I will miss you, Sciences Po. Luckily I found this jewel to help me bring back the memories wheneva I want. I must warn you, French people are zany.
And, I can't forget about Claude Francois, France's favorite son, who brought us "Alexandrie, Alexandra". I get a lot of attention because of my name, people usually break out into the dance once they hear who i am. But I don't blame them, what a great song.
Showing posts with label Sciences Po. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sciences Po. Show all posts
12.11.2010
12.07.2010
Oh Hello, December.
I didn't want anyone to think I was dead, so I figured now that I am FREE from any academic obligations, I should finally update my poor bloggy.
Yes, today was the day I turned in the 20 page paper on Denmark's social model that has been driving me crazy for the last week. I also just finished taking 3 exams. But it's all over now, thank goodness, and the only thing I have to think seriously about for the next week is packing and getting to Charles de Gaulle in time to catch my flight. In the meantime, I can let my brain melt into mush and just go around, museum-hopping, shopping for Christmas presents, and sampling my fair share in French pastries before I am shipped back to the land of the chili dog.
But my life lately has been terribly boring, I've just been studying, so I will hearken back to our class trip to Strasbourg that we took the week before Thanksgiving.
Strasbourg is located in the sometimes German, currently French region of Alsace. The city became a symbol of France and Germany's friendship forged by the 1951 European Coal & Steel Community, which later grew into the European Economic Community, which grew into to the European Community, which finally became the European Union in 1992. The Franco-German alliance is the basically the glue that keeps Europe together.
Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament, which is the only directly elected institution of the EU, and to the Council of Europe, which is NOT part of the EU, but actually the oldest organization working towards European Integration, founded in 1949 with its main focus on human rights, after the great human rights injustices of the Second World War had occurred. The Council of Europe includes member states who are not interested in joining the EU, like Switzerland and Russia, organizes the European Convention on Human Rights, and is home to the European Court of Justice, the highest court in Europe.
One cool thing was that we sat in during a European Parliamentary session on the state of Greece and Ireland and got to hear the President of the Commission and former prime minister of Portugal, José Manuel Barroso, defend my two native lands (some parliamentarians were throwing around the idea of reinstating the drachma and the Irish pound) in flawless English and French (he was also to cool to wear a headset that translated the proceedings into six official languages). Also present was the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who has been lampooned for his lack of stage presence.
Which reminds me of one of my favorite photographs:
Poor Rompuy! :( But really, this explains a lot about the European Union.
Also in Strasbourg is the FAMOUS Strasbourg Christmas Market.
It's supposed to look a lil' something like this:
Unfortunately, our trip was booked for just a few days before the Christmas market opened, so it looked a little less...put together. Place was a mess. But I'm sure it's very pretty once assembled!
I still managed to find gingerbread, soft pretzels, and vin chaud (hot wine), so I was satisfied.
Probably the most memorable experience of the trip was ending our night in Strasbourg in this rundown karaoke lounge that looked like a stripper bar. We loud Americans took over the place and sang Billy Joel's The Piano Man, thoroughly amusing and perhaps mentally and emotionally scarring the Strasbourgians. My solo was the best verse, the one that starts "It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday". We then had to leave and take the little tram that closes at midnight or so back to our hotel, so we only stayed for one song, but man, it was worth it. We rocked that place.
Yes, today was the day I turned in the 20 page paper on Denmark's social model that has been driving me crazy for the last week. I also just finished taking 3 exams. But it's all over now, thank goodness, and the only thing I have to think seriously about for the next week is packing and getting to Charles de Gaulle in time to catch my flight. In the meantime, I can let my brain melt into mush and just go around, museum-hopping, shopping for Christmas presents, and sampling my fair share in French pastries before I am shipped back to the land of the chili dog.
But my life lately has been terribly boring, I've just been studying, so I will hearken back to our class trip to Strasbourg that we took the week before Thanksgiving.
Strasbourg is located in the sometimes German, currently French region of Alsace. The city became a symbol of France and Germany's friendship forged by the 1951 European Coal & Steel Community, which later grew into the European Economic Community, which grew into to the European Community, which finally became the European Union in 1992. The Franco-German alliance is the basically the glue that keeps Europe together.
Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament, which is the only directly elected institution of the EU, and to the Council of Europe, which is NOT part of the EU, but actually the oldest organization working towards European Integration, founded in 1949 with its main focus on human rights, after the great human rights injustices of the Second World War had occurred. The Council of Europe includes member states who are not interested in joining the EU, like Switzerland and Russia, organizes the European Convention on Human Rights, and is home to the European Court of Justice, the highest court in Europe.
One cool thing was that we sat in during a European Parliamentary session on the state of Greece and Ireland and got to hear the President of the Commission and former prime minister of Portugal, José Manuel Barroso, defend my two native lands (some parliamentarians were throwing around the idea of reinstating the drachma and the Irish pound) in flawless English and French (he was also to cool to wear a headset that translated the proceedings into six official languages). Also present was the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who has been lampooned for his lack of stage presence.
Which reminds me of one of my favorite photographs:
Poor Rompuy! :( But really, this explains a lot about the European Union.
Also in Strasbourg is the FAMOUS Strasbourg Christmas Market.
It's supposed to look a lil' something like this:
Unfortunately, our trip was booked for just a few days before the Christmas market opened, so it looked a little less...put together. Place was a mess. But I'm sure it's very pretty once assembled!
I still managed to find gingerbread, soft pretzels, and vin chaud (hot wine), so I was satisfied.
Probably the most memorable experience of the trip was ending our night in Strasbourg in this rundown karaoke lounge that looked like a stripper bar. We loud Americans took over the place and sang Billy Joel's The Piano Man, thoroughly amusing and perhaps mentally and emotionally scarring the Strasbourgians. My solo was the best verse, the one that starts "It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday". We then had to leave and take the little tram that closes at midnight or so back to our hotel, so we only stayed for one song, but man, it was worth it. We rocked that place.
11.14.2010
Spain Summary
OK, I've been terribly busy lately. So sorry I never got around to writing about my Spain trip! I wanted to make sure I wrote a bit before I forget, so here are my thoughts. And I stole all of these images from the internets.:
Barcelona:
-Catalan is confusing
- Barcelona is definitely a summer party town. There are all these clubs on the beach, and everyone hangs out outside. It's definitely not a place I can imagine living in year round.
-La Sagrada Familia is epic, though it's still in the process of being built, so there is scaffolding everywhere.
-Park Guell was lovely, we visited the Gaudi museum and sat out on the winding benches and chatted up vendors selling their wares. I bought some leather bracelets, and my friend Nisha had some jewelery custom-made.
-My biggest disappointment was missing out on the Picasso museum. It was closed on Monday!
- I loved how everything was open so late, perfect for a night owl like me. Stores didn't close until 9 and later, and people don't sit down and eat until 10. Best tapas I had in Barca were at Tapas 24. A review with nice photos here.
-Worst? Some random joint on Las Ramblas that was handing out free shots. It wasn't my idea, obviously.
- We also hit up Barcelona's fabled night life. Most notable was Razmatazz, an absolutely humongous club, with several buildings and multiple stories. All the Northwestern students who were "studying" in Barcelona claim a room nightly here, with their friends from UChi, Stanford, Brown, Princeton and Harvard. All this social awkwardness and intelligence interrupted by the effects of alcohol makes for an interesting experience to say the least.
-The market is awesome! But don't let your waiter overcharge you for swordfish at one of the little bar/restaurants inside.
-Overall, Barcelona is a nice city, but one I'm not itching to visit again.
Sevilla:
-Beautiful Weather! It felt so good to wear sandals again.
-We took a free walking tour from our hostel, and it turned out to be one of the best experiences I had during my trip. I learned interesting tidbits about Spanish history and the story of Sevilla, which is rich in Spanish-Christian, Moorish and Jewish culture.
-The Cathedral is the third-largest church in Europe (after San Pietro in Rome and St. Paul's in London) and very interesting to tour. It used to be a Moorish mosque, and the famous tower used to be a minaret. You can climb to the top of the tower using a winding ramp. Apparently, back in the day, someone used to ride to the top on a pony to do the Call to Prayer in order to preserve his voice. Neat, huh?
-I met my friend and former roomie Rachel for dinner one night, and we headed to the neighborhood where Flamenco was born. Some friends wanted to pay up to 30 euros for a flamenco show, but I dined right next to an impromptu floor show, at no cost.
-Even though I liked the daytime walking tour, the night life tour was a very different story. Pancho of Pancho Tours runs a very shady business. Be wary of him. It is very unprofessional to try to make out with your clients. However, I did get to meet a Brazilian hottie on this tour. Hey Juaon, or Joao, or Juan...or however you spell your name.
-Most tapas I had in Sevilla were excellent, and very rustic. I love the little sandwiches (bocaditos) with iberian ham or chorizo, the seafood, and the vegetable dishes.
-I really really really want to go back to Sevilla. It's so romantic. It would make the perfect vacation, and there is a lot more I'd like to see around Southern Spain.
Madrid:
-The weather...Colder than it's ever been in Paris and rainy the entire time. I wanted to get out and explore Madrid, but it was really hard when all you wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.
-I hit up the Thyssen and the Prado museums and they were very nice. My favorite painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, hangs in the Prado, so that was really a treat.
-Visited Hemingway's fave Sangria bar, Las Cuevas de Sesamo, and the Penthouse rooftop bar after that. Went to la Chueca barrio for dinner one night, since my stolen-from-the-hostel lonely planet guidebook told me it was "THE place" to eat in Madrid. It was Sunday, so there wasn't much open, but it was still very trendy. Most gay neighborhoods are that way. Hey, Boystown, hey!
-I don't think I gave Madrid enough of a chance. It's really similar to Paris, so I'd definitely like to go back again and explore some more, hopefully when the sun is shining. The Passeo del Prado is beautiful.
-Found an Indian fusion restaurant called Root, because at this point, I was sick of patatas bravas and cured meat.
-Madrid is LOUD at night. Our hostel was near plaza del sol, but still, I had to wear earplugs to drown out all the noise on the street.
-Halloween in Madrid was kind of scary. Everyone was dressed as a zombie, or some sort of bloody witch. Or a ghost buster, but that's kind of random. You couldn't tell if someone was actually injured, or if they were just having fun.
But overall, a great trip. But I'm glad to be back in my beloved Paris.
Because Spain doesn't do pastries well. And Paris has LaDurée and Pierre Hermé. And it's Paris for goodness' sake. I'll have to write soon on Paris stuff. I'm so behind.
Alright, now on to my millions of homework assignments. Not joking. In the next week, I have 2 political briefings to compose since we're role-playing a session of the European Council in one of my classes. I'm Ireland! I feel so typecasted. Plus a grant proposal, plus an outline for my 15 page paper, plus an annotated bibiliography for our poltical economy debate class. FML.
Barcelona:
-Catalan is confusing
- Barcelona is definitely a summer party town. There are all these clubs on the beach, and everyone hangs out outside. It's definitely not a place I can imagine living in year round.
-La Sagrada Familia is epic, though it's still in the process of being built, so there is scaffolding everywhere.
-Park Guell was lovely, we visited the Gaudi museum and sat out on the winding benches and chatted up vendors selling their wares. I bought some leather bracelets, and my friend Nisha had some jewelery custom-made.
-My biggest disappointment was missing out on the Picasso museum. It was closed on Monday!
- I loved how everything was open so late, perfect for a night owl like me. Stores didn't close until 9 and later, and people don't sit down and eat until 10. Best tapas I had in Barca were at Tapas 24. A review with nice photos here.
-Worst? Some random joint on Las Ramblas that was handing out free shots. It wasn't my idea, obviously.
- We also hit up Barcelona's fabled night life. Most notable was Razmatazz, an absolutely humongous club, with several buildings and multiple stories. All the Northwestern students who were "studying" in Barcelona claim a room nightly here, with their friends from UChi, Stanford, Brown, Princeton and Harvard. All this social awkwardness and intelligence interrupted by the effects of alcohol makes for an interesting experience to say the least.
-The market is awesome! But don't let your waiter overcharge you for swordfish at one of the little bar/restaurants inside.
-Overall, Barcelona is a nice city, but one I'm not itching to visit again.
Sevilla:
-Beautiful Weather! It felt so good to wear sandals again.
-We took a free walking tour from our hostel, and it turned out to be one of the best experiences I had during my trip. I learned interesting tidbits about Spanish history and the story of Sevilla, which is rich in Spanish-Christian, Moorish and Jewish culture.
-The Cathedral is the third-largest church in Europe (after San Pietro in Rome and St. Paul's in London) and very interesting to tour. It used to be a Moorish mosque, and the famous tower used to be a minaret. You can climb to the top of the tower using a winding ramp. Apparently, back in the day, someone used to ride to the top on a pony to do the Call to Prayer in order to preserve his voice. Neat, huh?
-I met my friend and former roomie Rachel for dinner one night, and we headed to the neighborhood where Flamenco was born. Some friends wanted to pay up to 30 euros for a flamenco show, but I dined right next to an impromptu floor show, at no cost.
-Even though I liked the daytime walking tour, the night life tour was a very different story. Pancho of Pancho Tours runs a very shady business. Be wary of him. It is very unprofessional to try to make out with your clients. However, I did get to meet a Brazilian hottie on this tour. Hey Juaon, or Joao, or Juan...or however you spell your name.
-Most tapas I had in Sevilla were excellent, and very rustic. I love the little sandwiches (bocaditos) with iberian ham or chorizo, the seafood, and the vegetable dishes.
-I really really really want to go back to Sevilla. It's so romantic. It would make the perfect vacation, and there is a lot more I'd like to see around Southern Spain.
Madrid:
-The weather...Colder than it's ever been in Paris and rainy the entire time. I wanted to get out and explore Madrid, but it was really hard when all you wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.
-I hit up the Thyssen and the Prado museums and they were very nice. My favorite painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, hangs in the Prado, so that was really a treat.
-Visited Hemingway's fave Sangria bar, Las Cuevas de Sesamo, and the Penthouse rooftop bar after that. Went to la Chueca barrio for dinner one night, since my stolen-from-the-hostel lonely planet guidebook told me it was "THE place" to eat in Madrid. It was Sunday, so there wasn't much open, but it was still very trendy. Most gay neighborhoods are that way. Hey, Boystown, hey!
-I don't think I gave Madrid enough of a chance. It's really similar to Paris, so I'd definitely like to go back again and explore some more, hopefully when the sun is shining. The Passeo del Prado is beautiful.
-Found an Indian fusion restaurant called Root, because at this point, I was sick of patatas bravas and cured meat.
-Madrid is LOUD at night. Our hostel was near plaza del sol, but still, I had to wear earplugs to drown out all the noise on the street.
-Halloween in Madrid was kind of scary. Everyone was dressed as a zombie, or some sort of bloody witch. Or a ghost buster, but that's kind of random. You couldn't tell if someone was actually injured, or if they were just having fun.
But overall, a great trip. But I'm glad to be back in my beloved Paris.
Because Spain doesn't do pastries well. And Paris has LaDurée and Pierre Hermé. And it's Paris for goodness' sake. I'll have to write soon on Paris stuff. I'm so behind.
Alright, now on to my millions of homework assignments. Not joking. In the next week, I have 2 political briefings to compose since we're role-playing a session of the European Council in one of my classes. I'm Ireland! I feel so typecasted. Plus a grant proposal, plus an outline for my 15 page paper, plus an annotated bibiliography for our poltical economy debate class. FML.
10.15.2010
Waffles in Brussels and Souflees in Paris
I'll be in Spain a week from now, which means it's almost Toussaint, which means it's almost December, which means I'm almost home. Time flies, I tell ya.
Welllll, let me give you a quick rundown on what's happening in Gay Payree and elsewhere.
Monday, a friend and I went to Père LaChaise, a large cemetery in East Paris filled with the bodies of the rich and famous. We hobnobbed with Oscar Wilde, Molière, and Jim Morrison. I'll try to get some pictures from her to put up so you can see my pretty face, as well as the beautiful fall colors. That day was so gorgeous, and the light in the cemetery was just perfect. Paris doesn't do fall very well in general, so that beautiful day soothed my ache for my favorite season back home. It's constantly rainy and cold here, and nobody jumps in piles of leaves, or carves pumpkins, or drinks hot apple cider, or goes apple picking, or goes for a hayride, or dresses up for Halloween. Thanksgiving is going to be ROUGH, you guys. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm supposed to embrace cultural differences with open arms, but when those differences mean I can't have Papou's cranberry sauce, naturally I get a bit rowdy.
Welllll, let me give you a quick rundown on what's happening in Gay Payree and elsewhere.
Monday, a friend and I went to Père LaChaise, a large cemetery in East Paris filled with the bodies of the rich and famous. We hobnobbed with Oscar Wilde, Molière, and Jim Morrison. I'll try to get some pictures from her to put up so you can see my pretty face, as well as the beautiful fall colors. That day was so gorgeous, and the light in the cemetery was just perfect. Paris doesn't do fall very well in general, so that beautiful day soothed my ache for my favorite season back home. It's constantly rainy and cold here, and nobody jumps in piles of leaves, or carves pumpkins, or drinks hot apple cider, or goes apple picking, or goes for a hayride, or dresses up for Halloween. Thanksgiving is going to be ROUGH, you guys. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm supposed to embrace cultural differences with open arms, but when those differences mean I can't have Papou's cranberry sauce, naturally I get a bit rowdy.
Early Tuesday morning I took a truly amazing (technology we don't have at home (yet) blows my mind) 1.5 hour high speed train ride to Brussels, city of chocolate and waffles and capital of Europe. It was a cute city, nothing compared to Paris, but what can you do. Belgium is kind of the Canada of Europe. What are these Beligians all about? No one really knows. All we can tell about them is that they have 2 official languages, and make waffles (which coincidentally go along great with maple syrup).
To add to the oddness of the Belgians, one of the main attractions is a fountain of a little boy taking a whiz. It's called "Manneken Pis", or literally, little man piss in Dutch. I refused to go see it, because that is basically the silliest thing ever. Why would I go out of my way to watch a little pudgy baby pee? I don't need to go all the way to Belgium to see that! French parents don't change diapers, they just let their babies go to the bathroom on the sidewalk. I've seen it far too many times.
We visited the European Commission and the Council of Europe, gained some knowledge, and I got some free EU goodies. All in all a successful field trip, even if I ignored one of Belgium's national treasures.
Now I'm back in Paris, fresh off a visit to the Opera Garnier and a cooking class. The cooking class was fun times, y'all. My friend and I figured it would be us and a bunch of 50 year old ladies, and we were totally right. Our chef, Emmanuel, was laid-back and unpretentious and helped us make cheese and chocolate souffles along with a salad. There was also wine, so, score. Emmanuel clearly loved all the adoring attention he got from the ladies, but who can blame him. Everyone was moaning with pleasure or in the throws of ecstasy after tasting their chocolate souffle (***OMG LOL, There is just something *special* about chocolate, right ladiezzz??? ;-)***), so I guess he does have the right to be appreciated as well. Thanks, Emmanuel. You rock my world.
Oh yes, and everyone is on strike again! Which means lousy mail service, and a crowded sweaty metro, with only a few trains running. Blahhhh. My absentee ballot better get to the states in time!
Bon Week-End, everyone! Now off to start on my piles of papers....
To add to the oddness of the Belgians, one of the main attractions is a fountain of a little boy taking a whiz. It's called "Manneken Pis", or literally, little man piss in Dutch. I refused to go see it, because that is basically the silliest thing ever. Why would I go out of my way to watch a little pudgy baby pee? I don't need to go all the way to Belgium to see that! French parents don't change diapers, they just let their babies go to the bathroom on the sidewalk. I've seen it far too many times.
We visited the European Commission and the Council of Europe, gained some knowledge, and I got some free EU goodies. All in all a successful field trip, even if I ignored one of Belgium's national treasures.
Now I'm back in Paris, fresh off a visit to the Opera Garnier and a cooking class. The cooking class was fun times, y'all. My friend and I figured it would be us and a bunch of 50 year old ladies, and we were totally right. Our chef, Emmanuel, was laid-back and unpretentious and helped us make cheese and chocolate souffles along with a salad. There was also wine, so, score. Emmanuel clearly loved all the adoring attention he got from the ladies, but who can blame him. Everyone was moaning with pleasure or in the throws of ecstasy after tasting their chocolate souffle (***OMG LOL, There is just something *special* about chocolate, right ladiezzz??? ;-)***), so I guess he does have the right to be appreciated as well. Thanks, Emmanuel. You rock my world.
Oh yes, and everyone is on strike again! Which means lousy mail service, and a crowded sweaty metro, with only a few trains running. Blahhhh. My absentee ballot better get to the states in time!
Bon Week-End, everyone! Now off to start on my piles of papers....
9.16.2010
Solo in the 16th
Even in a city of millions of people, it's still possible to feel pretty lonely. I mean, not all the time, and I'm not whining for your pity, or anything. I was just making an observation.
Today I was extremely exhausted. I'm not sure why, I didn't go to the Integration Party for Sciences Po last night, even though I bought a ticket. 11pm-5am on a school night? My, my. However, one of the French students told me there will be a "mariniere" party on a boat on the Seine in early October. As you can see in my profile photo, I am big on sailor stripes. They are kind of my thing.
My lame-ness (or not?) paid off in the end, as I was able to answer my professor's question that she uses to trick Americans. (Q: Where did the idea for seperation of powers in government come from? American Answer: The American Constitution, Correct Answer: Montisquieu) Wow wow wow, this makes me sound like a terrible snobby uptight person who hates all fun times and only prides herself on answering obscure questions about philosophers. Maybe this is who I am. I might as well embrace it. But, no! No, it isn't. I like to have fun just as much as anyone else. I just think my definition of fun is a little different.
Now, the Onion just wrote an article about study abroad that pretty much accurately describes most student experiences. This program is probably one of, if not the most, rigorous that Northwestern offers, and carries quite a bit of prestige, so working is not optional. So, I'm not really looking for that kind of study abroad. I don't want to travel around every weekend, or drink until I'm drunk as a skunk. I DO want to know Paris like the back of my hand, I want to learn, and I want to make good friends, American and Parisian.
Sometimes I do feel a bit lonely all the way out here in the 16eme arrondisment. It takes a while by metro for me to get anywhere, I have dinner at home at 7:30, and then the metro closes again at 1:30 or so. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for Sonia's hospitality, and her insistance for me to use French at all times, but sometimes I'm a bit jealous that a lot of our group is in a more centralized location. And at the same time, as much as I love my fellow Americans, I'm itching to meet some French friends too. Plus, I have a lot of time on my hands, with no job or extracurriculars (yet, I think I might check out the SciencesPo choir/orchestra tomorrow) to keep me constantly busy. It's still early, but I'm waiting for the pace of things to really pick up! And filling my free time with shopping is a terrible idea for my bank account, so let's hope something comes along quickly.
My cell phone is in working order now, and I can call anyone I want to, so I really shouldn't be complaining. I just think I spend too many Parisian nights in my room studying, when I could be in some café studying, perhaps with another human being.
I'm going to definitely make more of an effort to organize meetings outside of school, starting this weekend. Sunday I'm meeting up with Justine and some of her friends to visit President Sarkozy's palace/residence.
I've had a good week so far, it's just lonely when you're tired, alone, a bit sad and worried about family at home. But this too shall pass!
Today I was extremely exhausted. I'm not sure why, I didn't go to the Integration Party for Sciences Po last night, even though I bought a ticket. 11pm-5am on a school night? My, my. However, one of the French students told me there will be a "mariniere" party on a boat on the Seine in early October. As you can see in my profile photo, I am big on sailor stripes. They are kind of my thing.
My lame-ness (or not?) paid off in the end, as I was able to answer my professor's question that she uses to trick Americans. (Q: Where did the idea for seperation of powers in government come from? American Answer: The American Constitution, Correct Answer: Montisquieu) Wow wow wow, this makes me sound like a terrible snobby uptight person who hates all fun times and only prides herself on answering obscure questions about philosophers. Maybe this is who I am. I might as well embrace it. But, no! No, it isn't. I like to have fun just as much as anyone else. I just think my definition of fun is a little different.
Now, the Onion just wrote an article about study abroad that pretty much accurately describes most student experiences. This program is probably one of, if not the most, rigorous that Northwestern offers, and carries quite a bit of prestige, so working is not optional. So, I'm not really looking for that kind of study abroad. I don't want to travel around every weekend, or drink until I'm drunk as a skunk. I DO want to know Paris like the back of my hand, I want to learn, and I want to make good friends, American and Parisian.
Sometimes I do feel a bit lonely all the way out here in the 16eme arrondisment. It takes a while by metro for me to get anywhere, I have dinner at home at 7:30, and then the metro closes again at 1:30 or so. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for Sonia's hospitality, and her insistance for me to use French at all times, but sometimes I'm a bit jealous that a lot of our group is in a more centralized location. And at the same time, as much as I love my fellow Americans, I'm itching to meet some French friends too. Plus, I have a lot of time on my hands, with no job or extracurriculars (yet, I think I might check out the SciencesPo choir/orchestra tomorrow) to keep me constantly busy. It's still early, but I'm waiting for the pace of things to really pick up! And filling my free time with shopping is a terrible idea for my bank account, so let's hope something comes along quickly.
My cell phone is in working order now, and I can call anyone I want to, so I really shouldn't be complaining. I just think I spend too many Parisian nights in my room studying, when I could be in some café studying, perhaps with another human being.
I'm going to definitely make more of an effort to organize meetings outside of school, starting this weekend. Sunday I'm meeting up with Justine and some of her friends to visit President Sarkozy's palace/residence.
I've had a good week so far, it's just lonely when you're tired, alone, a bit sad and worried about family at home. But this too shall pass!
9.13.2010
The Real World: Paris
Lately, I've been getting some complaints that my blog is boring (Angelica). To remedy this, I've finally found time to breathe between inhaling flaky pastries to write a blog post for you all. How generous of me, I know. :-)
So far, Paris has really blown me out of the water. Last time I was here, for 3 days as a sixteen year old, I came, I saw the monuments, and I left with photo-perfect memories. Living here is another animal entirely. It's soooo different, like...a real city? Who would have thunk it?
I am absolutely amazed at how many young people are out and about...all the time. Day or night, there are huge groups of kids, in high school, or college-aged just loitering about, hanging by the Seine, or on bridges, or on street corners. Sometimes there is alcohol, sometimes not. My friend Justine says that this is partly because Parisian youth have lots of money and little supervision by workaholic parents, which make sense. I suppose rich American teens do the same thing, but inside family homes, since the police wouldn't look kindly on large public congregations of young people or underage drinking.
Paris also seems much more diverse to me than it did four years ago. Maybe this isn't statistically true, but since I'm actually living here, I have noticed all the ethnic minorities and their integration (or not, regrettably) into Paris, instead of monuments and palaces. It is interesting that some non-native French are considered completely assimilated, but others are not. Recent European immigrants or 3rd generation Black French do not seem to face the same difficulties as Arab immigrants, for example. All citizens are supposed to be considered French, and that's all, no hyphenated labels here (statistics on ethnic origin are not kept by the French Republic). But just because race and religion are officially ignored by the state, doesn't mean ethnic and religious prejudice doesn't exist. Whether the struggle of ethnic minorities in the suburbs is a class issue or a race issue, it's still a major problem in France.
But not all of Parisian life is troubling. Hardly. Trust me, this is coming from someone who just had dinner in the Latin Quarter, and then just swung by the Louvre for a few hours for FREE. I am just blown away and thankful that I am able to do such amazing things. In the past few days, I've ordered my first cocktail (a mojito, and just 1. Mojitos are very trendy in Paris, btdubs.), visited the most AMAZING department store (Le Bon Marché) that I've ever seen. I've visited the first of the trifecta of Parisian burial places, De Passy (Manet, DeBussy, Fauré). Pere La Chaise (Wilde, Morrison, Piaf, Chopin, Delacroix, Callas, Proust) and the Pantheon (Voltaire, Hugo, Curie, Monnet, Dumas), I'm coming for you. I've sat on café terraces or park benches with views of the Eiffel Tower, reading for class and sipping café crème, so happy to be in the most beautiful city in the world. Life is pretty good, here and now. I like it. Classes are great, and I love Sciences Po already. I'd like to branch out somewhat from our Northwestern-English bubble, though there are so many amazing people in my program! Justine has offered to invite me to meet her friends, who go to another grande école in Paris. I'm also considering where to go for Toussaint, a long break I have from school at the end of October. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Or if you know any good Parisian jazz clubs.
And as Blair Waldorf says, you can't let anything prevent you from jumping into the belly of the beast, which is Paris. Gossip Girl premieres tonight, I'm a little excited.
Also, there are new photos below. I'm not a photographer, I'm sorry, and I don't take many, but hopefully you can get some idea of what I'm up to.
So far, Paris has really blown me out of the water. Last time I was here, for 3 days as a sixteen year old, I came, I saw the monuments, and I left with photo-perfect memories. Living here is another animal entirely. It's soooo different, like...a real city? Who would have thunk it?
I am absolutely amazed at how many young people are out and about...all the time. Day or night, there are huge groups of kids, in high school, or college-aged just loitering about, hanging by the Seine, or on bridges, or on street corners. Sometimes there is alcohol, sometimes not. My friend Justine says that this is partly because Parisian youth have lots of money and little supervision by workaholic parents, which make sense. I suppose rich American teens do the same thing, but inside family homes, since the police wouldn't look kindly on large public congregations of young people or underage drinking.
Paris also seems much more diverse to me than it did four years ago. Maybe this isn't statistically true, but since I'm actually living here, I have noticed all the ethnic minorities and their integration (or not, regrettably) into Paris, instead of monuments and palaces. It is interesting that some non-native French are considered completely assimilated, but others are not. Recent European immigrants or 3rd generation Black French do not seem to face the same difficulties as Arab immigrants, for example. All citizens are supposed to be considered French, and that's all, no hyphenated labels here (statistics on ethnic origin are not kept by the French Republic). But just because race and religion are officially ignored by the state, doesn't mean ethnic and religious prejudice doesn't exist. Whether the struggle of ethnic minorities in the suburbs is a class issue or a race issue, it's still a major problem in France.
But not all of Parisian life is troubling. Hardly. Trust me, this is coming from someone who just had dinner in the Latin Quarter, and then just swung by the Louvre for a few hours for FREE. I am just blown away and thankful that I am able to do such amazing things. In the past few days, I've ordered my first cocktail (a mojito, and just 1. Mojitos are very trendy in Paris, btdubs.), visited the most AMAZING department store (Le Bon Marché) that I've ever seen. I've visited the first of the trifecta of Parisian burial places, De Passy (Manet, DeBussy, Fauré). Pere La Chaise (Wilde, Morrison, Piaf, Chopin, Delacroix, Callas, Proust) and the Pantheon (Voltaire, Hugo, Curie, Monnet, Dumas), I'm coming for you. I've sat on café terraces or park benches with views of the Eiffel Tower, reading for class and sipping café crème, so happy to be in the most beautiful city in the world. Life is pretty good, here and now. I like it. Classes are great, and I love Sciences Po already. I'd like to branch out somewhat from our Northwestern-English bubble, though there are so many amazing people in my program! Justine has offered to invite me to meet her friends, who go to another grande école in Paris. I'm also considering where to go for Toussaint, a long break I have from school at the end of October. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Or if you know any good Parisian jazz clubs.
And as Blair Waldorf says, you can't let anything prevent you from jumping into the belly of the beast, which is Paris. Gossip Girl premieres tonight, I'm a little excited.
Also, there are new photos below. I'm not a photographer, I'm sorry, and I don't take many, but hopefully you can get some idea of what I'm up to.
9.06.2010
J'ai un problème...
Tomorrow there will be a huge strike against pension age reform, with two million Frenchmen expecting to take part, and I have to find some way to make it to class at 10:15... Google tells me it's about a 50 minute walk, which is a little ridiculous. Trying to take the metro will be too risky, with only a 1/3 of trains in service. Apparently the buses will still be up and running, so we'll see if I can figure out a route.
It's a huge no-no to be late to class, especially if you have a French professor. All this trouble because they're planning to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62! My goodness. Can't the French be happy with their 35 hour work weeks and 7 weeks of paid vacation?
Agrandir le plan
It's a huge no-no to be late to class, especially if you have a French professor. All this trouble because they're planning to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62! My goodness. Can't the French be happy with their 35 hour work weeks and 7 weeks of paid vacation?
Agrandir le plan
8.31.2010
Nervous for nothing, I'm sure.
I have no idea where the snooty Parisian stereotype comes from. So far, I've made lots of 'friendships' on my way to or in Paris, and I've found that Parisians are willing to go out of their way to help you and befriend you, as long as you are polite. I sat next to a fellow study-abroader and sorority girl from SMU on the airplane, who was incredibly kind and empathetic and made my 8 hours aboard Delta flight 44 as pain-free as possible. After having trouble finding my airport shuttle, because I was directed to the wrong terminal for pick up, a AirFrance staff member named Ralib took care of everything for me, got another shuttle lined up straight away, and even gave me his phone number in case I need anything during my stay in Paris. The shuttle driver and I bonded over rush-hour traffic, and he even told me I was 'hyper-cool' for dealing with the delay. At my host-apartment on Avenue Victor Hugo, i've enjoyed the company of my Turkish host-mother, Sonia, who should brag about keeping a virtual United Nations of host-children, with deux Japonais, un Brésilien, et moi, l'Américaine. That being said, the others are leaving, since they are summer students. This means I get a room with a sweet view of La Tour Eiffel, but it also reminds me that I'm starting my SciencesPo orientation with a blank slate tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to meeting my classmates, since it is difficult to enjoy and navigate a city (especially at night) without friends. Plus it's just a bit lonely. At the same time, I am extremely nervous, which is bizarre, if you think about it, since most are Americans, all are Northwestern students, and many are Poli Sci majors, like me...
I put a lot of weight on first impressions, and I know that forming these friendships will be important, for the rest of my stay in Paris, for the next 2 years at Northwestern, and beyond. I will be spending the next 3.5 months with these people, and it kind of freaks me out that I've never met any of them before.
But if all else fails, and I'm just too socially inept to get along with people who are exactly like me, I have Justine, my French friend, who will hopefully introduce me to her school friends and give me the inside scoop on the city.
Either way, I'm sure I have plenty of long-lasting friendships on the horizon.
I'm looking forward to meeting my classmates, since it is difficult to enjoy and navigate a city (especially at night) without friends. Plus it's just a bit lonely. At the same time, I am extremely nervous, which is bizarre, if you think about it, since most are Americans, all are Northwestern students, and many are Poli Sci majors, like me...
I put a lot of weight on first impressions, and I know that forming these friendships will be important, for the rest of my stay in Paris, for the next 2 years at Northwestern, and beyond. I will be spending the next 3.5 months with these people, and it kind of freaks me out that I've never met any of them before.
But if all else fails, and I'm just too socially inept to get along with people who are exactly like me, I have Justine, my French friend, who will hopefully introduce me to her school friends and give me the inside scoop on the city.
Either way, I'm sure I have plenty of long-lasting friendships on the horizon.
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