Il y a un mois...

que je suis arrivee a Paris. I've been in Paris for a month now. It's official. I arrived on the morning of January 11th, and it is now the afternoon of February 11th. It seems like time here has slowed down a bit, and that is nice. I know it's been a while since my last blog update, and I'm sorry for that, but since life has slowed down a lot, I figured you all probably aren't interested in hearing about what I talked about in my European Union class or my French Women Author's litterature class hahaha. But, life has still managed to throw me a few curve balls (adventures and challenges alike) over the past couple weeks--don't worry!

I've been exploring more areas of the city lately. Like the night I got lost in the Latin quarter at 5am. hahaha fun night! I went to go watch the superbowl with another girl from the IES program and we ended up in an underground, exclusive bar (scary bouncer and all at the door!) run by a group of really nice South African immigrants. It was really fun getting to watch the game--I'm starting to feel a bit homesick and it was nice to get back to something that is truely American for a bit. Of course I was in the company of some very high-spirited and sometimes extrememly drunk French and American 20-something year olds. (How many female, American exchange students does it take to explain the rules of football americain to a group of tipsy french guys? Good times, good times...). I guess the fun thing about being lost in Paris at 5 in the morning is that you have really good views of all the national monuments and tourist attractions, such as Notre Dame. No lines or hoards of people! It was great to just gaze upon the cathedral as the sun was starting to come up, and there were enough people around and bakeries starting to open that I felt safe. It was one of those moments in life where I lived in the moment and not so much in the next or the one that just happened. That was a good night.

I've also been testing out the Paris nightlife. It's very intimidating for someone like me who has never gone to a club before. Sooo....I convinced one of my girl friends here to come with me to this party being hosted somewhere in the 9th. The party was just for students from all over the world who are studying or who are in Paris for one reason or another. After standing in line for hours, my friend and I finally made it into the club. There were soooo many people! IT WAS CRAZY! IL Y AVAIT DU MONDE LA-DEDANS! OH LA LA! But by about 2:30am (we got there at 11 when it started), we were dancing and having fun. They played mostly spanish and english songs, so I recognized most of the music and enjoyed it. Also, whenever, shall we say, an "unwanted advance" on the part of a guy who asked either myself or my friend to dance would happen, it was great to just say "No, I've already got a dance partner, but thanks anyway." and just start dancing with my friend again! It was sooo great to just get to dance and let lose after last semester. Life in Paris is sooooooo much more relaxed for a student. It's so much slower and calmer. I can enjoy life and not worry about if I'm going to have enough time to actually live it (if that makes sense...). Of course there were some guys who asked me to dance, and I said yes (big step for socially-awkward, timid Sarah, I know) and it was fun. (There was a really cute Italian guy who wanted to dance until he found out I could only speak French and English--if you're reading this cute Italian guy, I'm working on learning Italian, I promise! lol!). I can honestly say that I don't really need to repeat that experience again. It was EXHAUSTING! Fun, but exhuasting. I didn't get home until about 7am (because the party got over at 5am and my friends and I--I found more IES people at the party--decided we would just hang out for a bit until the metro opened again at 5:30, and then it was a good hour ride back to my host family's house in the south of the city). It was kind of a lot at once, but I'm glad I tried it. I just don't think that is the lifestyle for me lol! (Also I ended up losing my wallet--It disappeared from my coat sometime when my coat was in the coat check. In the end, I lost an ISIC card, 40 Euro, my WA state driver's liscense, and my debit card. I got the card canceled immediately and the driver's license is easily replaceable and not very vital while I'm here since I have my passport, but the 40 Euro in cash is kind of a hard hit to take. Oh well, you live and learn, right?)

I've also been looking (with my friends) for really good, really inexpensive places to eat in the city. Life in Paris is expensive, and with the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate, you can add at least another third of what you're already paying on to the price of something you buy. Last night, my friends and I were extremely successful! We found the cutest little cafe in the 13th. It's called Chez Gladines and is SUPER popular and SUPER tastey! I had the best salad I have ever eaten in my entire life there: mozzarella, a fried egg (sorry mom!), really fancy (yet really common for France) thinly-sliced ham, tomatoes, tons of lettuce, fried, thinly-cut potatoes (sooooooo goood), some creamy sauce, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting. It was also HUGE and only 8,50 Euros, and with a glass of wine for 2,50 Euro, that's an amazing deal! Plus the atmosphere is qwarky and fun. The waiter we had was hallarious! I don't envy him his job though--the place was jam packed and he was constantly running around. After we ate dinner, my friends and I went and saw La Taupe (or Tinker. Tailor. Soldier. Spy. in English). It was very confusing and heavy, but well done. I think it's one of those movies I'll need to watch again sometime in order to follow everything that was going on (and maybe attempting to read the book on which it is based wouldn't hurt either). Also, I saw L'Artiste (The Artist) a few weeks back and it was REALLY good (I can't remember if I already blogged about it or not, but you should all go see it if you can--it's such a good movie!).

I've recently lost my voice, and I sound like Roz from Monsters Inc. It's actually kind of funny, to a certain point. It's making it hard to communicate in any language. This happened to me once before at the summer camp I worked at where I could only speak in French. My theory is that the French language (especially the Rs and the accent itself) force my vocal cords to work in new/different ways and thus stresses them out. I highly doubt that's true, but it could explain why they hate me right now and refuse to work lol! I'm also finding it harder and harder to speak and write in English. That is a weird feeling! But a good thing, right? lol!

Sadly, outside of my love for the city and the slower-paced lifestyle, my transition into living with my host family is not so much of a positive in my life right now. It's a long and complicated explaination, but what it amounts to is that I'm in the process of looking at moving in with a new host family. I will know more about what will be happening by the end of next week (and will try to remember to keep you all posted). I just don't feel welcome at my host family's house. In fact, I just feel like a burden and that cultural miscommunications are being taken to an extreme (they're going to happen, yes, but they shouldn't be occuring to the level they have for me in my opinion...). I just don't feel comfortable living with them. It's no fun feeling like I'm walking on egg shells all the time. But who knows, as I continue to talk about all of these feelings and this situation with my host parents and with the housing lady at IES, things may work out in such a way that I stay (but I think in this moment, I'm leaning more toward switching...).

I hope all well with your lives!

Love from Paris,
Sarah