Parisians Are Very Strict

Well my placement exam was supposed to take place today, but it did not. I was waking up but then I realized that I did not necessarily have to go at 10:00 am so I decided to just go after the mates and I went grocery shopping. If you are in Paris and looking to buy inexpensive food, go to Carrefour. They have some great prices! I found a container of jam for ,99€, which comes out to about $1.30. The other thing I love about this store is that they enforce you to bring your own bags! Well I guess this is a Parisian thing, but if at all you need a bag and do not have one, you have to actually buy one. Oh and their wine selection is huge! They have everything, not kidding and well since it is France, at a really good price. 

After groceries, I headed to L'Institute Catholique, my school. The métro ride went smoothly. Well, it took me a few minuets to figure out how to buy a ticket but by watching someone helped out. Once on the train, I did well no problems. But getting off the train, that's a different story. I realized once I went up the stairs and exited the subway that I did not know where the school was located! I did not even know the street name. I recognized the area but just could not find the school, I even remembered seeing the same streets from the time Boris gave us a tour. Basically I was lost for around half an hour. I asked some people but since I did not know the street name, they were not sure. Two girls said I was going in the right direction but even then, I had no luck. I finally ended up in the larger part of the university but I knew that was not the section for the international students. I went inside asked about the program and I was given a map. With the map I walked to the right building but when I got there, I was told they were closed. They close at 16:00h and it was 16:02! They were not even happy about the fact that I asked a question regardless of the fact that they had already sent me away. This was strict Parisian encounter number one. I basically just told to show up the 14th of Feb and take written and my oral exam together. But I'm scared that if I wait until that date, I will get the crap classes. So I am going with Liz tomorrow in the early early am to try and take the test. 

After being sent off by the strict Parisian women, I came back home, but before I made quick stop at a store, the sales are still going on. Looked a round a bit and bought 3 things: a sweater, a shirt, and some funky shiny gold leggings. I am not sure when or with what I will wear them but I could not resist, they are sparkly and only 5€! 

Pizzas marguerite

Meg, Dasom and I

Bastille Métro Stop

For an early ish dinner the girls and I headed to the Bastille area for the first time. We stopped by this little Italian restaurant. We ate pizza and pasta. The food was good but not the best I have had here. I actually think the prices were a bit high for the quality of the food and even the service. I think they charged us the wrong thing so they took the receipt back after they placed it on our table and they even took a long time to return with the tab. However I did learn the word for check, l'addition. After dinner, Dasom and Meg met us up. Sadly, Dasom had to leave early but Meg and the 4 of the Alesiannes went to the cute little place that reminded me of the cheesecake factory for dessert and a drink; both were great! 

Alright so here is the highlight of the day. At the metro So we put our tickets in, except two of the girls get stuck. What do they do, adapt to the Parisian way and slide on in with some other people. Well we take a few step, laughing at our genius ideas when we all of a sudden get stopped. Excuse me, may I see your ticket the police told me. I thought, ha! in your face, I do have a ticket. They take one look at my ticket and ask me to step to the side with them. But why what it wrong? Turns out we were caught, in order to "save" some dinero, one of my flatmates bought a pack of little kid tickets for the metro. Well, this may have been a bad idea. The guy made each of us pay 25€ for this small mistake.

So what did I learn today? Do not try and cheat the system here in Paris. They will  catch you! Not even when you try and explain to them with your puppy eyes that everything was a total mistake. They do not take kindly to foreigners trying to take advantage. 

 

To the right is the reduced price ticket, the one for kids. On the left, was the fine we recieved for being criminals.

Chinese New Year

2nd blog of the day!

In the Chinese Quarter  

So after waking up super late and finally heading out, my flatmates and I decided to go grocery shopping. This turned out to be some what of a mistake on our part. So we did our research a few nights ago and decided that we wanted to visit Tang Fere, an Asian market in the 13ème arr of Paris. We decided to walk there because we do not have our Metro Passes yet, and well we like to walk. After all, some exercise is needed there is an excess of wine, bread and cheese.  A few blocks away from Tang, we noticed that the police were putting up barriers for what we thought was a protest. As we kept walking, the protest actually ended up being a Chinese New Years celebration with floats and the whole sha-bang. The streets were beyond full, walking was nearly impossible and Tang Fere was on the opposite side of us. In other words we had to cross the parade so that we could get to the grocery store. It ended up not being too bad though, the floats were moving at a snail pace and we were able to cross the street without getting yelled at or trampled by the floats. We finally got to the store but it was closed. Why you may ask? It is Sunday today! So a lot of everything is closed on  Sundays, something we did not expect. There are two facts that I gathered from this error, I am new to the city, there is a lot to learn and that here is so much to do in Paris. We were not expecting to run into a full street celebration, we just needed to go grocery shopping but we did something fun and exciting, oh and super cold.

After the chaos, we headed towards the flat. Well, more of we walked in the general direction. We realized we were unsure of where we were heading so we asked a French lady. She was actually very nice. She pulled put her little map and explained how to get back to the Rue d'alesia, all in French ;) not only did we understand everything but we were actually on the right path. So see, we are not totally lost in this city, we know what we are doing, kinda.

We concluded our day by stopping at a boulangerie that always has a line outside the door. I got a mozzarella and tomato sandwich and topped it off with  Flan. French flan however is very different from Mexican flan. This flan was not a flubbery (reference to the movie) and is more eggy and has a crust (yes indulging in the non vegan foods.) The flatmates and I got our food and came back to the room to enjoy our delicious food accompanied by Chocolate which was the cutes movie and I mean Mr. Depp is in it, so why not watch. 

Dominique Saibron: the Boulangerie 

French Flan

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27 Hours, and then Some

Let me just start off by saying that maintaining a blog is not as easy as I thought it would be! There are so many things going on in one day that I know writing will take time. Even though we have not done the touristy things, like visiting the Eiffel Tower or seeing the Mona Lisa there is a still a lot going on not to mention that classes have not even started.

Alright so today is day 4 which means that I missed two days of blogging aka this will be a long post.

Day two was interesting to say the least. Wait, don't think that I mean bad, far from that, it was a pretty awesome day! First of all day one was jet lag central, not just me but also for my 3 flatmates Liz, Adrianne (my roommate) and Natalie. It was around 3am (Parisian time) when we all woke up. We were in zombie mode but for some reason could not sleep. We all ended up just walking around making some tea,  after a bit of early morning bonding time we attempted to sleep. But, there was no sleep involved. Basically, the failed attempts comprised of laying in bed for hours and hours. I could not sleep, the excitement, the jet lag, the speaking French in my head to practice. Not to mention that I turned on my phone and only to instantly get a voicemail from my mother crying and asking me to call her. Yea, I got super worried but it turned out that she just wanted to make sure I was ok, how cute right? But yes, at the same time sad, my mommy misses me.

After the sleepless episode, it was time to head to the Sorbonne and that whole area. Actually, before leaving Liz and I were told that our school did not receive the online placement test we took and that we will have to take a written portion in addition to the oral test, YIKES. The international office however was closed on Friday which means that we will have to take our written exam tomorrow. With already haven taken the online version, I hope that I will be a little more prepared and won't do horribly. So, since we did not have an exam to take that day, Boris, decided to give Liz and I a tour of the area. We saw both schools, walked all the way to the Lourve, saw the student bars, a café thats always pictured on French textbooks, St-Saint-Germain (a super ritzy area) and the RUGBY bar AREA, yes there is a whole area where there are multiple rugby bars within a few feet from each other. After our hour long tour, Boris left. Liz and I both stopped by the Luxembourg park which may I say is beautiful. We actually ended up waling from that area back to our flat. We were not lost and we figured everything out pretty quickly! I felt like a true Parisian. Minus the whole part where we were walking, turned to the right, saw the Eiffel Tour and totally freaked out; jumping up and down in the middle of the street.

Oh and I almost forgot, on our little adventure we were super hungry, so we decided to buy a baguette. Now this may take some explaining. During the tossing and turning of the morning, I decided to look online to see when my year of being vegan would be over. Turns out it would not be until April or late March, the whole day I was battling with the idea. Dang, being in Paris and I could eat nothing but salads for two months! Back home this would be totally ok, but 1. the US does not have the spectacular cuisine that is here in Paris. 2. I don't know everything on menus and probs would eat many many things with dairy even if i tried m y best to avoid animal products. So I ended up sharing a cheese baguette with Liz (from Paul, a famous place apparently.) So, I am no longer vegan :/  The food is great but I do feel really bad. Even with the high five from Boris and the explosion of taste in my mouth, there was still a part of me that felt like a traitor almost a years effort to give in for some fromage.

So after the walking we came back to the flat to hangout for a bit before our welcome dinner. We got ready, drank a little wine and headed to this fancy restaurant from what we saw online. Well we had a large tipical French 3 course meal which was AMAZING.  I had to appetizers, and a dessert of 3 types of sorbets: pear, pineapple, and passion fruit. Everything was delicious and the waiter loved us. We ended up leaving the restaurant around what I think was 11:30, which means we were there for over 2 hours. I just want to point out that one of the girls snuck a peek at the check, came out to around 400 euros, yep no big (it was free, the program paid, phew.) Coming out of the restaurant we decided that it was essential to go out and experience Parisian nightlife for ourselves. Yes, I know what you are thinking what a burden, but hey we were in the RUGBY BAR area! So yeah my first night in Paris, I was heading to rugby bars which contrary to those "classy" socials everyone was nicely dressed and behaving properly. We stayed there for a few hours had a drinks, and danced a little to songs like Thriller, some salsa song, shakira, tonights going to be a good night (very entertaining when the whole bar sings it and everyone has a huge French accent.) One thing we found out is that guys cannot get in if they re not accompanied by girls. Also, one of the bars has a cave! yeah  it was pretty awesome, and they put glowsticks in the drinks! So needless to say, these French rugby bars are pretty much awesome.

OK so yesterday was a bit more chill and can probs be summarized in one paragraph? So we wanted to go shopping to take advantage of the "huge sales" going on. Well they are not all that. Stuff was still a bit expensive, I just ended up buying a shirt. Oh and can I mention that I have yet to exchange my money! I have basically been using my debit card to pay, which IS NOT a good idea. Chase has a crazy exchange and usage rates. And, me taking out money to exchange over here was not as good idea as I thought. Paris is not like Mexico, exchanging money is difficult I have only seen on exchange place and well I did not have the money with me. Alright so the best best part of yesterdays shopping adventure was the crêpe that I ate from a little cart. It was awesome and well only 4 euros! After we hung out at the flat and then joined Emily and Charlotte (2 more girls from Abroadco that are staying in the dorm) for curry dinner and wine.
The meal was homemade and super good! Oh and the dorms are actually pretty cool. There are a bunch of old but pretty buildings for all the international students in Paris. The houses are divided by nation, meaning all the Americans are in one dorm and the Moroccans in another.

As far as the language deal is going, a lot of people speak english and well I try my best at the French. I still get nervous but I'm easing my way into everything. We have all witnessed some embarrassing moments but we deal. Some have been with language (being explained for about 10 minutes about some key) and some have been just with the traditions here (not being able to open doors)

Last note, I have not really taken many picture. Well, more like any but I promise I will soon start.


DONE! Until next time hopefully I do a better job on updating from now on.

Arrived

everything went well during the flight. we departed on time, arrived on time, customs was a breeze, and the shuttle picked me up right on time. The only problem was that they did not get the memo on me being a vegan. So i ended up just getting a tiny salad and buying a mini bottle of wine. The lady apparently felt really bad because the second time she came around, she snuck me a second bottle of wine. I couldn't complain.
Getting to the apartment took forever. There was a lot of traffic and the airport is on the other end if the city. But the ride was a nice tour. I saw a large part of the city. As I sat in the backseat, I read all the signs. My ability to read and understand was great. I felt prepared for the French! So at the end of the ride the driver started asking about me, you know small talk. How long was in Paris, had i been there before. This seemed pretty normal until we were a few block away from my destination. "So would you like to go out for wine" he said. I did not know what to say so I kind of just ignored the question. Well he ended up giving me his number so I could call him. Yeah right buddy you are about 40 and probably married. Eh, it was pretty funny.
So get my bags and cross the street to my apartment. I enter the code and get in with the first try. I walk in head to the elevator and press the 2nd floor button. The door opens I head towards the stairs and ring the doorbell. I though, great! I am finally at my home for the next 6 months. Except there are no college students, an older French lady comes out in her PJs! I try to explain that I actually ended up going on the 3rd floor and not the 2nd. The problem, I couldn't say what I wanted to say in French! AH! She actually seemed a bit bothered, but she spoked English and I explained a little better. I head down the stairs and approach the apartment on the actual 2nd floor. I ring the doorbell and out comes another lady, ah I messed up again? She asks if I am a student and tells me that she is the cleaning lady. Except this took like 3 minuets. Not only that but she tried to tell me to call my director. Basically I was all very confusing, but things have been sorted out. I met all the girls on the trip and we went to breakfast with Boris. It was a good time.
As of now I am attempting to combat jet lag. It is currently 4:25 here in Paris. This means that back home in Chicago it is night time. And I am running on a max of 2 hours of sleep. But I cannot complain, my flat mates are really cool, the flat itself is awesome and I AM IN PARIS!

The apartment

Patio in my room!

The hallway

View from the kitchen

Kitchen








Shower Room

My room!

Today is the day

In about 8 hours, I will be on my flight stright to Paris. Yes straight, that means I will be on the plane for 15 hours! Before I leave, I think I will be making a quick stop to Walgreens for some Nyquill. Also, I have to make sure I have some cash so that I can buy a few glasses of wine in case the Nyquill is taken away for being in a container that is too large.

When I woke up this morning I looked at my phone and saw an Email from my contact in Paris. Needless to say this made me pretty excited. He seems to be a funny guy and his name is Boris. Maybe he will be easier to contact than my program.

Ok so I realize that  my Visa is up in July. And well maybe I will need to return after my program is over. Sad, very sad, I wanted to spend the summer in Europe backpacking. But I guess I have to take charge of my college responsibilities. So I checked the flights and ummm right now they are 1,000+ woah! Yeah I think I should have just bought them as a round trip. I saved a lot on the flight to Paris as I only paid $250 something, but now, I am going to be spending a fortune. Bummer!

Last thoughts:

- I am actually a little nervous now! I had been super chill about everything and just anxious to leave. Now Im getting the flutters (butterflies).
- I get sheets ready in the apartment! Which means I don't have to take mine. Which is excellent because taking stuff out my bag means I maybe wont surpass the weight limit
- I actually have to make a few stops before the airport. I just need to buy a few things and make a run to the bank.
- I need to call ATT so they know I will be abroad
- I received an email from my cellphone company abroad, I will have my phone starting January 26th! Good good good
- I took my online placement test, Im in the intermediate level.
- My arrival will be super hectic. I get to my flat and and go straight to le petit déjeuner. Then I have some time in the apartment but after I have to go do some other things, I cannot remember what the email said. Well, I will be busy busy and I will be jet lagged.


Alright, that is it for now I have to start getting ready for my flight (YEAH!)

The Day Before

Alright so only one more day left. :DDDDDDD

      I've basically been on hold for an hour with Pinccell. Apparently they have no record of my order and that means I may not be getting a cellphone as soon as I arrive. They first said that I would be on hold for 5 minuets, lies. "Your call is next in line and will be answered by the next available representative." What, do you only have one person on the phones that is currently on break? Booo! Update: so they answered but said that my order was never conformed. Um yes it was I sent an email. Not only that but the guy hung up. ugh! now I don't know if he confirmed the package and I still have questions!!! I am not going to wait another hour on the frekin phone, so i sent an angry email! hmmmm

     I called my bank today to let them know that I will be abroad. Turns out there is about a $5 fee every time I use an ATM. There is also a 3% fee when I use the debit card for a purchase. Yikes, the Euro is already "expensive" and now I will lose even more money to my bank. I thought about opening a bank account abroad but apparently the banks are really picky with documentation and its an extensive process. I think I will just have to check everything out once I am in Paris.
   
      As for my baggage, I have two bags. I really really hope they are no more than 50lbs, I don't want to have to leave anything behind. As for carry on items, I have a book bag and my camera bag. The camera bag is small which is good because I want to keep what I carry to a minimum. I really want to avoid having to lug around a lot of things in the airport. I do not want to have to take an actual carry on with me, what a hassle.

Basically today has been a lot of stress!
Yesterday however was good, I bough a new
ipod and found out my film camera works!!




















For now I am taking a break: drinking tea and watching "Nigh Buffalo". Yum Diego Luna

Update: 2days left!!!

I packed and downloaded music. Today was a very productive day. At first I was freaking out and had no clue of what I was doing. I basically paced around my room pretending to start packing, but truth was: I had no clue how I was going to start. I then proceeded to raid my drawers and my closet and just threw everything I want to take on the floor. It was super crazy in my room but I managed. I now have condensed everything (for 6 months) in two suitcases.

I'm very excited...














The of the music i decided to add to my library

• Last 3 White Stripes Albums
• Dark Dark Dark 
• Cold War Kids- Loyalty to Loyalty 
• All of Grizzly Bear 
• Nouvelle Vague- Best of
• The Fratellies
• Federico Aubele (getting close to Jose Gonzalez...but not that close)
• Civil Wars: C'est la mort/Dance Me to the End of Love
• Jill Scott: Long Walk (classic)
• Moby: Flowers 
• Plain White T's: Rhythm of Love
• Modest Mouse (found out I love them!)
• Gorillaz: All Alone
• Thomas Newman: Any Other Name

To Do List

Alright, so there are only 3 days left and there is so much I have to do before I leave! I've been putting everything off but now I need to begin preparing. I hoping that by making this posting I will be a little motivated and stop procrastinating.



The List    (for now)
- Wash
- Pack
- Learn French (yes, I realized I do not know enough)
- Read Le Petit Prince 
- Download music
- Take my camera to get checked out
- Buy film: 35mm and Polaroids
- Last min shopping?


Also I am thinking of video blogging at some point but maybe I'll be more inspired once I am in Paris. Right now I don't have much inspiration.

The
Study
Material

Google Maps

Yesterday I received the address to the apartment in which I will be living! Instantly I looked it up on Google Maps. My neighborhood looks pretty nice, there is a train that will take me directly to my school a at an 8 minute walk and  there is a pharmacy and a bunch of shops in the area. I'll live in an apartment with a blue roof and a balcony. Seems so typical of Paris. Apparently I will also be receiving more housing and arrival information this weekend. Everything is so official! I still cannot believe I will be in Paris for half a year, how wonderfully spectacular.



                                                 

I also began working as an online tutor. This means that when I am in Paris I will have the opportunity to make some money and hopefully will not be completely broke. My friend is over in France already and she said everything is crazy expensive. I knew that was the case but her telling me just made it a reality. I shall have to spend very wisely.

Well I am off now. Maybe I should start thinking about packing....

10 days!

Yep, that's right. 10 more days until I am Paris bound! How crazy! I should probably start packing, or at least beginning the process. Ah! I was on FB and saw pictures of two of my friends that will be over in France this semester. I instantly got butterflies in my stomach! I just thought, wow that's going o be me in a few days! I definetly think I am prepared. Now, I am just going to enjoy the last few days I have at home and get ready for 6 months en Paris.

Also I have been preparing my cameras for the trip! And decided I will be buying a wide angle lens. But the bad news is that my 35mm does not seem to be working properly! The film comes out blank! I am a little worried because last time I was in Paris, I took my camera with me as well but once back in the states, my film was ruined because the film came out foggy. So I never got to see those picture. Now I wait.

                                                         

Big News!

Visa for Paris: Check!

Now I wait until January 25th to depart for 6 months of.....excitement well...hmmm not sure what I will experience over there but I am sure it will be AWESOME!

I just did a bunch of laundry (realized packing for Paris is gonna be intense!) I was folding my clothes and I hear a loud bang. It was the door, but who could it be? I wasn't expecting company, maybe  my brothers? I open my bedroom door, rush down the stairs, open the door and there is the mailman.

"I have a package for a Gonzalez"
"Yep, that's me"

I saw the envelope he had in his hands and I immediately knew that my French Visa was the delivery!

15 More days and I will be on an American Airlines plane heading straight to Paris