But we have a long weekend this weekend thanks to Bastille Day (le 14 Juillet)! More to come soon. Ciao

Bienvenue à Paris!

I made it! I'm here! I'm actually in Paris! Is this real life? I am going to bed in a minute (finally!) because I've been going non-stop for so long but I wanted to give you a quick update since I'll be gone all weekend!

I made it to CDG this morning around 730am and had a pretty easy time getting out of there. Immigration took about... thirty seconds and nobody even looked at me at customs. I just walked right out the door. I felt like I was going to get yelled at any second but nobody cared. Oh well!

I managed to get a taxi driver who could speak maybe 2-3 words in English so that was fun. Luckily my French is good enough to communicate the basics. You are from... where? America. Ah, vous êtes Americaine. Oui... You come for... tourist? Non, je... je vais... je suis étudiante (I am student). Ahh, very good. The only conversation we had after that was Merde, le trafic! (It took us over an hour to get to my residence from the airport). I tried to stay conscious but I was slipping in and out of an exhausted, jet-lagged haze the entire ride.

I finally woke up enough to look around towards the end and was disappointed to see McDonald's signs and billboards for KFC and Ben & Jerry's. But not to worry! I soon saw men carrying baguettes under their arms and circles of smoke floating above people's heads. Ah, there you are, Paris. I thought I'd lost you in Americanization.

Upon arriving at my residence (which is super nice! Yay!), the concierge immediately connected me with other students who are doing the same summer program at Sciences Po. So far, I have friends from Australia, China, and Canada. And apparently the other students in our program that are staying here are Spanish, German, and Korean. I think this school has AU beat when it comes to diversity.

After a quick shower, I went with my new Australian friend, K, to explore the city and find the Apple store downtown. The Apple store was conveniently located right next to the Louvre so we fit in a bit of sightseeing today too! It's such a short metro ride from my place! Unbelievable. I've seen so many photos of this place, and it was so grand but so normal to be standing in front of it.

Palais du Louvre

My new Aussie friend & I at the Louvre!

Silly glass pyramid

Artsy shot of silly glass pyramid

Is it culture shock? I'm not sure. But I don't feel like I'm in Paris. It just seems like another big global city... with the most exquisite architecture I've ever seen. It's right out of a post card. The cafés on the sidewalks, the art, the museums, the grand Hausmannian buildings all around. It's incredible.

After hours of wandering around the city, dining & people-watching, and bumping into other fancy buildings like this one...

Palais Garnier

Monument in front of Palais Garnier

... We finally headed back to our residence via métro to relax for a bit. I managed to unpack and fight off my sleepiness for a couple more hours before it was time to head out again! We wandered aimlessly towards Place d'Italie to find a restaurant for dinner—the Aussie, the Chinagirl, the Canadian, and I. I can communicate seamlessly enough in English (et un petit peu de français) with the Canadian and the Aussie of course but the girl from China speaks a little bit of English and a little bit of French so my communication with her is a mix of both languages depending on which words we need to use.

Dinner was délicieux and we enjoyed our stroll back to the residence, taking in the city as we walked. It was still light out at 930pm! Tomorrow we have orientation all day and then I am headed to Provence to spend the weekend with my family. So many exciting things happening! I will try to write again next week.

Oh! And here is our vegetable garden that we can take food from whenever we want...??