I thrive in a city where there is an inverse relationship between croissants consumed and weight gained...I thrive in a city where there is an inverse relationship between croissants consumed and weight gained...Well, here it is, December 31. This is the last day of 2009…I’m sitting in Barnes and Noble in Evanston, sipping on tea that cost less than $2 (and if I had ordered coffee, it would come in a cup, not a tout petit tasse that you can’t take away). The music on the store speakers is in French, and I saw a “Paris” calendar directly across from my table. I picked it up, and looked at the photos on the back. I didn’t know what to feel when looking at them. If anything, I felt a sense of familiarity. I hardly even feel sentimental, because i feel like live images of the Eiffel Tower, the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde, and the Louvre pyramid are still in my head.
This is the first time I’ve been able to focus enough to write a piece for this blog—a piece that should be the last. Though I have to acknowledge right now that it is impossible to summarize an experience in one entry, and that the meaning of my experience will constantly be evolving as I grow. There is really no way to make this entry cohesive, because it is so dense with spontaneous thoughts. The length of this one entry may equate with a small novel or something. I’m just gonna keep writing until it feels like I’ve said it all.
I remember the first day of the year, when the year in front of me was “the year I go to Paris!” I felt like I knew what was going to happen in 2009. With 2010 in front of me, I have no idea what it will bring. It will be a year far different from the past, though.
Go to Paris, I did. Winter and Spring are a blur, and the Summer is worth forgetting, but all is well that ends well. 2009 was my year of study abroad in Tours and in Paris. It was the longest vacation of my life, I say. Why? I went out on weeknights (I got to buy alcohol!), I explored the city on weekdays (I spent warm days just wondering through the Marais until I found a metro stop), and for the love of G-d, I only had class three days a week! Not to say that there were no problems along the way, but I got over them.
Now I’m back in the land where I can purchase large photo frames for $5 at Wal-Mart, and when I declare how happy that makes me, the black man decked out in Browns paraphernalia in front of me turns around and smiles. This is the land where people who weigh more than 250 pounds exist. It’s the land of spacious “toilettes”, and the land where my cell phone isn’t a piece of archaic technology (especially now that I got a pretty new white and red phone!). For the first time in months, I turned my computer back into English from French (just for the sake of installing my new printer), but Facebook remains in French. In this country, it just seems like the dogs and kids are not nearly as cute. Did I mention that the cheese selection in the American grocery stores just makes my heart sink? Oh, Comté, how I miss you. I’m in the happy place where stores accept debit cards for purchases under 10 euros, where sandwiches come on bread other than baguette (although I’m hesistant about re-adjusting to packaged sandwich bread), and where the currently trendy song “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus is the most ideal homecoming song I could wish for.
So I spent a wonderful week at home after thankfully making it out of DC to Akron with no problems. And to celebrate my return, we had a “fakesgiving” dinner on Saturday night, with the turkey, wild rice, cranberry sauce, and squash soup that I had missed at the end of November. I have never wanted to stay in Solon for more time than necessary, but this time, I wish I could have. I have never seen myself as a home-body. I’ve always thought that the people who could leave their home with no emotional attachement were admirably strong. But man, I wish I could have been home for longer. None the less, I saw much of my family and then packed my stuff to more to Evanston on Sunday the 27. I hung out with Kelly a couple of times, and we hung out with Grant once. We ate peppermint ice cream sundaes and then went to Wendys, and spoke with ghetto accents most of the night. It was like the black-southern accent with which the man at Customs in Dulles airport spoke: music to my ears. And the efficiency of the Customs screeners at the airport that afternoon really made me feel I was home. Just little things like those will do it…
It was hard packing to go to school because I was just becoming re-acquainted with all of my belongings that I hadn’t touched in the last four months. (namely my clothes and my expansive collection of beauty products). I packed them all, knowing that I didn’t really need them because I had just lived without them and I survived. For example, I found my flat iron and curling iron in my room. They suddenly seemed like luxuries instead of necessities to me.
It’s all over. The trip is done. Which is hard to believe, because it was something that took so much preparation mentally and financially and logistically. Those four months required a lot of effort. Last Spring, I was at the point where I wasn’t sure if the effort was worth it (that, and I had second thoughts about going to France because of Mme Pavlovich’s business French class). But now I know it was. And though it’s technically “over”, I still have thousands of photos to sort through and print, to put into sleeves or just throw into a box. I still have to plead for credit. And I have yet to see all of my friends from Northwestern. It’s going to feel weird seeing them, I think. When Steph came to Paris, and hugged me at first sight, she said how she’d missed me, how it’d been so long. But to me, it didn’t feel that way—it felt like I’d just seen her. Same with seeing Colleen on Sunday to pick up my keys. I’m back in the States, in normal life, where Steph and Colleen, for example, are commonplace. But they’ve been here, in normal life, with me gone—so it was obvious that someone was missing. I ran into Jules on the way over here, and she was wondering why she hadn’t seen me in a while, which was funny!
At the end of the year I always think about the friends I’ve made and the friends I’ll be spending the next year with. At the beginning of the Sweet Briar program, I remember telling some Northwestern friends that I didn’t feel like I’d made any life-long friends. Now, I think that statement was false. First of all, there were the international students i met in Tours. They showed me how to have fun, how to live the summer up, and how important it is to look beyond your own culture. I just enjoyed hanging out with them so much—Oscar, Rafael, Mauro, Micol. And of course Jimena, my housemate from Tours who I realistically know I will see again. Somehow, we just click.
Then there are the Americans I spent all of my time in Paris with. My SBAA. I just felt like the whole Sweet Briar group had a good dynamic—everyone was pretty friendly to everyone. In the end, we’re all nerds, so everyone jived.
I saw a quote in someone’s status on facebook the other day that really rang true to me:
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. ~Henry David Thoreau
As I head into the new year, the world definitely feels more spacious.
I have been thinking, how can I respond to the question I am going to encounter incessantly during the quarter: How was abroad? How was France/Paris? I just don’t know how you can sum up 4 months; how you can sum up an entire experience. Somehow, it’s just not the same as when people ask How do you like Northwestern? Because the response to that question is always “I love it, I’m happy there.” But in Paris, there were ups and downs, adoration and frustration. It was a learning experience. I mean, it was fantastic, but how can I boil it down to just that? Right now, it really feels like a dream time, though my new friends, the magazine clippings, the photos, and the ID cards prove that it was real. It’s just hard to believe that I did that—I passed the Hôtel de Ville, Notre Dame, the Seine, and Saint Sulpice on every trip to Sweet Briar. I put on the Paris face. I went clubbing. I became friends with people who were so different from the typical Northwestern student.
Other questions i anticipate hearing:
Are you in France withdrawal? (as my aunt just asked me on Facebook). To tell the truth, not yet. Though I am sure that “the grass is greener” phenomena will kick in as soon as Northwestern life becomes monotonous. Since returning to the US, things have been coming at me so quickly that I have had to focus on re-adjusting to those things (to being in the States, to moving to Evanston, to seeing friends, to starting classes, etc). Really, right now, it’s all so fresh in my head that I can’t miss it. I was JUST there. And knowing that all of my friends are back in the states, and remembering how only half of my classes were interesting, makes it easier to be content with la fin de mon séjour.
Do you want to go back? Do you want to live in Paris? Absolutely, I want to go back. It’s an amazing city. At the moment, I’m not sure that I could live there. Maybe if I went with a different mindset, lived in a different arrondissement, had a job lined up. But Paris is the New York of France, and I’ve always prefered Chicago to New York. If I could choose a Francophone country or city to live in, I think it would be Brussels. Or perhaps Lyon. But I could also see myslef living in London. There were often times while in Paris that I didn’t think the European lifestyle was for me. But now, in reflection, I think I could handle it.
Are you like, fluent in French? I feel like this is a tricky question. Have I learned every single idiomatic expression? No. Do I still use anglicismes? Yes. Do I have a French accent? Not at all. Though I can use a great French accent when I speak English, the only time I sound truly French when I’m speaking French is when I’m mocking the Parisian way of speaking. “Bah, ouihhhhh,” “franchement,” “putain,” those kinds of things. Can I use slang? Kinda. Have I received a lot of compliments about how good my French is? Actually, yes. Can I understand the content of TV shows and academic articles? Yes. Can I get around? Absolutely. So…more or less…yes, I suppose! However, I will always continue to learn French. I wish it were easier to gain exposure to French media here. But I have faith that my skills will not wane. When my friend Alex, who did the program two years ago, came to Paris to visit (Oh, how I will never forget that Nuit Blanche), Mme Parnet told her it seemed like her French had even improved! And that keeps me optimistic that I can retain what I’ve learned and keep adding to it. I do miss speaking and hearing it daily, though.
In the end, I am so glad that I kept this blog. I think I did a pretty good job of updating it. Of course, I didn’t write about a couple major things—some trips to Madrid and Brussels, and I don’t think I wrote about Lyon or Marseille…so I will just have to keep those souvenirs in my mind. It would feel wrong to write about them now, when I am not in the moment. I don’t think I can forget the frustration I felt with my travel companions in Madrid; I can’t forget going out to the club and eating delicious but unhealthy foods in Brussels, or my allergic reactions in Marseille. How can I forget my epic weekend spent clubbing, the latke party at my house, Alan saying “hey babe” to me, or how ridiculous it was to get my suitcase down the spiral stairs on my final descent from my apartment? How can I forget how nice Charlie’s host brother was for driving us to the airport, how cute he was, how he spoke English with an Australian accent? How can I forget drinking champagne with Liza in Parc Monceau one day, and being pelted by snow in front of Notre Dame the next?
So how was France? Man, it was great. I think my life changed for the better.
27 Aout, 19:39 PM
Location: Living room of my Tours home
Just woke up from a much needed nap! I was feeling a little queezy before, but now I feel better. I just met “bébé chat,” who doesn’t look like a bébé at all! This house has such an interesting small. In fact, it’s a heck of a house! We walk up to an inconspicuous door on Rue Bernard Pelissay (is that what it’s called?) and enter it to walk through a narrow hallway with stone floors. Then you walk into the garden full of overgrown plants—we smacked them with our suitcases when we walked through. There are these super skinny, steep steps that we climb to get to our room which we are sharing for the week, but it’s not bad like that. Oscar, this 21-year-old Italian boy lives next door. The WC and the shower are separate, so you have to go downstairs for “faire pipi.”
The flight over wasn’t horrible. I was so glad my luggage came through after arguing with the woman at the Uniter counter in Cleveland about sending my stuff to Dulles or to Paris. It was nice not to have to deal with it in Wash DC! Air France served pretty good food, alcohol was included, and they had so many movies and TV shows to choose from for entertainment. I watched two episodes of Gossip Girl (Grant would be proud).
Speaking of Grant, this afternoon when Brittany and I went out to explore Tours, we ran into Reed (who goes to Kenyon) and Lucas, and then we ran into Sylvie who also goes to Kenyon. Brittany and I had a pretty good conversation before we found them. I really like her—she’s down to earth and really nice. I feel like I’ve hit it off with a couple of people, and most are friendly! In fact, a couple speak VERY good French that is intimidating! I speak better than Brittany and she is feeling overwhelmed too.
Wow, Clyde is one spunky dog! I forget the name for the kind of dog he is, but he’s got a long snout and he’s a dirty white color.
Ce soir, c’est le fete de l’anniversaire de Simon, le fils de Chantal. Il a 25 ans? Nous faisons cuire des crepes avec Nutella! Je comprends beacoup de ce que Chantal dit, mais pas toutes les choses! J’espere aussi que nous verrons Oscar qui chante à une fete a l’universite.
28 Aout, 11:54
Location: Jardin de ma maison
J’ai oublie a mentionner qu’hier Brittany, Reed, Lucas et moi, nous sommes allees autours Tours…nous avons vu le cathedral de Saint-Goutien, et c’etait magnifique. C’etait construit pendant le XVIII et XIV siecles. Nous sommes allés au café ou ils n’ont servi ni des boissons chauds ni de la nourriture—c’etait stupid.
Mais le diner hier soir était fantastique. Comme j’ai dit a Chantal, c’etait le repas parfait pour notre premier soir en France. Chantal a fait une pile des crepes très haut. Nous avions du sucre, de la confiture, du Nutella, de la crème, des fruits, tout ca. Et nous avons bu du cidre. J’en ai mange trois, et j’etais fière. J’aimais que c’etait normale de manger tant des crepes !
Hier je me suis rendue compte que j’ai pas pris de photos. C’etait bien d’etre ici et ne m’inquiete pas de photos. Je les prendrai pendant les deux semaines, bien sur.
Aujourd’hui je dois trouver un telephone mobile et des lunettes de soleil. J’ai perdu les miens pendant le voyage, ce qui m’a rendu triste ! Et c’est impossible de sembler française sans lunettes de soleil. Nous avons aussi un réunion de Sweet Briar a 14h00 pour discuter je ne sais quoi.
Oh, eh j’ai presque oublie de parler des autres gens sur la programme. J’aime bien Charles, Amadi, Christina, Alanna, Brittany, Andy, Laura (je m’assieds avec Andy et Laura dans l’avion). Ok c’est tout, on verra ce qui se passe avec les gens !
Jeudi, le 3 septembre, 2009 18:27
Location: La salle de séjour chez moi
Well the idea of keeping a journal has not been too successful thus far. It’s not that I don’t have things to write, but I just don’t want to write! Haha. Right now I should do something like go for a run or sleep. However, I showered this morning and don’t want to shower again. And I’m not super tired, but maybe after I write this I will go out for a not-sweaty walk. I realized once I stepped on Chantal’s scale that I’ve lost weight, and I want to keep losing weight! But sometimes I do eat a lot of things. But you know what, those things are damn good!! Foods I’ve eaten in my first week:
—unknown species of fish that we probably don’t even have at home
—wine of all colors
—cassis sorbetto
—chocolate mousse made by Anne-Laure, Chantal’s daughter
—l’encornet, or le calamare. I ate calamari and it wasn’t fried!
—une galette avec fromage et oeuf
—I even tasted foie, which I really did not like. But I tasted it
My goal to eat pork is not going so well. I just don’t want to put it in my mouth! (that’s what she said, right?). I am sad that my sarcasm/humor can’t translate into French.
I’ve been placed into the highest level orientation class, the prestigious (just playin) Azay-le-Rideau castle. The classes are HARD. Marie-Jo, the teacher of expression orale, just really likes to hear herself talk. And her corrections are not very helpful, except for this one sheet she gave us. Alexis, the langue francaise prof, is hot and rumored to be gay. However, he is very difficult to understand from across the hot rooms with horrible acoustics. The other day we reviewed the subjunctif (massacre) and “si” phrases (not bad, thanks Mme Potel). Today I had my meeting with Mme Gree and I have three solid classes I want to take and then the fourth is very much up in the air!
Things I have done in the last week:
—Saturday, visit to my first castle, Amboise. First we went to Clos Lucé, which I wasn’t really into. When you tell me I’m going to see a castle, I want to see a castle, not the place where di Vinci died. But the backyard of the place was cool. I really liked the castle, it was gorgeous.
—Sunday, large lunch and walk in the park with Chantal, Clyde, Oscar, and Britany. Chantal kinda left us in this field for an hour and a half while she caught up with a friend she hadn’t seen in 20 years.
—Yesterday night, Oscar came home in the evening and Brit asked him to play a song on guitar. He said “I uh try, but I uh drunk!” and it was hilarious. I recorded part of him singing—he hooked up his computer to the stereo and sang along with a track, I think it was a classic Italian song. Lovely!
—Nights out at Place Plume
—One night at La Guingette, which was great!
I’m starting to worry about money and think about how different things are going to be in Paris, when we’re not all living close to each other and seeing each other in class every day. I’m also curious what my host family is going to be like! Clyde is starting to annoy me. Why don’t the French neuter or declaw their pets?!
Bought my first pair of French shoes, very comfortable, moderate, patent-leather light beige heels. Also bought a black and beige scarf at the Galeries Lafayette. It was a little expensive, 24 euros, but it will go with my black trench—I will get a lot of use out of it.
5/9/09
I am just so lucky. And no, I don’t mean lucky in the met-a-hot-guy-at-the-club-and-hooked-up way. But I’ve gotten really lucky as far as my experience in Tours thus far. I was very excited to be placed into the highest level French class, even though the classes are challenging and oftentimes intimidating. But that wasn’t really luck—that was 8 years of studying.
However, my homestay situation has been absolutely wonderful. Of course I still have a couple more days here, but I’m feeling very grateful right now. Last night was Oscar’s last night here, and Brit and I stayed out with him until 2:30, a half an hour before he went back to the Institut to catch a bus to the airport.
Well, I’m back home.
More sentiments about that later.
For now, I want to preserve a piece of Paris here. I have this strange habit of keeping as many text messages as possible in my phone because they have sentimental value to me—both on my regular phone and on my Parisian cell phone. And because I will be selling this 30 euro piece of poop to a friend, I’m going to transfer some of my valued text messages into the blog here.
RECEIVED
Liza 18/12/2009 3h25 Home. Etoile to home is about nine hundred steps.
17/12/2009 22h34 à Julien Merci! Tu me manques déjà, I am so lucky to have a cool french friend like you!
Julien 17/12/2009 22h37 And im so lucky to have an american friend like you!! :-)
Julien 17/12/2009 22h24 Have fun! ;-) et bon voyage…
Charlie 17/12/2009 13h45 Oh. Im actually not goin cause the fountain is off. Lame i know.
Liza 17/12/2009 10h12 SO EXCITED!! I’M LIKE A LITTLE KID ON A SNOW DAY!!
Liza 12/12/2009 2h11 Baha. Well i walked home barefoot, and got many perplexed looks/comments. Good times
11/12/2009 17h55 à Julien Happy chanukah!!
Julien 11/12/2009 20h07 Happy chanukah!!
Julien 9/12/2009 22h00 If you leave next friday, on doit absolument se voir. Si tu veux on peut se voir vendredi soir ou samedi soir :-P
Grant 29/11/2009 13h14 I only just made the train this guy gave me an awful time at immigration thanks again for having me ill skype you soon
Annie 26/11/2009 19h21 I have since realized my error. Its me and forty eight settings. And now my atelier hw
Liza 25/11/2009 15h59 So i’m on the bus to beauvais and the couple in front of me and the couple next to me are competing for the most pda award. Pretty sure i’m about to witness the conception of one or two kids. Fml
25/11/2009 16h56 à Liza Haha im so sorry u were stuck between lovers. That text made my day.
Julien 4/11/2009 23h42 Moi aussi, a samedi :-P
Julien 2/11/2009 10h42 Hello lauren! Comment tu vas? Are you free mercredi afternoon? You could meet up? ;-)
Devin 25/10/2009 17h33 Thank you! So good to see you. Btw i have a story
Divya 20/10/2009 16h09 Wait who is this
Christina B. 13/10/2009 9h04 hope your paper went well. know you did great!
Emelie 10/10/2009 18h14 I’m at my dorm its a minute away! Stay happy yummy indian food awaits you.
Devin 8/10/2009 14h22 Okay do u want to have dinner?
Emelie 8/10/2009 13h06 Oh i think you have the wrong number sry
Lexy 7/10/2009 19h35 Lindsays best friend from school died last night.
Alex V. 5/10/2009 12h41 Chui a sweetARIAR
Alex V. 4/10/2009 8h13 Hey i’m locked out of antoines place. I have a feeling I wont be up for brunch by the time i get in. Ugh.
Jimena 27/9/2009 15h08 Is it ok if we meet at 4 in the fountain of st michel?
Liza 26/9/2009 15h45 Hey lucy and i are organizing breakfast for dinner at Christinas. If you want to join, let me know by 5 and i’ll tell you if you need to bring anything. We’ll meet at christina’s at 8.
Lexy 23/9/2009 15h18 Some dumbass just looked at notre dame and said “hmm…It looks like a church” AND THIS IS WHY FRANCE HATES AMERICA
Laura O. 20/9/2009 23h19 Veux-tu dîner demain soir?
Unknown number that I thought was Divya 14/9/2009 17h07 Ta geule me fai pa chier
Julien 12/9/2009 14h30 I think that Trocadero is good? What do u think?
Jimena 11/9/2009 1h10 dont worry i love you
Charlie 9/9/2009 18h17 Ya. But we’re just goin to drink next to the loire
Katie Mulley 8/9/2009 23h09 Hey! What are you up to? Were by the guingette!
Alexa 6/9/2009 18h23 Success! Im in the taxi. They sent the ones they use for people in wheel chairs. Its huge!
Lexy 6/9/2009 7h52 Thank you so much for everything, you are such a good friend. I owe you lunch fo sho
SENT
18/12/2009 2h16 à Christina G. Hey, we got turned away and r all tryin to find ways home. Hope you have fun, talk to you soon! Ciao for now
17/12/2009 12h06 à Liza I bought a leather blazer! So excited, its so european!
16/12/2009 16h24 à Liza Not gonna lie I do feel tipsy!
16/12/2009 14h39 à Julien Salut! Je viens de finir mon dernier examen, chui tellement heureuse. Mais je part ven matin. Nous pouvons se voir kan?
15/12/2009 15h30 à Lindsay You will not believe this but my professor did not show up, we all just left
12/12/2009 2h08 à Liza I was just accosted by 3 algerian men who found me very beautiful and liked my smile
11/12/2009 21h01 à Annie Ha just saw host dad for first time today. He said we were fine last night :-) he is more chill than i think
4/12/2009 15h06 à Laura Hey i made it back and just threw up which is unusual, going to stay for a bit longer
28/11/2009 20h49 à Julien My trip was good! It was so warm in madrid. Now i am stressed about my homework and finals. Can we hang out this week? :-)
21/11/2009 9h15 à Liza Gotta brace myself for another day with the 3 musketeers-oh my!
10/11/2009 18h18 à Liza Omg i cant wipe the smile off my face, i passed my literature homework!
7/11/2009 17h02 à Julien Thanks again for inviting me to lunch! I enjoy hanging out with you! Et nous devons sortir après tes partiels, tu promets?
24/10/2009 1h23 à Devin I miss you already!
21/10/2009 22h44 à Laura O. As soon as you got out a freakin jazz band got in the train. Playing killing me softly with his song. Im laughing
20/10/2009 11h36 à Divya Haha i am in a bus and just drove past you on the sidewalk wearing a blue coat with a dude
15/10/2009 15h27 à Manon Ok pas de problème je vais me balader et puis je te verrai à porte a à 16h ok?
12/10/2009 17h30 à Christina B. Ugh such a crap day, i am sitting on a bench tired and crying
10/10/2009 21h59 à Emelie Took bus wrong direction, will be a while, so sorry
8/10/2009 21h04 à Ali I am out of the country this weekend
8/10/2009 18h17 à Devin Ok im in franklin rosalyn…205
8/10/2009 13h30 à Grant Im outside the temple station!
2/10/2009 19h07 à Laura O. By the way last night i went to the dorm where the sciences po kids lives, it was awful lol and i don’t mean aesthetics-wise
29/9/2009 13h08 à Lexy Omg forgot to tell you that yesterday when i got to the gare du nord there was a shop called ‘presty women’ haha typo much?
24/9/2009 23h35 à Julien Coucou! Tu me manques…Que fais-tu ce week-end?
13/9/2009 14h49 à Andrew Host fam is nice, apt is ok, city is intimidating. Your opinions?
13/9/2009 12h55 I am at the market at the bastille now, maybe we can walk and chill in place des vosges?
10/9/2009 12h46 à Brit Thanks for leaving without me…Do you not want me to come to Vouvray?
8/9/2009 14h27 à Lexy Omg this museum is a total bust. What are you up to? Want to chill in a park with magazines or go on a long walk?
6/9/2009 20h12 à Alexa Nous sommes enfin revenues… Nous étions perdues encore
Nous n’avons plus rien à risqué…je t’aime un peu plus fort…
Ce qu’on ne pourra jamais plus toucher
This journal entry is being written on my Air France flight to Dulles. I want to talk about this morning but there is no clear definition of where it started, because I only took a nap for an hour and a half last night.
My séjour à Paris culminated in a phenomenon I’m familiar with: SNOW. It was pretty amazing to wake up to it Thursday morning. I took the metro over to St. Chapelle which was sadly closed! I then took photos of Notre Dame, which was gorgeous, but the snow was really coming down! I basically spent my day shopping for souvenirs: St. Michel, Montparnasse, Blanche, St. Michel, Rue de Rennes and the SBC office goodbye, Montparnasse again, home, then dinner with Julien.
I don’t know why I was stressing out so much about souvenirs/gifts…I guess I feel pressure to deliver? I’m usually good with this too, but this time I was just clueless. Paris is a city of known for luxury goods and, as much as I wish I had the money to bring back Ladurée macaroons and Chanel wallets, I’m far from it! However, I did buy something for myself, too. I found a très chic leather jacket/blazer at Pimkie, score! In fact Liza liked it so much that we went back to Montparnasse for her to buy one in a caramel color.
Being well-versed in foreign exchange student customs, I had brought some items from the Rock Hall to Paris with me, expecting to give them to host parents, new French friends, etc. Well, I ended up giving Liza and Charlie keychains to remember their favorite Clevelander by…and they loved them, which was really exciting to me. So much for French friends! Except for Ju…
We met at Opéra at 6:30 for dinner, and when I got out of the metro, I was thrilled. I somehow managed to walk into the middle of the Lubavitch Hanukah celebration. There were soufganyot, a huge menorah juxtaposed against the Opéra Garnier, and ethnic music blasting. It seemed at that moment like all signs were pointing to home for me. The snow, the Chanukah celebration…yet even writing about this right now feels like it was all a dream! And yesterday it was so real…
So Julien and I ate dinner at the Galeries Lafayette café and I gave him one of my Northwestern t-shirts, which I thought was a very American gift. We shopped around a little, went back to his apartment building briefly, then said goodbye. Though I haven’t yet said bye to my American friends, saying bye to Julien was pretty tough. I don’t mean I cried or anything—I wasn’t even close. But the fact of the matter (is that an English expression?) is that I know it’s entirely feasible to see Liza, Charlie, Biki, Alexa, Lexy, everyone again. However, the next time I see Julien…I don’t even know when that will be. Or IF that will be.
This returns to a sentiment that weighed really heavily on me in Tours. Actually, on Thursday night/Friday morning I chatted online with Jimena, which brought me back to Tours as well. The international students I met in Tours were my favorites. I had the best of both worlds: I was in France, speaking French (sometimes), with friendly people in warm weather with practically no responsibilities. There is such a huge difference between being situation among an international crowd and the Parisian crowd (case in point: all of my friends I made at Paris VII were Erasmus or American). But Jimena, Oscar, Rafael, they made me realize that sometimes life makes you lucky but sometimes that luck is a sad kind of luck too. I loved these kids so much yet only got to spend two weeks with them, and I had to wonder how that was fair. I hope that I’ll get to see them one day again.
Hmmm so anyways, I said bye to Julien and then somehow ran into Liza on the platform at Étoile to go to Christina’s apartment for the last time. Christina’s boyfriend and a friend of hers from her world college thing were in town (this kid was SO hot—Parisian Australian, it was like a crime how good-looking he was), and we all made our final toasts over tequila shots. We eventually managed to get over to the Lion’s Head after Charlie was accosted by two teenagers in need of a light. It was just wonderful having everyone together, and we were the only people in the bar. I also realized it was the last bar I would legally go to before February 6. We all enjoyed each others company, and then tried to go to Social Club…some people got in and some didn’t, and I was one of those who did not. Vitalie, Amadi and I waited for our Noctiliens to come, had some fun conversations and griped about how our feet were freezing, and then I eventually got home. I still had packing to do, then got tired and took a 1.5 hour nap, and then woke up at 6:30 to get to Charlie’s. By the way, one thing I’m not going to miss? Living on the fourth floor (that means fifth floor by American standards) of an apartment with a spiral staircase. Just TRY bringing one hundred pounds of luggage down that shit, it is not easy. I almost lost my suitcase and myself a couple of times.
Charlie’s host brother Matthieu so kindly drove us to CDG, which was sooo helpful. We reflected on our time in Paris and spoke our last bits of French. Did I mention the host brother was really cute? And had an Australian accent when speaking English? One thing I’m going to miss? Seeing extremely good-looking guys daily. It’s not every day that I see cute guys at Northwestern or in Solon or something. I mean REALLY cute guys.
CDG makes for QUITE a morning. We waited forever to check in, laughed at people like Sylvi and Andrew whose bags were sooo overweight, and then tried to figure out the bizarre (new English vocab trend) family in front of us. This line took forever! I was worried about suitcases being overweight but it only matters that the weight is not excess when the two bags are combined. However, I think I’m going to have to reshuffle for my next flight. We got through passport control and security with no problems. In the end, ,we conquered Charles de Gaulle, but ended up waiting on the runway for two hours due to snow. Also, apparently Kristin Leasia was breaking down in line—not surprising, but interesting.
Everyone is pretty excited to go home, it seems! Even I have been saying for the past few days things like “I love Amurica!” and “hey, guess what, we’re going to the wonderland land of the US of A!”. However, I just watched a French film called “Le Petit Nicolas” and LOVED it. Now I’m gonna watch 500 days of summer in French.
I AM DONE WITH SCHOOLWORK.
Finally! This morning I woke up at 7 and my body was like, no no no! But I had to. I had to finish reading through my history notes for the first time. While looking over my notes on the bus, the older woman sitting next to me asked me if I was taking an art history course, and I told her it was actually History of Paris. She started telling me all about how Haussmann changed Paris, and I just thought it was nice that someone struck up conversation. That happens pretty rarely in this city! So it was a good start to the day.
The essay wasn’t that hard—the topic was, does the city of Paris present itself as interested by the past, present, or future? I discussed how the changing functions of monuments show sensitivity to the present, and how modern monuments need to have a splash of “past” in them to receive a kind reception by the Parisians.
Today was one of those days where you think, someone must be lookin out for me, because I didn’t wait more than like 2 minutes for any transportation. Which I really appreciate when it’s so cold out. Apparently it’s supposed to snow tonight…but we’ll see what the Parisians call “snow.”
So let’s see…I hopped a bus to the Institut du Monde Arabe, found the bakery I was lookin for at Jussieu, went to Printemps real quick to get a view from the top, then met Liza at Parc Monceau. We consumed our personal bottles of champagne from Pommery there, and though it was really cold, I was so happy I got to see this adorable little park.
This evening I pulled a box of mini pizzas out of the freezer and I thought, great, like bagel bites! But no, these are from Picard, and they’re like freaking gourmet. Even frozen french food is fantastic. Score.
Due to my extreme fatigue I decided to stay in and pack tonight instead of go out. Which is a good thing because I’ve packed about maybe 1/3 of my stuff and feel like my luggage is already overweight.
This entry has no flow. I’m really tired. Also, the fact that I pulled out my American cell phone and WAY too many dollar bills has me thinking shit—this is really it.
joyful, joyful, oh happy day. i can only express how happy i am today in song lyrics from Sister Act.
I went to bed at 1 last night without having studied for Soc. Tried to wake up at 6 but my body absolutely protested, so I ended up waking up at 7. I got to Paris VII early and went to a place called Presse Cafe to grab a drink and study…this place was awesome and I’m sad I didn’t discover it earlier. So zen, very big and simple, and my hot chocolate was fantastic—it must be due to that weird French milk. Even though I knew it would be a long day, I knew it was going to be a good one because it was the last at Grands Moulins.
The other American students used computers to look stuff up during our open-note essay, but I didn’t (Lexy went on Facebook instead of lookin words up). My topic was Agrégation, Ségrégation: la mixité sociale une utopie? (Aggregation, Segregation: Is Social Diversity a Utopia?). I could have written more but when I only had half an hour left I got tired of writing and just turned it in.
Then I went to try to print out my literature paper but guess what—the printers are this school are so ghetto that they don’t even have Microsoft Office. No, just Open Office. So I went back to SBC to print and then back to Paris VII. I decided I would stay for all of lit class and study for my history exam tomorrow.
So 10 minutes after class is supposed to start, Claude is not there. She never showed up.
READ: MY PROFESSOR FAILED TO SHOW UP TO HER LAST CLASS. Not even so much as an e-mail. This truly signifies how useless the French university is. But anyways, I was glad I went to say bye to Elien and Jacek and Mara. Jacek was so cute, his lips were just really chapped. I went to try and find a mailbox for Mme Millet, left it with her secretary, and was like, GOOD RIDDENS Paris VII! Though I went to the library and wrote on the bathroom door a little story for the French girls to read.
After my afternoon opened up I decided to hop on the nearest bus, and saw it went to the Institut du Monde Arabe, which I’ve heard is an awesome building, so I hopped on. For some reason though, the bus took a detour and I ended up going to the little Christmas market at Saint Sulpice. Then I walked from there to Odéon and to Blvd St Michel in hopes of finding cute shoes, but no luck.
Tonight Steph and I went to Le Kitch Bar, the bar right next to my house, finally! It was really comfy in their…the people seemed cool…the atmosphere felt like it belonged on Coventry. We had the famed “Shrek” drink, which at first, as Steph said, tasted like pine tree, but then we grew to like it.
Anyways, Paris VII was in no way an awful experience—I’ve come to understand what the French university system is really like. And it makes me all the more appreciative of my university in the US. So there!
History of Paris exam tomorrow. While it’s been probably my favorite class here, the level I care about this exam right now, from a scale of 1-10, is like, 4. Whatever happens happens, and I’ll pass. But once it’s over, the pressure is on—how do you spend your last day and a half in Paris? :-/
(I composed this short bit of an entry on Tuesday, December 15, but never published it. Now on 12/31 I’m putting it in here).
Everywhere I turn, something is indicating that my departure is approaching.
I feel so many emotions about this fact. I think one reason for my ambivalence is that things just started to become really stable, and now they’re changing again.
Also, I’m having a hard time trying to figure people out (the eternal struggle, isn’t it?). Selfishness is everywhere, and I’m wondering if this is a defining feature of people or if it’s just a consequence of the age I’m at. Everyone is acting in their own interest, and at times it just makes me think that trusting people is just worth it. Or, not trusting people, but having faith in people.
I’ve become a lot more independent while abroad…but I think I need to clarify and say “functionally independent” and not so much “emotionally independent.” I mean, I still look to people for guidance and reassurance and pleasure, of course. And maybe if I could stay a whole year I would gain some more emotional independence.
While today was definitely not the most fun day ever, I guess it was really productive. I took both parts of the Atelier d’écriture final, which was not bad. Worked on my lit paper in Sweet Briar. Had a meeting with Mme Maître to fix the paper…and then she encouraged me to skip my sociology class in order to correct the paper. It was all too easy to do, so I did. Then we met again and fixed the rest of the paper. Came home, filled out all of my evaluations for SBC, and I’ve finished the treacherous lit paper.
My soc exam is at 9:30 tomorrow morning. I think the problem bigger than the fact that I haven’t yet studied is the fact that I have no idea how I am gonna haul my ass, awake, to Paris VII at that hour.
Also, I am looking for a large marker in order to graffiti their bathroom stalls.
This morning I woke up at 11 and made a pretty conscious decision to not touch any scholarly materials until after my latke party. So I went to the store and bought supplies, then made matzo balls—and though they turned out a little too hard, just the smell made me happy—and then made latkes. Which, as I found out, is a pretty arduous process. The worst parts: 1. Grating onions and 2. Hot oil splattering. Now I understand why Mom always requests my help when making them.
But it was nice to have all my friends come over. Though Alan was shocked when he saw the number of plates I put on the table (“I thought you said you were having 4 friends over!”), I don’t think we disturbed him too much. In fact, he even came over and talked to us, and noted how Christina was pretty AND brought chocolates, and how Alexa brought champagne that was not from champagne (false: it was real champagne).
So Brit, Annie, Liza, Vitalie, Christina, Iraz, Lara, Alexa, Charlie, Biki, and Stephanie, they all came. It was nice, we ate latkes and slowly reviewed some notes for our Atelier d’Ecriture exam tomorrow. It’ll be easy, right? I shouldn’t stress, right? Right.
Stephanie just arrived in Paris and Alexa, Charlie, and Biki were telling her about our experiences here. For some reason, I kept recounting the negative aspects of Paris to her. For some reason, I think I’m trying to shoot down her currently idealistic impression of Paris. I don’t know why I’m so stuck on the negative aspects! And are these maladies unique to Paris, or are they just the consequences of being a young person in a city for the first time?
Last night Showcase was pretty awesome. It took longer to heat up than Duplex—in the beginning, the music was not good and the drinks were too expensive. But around 2 things got good (maybe it took a while because it was Saturday night?). The people in the club were SO well dressed, jeez. Especially the guys. Iraz, Vitalie, Christina, Liza and I ran into Lexy, Lindsay, Jane and Karisa at the club so it was nice to have a big group! There was lots of fun dancing on the dance floor, sooo many cute guys…I had a lot of fun! And the space was magnificent, right under the Pont Alexandre III. But damn, Parisian nights can be cold.
What else…oh yes, yesterday I began the day by going to Pyramides to the Marc by Marc Jacob store. I ran into Sophie Mancall-Bitel (tridelt at Northwestern who I once had French class with). In the past, I thought it would be a weird slap in the face when I saw Northwestern people randomly on the street. In fact, it’s actually that familiarity that I miss!
Went to the Marc store, which had a line just to get inside. Bought a bright blue tote bag to carry my computer around in. All of the Parisian girls were walking out with this one tote bag in a dusty purple color—it’s very plain, but so Parisian in the muted color palette. I then walked over to the Place Vendome, which I’d never been to. I thought it would just be a square with a column in the center, but there was something very nice about it. Maybe it was all the luxury stores—Dior, Chanel, etc—lining it? I then had dinner with Lara, who I hadn’t seen in a while.
Alright, so, the itinerary of my week to come: Exam, Class, Exam, Paper/Class, Exam, Champagne, Rage, Rage, Rage, Rage, Rage, Pack, Fly.
