pictures!

Here's the link to my Shutterfly account and my Paris album:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcsWLNi2ctmGZ

To view all of them click "Slideshow" or "View as a Slideshow." Enjoy!

i love...

IFE for getting us the Carte Louvre Jeunes which gets us into the Louvre for free, goat cheese, the Paris metro system, the inexpensive wine, orangina, the price of a baguette, the churches, Caroline and Misha's apartment, Lily Allen Laura Veirs and Liam Finn's albums, the Centre Pompidou, the cleaning lady at my foyer, my phonetics professor, my two professors named Jerome, nutella, and the Casino supermarket near home that has everything and is super cheap. That's the upside to living in the ghetto on the outskirts of Paris. And the laundromat is much cheaper too. I came across a gallery near Caroline's place and went to a Lichtenstein exhibit which was really exhiting because I am currently going through a contemporary/pop art phase. Went to dinner in the Marais, which is the very adorable and beautiful gay quarter. Had cheap Vietnamese food (notice how cheap is the key word in this here blog) and found a MyBerry, or as Caroline calls it, the PinkBerry of Paris. Had class the next day in the Marais and Jerome took us to see the Centre Pompidou which appears to be an eyesore at first, but it's really cool because when it was built, they wanted it to be a completely flexible art space, so all of the pipes, stairs, elevators and interior plumbing and heating was moved to the exterior in color-coded stripes. Then he took us to see a bunch of different galleries in the Marais because there are a million of them there. And he took us to the gallery that he owns in this incredible space between two buildings and all of the art there by Dutch artist Kees Visser. The rugby game between Ireland and France was last night, which was insane, mostly because France won and there were more Irish people at the bar where we were. And we all look really Irish. It's cold here. Very cold. I also love Dad and Mom for helping me out and sending me warm clothes.

bisous !!

school daze

So everything has officially begun and I already have a little schedule down. It's nice being able to know where I'm going in the morning as opposed to orientation which was fun but completely scattered. Every morning I come to the IFE office at 9:30, 10, or 10:30 (ok some things still aren't definite) and have "Art, Culture, et Societé" 2 days a week, "La Belle Epoque" 2 days a week as well, and a discussion course every Friday. They're really interesting classes even though I can only understand my professeurs about 75 percent of the time. And usually one of the classes takes place at a museum or cultural landmark in Paris. Like yesterday we had La Belle Epoque at the Louvre. Very cool. Both professeurs are adorable little Frenchmen named Jerome. So then we get lunch, usually a sandwich at a boulangerie and take the Metro to our Phonetics course which is basically about pronunciation and we sit in a lab and record ourselves and listen back to it. Then we (being Sasha and I who have the same schedule) walk to the Sorbonne's other location by the Pantheon and have a Grammar course for 2 hours. My professeur for that course is insane and very intense, but it seems to be working out. So I am done school by 5 pm. I work then from 5:30 until about 7 but that's only 2 or 3 days a week. I take the bus to Chloe's school and pick her up (she's 16 months) and we walk to pick up Lucie (3) at her school. I take them to the park for about an hour and walk the 5 minutes back to their house and give them a bath. The girls are so adorable and I'm supposed to speak to them in English but Chloe can barely even understand French. It's a really great job anyway. So I've pretty much been getting into the swing of things. Can't say I've done much besides school and work. But tomorrow is a new weekend...

ikea heaven

So I'm basically in the elementary level class, which is fine since I can't form basic sentences anymore. I spent 10 euros on the book we needed. That's about $400 less than what I usually spend on books. So the other night we (we being Caroline, Misha and I) got driven around Paris by Clement, our new French friend who did an exchange program at UNM where Misha goes to school. He took us to all the touristy parts but in less than an hour. It was almost as good as riding on the back of a moped Passport to Paris style. Plus Clement can tell us what we're supposed to do so we don't look like tourists. It works. So the Rugby World Cup started on Thursday. People are crazy about it. There's a huge rugby ball at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower all lit up and stuff. Sarah took Sasha, Geri and I to a bar to meet some of her friends and watch the game (France v Argentina) which was insane and everyone was screaming the whole time. It was awesome. France lost, but apparently the French don't get as upset as um, let's say those from Boston. I mean there were no riots or anything. But anyway, now I'm really into it and plan on watching the remaining games. Caroline and Misha got the most adorable apartment which is so exciting. It's all blue and is very French-looking with a view of the courtyard and everything. So yesterday Clement drove us to the IKEA outside of the city so they could get some stuff for it. Even the French IKEA is amazing and totally Euro and chic and cheap. I couldn't help but get some stuff to make my room a little more liveable--new comforter that's not itchy wool and not infested with things, some utensils and dishes, and an adorable little bamboo plant named Monique. Really though, that IKEA was awesome and brand new and the parking lot looked like a Teletubby wonderland. Clement is my hero for taking us there. Gonna go eat some Nutella.

biz

la tour

just to give you something. Will set up slideshow Mem-style soon.

my feet hurt

I can't even remember what I wrote about last time. I didn't bother to check before starting this one. I'm using my laptop in the foyer for the first time. There are 7 ethernet jacks and only 5 work so it's always really busy in here. Unfortunately I only have 1/2 hour until they close the room. It also means that this is the first time I'm using the English (American?) keyboard and I've apparently gotten used to the French one because I keep typing qnd since the a and q are switched and using the shift key to type a period. Enough computer talk. So since Sasha has a pedometer which is both hysterical and quite useful at the same time, she keeps track of our walks everyday. On average this week, we've followed Sarah around for about 10 miles everyday. Granted, I'm mostly eating bread (sandwiches, croissants) so no worries, I'm not stick thin. I can't even remember the last few days because I would just come home and pass out. Took the test at the Sorbonne which was pretty depressing since it was mostly basic French and since it's been a while, I found it to be pretty difficult. Will most likely be in the basic courses which is fine because that's easier and I'm not here to do school work anyway (just kidding, Dad). We've explored tons of places and seen so many amazing buildings I don't know if I'll be able to label my photos. Today we were sent on a scavenger hunt and had to take photos of 11 different monuments/landmarks all over the city. Literally. It took Geri and I five hours and we only got seven accomplished. Yeah, they're crazy. But Sasha, Geri and I ended up going to the movies tonight and basically fell asleep but we saw "2 Days in Paris" which was very good and very funny. Julie Delpy is adorable. Even though the parts in French didn't have subtitles since we're in France (who knew?) we understood most of it...no but if you really want a sense of Paris I'd recommend it (esp Mom). Caroline and our new friend Misha from New Mexico joined us there. So tomorrow I find out which courses I take and that will determine if I can take the babysitting job which would be awesome cos I could use the extra euros. I miss iced coffee, The Hills, and Goucher surprisingly enough. And my family and friends of course...But for real, we went for Vietnamese food near my place the other night and it was awesome. And then we went to the Chinatown in Belleville and it sucked. I definitely live in the best area for Asian cuisine.

later skaters
xoxo

walking

So tired. Of walking. Mom, so many smelly, pretty places I only wish I had my baby carriage to thrust towards the pond in anger. Went to Fontainebleau yesterday and walked/hiked in the woods which was beautiful but unexpected. Had to take a train about 40 minutes outside of the city. There's a chateau that is really nice and similar to Versailles. Took a test at the Sorbonne today to find out my French level and the courses I will take. Then Sarah took us around the 5éme and saw the Saint-Sulpice church. Lots of sightseeing so not very interesting. Still no internet. Had to buy more minutes for my phone already--email is preferred. Missing everyone. Will post more when I'm not so tired.

bisous