...is making a real French friend. True story. Nothing is quite as exhilarating as making those first friends in a new city. Not friends of friends, not people in your program. Don't get me wrong, they're all great. But befriending a Parisian is akin to what I imagine conquering Everest is like. Now granted, get any Parisian drunk and tell them you're from America, they'll almost always want to be your friend for those 5 minutes. Sometimes being a girl from America feels like being an exotic animal on display...they've heard of your kind before but have never seen one up close. This is especially true for me because as soon as I utter those magic words: I'm from Los Angeles, the French come running with their choruses of "that's...that's SO COOL!!" Not that I blame them because, let's be honest, that would be me if our places were reversed. This is also why I think Parisians are so nice so far, because I'm somewhat of a novelty, or maybe better put, a curiosity. The funniest part about that last observation is every Parisian I've met has asked me what I think of Parisians, and when I reply that I find them quite nice so far, they are quite shocked and dismayed. They certainly don't have a lot of optimism when it comes to their peers!
Today, finally, after three weeks (talk about time flying when you're having fun!!), I made it to Montmartre, which is still to this day, my absolute favorite part of Paris. I didn't think it was possible, but I love it even more than I did before. Sacre Coeur, the street performers, all the tourists, even the Irish Pub where I bought my first drink in high school...it's all still there. I think I enjoyed it even more this time because we ventured farther into Montmartre where it wasn't quite--emphasis on the quite--as touristy. Camille and I also stopped for a while in the cutiest, tiniest cafe called La Maison Rose where I had the most amazing cup of Vin Chaud (or hot wine) ever. WHY DON'T WE HAVE THIS IN AMERICA PEOPLE??? Because it is truly divine. Also, why on earth have Americans not discovered the wonders of corner crepe stands? They are possibly the most delicious pieces of heaven ever. I also have to say, that Paris is FULL of talented musicians. They're not like street performers in America that usually have some sort of schtick they repeat over and over. These guys can really play. For example, a man on the metro had never heard "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry, but was still able to play it by ear after we sang a few verses. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
That's all for now, this week is kind of a hell week school wise but I'll try to fit in some excitement for your reading pleasure!! If anyone has any questions or wants to know more about what I'm up to, feel free to shoot me an email: caileem@bu.edu
Bisous et a bientot!
Cailee
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
La France vs. Les Etats-Unis
I apologize for being a slightly flakey blogger, I'll do my best to post more frequent, less winded tales in the near future! So lets get down to business, it's been an extremely busy week! And that seems to be the problem with Paris, with so much to do, see, taste, smell, the pressure is really on to get it all in and get it in NOW. It's actually quite overwhelming; take the Louvre, for example. I've heard that if you look at each piece of art for a mere 10 seconds, it would take over a month to see them all! It hasn't really sunk in that I have four whole months to soak up the essence of Paris; that being said, I suppose there is something to be said for getting the touristy activities out of the way first.
Speaking of the Louvre, I finally made it over there one evening and it was even better than I remember. Now that I have a much more extensive background in art history, I was really able to appreciate (and even recognize) a lot more works. I also experience my first dinner out and had Boeuf Bourguignon that would make Julia Child proud! Over the weekend, my roommate and I travelled just outside the city to Saint Denis, whose cathedral houses the final resting place of France's kings and queens. It was a pretty incredible sight, looking at the tombs of Merovingian kings (the first ruling family) who have been dead for over 1500 years. Of course as an archaeologist, I found it fascinating. I also was able to say bonjour to my supposed relative, Pippin the Short (at least now I know where I get it from!)
Now, as much as I adore Paris and the French so far, I have been missing certain things from my homeland. The first one being the SUN. Almost everyday here is cloudy, if not rainy. I would complain about the cold, but it's still warmer than Boston, so I really can't. I'm also missing showers that you can stand up in...our "shower" here is really a bathtub with a shower hose attached to the tap. Oh and did I mention that there's no shower curtain? So essentially we have to sit in the very narrow tub and do our very best to get clean while not spraying water all over the bathroom. However, there are also many benefits to being in France. Mainly, 1-3 euro bottles of wine, 1 euro baguettes, and 2 euro giant tubs of goat cheese. I also just listed about 95% of my diet.
For those of you who are not Facebook friendly, I'm doing my best to post photos on here. I can't get them all, but don't worry, I'll be sure to post the best ones! A bientot mes cheris!
Beaucoup de bisous
Cailee
Speaking of the Louvre, I finally made it over there one evening and it was even better than I remember. Now that I have a much more extensive background in art history, I was really able to appreciate (and even recognize) a lot more works. I also experience my first dinner out and had Boeuf Bourguignon that would make Julia Child proud! Over the weekend, my roommate and I travelled just outside the city to Saint Denis, whose cathedral houses the final resting place of France's kings and queens. It was a pretty incredible sight, looking at the tombs of Merovingian kings (the first ruling family) who have been dead for over 1500 years. Of course as an archaeologist, I found it fascinating. I also was able to say bonjour to my supposed relative, Pippin the Short (at least now I know where I get it from!)
Now, as much as I adore Paris and the French so far, I have been missing certain things from my homeland. The first one being the SUN. Almost everyday here is cloudy, if not rainy. I would complain about the cold, but it's still warmer than Boston, so I really can't. I'm also missing showers that you can stand up in...our "shower" here is really a bathtub with a shower hose attached to the tap. Oh and did I mention that there's no shower curtain? So essentially we have to sit in the very narrow tub and do our very best to get clean while not spraying water all over the bathroom. However, there are also many benefits to being in France. Mainly, 1-3 euro bottles of wine, 1 euro baguettes, and 2 euro giant tubs of goat cheese. I also just listed about 95% of my diet.
For those of you who are not Facebook friendly, I'm doing my best to post photos on here. I can't get them all, but don't worry, I'll be sure to post the best ones! A bientot mes cheris!
Beaucoup de bisous
Cailee
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Excuse Me, Are You From Alabama?
So with our first weekend securely under my belt, lets talk a little about parisian nightlife. Considering I've only been out twice, I'm by no means an expert but here's my experience so far. Friday night, my roommate and I met up with another BU girl Emily and her Estonian roommate at a club called Six Seven, which was right off the Champs-Elysee. Now, the most important thing to understand about Paris at night is that, basically, europeans party way harder than americans. Period. Most clubs don't even open until 11 or 12, and like in the states, it's a huge faux pas to be caught at a club when it opens. The french are all about being fashionably late. And since the clubs don't open until the wee hours, it's completely normal to be out partying until sunrise. To drive this point home, we got chastised by a young frenchman for going home "so early". It was around 3 am.
Even more of an adventure than club Six Seven (some of you know what specifically I'm talking about!) was trying to get home afterward. Like Boston, only more reasonably, the metro stop running around 2 am on weekends but there is a special bus service called the Noctilien Bus which runs around the clock and is essentially a bus for drunk young people. It's also very confusing. Luckily for us, being young american girls dressed to the nines, we attracted the attention of a young parisian, whose opening line was: "excuse me, can I ask you a question? Are you from Alabama?" Since neither Camille nor I have a strong southern accent, I'm assuming Alabama was the only US state he knew...but again, luckily for us, he was extremely nice (and extremely attractive) and not only helped us find our stop, but walked us to our connecting bus.
This leads me to one of the biggest surprises I've encountered during my short time here. The parisians have this notorious reputation for being some of the most unwelcoming, elitist people in the world, and yet, I can only say nice things about them so far. Granted, I'm sure I have it easy for being a young american girl, who speaks french, but almost everyone I've interacted with has been very nice. Or at least no more rude than the natives of Los Angeles or Boston. As expected, as soon as they detect our american accents, most parisians will respond to us in english, but we've also found that persistence is key. If you keep going a francais, they eventually surrender.
One final note, yesterday we went to the Chateau de Versailles, the extravagant palatial complex built by King Louis XIV. I was lucky enough to have visited during my first trip to Paris, but this time we were able to take a tour of the expansive grounds in a disneyland-esque tram. We also got to take tours of the Grand and Petit Trianon, smaller chateaus built for the royal mistresses, as well as the private farm of Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately for us, the weather was absolutely miserable. It was raining and bone-chillingly cold. By the time we got back to the train to Paris, we were all borderline hypothermic.
This week is our first week of legit classes. My schedule is:
1. French, obviously.
2. Paris Aujourd'hui, an analysis of contemporary french theatre, cinema, and music.
3. Contemporary Art and Architecture in Paris.
I'm sure I'll have much more to report when I really get into the swing of things. Until then, beaucoup de bisous mes petits chous!
xoxoxo
Even more of an adventure than club Six Seven (some of you know what specifically I'm talking about!) was trying to get home afterward. Like Boston, only more reasonably, the metro stop running around 2 am on weekends but there is a special bus service called the Noctilien Bus which runs around the clock and is essentially a bus for drunk young people. It's also very confusing. Luckily for us, being young american girls dressed to the nines, we attracted the attention of a young parisian, whose opening line was: "excuse me, can I ask you a question? Are you from Alabama?" Since neither Camille nor I have a strong southern accent, I'm assuming Alabama was the only US state he knew...but again, luckily for us, he was extremely nice (and extremely attractive) and not only helped us find our stop, but walked us to our connecting bus.
This leads me to one of the biggest surprises I've encountered during my short time here. The parisians have this notorious reputation for being some of the most unwelcoming, elitist people in the world, and yet, I can only say nice things about them so far. Granted, I'm sure I have it easy for being a young american girl, who speaks french, but almost everyone I've interacted with has been very nice. Or at least no more rude than the natives of Los Angeles or Boston. As expected, as soon as they detect our american accents, most parisians will respond to us in english, but we've also found that persistence is key. If you keep going a francais, they eventually surrender.
One final note, yesterday we went to the Chateau de Versailles, the extravagant palatial complex built by King Louis XIV. I was lucky enough to have visited during my first trip to Paris, but this time we were able to take a tour of the expansive grounds in a disneyland-esque tram. We also got to take tours of the Grand and Petit Trianon, smaller chateaus built for the royal mistresses, as well as the private farm of Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately for us, the weather was absolutely miserable. It was raining and bone-chillingly cold. By the time we got back to the train to Paris, we were all borderline hypothermic.
This week is our first week of legit classes. My schedule is:
1. French, obviously.
2. Paris Aujourd'hui, an analysis of contemporary french theatre, cinema, and music.
3. Contemporary Art and Architecture in Paris.
I'm sure I'll have much more to report when I really get into the swing of things. Until then, beaucoup de bisous mes petits chous!
xoxoxo
Friday, January 15, 2010
Paris, Je T'aime
So as many of you know, I finally arrived in Paris this week and what a week it has been! I meant to get this blog up and running much earlier but this is actually the first time I've had the time and/or energy.
En debut, let me start by saying I LOVE IT HERE! As I was saying to my roommate last night as we sat on a bench overlooking Notre Dame (yes, the one with the hunchback), Paris almost a mythical city. By all accounts, it shouldn't be a real place, yet here we are!
I'll do my best to summarize the past week. After about 18 hours of travel, 3 airplane meals, and only 2 or 3 minor nervous breakdowns, I arrived in Paris on Sunday morning. My lovely roommate Camille took a cab to our homestay, and proceeded to giggle like maniacs the entire time as we attempted to get our combined 300 pounds of luggage into the courtyard, dial in two codes, and up a spiral staircase. Speaking of my homestay, we are living in the 11th Arrondisement, which is on the Rive Droite (or right bank for our american friends) near La Place de la Republique, with la famille De Virville. Our new french parents are possibly the cutest old couple I've ever met; Catherine is a former librarian who now is a nanny to her many grandchildren, and Jacques (doesn't get more french than that!) is a retired Biology professor. The apartment is pretty spectacular, complete with library and its own suit of armor!
We ventured to school the next day, which by the way is about a block from the Eiffel Tower, and I must say, it was quite different than anticipated! Our teachers and BU staff are quite characters, but in the best way possible because I really feel like I'm going to learn so much from them. Although, I have to point out that at least 3 of their introductions started with "So I came to Paris to study abroad, then I met someone and we got married...." and they've all encouraged us to date french, so we'll just have to see what happens! After our first day, Camille and I walked home from school and along our route, hit about every Parisian landmark including the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Musee D'Orsay, Musee Louvre, and Notre Dame!
On Wednesday, we had a "degustation" where we sampled wine and food from different regions of France, which basically meant BU got us all drunk before noon, I could get used to this. The rest of the week has been a blur of sites, sounds, and of course tastes! Last night, BU again wined and dined us at a creperie and took us to a lovely movie called Le Petit Nicholas, which was basically all french children and possibly the cutest movie I've ever seen. On that note, as my classmate Andrew so eloquently stated, all french children are just cuter! They're always singing, skipping, or doing something so adorable you can barely stand to look at them...I WANT ONEEEE!
Tomorrow we're off to Chateau Versailles, home of former King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, with whom, as many of you know, I'm obsessed, so I'm very excited to visit again and explore the grounds more thoroughly. Hopefully this weekend I'll be more fully over my jet-lag--which has, quite frankly, taken me out back and had its way with me this trip--and I'll be able to dish about the tres chic Parisian nightlife (outside of the gay bar in Le Marais that we ventured into last night, don't judge!)
A bientot mes petits chous! Beaucoup de bisous xoxox
En debut, let me start by saying I LOVE IT HERE! As I was saying to my roommate last night as we sat on a bench overlooking Notre Dame (yes, the one with the hunchback), Paris almost a mythical city. By all accounts, it shouldn't be a real place, yet here we are!
I'll do my best to summarize the past week. After about 18 hours of travel, 3 airplane meals, and only 2 or 3 minor nervous breakdowns, I arrived in Paris on Sunday morning. My lovely roommate Camille took a cab to our homestay, and proceeded to giggle like maniacs the entire time as we attempted to get our combined 300 pounds of luggage into the courtyard, dial in two codes, and up a spiral staircase. Speaking of my homestay, we are living in the 11th Arrondisement, which is on the Rive Droite (or right bank for our american friends) near La Place de la Republique, with la famille De Virville. Our new french parents are possibly the cutest old couple I've ever met; Catherine is a former librarian who now is a nanny to her many grandchildren, and Jacques (doesn't get more french than that!) is a retired Biology professor. The apartment is pretty spectacular, complete with library and its own suit of armor!
We ventured to school the next day, which by the way is about a block from the Eiffel Tower, and I must say, it was quite different than anticipated! Our teachers and BU staff are quite characters, but in the best way possible because I really feel like I'm going to learn so much from them. Although, I have to point out that at least 3 of their introductions started with "So I came to Paris to study abroad, then I met someone and we got married...." and they've all encouraged us to date french, so we'll just have to see what happens! After our first day, Camille and I walked home from school and along our route, hit about every Parisian landmark including the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Musee D'Orsay, Musee Louvre, and Notre Dame!
On Wednesday, we had a "degustation" where we sampled wine and food from different regions of France, which basically meant BU got us all drunk before noon, I could get used to this. The rest of the week has been a blur of sites, sounds, and of course tastes! Last night, BU again wined and dined us at a creperie and took us to a lovely movie called Le Petit Nicholas, which was basically all french children and possibly the cutest movie I've ever seen. On that note, as my classmate Andrew so eloquently stated, all french children are just cuter! They're always singing, skipping, or doing something so adorable you can barely stand to look at them...I WANT ONEEEE!
Tomorrow we're off to Chateau Versailles, home of former King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, with whom, as many of you know, I'm obsessed, so I'm very excited to visit again and explore the grounds more thoroughly. Hopefully this weekend I'll be more fully over my jet-lag--which has, quite frankly, taken me out back and had its way with me this trip--and I'll be able to dish about the tres chic Parisian nightlife (outside of the gay bar in Le Marais that we ventured into last night, don't judge!)
A bientot mes petits chous! Beaucoup de bisous xoxox
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
