What am I thankful for?

Before the family begins eating, as tradition indicates, we will go around the table and reveal what we are thankful for. I have always said family,  friends,  school, the  usual. However, this time around I am thankful for the experience of a life time. My semester abroad was truly amazing. I hear many negative reviews about the city; people are rude and it is crowded however, I love Paris. I am not sure if it is the actual city or the fact that I had great roommates and had my own apartment. Whatever the motive I think living in Paris has really impacted me and helped me realized who I am and what I enjoy. I like sitting on a metro and reading a newspaper in a foreign language, I like getting totally lost and having to figure out where how to get back home, I like meeting new people that are not scared of revealing their opinions, and most of all I like the feeling of independence. While abroad, I could only depend on myself. There was not a person that I could call and ask for money when I ran out. I even had to think twice before telling someone I was "excited" I did not want to give them the wrong impression.

Now I must reflect on everything that I learned, graduate, and move out. I may not return to Paris but I know that I will eventually end up in Europe. All in all, living all the way across the ocean helped me realize that we are our own limitation. There is so much around the world to explore and learn that there is no reason to stay in one spot. Actually going overseas opened up so many possibilities. And this is what I am thankful for, an eye opening experience. 

Coping

Alright so I cannot be in Paris, I think I am okay with the idea now.

However, in order to not lose touch with the past semester, I decided to read up a little on the culture, very French of me I would life to add. I now read on train, the doctor's office, and whenever I have free time. I went to my public library on Monday and picked up 3 books: A Dog's Life, A Year in the Merde, and Something to Declare.

Thus far I have only finished A Dog's Life. A witty tale narrated by a local dog of Provence France who describes a dog's life to the tea. The book gives reason and background to a dog's typical behavior. Of course it is written by a non-canine but the facts are presented in a humors form and one starts to believe that you really are reading a dog's diary. The best part about the book were the anecdotes and random French words thrown in, all which I understood (yay). Boy, the dog,  gives informations about wine tastings, the countryside, and typical French shops. This was a cute book with some detail into traditions practiced in France.

A Year in the Merde, I was first reeled in when I read a short passage in the back explaining how to adapt in the city, "The best way to find an apartment in Paris, get a French girlfriend and move in." This is very true. Finding an apartment in Paris is a headache to say the least.I recall spending countless hours attempting to figure out where I was going to live after I was expected to move out of my apartment, I was getting really worried. I then told my on-site director of my issues and his first comment, "pfff easy just get a boyfriend and live with him." Easier said than done, but a very accurate comment on the author's behalf. After the first sentence about the book, I knew I had to read this.

A Year in the Merde, I have just started, is about an English man that has moved to Paris to work. I am not sure what year this book is based in but there are mentions of CD-ROMs.This book has a more critical view of Paris and its not so polite inhabitants. So far, the details of Parisians have been dead on, including the terrible English pronunciation, the hatred of non-french speakers, and their fashion sense. I am only a few pages in but I wanted to report on what I have read. I have come to realize that the French are rude and I do not know why I loved Paris so dang much. The author describes Paris as a sea where only sharks survive (the sharks being all the Parisians)and you need to quickly adapt. This sounds like a sad story but on the contrary it is pretty entertaining and funny. Basically I am just thinking back to last semester and reminiscing on what I experienced. So far it has been a parallel description of my first few weeks in Paris, many hand gestures, a barrier to communicate, and overall general confusion. Despite many initial set backs, I still love Paris.

As I keep reading, I will report more. For now,  Au Revoir! 

I Am Back

...in Chchchch-icago. It has now been 24 days since I have returned to the mother land. However, I MISS PARIS oh so much. I never thought that I would be sad to be in Chicago. It used to be a joy when I returned to the city after being in Ohio but now, I hate it here. Okay I don't hate it hate it, its just that is is not Paris and I keep comparing. The city isn't as pretty..its dirty, full of crime, not kept well, and transportation SUCKS. I now have to depend on rides again, I never thought I would miss the Paris Métro, even the RER. Now that I am back is when I am noticing all the differences between the two cities.

Basically I miss having an apartment where I can go and return as I please, I miss my roommies, and I miss exploring/finding new things everyday. I even miss slaughtering French. I came back and bam culture shock, when I speak, everyone understands me! Oh my!

Yes I missed my family and Friends while in Paris but why can't they all just go over to the city if lights with me? I am actually bummed because I wanted to stay in Paris the entire summer, I was even considering a whole semester. But somehow I got sucked in by my mother and returned with her after she visited.

On that subject, having my mother in Paris was pretty awesome. She was impressed with my French and by how well I knew how to get around the city. I felt quite proud. I finally went up the Eiffel Tower and got to be a tourist again. It was fun and not to mention that I did not have to pay for meals or random thing that were bought. I guess that is one thing I will not miss from Europe, expenses (a lot, and high). After Paris, mom and I did Rome. We did the Roman attractions, the Trevy Fountain and the Vatican City. The trip was truly amazing! Except for the heat but hey I had some great Pizza!


Now that I am back, I need to find someone to practice my French with. I know that once school starts I will have classes in which I will speak some French but that is not enough. For now I have been watching French movies. Also I give  random French lessons to my friends whom props don't really care/pay attention but that's how I practice. OH!  I am proud to say that I think in French!  Thinking in French was a must in Paris, this way I could reply quickly or ask questions without having to translate between English/Spanish/French. Now i think it became a habit. I walked into the YMCA today and I was at the desk to hand in my card to be scanned and I almost said "bonjour." See I can speak French ;)




One thing I must remember I am Mexican/American not French, get over it Elvialuz.

Finalement!

Finally, I have brought myself to sit for a while and write on my blog! I really have no excuse for not writing but laziness. Like I said last time, it take a while to write. I mean there are also the factors that one, I have been on vacation and that two I no longer have internet at home (I think my program director did not pay the bill and is now neglecting any contact.and Starbucks usually cuts me off after an hour) The problem with not updating often is that I have a lot to write about. Well I shall commence, while I sit here at the park freeloading off of the internet and enjoying a nice self rolled American Spirt and listening to the little kids and 20 something year olds runs around.

Let me cover the important things: TRAVELS!

Before I begin, I need to explain one thing, couchsurffing. I'm sure some have heard of this website, its awesome. Basically you contact people through the website and look at references pictures and a profile. The point of this is to find a place to stay where you are traveling and its all free. A lot of times the hosts are people that have themselves traveled extensively and want to share their knowledge of the world and their extra bed. Everything is super safe (I now know that) and you get to meet some great people. My roommates and I heard about this and we decided that well, since we were going all over the place, it would be nice to save a couple of bucks on logging. However, we were not too sure how everything would work out, none of us had ever used such site. What if our host was an ax murderer and we did not know before hand! I mean its not like they were going to put on their profile, "hey I welcome you to my home, I'm sure you will have a great time, and by the time you have to leave, well, you may not quiet make it back home, I have a passion for killing individuals." But hey we took the risk. I'll just say now, everyone made it back safe and with some great stories to tell.

I had two weeks of spring break and I took advantage (to the max) that well I was in Europe. Lets see, I went to 5 countries in 2 weeks. My stops were Morocco, Holland, United Kingdom, Germany, and Czech Republic.

Morocco:
Two of my friends and I went to Tangier and Fez. Tangier is the northern most part of Morocco, right off the ocean (you can see Spain.) Tangier was our first stop and let me tell you, we were beyond shocked! We flew arrived at the airport exchanged money and got into a taxi. On the way "downtown" I was already shocked, all 3 of us were, we didn't talk much in the cab, we were observing. The day was a bit cloudy there were women standing in back of pick up trucks all covered up, kids running around, and half built buildings. We went to the RIF Cinema where we would later meet our couchsurfing host. We would be about 5ish hours early so we decided to explore Tangier and get to know the city we were planned to stay for four days. We walked into the crowed medina hearing nothing but requests for Moroccan husbands and getting many stink eyes and nothing but obvious stares. At this point, we were already intimidated. So we wanted to seek refuge. We sat at a little restaurant had couscous and the first of what would become our obsseion fresh mint tea. We sat there watching the Tangiers pass by and the sunset. After we walked around a little more, but this time there was less sunlight and less women in the streets, we were even more scared. I know it sounds bad but really, we were in a completly different country and we are not used to the custms and we totally stood out as tourists, targets for selling goods. We escaped what we believed to be dangerous street and hid out in the RIF theater expecting to catch a movie. It turns out that out of pure luck it was the 5th university of the only independent movie theater in Northern Africa. In honer of the date, there was a trivia session and free drinks and snacks, perfection. We enjoyed a few Moroccan pasties and mocktails that were delicious and at the trivia, we could not answer a single question. We were not discouraged and we continued to hideout until our host would arrive. Ok, so a little embarrassing, we did not end up couchsurfing. We got a little freaked out by the unknown Moroccan men that wanted to go party and we ended up getting a 3 person room for the night, only 15euros. The next day we went to an internet cafe and book a hotel to stay in Fez. That day we explored some more and drank our weight in tea. We were hassled by vendors a few times, got lost in the median, fell in love with our "mama" at the hotel, found the (beautiful) beach touristy side of Tangier, took a camel ride, visited the Hercules cave, finally and felt way safer in the city. Fez was great! we took a 5 hour, first class train ride and had the hole day to see what Fez had to offer. Fez ended up being shopping, couscous eating, tea drinking, getting henna, finiding an awesome "hipster" cafe, oh and staying at a nice hotel. I really enjoyed Fez, there were more tourists and we did not get as weird looks. However, we did hear "hey spice girls" twice.

Holand:
This one will be short I promise, I did not do much in Amsterdam. After meeting up Natalie and getting lunch we headed to a coffee shop. We had a muffin and then decided to go shopping. Shopping was awesome...ish. Got some cool clothes, but eventually I began to think I was being chased by the security guard and kind freaked out. Once done with shopping, we payed a visit to the Mecca of stores, an American food store. I  think I was in there for about an hour and bought craisins and candy that I used to eat when I was little. After we payed a visit to a fry shop, Amsterdam is known for their fries? After inhaling every last fry we walked, and walked, and walked. We took another break and stopped for an ice cream. I helped myself to a popsicle and a dr pepper.  We walked around some more, saw a few of the same things we had seen earlier and well, I think it was because we were really struggling to figure out the map. Once again, we stopped for a snack, a Dutch pancake. Yum! I do not totally remember what kind it was but I think it was super good, as I did not even say a word to Natalie. After we wanted to find the red light district but we failed, once again, the map was too hard to figure out. After about 5 hours of walking around (I am not even exaggerating) we realized we were tired and that Amsterdam is a complete mystery, so we headed home. However, the bus system turned out to be just as confusing and we got on a bus that headed the opposite way (I think) we asked the driver and he said just to sit and he would tell us when we arrived at our stop. After the long day we crashed and got up early in the AM to catch our plane to London.

Ok. That's cool for now I will update on London, Germany and Prague soon!! :D 

Update: 2 months

So really, I am über lazy. Blogging takes thinking and time....I mean I am not doing all that much with my life but still. You guys know me, I am lazy and would rather just lay in my bed (what I am doing now cause of Sunday Funday) or go out  and party. But I really really want to keep a blog and I think its so supér cool that people actually read this thing. Shout out to anyone that is reading this!!! HAAAAY!


Ok, so I have been over two months. And I already feel like I going to have to go home in like 2 weeks. I'm actually pretty depressed about this. I love everyone back home but I hate school and the States and I would much rather just travel and be a bum. Don't worry, I am going to finish school. Just not super happy about it...okay sorry if I am boring you I kinda just went on a rant yeah?

What have I been doing? Hmmm good question. Let's see:

- I have been going to class (typically not on Mondays because of the above reference, although I went today.) School is much more chill here. I meo an its language classes and even those back home are pretty chill. And its different because here there are 59 year olds in your class and everyone is treated as an adult and not a little kid. Like in the states where teachers baby us and its all about grades. Here it's about getting the most out of class and actually learning. GPA do not really matter (well for me yes because I want the credits to transfer for a major) and you go to class because you want to learn, not because you need to pass the frekin class so that it actually counts towards your major. Ugh, see this is why I don't want to go back, but you gotta do what you gotta do right?

-I dyed my hair purple. Right now its kinda reddish now. Purple faded a bit...I think

-I found another babysitting job! The previous one was too far. I took it because I need the money so I can go shopping. But it was way out of my way. Getting there and back took close to two hours and I mean I usually babysat for one hour and a half to two hours. So not worth all the travel. Now where I am going to work is about 20mins from me! Woot! However this one is more intense. I will be babysitting but really I am teaching a 4 year old English. Thats cool huh? A lot of responsibility, so I am not sure if I am going to be able to handle this. But I already committed and today will be my first day. I think I am already regretting my decision. But hey, I'll have a lot of new clothes

- Guess what!!! Spring Break is only 2 weeks away!!! WHAT UPPP!!!! so happy. I don't remember if I already wrote about this but I will be going to Tangier, Amsterdam, London, Munich, and possibly south of France. I need to get to Barcelona, Greece (too expensive), Venice, and well probs Madrid.

- Language is improving! I still sound terrible but I feel a bit more confident.

- So I've been to a picnic at the Eiffel Tower and at the Luxembourg Gardens

- I haven't been to too many bars or clubs. Super disappointing but I have been lazy and broke.However, St Pattys was pretty sweet. Went to an Irish pub in the Latin Quarter. Everyone was prancing around in green and with these top hats that say happy St. Patty's day. We met some people. Okay this one English guy was ridiculous. He had a twisted handlebar mustache and was pretty funny. He looked like this classy guy, then he was spotted making out hardcore with some girl. Totally a throw off. Also apparently French people think one night stands are like sooooo dumb. I am not saying they are good or bad but wait, are the French being more conservative than the US? Maybe it was just this one guy? I shall do some research.

- OMG, went to a wine expo! THE best. I went two days. Both were amazing. Megan, my flatmate, and I ended up buying 7 bottles. Wooppss. But I mean when am I going to be drinking good wine again? We literally buy the cheapest wine possible. So really I am just becoming more classy.

what else what else....

-Oh yeah celling in the kitchen collapsed. We came home one night and a huge chunk of celling was on the floor. No big right? Wrong. There was mold and plaster alllll over the kitchen and the food (noooooooo).

Ok so there are sooo many things that happen that its actually really hard to write about. I actually write stuff down in my phone when it happens so I could remember. It kidna sucks because I want to be able to remember everything from studying abroad but it seems like I have already forgotten.

Ok went to a Mexican restuarant. The guys that own the place are from Aguscalients. It was super cool to finally eat some spicy Mexican food. I was talking to a few Mexican customers that were there. They were pretty cool. Some where studying some where working. Later I left and then realized "damn I'm dumb, I should have like asked for the number or something." It's always nice to be able to meet Mexicans in Paris, there aren't many here.

Things I have noticed on the Metro

1. When someone jumps on the train and makes it in just before the door closes is the happiest moment of the day. In paris the doors just close. Sometimes on you. Parisians are always in a rush so it is imperative to make it on the metro right at that moment. 
2. The people that play at the metro, apparently they need to audition to play. So basically we get the best of the best here in Paris. Ok, I don't know how accurate this is because someone told me about this and well who knows. 
3. Americans are easy to spot. First of all, they (haha I think I just disassociated myself from america) are super loud. Like ummm you can hear the convo miles away, Parisians are not as loud. Um men wear shorts. I think that is a no no here. Obvi not cool. Also umm why are you wearing sweats. The only people that do that here are...well actually the Middle Eastern men. Not being racist or anything, just simple observations. 
4. Everyone reads. If you are on the metro you better have a book or grab the journal right before you hop on. If you don't you are forced to make eye contact with your neighbor, and I mean that is the worst thing for the Parisians. Oh mind you, they will look at you up and down and totally judge your clothes with no shame, but looking you in the eye or smiling torture. However, I have adapted, I have become a huge fan of sudoku.

Last comments:

ummm, ummm, weather is nice. ok ok, I am talking about the weather I think I have nothing to say. 

"how about them bears?" 

ok tootles. ps, not gonna edit this post. so if i misspelled something too bad. 

I'll put pictures, just cause I mean you can't post a blog and not put pictures right?

Mexican Flag in Paris!! 

The Kitchen 

Sweet Moroccan Restaurant.

Me and my Burrito 

Oh yeah, finally made it to pere lachaise. You know were oscar wilde and Jim Morrison were put in tombs. Quick story, the creepiest thing on Earth. I don't know how I feel about how much people obsess over someone they do not even know. Like really, this person is dead and you are taking pictures of their grave. IDK I think its a weird concept.
Photo cred: Natalie

Exploring Paris

Time for a new post. So what have I been doing in Paris for more than a month? A lot! General outline of what has happened since my last post:

- Ashley form OWU came to visit and crashed at the apartment (super fun)

-Classes

-Meeting new people

-Finally got a phone (I can actually make free calls to the US) and a bank card

-Discovered the (night) bus

-Advancing in finding a job

Ashley Visiting 

-Have taken more pictures (with my 35mm this time)

-Went to the movies

-I now roll my own cigarets

-Less spending more of budgeting

-Almost saw Tim Burton

-Running

-Visited the Sacré Coeur

-Nicer weather

-Went to a play

-Finally walked around the Latin Quarter

-Found my favorite bar, Chupitos (Originally a Spanish bar)

-I have an official Parisian library card

Parisian Carte Bleu Warning: Memorize you pin number! When you finally get your bank card (It took me about a month) you get your PIN number in the mail. The problem is that unlike the US banking system,  you cannot change the code. So me being the crazy person I am, I never memorized my PIN and would guess on the numbers. Let me just say now, huge mistake. Here you only get 3 tries before you get your card blocked and stolen by the ATM. I do not mean 3 times in a row, no, total. So by the third time I was guessing the ATM only gave me a receipt saying that I needed to call my bank. I was left with no cash and no card. Bummer!

School: Classes have actually been awesome! I wake up not dreading the day, I am excited to learn and go to class for once. Not only am I excited for class, but I'm not late!! Well I was once but that's because I started off walking but then realized I did not have enough time to make it to class on time. See, back home if that were to happen (even though class is like a 10min walk tops, I would just skip class. andI mean I would have to skip the rest just so I don't pick favorites. Best Part: When I am sitting in class, I actually have to remind myself that I am sitting in a room where only French is spoken. Granted the teacher speaks slowly and everyone takes about half hour to ask a question, but the point is that I totally understand everything that is being said! This actually makes me super excited! I mean when first arriving in Paris, I could only guess what people were saying and was limited to picking up a few words. Everyone would then speak English to me. And don't even get me started on me trying to answer the person, there was no French spoken on my behalf. Now, well let's just say people understand me; with difficulties none the less but hey hey hey, that's a step.

Random Weekend on the Metro

Paris is definitely smaller than I expected, I can walk everyone. I legitimately walked from one end of Paris to the other. My metro stop is the second to last on a line that runs North/South and I walked to the 4th to last line at the other end. I mean I took a bus for like 10 mins but got off because the day was so nice and I wanted to explore a bit. So I got off the bus (which btw, there was an old lady with her damn dog on the bus), went to the Louvre Gardens, took pictures, went to the Opéra and sat there eating a grapefruit and people watching. Actually really funny, a random Mickey Mouse appeared right in front of the Opéra house and was dancing and sketching people out. After about 20 minuets or so I began walking towards Place de Clichy. I walked there without making any other stops or really knowing where I was going. I kinda ended up in a semi sketch part of the city but only a few block from my goal destination. Basically I saw all Paris has to offer. I saw the touristy (expensive) area, not so touristy area but still in the ritz, the artistic area, and the more of a, well... where the less wealthy live. I basically got a whole tour of Paris today. However, the best part was Sacré Coeur, beautiful. You get to see all of Paris and the area is so nice. Well, just around there because a few block after that, not so much, more of a ghetto part of Paris. But yea, at the S.C, there was a guy preforming and everyone was sitting on the steps listening and singing along. It was great everyone looked happy and were enjoying themselves. After, I actually took the métro home because I was too lazy and I was getting kinda tired. But when transferring lines, I actually thought I was in Chicago. Not literally but the stop reminded me very much of the Red Line back home.

Cool House

Ok so, going back a few days from today (obvi you can tell I have ADD and can't keep things in order,) I went for a walk around the apartment and found the 'hood to be very nice! I discovered an Indian resturant near by that looks very good and the cutest street in the Paris. So instead of taking the main street back to the apartment, I decided to walk through all the little streets. I walked through a tiny block where all the apartments were white. I made a left turn, and ended up on Rue des Artists. This was a memorable block, it reminded me of Mexico! Two of the houses  were brightly painted, one orange and the other yellow. It was actually kind of nostalgic, partly because there are not many Latin Americans and much less Mexicans in Pairs. I mean I'm pretty sure the houses weren't colorful because Mexicans lived there, but it was a reminded of home. Actually, speaking of, I think there is a Hispanic in my apartment complex!!! Well, I know I sounds like a total stalker but I am super intrigued by all the neighbors. We haven't really met any but here at the apartment, we like to think that they are all artsy and cool Parisians. Anyway, back to me being cheesy...whenever I see someone who looks Hispanic I feel all happy inside (awwww). I want to ask their ethnicity, but I guess I'm too scared to be yelled at by an angry French person that has nothing to do with Latin America. I guess I have to hear them speak Spanish and they have to be wearing a flag of their country for me to ask, I don't want to be rude now.

Super Random, but I cleaned the Fridge! 

Kay, so the big news, I am thinking of spending another semester here!!!!!! Well, this idea just started today but I'm super pumped and want to make it happen. It seems like  I would be able to even graduate on time and my visa maybe easily extended. What I have to worry about is housing and probably wether or not my school will allow me to stay another semester. This may not even happen at all but it would be nice. I would love to spend the summer here traveling and then doing fall semester here in Europe. I think I wouldn't want to stay in Paris because everything is so damn expensive but I am thinking Spain. I have not gone but I feel like it is cheaper and def fun! I mean, taking classes other than language courses would be easy there because I already speak Spanish. If not maybe somewhere in England or some English speaking country. I guess I have to really look more into this idea and do my research. And to make this happen, I would have to find a job so that I could actually afford to live here for another 6 months. But as I mentioned earlier, I maybe babysitting for a French family starting soonish!

 Two Videos!

At Sacré Coeur:Guy sining and everyone enjoying                 The happiest Parisians I have seen 

1 Month, Swwaatt?

Yes, I have been in Paris for one month already. There has almost 20 days since my lost post, my bad. But since my last post SO much has happened...

First of all, I finally started school! Super exciting. I am taking French Language, Written French and Oral French. Yes, I know sad, I'm not actually taking an art history or anything fun like that. But sounds like my French will really be improving right? Well I hope. I have class Tuesday through Thursday. On Tuesday I go from 9am-1pm and on Weds and Thurs I have class from 9am-5pm. Those two days will be super long and exhausting but I mean tots worth not having class on Monday and Friday (4day weekend.) Having those two days off means I get to travel!

Speaking of travel, I have an official travel date!!! and its to........Tangier, MOROCCO!! I finally get to go to Morocco! Bucket list item! Not only is going to Morocco on the list but also camel ridding, which...will be done, Yay! I looked into some hostels for the Trip, and there is one in particular that I would love to book. The hostel is called Dar Jameel, and it looks super super cool. The rooms are covered in colorful tiles, the views look beautiful and there are really good reviews. Another really exciting aspect of Morocco is the cuisine, I have a feeling I will be in Vegan heaven. Eating in Paris is awesome but just a bit challenging because everything contains milk...everything. Tangier will will be a break from always having to be super worried about what I am consuming. Not only from the food but also, I will be getting out of Europe. I think Morocco will be a nice relaxing experience.


So what have I done in Paris? Beaucoup(a lot)! I've been to the Louvre once with the flatmates and once alone. It's so cool cause I always wanted to go to a museum by myself and I finally got to go, and I mean how cool is it that I got to hit up the Louvre. I went around 7 ish and as I was walking around, the sun started setting, it was beautiful! You could see the horizon and the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Pyramid. I was tots overwhelmed at that point! I was taking pictures when one of the museum security guards asked if I was in Paris on vacation. I explained that I was here for a semester and guess what, he actually said that my French was pretty good! yeyaa! I mean I know its not but that's a confidence booster.

Alright what else has there been? I've been to some pretty cool Cafes, meet some pretty cool people, bought a few things, spent an unnecessary amount of money, finally have my bank card (long crazy process) I actually now understand the majority of what people are saying to me (HUGE deal), I'm vegan again, visited Dzifa in Besançon, I no longer feel like a total American I feel more Parisian, explored paris a little more since the weather is way better, visited the nearby park which is really nice on Sundays because everyone is out jogging and with their family, gave myself a budget, checked out
Cézanne à Paris at the Cluny Mueseum, had many
adventures with trying to get home after the metro
stops running (which are just as fun as the actual
night this includes asking a hooker for directions,)
went to the movies to see War Horse and sprinted
in the station to make it on time for the
last train, and overall have had a blast for the past month!

A little on taking the train here in Paris. Not the Métro but the SNCF which are the trains that take you out of Paris. You can buy your tickets online, at the agencies that are all around town, or right at the station. So the day before I was going to Besançon, I wanted to go pick up my reduction card and also figure out the train system before my 7am journey the next day. In order to get to Gare de Lyon, I took two trains and about 30 mins. Not a big deal at all, it was all pretty fast and transferring was a breeze. How ever once I arrived it was a little crazy. Basically, everything is done at machines. People just show up and confirm their ride in this big yellow machine and you are done. The machine prints out your ticket and then you are set to go. There are people to help people out at counters but everyone mainly uses the machines which are actually in many languages. This was nice because without having the options in English I would  have had no clue what to do. Not that I actually successfully printed out my ticket from the machine or anything because I had trouble with my card. When you get ticket, you need the credit card that you used to purchase the ticket as confirmation. My card from Chase has given me many problems over here in Paris. The card does not always work even if I go have the sufficient funds. I think the card is rejected mainly because it is missing a chip that allows machines to read your card. So if you are coming to Paris anytime soon, it would be a good idea to get a card with the little yellow square at the front so there are no problems when paying, because I never knew when the card would actually work and sometimes had to have my roommates pay for me :/

Anyway, the trip itself was only 2hours long and went by super fast, seats are comfortable and the conductors were very helpful. Another note about the train is that seats are assigned. I of course did not know this and just plopped down on the first available seat I found. However I soon realized that I had a designated place once I saw people looking at their tickets and then looking up at the seat numbers. I quickly grabbed all my belongings and went to find the seat that was indicated on my ticket. Places by the way are established based on cart and on seat number. The disaster of the trip however was that there were two Besançon stops, and I obviously was not aware. So when we get to the first I get off the train but am not sure if that is my stop!!! I heard the conductor say the name of the stop and then I heard him say that the last stop would be Besançon center. What was I supposed to do?! Was this my stop? So I ran over to the conductors and asked what the difference was between the two stops. He asked for my ticket and said, well this is the ticket you bought so this is your stop but yes there is another one after. He asked if I had someone at this particular stop to pick me up I told him no, he gave me a disappointed look and said, okay, just get on its fine. I could tell he was not too happy but he was compassionate and let me slide. However, I was not at total ease, I wasn't sure that the next stop was where I wanted to go! Luckily, I made  the right choice by hopping back on because Dzifa was at the Besançon Viotte stop waiting for me! YAY! happy ending right? After, well I had a blast visiting her and finally got to see a city other than Paris. Seeing Dzifa was great! we had some Thai food, went to a museum, went to a princess looking café, caught up because we hadn't seen each other since freshmen year, and partied on Saturday night.

Pictures of Besançon:

The river that crosses the town

A plaza...I think it was downtown?

Victor Hugo was born in Besançon
 This is the house he was born in 

 Alright so an observation that I made while in Paris: people here are very independent. Everyone does their own thing and does not seem to care about what others think. All the Parisians are in their own little world. They cross the street without caring if a car has to wait for them, they spends hours at cafés alone reading the paper or a book, and they ride the train with their headphones blaring and enjoying the music. This is really nice and I feel like I totally fit in with the scene. Only because I kinda live in my own little world and can have a blast even if I am walking down the street by myself. What I do not like however is that people here are not very friendly. Well, they are help if you ask them something, but nobody stops and takes time to give a smile or say hello to the person sitting next to them on the métro. I guess just being overly friendly is not a necessity here, even waiters and ticket agents are very much straight to the point and strictly about business.

A few Pictures of Paris: