Time to come home?

Another post about how torn I am about my imminent departure.

Reasons I am going to be heartbroken to leave:

Number 1: I went to the Bagel shop I discovered when Carolyn was visiting and the woman there knows me now. She knew what I wanted to eat and we made small talk for a while. Unfortunately, the shop is now closed until September. It’s also evidence that when I find a food shop that I like, no matter what country I’m in, I go there way, way too much. Oh, and now that I found bagels and cream cheese, it’s one less reason to want to get back home.

Number 2: People at work know me now, trust me and are pleasant with me. I like the office and I’ll really be sad to leave, especially since I think it’s going to be pretty exciting there when the election comes around in November.

Number 3: I’ve made a new friend, a British intern who I’m now training. She’s really cool and she has a different view of America than most others I’ve met here. She told me I’m the first nice American she’s ever met. I didn’t really know whether to be flattered or just sad. It must be said though that she’s never been to the states and she worked in an airport in England, where she apparently had to deal with some snotty tourists. Also, hanging out with her reminds me how awesome British accents are and how much I want to develop one.

My new British friend was talking about heading home for the weekend and I realized how jealous it made me that her home is so close to this city. I mean, if I could take a flight the same length as one form Portland to San Francisco and end up in Paris, I would be so, so happy. It’s not fair that the US has to be so far away from Europe, especially the West Coast. In my view, the Brits have the best of both worlds—although, they don’t have all the things that make America great: like Apple Festivals.

Number 4: I know the metro system, I know streets, shops, restaurants. My point is that Paris has become a home to me. I feel like I know it better than I know San Francisco, even though I live so close to it at least nine months out of the year. It’s inspired me to get to know Berkeley and San Francisco a lot better in the next year.

Number 5: I think I just hate change. I feel like I’ve been here just long enough to feel at home and now I have to leave without knowing when I’ll come back. I really hope I make it back soon.

Number 6: I hate flying and I’m really not looking forward to going across the ocean and then through scary customs and then across the country until I finally make it back.

Despite all of this, I cannot wait to get back and see everyone and eat my favorite foods, go to class and the paper, and also to wear a sweatshirt outside without drawing stares. I’m trying to savor these next few weeks since it’s the last time I’ll be going “back to school.” This makes me more scared and sad than even leaving France since going back to school in the fall is one of my favorite things in the world—I feel like it’s a topic for another blog.

Anyway, I also should get back since I only have 30 euros to survive the rest of my time here. Keep in mind that a train ticket to the airport is 10. So… I suppose all this is a way of saying, don’t expect any great souvenirs from me 😉

On a completely different note, I read a travel guide that my roommate has here about the American west the other day. It was so fascinating. I first read the practical section that talked about driving and speaking English and dining out. It was so interesting. First, it said that Americans speak a weird form of English and listed a bunch of words, like sidewalk and apartment, which they deem as not real English. Then it talked about how popular soda is and it explained what root beer is as some weird foreign thing. The best thing though was when it explained that Americans like to celebrate with “parades,” where they march through the streets with flags and decorations. There was a picture of a Fourth of July parade in some small Texas town next to the passage. It is just so interesting to read about home from the point of view of foreigners.

I read all the sections about California and the Pacific Northwest. My favorite passages of these sections were when they talked about the people in these places and what they were like. It said California is the America you see on TV: it’s the picture of fun, excitement, hopes and dreams, diversity, BUT also, has a certain emptiness about it. I was very proud though when I read the section on the Pacific Northwest and the book said the people there were enthusiastic and wise, like their Native American predecessors. It talked about their love for the environment and respect for it and their casual and accepting nature. The section on Portland was not too long, but it had pictures and talked about Powell’s and the rose garden, it was really cool to read about home in a French travel guide.

The fact that I am reading left-over travel guides is probably more evidence that it is indeed time for me to come home—where there is work to do and people to see ☺

San Francisco!

Look another post within mere days of the previous one! I must really be bored now that no one’s around anymore.

I actually decided to write because the girl who I’m renting the room from just came over to see the apartment and say thank you and good luck. She just got back this morning from studying abroad herself. It was so weird to see her again, I associate her with my arrival (which you all know was a bit traumatizing) but when she came back I realized that it’s bee more than four months since I got here! It was like everything’s come full circle and it really hit me that I’m leaving.

In the spirit of m’en profiter of my last days in Paris (sorry, I really can’t think of the right English phrase to reflect what I mean) I have been walking a lot and trying to see some things I have put off.

This morning, for example, I went to Pere Lachaise cemetery and saw Jim Morrison’s grave. First of all, the cemetery is huge and very eerie. You walk on these winding cobble stoned paths among above-ground graves and shrines. Even though there are many people there to see the scores of famous people buried in the cemetery, you are bound to find yourself alone a few times. These times are really kind of odd.

Yesterday I meant to go to the Musee d’Orsay because it was the first Sunday of the month (aka, it was free), but when I showed up the line was so long it would have taken me the same amount of time I’d budgeted to spend there as a whole just to get in. So, I set off to find some lunch and coffee and read until I went to work, where I had a great day.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I’ve learned Web production and have been in charge of the sports site on Sundays for the last few weeks. Those who know me are probably wondering why in the world they would trust me with the two things in the world I probably know the least about: sports and technology. However, I have actually really enjoyed it and I find that I understand a lot more about web production, if not so much sports. I also had a very awesome phone conversation with the person who’s been working with the situation in Serbia recently. (Sorry I’m being so vague, I think most of you know what I mean though). Anyway, when I come back, ask me to tell you about this person and about work in general really, there are so many stories to tell, just not on the internet.

Otherwise, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library, the glorious library. Recently I’ve been burying my nose in some good books about the development of public opinion and the changing political culture leading up to the French Revolution. Yes, I am a huge geek, but I find it so fascinating. There’s so much I want to read in the library before I leave, but I’m afraid it just won’t be possible to get to it all.

Like I’ve already said, I’m going to be sad to leave. But I feel like the time has come to go home. Everything is closed down for August vacation and there are few Parisians even left here among the tourists. After tomorrow, I won’t see my roommate anymore since she’s leaving for her vacation and not returning until after I’ve gone. In short, there’s not much left for me here at this juncture.

Now it’s just a matter of getting ready for re-entry, so to speak. Another huge trip with massive bags, closing bank accounts, exchanging keys, converting currency (not that I’ll have anything left to convert), setting up a new room, getting used to a new schedule. The only difference between coming here and going home will be the return to speaking English and the welcome of friendly faces. Yes, my adventure is nearing an end.

To prepare for my return to San Francisco, I have been reading “On the Road,” which makes me feel like going west is the perfect thing to do. The way Jack Kerouac writes about it, San Francisco may as well be an adventure in itself, even though I’m returning rather than visiting. Last night, I couldn’t get to sleep and I was thinking about how much I love seeing the Golden Gate bridge on my way to class, how much I love joking around before the budget meeting in the office, walking home from the library late at night, or standing in the student section for football games, the Campinile poking up in the background. It will be nice to get back.

The other night when I was leaving the metro, a woman asked me if I had a cigarette. When I told her no, she ventured that I was not a smoker. I confirmed that I was not and suddenly she said: “You’re not French are you?” I said no, that I was American.

“America! Where are you from?” I told her I was from Oregon, but went to school in California. Of course her first question was isn’t Miami in California (second person I’ve met who thinks this). Anyway, once I said no, she remembered that San Francisco was in California. I told her that this was where I was returning in a few weeks.

“San Francisco! That’s my dream! I want to go to America and eat hamburgers and drink coca, you know? Wow, San Francisco, I don’t believe it!”

I guess I am pretty lucky.

Longest (and most overdue) post ever.

At this point, I’m considering the trip to Italy a thing of legends. By this I mean that it’s been too long since it happened to try to recount it here, so it’s something that will live only in memory, not in writing. I’ll tell you about it in person if you’re interested.

I do want to mention a few things about Italy (I can’t help myself):
1. It is so HOT there. I loved it, if it weren’t for the heat and the combination of humidity and pollution that made it impossible for me to breathe, it would have been perfect.
2. That sounded like I had a terrible time, which is not true. I think Italy is more romantic than France in that it is absolutely beautiful and the whole time I could imagine Roman legions and 20th century armies marching through its countrysides and stunning, lazy piazzas. Amazing. I want to go back as soon as I can.
3. Thank you mom and dad for giving me the ability to speak French. Going to a country where I could barely say please and thank you made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to speak a foreign language. As soon as we got back to the creepy little Beauvais airport outside Paris, I was overcome with joy at being able to function independently and effectively in a country in Europe (England doesn’t count).
4. You know it’s a small world when you’re in a park in Florence and you run into a high school teacher from Beaverton and end up walking to the gelato stand discussing news at your alma matter. Yes, this really did happen to me.
5. Let me just say that I have never seen a more enchanting or lovely place than Venice. The whole thing felt like a dream, lying on the coast of the Adriatic Sea and gliding past gondolas on the Grand Canal… whenever I’m having a bad day back home, I will think how lucky I was to be there.

Now back to my “real life” in Paris.
I’ve been chillin’ all alone for two weeks now since Amanda left. Right before she left, I was inflicted with my first illness since arriving here. I was coughing and sneezing all over the place, as was she actually. Anyway, I even took a sick day from work, which I hate doing. I’m all better now though. Not to associate something negative with Amanda’s visit- we had a great time! And, I’m proud to report, she is at least the second person who has told me Paris was their favorite stop on their Euro trip. What can I say? It is a fantastic place, made more fantastic by the fact that I’m here of course.

One other thing to mention about Amanda’s visit: we witnessed the amazing fete de la Bastille. I’ve never seen anything like it: we watched tanks roll down the Champs Elysees to the sounds of patriotic music being blasted from loud speakers. I felt like I was in a movie in the 1930s. As they rolled down the street, people cheered and waved flags, as uniformed soldiers with machine guns looked straight ahead from their perches on the top of the tanks and other military vehicles. The parade finished with army helicopters flying over the city, from which dropped a dozen or so parachuters, who flew in formation and landed in front of the president and controversial leaders of many foreign countries at the Place de la Concorde, where the monarchy was literally ended.

The rest of the day, we saw military vehicles and soldiers rolling around the city like it was no big deal and we concluded the evening with a Fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower. Bastille day is the equivalent of our Independence Day, but I must say, I feel like it has a very different meaning and feeling. Our celebration makes sense to me since we are celebrating our independence from the British and the founding of our country. Their country’s big day is so much more complicated, since it doesn’t mark the founding of their country or their independence from anyone else. Rather, it marks the end of a monarchy (and a brutal end at that) and the beginning of the sovereignty of the “nation.” When I write it down, I guess it sounds kind of similar to ours, it’s just strange to me for some reason.

(Another note before I move on, I tried to see the conclusion of the Tour de France, although I had to pry myself from my spot on the route to go to work before the bikers arrived. It was sad.)

In other news, I succeeded in negotiating a bit of an early departure, which I have mixed feelings about. I am so excited to see everyone again, I feel like it’s been a long, long time since I’ve talked to most people and even longer since I’ve seen them. This sense of feeling really remote has been enhanced by my lack of access to internet (a truly funny story, which I will relate a bit later on).

On the other hand, I am completely in love with Paris. This is something I have become more and more aware of as the date of my departure approaches. I feel like leaving is literally going to be equivalent to breaking up with someone. I’ll save my ode to Paris for a later date, closer to when I’m actually leaving, but I’ll throw a few things out there that I’m being especially carefully to appreciate before leaving.

1. Paris is an exciting, beautiful, mysterious place. It’s hard to describe what I mean here, but I know what it is every time I walk along the Seine and up the Boulevard Saint Michel as the sun’s going down. It’s like a fulfilling peace comes over you and you realize how lucky you are to be alive. I know it sounds corny, but it’s the best way I can think to describe it. If you can, come and experience it yourself. Simply sitting at the tip of the Ile de la Cite or on the Pont des Arts and watching the boats glide by is an experience worth the super long flight over the Atlantic.

2. Everything moves a bit slower, everyone drinks a bit more wine and everything is a little less important than it is at home. While I admit that this attitude can be a bit frustrating when you want to get something done, overall, I respect it as a happy way of life and I hope to adopt some of the philosophy as I return to hectic life back home.

3. America is great and important but it is not the center of the world and I love being over here where that becomes obvious. I probably think about this a bit more than others might since I’m a European history geek, but the rest of the world seems so much closer over here than it is at home.

4. Your sense of being part of a greater human history is so greatly enhanced over here. At home, especially on the West Coast, there’s just not that much history around you. But here, every time I leave the library, I walk down the street to the Hotel de Ville, where 18th century urban dwellers demanded to be armed and led to Versailles to bring the king back to Paris. Then, I proceed to the Seine and walk past the place where the royal family was imprisoned before being put to death in one of the biggest turning points in history. The list pretty much goes on and on; Nazi and then liberating armies marching down the Champs Elysees, Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe… so many amazing things.

5. I kind of like being a foreigner. This doesn’t really have to do with Paris in particular, but more with living abroad in general. It forces you to learn about yourself and your home when you are in a foreign place and it’s an experience I wish everyone could have.

6. I realized this in Italy too, but I also find Europe so fascinating, particularly at this phase in its history as it is uniting more and more (or trying to) under the banner of the European Union. It’s amazing to me that in the same time it takes me to fly from Portland to San Francisco, I can fly from Paris to Pisa, two entirely different countries, with different languages, cultures, histories and economies. And these peoples are so proud and unique in so much, yet they are working together and trying to unite. It’s so fascinating.

7. In terms of Paris in general, where else will you read a sign in the window of a shop that says “Closed from 30 July to 30 August, have a good vacation!” This is so weird to me, but kind of cool that in the increasingly fast-paced world, there’s still at least some place where things take a break.

On the other hand, here are the things I will not miss or just can’t wait to get back to:

1. I will not miss fighting with copy machines and printers on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve generally really loved my internship and the insight I’ve gained there has been incredibly valuable. However, I am more than ready for the end of my days as an office assistant.
2. If I ever live in a big city and have to commute, I will do anything to avoid ridding the metro to work. Now that I’ve switched for at least part of the time to the morning shift, I have to ride the metro with everyone else heading to work. Every morning, I fight the feeling that I’m about to pass out or throw up as I’m squeezed, sweating, with no room to breathe between everyone heading to the office. This morning, I actually closed my eyes and tried to imagine walking the streets of Berkeley in the fresh air.
3. I am so excited to have the internet and to have a cell phone that I can call people on! I cannot describe how excited I am for these things.
4. House of Curries. That’s all I’ll say there.
5. A real shower, with a showerhead mounted on the wall, shooting out fresh water. The thought of being able to stand up straight and take a shower and feel really refreshed afterward is so appealing to me at this moment.
6. ICE. I love ice and I wish Europeans would adopt my love for it, it would make summer days here so much more bearable.
7. Friends and family. I’ve missed you all a lot and I can’t wait to come back and see you or at least be able to talk to you regularly. I want to come back to Paris and I’ve thought about moving over here after college, but the one thing that holds me back from deciding to move more permanently is all of you. I wish there was some way to make Paris and America closer, but then I guess neither would really be the same.

A jolly good trip to London

Ah, London. It’s no Paris, but it does the best it can.

I just got back to France from London and let me just say, trying to see an entire city in two days is kind of insane. It is especially insane when you try to save money by not buying a metro (or tube) ticket for one of the days to save money. When I think back to London, I will remember a lot of exercise.

In all seriousness though, London is pretty cool. It’s a lot more chill than Paris; people are not as dressy, the parks are big and sprawling and you can sit on the grass (or on chairs if you pay the equivalent of $5), and the food is nice and “common.”

I’ll start by talking about the Eurostar train, which goes under the Manche, or English Channel. The ride is quick and easy and I wasn’t even too scared while under the water, since it really is only for 15 minutes or so. It is strange to think that all that separates England from continental Europe is a 15 minute train ride under water, when in history it was such an important divide.

We nearly missed our train to London on Friday morning because the metro line that runs most directly to the station was out of service. So, in our sleepy states, at 5:30 a.m., we ended up running through Gard du Nord and blitzing through customs. The British actually care who you are and what you’re doing in their country. Unlike the return, the agent asked me why I was going to London, what I was doing there and when I would leave. The French border guard this morning glanced at my picture while joking around with his colleague. Hmm.

Anyway, like I said, the train ride was pretty quick and easy and we made it to our hostel with no trouble. Changing money into pounds was the saddest part of the arrival. It was really sad. Even from Euros, you just barely get anything to work with. This made the trip an adventure in cost cutting.

Now to our hostel. Can you say “eww” ? I know that staying in hostels is supposed to be some kind of young person, life-changing, exciting and adventurous event… but really, eww. We had to leave our stuff locked in a room until we could come back to check in later in the day, but to stay on topic I will tell you now what my overall impression was. When I walked through the bathrooms with unidentified liquid all over the floors and into the room smelling of feet and heard a group of kids discussing their latest use of cocaine… I knew instantly that the “hostel experience” was not my thing. It wasn’t even that bad either, I don’t think I got a disease and nothing was stolen and we weren’t overcharged. But just… not for me.

Our first day consisted of a walk through Hyde Park (really beautiful, with people ridding horses and boating) then a tube ride over to the London Tower and a long walk to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, the London Bridge, the London Museum, the British Museum, and finally, a jaunt along the Thames to the London Eye, where we spent more on dinner than the rest of the whole trip. (Note: when I say “see” something, I mean we saw it, we didn’t go inside, because, well because the British like to charge the equivalent $30 to see a national monument. Umm… I don’t think so. We did actually go into all the museums though, they were free.)

Some notes about London:

-The museums are great! They are also much more user-friendly than France. They are also free, which is sweet and good since if they weren’t, Carolyn and I would have had little to do in the city.

-It is freezing there (not all the time, but it was that day). Rainy and windy.

-Food is so expensive. I mean, I guess everything is expensive. Unlike the Euro, where after a while you can just get it out of your mind that you converted dollars and lost a lot, it is impossible to stop thinking of what you spend in dollars when in England, because it is so damn much. The tube pass for one day was 7 pounds, which is like 15 dollars. That is just insane.

-You can never get used to people driving on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong side of the car. Maybe it’s possible if you’re there for a long time, but I could not figure out which way to look when crossing the street. I lived in constant fear of getting hit by a big red bus or funky black taxi. Crossing the street in general is a mess because the crosswalks don’t go straight across, they have these islands you have to navigate in the middle. It’s hard to explain, but just trust me, it’s weird.

-The tube, or underground, is frightening. First of all, it’s really, really far underground. Second of all, the platforms are itsy-bitsy. Third of all, the inside of the trains are hideously ugly with terrible lighting. Lastly, the voice that tells you to “mind the gap” actually sounds like Big Brother. It’s so creepy.

-London is just not classically beautiful. Granted, we spent our first day in the both oldest and most modern parts of the city, which are not as pretty as around Westminster Abbey and the parks. But really, a walk along the Thames is nothing compared to a walk along the Seine.

Now back to my narrative of events:

Day two began bright and early with another long walk through Hyde Park to get over to Buckingham Palace. Once there, we were initially underwhelmed, until we got to watch the changing of the guard, which was pretty sweet.

Then we continued to walk over to Westminster Abbey and to the Parliament and a nice park there on the river. We took a break there to eat our American breakfast bars and avoid paying for lunch. Then we walked back into the heart of town, past 10 Downing Street and back toward Green Park (my favorite!). We watched some sort of military procession down the street in front of the palace, which was brilliant (very cool).

We then proceeded to sit for about an hour in Green Park, where Amanda apparently looked for us forever but didn’t find us. (I’m so sorry!!) It was so nice to sit in the sun, I can’t convey the nice-ness of it. It lost a little something when some guy with a uniform came over and asked us each for two pounds (the cost for sitting in chairs). This was ridiculous.

Our sit in the sun was followed by afternoon tea on Piccadilly Street and a jaunt through the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. I saw quite a few paintings here that I had been shown in history classes, so that was super cool.

We finished the day by walking back to the Knightsbridge shopping area, snapping pictures of Harrods, eating a fish and chips dinner in a nice pub with a refreshing pint of beer, and then walking past Kensington Palace and through what I think was Notting Hill until we had some ice cream and went back.

Further notes about London:

-The part of the city around the palace and the Parliament is so much more fun and so much nicer than the east end of the city– near the Tower of London. The city is kind of laid out strangely in that all the big parks are right next to each other. It would kind of suck to live across the city from them, but living next to them would be fabulous.

-Parks. I loved the parks in London. They are big and super green, with lakes in them. Unlike in Paris, where there are ornate fountains and guards telling you where you can and can’t sit, in London, you can do whatever you please. The only thing that diminished this for me was having to pay to sit in the lawn chairs and seeing some kid pee in the grass.

-It is so cool to be in an English-speaking European country. It’s Europe without half the challenge because you can still understand everything. To be honest, it loses some coolness by being anglo-phone. It’s also pretty sweet though to be somewhere that is a lot like America, only cooler (aka, a lot older, with classy people, and accents, of course.)

-It is very simplistic. The British Empire was the greatest of them all back in the day, but the architecture and such just doesn’t betray a hint of it. I feel like when you go to Versailles, you think, wow, this is sweet. But in London, the palaces and such just looked like over-sized plain mansions. I guess it’s kind of cool, less opulent.

-I like being an American in England. You feel like you have some kind of connection. On a side note, some guys asked us for directions and when we said we weren’t from London, they guessed we were American. Not hard to guess, but then they guessed we were from Tennessee. When we laughed and said no, they insisted then that we were from somewhere in the south. Do we look like we’re southern? I mean, I don’t think so.

Conclusion: A successful trip to London. I am back in France legally, with a new appreciation for the beauty of Paris and the value of the Euro (although it may be really high to the dollar, it’s not as bad as the pound). It was really, really nice to speak English for a weekend– see it on TV, read it on signs. I’d like to go back, but I’m also really happy to be where I am.

I’m not dead, I swear!

It’s been a while… but I swear I didn’t forget about the blog, although you all probably did since it hasn’t been updated in almost a month.

This is one of those posts that I am going to equate to a walk of shame. Because it’s been so long, it feels like it’s going to be kind of cheap since I have to cover so much, but I’ll do my best.

June has flown by. I literally feel like it was May yesterday. Between people leaving and people coming, I haven’t had much time to stop and reflect on anything. There were some disasters at work, ask me about them later if you’d like. None of them involve me directly, so don’t get too worried. Let’s just say the internship has changed quite a bit since when I started.

One more note about work before I move on to other events. I work with amazing people: famous people, smart people, cool people… the list goes on and on. I attended a luncheon with the top boss last week and her life is incredible. Also, in one of the meetings last week I sat next to pretty much the most important person in my industry. Amazing.

The month started out with me eating snails. It’s not something you would expect me to do, but you better believe it. I ate three of the little guys, little faces and all. I felt like there was a family of snails in my stomach after I finished, but it was a once in a lifetime type of thing.

Other than that, Donna left Paris about mid-way through June, so we were busy doing last minute things for a good few days. We went to a fabulously fun night club with her friends from the dorm. It’s fun to go out with a group like that. One of the girls was British, one Irish, one Italian and a few French. I love going out in groups where the only common language is French. It forces you to speak it, but it’s also kind of cool that it’s not English.

I miss Donna so much though, we had a lot of fun together over here. I lost my best picnic-library buddy. Luckily, I’ve had quite a bit to distract me since she left.

Mid-month, Carolyn arrived and I have since been on a whirlwind tour of Paris. Let me just first say that I hate Charles De Gaulle airport. So the last time I was there, I lost my suitcase, which by the way, has yet to be found. I’ve mostly given up hope, it’s just that every once in a while when I go to shoe store or a library, I get very sad about having lost all my shoes and notebooks.

When I went to get Carolyn, I spent about two hours in the wrong terminal. Watching other people being reunited happily with friends and family. No sign of my sister. I finally discover that her flight was delayed by three hours and I make my way to the right terminal. So after spending a long morning in the airport, we get to the train.

The RER B, it still gives me chills down my spine. We reach the platform and the doors of the train are open, just like they were when I first got there upon arrival. We hoist her bag up quickly and find a seat. Of course, this time, the doors stay open another FIVE minutes. Five! Why this was not the case when I got to the train in March, I will never know.

Anyway, since Carolyn got here, we’ve been doing lots of touristy things. We’ve hit up the Champs Elysees, the Louvre, the Musee du Moyen Age, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and all kind of gardens, parks, boulevards… it’s been a great time, actually going to see things, being a tourist for the first time since I got here.

Tip: it’s great to be a tourist when you already know where everything is, when it’s crowded and what metro to take to get there.

Corinna also left this month, which was also very sad. I am holding her laptop hostage so she has to come back and see me before she flies home to the US, but it was a sad goodbye. After-all, we did attend a number of sketchy Indian restaurants together in Paris. Who else is going to do that with me?

Last weekend, I had another visitor: Lia! She joined Carolyn and I for a night out at an Irish bar, where we watched a very exciting football (aka soccer) game and danced the evening away. Last Saturday, we hit up the Fete de la Musique, where Paris stays out all night singing and dancing in the streets.

I have never seen anything like it. We started up in Montmartre, where we had crepes with Lia’s family and ended up in this little amphitheater listening to a rap-type band. They were actually really good and we stayed there for the sunset. It was so cool, there were a bunch of little kids dancing in front of the stage in the warm evening while everyone sang along. At one point some guy from the audience joined the band and began playing the harmonica. It was so nice.

After that we made our way back to the metro to go to the center of town. It was tricky enough braving the crowds to get to the train, but once we got on, I have never been more squeezed in my life. I actually jumped from the metro car after prying free of the crowd when we reached our stop.

We proceeded to walk through the streets all the way to my apartment. There were thousands of people everywhere, cars couldn’t move, police watched as bottles broke and people danced in fountains. It was a bit too much for me, but it was amazing to see. I’ve never seen anything like it actually.

I spent the beginning of this week between work and hanging out with Lia and Carolyn. We had a nice wine and cheese moment along the Seine, very romantic. Ha!

Lia went on her way back to the US on Tuesday and since, Carolyn and I have just been chillin. We hit up the major soldes, which are the big sales here. The shopping is fabulous, although mostly impossible since we are poor. The sales here are interesting though, I must say, Basically, every store has a sale during the same week. Every store. It’s a madhouse.

Tonight, I’m going to bid Reed farewell and tomorrow Carolyn and I are heading over to jolly old England. Brilliant, I know! It’s pretty much the most expensive three days of my life, but I think it will be worth it. A good trip to the mother land will be cool. It’s kind of weird to feel more at home in Paris than I will in London since they actually speak English there. It’s kind of bad, I’ve been much more lazy about the travel plans because I keep thinking: “meh, they speak English.”

Then this coming week will be full of activity– Carolyn’s departure and Amanda’s arrival.

In two weeks, Amanda and I are hoping to head off to Italy and after that… well, after that I’ll be heading home pretty darn soon. I have mixed feelings about how fast this stay is winding up. By now, I love it here and am going to miss is terribly. I love that I know the city now, that I have my own hang outs, friends, routines. It’s so cool to think that I came here on such short notice and now I can say that I’ve lived in Paris, I know Paris.

I’ve gained so much perspective on America, on the world and on myself since I got here. The experience has been so valuable for me and I’m determined to make the last two months count! I promise I’ll try to write more about it too 😉

French radio, c’est cool

I think I’m stretching it a bit with my title. I wanted to have something that would grab your attention. Truth is, most popular French radio stations play American music. I discovered this after I started listening to French radio to try to be more immersed. Funny.

Anyway, I’m just sitting here right now, listening to the radio, getting ready to go meet Corinna for lunch. I basically hate the weather here. I don’t know what happened to the sun, but it hasn’t been around again since those few really hot weeks. Now it is warm and sticky all the time and it either rains or is very gray.

Since I last wrote, not a whole lot has happened. There have been a lot of protests going on over here about rising fuel prices, a major issue in Europe (and everywhere!). I, however, have not seen any of them, I think they have been concentrated more in port towns, as opposed to in Paris.

Otherwise, in the last week, I’ve hosted a slumber party, eaten French fries with ketchup, stayed out again until 6:30 a.m. and discovered the Pompidou Center’s public library. It’s quite a mix of activities.

I am trying to find a way to spend more time at the library, since they have some really great books on the revolution and also a multi-volume set on the French influence in the American revolution. I would really love to look through this! I’m kind of a geek.

Otherwise, I’m just trying to take on more responsibilities at work and I’m preparing for the wave of visitors coming my way. I now have Lia’s suitcase staying with me now, in less than two weeks Carolyn will be here and in about a month, Lia and then Amanda will arrive! I can’t wait to see them all and show them around the city.

It’s weird, I’ve been here for two full months now. I’ve noticed I never use my map anymore and I know how to use the bank and how to buy produce at the grocery store (it doesn’t sound complicated, but it can be, believe me).

The time has gone by so fast! I still remember my first confused day in Paris, after having lost my bag and struggling to purchase a phone card so I could call and get into my apartment. Oh how things have improved since then! I am looking forward to having people visit though, because I feel like it will remind me how amazing it is to be here. It’s funny, when you’re here, just living day to day, I think it’s easy to forget the magic and beauty of the city.

In other news: Carolyn and I booked our hostel for London and a trip itinerary for Amanda and me is forthcoming. I can’t wait to travel!

Woa!

I just heard the loudest thunder I have ever heard!  I know it’s probably one of those things you just had to be here for, but it was so cool! It lasted for at least a whole minute and now it is pouring down rain.

This post really has no other point than to share that. The weather has been really weird here lately– very rainy and still really warm. I’m not a fan.

I’m trying to think what else I can add to this to make it worth while… I got a package at the post office! I will go to get it tomorrow, and probably be dissapointed. Although I am keeping my fingers crossed that it’s my bag, I think it’s is actually Lia’s since I told her she could mail it to me to store for her.

I’m still training someone new at work and otherwise, just trying to be productive. I’ve been researching London since Carolyn and I are going next month! Basically, the conclusion I’ve come to is that it is going to be extremely expensive, but hopefully worth it.

I miss you all!

French?

So it’s 10:30, otherwise known as 22:30, and I am sitting here, getting ready to embark on a mission to go to sleep before 3 am. You wouldn’t think it would be too hard, but I’m finding it challenging over here.

My roommate made a good point to me this afternoon that I’m still turning over in my mind. I told her I stay up late usually because I start talking to people back home and it pushes back my bedtime. She pointed out that I should try to do that less since it means that I am “here” less.

As I sit here thinking about it, I can’t help but worry that she’s right. I mean, not just about talking to people back home, but the amount of time I spend missing people and things about Berkeley and home, and just generally speaking English, can’t really contribute to broadening my cultural horizons.

I think part of the challenge for me is that all the people I work with, although some of them are European, are English-speaking and are also foreign in France. But I don’t help myself either, I seek out things that are familiar or comfortable. For example, today, I walked to an English language bookstore. I get together with my American friends frequently, seek out bars where they play American music, and avoid restaurants where I am afraid I will have no idea how to order.

I have been thinking about this for a while now, but I feel like technology also limits how much cultural immersion you can receive. I can listen to American radio stations through iTunes, I can call friends for free using Skype or talk to them online, using gchat. I can read American papers and watch American TV on the internet. I guess it just makes immersion a choice, rather than a necessity. I should try harder to make that choice, but it is a difficult one to make when everything else is so much more comfortable.

Don’t get the wrong impression, (you’re just catching me at a bad moment) I do interact with French people and have been learning a lot of cultural lessons. Sometimes it can just be overwhelming to realize how much English I speak, listen to and read, even though I’m in France.

Par contre, it is also amazing how it is possible to continue talking to someone regularly when you are thousands of miles away from them in another country and time zone. The internet is an amazing thing. An amazing but oddly, potentially limiting thing.

Coffee and random thoughts

So, I am sitting in a coffee shop that shall remain un-named. But to get here, I had to pass through a huge anti-Sarkozy demonstration and then I had a woman grab at my arm and call me bad names just because I stupidly made eye contact with her. So, in short, I feel vindicated for venturing into this, the most American of places.

The demonstration is really interesting though, I took an open seat by the window so I can watch it when it goes by. Basically two major streets are closed off to let the demonstrators through and there are a bunch of people trying to pass out fliers naming all the reasons Sarkozy is a liar and a terrible person. Quite interesting. I feel like it would fit well into our growing album of photos of things that could just as easily be in Berkeley as in Paris.

Speaking of Berkeley, I’ve had a lot of fun experiences this week debunking coworkers’ mythical beliefs about the Bay Area. This new girl I’m training knows someone from Berkeley who lives in a co-op and is in an open relationship with her “partner.” So this girl’s impression of Berkeley was that everyone was vegan, in open relationships and living in co-op style arrangements. I offered myself as an example that this is not true.

Another shout out to Berkeley, this French intern came up to me yesterday and told me that he watched a show, on French TV, about Cop Watch. For my Berkeley friends, especially those who work at the Daily Cal, you know what it is. For the rest of you, it’s a group that was created to “keep an eye on” the police force. Anyway, it has been pretty controversial, and I guess interesting enough to make it on to French TV. Small world, and cool to go to school somewhere so well known.

Other than that, not much is new over here. I am training a new girl to do my job, as I mentioned. I don’t know what that means for me… except that I can take a week off in July. Anyway, I’m not going to write about it on the internet, but if you’re interested, you can ask me sometime how I feel about the new crop of interns. The office is basically overflowing with summer interns now, so the atmosphere has changed a bit. I feel pretty confident in my job now, most people know me and are friendly to me at this point– I think because they trust me now.

That’s pretty much it. I almost mistakenly kissed a guy this week when he came in to bisou my cheeks, or “faire la bise.” It was a bit embarrassing since everyone at the table laughed at me. It was an honest mistake though, it’s hard for me to get used to people kissing my face when I first meet them… a bit too intimate.

Anyway, there are now a bunch of “gendarmerie” speeding down the street below. I don’t see the protesters though, so who knows what’s going on. Tonight, Corinna and I were going to have a dinner picnic, but it’s raining now, so we might have to re-think our plans.

One last thing to add to this most random post: I was in the marche buying groceries the other day and I came to the wine area. Instead of picking another red wine, I selected a nice rose wine. It made me think of Berkeley and Gallo wine 🙂 I have to say, I think Gallo is better than this one, although the bottle here is a lot prettier. Drinking rose wine while in France seems wrong, but what can I say? Old habits die hard.

Short and sweet

This is going to be a really short post. Basically, I just spent the equivalent of seven dollars on one boba tea. For the third time in the last week.

Conclusion: I need a cheaper addiction. Or I need to go back to Berkeley, where it costs closer to one dollar to satisfy my cravings.

One other piece of news: I have secured a week off to travel outside France with Amanda!! I am very, very excited about this. The next task is just to secure funding for said trip. If anyone has suggestions of a) how to get money, or b) where to go, let me know!!