Weekly Update

The blog returns! It’s hard to find time to write everyday, so I apologize for long entries and spotty upkeep….

Last Wednesday, my host mom Sabrina had two of her friend’s daughters over. They are both in their mid-20s and French. One is a fashion design intern, and the other I think is either a cellphone branch manager or a flight attendant (she talked a lot about having great cell service and all the flights she has been on). We ate smoked salmon and creamed spinach, drank a lot of wine, and devoured homemade apple tart.

The girls were very nice but hard for me to understand- the flight attendant used a lot of slang and spoke as fast as most 13 year olds, and the other girl had some sort of accent working that made everything slightly incomprehensible. I think my older host brother, Alexis, got a date out of it! (or a job offer, I couldn’t really tell)

Thursday was my first day of class at Institut Catholic, the French school I’ll be studying at. It’s a class on 20th century political theories, starting with WW1. The class is a 300 person International Studies 101 type of scene. Reminiscent of those classes in LR3 in Tech where half the kids are asleep, watching internet TV or doing the Daily Northwestern crossword (guilty). But it’s a perfect class for me; topics I understand, students who are new to college, and a professor who writes a lot of notes on the whiteboard. Hurrah! ICP is also right next door to the Luxembourg Gardens, so I foresee lots of picnics and book reading.

One of my local friends told me that ICP is a pretty awful school here, since all the really smart kids who tested well go to free public universities, and ICP is private (oh, how much more sense this makes to me than the U.S. system). However, they have an excellent coffee machine and a nice professor, so all is well. It’s also so interesting to learn about political theories and international news from the French perspective instead of the American one. When the professor talked about Wilson’s 14 points, he heralded it as a revolution of the time, when here in the U.S. it was rejected by Congress and seen as a failed mission…I’m a nerd.

That night I went to Social Club, a House music ravehouse type thingy. After paying a silly cover and immediately losing half the people I came with, I had a blast. Lots of very sweaty, skinny European men and overpriced drinks. Coming home was slightly less great- I missed the night bus (the Noctilien) and ended up in the snow, far away from Malakoff. I made it, thanks to a crazy cab driver and a discovery of 8 euros in my pocket.

Friday night is free at the Louvre for everyone under 26. There was a dance performance in the Oriental section that was…very French. VERY French. I did not understand the artistic significance of dressing up in paper bags and staring at each other, but the dancers were beautiful and the museum felt very alive. It was my first time at the Louvre, and I saw all the absolute essentials, but it’s obvious I could go 20 times and never see half of it. With a couple of other students, I went to a sushi place by Opera and was happily surprised with how delish it was. Bastille is the younger and social district of the city, and I met up with a couple of friends at a fun bar with pink polka dots and funny named drinks. The Metro closes at 2 am on the weekends, which makes life so much better.

Saturday, Valentine’s Day. I explored a neighborhood in the Northeast of the called Belleville; very ethnic, with beautiful views and windy roads and intricate graffiti. At one point, it was Europe’s center of artisanal work, and there are still tons of teeny handmade hat and shoe stores. Also really good Algerian pastries, and nicer people.

Later, I got thoroughly lost on Rue Lepic in Montmartre. It’s nearby where Amelie was filmed, and full of life. There was some sort of Scottish parade going on, and of course lots of making out and hand holding. I walked around with friends, and then we bought strawberries, chocolate cookies and whipped cream and made dinner at the apartments. My host parents had a good friend who got married that day, and they hosted the after-party in our basement. Bruno, my pere d’accueil (or host dad), has a huge photography studio in the basement that they transformed into a strobe-lit, DJed dance floor. Lots of champagned, dancing French people and laughing. It was a great night.

Sunday was the first beautiful day we’ve had- lots of sun and fewer scarves. I took a (Very) long walk to Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum of Paris. It’s beautiful and so striking in this city filled with Haussmanian architecture; finished in 1978, the building is completely inside out. Water ducts, air filters, the metal infrastructure is all on the outside. The library there is huge and free, so I did some homework and looked outside to all the people basking in the square. After about 30 minutes, I gave up on my minimal work and walked to the Notre Dame gardens to meet up with a friend.

I again attended the Shakespeare and Co. tea party, and the crazy woman remembered me! It was nice to see a few familiar faces and meet a few other fascinating people. Made it home for family dinner, which included tarts from a new local patisserie.

Today was class, class and scheduling trips. I’m on my 6th cup of instant coffee so far, and dinner is in a bit. I’m going to see “Entre Les Murs” tonight, a really well regarded French film that won at Cannes (It is being shown in America with the title “The Class”).

I love it here- my family, my classes, the city. But I can’t help myself from missing my friends at home…it’s hard to be here without anyone I feel very close with to share it. The people I’ve met are lovely, and I’m having a lot of fun on my own too, but I am also constantly reminded how lucky I am to have such fantastic family and friends aux Etats-Unis.

BISOUS