Paris news!

Ahhh so much to write about, so little time! So let's see...

The first day at Orientation we went on a guided tour of Montparnasse, then saw "Paris Story" a really hokey movie across from the opera. Reid Hall (where our school is located) is in Montparnasse. It is a really nice building, set around a courtyard. There is a friendly cat there, and there are a bunch of other schools that learn there as well (including Columbia, Smith, Emory, and Hollins).

The second day we went on a guided tour of Montmartre which was nice, except it was on the tail end of a 10 hour day so we were all exhausted. We did see Sacre Coure, but we didn't go in. We also ate dinner there in an Italian restaurant. The boat ride was nice, though it was really hot outside.

Wednesday classes started. I like my teachers. Dr. Nygren in particular is really nice (he's my film teacher) and we go to excursions practically everyday in his class. We went to the Cinematique Francais and the Museum of Arts and Metiers (which is a museum of technology with things in it like Lavoisier's laboratory and the first computer). It was really interesting, though they weren't places I would normally choose to go. But that's the nice part of going on this program. In the Museum of Arts and Metiers in particular, I wouldn't have understood anything without Dr. Nygren's tour commentary. It's funny, whenever he's giving us a tour and telling us things, people who are just passing through stop and listen and learn about what we're doing.

Today we went to Giverny, the home of Monet. The town was also used as a place for all sorts of artists (inclusing a lot of Americans) to come in the 19th century to learn how to paint in the Impressionist style and they all painted together. We went through Monet's Japanese water garden (where the water lilies, bridges, etc are located). It was really surreal, just seeing the same places that are from the paintings. It really did look just like the paintings. His house was also beautiful. His kitchen in particular was amazing. Bright, beautiful, blue, the walls were pure tiles, hand painted, and gleaming copper pots. The kitchen looked out into his gorgeous garden. It was the kitchen of my dreams, with tons of room to work. My kitchen in my apartment is super tiny, about 7 feet by 5 feet. Andrea and I can't stand in it at the same time.

So let me tell you a little about my apartment. It is located in the 7th arrondissment, about 2 blocks up is Rue de Sevres, which, at the end of the street, is located the Eiffel Tower. It is a gorgeous view. From our kitchen, you can see the Eiffel Tower. About a block down is a street that leads to the Hotel de Invalides, which has a gleaming gold roof. Across the street is a center for Aveugles (blind people), and a block up is a school for Jeunes Aveugles (Blind children). Andrea speaks a lot of French, and she told me the transalation early in my visit. I am so oblivious, I probably wouldn't have noticed all the blind people with canes who are around all the time. At night it is really quiet and I feel really safe here. Our building is probably the cheapest building on a really expensive street. I saw an advertisement for an apartment on our street for sale that was over a million euros.

I am learning a lot of French, but mostly it is food words. I find it helpful to know French food words most of all (like framboises, I think that's spelled right, it means raspberries). I am really into jam now. I bought a ton of raspberry tarts in London for dessert one night, and found some here, but had to learn the word for raspberry first. Every morning I have this nutty bread with butter (beurre) and raspberry jam (framboises confitures). All the french people here have been very nice, even if my French is bad. I am sure to say "Bonjour, monsieur" and "Au revoir" when I go into stores. I also try to translate all of the signs I see with a french dictionary I got. So I am slowly learning.

We went to the Fete de la Musique last night. It is a night in Paris where there are musicians on practically every corner in Paris all night long. We went to the Latin Quarter (where the Sorbonne is located, and all the students hang out) and it was crazy! Sort of like Mardi Gras. People drinking in the streets, dancing, so forth. It was fun. It was a pain getting home though, because they closed a lot of the metro lines so I got most of the way home, then we had to walk the rest of the way. But it was quite an experience.

So, any more questions, send them my way! Next week the sales start so let the fun begin! Tomorrow we head to Versailles. Hope everyone is well, love to all!