I can't think of an intersting title

I should really update this thing more. What have I been up to?? Well, some people that I met through Ruth when she was here invited me over to make crepes with them last week, so that was fun, except for the fact that it was raining when I was trying to find her place, and that was the only time I forgot to bring my umbrella with me. It was already dark, I was on the outskirts of Paris (I think if I would've walked another block I would've been officially out of Paris) and it was cold and rainy. NOT FUN. But when I got there she offered me some dry socks and I hung up my hoodie. Then we had some nutella crepes and everything was good. This past saturday was the France vs. England semi-finals match. France had high hopes for their team (Les Bleus) since the previous saturday they knocked out New Zealand (the All Blacks) from the tournament, and they were said to have been the best team in the tournament. So, me and a few friends decided that we should go to a bar to watch this semi-historic game. We decided on a bar called the Frog and the Princess, which is in the 5th district. We arrived an hour before the game (8pm) and the entire street was packed. The bar, unfortunately, was also packed. We waited in line in the hopes that they might let us in, but they couldn't because it was so full. Everyone in the street was either dressed in the colors of England or France, waving their flags and singing the Marseillaise or God Save the Queen ( I think that is the song) , so that was cool to witness. Some of us wanted to just find a place to watch the game, though, so 3 of us left the group of 5 and found another place where we could watch it. We found a bar called the Old Navy and stood and watched the game. Sadly France lost 14-9, so there were no riots in the streets, or loud singing or parading. Just a somber walk home for the French. During the game, though, everyone was rowdy and optimistic and full of french nationalism. I loved watching the people in the bar as much as the game.
Earlier that day me and two other people decided to visit a museum in the Marais called Musee Carnivale. It was free AND full of awesome things. It had medieval french artifacts, a lot of Louis XV's possessions, and an entire floor dedicated to the French Revolution. All in all it was freaking awesome. I am definitely going to go back. After that we walked around and eventually found a good falafel place to have lunch. Then we walked around some more and checked out the BHV, which is an ENORMOUS (I had to put it all in caps, because it is just that huge) department store. I need to go back because I am in dire need of shoes. The Parisien streets are eating my current ones up. On sunday I checked out an open market and saw some really cool stuff, but I didn't buy anything. I think I'll go back now that I know what to expect to find there. After that I did my homework, which is boring. I think I'll write another update later because I have to go to aerobics right now!

it's been too long

I haven't written in here in a long time, so I think I am due for another entry. I left off last thursday, but that was just about the Indians, who I am so happy for!! I guess I could let you in on what I did this weekend...
On friday afternoon the Center took us on a weekend trip to Dijon. We took a bus to get out there, but it took us over an hour to exit Paris, so our bus ride ended up being about 6 hours. After that fun journey we finally made it into the town of Dijon. We ate dinner around 9:30 because we arrived so late, but the food was amazing. There were jugs of wine on our tables and it seemed as though each time it ran out, the waiter brought back more wine. They really like their wine here. Anyway, for the main course steak with a grilled and stuffed tomato and potatoes au gratin were served. Since I have to be the oddball and be a vegetarian, they served is an amazing pizza with tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. I think it was the best pizza I have ever eaten (sorry, Elmton...). Then for dessert (yes, dessert!!) we had creme brulee!! I think I gained ten pounds just by looking at it let alone eating it, but it was worth it. The next day we took a walking tour of Dijon and saw the Notre Dame of Dijon and the open markets and took a look at the architecture on some of the old homes. I wouldn't mind living there. Then we had lunch and some free time. I spent it walking around the town with some of my friends and then going back to our hotel to take a nap. Later we ate dinner at another restaurant (mind you that we didn't have to pay for any of the food all weekend...) where escargots were served (sadly I didn't eat any) for the appetizer, and then duck with potatoes. I had pasta and was underwhelmed with it, but hey it was free. Then for dessert we had a heavenly chocolate and hazelnut layer cake. I actually died and then came back to life when I ate it. Or maybe I just blacked out from all of the calories that I had consumed. I actually don't know, but I'll go with the first option. On sunday we took an hour ride to a town called Beaune (pronounced "bone") so that we could take a look at the Hospice of Beaune and have a wine tasting at a local vineyard. It was a more rural town but I really liked it and wouldn't mind coming back someday. Anyone want to come with me?? The wine tasting was interesting and we learned about the different levels of wine and which one is the most expensive. my favorite was the Pinot Noir for the red wine and the Bourgogne Aligote for the white wine. I bought some Dijon mustard and Creme de Cassis for my (real) family, so I have to get that sent along soon. The Creme de Cassis is a highly concentrated blueberry liquor that's used to make Kir, and french drink. You can either use white wine or champagne, and then you add a few drops of the creme de cassis and it gives the drink a sweeter taste. it's really good.
Up until now I have been pretty busy with schoolwork and stuff. I have to make a trip to the American Embassy so that I can request an absentee ballot. If I am sending one in from overseas then Ohio will accept it 20 days after election day. I don't plan on sending it in that late, but if it comes down to that, at least I can still vote. I am in a class called Muslim Presence in Europe and right now is the month of Ramadan. Our teacher thought that it would be a good idea to take us to a restaurant so that we could celebrate the breaking of the fast. She brought along one of her friends who is a practicing muslim and we talked about all kinds of things. it was a great dinner and I am really glad that our teacher put it together. Plus, once again, it was free. That's about all right now. I don't have classes today so I am going to run some errands, do homework, maybe some laundry and then watch a movie for one of my classes. Hopefully the weather clears up because it's raining right now. Talk to you all later!

woo!

GO INDIANS!!!


They'd better beat the Yankees!

ahort entry

I have to finish my homework, but I just wanted to post a few things. First, my host family couldn't be any better. Even though I've been here for almost a month, I am still feeling hesitant around them and little uncomfortable. To top that off, I've been homesick because I don't have any close friends here, or a regular group of friends to hang out with. That being said, last week when the parents left for New York, they had first asked me to walk their two youngest kids down the street to their school at 8:30 the next morning. I said, OK, but then they discussed it and said that I didn't need to. The next morning, thinking that I didn't need to take them, I took a shower at my normal time, but around 8:20 I get a knock at my door (mind you I am in my towel..) from Pauline saying that we have to leave in 5 minutes. Fuddling around I say OK, hurry to get dressed and walk them down the street. I had forgotten about this until tonight at dinner when the mother said that she had a present for me for taking the kids when I didn't have to. It was a tea strainer with 4 types of really good tea!! What a great gift! She didn't have to do that for me, but it was a really nice gesture. After dinner I explained to the mother that I was homesick, and that when I am sad I tend to stay to myself but I would like to interact with the family more. She said that' absolutely acceptable and at any time I can just come into the kitchen or living room to do work or to sit with the kids or just to sit while the mom is busy running around with them. That made me feel a little more comfortable to be in their house. I should stop feeling like a tenant or a burden and start feeling like a part of their family (even though I am not...). I also found out that making international calls from their phone is free, and she said that I can call my family at almost any time that I want (except weird hours of the night, of course) so that made me extremely happy!! Anyway, I need to finish some work before bed. good night.

aerobics, bikes, grandparents and palestinian food!

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!

Bush fianlly realizes that global warming is a problem

Bush Outlines Climate Change Vision

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: September 28, 2007

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.

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!