The Absurdities of Life in Paris

So just a quick blurb about some funny incidents in Paris.

To begin with the Brie here is only a euro and thirty cents. I may never go home. Or I'll go home weighing 800 pounds. It has yet to be determined.

My good friends at the PRC saw to it that I completed one of my goals for travelling abroad last Friday night when we waited in the drizzling rain for an hour outside the Hotel de Crillion to see Mariah Carey come out. I don't even particulary like Mariah Carey. But I saw a famous person, so that was the point of the matter. So thanks, Isabel, Mackenzie, Sean, Jonathan, and Tyler.

I went to the Monoprix a couple of weeks ago looking for laundry detergent and found a bottle that, from what I could read, said it was lavender scented, biodegradable and able to use for hand washing. So I thought, fantastic, and have been washing my clothes by hand for the past two weeks. This was going great, until Andrea walked in my room last night and told me that she didn't think it was soap. She took out a French dictionary and figured out that I've actually been washing my clothes with fabric softener. On the plus side, they smell good and are soft. On the down side, I guess none of them are actually clean. The fact that Sean and Jonathan felt sympathetic to this story and not incredulous just goes to show you how in stride we are all taking some of the daily dilemmas we run into over here.

Sean and I also went to the Sewer Museum of Paris yesterday. This museum is actually pretty cool, they tell you about Paris' struggle to keep the Seine clean, and provide clean water to all of Paris. They also tell you where all the floodwater goes in Paris when it rains. You even get to walk down sewer tunnels, and walk over running sewer lines. It only smelled a little bit. I don't quite think that Sean will ever forgive me for taking him there. But I thought it was really interesting and highly educational. But then again, I'm strange.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow; in our history class we are going to the Catacombs. This is one of the sights I've wanted to see the most, and I think it's especially cool since I just went to the Sewer Museum. A week of Underground Paris, so to speak.

Love to all. Thanks for the comments and emails everyone sends.
Emily

P.S. See, that entry wasn't filled with food!