Quelques choses

Hello there!

In an effort to procrastinate my massive amount of work (okay not massive but substantial) I am resorting to updating this here blog. I have for the past few weeks making mental lists of what I love and what I don't about Paris and about what I will miss and will not when I leave.

Right, I leave 2 weeks from TODAY. I cannot believe just how quickly my time here has passed. It only took 5 months for me to realize: I will miss Paris, beaucoup.

Odd-irksome things about Paris that only prove that NYC > Paris

1. Everything closed on Sunday. Ça suffit.

2. Metro not being 24 hours.

3. The use and abuse approach to condiments such as mayo and butter. 

4. black/grey/navy/brown: just a typical Parisian wardrobe color palette

5. The lack of ethnic/diverse/take out food

6. Their version of "um" = "uhhhhhhh" usually lasts for 10 seconds

7. Not enough grass in the parks!

8. Lack of a real music scene

9. LIBRARIES= SUCK. Really France do something about it. Don't even think that wireless in a library is a given. 

10. The difficulty of making French amis.

11. Stuffy attitudes--cool it grenouilles. 

12. Alcohol= $$$$

Why Paris is magnifique

1. It is the city of lights... until 1 am tops. 

2. Warm and fresh baguettes from your local boulangerie (plus pastries)

3. Cheap produce!

4. Blatant drinking of alcohol in public

5. Student discounts!

6. All French femmes sport Longchamps bags

7. On any given day I pass women with Chanel/Dior/YSL shopping bags in my hood

8. Seeing the Eiffel Tower every morning on my daily commute... I will miss that

9. Cheese.

10. La Durée  macaroons

11. Everyone has at least a tiny bit of a bourgeoisie 'tude

12. How reliable the metro is--almost always on time.

13. Walking by the Seine on a sunny day= Priceless

14. Glaces Berthillon= ice cream never been so good

All in all, this has been a great experience and I am trying to make the most of my remaining days here. I know that I will definitely return and I cannot wait to rekindle my love for this city encore...

Au revoir!

One month later....

Salut!

I have abandoned this blog for over a month. I have been way too busy being sick, traveling, and working to really sit down and write an entry. Now that I have no class today (the strike continues), I am entitled to some procrastination.

Where to begin? Last entry was right before my birthday. My birthday was calm, it was pretty much how I wanted it to turn out--except I missed being with my friends and family. 

Since then I've been here:

Barcelona!

Dock close to our hostel

Sagrada Famila

Barcelona is a beautiful city! The people are nice, the city has a very chill vibe, the architecture is awesome and the weather is splendid! I felt extremely comfortable speaking in Spanish, it was a wonderful feeling to speak a language I was fluent in! Unfortunately, I was extremely sick throughout the entire trip, so I did not get to do everything I wanted to do. Definitely a city I want to visit again.

And here...

London! 

The London Eye

Platform 9 ³⁄_{4, obligatory nerd pic}

London! I remember that as pre-teen, I was an absolute Anglophile. I had a blast in London but it was not like how I had dreamed when I was a gal (BBMak playing in the tube, hot British men everywhere, falling in love with a duke....), still I could see myself living there, if only for a little while. London was a nice trip for several reasons: I got to see Allie, the weather was fantastic, and it was a break from Paris. London was much more "welcoming," the city reminded me of New York a lot and I ate tons (aka Gorged on food that was not French). 

After my two weeks of travel, I had to buckle down and do work. Le gasp! But I thought that in this country you do not have to work! Well, technically all the work I had was for the Columbia program (leave it to Columbia to tackle on work).  As for my class at la Sorbonne, I do not recall the last time I had class to be quite honest with you. I think this is week three at least. This time though, the professor emailed us all to inform us we would not have class today. All the other times I have had to go to la Sorbonne only to be surrounded by tons of cops (donning bullet proof vests and huge guns) and striking students. Personally, I am not really sympathetic to this strike for various reasons. Not only is it hindering my ability to learn at a French university (as was my intention when I decided to study abroad), it is also a huge waste of time, money and effort to everyone. This strike has been going on for over 2 months now, obviously it is not working, so really why continue? Thirdly, the American in me just wants to tell them "Man up! Get a grip, stop being so lazy!"

Asides from that I am finally feeling at home in Paris. I am happy to be here while it seems that many are starting to feel anxious and pissy. I understand how they feel because I felt exactly like that for a long time. My frustrations were entirely based on the French education system and how I absolutely am not a fan and miss the efficiency of Columbia. Now I know that I am used to not expecting much from the French education system, I can sit back and enjoy my ridiculous amount of free time by catching up on all the tv shows I have abandoned since starting college, reading and of course, getting myself lost (on purpose) in Paris in hopes of finding awesomeness. 

Well that's all for now. Maybe I will update this more often.

Plein des choses!

If you read this, then I'm pretty sure that you know me very well. Music is my life. I have lots of interests but I cannot live without music, that includes going to shows, reading blogs and finding new artists. Before my life here in Paris, I was a radio DJ. I knew that in Paris I would not have the opportunity to do such and in addition, it proved to be very hard to find music blogs to keep me up to date on French artists. To this day, it is still extremely difficult to find blogs, but I have found many venues but they all play English artists (Animal Collective, Asobi Sesku, Friendly Fires, Metronomy, Neko Case, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, etc...). While it's great that these artists are performing here and I won't feel like I'm missing out that much of the NYC music scene, it becomes a bit frustrating when I am trying to make an effort to get to know this culture, these people, their music and most especially, their language and I fail miserably. It really is hard to make French friends! 

With all that being said, walking around this city with my headphones on has developed new experiences and associations with specific songs and certain streets. It also has made me deeply nostalgic for certain periods in my life. But I'm happy where I am right now, I think that I made the right choice studying abroad even though sometimes I miss Columbia beaucoup.

Anywho, the strike continues. The French university system is quite the experience. Education here has a different significance I feel. Classes here are packed and the students chat amongst themselves freely and loudly while the professor lectures. It's actually very rude and frustrating for me, especially when I am trying to catch up to what the professor is saying. For the moment, my classes at Reid Hall are a-okay, but I've been running around so many different buildings (aka campuses), and getting lost in the Paris universities that I'm kind of over it. Paris IV, one of the unis where I was shopping around for a class is shutdown until March as a form of protest. La Sorbonne is still open, and I'm taking a class there but they arrest students regularly there because the protests are so fierce. I guess I'm not really living in France until I experience a grève that is completely inconvenient for you to complete your day to day activities. The funny thing is, French Unis just started class two weeks ago and they have vacation already! What a life! 

The weather in Paris is changing! It's finally starting to feel a bit warmer and there are hints of sun every so often. This week I took advantage of that and ditched my winter coat for a few days, whipped out my sunglasses and walked around enjoying the sun! I went to Les Invalides  where Napoleon Bonaparte is buried (did not get to see him, museum was closed) and I went to Père Lachaise, where I saw some famous people buried. Today I wanted to go out and do something since I kind of wasted my day yesterday, but I have homework to do that I do not want to do at all tomorrow because it is my birthday!

To be quite honest, I'm not all that excited about celebrating my birthday, although it is the big 21. I think it's a combination of being away from home/friends/a country where 21 is significant. 

À toute l'heure!

Les Invalides

Statue of Napoleon at Les Invalides

Oscar Wilde's grave, Père Lachaise

Les plafonds

In New York I rarely look up to observe the ceilings of rooms, they're usually drab or deteriorating.

In Paris however, I find myself constantly looking up! Sometimes I feel that I might be missing out on a very important/beautiful part of a room and its history if I my eyes don't wander to the to the ceiling. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I went to the Louvre. [I have been avoiding it because it's so huge and I know that I will just want to spend as much time as possible there. So as a result, I have visited plenty of other museums that are also wonderful, just not as daunting and gorgeous as the Louvre] I tried sticking to just Italian Sculpture (XIV century to be specific) but it was impossible! Every room I entered was a new treat and while I admired all the artwork I saw (Delacroix! Goya! Raphael! Vasquez!), gazing at the ceilings was equally enjoyable. 

And yes, I also saw La Gioconda, I never imagined how I would feel when I would see it. To be quite honest, I feel that I didn't appreciate her, or Leonardo DaVinci's labor because there were just so many people. Oh well, I still have 5 more months here to celebrate art!

Raphael's Madonna in the Garden 

Leonardo's La Giconda (Mona Lisa)

Beautiful Italian sculpture 

Astounding ceiling, Louvre

Ceiling, Louvre

"Petit" update

I have been in this country for three weeks already! I have accomplished a lot, done the touristy thing, gotten lost, and made friends. There's still so much to do! Paris, while it may be a much smaller city compared to NYC (I'm including all the lovely boroughs), is packed with things to do and see. I've been trying to make each day a new adventure, but this week with this cold weather and  la grève (the massive strike encompassing: transportation, education, and hospitals) I have been lazy. 

Today I'm going to a flea market to find me some 15 euro boots, I actually do need a replacement pair since my riding boots are essentially falling apart. It's so tempting for me to spend tons of cash money on clothing both here in Paris and in NYC, although I have realized that in Paris, the fashion is mostly the same, thus the temptation is not that bad until I enter a really nice boutique. 

Last weekend I went to Reims, which is a very lovely town that has a gigantic cathedral and champagne caves. I had a lot of fun. I love road trips, they remind me of my summers in Venezuela in a car with 4 people in the back, one of them always being your best friend. 

Reims however, was a Columbia sponsored trip (roar lion roar), so 50 of us were in a charter bus. I got to see some fantastic rural French scenery, which I unfortunately could not take pictures of since we drove right past it. Looking out the window and listening to my current favorite songs I went into a deep pensive mode. I have been waiting for a moment like that since I stepped out of the plane.  Reims wasn't only about reflection, it was also about putting my knowledge to use. While at Notre Dame de Reims, I noticed that my Art Humanities class had indeed taught me a lot about the beauty and architecture of cathedrals.

The champagne cave, otherwise known as Pommery was fantastic. It was a makeshift contemporary art museum as well. I learned about champagne making and got to see some really interesting artwork. All in all, it was a really delightful trip and it left me with such a yearn to discover all of France, and take many, many road trips. 

Until next time. 

Cathedrale Notre Dame de Reims

Front Portal

Sculptures, varying in time period created

Interior

Bubblay

An outsider

Today in the United States is a very important day. It seems that everyday I realize a little bit more just how far away  I am from home. It is not necessarily a bad feeling, but there are often those tiny moments I get. Today however, it was a big moment. Since I got here all I've been hearing about is Barack Obama, I can only imagine the massive amount of press he has received back in the States. Today marks a new period in our history, and unfortunately I feel like I am missing out on something different, and most definitely historic. Here, I sat in my room, watched it online alone, reflecting on what a whirlwind this election has been and what tough times lay ahead for all of us, everywhere in the world, and most especially, how we will ever get out of this mess. 

Things like this always make me happy though:

Low Plaza, Columbia University

In Paris, everyone is pretty much head over heels with Obama. It is nice to be regarded positively nowadays when people find out you're from the US, in France where we are notoriosuly disliked. But I can't help wonder when those rose colored glasses will come off. For now I will sit back and enjoy being treated just a little bit less rudely. 

Wake up call

I don't think I've felt scared like this ever, possibly. Paris metros close at 2:15 AM, which really means that you should be on your train by 1:15 AM latest, otherwise you are pretty much guaranteed losing a ride home, which is precisely what happened to me. Standing outside, in the cold, speaking French to people who wouldn't even BOTHER to help me out, hailing cabs that apparently don't understand what "hailing" is, and ultimately spending 20 euros on something which should have been COMPLETELY unnecessary. 

I miss NYC's efficiency....

A "real" post

Orientation has proved to be much less painful than everyone has expected it to be. In retrospect, a lot of the things I thought were going to be "painful" (a new metro system, cuisine, square pillows...) have been quite enjoyable. SIDENOTE: No, I have not had Ortolan, if the occasion ever pops up, I will swim down the Seine to the nearest McDo. The thing about orientation is that it usually creates more confusion than knowledge or ease. This time however the confusion has resulted in all of us using our [often times] poor sense of direction to discover Paris, all while not practicing our French! 

Paris is beautiful, and I have begun to appreciate all the cobblestones, the narrow streets and the architecture. I never really understood why people continually told me "Oh Paris! Paris is absolutely beautiful!" Walking down these tiny streets though, it all makes sense. There is a certain feel in Paris, I haven't found the perfect word for it (note to self: find one), but I guess it is true there is a joie de vivre here, there is no "rush." As much as I love and miss NYC, Paris is growing on me...

So are my new friends and host family. In particular my host family and Emily, whom I share the host family with. I hope to create a strong and close friendship with her through these six months. While our host family is sweet, we still feel like outsiders, not to mention Americanoutsiders. 

Tomorrow it's back to Reid Hall and then L'assemble nationale to meet some politicos. 

Artwork on the ceiling of La Grande Salle, Hotel de Ville

Notre Dame

Introduction

It's 7pm in France and I am here. I have yet to feel that I am really here, so I figure that with my free time I will start a blog recapping my adventures. For today, I'll keep it simple. Here are a few pictures from my walking tour around my neighborhood...