Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Class as normal and then I returned to my neighborhood to do some errands. Spent the evening at Katie’s apartment cooking dinner and watching an Ashley Judd movie. I have decided that I got the short end of the stick because Katie’s apartment is SO nice (she even has a “working” bed) and a large room. I decided to walk back from Katie’s and listen to my ipod—the weather was perfect, I had my favorite Bob Dylan song playing, and right as I passed the Eiffel Tower, it lit up for its hourly light show.

“Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line. Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.” –Bob Dylan

I did get word, though, that Laura, my friend in Aix-en-Provence, is going to come to Paris on Monday for a few days. She’ll be staying with me (I sucked it up and asked, and the host lady said yes, for a charge of 10 euros a day—now that seems a little bizarre to me, does it not to you? She’s sleeping on my floor and using nothing in their home but the toilet. I didn’t fight them on it, because it costs a lot less than a hostel.

Friday, September 16, 2005
Class as usual. I received an exam back and found that I got an A (no mistakes on the entire test)…and I didn’t even try. I just wrote what I had to write and turned it in. Either this French grading system is way too lenient or my 10 minutes of daily studying is actually equivalent to 3 days worth of studying at Kenyon.

As I walked to class that morning, I was in a t-shirt and jeans and very comfortable with the outside temperature. During class, it rained and as I walked back to the apartment, it was friiigid. I made it back to the apartment without freezing I spent the afternoon doing some homework, emails, and planning my weekend. In the evening, I met up with Katherine, Katie, and Emily and we went to the Latin Quarter for dinner and drinks. People on the street soliciting. After dinner at a French bistro, we wound up at a crazy bar where every drink is served with a 4th of July-type sparkler. We spent a few hours there listening to the music and trying their menu of zillions of interesting drinks (a mojito and a kahula/vodka thing for me) before calling it a night. I came back to my room and itched myself to sleep on my broken bed that will never be fixed.

Saturday, September 17, 2005
I wrote some of this from the Laundromat (it’s now about 9am)…I put my clothes in a machine (after taking 30 minutes to understand the directions) 30 minutes ago and they still have 1 hour to go…someone was right when they told me that when the French come to the United States, they never think their clothes are clean because our cycles don’t take nearly as long.

I had a nice walk to the Laundromat though…on Saturday mornings, not a lot of people are out but all of the stores are open. I passed a handful of fish markets, cheese stores, bakeries, and butcher shops, all ready to sell me their specialties. I am starting to get used to the smells of raw fish and moldy cheese, and am just accepting it as a fact of what makes Paris Paris. After the laundry was finished, I went to the Champs-Elysees to cash some travelers checks and headed over to the Latin Quarter to buy a book to read (IN ENGLISH). The bookstore was run by ex-pats and was small, dusty, and cute. I made my way from there to the Opera. This weekend the Journées du Patrimoine is taking place. In and around Paris (and throughout France and Europe, for that matter), and major monuments, churches, buildings, etc. that are generally closed to the public will be open for visits. My friends and I went to visit the Paris opera house, Opera Garnier. We only got to see the lobby and the ball halls, but they were so extravagant, that I almost didn’t mind not being able to go onstage (there was supposedly a rehearsal going on). After our tour, I decided to head back to the 16th on the bus, because I heard that it’s a great way to see the city. Who ever told me this was right! I saw so many gardens and neighborhoods that I want to explore. The bus took me past the equivalent of the American White House, and since this weekend is Journées du Patrimoine, there were people lined up for blocks to get a glimpse inside. That night, we went and cooked at Katie’s apartment and I called it an early night because of my plans for Sunday.