EW! I am sick!
Yuck. I got sick while I am here. I think the whole dorm has it too. It sucks to be sick in Paris. I tried really hard not to get sick, since I was feeling sick when I arrived. I think the all night party on Bastille Day really did me in.
Besides that eevrything has been quite fun. I am really excited about going to Nice this weekend. I booked a sun lounger and a parasol at a private beach. They provide everything fo you which is nice.
My recent trek was to the flea market, where everything was like a third of the prices in Paris.It was really fun. I brought my roomate to it the next day. I am not sure how I am going to get everyting home. I will probably have to FedEx it there.
Today I go to the Museè D'Orsay with my group. I have yet to visit the Eifell Tower. I have to do that before I go or I will feel that I haven't really visited Paris. I think I might do that tonight.
I hope that you are all having fun. I miss all my friends and family and I wish that you could all be here to share in the fun that I am having. I will see you all soon! Only one real week left!
Two weeks into the trip
Two weeks into the trip and everyone has really gotten to know each other. My roommate noticed on the bus yesterday that everyone, sitting side by side next to their friends, started openly bashing on other people in the group.
I mean after living with people for two weeks you get to know them really well. This is a good thing because now I know who I want to avoid at all costs.
I completely gave up on going to our "group activities." No. 1 you had to get up at like 7am to catch the bus at 8am. Then there was the terrible, cramped, uncomfortable bus-think like the seats were 2/3 the size of the Southwest Airline's seats. YUCK! Oh, and there was no real air conditioning, ew!
So this weekend I skipped out on the cramped bus trips to random places. I just think that they are trying to fill up our time. Today I went to the one of the many French history museums, Museè Carnavalet. It focused mostly on the time leading upto the French Revolution, during the French revolution and through the first Napoleonic empire. It was neat, but now I am maxed out on French History -upto the Revolution. If I hear about another King Louis I might chop some heads of my own.
I finished my day, so far, at the Museè Picasso. Very cool. There were two paintings I was particularly drawn to. They were "fixed pastel and oil on canvas." I had never seen this medium before. It was bright and colorful and a complete mystery. I am trying to figure out how he used to two mediums together. Which part did he paint and which were the pastels. Very beautiful, very bright. I could go there again. But I don't have the time.
Next week I will make my first official trip to the Eiffel Tower. And off to Montemarte and Sacrè Cour. I really don't have any shopping scheduled until after Nice. At which time I will have to revaluate my money situation. FUN!
French culture or so I have learned
In my, over two weeks, in Paris I have learned a lot about French culture.
Ordering "water" gets you a small 6 Euro bottle of Evian. Instead, to ask for like regular water you have to order a "carafe l'deau." And you can't just order a carafe of water to drink. The French look down on that. Instead you have to order at least one thing to drink. I usually order Canada Dry.
Parisan drivers think they own the road. Today I was crossing the street, and it was legal I had the little green walking man sign, and a car gunned their engine right as I stepped in front of it. For no apparent reason at all. This wasn't the first time this has happened.
Cafès are usually only open from 12noon until 2:30pm and then from 7pm to 12midnight. It was hard to adjust to having to eat around those times, especially when I first got here. But as time goes on I keep on eating later and later.
Despite all these cafès there are other places to eat. I avoid eating out at the dinner hour because prices for meals are higher and you CAN'T just order a salad. You have to order at least two dishes. Oh, and entreès are not the main dish, plats are. GO FIGURE!
So half of adjusting to life in Paris was just getting used to the different eating culture. But luckily there is a place nearby that serves American style sandwichs like all day. Without them my eating budget would half to be doubled.
Bastille Day celebrations
Bastille Day celebrations started the night before Bastille Day. Me and some friends from the dorm dressed up and went to the Bastille, where the old Prison used to be. Now it is a huge square with a beautiful new Opera House at it.
There was a party in the square. It was a huge concert celebrating the music of Brasil. Apparently every year France chooses a different country to "celebrate" on Bastille Day. This year is was Brasil.
After hanging out at the concert for a bit we headed off to the "fireman's ball." It is a huge party held at each of the firehouses in France. The biggest and rowdiest firehouse happened to be located just down the street from our dorm.
When we got there at midnight there was a line to get in that snaked around the firehouse and down the block. I was not too excited to wait to get in so my firend, Diana and I looked for another way in. And we found it. We went in the exit and it wasn't hard to do. Just as my dad says, "act like you know exactly what you are doing(or where you are going) and no one will question you." Once again we have provedc this to be true.
The fireman's ball ending up being a club like situation. A lot of sweating bodies squished together dancing. Except this place was covered with firemen with their shirts off. Which isn't that impressive of a scene, given the guys here are not buff at all.
Oh well. The night ended in a local cafe where we ate crepes and whatever else sounded good at 4 in the morning.
When I woke up the next day I went, with my roommate to the Champs Elyseè and looked at the place all decorated with French flags, quite cool. We ended the night watching the fireworksd go off at the Eiffel Tower. Cool. then I went to bed because I was tired.
Yeah, next weekend I am taking a trip to Nice. Some quite time at the beach getting a tan and swimming in the
Mediterranean. YEAH!
Ciào-Marisa
It's going to get hot here!
I hate the heat. They said it aill get close to the 90s today. YUCK! I think I will go hang out in the shade at the Luxemburg Gardens. Thank Heavens there is a lot of shade there.
Yesterday Olivia, a girl in my program, and I went out for my first real meal at a cafe(sans homework.) I had some yummy salmon. I was a little scared about ordering fish in europe since the last time someone I know did it ended up to be Bat Ray- like a stingray. YUCK!
We then went and recharged my cell phone, since it was completely out of minutes. I went to a small Tabac store, like a newspaper stand. It was my first complete conversation in French. I paid for the card and then asked him to recharge it for me, since the whole cell phone instructions are in French and I don't know what they are saying. He was kind enough to do it for me and I was so grateful. I said merci beaucoup.
So everything is going well here. Even the language is making some sense. I still haven't decided what to do for my free weekend. Hopefully I will figure that out soon.
Me at the Louvre. I really am here!
This is my roommate
This is my rommate Anne Chung. She is from neighboring Santa Clara University. She is a lot younger than I am, but she doesn't look like it! She is the perfect roommate to have while here in France.
Getting ready to party
In the middle of the week the French celebrate Bastille Day. It is an ultra-clebration like no other here.
The celebration starts the night before, July 13th. Around 11 p.m. all the Fire Stations in France hold a "Ball." And I happen to being staying within blocks of the most popular Fire Station in the city. It will make for quite an evening.
The next day there will be a military parade on the Champs Eleysee. Followed by a giant picnic in Luxemburg gardens, near where I live. That evening, once it gets dark, there will be fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. They told us not to go to the Eiffel Tower, but to one of the many bridges around the city. There is one only a few blocks from here. We believe the partying ends roughly early, by Parisian standards, becuase all the shops open at the normal times the next day. There is a rumor going around that even the Louvre will be open, for free, on Bastille Day. That might be intereseting.
Well I am off to do homework. I am studying here!
The answer to Frenchmen
I walk around alone a lot and eat in cafes alone a lot too. This is really nicz for me since I don't have to cater to someone else's needs all the time. Unfortunately this leaves me open to being hit on by bold Frenchmen. I think they see a girl alone and zero in on them. I am not sure why.
But I cant tell them to go away in French, since I don't know how. Instead I tell them I don't speak French. But that seems to excite them more. I have learned how to deal with this problem. Since Frenchmen are so persistant there are only a few things you can say to make them go away. This is what I tell them. I am only here for a day and that I am on my way to meet my friends for lunch/dinner. Where am I staying: Hotel le Pantolon Rouge(red pants). --Holla to Sean for teaching me that phrase--- That usually exhausts all efforts by them. The fake hotel is the best because no one can walk me home becuase they don't know where my fake Hotel is. And who wants to pursue a girl who had literally, no time for them. Darn.
This should be a fun month.
Do I look French to you?
Apparently I do. I am constantly having people ask me for directions to somewhere is Paris. And they usually ask in French. I usually reply with a blank stare, seeing that I have NO CLUE what this person just said to me. I then begin to tell them I don't speak French. That usually doesn't stop them from then asking me in English. I have walked around this city so much that I can usually give someone pretty accurate directions, in English.
Hopefully by the end of my classes I will be able to understand what someone is saying and be able to answer them in French. Hopefully.
A beautiful weekend in Brittany
This past weekend was spent with my group in the seaside town of St. Malo in the Province of Brittany. It was goregous. We were told it is not normally that pretty there. So we were lucky.
While there the group went and visited one of the seven wonders of the world, Mount St. Michel. It is a town literally, built on top of an island. You cant see the top of the mountian like island because there is an ancient Church that had been constructed on top and around it. The village takes up the rest of the island. Then, before France altered it, the water of the island would lower with the tide and leave it accesible by foot, on marshy grounds.
Modern technology has made it so they were able to block and drain the water in the surrounding area. They then built a road connecting the land to the island. Announced recently was to retsore this wonder to its naturel glory and make it an island again. The project is about to begin and will take around 20 years to complete. Crazy. People really need to make up their minds.
Now I haved return to Paris. Not as beautiful as Brittany. Right now everyone is gearing up for Bastille Day on the 14th. We have been told it is going to be one heck of a party. Let's see how it compares to Rome on New Years Eve....
The march through the Louvre
It was time to visit the Louvre yesterday. I am hoping that it will be one of many visits. I started out staying with my tour group, but I soon realized that they were going to take me on the same march through the Louvre that my Dad did in December. I didn't like it the first time and I sure as heck wasn't going to repeat in voluntarily.
So I grabbed a map on the Louvre and sat down to form a game plan. I decided I wanted to go visit the older, non-painting, exhibits of the Louvre. I can't UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES bear to see another Italian rennisance painting. I will break out in hives if I do.
I saw many ancient sculptures. Although nothing was quite as dazziling as the Bernini's at Villa Borghese in Rome. But it was still neat to see.
I walked through Napoleon III apartment's. They were much more opulent than any other palace I have seen in Europe. Absolutely gorgeous. After that I stuck with Medieval French art, or the objects d'art wing. I saw some more beautiful stained glass, which I could stare at for hours.
And five hours later, yes 5, I found myself in front of the Mona Lisa once again. I am still not sure why it is so famous. I guess she will never tell. It has been moved to a new wing of the Louvre. The story is the new wing, more like a massive room actually, was created with funding of a large Japanese company. The thought being that more Japanese tourist, probably, would have a chance at viewing it. No one, of course was looking at the other art in the room. But there wasn't much to see.
My visit to the Louvre would not have been complete if I had not visited my favorite form of art. Jewelry. I saw the Crown Jewels of France and the famous Regent Diamond. It is HUGE. No wonder it is worth so much.
I left five hours later, completly exhausted. That was my first visit to the Louvre. Hopefully I can go again. And visit a different floor this time.
It's a small world after all
My first "assignment" from school was to go order food, and obviously, eat at a French cafe. I chose a reasonably priced cafe on a large corner of the huge boulevard Saint Germain des Pres. The resteraunt was pretty empty so I was able to sit in a seat next to the window and people watch.
I ordered french onion soup, why not I am in France. As I was hunkered over the soup, trying to get the cheese into my mouth without it stringing out everywhere, when I began to hear a tapping on the window next to me. As I wrestled over getting the last of the soup into my mouth I heard someone enter the Cafe and say "Marisa." I looked up to find a obvious San Joseian standing in front of me, obvious because of the Polartec, jeans and Nike outfit he was wearing. I looked at him with confusion, I am pretty sure I have never seen him before. He then pointed to the window next to me and said "I am Chris' friend." And low and behold the cause of the knocking sound was my favorite Professor from SJSU and her husband.
I knew she was in Paris on vacation and I was hoping to meet up with her, but this was bizzare. Especially taken into account that the last time she saw me my hair was like three or four inches longer and it would have been hard to recongize me hunched over a bowl of soup. She came into the cafe and we chatted a bit. She is headed off to Burgundy, for the wine I suppose :)
So the saying really is true, it is a small world after all.
classes begin
Well classes have begun and that means homework. Not much thanks heavens, but enough to keep me busy.
Last night I went to the Opera Bastille. We saw Romeo and Juliet. It was interesting. Long, like 3 hours. UGH!!!!
Classes aren't hard. Although I know like NO french. It is really funny. I am totally uncomfortable speaking to people. I just point and say please.
It is the Louvre today. Which will be fun. I plan on stopping and looking at all the paintings, well not all. Some. Most of them that I can.
Have fun-Marisa
Stinky cheese sandwich
Note to self...LEARN HOW TO READ A MENU IN FRENCH. I went to a great cafe to day, next to the Luxemburg Gardens. It was so, Paris. I loved it. The menu, unfortunately was all in French. But I thought I could handle it. I ordered a basic sandwhich with, what I thought, was something good. Wrong idea. I ended up with a stinky cheese sandwhich. It was horrible. I couldn't eat it! Well 3 Euro down the drain. Oh well, I learned my lesson. I am going to make a crib sheet of what to order. You know, ham is --- in french. They have these yummy "baked potatos" here. They are almost better than American baked potatos.
Today we, my group, goes on a three hour walk. I am concerned about all the elderly, yes I said elderly, people in my group. A few are extremely overweight and can't make it up and down stairs very well, yet alone a three hour hike. We'll see how that goes.
Most of the people my age have been staying out and partying all night long. I don't know how they do it seeing we have classes in the early morning. It is pretty funny actually. I am sure I will have my party time, but I will save it until I am safely over jetlag and I have no early morning classes.
Other than the sandwich incident I am having a great time. -marisa
Wow...I am here
I arrived yesterday, after a quite horrific air travel experience. There was a tiny bit of bad weather over the midwest. They made us fly over the Rio Grande. Needless to say we were late, very late. Luckily they held the plane for Paris for our flight and one from San Francisco. YEAH!!! I was able to sleep on the plane, thank heavens.
Arriving in Paris was not a huge big deal. It wasn't like we were greeted with fanfare and the airport was just like LAX. I was hoping for a wild cab ride from the airport to our dorm. No such luck. There was LA-like traffic the whole way. Making it a boring and hot ride.
The dorm I am staying at is within a stones throw from the beautiful Luxemburg Gardens. And on a day like today I am wondering why I am sitting in an Internet cafe instead of relaxing there.
My time here will be packed with stuff to do everyday. I have a Survival French class everyday. And it starts, thank heavens, at 11:05 a.m. YEAH!!!! Time to sleep in!!! I have culture class every few days at 9:50 a.m. Still not bad.
My roommate here is very cool, but not completely trusting of my navigating skills yet. Geez, when will people learn! She seems to want to do a lot of stuff together. Which for someone like me is different. I like to be independent and alone most of the time and I enjoy getting lost in a city and finding the little corners with great stores and cafes. Hopefully I will have lots of time to do that.
There is so much to do in the month of July here in Paris. Including the Tour de France, which is coming to town in a few weeks. Yes, I will be here for what people hope will be Lance Armstrong's historic win. If it is not I will laugh. I am hoping to go see it. Even though it will be crowded and hot it still will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I guess all of this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So hey, sieze the day and make sure the memories last. And no more "keep walking, keep walking" through the Louvre. Seriously dad, what were you thinking?
And for anyone who wishes to call me I am teathered to a cell phone, courtesy of my parents. The number is 001-33-62-41-38-103. But I don't expect you to call.
Have a great one!
-Marisa
