Today has been the MOST BEAUTIFUL day yet in Paris. The sun was shining all day and very little cloud cover. (The last two pictures are from today looking out our windows). After class I went home and ate lunch and read a little for my class. I then took a break and went out for a nice jog in the park and it was wonderful! I put my legs through a test and after climbing a big hill my whole body was in pain. The park I run through has waterfalls and a large pond in the middle. The scenery is nothing like the parks in the US and I will soon go take pictures of our park and post them. Hopefully sometime next week I will go do that.
Yesterday, I went to the Musee d'Orsay with the ISA group and even though the tour guide missed TONS of the most amazing art, I wandered off by myself and took a glimpse of the ones I wanted to see. The guide dragged on our museum experience and I probably would not want a tour guide next time I go to a museum here. My favorite was the Monet...his work is amazing and his are so unique I know exactly which paintings are his. The museum used to be an old train station and then it was transformed into a museum. It was absolutely beautiful inside and I will probably go back before I leave so I can look at the new exhibit that will be open soon. It was closed off when we were there but will open in March I believe.
This week of school was a good week. In french class we met and talked with French students who are learning to speak English. They were hilarious and so outgoing! I enjoyed the experience and hopefully I will become friends with more Parisians down the road. My 3 hour classes are long and tiring. On Wednesdays I have two 3 hour classes and I burn out somewhere between the 4th and 5th hour. The last hour of class for the day I usually zone out and I stare at my watch. Although I zone out in my favorite class my brain just shuts down and it's hard to focus and keep taking notes. The class is Economics of Global Climate Change and I absolutely LOVE it. This is certainly a topic that I am interested in and I enjoy studying and learning about this subject. I am also taking International Economics, Economics of the World Trade System, and Intermediate French.
For Texans: Today I was talking with a Parisian girl and I told her I was from Texas. She asked me if that was the state with "big trucks and full of mexicans." I thought that was hilarious and I was even shocked that she knew about this. She said she had a friend who lived in Texas for a year and he talked about this when he returned to France.
Tonight I'm going out with the girls and some other people from ISA and ABS to a boat party that my school is hosting. A boat will be docked on the Seine river and it is for French and International students. I'm really excited about going! The next morning we will be getting up early to go to Versailles so I don't think I will be getting much sleep. Hopefully it will not rain tomorrow so we can have a nice day in Versailles and walk through all the gardens without our umbrellas!
So far with the time that I have lived in Paris, I think that I have only experienced culture shock at the airport when I officially got here. Other than that, I've been completely open-minded and I don't expect anything. It's hard living in another country where English is not the primary language and I understand better when they speak slowly, but if they speak fast then I'm lost. A few times I have been followed by men, but nothing too serious and I ignore them and they will finally say bonsoir or au revoir. They can be annoying and I would love it if they all just minded their own business and stayed away. The only day so far that I have wanted to go home is last Tuesday, February 2...when my dog died (Lucy). She would have turned 16 on February 17. It's going to be weird coming home and not seeing her there. Other than that day, I love Paris. I love walking and taking the metro. I'm really going to miss the metro. I wish that I could take the metro to UT Arlington back in Texas. I think I should propose some kind of metro-like transportation for the DFW area. On the metro, there are poor people, average, and rich. It's a mix of everyone and learning how to use the metro is easy...it just takes about a week to get used to.
My host mom is an amazing cook and I never want to eat dinner out because I would miss eating what she has made. She has made everything from quiche to curry chicken with rice to mashed potatoes and carrots to pasta with cream to green beans with potatoes and carrots. A baguette is always at the dinner table and dessert is usually some kind of chocolate or cheese.
5 more weeks until Spring Break and I'm thinking of going to Greece so hopefully I can find a travel buddy!
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