Une demi-annee apres...

Six months after returning back to the states I find myself missing my favorite city more and more every day.

The first month or two back it just felt good to be home and to see all the people I had missed for so long... For the past few months, though, I've found myself looking up flights to CDG at least twice a week.

I wish my French was better.

the importance of the weather forecast

I went out in this outfit today without checking the weather forecast - 20 mph winds. 

Big mistake!!! The Marilyn Monroe look is much more glamorous in pictures than it is in real life.

More Random Musings

I've given up on trying to update this thing diary-style and in chronological order of events. Get ready for a very short and disjointed post to match my very short attention span and disjointed thoughts right now.

I took this picture on the walk from Gare d'Austerlitz to the Grand Mosque de Paris where I had dinner with a bunch of other BC kids. I had the "tagine agneau" or lamb stew served in a "tagine" clay pot. soooooooo yummyyyyyy. There were a bunch of these signs posted on fences and walls that said things like this. "I could never forget you." "I love you." I wonder what the story is behind it...

I'm currently working on a paper about the ideology of the model minority. I think I'm going to argue that it requires assimiliation by the minority into the larger national culture which could lead to the disintegration of the minority ethnic culture and the formation of a monoculture... Sound good???

Also, I pledge to always do my dishes after I cook at home from now on.

Random Musings on Life in Paris

For whatever reason, potatoes and garlic seem to sprout here. I assume that means theyre overripe? but I really have no idea. Anyway, I know my dad would scold me for saying this, but I think sprouting potatoes are pretty gross. That's not to say that I wouldn't eat them. I just plucked/cut all of these sprouts off, made a big batch of yummy roasted potatoes and froze them. That being said, I wasn't at all annoyed when a new batch of my potatoes started sprouting two weeks later and one of my roommates threw them out without saying anything to me. 

bar tha lo na!

We spent the second weekend of Freddy's spring break in Barcelona! We arrived on Thursday night along with my friend Mike and roommate Christine and found the apartment where we were staying without too much trouble. After some confusion about paying the 300 euro deposit in cash, we got settled and ventured into the Barrio Gotico to get some dinner. We ended up at a really nice and cute although somewhat touristy restaurant called Princesa 23 where we had paella, tapas, and really really yummy sangria. 

Catalonian bread (idk what it's called) and patates braves-- yum!!

The next day, we stopped to eat breakfast at a small cafe on the way to la Sagrada Familia. We each ate a breakfast sandwich and had a coffee for 3 euro. In Paris, a cafe au lait alone would have cost 4 euro. We paid ten euro to get into the cathedral but didn't even end up going to the top because there was an hour-long wait and an extra 3 euro charge to take the elevator (the only way up). The area where you can walk on the ground floor of the cathedral is actually pretty small-- you basically circumambulate the construction that's going on in the middle of the cathedral and can stare at the vast metal sea of scaffolding. Only a couple of the walls of windows had its stained glass installed, but they were absolutely beautiful:

A small exhibit at the exit from the cathedral showed how Gaudi used mathematics and nature together to create his very unique designs-- it was really interesting to see where he got some of his design motifs that are used not only at la Sagrada Familia, but at Parc Guell and la Pedrera too. 

Next, we strolled down the Passeig de Gracia and saw la Pedrera and Casa Batllo. I wish we had gone in and to the top of la Pedrera because I saw pictures of the top later, but unfortunately we didn't realize that we could and didn't look into it at the time. The sidewalk was somewhat crowded as we were walking down Passeig de Gracia, but I wasn't being too protective of my small shoulder-sling purse as we walked. Thank goodness I noticed, then, when I felt something lightly tug at my purse and I immediately whipped around to see what was happening. My purse had been completely unzipped and although she quickly stopped and removed her hand, I definitely saw the woman who opened it. I wanted to yell at her so badly but I was too in shock so I just grabbed Freddy and repeated over and over again, "She just opened my bag. She just opened my bag." Thankfully I noticed, because she didn't have the chance to take anything out of it. One wallet stolen per semester is enough for me, thank you.

That night Fred and I went out to another suuuuuper romantic dinner at a tapas restaurant. The place was pretty empty when we sat down, but we had been looking for somewhere to eat, so decided to take a chance. Of course, it turned out that our 10pm arrival time was just too early for the Spaniards because the place was crowded when we left around midnight. We had a good time-- probably ate too few tapas and drank too much sangria, but hey, we were on vacation!

Tortilla Espana, or Spanish Omelette - staple tapas dish that's basically a fluffy omelette with potatoes and onions. I tried to make a version myself when I got back to Paris-- didn't turn out this well, but pictures will come soon.

The next day we trekked up to Parc Guell in spite of the dreary weather. It was SO WORTH it! even though it was raining and a tiny bit muddy and our view of the city was covered in clouds. The park itself is beautiful and the architecutre is amazing. The walkways and terraces all seem to fit perfectly with the nature around. The longest bench in the world is the curvy one on the top level of this park-- if you ever had the Paso a Paso textbook for Spanish in high school, you know which bench I'm talking about. 

in front of the gates of Parc Guell

On the way back to the metro, we stopped for cafes con leche and ran into the other BC kids who were also coming from Parc Guell. They told us to definitely go see the Hospital de Sant Pau so we headed there next. It was pretty amazing to see how beautiful the complex was-- supposedly it's the oldest hospital that's still functioning. The architecture was beautiful (partly designed by Gaudi, so I guess that's a given), but to be honest I found the experience a little bit creepy. It was a little too quiet in the main courtyard of the hospital and something about the design along with the eerie weather gave me the chills. All that combined with my deathly fear of doctor's offices and medical equipment made it an interesting and pretty but not-that-enjoyable-for-me-place.

Freddy thought the hospital was cooler than I did.

After refueling and getting out of the drippy weather for a bit, we trudged back down to La Boqueria, a really cool and I think really old market right off La Rambla. Besides beautiful veggies, vibrant fruit, candy, cheese, juice, and seafood, you could also find pretty much any part of a sheep or cow that you might ever want to buy. We finished off the evening by making kind of a futile trip up to Montjuic by funicular (Montjuic is a huge park at the top of a mountain/hill where there is a castle and the Olympic stadium). We were trying to  meet up with friends, but couldn't get ahold of them so we walked in the rain at the top of the mountain for two minutes and turned around to go back down and instead... eat chocolate cake! hah

fruits and veggies at La Boqueria - notice the color effect... no, Spanish lettuce is not grey

Animal guts at La Boqueria.. yum

Spaniards know how to do chocolate mousse cake-- but French mousse still tops it.

The next day, we didn't have much time before our flight, so we just explored the beach, walking from Mar Bella, where our hotel was, to Barceloneta, which is the main beach closest to the middle of the city. It was cloudy and dreary and we enjoyed each others' company but not the view. 

All in all, one of my favorite weekends :) I learned that I really like travelling with Freddy. We do things at similar paces, are interested in spending time in similar ways, and we like being around each other. But I think that's pretty obvious. 

Catching Up: the BF in Paris

It has been a crazy month since my last post, so I am going to try to catch you up weekend by weekend, hopefully bringing you all on a virtual tour of my amazing months of March and April.

.... starting with Freddy's visit to Paris and our weekend in Barcelona!

As I may have mentioned, Freddy surprised me by sending me a pdf of his flight to Paris on the day my wallet was stolen, thus completely turning my day around. Since this day in February I had been counting down the days until his visit-- you can only imagine the force of my jumping on him in Charles De Gaulle as soon as he arrived. 

We spent his first weekend in Paris (his first weekend outside of North America!!) both recovering from jet lag and at Versailles. I had never been to Versailles before as I had heard it is touristy and not worth the trip out of Paris if you only have a few days here, but our trip was definitely "worth it". 

We arrived at the chateau in the afternoon and tried to take pictures in the one-minute intervals when the sun would peek out from behind the clouds. We made a leisurely afternoon out of our little day trip, gliding through the chateau and skipping through the gardens (almost literally, on my part anyway). True to my history major nerdiness, I tried to read about the history of the place while Freddy stood in awe of the gold-gilded doors and frescoed ceilings. We took quite a few pics, including this one:

 Gotta get a mirror pic.

We spent the next couple of hours walking around admiring the gardens, munching on salami and dark chocolate (who says those two delicious things cannot make a great lunch?). Although it was still cold, the sun came out, shining low through the trees and making the statues gleam. 

The afternoon was really as peaceful as it looks in these pictures too. I would love to go back in the spring just to picnic in the gardens.

We actually didn't do any museums or even that much "touristy" stuff during the week in Paris because I had class everyday so there wasn't much free time. On Tuesday we celebrated our one year anniversary by going to a kosher Italian restaurant at Miromesnil called l'Inte Caffe, recommended by our mutual friend from high school, Grace, who has been studying in Paris since September. The pasta there was delicious! and we took the scenic route on the way to dinner, stopping by the Arc de Triomphe:

On Wednesday we took our own walking tour of Paris, crossing over to the Left Bank to check out the Jardin du Luxembourg and Rue Mouffetard. 

Glowing in one of the rare bursts of sunshine of the day.

From there, we walked down Boulevard Saint-Michel where Fred and I both bought cheap fake leather jackets. (We both wore them in Barcelona... I guess we were "that couple" wearing matching jackets...) We then headed through the Latin Quarter and stopped at a few tourist shops to indulge in tacky but fun souvenirs :) and to eat kebab! Kebab, aka Sandwich Grec, is a pita sandwich filled with meat, a few veggies, and sometimes french fries. You can find kebab places in Paris and in other European cities, in different variations. It's your non-chain fast food that's cheap, filling, and yummy. It's usually sold at places that also will make crepes and stay open late. 

Freddy with his fry-filled kebab

We spent the end of the afternoon up in Montmartre, where we checked out Moulin Rouge (Freddy didn't seem as excited about that as most of the girls I know). We went in Sacre Coeur and just enjoyed the view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower from the top of the hill. 

Vive la Greve (a D100 practice run)

Today was Black Thursday in Paris-- the day of the strike! In Paris today, thousands of people marched the streets; they were either striking something, protesting something else, or joining in the rowdy fun. I had already experienced "la grève" (the strike) here in Paris when my roommates and I accidentally found ourselves marching along with University of Paris researchers and professors who were on strike. This was the first week of February. The same strike is still going on, and a handful of BC students here on a different program have had barely any classes in the past two months. Today's strike(s), though, were entirely different. 

This afternoon, I was actually about to take a nap when I convinced myself to take a peek at what was happening literally one block away from our apartment and enjoy the lovely Paris 60 degree springtime. After gawking for five minutes at the parade of countless different causes and groups, I ran back to my apartment to grab dad's camera. The following are some of the cool shots I got of la grève and of the city on my long walk. (I also had fun making some of them b&w-- artsy, I know.)

Across the street from our apartment: Chez Janou, a very very yummy, cute, pricey bistro

S.O.S. Racism

30,000 Deportations Each Year

"Civil disobedience is the enduring right of every citizen..." - Gandhi

"The school remains the only patrimony of the poor."

Place de la Bastille (where the Bastille once stood), background - Bastille Opera

-there is a tall fence around the Bastille monument that those people all climbed to get up there... after all that effort, they looked more like they were sunbathing to me than protesting anything.

Boulevard Henri IV

View of Pont Marie

Not sure what this building is, but it's next to Notre Dame

View of Hotel de Ville from Pont Notre Dame

March-- thus far, and coming up

I have been living in Paris now for exactly five weeks and one day. Now that I am really settled in the apartment and have settled schedules for exams and papers, I'm starting to plan and look forward to weekend trips!

PRAGUE:

This past weekend, I flew to Prague to spend the weekend with Mom and Dad. I had high expectations for the city since everyone I talked to had described Prague as "magical," "amazing," and "beautiful," and I'm glad to say that despite less-than-perfect weather, the trip lived up to these expectations. On arriving, we went on a walking tour of New Town, Old Town, and the Jewish quarter, ending on the famous Charles Bridge. That evening we had dinner with my friend from Sunny Hills, Natalie, whom I hadn't seen since after high school graduation. We ate at a Czech restaurant called U Flecku (sp?); most notable about the meal was the aperitif that Dad tried which apparently tasted "like Christmas," (lost on me), and the two-man tuba and accordion band in some sort of Czech military attire. 

Natalie has been studying in Prague since the beginning of January. She claims to be enjoying herself there, although she describes the Czechs as "rude, sometimes awful people." Although I didn't have any stand-out bad experiences with Czechs, I did get the impression that Parisians are friendlier, and that is saying a lot. 

The next day we explored the castle, which literally sat one staircase above our apartment building. My poor Singaporean mother was freezing in the wind on the top of the hill, but we all enjoyed ourselves as we soaked in the architecture and tried to keep Czech history straight. That night was probably the highlight of the trip for me. We went to the opera and saw Verdi's La Traviata. We sat in a box close to the stage and thankfully there were subtitles (both Czech and English) so we could follow the story. 

A couple sidenotes on Prague: 

1) If you are a Gehry fan, be sure to catch a glimpse of his building there, called Fred & Ginger because they are two buildings that look like they're dancing with each other. 

2) The city is easily walkable-- I loved walking from place to place instead of taking the tram or the metro.

3) If you're not sure about sauerkraut, duck, or pork neck (and you're not vegetarian) go for the sausage!! It's served pretty much everywhere and is usually served with some good mustard and horseradish.

PLANS FOR THE REST OF MARCH:

March 13-15: My friend John is visiting Paris from Venice. We'll visit Les Deux Magots, the cafe where French philosophes once hung out, and I'll probably drag him to Sainte-Chappelle since I haven't gotten to see it yet. The weather is supposed to be good so maybe we'll try velib, the public bike system in Paris. There are stations at least every 300 meters within the city where you can take out a bike, ride it to your destination, and leave it at a new station (provided there are open spots at your destination). At 1 Euro for a day pass and 5 Euro for a week pass, velib is really cheap! I'm hoping that instead of buying a metro pass in April (since anyway, I will be out of Paris for ten days travelling during spring break), I will use velib as my main mode of transportation. 

March 21: Freddy arrives for his spring break! A couple weeks ago I was having a terrible day because I had my wallet stolen out of my bag at my school. I lost 100 Euros in cash, my atm and credit cards, my parents' credit card information, and pictures of friends and family that I had never scanned. That afternoon, as I was talking to Freddy on skype when he sent me a pdf and told me to read it. Thinking that I wasn't going to see him until this summer, I was so surprised and ecstatic when the pdf was flight information for his trip to Paris in March! He had been keeping it a secret since November but decided to tell me to cheer me up on a terrible day. It was a good idea since I wouldn't have been able to plan the following if I hadn't known he was visiting....

March 26-29: Barcelona! Freddy and I are going to Barcelona for the last weekend of his trip along with some friends from my program here in Paris. I am so excited to see Barcelona as I have seen countless pictures from others who have studied/visited there and it looks beautiful and architecturally really interesting! I can't wait to shoot hundreds of pictures of all the Gaudi stuff. 

Next post will be coming soon -- photos I've taken in Paris while trying to learn how to use Dad's D100.

Paris in February - Je suis arrivee!

So it has been two weeks since I arrived in Paris and I am finally getting to sit down to write my first blog post! I already feel like I'm settled in here and that I've been living in Paris for months. My roommates Ali and Christine and I already have our regular boulangerie and can navigate the metro without looking at signs or maps.

Some highlights of my first two weeks in Paris are...

the apartment, the marais, place des vosges
Our apartment is beautiful! and huge! We are on the third floor of our building-- big kitchen, huge living room, and tall ceilings. A few interesting quirks about our apartment are the antique sedan chair (that we are not allowed to touch according to the rental agency) in the living room, the birdcage in the foyer full of rocks from different cities around the world, an open shower/tub with no bath curtain, and slanted floors (which cause my wheeled bed to roll two feet away from its place against the wall every night).

View of the kitchen-- yes that is a washing machine.

My side of the room.


View of the living room.

We live right next to Place des Vosges, a public square which is "considered among the most beautiful in the world by Parisians and visitors alike," according to my DK Paris book. There are at least five art galleries on every block right around us. I've stared through the windows but have yet to go in one. Place des Vosges is also one of the few places in Paris where it is acceptable to go running-- one of the others is along the Seine. I'm proud to say that I have run laps around the square a whopping one time! Really though, why would I exercise when I could be at home eating a baguette or pain au chocolat instead? Which leads me to my next highlight...

baguettes et pains au chocolat
Like I mentioned, we have our regular boulangerie (bakery) on the corner of our block where our boulangere already recognizes us. We have fallen into a somewhat regular routine of buying a fresh baguette on the way home in the evening and devouring the entire thing in olive oil and balsamic vinegar while cooking dinner instead of saving it to eat with dinner. We've already finished a large bottle of olive oil and balsamic. Besides our corner boulangerie, there is one in our regular metro station-- Bastille. The smell of espresso and fresh pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants) in the morning is usually too tempting to ignore. Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a sucker for chocolate... I'd better start running more often.

The sun is starting to peek out after days of clouds, so I'm going to finish these highlights in a later post, but stay tuned folks! Now that I have internet there is much more to come, including:

1. Planning weekend trips
2. Orientation at Sciences Po and registration
3. Overall frustration with bureaucracy in France
4. My stolen wallet :(
5. A photo outing in the Jardin des Tuileries