Monday, September 5

September 5

Today as I made my way to the NYU center to take a placement test to see what level of French I should take, I though to myself, “Self, my pants are falling down, I could really use a belt as I only brought 2 pairs of the same jeans. Self, there are no belts in Paris that are affordable nor are there any that are in my size.” Oh well. The placement exam was fine, I knew a lot of things and I didn’t know a lot of things—but what I did notice was that listening comprehension and dictations are VERY easy for me. My 3 weeks of intensive language classes start tomorrow, and I will find out how I did on the placement test then.

I walked around during my lunch hour and found a metro station near the school that I can take from my apartment—good to know if I’m running late. Also, the lunch I get for around 5 euros has been serving as my lunch and snack, the sandwiches here are served (obviously) on baguettes and are quite long and very filling. So far I have been spending about 10 euros a day on food…I think I’m doing a good job of budgeting. I did finally get a small (secure, with snaps and an attached zipper compartment for my cell and wallet) black bag that can fit my laptop when I need it to and is just a good bag for anything.

This weekend I think that my friends and I will go to Versailles on Saturday and the Normandy beaches on Sunday. The whole group is going on a river cruise on the Siene on Friday.

I received word through the grapevine (why anyone would go and open their mouths is beyond me) that the other NYU student living with my host family claims the family does not like me. Now, I know that I do not know a lot of French and have a difficult time communicating, but I am respectful towards all people. So, I did some damage control and wrote the family a letter telling them how happy I am to be staying here, how I am sorry if I have difficulty with the language, how it is my first time out of the country, etc. I hope that if they didn’t like me, they now better understand me (plus, I brought them chocolate and flowers when I moved in, who on earth would hate that?) My luck with roommates, eh?

At night, Catherine and I went to find some dinner, and when we were looking at a map of the metro, my right calf brushed against the open exhaust pipe of a motorcycle that was parked on the sidewalk. I have a gnarly burn now, and it is very painful.

I have made lists of places in France and in Europe that I would like to visit, but I am also making a list of places in Paris that I need to see:

Famous places in Paris: Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, the Moulin Rouge, Les Catacombes, the Jewish memorial, Notre-Dame, Les Invalides, Jardin du Luxembourg, the Bastille, Sacre Coeur, Ile-Saint-Louis, Jardin des Tuileries,

Museums in Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, Espace Montmartre-Dali, Musee Picasso, Musee de la mode at du Textile, Galeries nationals du Grand Palais, Musee d’Orsay, Musee de la Musique, Musee du Louvre, Musee Rodin, Musee d’Art juif, Cite des sciences et de l’industrie, Museum national d’histoire naturelle,

Places to visit in France:
Nice
Monte Carlo
Cannes
Saint Tropez
Avignon
Reimes
Normandy
Monacco
Versailles
Loire Valley
Le Havre
Nantes
Lyon
Aix en Provence

Places to visit outside of France:

Corsica
London
Luxomburg
Amsterdam
Madrid
Barcelona
Ibiza ←reach
Exeter
Glasgow
Dublin
Athens
Berlin
Brussels
Budapest
Copenhagen
Florence
Tuscany
Rome
Venice
Stockholm
Prague
Salzburg
Vienna
Zurich
Warsaw and Krakow
Croatia
Lisbon