Le Week-end

The weekend commenced with me heading over to the Monoprix across the street and purchasing a baguette, brie, nutella, salt and vinegar chips, and pickles. Now most people might think this is rather French of me.... it's not. Yes - these 5 basic food groups are rather Clara of me, actually; though I am quite pleased to habitate a country where my bird-like, salt/carb heavy diet is more culturally accepted. They have, bien sur, since been entirely consumed (sans nutella) ... though my homework has not. Yes it's that time of the year, folks, homework lockdown. Besides Katherine's 21st (which shall be celebrated all out next weekend, tiara included) the next few weeks are going to involve me pouring over French literature from the 1500's, wikipediaing conflict in Yugoslavia of the last century, and avoiding said mountain of devoirs by watching The West Wing (comme d'habitude) and trying not to freak out too much.

And I did take a slight break yesterday to go to a satelite Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, hosted by a Scottish Pub filled to the brim by middle-aged, liberal expats.... some to the point of tears with excitement.

Nora and I were indeed the youngest attendees, but were quite happy to get our America-fix accompanied by her lovely New-England-version-of-my-parents parents who are here in Paris for the next two weeks. We were a tad disturbed when one lady informed us that she came to Paris 30 years ago as a junior in college.... and never left.

Maybe it's the mile high pile of homework, or the fact that it's Halloweekend at USC, or that Katherine is in Ecuador until Tuesday..... but I'm starting to realize how much I miss home (wherever that home may be? Washington? California? the jury is out on that one) and how terrifying the idea of staying here 30 years is. These next 7 months will be handled, and enjoyed, but I really am looking forward to getting back to something familiar. Sunshine, English, football games, frat parties, eating straight up lemons with Jordan, Friday morning recaps of Thursday evenings, understanding what exactly is expected of me and what exactly it is I'm supposed to be learning about, clothes fresh from the dryer (instead of this air dried, crunchy business), ice, the ability to wear something colorful and not feel like a clown, instant netflix.... this is only the beginning of the list of things I miss.

And I know that 7 months from now I'll be missing all of the things I have begun to take for granted here (cheese, bread, mes chats, etc) but at this point I'm very much in France and very much removed from what 7 months from now is going to feel like.

Just some thoughts. Happy Halloween!

Clara

Milkshakes, Greves, Fringes.... what else can I say?

Hi gang,

It's been far too long since I've posted [the battle cry of all study abroad bloggers ever] but I'm sorry okay? Paris. It's far too exciting.

Quick recap of Provence:

So, I went to Provence two weekends ago. More specifically we stayed in the city of Arles (which I enjoy pronouncing as "Ahrrrrrrrrles") which is almost at the very south of France... but a mere 2 hour TGV (high speed train) ride from Paris. Training through the French countryside as the sun rises? Yes please!

Once arriving in Ahrrrrles we hit up the local open market. It was a feast for all the senses. Fresh spices, fruits, vegetables, meat.... I died and went to food heaven. We were a little hungry so instead of ruining our appetites too horribly before dejeuner, we happily sampled all of that the market had to offer.

The rest of the weekend was spent exploring beaucoup de historic sites in the greater Ahrrrles area.

Pont de Gard - an aqueduct that was used to transport water from France all the way to Italy. I don't remember how long the aqueduct was (this is only a section) but it was very long.

This is Les Baux de Provence. It is a village that was built directly out of the stone as a defense in the feudal age. It is in fact such a defensively good location, very high up with an impressive view, that there are traces of human habitation as far back at 6000 B.C.! Right now it's 22 residents do very well supporting the tourist industry.

This is the Pont d'Avignon (I guess there is a famous song about it?) with the Papal Palace in the background, where Pope Benedict XIII was imprisoned for 5 years in the 1300's.

Basically - I loved Provence and I can't wait to go back! How could I not fall in love with farm fresh food, feudal fortresses, and frolicking with friends? oh France. Fun.

Back in Paris....

Last weekend Katherine and I went to the Ballet! Here we are all dressed up (in our new winter coats - much needed! It's already feeling like winter here!) for dinner beforehand - but there is always time to snap a quick picture of La Tour Eiffel at night. The spectacle was a bit too avant-garde for our taste, but the soirée rounded off nicely with a night of dancing and a 5 am metro ride home. C'est la vie!

And here we are at the 50's diner we discovered, just a stone's throw from Notre Dame. I realize as much as I love this pain, fromage et crêpe nutella diet - I will tire of the simplicities of les frites et le... milkshake.

Other things of importance....

This is Madame Ouchka - ruler of the roost. Sometimes she takes over my bed. I'll try to document Monsieur Picasso (the other cat, for newer readers) but he is a bit more shutter shy.

France is en greve, have you heard??? A greve is like a strike in the US - except really, it's not quite as big of a deal because France strikes ALL THE TIME! And in France, instead of in the US where we strike until we get what we want, strikes can last a few days - prove a point - and then everyone goes back to work as if nothing happened. I'm sure there are more intricacies - but this is just my humble American perception. This manifestation has of course become a bit more of a big deal - but I have to say it seems to have been blown out of proportion by the American media. So thank you parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, acquaintances that have urgently emailed, called, facebooked..... I haven't seen any burning cars or rocks thrown through windows. I guess the French are rioting - but all it hasn't affected my quality of life in the least, besides having to wait for some metros for 5 minutes instead of 2. Wow - tough life, right?

Now you might be wondering - what the heck is the greve about anyways? Well, to put things simply, the current retirement age is 60. Yes. EVERYONE RETIRES AT 60! But, heaven forbid(!), the government has decided to change it to.... 62! Oh Mon Dieu!!! (I hope you catch my sarcasm). The problem is is that France doesn't have enough money to start paying their form of social security to all of the 60-year-olds that are about to retire.... so they are attempting to delay the issue. The French are up in arms about it, especially the students because there is a valid concern that as people work longer it will be more difficult to find jobs.

So yeah - that's what's up with French politics right now. I wish I was more informed on the issue, but that's what I've picked up from attempting to read the newspaper and talking with my host family. I'll let everyone know if it ever blows up into more of an issue. At this point the law has currently passed the Senate and Sarkozy should be signing it into law sometime this next week. I'll keep you posted.

Well enough of all these French politics.... you know what is really occupying my time? The West Wing. Greatest show on earth AND thankfully my dear friend Nora has all 7 season on DVD here with her. So we have begun watching them from the beginning. It may be a little idealistic (or as Nora describes it "liberal elitist porn") but I need a little early 2000's in my life right now and it reminds me of curling up in the living room with my mom and letting the far-too-difficult-to-catch-every-word-witty-Aaron-Sorkian-banter waft over me.

Well what else?

Homework? nada... at least not yet

Movies? Yeah I saw three last weekend (The Kids Are All Right, Wall Street, and The Social Network - I recommend them all)

French Hip Hop? Listen to this.

La Caution - Thé à la menthe
envoyé par Maximum. - Regardez la dernière sélection musicale.

Oh and j'ai coupé un fringe hier soir. So that's new...

Bonne courage!

Clara (pronounced Clahhhww-rrrraahhh here... which is getting some getting used to)

Nuit Blanche

France may not be a developing country, but there are a few items that a recent expat like myself gets a hankering for on the daily. Sour candy, R.S.V.P. pens, and moderately priced coffee are all top on my list. But there is one such item that has given my friends and me here a lot of grief. Where can I get some real Mexican food, s'il vous plait!!!!!!?? I've basically grown up on eating at least a couple burritos per week and upon discovery of the Chipotle food baby - there really isn't any going back. But sadly, a daily crepe (though I'm not about to complain) doesn't quite cut it.

So Friday evening Katherine and I set out on pursuit. I did a little research and discovered El Nopal. Located in the 10th arrondissement it was a bit of a hike/lengthy metro ride for us.... but OMG (!!!!) worth it. The owners, who lived in the States for 9 years, just opened this little hole in the wall a month ago and Katherine and I decided that we are singlehandedly going to work to keep them in business for the remainder of our stay. For 8 euros each we got a burrito (prepared with fresh vegetables, chopped and roasted right in front of our eyes), chips and guacamole (also made lovingly by hand), a drink and lovely conversation.

BEST MEAL EVER. Can't wait to go again!

After inhaling our dinner, we headed to Nuit Blanche. To have a nuit blanche (literally translated white night in French) is like saying pull an all nighter. Every year in October, all of Paris has a nuit blanche in the form of an all night arts festival. Certain metro lines are open 24 hours, but getting home at 6 am and then sleeping until 3 pm the next day (as I did) is not at all uncommon.

Fading by 8 pm, Katherine and I decided we would be needing some coffee to get us through the evening. We parked ourselves down at a local coffee shop - okay it was Starbucks :/ - and watched as what appeared to be a human powered wooden train (a Nuit Blanche exhibit) progressed by our window.

It was weird.

The train must have parked just outside of Starbucks, because quite soon a line of coal covered pre-teens/orphans (??) à la Oliver Twist filed through to use the bathroom.

Katherine assisting with the bathroom code. (We ended up sitting there for over an hour assisting the entire Starbucks population with the door code. It was humorous.)

After some much needed caffeine and a few laughs we headed on to see the other Nuit Blanche exhibits. We stumbled into a church where a group was conducting a human powered musical light show..... très cool

Then we hung out at the Hotel de Ville (city hall) which was lit up with lights spelling out "love differences" in many different languages.

And then we danced all night. C'est la vie française!

- Clara

P.S. Many people at home have expressed concerns about the recent terrorist threats and travel advisories in Europe. Honestly, there's really nothing I can do to assure you, but know that I am "remaining vigilant" and looking out for unattended packages. Oh and I'm registered with the embassy. I would say people here are a bit on edge, but at the same time no one is going to stop riding the metros. Though I might wait to go to the Eiffel Tower until things die down. I also really enjoyed reading this article by Rick Steves though. It helps to put things in a different perspective.