These are a few of my favorite things

As of now, these have been my 3 favorite, personal moments in this city.

1. Parisian Streets at Night
As I mentioned in my last post, one of my good friends who is living in another city in France came to visit me for the weekend. Friday night, we made a 20-30 minute trek back to my apartment and his bnb weekend stay. As we walked back, zig zagging through the narrow streets and hopping over puddles that were evidently not water, we talked French politics, French culture, and how Paris itself is a double edged sword. A few times some drunken passerbys yelled to us and a few boys harassed us for cigarettes but we walked on. I realized in that walk that even though the harassers were annoying and the puddles were really disgusting, I still felt so happy and so thrilled to be walking down the streets of Paris when the entire city seemed to be sleeping. When it was just my friend and I, it was so incredibly peaceful and beautiful, with the whites of buildings and the elaborate and elegant buildings greeting us every step of the way home.

2. Sitting at a cafe and reading for hours
I got out of my language class at 10 am this morning searching for a cafe to read in. One of the things on my Bucket List was to sit in a cafe, order a coffee, and just read for hours. I sort of accomplished that today. So far, we’ve only had our language classes. Starting Friday, I will have my phonetics class 1 hour per weekday, every other week, and four lectures that meet once a week. I also think I might be auditing a class on the history of Versailles, but more on that later. Anyway, the cafe with the cheapest coffee in the area (2,30 I believe) was ironically named Odessa Cafe. I walked inside on this chilly morning, ordered a cafe noisette, and proceeded to read Lolita* until 12:30 pm. Servers, customers, music, and life continued outside my little book world. I remember thinking to myself that though I was reading a book in English, I was completely immersed by Parisiennes speaking, la musique parisienne, et la culture parisienne. A lot better than a Dove moment, this was my little Parisian moment.

* You may ask why Lolita, of all books to start reading in Paris? Well, funny enough, parts of Lolita are set in Paris. In addition, my boyfriend and I are super nerdy sometimes (all the time) and we’re reading this book together then discussing it later. I know the gist of this story, but it’s just interesting to read such a controversial, well-written, and shocking book with your love and see their perspective on it.

3. Meeting Paris’ Inhabitants
I made it a mission of mine before I left to study abroad to meet foreigners–not necessarily Parisians though that’d be nice–while I studied abroad. I’ve actually had a lot of success with this. I started off by meeting a Lithuanian guy who noticed a Russian tint on my French speaking accent (I had no idea I had one lol) and we got along really well. Then, with my friend Sofia whom I met in my language class, I spoke and caught on with a French Canadian man who led us to the FreeMobile boutique shop when we were hopelessly lost in the rain. Next, we talked to a Parisian businessman in a cafe in front of Notre Dame. We switched between speaking in French and English and got some interesting views on his politics. When her and I split ways, I went to meet my friend and had to wait outside for her to come down from her apartment. I gathered up the hutzpa to start up conversation with a French woman who was smoking a cigarette by a doorway. Her and I briefly spoke in French to one another; I learned that she was a doctor in Paris and had just gotten her license. It was pretty exciting to know that I was able to maintain a conversation with her. At my Phonetics placement exam I talked with a guy from Georgia about Russia, growing up in Georgia, etc. But, my favorite moment in meeting international kids was when Zach, Sofia, and I went to an art gallery opening exhibition, where we met a bunch of students (one from Czech, one from China, one from Netherlands) and talked to them all in French. There was this amazing point in the conversation where I thought to myself, “Oh my gosh, I’m speaking in French. And I just keep going. And I know everything that everyone is saying. And I get it. And they understand me, and I can explain myself.” It was a glorious moment, to realize that only a few years ago I was staring blankly into my high school French teacher’s eyes when she spoke at me.

Next posts will cover these subjects:

1. Study abroad probs ft. Danielle Levsky
2. Classes at La Sorbonne – History of La Sorbonne – Why I’m going to be x10000 thankful for the rest of my life for even being a part of a Sorbonne program
3. Balancing talking to people from home and talking to people in Paris

-Danielle

Less what-I’m-doing, more what-I’m-thinking

So I didn’t want to make this blog completely about all the things I’m doing in Paris. Every study abroad student/visitor/temporary resident goes to all the sites, visits the highest rated and cheapest cafes, bistros, and restos, and talks about how wine is cheaper than water.

These are all valid and wonderful subjects to discuss, but I want to make this a little more personable. I want to make this blog an account of what Paris has been like for me and what it will continue to show me as I live here.

Plus, there’s a million thoughts that go through my head every day I’m here. I say I’m used to the culture, and in a way, I am used to European culture, but a lot of things are different.

Studying abroad, for my first and foremost example, is a very different life experience. At times I feel like I digress to a Descartian argument of my life being a dream, and in a way, while I’m here, I feel that. The experience itself is something I’ll probably never have the chance to do again, and even if I do, it won’t feel the same. I’m being pulled out of my comfort zone (my family and home in Chicago, my friends and boyfriend and second home in Pittsburgh) and thrown into this dream-like reality where each person around me speaks French, wears a lot of chic and expensive clothes but doesn’t use makeup or shampoo, eats gluten all day, screams at each passerby, and pisses on every street corner. (People would say that I may or may not be describing NYC sans the parler du francais, but roll with me here.)

It’s interesting calling Paris my home for four months. Ever since I made that Europe trip with my parents before I was even a preteen, then made that fatal choice in sixth grade to start taking French, both my parents and I knew that it would lead to this.

So yes, I’m here. It’s wonderful in a lot of ways and also not-so-wonderful in other ways. But whenever I get home sick, or lose my sense of comfort or stability, I usher myself outside my apartment and just look up.

All I have to do is look up at the tops of the buildings, decorated and ornate and breathtakingly beautiful each and every time I look. No matter how sleepless and restless I feel, I always this angle of the town, I will always have my Paris.

-Danielle

P.S.

I will quickly sum up what I did do this week so you know I’m not a hermit, but will continue onto more personal and thought-provoking accounts in the post I will make next:

• Centre Pompidou with a few girls from my program, specifically saw the awesome Dali Exhibit. Dali’s museum in Figures (sp?), which I had the pleasure of visiting the summer before my freshman year, obviously has more of his work, but Dali is my favorite artist and I think that the Pompidou did an excellent job pulling out his more notorious and exquisite works to put on display.
• I finally figured out my phone situation and sorted things out with FreeMobile. The problem, initally, was that I gave them the incorrect address to send my SIM card to and I didn’t know how to switch the address to the correct one. Turns out all I had to do was go to the boutique in Paris and ask for them to mail me a new SIM, free of charge.
• Went out several times with friends I made in the program, had visiting, or met in my language class. I quickly learned, as most people do, that it is better to buy liquor/wine before you go out to the bars so you don’t end up spending a ridiculous sum of money on three cocktails.
• I took the Paris night bus for the first time! It was shady (Learned the French word for shady: luche) but we made it to a 20 minute walk from my apartment. Of course, on the way, a kid tried to smoke on the bus to which the bus driver promptly tried to throw him off, then then some drunk girl insulted the bus driver and he called the police on her across the street… Bienvenue a Paris.
• I was able to hit the post-Christmas sales (soldes) on rue de la Commerce and found some lovely pieces at Zara and Promod: my two favorite stores of all time… and they are located specifically and only in Europe. Before you say anything, Zara’s American line is nowhere near as nice and not the same. #firstworldproblems
• I went to a Wed/Sun morning market. There, I had the option to purchase just about anything I needed but quickly discovered that buying fruits and vegetables at the market was ten times cheaper than getting them at the store (unless Franprix is having a sale). So I did that. It was exhilirating and fun, and really, really reminded me of the Jewish market outside the old city in Jerusalem. I didn’t haggle but I could have, and probably will in the future.
• Found out our washing machine was a piece-o-shit and have quickly learned how to use the washer and dryer. The bad thing? Using both the washer and dryer for approximately two loads of stuff costs about 7 euro. Yikes.
• I keep finding the best little cafes with seating areas and cheap/delicious products and making mental notes (also notes on my smartphone), so I know where to go when I need to study, read, or just get away. Which will be quite often.
• My friend, Zach, who is doing a teaching program a few hours ago, came to visit me for the weekend. To sum up our list of events/places and elaborate later: meh Vietnamese food because all the cheap restos were closed, bars named The Kremlin and Pigalle Country Club (both were an experience), the Red Light District (need I say more?), walking around Parisian streets at night, running around Bastille to find an art opening, meeting a bunch of international students studying in Paris, walking to the top of Montmartre to drink wine and eat baguette, cheese, and salami with the Sacre Coeur behind us and Paris at night in front of us, delicious dinner at 11 pm, drinking wine in front of Les Invalides.