from Paris with Love: La Premiere Semaine

Hi!

So I am two weeks behind in blogging about my first week of classes so I'm doing it now before it turns out to be three or four weeks later. I can't believe this is my third weekend in Paris. The time is really flying by and it's starting to freak me out! I'm starting to get that itch to travel and I am happy to say that as of today I am officially going to Oktoberfest!! In real life, that last sentence should be written in all caps because I am so relieved, happy, and excited to have my first trip planned and that I will have the opportunity to attend one of the most popular international festivals! For those of you who don't know what Oktoberfest is, in a nut shell it is a three week festival all about beer. This festival is held in many of the German cities, most notably Munich (which is where I will be next weekend) and can bring in 6 million people. For someone who gets slightly freaked in large crowds...well let's just say this should interesting. But, I am literally SO EXCITED to go. Both of my brothers went last year and I've heard only good things about it. Okay, getting back to the point of this blog post I will now tell you about my first two weeks of school. I'll make it easier for you guys and list out my days rather than write 14 separate paragraphs...you will thank me later.

September 2, 2013: Monday was our first day of french classes at Alliance Francaise which is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It is right near the Luxembourg Gardens which are these beautiful gardens which are the home to the French Senate (I talked about them in an earlier blog post). French classes are interesting! There are people from all over the world in my class and they are all different in age. There are people from Bangladesh, Hungary, Japan, Israel, Pakistan, India, Poland, Mexico, United States, Italy, and Spain. It's a really cool experience to be learning a foreign language with people who don't even speak your own native language. I have become friends with this girl from Israel and it's interesting to learn what school was like for her and what it was like to be in the Israeli Army since it is a mandatory requirement. It's these experiences that remind me of how lucky I am to be studying abroad in a place that is so diverse, but also that I have this opportunity to learn about another person's life and culture. French classes are from 9 in the morning to 12 in the afternoon so after our first class a couple friends and I went to a local boulangerie to grab lunch and then eat in the gardens. I love lunches here because you can go to any local cafe and pick up a fresh sandwhich on an amazing french baguette that is larger than any regular American sandwich. After enjoying our meal, my friend Nick and I decided to walk around Paris and ended up by the Seine. It's still so surreal that I am in Paris and can just sit by the Seine after a class. After relaxing on the bank, we then decided to walk around and found ourselves by the Jardin de Plantes. Paris has large gardens all over so this was one of many that we found. They also have a menagerie which is basically a zoo. We decided not to spend 11 euros to see animals that we've probably seen at the National Zoo in D.C. The Jardin de Plantes was a nice place to walk through but definitely not comparable to the Luxembourg Gardens. After walking around, we headed home and I met up with host family right as they were leaving for the park. I decided to join them and enjoyed a nice late afternoon hanging out with my host family and getting to meet some of their family friends.

Desert in the Gardens

Just lounging by the Seine

Went to buy some school supplies and found
a little slice of heaven...a wall of pens

Part of the Jardin de Plantes

Last day of summer for French kids so the park was packed!

September 3, 2013: Tuesday was another day of French for three hours. After class, I grabbed lunch again with some friends and then walked around with my friend Galia, who is in my french class. She is from Israel and will be living here until November. The next day was Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish New Year, so I accompanied her as she went to find something for her aunt whom she is living with. It was ironic for me because we went to many different stores and ended up in American Apparel where we ended up getting a sweater. I would have never thought that I would be in Paris buying something from American Apparel. After shopping, I headed home and went for a run and hung out with my host family.

The view from my run. Lady liberty is right in front of the Eiffel Tower

September 4, 2013: Wednesday was our first day of American Graduate School classes and I started my day at 9:30 with International Marketing and Economic Development. I have never taken an economics class so I figured why not give it a shot in France. I will have to let you know later on how this class goes, but my professor seems pretty cool. She is cambodian who lived in Hong Kong, started her own business, and is now back in France teaching. I had this class for 3 hours because our schedule is a little funky. For example, after two weeks of 4 classes being 3 hours long I don't have this class again for two weeks. It's nice though because we have this class on Wednesday and Fridays so now I have Fridays off which will definitely be used for traveling! After class, we again grabbed lunch & sat in the gardens. We're trying to soak up as much summery weather and nice sun before it becomes fall and cold. My friends and I walked around the right bank of the Seine and around Hotel de Ville. After walking around, we again sat by the Seine and decided to get ice cream at this well known french ice cream place called Berthillon. I mentioned it in an earlier post, but it's an ice cream shop that my dad told me on multiple occasions I had to go to. Well, I did and it was pretty good! I got two scoops--chocolate and cappuccino and it was delicious. Perfect for the hot day!

Hotel de ville

Emily "swimming" in the Seine

The French don't kid around with street performing...piano and all

The original shop

YUMMMM

September 5, 2013: Thursdays are my busiest days. I have french from 9-12 and then I have public law from 12:30-3:30 and then my History & Diplomacy of France class from 4-8. We got my professor to extend class to 8 which made it so that we didn't have class on Friday which I think we will do every week if possible. I love my Public Law professor! She totally understands that were in France to enjoy it and not be stressing out about studying law. She's also super helpful in giving advice on anything and everything. She even gave us these magazine like papers that have classifieds and ads for people who are new to Paris from America. She just seems pretty awesome. My History & Diplomacy of France professor is pretty cool too! He is a little crazy but is so incredibly smart. He walked into the room, popped in a movie on the history of france and handed out a manuscript that he translated of the movie. Then right after he told us to pack up, we're going for a field trip. It was so awesome. He took us to Lutece Arenas, which is this large arena area where gladiators would fight or where people would try and fight off exotic animals. It was this huge amphitheater that was built in the 1st century AD. Today, it's a park and many people go there to play bocce ball and soccer. It even has wifi. Totally different than when it was first constructed, I know, but it was so cool to be sitting in an ancient amphitheater for a class. After sitting for a little while, we then walked around and he took us to see the Thermes de Cluny which are the remains of the Gallo-Roman thermal baths. We didn't go inside to see them but it's crazy because I've walked by them at least three times and didn't even know that they were there. That's something I love about being here. There is so much history that is located right in the middle of every day life now. After our little field trip, my friends Nick and Emily and I grabbed dinner since we were starving and then returned to our homes.

Entrance to the Arenes de Lutece

View from my seat in the amphitheater

September 6, 2013: Finally it was Friday and I had the chance to sleep in! I had class later that afternoon at 1, but after that I hung out with my friends and got ready to go out. First night out and it was interesting. We were near Notre Dame and went to five different bars to check out their scenes. Went to Pub Saint Michel in honor of Saint Mike's and let me just say that Saint Mike's is 1000x better than this bar. It was so lame. But we all got beers and one of the kids on my trip, Mark, even participated in a dance off.

September 7, 2013: On Saturday, Nick, Emily, and I decided to be total tourists for they day and decided to do a double decker bus tour. We found out that if you buy your ticket after 4 pm, it would be valid for the next day so naturally as the frugal students were are we decided to start our tour then. But before then we met in the Tuileries Garden which are located right next to the Louvre. We sat and enjoyed the sun and found lunch and then started our tour. We didn't get off any stops but it was great because we became more orientated with our new city! That night, we decided to try out a bar that was mentioned in my Europe on a Shoestring travel book. It was located in the latin quarter. It was great--locals, cheaper prices, and cozy atmosphere. Even better was that afterwards we went and got crepes. Nothing beats a chocolate and banana crepe.