a not-so-lazy sunday.

the pompidou from the courtyard

So the fun thing about studying abroad in France is that you actually have to study... except some of the assignments are pretty fun.

Andrea and I (2 of 3 people in the intermediate french conversation class) were assigned two hot-spots in the marais district to go to, learn about, and give a tour of to the class tomorrow. In anticipation of this, we visited both the Pompidou (and had some excellent crepes in the courtyard) as well as Hotel de Ville - where the mayor of Paris lives and works, etc.

After taking lots of embarrassingly touristy pictures, we went to find HEMA again (a mini IKEA/Target type store) and got pretty lost. When we finally found it, it was closed, as was the phone store I wanted to go to because, of course, it was Sunday. However, this long and exhausting trip made us realize how close the HEMA is to the metro stop by the CEA campus - which is perfect.

Goals for tomorrow:
- Give a decent french tour of hotel de ville
- Get to Body Shop, Phone House, and HEMA between 3:30 and 4:30 to get home by 5:00 and skype with Forrest.
- Figure out what the vegan restaurant near school sells/specializes in
- Buy a baguette and chocolate (and maybe a croissant)

bonsoir!
xx taylor

hotel de ville

hotel de ville

une crêpe du fromage et des champignons 

des crêpes

stravinsky fountain next to the pompidou

the pompidou

fontaine des innocents

La Tour Eiffel

So today, as a saturday, was very eventful.

We didn't even naturally wake up until 12:30pm or so, which was absolutely crazy for my roommate Marina and I who usually are awake by 9:30am at the latest, because of jet lag. After we got ready, we were out around 2:45 and went to the Les Hulles basically shopping mall to find some lunch and a Hema - basically a small Parisian version of a Target. Despite getting turned around many times trying to find the Hema (which was on the street not in the mall) we eventually reached it and got almost everything we needed for the apartments - et pour moi essentials such as shampoo, body wash, etc. that I didn't bring from home.

Afterwords (after walking through an H&M) we went grocery shopping, learning there wasn't really anywhere super close by to go, but finding somewhere that we were able to find food to at least last a few days until we find somewhere more convenient.

Then we went to the Eiffel Tower.... just saying. First sighting around 10:45, sat down after getting some snacks at about 11:10. We happened to be there long enough to see the Tower sparkle! Of course Parisians would hate it, but we are obviously not channeling the Parisians yet.

After arriving home around 12:45, we proceeded to stay awake until about 4:00 because of the jet lag. Will we ever beat this monster?

Á demain!
xx Taylor

Beaucoup Mieux

Alors... the second day has been literally exponentially better than the first, even with a little jet lag and still walking meters in the wrong direction. We visted Quartier Saint-Germain-des-Prés for an amazing dinner with literally the nicest waiter I have ever met - France, Canada, and US waitstaff included. He was wonderful.

However, I truly need to learn how to eat my meals much slower.

And finally drum roll... we got home from the metro station by our house without going in the wrong direction beforehand- for the first time! Everything is still insanely confusing without a normal grid and all, but that was our mini accomplishment for the day. Yay! 

So it's 2AM and we are all awake with insane jet lag, but that being said this day, like this post should probably end now. 

Alors bonsoir!

xx
Taylor

C'est difficile

So they say the first few days of being in another country are difficult and all you want to do is go back home, and I thought that was like totally a lie.... but it's all true. That's really all I have to say.

So I'm studying abroad in Paris, how did this happen?

I leave for Paris in 10 days. For 5 months.

I decided before starting my freshman year in college that I was going to study abroad. Where? Of course my initial decision was Paris; I mean I'd be surprised if everyone who goes abroad doesn't have a fleeting thought of falling in love under the Eiffel Tower. That is, before deciding on studying art in Florence, pretending their lives are out of a Harry Potter novel in London, laying under the sun in Brisbane, or partying in Amsterdam... but yeah, I guess my thoughts of Paris were more than fleeting. 

Not to say I didn't look into other options. Of course I had a moment of language desperation and considered London. And then another moment or education desperation and (practically) decided on Aix-en-Provence which appeared to have classes that would better transfer back into my major. And since Champlain College has campuses abroad, I almost took the easy way out, traveled with members of my school with guaranteed transfer credits and studied le quebec quoi in Montreal or drank my way through the pubs of Dublin. 

But I didn't. I took 4 summer classes and got 7 credits of AP classes transferred over so that I wouldn't have to worry about traveling somewhere and taking classes that wouldn't necessarily be useful to my major. But considering it looks like my credits from Paris will transfer back fine, I may even be able to graduate early now. And travel abroad. So wait, when did I decide for this to happen?



No clue. Sure, I took 5 years of French in junior high & high school. Yeah, I love fashion and Vogue Paris is probably my favorite of all the Vogues. And duh, I watched Carrie live fabulously in the city during the Sex and the City finale - yes, her contempt it fed my love. But honestly? I have absolutely no clue when I made the decision in my mind that I would be studying in another country where I barely know the language and absolutely don't know my classmates. Or the streets. Or the pubic transportation system. Or, well, anything.

I guess there were moments during accepted student day and orientation of listening to senior students describe lovingly the best times of their college career spent abroad, and others explaining how extremely they regret not taking the trip. I mean, you never hear someone saying they regret their time abroad, but you almost always hear others expressing their undying regrets of not going.

So I guess that was it. Realizing I didn't want to have any regrets in college. And maybe wanting to be in the city during Paris Fashion Week had a little to do with it. And that's it, now I'm finishing up my summer internship at the Emily Post Institute, ending my days at Stella Mae (at least for this fall), and actually preparing for packing my closet into one suitcase and a backpack. How are you supposed to pack for August through December in one suit case? My closet can't even fit the two seasons.




Wish me luck on this (impossible) endeavor, and expect my next post to involve everything I wish I'd known before starting this process (hint: visas are not fun). I'm going to say that this will be my diary abroad, and that I will write at least something every day. Maybe now I'll have to hold myself to it.

xx Taylor