19 Fevrier: the French really aren't that rude

Interesting comment that I forgot to mention in my last few blogs. When we went to our neighbor's house for dinner the other night, the mother made a comment that struck me. As she was telling us her stories from visiting her brother in San Francisco, she mentioned how friendly everyone was to her in the US. She barely spoke English at the time, and she claimed that everyone she talked to was very helpful. No one spoke French but everyone was willing to work to understand what she needed or wanted. We expressed that whenever we are in a time of need here in France, whether it be directions or the location of a particular place, just about everyone we asked would at least stop and tried to help. No one blatantly ignored us or gave us a hard time. The mother was very relieved to hear us say that and she had feared that many French that we would encounter wouldn't be so friendly. It was nice to hear her say those kind words of Americans and it was also comforting to hear that there were compassionate people like her that would worry about the kindness of her country.

18 Fevrier: I can shower during spring break!

Exciting news: we switched our hostel! Woo, no more dirty, gross hostel. Big sigh of relief on that one. I'm actually really excited for spring break now that I don't have to fear the worst in terms of cleanliness for ten days.

17 Fevrier: faded churches and adorned tombs

We weren't off to a bright start this morning but most of us got to revisit a few places before we leave Paris. This last Sunday is a little bittersweet. I love the fact that Parisians really don't work on Sundays. A lot of us claim that we relax on Sundays but we don't. I don't agree that everything should be closed on Sundays but it is nice to enjoy everyone just enjoying life and not working. Tim and I got to appreciate that when we headed up to Montmartre and see Sacre Coeur again. Before walking up to the top of this "mountain of martyrs," we checked out the incredible graveyard at the base of the hill. It was unlike any cometary I have ever seen and I loved it in all its morbid splendor. The "tombs" were more like monuments or mausoleums, I guess. Most were anywhere from 6-15 feet high with everything from stained glass and mosaic to sculptures and paintings ornamenting them. Some were simply beautiful. Most were old, going back a few hundred years. There were some recent as well though. We were able to peek into many of them and the insides were sometimes just extravagant as the outside. The whole area was a lot of fun to just walk around and check out all the unique tombs and monuments.

So, we walked up to Sacre Coeur, where the atmosphere is just spectacular. There are dozens of artists, selling their works and painting new ones as you walk past. There was a man playing his guitar and singing some good old American songs like Oasis and even some Elvis. When I threw some money into his guitar case, I asked where he was from and he surprised me with a German accent! It was pretty funny but he was nice to sit and listen to for a while. Again, we got to enjoy that glorious no-work Sundays as the place was packed and all the grass was filled with people relaxing and soaking up the sunshine through their winter coats. And of course, that view is spectacular.

We tried to find the Moulin Rouge but we probably just circled it 5 times. We never actually came across it and finally, after tiring from walking up and down the mountain so much, we gave up and headed back down. We did find a neat church at the bottom, St. Jean. It was unlike any other church I had seen anywhere, even in Paris. The doors were wide-open and it looked as though the constant sunshine spilling in had faded all of the wooden walls and pillars. Old, washed out paintings covered the walls and a wonderful mosaic/tiling motif ran throughout the church. I loved it.

16 Fevrier: you're jealous you didn't get the headphones : )

Versailles today- so beautiful. Although Tim and I were seemingly very confident in our RER/metro skills, and although it is our last week in Paris, we still managed to have some difficulty in getting there thanks to that damn C line that keeps looping around. Anyways, once we got there, we did make the revolutionary decision to rent the headphones with our ticket. Best decision of the week by far. I always want to get the headphones in various museums that we visit but they usually cost at least 5 or 6 euros. At Versailles, they were only an extra euro so we splurged. It was nice to finally understand everything I was seeing, or at least get a brief description of it. I've decided that cities should start making those headphone sets for the whole city that people can rent and just walk around and learn about everything they pass. However, after touring through the inside for an hour, we heading out to the gardens, not realizing that once you're outside, you must wait in the gigantic line again. So, we only got to spend a few hours actually looking at Versailles but that was fine with us. We still enjoyed it a lot.

After getting back into the city, we headed over to the chapel of the miraculous medal, a special trip for my mom. There was a mass when we got there but we still got a chance to walk in and see the chapel a little. I was able to buy a few souvenirs for my mom as well so it was a success.

On the way to finding the chapel, though, a funny thing happened. Tim and I were mistaken for Italians. Now, I realize that Tim is probably the one who caught the attention, because he does look quite Italian all on his own, but it was still fun to be mistaken with him. Not that there is anything wrong with Parisians knowing that I'm American, but everyone tells us that they can immediately tell when someone is from the US. They claim it's not a bad thing but little things give it away that scream United States. It was kind of fun to be thought of as European. Different, but interesting.

14 Fevrier: "one way & made in spain"

Very busy Valentine's Day today. Gerri took us on another grand tour. We started at St. Paul's cathedral, made our way through parts of the musee carnivale (which had a special exhibition on Ben Franklin, which was nice for us Americans), ate a fallafel in the Jewish district, stopped at a tea museum, and ended up at the arch de defense. Later on, we had a dinner with some neighbors in Fontenay. It was a great experience to meet a French family and see their home and eat a meal with them. They spoke some English, more than our French so we were able to communicate that way. Their 17 year old son was pretty fluent, so he jumped into the conversation as well. The dad was a dentist and he told us that Americans are much better at flossing their teeth and taking care of their teeth than are the French. Interesting tidbit. The mother was hysterical, very animated and told a few humorous stories from when she visited her brother in San Francisco. Least to say, it was very entertaining.

13 Fevrier: that isn't art, it's a stick figure!

Yes, stick figure art. In Paris. In a national museum. An entire gallery dedicated to this primitive "art." With all the art that they have in this city, with all the beautiful statues, architecture, paintings, and churches, the city has dumbed herself down to calling the work that we saw at the Musee de Mod as "art." We met Oxanna at the modern art museum and went through a few galleries of artwork. It was interesting because it was a completely different scene from the old, classical museums that we had been visiting and there were some particular rooms I enjoyed. I'm not bashing the museum, but the one particular artist that was featured was simply annoying to me. Walking through, I disliked his works and I knew it was because it was too simple and seemingly not creative but after talking with a friend of Oxanna's I realized another reason why it didn't strike me as art. He mentioned that he didn't like it because it wasn't creative, it was simply emotion. That's what I see as well. It's not about style or color or beauty, it was about the artist's expression. Expression isn't a bad word in my vocabulary but it didn't give anything to the viewer- it was only for the artists. Again, that's fine and dandy, but should it really be displayed in a national museum if no one else can extract meaning or emotion except for the artist? In that case, it's art for that artist, he/she can feed from it. However, I don' t feel as though it's meant for everyone if it's that personal. Perhaps others can grasp a level of meaning that I simply was unable to, but it makes me question who does or should benefit from art.

12 Fevrier: infinite funds...or not

The last few days have proved to be difficult in planning our spring break trip. It's quite a challenge to combine the interests and preferences of seven very different people into one trip. Not everyone is going to be completely happy.However, we did finally settle, although we have chosen to split up for the ten days. Half are going to Prague, half are going to Rome. I'm going to Rome- very excited. One simple lesson learned though: travel is not cheap and although I already knew that, it was reinforced during our search. There are tricks to traveling inexpensively, however, a lot of it depends on sheer luck as well. Costs of flights change not only weekly, but daily. One moment you can find a cheap ticket from Rome to Toulouse, the next minute it's 100 euros more. It's a hard game to play and unless you have infinite funds, it's pretty frustrating as well.

10 Fevrier: So, they really don't work on Sundays...

Exploration day today! Tim and I ventured around to some of the metro stops which we hadn't been to yet. It was fun to just explore and not be on a time frame at all. We stopped at Cite Universitaire first to see the international university. There wasn't much to see but we walked through their park for a while and that was relaxing. People here are a lot more active it seems. Parks are always full of runners, joggers, walkers, bikers, and soccer players, especially on Sundays. We walked down to their stadium and even got to watch some of a soccer game. We assumed it was a club game because no one else was really watching but it was fun to sit on the sidelines and watch. It was a beautiful day outside too so that always helps. After we jumped back on the metro, we got off at the Jardin du Luxembourg. This reinstated the fact that Parisians really do not work on Sundays. It was jammed pack! There are hundreds of lawn chairs randomly strewn about the garden, especially around the fountain, and almost each chair was taken up. We finally found two and sat down, read a little, and then just people-watched.

After Luxembourg, we rode down to the Eiffel Tower because we still hadn't gone up the tower yet. Since we're leaving in two weeks, we figured we'd try it out today since you can only go to the very top on the weekends. That was definitely well worth the 12 euros. We tried to time it with sunset the best we could and it actually worked pretty well. The best part was that we were able to walk down to the ground floor while the lights were on- the sparking of it created a great effect through the iron as we ran down the gazillion flights of stairs. We also ventured across the river from the Eiffel Tower just to get some pictures but ran into a pretty neat area. We're heading back that way this upcoming week with Gerri so hopefully we'll get a chance to see a little more of it.

8 Fevrier: paranoid, paranoid

I've decided that studying abroad is definitely a humbling experience. It's bringing out a self-consciousness that I thought I left freshman year of high school. It just seems to bring out a whole new level of self-recognition. We went to a club with Alexia and met her friend there. It was a cool place, a lot of fun actually, great music, but I can't help feeling so out of place so many places that I go. If I ever felt that way at home, it wouldn't make a difference to me- who cares? But here, I feel as though I'm constantly being judged. It's a weird feeling to be experiencing at this point in my life and I think that's why I feel as though this whole trip is very humbling. Although I'm totally comfortable in my normal surroundings at home and at school, the world is much bigger than just those two places. It's weird to learn that even though it's an obvious statement.

Also, learning to be fluent in a language is still completely unfathomable to me and I have so much respect for people who can master more than their original language. It baffles me and I couldn't imagine "thinking" another language like I do English. There are just so many people who speak both French and English here and it amazes me. I think I feel out of place because I don't know the language well and in that sense, I feel as though I'm intruding in a space where I didn't do my research. I hate being an inconvenience to anyone in general so I'm having a lot of trouble dealing with constantly being difficult. I don't like other people having to do my work for me, and I'm in their country so I feel even more intrusive. I also like being efficient and trying to make things go as smoothly as they can and that just doesn't seem totally possible here. It's frustrating but I'm glad for the experience- if it wasn't tough at all, I wouldn't learn anything and I'm definitely here to learn about others and myself.

7 Fevrier: rowdy french professionals

Another simple thing makes my day: mailing some letters. Pretty pathetic, huh? But very true. Anyways, after I successfully bought stamps and talked to the mail clerk, we went out with Oxanna to a night club called Plaza Madeleine. It was a lot of fun- it went from about 7-1 and through a fourteen euro entrance fee, we got "dinner"(more like appetizers but at least something) and an open bar from7-9. Apparently "open bar" over here is an open champagne bar. lol. Oh well, aside from the terrible hoard of people crowding the bar like starving people seeing food relief, it was a good time. It was different crowd at first- the dress was pretty classy looking and and age range was more around 20-35 or so. Everyone there looked as though they had just gotten off their work shift, which, according to Oxanna, was precisely why. We felt a little out of place at first not only because we are American but because we were students and it didn't completely seem like our scene. But, as everyone had a few more drinks and the music got louder, the dance floor became much more crowded and it was fun to watch all those professionals suddenly start looking like a bunch of rowdy college kids. And as it got a little later, our younger crowd seemed to emerge, ones not quite as dressed up and who looked a little more like us. The music was great though- if the French truly don't like Americans, they sure love our music. Anyways, it was fun regardless.

6 Fevrier: bunny for lunch

We had a different kind of French class today with Gerald, our professor. As a way to allow us to learn a little more about French culture, as opposed to just grammar, we went to his house by the Eiffel Tower and helped him and his wife, Olga, cook ourselves lunch. It was fun to make the food and not just eat it. It looked very professional and culinary and it was very satisfying to know that we actually made it. It was actually pretty simple to make too. We had rabbit- a first for me but it just tasted like chicken I thought. We also had a salad with a vinaigrette dressing, walnuts, and melted goat cheese on top. The cheese was good, not too strong like some French cheese I've experienced, but it was a little overpowering for me just over the greens. I liked it more with my baguette. We also has couscous and baked tomatoes with the rabbit. I helped make the best part of the meal- mousse au chocolat. It was surprisingly simply to make considering how good it was. I'm excited to take that recipe back with me when I go home. We also got a lesson on another important part of the French meal- the wine. And after three glasses and a huge wave of fatigue, we left Gerri's home and went to the Musee de Rodin- home of the famous "Thinker" sculpture. We didn't stay too long there but I definitely liked his work. It really is fun going to all the museums now that we're learning a little more about the technical aspects of art through our class.

5 Fevrier: advertisements

I love how some of the advertisements here make use of art. It's as though everyone who lived here is completely consumed in it here. These Parisians grow up surrounded by it- in their museums and architecture and culture- they can't get away from it if they wanted to. I mean, their government funds living arrangements for starving artists. It's a completely different concept over here. I see ads with women on it that look as thought they were painted hundreds of years ago and could be hung in a museum. And here it is being used as an ad to sell a cell phone. I guess you have to know the people of the culture before you try to appeal to them and these Parisians are way different than us.

4 Fevrier: choreography dans la gare

As you ride the metro, you watch all the people all around you- just watch and think and imagine. And as all the people rise from their seats as they hear the train approaching, they move like a wave. Their one commonality being simply waiting for a train- never knowing any of the thousand of similarities between them. It's like a choreographed dance: each person rising up one after another, completely synchronized, one-by-one. I find it fun to watch with every stop of the train.

Speaking another language really makes one realize how simple phrases and words can be- nouns and verbs alone can get you far- even when they aren't conjugated. We have a lot of unnecessary words. But that's what being human is all about- the ability to communicate. We can speak to the same people every single day and still always have something to share. My biggest language barrier is the lack of any real socialization. Sure, I "communicate" with Parisians, but I don't truly socialize with them, unfortunately. I was so excited to meet people and get to know them but without being fluent, there's only so much to say. It's near impossible to really talk. It is big disappointment but I guess I should have expected it.

1-3 Fevrier: mind the gap!!

Our first adventure is officially under our belts. London welcomed us with their glorious english-speaking ways and their incredibly addictive accents. The trip as a whole was pretty amazing for only being there 2 1/2 days. We got to see a lot- thanks to Karen's brother who is living in London right now. He was able to kind of tour us around the major landmarks. It was nice to be able to follow someone for a while and not try to find anything or decide where to go. We got to see the London Bridge, Big Ben, Parliament, changing of the guards, London Eye, Portebello Road, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Trufalgar's Square, Herod's, National Galleries, and Picadilly Circus. I'm sure those aren't all spelled correctly but you get the idea- we got to see a lot in a very short amount of time. We didn't go in anywhere because of time and money limits but that was fine with me. I think we got to see more things in general because we weren't inside at all really.

Anyways, our first hostel experience was definitely a success. We met some fun people- Leo in particular, a student from Brazil who stayed in our room. He was a cool guy and made us all feel a little more comfortable about the whole sharing rooms with strangers concept. Aside from the couple who arrived late at night, we didn't have any other discrepancies...Anyways, like I mentioned, we met some interesting people there and it was definitely a good experience. The hostel overall was surprisingly clean and modern. It used to be a court house so it's a great twist of old and new.

Karen's brother also took us to a few bars, one being Waxy O'Connors- this great six-story bar that has this rustic Irish feel to it. It was jam-packed when we went but that made it all the more fun, I think. Good music too. Oh, and the one bartender was absolutely hysterical and basically kept us at that bar for like an hour longer than we anticipated. London was ridiculously expensive- which we were prepared for but it still hurt. We basically starved the whole trip, only purchasing tea and a meal of fish and chips just for tradition-sake. We brought along some baguettes and clementines so we survived, however, we looked pretty homeless at more than a few instances. Haha it was funny though.