Friday, September 9, 2005

Classes went as normal, and I found lunch for 1.5 euros. I returned to the apartment after lunch and showered and got ready for the loooong evening. The group went on a boat ride on the Seine, and I wasn’t impressed. I mean, Paris is AMAZING, but I feel like the ride didn’t give me any new insights that I was looking for. I did get to see the Notre Dame and the Louvre up close from the sides that one can’t see from land, and that was pretty cool. Apres the ride, I headed to the Latin Quarter again for dinner (I decided to postpone the Eiffel Tower until it was clear out—tut tut, it looked like rain today). After dinner, I went with Katie and Emily to look for a crepe stand (you’d think that there would be one on every corner in Paris, but this just isn’t the case…it took us about an hour to find a non-sit-down restaurant to buy them). I didn’t get one because I was full from dinner, but I will have to try one sometime. I also need to try other REAL French specialties which I will do in time. I got a call from Lora telling me that she and her friends were going to go to a bar on the other side of town, so me and the girls booked it over. It ended up being this very cool Arabic bar with pillows for seats and crazy people dancing to Arabic music everywhere. We all tried shisha, apple flavored smoke, but it definitely wasn’t my thing…so I just tried to learn some French expressions from Lora’s friends. I left around midnight so I could catch the metro before it closed at 12:30. Walking to the station was great because even though it was late, there were thousands of people outside just talking and drinking coffee…and I’ve never seen that at home. I made it back to my apartment quickly, but I could not get the door to the individual apartment unlocked. Of course nobody was home, the other American girl in the apartment wasn’t answering her phone to come help me, and I was just all-around desperate. My hands are all cut up (it hurts to type this, that is why it will be short) and it took me about 45 minutes to open the door. The host family says that there is nothing wrong with the lock or the key, just that I can’t do it…well, I have had other people try and not be able to either. That along with the fact that I’m still sleeping on the floor (they still haven’t fixed the bed) and I have to pay the same amount as the other American girl staying here even though my room is half her size and she has a real bed and a refrigerator really pisses me off. I have tried to talk to the family but they are just insensitive and they say that I have too many requests…well I’m sorry if I don’t accept the status quo. That’s my rant for the day. Tomorrow should be a good break—I’m going to Versailles! I can’t wait to begin traveling further away from Paris to see small villages in France and throughout Europe. Until next time…