This is going to be a rather short post because I don't have a lot of time to type, but I think that I should update you all on what I have been up to this entire weekend. Friday night some people that I met through Ruth and I had a vegetarian dinner party at their apartment. We had salad, rice, and curry chick peas, potatoes and cauliflower. It was really good. Then we attempted to meet up with some of their friends at a bar near St. Michel, which is in a really nice part of town that comes alive at night with all of the shops, restaurants and bars. Plus the weather was fairly nice, meaning that it was not raining. I found this drink called the Monaco, or the Framboise, and it is amazing. So if I ever feel like splurging while I am out, I will get that. The plans for meeting the others failed, so we just went home. But it was nice to hang out with them. Saturday I was supposed to play softball with the team that I played with last weekend but because of all of the rain the game was canceled. I got the message around 8:50am, and there is a 9:15am aerobics class on saturday mornings at the American Church in Paris. I went to the class and it was wonderful. It was great to start my day that way. I didn't do much after that, except take a shower and do my homework because it was cold and rainy outside. This reminds me. This past wednesday (when it was also cold and rainy) I was walking around looking for a library when I happened upon a taxi workers strike. It was pretty cool to see all of the streets blocked off with the taxi drivers in the middle making it known thei discontent with their contract. Something similar is going to happen with the Metro workers on or around october 18th, which is bad for me because that's the only way I get around! That's how I get to class!! They've done it before and apparently when it happened it really crippled businesses around here. No one could get to work, and the trucking companies that went on strike couldn't deliver their goods to the businesses. Public transportation around here is not something to be treated lightly. They really have an impact on the entire city. OK, away from that anecdote. Saturday night was anticlimactic. I ate dinner with a friend and then walked around the Bastille and the Marais. Two very "hip" places of town. The Marais actually means swampy lands, which is what the city of Paris is built over.
Today we went on a "Paris a Velo" bike tour of the 1st-4th districts and while on it we learned about all of the history of the districts and kings and buildings. It was great. The weather was perfect, too. Then we ate lunch in a little Palestinian restaurant, and guess what?? The food was all vegetarian!! I was so happy. Falafel, hummus, pita, couscous. I was happy. After that we went on a walking tour of the area near the Bastille and again around different parts of the Marais. Very cool. Now I am back here attempting to do homework. I was also very occupied for a long time trying to figure out how my sister and my mom and dad could call me. It was a long and frustrating experience but we finally got it to work and I was able to talk to them on the phone!! Even if it was for just a little bit I was thrilled and more at ease once I got to talk to them. I have been a bit homesick because of friend situations here and kind of "finding myself" but I have a lot of things to occupy my time with, so it's no big deal. I am so glad I got to talk to them, though!! Ok, well I apologize for the short entry and for the lack of interesting wording or sentence structure. My next post will indeed be better. If you have any suggestions or requests about what you want me to write about feel free to tell me! talk to you all later.
grands bises!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Bush fianlly realizes that global warming is a problem
Bush Outlines Climate Change Vision
Filed at 12:15 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush called on the world's worst polluters Friday to come together to set a goal for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the climate to heat up. He didn't exempt his own country from the list.
''By setting this goal, we acknowledge there is a problem, and by setting this goal, we commit ourselves to doing something about it,'' Bush said in a speech that capped two days of talks at a White House-sponsored climate change conference. ''We share a common responsibility: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping our economies growing.''
He said each nation should establish for itself what methods it will use to rein in the pollution problem without stunting economic growth.
The gathering drew together U.S. representatives with those of 15 other nations, including big producers from the developing world like China and India as well as the European Union and United Nations. Bush's emphasis is on using green technologies and other voluntary efforts to tackle global warming. The president said the reduction goal should be finalized by next summer, along with ways to measure progress toward it.
He also proposed the creation of an international fund to finance research into clean-energy technology, announcing that U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would coordinate the effort and would be in touch with other governments soon about moving forward.
''Each nation must decide for itself the right mix of tools and technology to achieve results that are measurable and environmentally effective,'' Bush said.
In his speech, Bush acknowledged that climate change is real and that human activity is a factor.
But he refuses to sign onto mandatory emission-reduction obligations, preferring to encourage the development of new technologies and other voluntary measures, and won't participate in any talks toward a global agreement that do not include energy guzzlers from the developing world.
As a result, many have suggested that the U.S.-brokered process is aimed at undermining broader talks sponsored by the United Nations, set to begin in Indonesia in December, to draw up a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. That U.N. treaty was rejected by the administration because, Bush said, it unfairly harmed the economies of rich nations like the United States while excluding poorer countries like China and India from obligations.
The U.N. negotiations emphasize mandatory controls.
Europeans and environmentalists were disappointed.
''One of the striking features of this meeting is how isolated this administration has become. There is absolutely no suppport that I can see in the international comunity that we can drive this effort on the basis of voluntary efforts,'' John Ashton, a special representative on climate change for the British foreign secretary, said in an interview. ''I don't think that this meeting by itself moves the ball very much at all. The much more significant meeting this week was at the U.N., where there was a sense of urgency.''
German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel gave the equivalent of two cheers -- not three -- for Bush.
''This here was a great step for the Americans and a small step for mankind,'' he said. ''In substance, we are still far apart.''
The ball is now Congress' court, said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, who was one of the few outsiders to address the panel of government ministers at the meeting.
''Congress needs to lead. The president is not giving us the leadership we need. Ultimately what we need are mandatory caps,'' Krupp said. ''No air pollution problem in the world has ever been solved without having legal limits.''
At the same time, the fact that the United States was taking a role in the process, and a leading one, was heartening to some.
Until recently, said Emil Salim, an economist and member of the Indonesian president's council of advisers, Bush offered ''no dialogue on the Kyoto Protocol whatsoever. This time, the members of the Kyoto Protocol are invited to discuss. So from that point of view, there is some improvement,'' he said in an interview. ''But on the other hand, I think it has more to do with the domestic politics, because you have election.''
Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate official, told the 16 nations participating in the White House-led meeting that ''this relatively small group of countries holds a key to tackling a big part of the problem'' but that their response can succeed only by ''going well beyond present efforts,'' especially among rich, industrialized nations.
Bush said the United States is serious about global warming and is committed to making progress itself to slow its growth rate in carbon dioxide and other industrial warming gases as well as to seeing a global deal cut.
''By working together we will set wise and effective policies,'' he said. ''I want to get the job done. We've identified a problem. Let's go solve it together.''
Bush's administration has seemed more sensitive of late to perceptions in other parts of the world that the U.S. government either does not take the phenomenon of global warming seriously -- or seriously enough.
Bush's two-day conference, ending Friday, followed a U.N. meeting Monday at which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tried to build support among 80 world leaders for reaching agreement at the planned December talks. Other participants in Bush's talks included representatives from Australia, Canada, Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Russia, South Africa and South Korea.Wednesday, September 26, 2007
my host family=really great
So...I haven't written about my host family yet, which is odd because I've been with them for almost 3 weeks. I guess I just needed some time to settle in. Each day I become more comfortable with them and in their home. I still like I am treading on broken glass when I walk around (especially at night when I have to go to the bathroom) the house because it is so creaky. I am also getting used to their habits and I think they are becoming used to me. It is much easier to talk to them, and I feel that my french is improving. OK. Enough about me. I should tell you about them.
There are 6 of them all together. 3 girls and 1 boy. The girls are Guyonne, who is 13, Agathe, who is 12, and Pauline who is 9. The little boy is Marcotoiane (i really have no idea how to spell his name. each time they say it I automatically hear Mark Twain. Maybe they named him Mark Twain, but only pronounce it the french way.) who is 5. He's cute. I think I'll be able to spend more time with him once my french gets better and once I am really comfortable with the family. The mother is Wivinne (that name is not of french origin. Even she doesn't know where exactly it came from. I like it, though) and the father is Andre. She works in an ecole (like an elementary school, only it goes through age 12) and he is a dentist. His office is luckily on the bottom floor of their apartment building so he doesn't have to commute to work. The family is always so busy! I like that, though. I don't feel confined with them. The girls all take piano lessons and two take singing lessons. They are mature for their age, but still girls. One day at dinner they were all discussing their recent crushes, and Agathe asked me if I was in love with anyone. Right now, no. Marco is just a little spit fire. Always saying something or recounting an event during the day. He's warming up to me, and I to him. I eat with my family every wednesday and I am becoming more accustomed to how they eat. They normally eat around 8pm, and they formally set the table and help their mom get the food ready. When it's all done, we sit down, offer each other food and once everyone has something we eat. Everyone talks to each other and the mom really makes an effort to make sure I am engaged in the conversation. Sometime's it's hard to keep up with what everyone is saying when they're all taking at once, but I'll get better. After the meal there's usually some type of dessert. Today it was this chocolate cake and macarons! I have never had a macaron before, but they are great. It sounds really formal, but they are a normal family and I like that.
At dinner tonight they asked me what I thought of Bush and whether or not I like him. I replied with I don't like him and I think he should change some of the things he is doing and his priorities. I think they asked me this because the mom and dad are going to NYC tomorrow for the father's dad. He's getting some award for being a doctor. So they had the U.S. on their mind. They told me that france does not like Bush and they wanted to see what a typical American thought of Bush.
My family is, what the french would call, the "grand bourgeois." They have a housekeeper (which I am still not used to, but she's really nice), an au pair for the kids and they have piano lessons. I also believe that they go to a private school. Private school's here are much cheaper than the U.S., though, because they are subsidized by the state. Yes, even the parochial schools. They also have another house somewhere. I think. A few weekends they've gone and stayed somewhere else, but it could've been with family. Anyway, that's about all I have on them for now. If other things come up or you have questions, feel free to ask!
There are 6 of them all together. 3 girls and 1 boy. The girls are Guyonne, who is 13, Agathe, who is 12, and Pauline who is 9. The little boy is Marcotoiane (i really have no idea how to spell his name. each time they say it I automatically hear Mark Twain. Maybe they named him Mark Twain, but only pronounce it the french way.) who is 5. He's cute. I think I'll be able to spend more time with him once my french gets better and once I am really comfortable with the family. The mother is Wivinne (that name is not of french origin. Even she doesn't know where exactly it came from. I like it, though) and the father is Andre. She works in an ecole (like an elementary school, only it goes through age 12) and he is a dentist. His office is luckily on the bottom floor of their apartment building so he doesn't have to commute to work. The family is always so busy! I like that, though. I don't feel confined with them. The girls all take piano lessons and two take singing lessons. They are mature for their age, but still girls. One day at dinner they were all discussing their recent crushes, and Agathe asked me if I was in love with anyone. Right now, no. Marco is just a little spit fire. Always saying something or recounting an event during the day. He's warming up to me, and I to him. I eat with my family every wednesday and I am becoming more accustomed to how they eat. They normally eat around 8pm, and they formally set the table and help their mom get the food ready. When it's all done, we sit down, offer each other food and once everyone has something we eat. Everyone talks to each other and the mom really makes an effort to make sure I am engaged in the conversation. Sometime's it's hard to keep up with what everyone is saying when they're all taking at once, but I'll get better. After the meal there's usually some type of dessert. Today it was this chocolate cake and macarons! I have never had a macaron before, but they are great. It sounds really formal, but they are a normal family and I like that.
At dinner tonight they asked me what I thought of Bush and whether or not I like him. I replied with I don't like him and I think he should change some of the things he is doing and his priorities. I think they asked me this because the mom and dad are going to NYC tomorrow for the father's dad. He's getting some award for being a doctor. So they had the U.S. on their mind. They told me that france does not like Bush and they wanted to see what a typical American thought of Bush.
My family is, what the french would call, the "grand bourgeois." They have a housekeeper (which I am still not used to, but she's really nice), an au pair for the kids and they have piano lessons. I also believe that they go to a private school. Private school's here are much cheaper than the U.S., though, because they are subsidized by the state. Yes, even the parochial schools. They also have another house somewhere. I think. A few weekends they've gone and stayed somewhere else, but it could've been with family. Anyway, that's about all I have on them for now. If other things come up or you have questions, feel free to ask!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
what a wonderful day!
I really have to post about today. It's truly been a spectacular day.
The beginning of the day didn't start out too differently, or all that great for that matter. I woke up a bit earlier today so that I could make it to the Center to print out a paper that I had due for my grammar class today. I got there around 9am, printed my paper, did some reading and then went to class at 9:30. Class was class, and our teacher was her normal self; eccentric, jovial and a little absent minded. Yet, she's a joy to have as a teacher. After that class we're supposed to have our conversation class at 11am, but that teacher was sick so it was cancelled. I proceeded to go to the Franprix (a grocery store) and to a Leader Price to do some grocery shopping because I was in dire need of groceries. Cheap groceries, too. Blah blah blah I did that, came home, unloaded my groceries, made some lunch and started to do some reading for my next class, which wasn't until 5pm. That's a long way away. I've been fiddling in my mind with the idea of getting my haircut here and whether or not it is entirely possible to do without really messing up my hair. For about a week I've been scouring the internet for pictures of potential haircuts because every time that I decide to get my haircut I tell myself, "Michelle, you're going to get something different this time!" And low and behold I chicken out and I get the same version of the haircut that I've had for much too long. But today, I was feeling adventurous and I needed a bit of a change since I don't change my style of clothes all that often (For those of you that really know me, a sweatshirt and jeans is my staple outfit. Don't worry! I've upgraded a half of a point. It's now a fitted sweatshirt. I won big time). Anyway, about two hours before my class I decided, "What the heck. I am in Paris, so I should just go for it." I walked around my neighborhood because I've been told that there are some fairly priced good and good salons. I finally stumbled across "Mod's Hair" on rue St. Dominique, which is a block from my home. it was 31 euros for first time customers, and compared to the other prices that was really good. I went in knowing what I wanted but had no idea how to express it in french. I kindly asked if the hairdresser (who was this unbelievably amiable older french man) if he spoke english. He said that he did a little, and he really meant a little. Somehow we managed to communicate pretty fluidly so that he and I could be on the same terms. He pulled out some books and flipped through the pages and ended up on the ones that I wanted. He must be a mind reader. After various hand gestures around my head and some interjected french and english words, he began to cut. My heart was pounding!! "What if it isn't what I want? What if it's a waste of money? What if it's the same as I've always gotten?" These questions circled my mind as he snipped away. As he progressed, though, I found myself really liking what he was doing. It complemented my features and was different from what I've done in the past. So, voila! I have a new haircut with bangs and sharp, choppy edges. It's great and I love it. When I went back to the Center for my last class just about everyone I passed commented on my hair and how they liked it! They also said it complemented my eyes really well. Needless to say, I am very pleased and indebted to the nameless french man who cut my hair today.
Deuxieme chose fromidable. Grace An, a former french teacher of mine and the other oberlin students that are in the same program as me, is here in Paris for a month. She emailed all of us asking if we'd like to have dinner with her when she arrived. Naturally we all said yes. Seriously, who would pass up a free meal in Paris?? Anyway, we met at this hip wireless cafe a few blocks from the Center. It was so nice to talk to her about being in Paris and about her times here and about our homestays and Oberlin and about the other students in the program and just about random things. She's a wonderful teacher who seems to be in touch with what she wants and what her students want and need. She's also just really approachable. Anyway, the food was amazing. I had a vegetarian dish with a piece of melon, eggplant, salad, tomatoes and mozzarella, bread with cheese mushrooms and red peppers. THEN, we had dessert. I got the Tiramisu. HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL it was the most heavenly thing I've ingested in a long time. And after, we had coffee. I had a really enjoyable time. The best part was walking to the Metro with her and just talking about the book that she is writing and about Oberlin and such. She also commented on my smile, saying that it was really pretty, and that whenever she needed to see a smile in class she knew that I would always have one. That probably sounds weird, but it was really nice to hear from her. I needed that boost of confidence because lately I've been feeling a bit lonely. In my experiences just today (and other days, too) I've learned that language barriers can empower someone to commit to an act, or it can totally isolate someone, even though they're surrounded by throngs of people. Can you catch my drift? When I wanted to get my haircut today, I had to buck up and just go for it. I put my trust in the hairdresser and it came out fine, whereas back home I let my apprehensions get the best of me and end up talking my way (inadvertently) out of what I essentially wanted. Without being able to communicate fluently I wasn't able to do that, but I got exactly what I wanted!! As for the loneliness, when I'm not able to fully express myself I can feel disconnected to the people around me and on a lower level then them, thus unable to be understood. Anyway, this is a really long post, but I just really wanted to post it. I apologize for bragging about my hair...i don't mean to sound vain but I really like it! I wish I could take a picture to show you all!
Bises!
The beginning of the day didn't start out too differently, or all that great for that matter. I woke up a bit earlier today so that I could make it to the Center to print out a paper that I had due for my grammar class today. I got there around 9am, printed my paper, did some reading and then went to class at 9:30. Class was class, and our teacher was her normal self; eccentric, jovial and a little absent minded. Yet, she's a joy to have as a teacher. After that class we're supposed to have our conversation class at 11am, but that teacher was sick so it was cancelled. I proceeded to go to the Franprix (a grocery store) and to a Leader Price to do some grocery shopping because I was in dire need of groceries. Cheap groceries, too. Blah blah blah I did that, came home, unloaded my groceries, made some lunch and started to do some reading for my next class, which wasn't until 5pm. That's a long way away. I've been fiddling in my mind with the idea of getting my haircut here and whether or not it is entirely possible to do without really messing up my hair. For about a week I've been scouring the internet for pictures of potential haircuts because every time that I decide to get my haircut I tell myself, "Michelle, you're going to get something different this time!" And low and behold I chicken out and I get the same version of the haircut that I've had for much too long. But today, I was feeling adventurous and I needed a bit of a change since I don't change my style of clothes all that often (For those of you that really know me, a sweatshirt and jeans is my staple outfit. Don't worry! I've upgraded a half of a point. It's now a fitted sweatshirt. I won big time). Anyway, about two hours before my class I decided, "What the heck. I am in Paris, so I should just go for it." I walked around my neighborhood because I've been told that there are some fairly priced good and good salons. I finally stumbled across "Mod's Hair" on rue St. Dominique, which is a block from my home. it was 31 euros for first time customers, and compared to the other prices that was really good. I went in knowing what I wanted but had no idea how to express it in french. I kindly asked if the hairdresser (who was this unbelievably amiable older french man) if he spoke english. He said that he did a little, and he really meant a little. Somehow we managed to communicate pretty fluidly so that he and I could be on the same terms. He pulled out some books and flipped through the pages and ended up on the ones that I wanted. He must be a mind reader. After various hand gestures around my head and some interjected french and english words, he began to cut. My heart was pounding!! "What if it isn't what I want? What if it's a waste of money? What if it's the same as I've always gotten?" These questions circled my mind as he snipped away. As he progressed, though, I found myself really liking what he was doing. It complemented my features and was different from what I've done in the past. So, voila! I have a new haircut with bangs and sharp, choppy edges. It's great and I love it. When I went back to the Center for my last class just about everyone I passed commented on my hair and how they liked it! They also said it complemented my eyes really well. Needless to say, I am very pleased and indebted to the nameless french man who cut my hair today.
Deuxieme chose fromidable. Grace An, a former french teacher of mine and the other oberlin students that are in the same program as me, is here in Paris for a month. She emailed all of us asking if we'd like to have dinner with her when she arrived. Naturally we all said yes. Seriously, who would pass up a free meal in Paris?? Anyway, we met at this hip wireless cafe a few blocks from the Center. It was so nice to talk to her about being in Paris and about her times here and about our homestays and Oberlin and about the other students in the program and just about random things. She's a wonderful teacher who seems to be in touch with what she wants and what her students want and need. She's also just really approachable. Anyway, the food was amazing. I had a vegetarian dish with a piece of melon, eggplant, salad, tomatoes and mozzarella, bread with cheese mushrooms and red peppers. THEN, we had dessert. I got the Tiramisu. HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL it was the most heavenly thing I've ingested in a long time. And after, we had coffee. I had a really enjoyable time. The best part was walking to the Metro with her and just talking about the book that she is writing and about Oberlin and such. She also commented on my smile, saying that it was really pretty, and that whenever she needed to see a smile in class she knew that I would always have one. That probably sounds weird, but it was really nice to hear from her. I needed that boost of confidence because lately I've been feeling a bit lonely. In my experiences just today (and other days, too) I've learned that language barriers can empower someone to commit to an act, or it can totally isolate someone, even though they're surrounded by throngs of people. Can you catch my drift? When I wanted to get my haircut today, I had to buck up and just go for it. I put my trust in the hairdresser and it came out fine, whereas back home I let my apprehensions get the best of me and end up talking my way (inadvertently) out of what I essentially wanted. Without being able to communicate fluently I wasn't able to do that, but I got exactly what I wanted!! As for the loneliness, when I'm not able to fully express myself I can feel disconnected to the people around me and on a lower level then them, thus unable to be understood. Anyway, this is a really long post, but I just really wanted to post it. I apologize for bragging about my hair...i don't mean to sound vain but I really like it! I wish I could take a picture to show you all!
Bises!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
just a tidbit
I told you in my most recent post that if I thought of something else to write I would post it. You know how the french (well, europeans in general) are generally thinner than us in the US, well, I'm pretty sure I was one of the biggest (not height-wise....they and the rest of europe's got me beat) girls there. That made me a bit self conscious. Also because I don't speak that well and I don't understand a lot of slang especially at the rate at which they talk, it's hard for me to pick up on what a lot of people are saying. I was pitching back and forth with one of the 17 year olds Lea and one of her friends came up to talk to her. They were talking and then the guy said something to me and I didn't quite catch what he was saying. Then she told him that I was american, and both he and the older guy that he was with kind of stared/glared at me. Needless to say I was uncomfortable and a little angry. I don't know if they actually had harsh feelings towards me because I am an american ( I hope not), but that wasn't quite the reaction I was looking for. Whatever. Je m'en fous (I don't care). Also, juste un petit truc a ajouter. I found some solace today when I looked at the Italian team. Most of their players were short (like me, yay!!) and they were also built like me. You know, big hips, legs that aren't the size of twigs, big noses. I was comforted to know that there is an entire country where it's not absolutely a shock when I am 5 feet tall with big hips. Maybe one day I'll live there. I definitely want to visit it while I'm here. The next language that I want to tackle is italian, then spanish. Hopefully I can do them both at the same time since they are so similar. Then it's german and maybe an asian language, preferable korean. Is that too much? I don't know..I guess I'll just have to live all over the world in order for me to learn these languages best. :) Anyway, I need to finish my homework.
J'ai fais au softball ce weekend!
`I played softball this weekend! OH MY GOODNESS did it feel wonderful (absolutely wonderful) to play softball. It was a tournament that was organized by some group, and I played with a team called BCF Paris (Baseball Club de France, Paris). Let me first tell you how it all began...
One of the first days after I moved in with my host family, they asked me what I liked to do and one of my first responses (naturally) was to say I like to play softball. Softball here, unlike in the US, is not popular or even well known, so my host mother was a little confused when I said that. She didn't know what it was. Neither did the father. So I explained that it was like baseball, only for girls (les femmes). My "mother" offered to help me find a place to practice and play, so she called this sports service for paris and she found 2 places where I could play. 2, in all of Paris. Note that there are almost 2 million people just in the actual city of paris, and there are only 2 places to play. Anyway, I called one of the places (BCF) and got in touch with the coach. The coach then forwarded my call to a player named Halima, who then called me. She seemed excited that I wanted to play and we got things set up for this weekend for me to play. We had a meeting place at a metro stop and then we carpooled about 40 minutes outside of Paris to a park with a softball field and a baseball field. OK, you know how the french do that kissing thing on the cheek to people they are familiar with or meet? Yeah, I know about that too but my knowledge of the seemed to fail me when I actually needed it. When I finally met Halima and the other players carpooling together She said "Hi, I'm Halima" and leaned in for the "bisous" (as it is called in french) and like a trained dog I stuck out my hand. Silly silly silly me. She laughed, I laughed, and we were awkward. She said it was ok because I was new and may not be accustomed to that form of greeting. When we made it to the fields, I went on the "bisous" the other players on the team.
I was very happy to be out there, but in the back of my mind I knew that I hadn't thrown a softball or played in a game for almost 2 months, and that's a really long time for me. I'm really sore right now, but that's besides the point. I surprised myself, though and was able to throw and to pitch. I pitched a game and we won. We actually won all of our games. it was tournament so saturday we played 3 and today we played 2. We ended up winning the entire thing and we got a trophy, as well as cake and wine at the end. It was satisfying.
The team. The team is comprised of people of all ages. The youngest being 17 years old and the oldest being..I don't know maybe mid 30s? early 40s? They all looked young to me and they played great and with a great attitude. Each time a player came in from batting, whether or not they got a hit or got out, they went down the line of players on the bench and gave them high-fives. Lots of support from the other members and never was a bad word uttered from any of them. Great team spirit and they were all out there just to have fun. No pressure at all. A very humbling experience indeed. Almost all of the older players on the team knew english but I told them that I prefer to have them speak in french because I'll learn faster that way. Only when I really needed to know something did they give in and tell it to me in english. But I understood mostly everything that was said to me and I feel that I've already picked up a lot (in terms of slang and just speaking faster and comprehending more) even in just two days.
The games. We played 5 games, but 3 out of those 5 we played a team from Italy. It was really cool to listen to them speak and cheer in italian. It makes me want to learn italian. I learned how to cheer in french, too. "Allez!!" (pronounced Al-lay) means: Come on! Let's go! Go! and "Bien fait!" means well done, or good job, "Bien essaye" (pronounced: be-ye ess-ai-yai) means good try, (literally well tried) and "bien lance!" (pronounced be-ye lawn-say) means good pitch! nice throw! well thrown! So anyway, that's a brief overview of french cheers. There's more, of course, but I don't know a lot and I don't feel like typing it all. I played third for all of the games except one, and that is when I pitched. I also batted 2nd in the lineup all weekend, which was odd for me but I got hits. I should let you know that since softball isn't as big of a sport as it is in the US, the playing level is also not the same. It was horrible or anything, but the pitching mainly was below what I am used to. I had a lot of fun, though, and that's all I wanted to do. I will continue to play with them as long as I can.
After the games on saturday we went to a teammate's house and cooked dinner. There was chicken and merguez (thinner sausages..I don't know how they taste, though, because I don't eat meat) and this potato-egg kish thing that one of the players who grew up in Mexico made. That was really good. Then there was salad and dessert and then....Wii!! I have never played the Wii before, but man is it fun! I boxed and played tennis against another person on the team. It was nice to play and not worry about trying to speak in french or understand what they were saying. I have to say that I completely sucked (je suis nul, in french) at boxing but I rocked at tennis. I highly recommend playing the Wii at least once, if not more times, in your life. It's much more interactive and fun than other video games. After that very long day (i got up at 7am, and didn't get home until 12:35am) i came back home, went to bed and then proceeded to wake up again at 7am so that I could play again. Ouch. my legs and my arms are so sore. Ok, that's all I can think of to write right now, but I am sure that I will think of something later about softball this weekend. Hope you enjoyed the post as much as I did playing softball!
One of the first days after I moved in with my host family, they asked me what I liked to do and one of my first responses (naturally) was to say I like to play softball. Softball here, unlike in the US, is not popular or even well known, so my host mother was a little confused when I said that. She didn't know what it was. Neither did the father. So I explained that it was like baseball, only for girls (les femmes). My "mother" offered to help me find a place to practice and play, so she called this sports service for paris and she found 2 places where I could play. 2, in all of Paris. Note that there are almost 2 million people just in the actual city of paris, and there are only 2 places to play. Anyway, I called one of the places (BCF) and got in touch with the coach. The coach then forwarded my call to a player named Halima, who then called me. She seemed excited that I wanted to play and we got things set up for this weekend for me to play. We had a meeting place at a metro stop and then we carpooled about 40 minutes outside of Paris to a park with a softball field and a baseball field. OK, you know how the french do that kissing thing on the cheek to people they are familiar with or meet? Yeah, I know about that too but my knowledge of the seemed to fail me when I actually needed it. When I finally met Halima and the other players carpooling together She said "Hi, I'm Halima" and leaned in for the "bisous" (as it is called in french) and like a trained dog I stuck out my hand. Silly silly silly me. She laughed, I laughed, and we were awkward. She said it was ok because I was new and may not be accustomed to that form of greeting. When we made it to the fields, I went on the "bisous" the other players on the team.
I was very happy to be out there, but in the back of my mind I knew that I hadn't thrown a softball or played in a game for almost 2 months, and that's a really long time for me. I'm really sore right now, but that's besides the point. I surprised myself, though and was able to throw and to pitch. I pitched a game and we won. We actually won all of our games. it was tournament so saturday we played 3 and today we played 2. We ended up winning the entire thing and we got a trophy, as well as cake and wine at the end. It was satisfying.
The team. The team is comprised of people of all ages. The youngest being 17 years old and the oldest being..I don't know maybe mid 30s? early 40s? They all looked young to me and they played great and with a great attitude. Each time a player came in from batting, whether or not they got a hit or got out, they went down the line of players on the bench and gave them high-fives. Lots of support from the other members and never was a bad word uttered from any of them. Great team spirit and they were all out there just to have fun. No pressure at all. A very humbling experience indeed. Almost all of the older players on the team knew english but I told them that I prefer to have them speak in french because I'll learn faster that way. Only when I really needed to know something did they give in and tell it to me in english. But I understood mostly everything that was said to me and I feel that I've already picked up a lot (in terms of slang and just speaking faster and comprehending more) even in just two days.
The games. We played 5 games, but 3 out of those 5 we played a team from Italy. It was really cool to listen to them speak and cheer in italian. It makes me want to learn italian. I learned how to cheer in french, too. "Allez!!" (pronounced Al-lay) means: Come on! Let's go! Go! and "Bien fait!" means well done, or good job, "Bien essaye" (pronounced: be-ye ess-ai-yai) means good try, (literally well tried) and "bien lance!" (pronounced be-ye lawn-say) means good pitch! nice throw! well thrown! So anyway, that's a brief overview of french cheers. There's more, of course, but I don't know a lot and I don't feel like typing it all. I played third for all of the games except one, and that is when I pitched. I also batted 2nd in the lineup all weekend, which was odd for me but I got hits. I should let you know that since softball isn't as big of a sport as it is in the US, the playing level is also not the same. It was horrible or anything, but the pitching mainly was below what I am used to. I had a lot of fun, though, and that's all I wanted to do. I will continue to play with them as long as I can.
After the games on saturday we went to a teammate's house and cooked dinner. There was chicken and merguez (thinner sausages..I don't know how they taste, though, because I don't eat meat) and this potato-egg kish thing that one of the players who grew up in Mexico made. That was really good. Then there was salad and dessert and then....Wii!! I have never played the Wii before, but man is it fun! I boxed and played tennis against another person on the team. It was nice to play and not worry about trying to speak in french or understand what they were saying. I have to say that I completely sucked (je suis nul, in french) at boxing but I rocked at tennis. I highly recommend playing the Wii at least once, if not more times, in your life. It's much more interactive and fun than other video games. After that very long day (i got up at 7am, and didn't get home until 12:35am) i came back home, went to bed and then proceeded to wake up again at 7am so that I could play again. Ouch. my legs and my arms are so sore. Ok, that's all I can think of to write right now, but I am sure that I will think of something later about softball this weekend. Hope you enjoyed the post as much as I did playing softball!
Friday, September 21, 2007
FOOD!
I've been prodded by some folks who will remain nameless to post about the kinds of food that I've been eating. I usually cook for myself, and that's never exciting because it's just cereal, chick peas, lentils, bread, (nutella) some veggies and some fruits. Eggs, too. Can't forget those eggs. I have had some amazing crepes in the time that I've been here so far. You can put anything in a crepe. I had one with egg and cheese, and the next one was one with apple compote! Either way, they're delicious. I had Chinese food with a friend a while ago, but that was just greasy and not good, so I won't do that again. The family eats pretty normal things, like chicken and fish and rice, vegetables and so on. it's just the way that they eat which is different. Meals take a long time to eat and there's an etiquette that I haven't quite nailed yet. it's really hard for me to find vegetarian food, but there are some Indian restaurants that I want to check out and yesterday I stumbled into the Jewish quarter of the city, so there was a lot of falafel, so I think I will try that out too. OHH, panini's are great here. They're cheap and they're filling so if I am in a rush or something, I can get a panini and that will be all that I need. Panini's are just a baguette cut open with stuff inside (i usually get the tomato and mozzarella) and then grilled. It's so good. Oh yeah, the bread here is exceptionally better than anywhere. There' so much of it too. The coffee that I've had has also been exceptional, for a cheap price too. There are Starbucks here, but I absolutely refuse to buy coffee from them because it's more expensive here due to the exchange rate, so why would I buy something here when I can get it for cheaper at home?? Also, there are much better and much cheaper places with a better atmosphere than Starbucks. Don't get me wrong, I do buy their coffee when I'm home, but for now I am taking a break. Is it lunch time, yet?? All this talk about food is making me hungry. Anywhoo, I am going to go do some homework before class. I only have one class on fridays and it's from 2:30-4pm. Have a great day!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
j'ai mal a la tete
So while being slightly homesick I scoured some facebook pictures and came across This one of the kids. It's now only of Joey because I cropped it to emphasize the look on his face. It really is priceless and makes me laugh every time I see it. Just so you all know, this was from my mom's 50th birthday party. She doesn't look 50 at all, I think. She's active and lively and on top of her stuff. Ok. I'm going to go to bed, but here is the picture.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
more pictures, just for fun
These are just some more pictures. There is one from the catacombs, the view from my window, a picture of roller bladers en masse, some more pictures from the Louvre and the Princess Diana Memorial. Enjoy!
pictures! (from ruth)
I don't know how to work around these photos. I'm basically just taking up space to make it look a little better. Enjoy! If you want to know where all of these pictures came from, you should refer to my post from awhile ago about my weekend with ruth. It's pretty informative and will let you in on where these pictures came from.
Since my camera doesn't want to cooperate with me, I have procured some pictures of paris from my wonderful friend and catcher, Ruth Leah Pine Allanbrook. So, here they are. Enjoyment (hopefully) ensu
es. The picture with the rabbit is from the Metro, and it says, "Don't put your hands on the doors! You could be pinched very hard."The one next to it is from a window inside of the Louvre. The picture at the very top, the one of the skull, is obviously from the catacombs. I hope he/she doesn't come back to haunt me.... The one with the gold dome is of a cool looking building. I probably should know what it is, but I don't. Then there's a Metro entrance. I love the metro.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Faire l'aerobique
My sister would be so proud of me. Tonight, I went to an aerobics class. It was so fun!! I am totally going to go again. The teacher is just full of energy and the people who were there were diverse and really nice. There was an frenchman named Aldo who took over the class for about 10 minutes and made us do crazy things to the music. it costs 9 euros a class though, but she did say that there was a way of getting out of paying every once in a while if we are a struggling (financially) student. All we need to do is get there early and sign people in, take their money and give them their change! So I think I will get there early next week. This post is mainly for you, Chris, so, maybe when I get back we can turbo-aero kickbox together.
A bientot
A bientot
my toilet is the bane of my existence
Last night I had a little ordeal with my toilet that spilled over into the morning. The toilet adjacent to my room takes a really long time to flush. I have to hold down a button and wait for it to actually flush. Last night before going to bed I pushed the button as usual, but the toilet wouldn't flush. The water would just run. I tried pushing it again, but still nothing. Just the lovely sound of the water running to somewhere other than the toilet. I said, "well, it'll shut off soon by itself," so I left it and went to my room. This was around 1:15am. I can hear the toilet from my room and 10 minutes later it is still running. I go back to check it out, but I can't find the problem.* I'm just really hoping that it'll shut off. I go back to my room and try to fall asleep but all that I can think of is this stupid toilet running without knowing when it will shut off. I wonder if I'll have water for a shower the next morning, but I reassure myself that I will because the toilet is bound to shut off, right?? It's now 2:30am and the toilet has still not stopped running. it's not overflowing, but the water is just running. By this time I am worried sick that I broke my host family's toilet and they'll never forgive me or that I am somehow running up their water bill. I calm down, still a bit frustrated and manage to get to sleep. I had to put my earplugs in because the running water was making my blood pressure rise. I think I woke up half dazed around 5:30 and the toilet had stopped. I don't know if it did it on it's own or if the mom or the dad woke up and noticed it was running. I was really relieved that it had finally stopped.
The next morning I get up to take a shower and....you guessed it no water!! What had I done?! It was now 10am and I had a class at 11am, and I hadn't showered. I talked to their cleaning lady and she told me just to wait. I waited and it finally came on 15 minutes later. I didn't have enough time to take a shower so I ran my hair under my faucet just to get it wet so I could do something with it. I really hope I didn't break their toilet.
The next morning I get up to take a shower and....you guessed it no water!! What had I done?! It was now 10am and I had a class at 11am, and I hadn't showered. I talked to their cleaning lady and she told me just to wait. I waited and it finally came on 15 minutes later. I didn't have enough time to take a shower so I ran my hair under my faucet just to get it wet so I could do something with it. I really hope I didn't break their toilet.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
just for the heck of it
I thought I'd post again just because I want to and because I am a little bored. I already did all of my homework because it was pretty easy and I've been out all day. Also because I just read my aunt nancy's blog and it inspired me to write more than things just about my time in paris. Sure being in Paris can be fun, but it can also be a bit lonely. I miss everyone at home and I wish that I could fly every person out here to be with me. One thing that I am learning by being across the atlantic is that I really have a wonderful family. If I lose everything else in my life and have nowhere to go, I'll at least have my family. Also, I'm learning that I'm not very good at making friends or fitting in with a lot of people, especially here and with some of the people in my group. They're not terrible people, but some of them (actually, most of them) just aren't the type of people that I can totally be myself around. Maybe things will change. I have a great group of friends from home and from Oberlin who I appreciate even more for being my friend. I'm also glad that I have friends that are more interested in school and relevant issues than having "tipsy tuesdays" and the latest pair of straight legged jeans from some brand name that I've probably never heard of. Was I raised in a bubble? Or was I raised to not be afraid to be myself and to do what I want and wear what I want, no matter what? This entry is becoming a little elitest, so I am going to stop before I say something mean. I don't know, I guess I'm just learning a little bit more about myself and about sticking to what I want to do and believe in. I don't have to be cool or pretty for others to like me.
one heck of a long (but awesome) weekend
My weekend commenced right after my last (and only) class on friday, which let out at 4pm. I walked outside of my building and who was walking down the street?? None other than Ruth Allanbrook. She's studying abroad right now (which most of you know) in Amsterdam and decided to spend a weekend in Paris. I think me, some of my friends and some of ruth's friends did a spectacular job at entertaining her. She seemed to have a wonderful time, as did I. Hmm...what did we do...Well on friday we walked around a bit around the 2nd arrondissement (where my classes are) and then I showed her where I lived. After that we went to the Bastille and there was some hip-hop/techno part for the earth going on. We sat on the steps of the Librarie d l'Opera and people watched and caught up. Talking made us hungry, so we got dinner at a semi cheap indian restaurant. After that we met up with some people near the Moulin Rouge so that we could go into the Museum of Erotica. It was, well, very interesting and informative. It wasn't raunchy. It was a legitimate museum with a lot of historical works of art. They also had a huge section on prostitution in France and how it played into the culture. It cost us 5 euros, but we all thought it was worth it. Then after that ruth and I went to the Eiffel Tower because it lights up at night (and sparkles every hour on the 10!) and just looks really cool. We talked more and did some more people watching, and then we went our separate ways to go to bed.
I have to mention that throughout all of this I was sick and bogged down with a stupid sinus infection (so I probably looked and talked like I was cracked out half of the time) and Ruth was really tired from her 6am (or was is 8am....it was early) flight that morning. So for us to do so much that day really took a lot of energy.
Ok. Saturday. What did we do saturday?? Oh yeah, we met up at the metro stop nearest to my house and decided to go to the Catacombs. Ruth's friend that she hasn't seen since high school is also in Paris for the semester, so she contacted her and we met with her before the catacombs. Holy moly the catacombs are awesome. Plus they were only 3,50 euros, so they were also pretty cheap. These things are way underground and the only way to get there was to take a long, narrow and spiraling staircase. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it. It was a relief to finally make it to the bottom. We walked for a while, following all of the others through caverns and tunnels until we finally made it to the ossuaries. There are signs everywhere before even descending into the catacombs that people will nervous disorders, respiratory disorders and small children may be disturbed when entering the ossuaries. They should've also warned people with claustrophobia may also be disturbed down there. Anyway, past the warnings it was amazing and very creepy. The ossuaries, in case anyone doesn't know are where they keep the bones of dug up graves. They weren't just thrown down there, though. They were neatly placed in large dug-out holes, usually in different formations. One was a heart, there were crosses made of leg bones, arm bones and skulls and there were a number of other designs. There were also a lot of monuments to different people who may have been buried down there. Pictures would be a key element to this entry, but ruth has them and will post them, so I'll just steal them from her so that you all can see just how awesome this was. If anyone is ever in Paris or London or Rome, I would suggest that you check out the catacombs. I may revisit them on halloween..... Ok, after that we hung out at ruth's friend Amanda'a house, with her friend Chloe. It was really nice to meet other people that weren't from my program. It also turned out that we are all vegetarians so we're going to try to orchestrate vegetarian dinner parties every once in a while. For that night we were planning on going to a bar so that we could watch a baseball game (Yankees and Red Sox). They searched online earlier for places that might be airing something other than Rugby (right now is the Rugby World Cup) and supposedly this bar in the 16th arrondissement was going to air the game. We get there and guess what....only rugby. We were all a little disappointed, but it is the world cup, so I'm sure more people in Paris want to watch rugby and not baseball. So we just sat outside at another bar and talked for a while before departing.
Sunday we slept in!!! We had done a lot in the past two days, plus I wasn't feeling too well so sleep was needed. Around 1-ish we decided that we should check out the Louvre. I got a card from my program (laminated with my picture and all official looking) saying that I was an Art History student staying in paris for a year. Yeah, that's not at all true, but they just did that so that we could get in to the museums for free. The Louvre is obviously a museum so I was able to get in for free after a long ordeal with a woman at a computer who was just trying to give me my pass. We probably waited for about 20 minutes before we were able to go in. But we made it. The Louvre is amazing. It's huge and beautiful with just about every artist that's ever lived. They had ancient egyptian art, greek art, italian and french painters and sculpters and not to mention the Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde in French..). She really does seem to be looking at you from ANY angle. Ruth and I looked at her from many different angles and she followed us any which way we went. It was one of the most celebrated works of art in the museum. We spent quite a while in there and still didn't get to see everything. I know I'll be going back several times so that I can have a look at everything now that I have a free pass. After that we just walked around that area of town because she had to get on the metro soon to get to her flight. We got some cheap Paninis at a street vendor, and then got a crepe with Nutella (the best thing since peanut butter). We also took a look inside Notre Dame since it is right across the street from the Louvre. it's really beautiful inside. They were having a mass though, so we didn't look around for long. Now I'm here and ruth is getting ready to get on her flight back to Amsterdam. That's all. Pictures soon (from Ruth).
I have to mention that throughout all of this I was sick and bogged down with a stupid sinus infection (so I probably looked and talked like I was cracked out half of the time) and Ruth was really tired from her 6am (or was is 8am....it was early) flight that morning. So for us to do so much that day really took a lot of energy.
Ok. Saturday. What did we do saturday?? Oh yeah, we met up at the metro stop nearest to my house and decided to go to the Catacombs. Ruth's friend that she hasn't seen since high school is also in Paris for the semester, so she contacted her and we met with her before the catacombs. Holy moly the catacombs are awesome. Plus they were only 3,50 euros, so they were also pretty cheap. These things are way underground and the only way to get there was to take a long, narrow and spiraling staircase. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it. It was a relief to finally make it to the bottom. We walked for a while, following all of the others through caverns and tunnels until we finally made it to the ossuaries. There are signs everywhere before even descending into the catacombs that people will nervous disorders, respiratory disorders and small children may be disturbed when entering the ossuaries. They should've also warned people with claustrophobia may also be disturbed down there. Anyway, past the warnings it was amazing and very creepy. The ossuaries, in case anyone doesn't know are where they keep the bones of dug up graves. They weren't just thrown down there, though. They were neatly placed in large dug-out holes, usually in different formations. One was a heart, there were crosses made of leg bones, arm bones and skulls and there were a number of other designs. There were also a lot of monuments to different people who may have been buried down there. Pictures would be a key element to this entry, but ruth has them and will post them, so I'll just steal them from her so that you all can see just how awesome this was. If anyone is ever in Paris or London or Rome, I would suggest that you check out the catacombs. I may revisit them on halloween..... Ok, after that we hung out at ruth's friend Amanda'a house, with her friend Chloe. It was really nice to meet other people that weren't from my program. It also turned out that we are all vegetarians so we're going to try to orchestrate vegetarian dinner parties every once in a while. For that night we were planning on going to a bar so that we could watch a baseball game (Yankees and Red Sox). They searched online earlier for places that might be airing something other than Rugby (right now is the Rugby World Cup) and supposedly this bar in the 16th arrondissement was going to air the game. We get there and guess what....only rugby. We were all a little disappointed, but it is the world cup, so I'm sure more people in Paris want to watch rugby and not baseball. So we just sat outside at another bar and talked for a while before departing.
Sunday we slept in!!! We had done a lot in the past two days, plus I wasn't feeling too well so sleep was needed. Around 1-ish we decided that we should check out the Louvre. I got a card from my program (laminated with my picture and all official looking) saying that I was an Art History student staying in paris for a year. Yeah, that's not at all true, but they just did that so that we could get in to the museums for free. The Louvre is obviously a museum so I was able to get in for free after a long ordeal with a woman at a computer who was just trying to give me my pass. We probably waited for about 20 minutes before we were able to go in. But we made it. The Louvre is amazing. It's huge and beautiful with just about every artist that's ever lived. They had ancient egyptian art, greek art, italian and french painters and sculpters and not to mention the Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde in French..). She really does seem to be looking at you from ANY angle. Ruth and I looked at her from many different angles and she followed us any which way we went. It was one of the most celebrated works of art in the museum. We spent quite a while in there and still didn't get to see everything. I know I'll be going back several times so that I can have a look at everything now that I have a free pass. After that we just walked around that area of town because she had to get on the metro soon to get to her flight. We got some cheap Paninis at a street vendor, and then got a crepe with Nutella (the best thing since peanut butter). We also took a look inside Notre Dame since it is right across the street from the Louvre. it's really beautiful inside. They were having a mass though, so we didn't look around for long. Now I'm here and ruth is getting ready to get on her flight back to Amsterdam. That's all. Pictures soon (from Ruth).
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
my favorite place
Les Halles is a part of paris near the Latin Quartier that reminds me of Oberlin. There are a lot of hippies (or as the french call them, Bobos) and a lot of hippie stores. I think one of the street vendor's names was Hippie Chic. Anyway, thought I'd let you know. If anyone comes to visit, we should go because food and clothes and other items are very cheap. Yay for no classes on wednesdays and for spending money!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
What I've been doing...
Yo. So I've been here for more than two weeks and you've probably been wondering what I've been up to. I've sent most people emails about my travels across the city, but I'll just name a few things that I have done so far:
-seen the Eiffel Tower
-drank really good wine/and also very cheap wine
-took a boat ride on the Sienne river (spelling?) and saw Notre Dame, the place where Marie Antoinette was guillotined and some awesome architecture
-took a stroll through the Red Light District and saw Moulin Rouge
-Had coffee in a cafe on the sidewalk
-walked an enormous enormous amount around paris in general
-moved in with my really nice (but super rich...I live about a block away from the Eiffel Tower)
-had several awkward moments with my host family because, well, they're french and I'm american.
-started classes
-am hating that the Euro is worth more than the dollar. I'm losing money!! (by the way...any of you can contribute to the Help Michelle Spend Money in Paris fund. See Dora Zanni for more details :) )
-have ridden the Metro a LOT
-have smelled some FUNKY smells on the metro
-have run into (literally collided) a french woman while rushing to the connecting train in the Metro station.
-have gone to an open air market and bought some awesome awesome tomatoes. (questionably better than ours at home in the garden. questionable.)
-have made some friends
That's about all. If I think of anything else I'll let you all know. Again, I'm really sorry I can't post any pictures. That is really the most fun part about reading someone's blog.
-seen the Eiffel Tower
-drank really good wine/and also very cheap wine
-took a boat ride on the Sienne river (spelling?) and saw Notre Dame, the place where Marie Antoinette was guillotined and some awesome architecture
-took a stroll through the Red Light District and saw Moulin Rouge
-Had coffee in a cafe on the sidewalk
-walked an enormous enormous amount around paris in general
-moved in with my really nice (but super rich...I live about a block away from the Eiffel Tower)
-had several awkward moments with my host family because, well, they're french and I'm american.
-started classes
-am hating that the Euro is worth more than the dollar. I'm losing money!! (by the way...any of you can contribute to the Help Michelle Spend Money in Paris fund. See Dora Zanni for more details :) )
-have ridden the Metro a LOT
-have smelled some FUNKY smells on the metro
-have run into (literally collided) a french woman while rushing to the connecting train in the Metro station.
-have gone to an open air market and bought some awesome awesome tomatoes. (questionably better than ours at home in the garden. questionable.)
-have made some friends
That's about all. If I think of anything else I'll let you all know. Again, I'm really sorry I can't post any pictures. That is really the most fun part about reading someone's blog.
finally in paris, finally making a blog
Sadly, however, I can't upload all of my photos because there's seems to be something wrong with the USB cord or the camera. It takes pictures just fine, but for some reason the computer won't acknowledge that the camera's hooked up. So, I have a lot to update on since I arrived on the 28th of August. Seems like a long time, doesn't it? It seems like I've been in Paris for only a day. It's gone by pretty fast but I'm trying to soak up the Parisian air as much as I can. I really love it here, more than I thought I would. It's not just the way things look or the food or the Eiffel Tower. It's the way people carry themselves. It's the smells of all of the deli's and shops on the street. It's how I can start walking down one street and glide down the curved and narrow streets to come upon something totally new and different from anything that I had seen previously. There's a lot of history here that I have to learn, and I think once I learn it I'll have a greater appreciation for France, especially Paris. I also like how it is different from the US. I really needed a change and to go someplace different because I've been living in the same state for the past 20 years. Not that Northeastern Ohio is a terrible place, but there's a lot more for me to see out there. Who knows, maybe I'll live here. Sure I'll come back to the US to finish school, but I'm really falling in love with this place and I want to discover more of Europe. Today in my conversation class we got on the topic of politics and how France is in someways different from the US. Here, people seem to value each other more. It's not just about making as much money as possible (and I know that there are plenty of places in the US that have that same mentality). It's also about enjoying what you do for a living. There's also no capital punishment here, and the streets are much safer than any big US city. Plus french is a beautiful (but very nasally...) language and I want to listen to it all of the time and be able to fluently communicate. I really needed to get that off of my chest. I am in a contemplative and sedated mood so I apologize if my first post isn't that exciting.
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