I really ought to be reading for lit. So I decided to blog. Finally. I know i am HORRIBLE. Plenty to catch up on though.
Currently it's spring in Paris! Finally it has bloomed! I am sitting on the little terrace outside my room writing this, with Nutella to keep me company. Nan and Doug arrive Friday morning! We will go to Normandie this weekend, Paris all next week, then Bordeaux next weekend. Should be awesome. And really cheap for me! There is no way Dougie won't look like an american so I'm just over it and glad he won't need a map cause I usually know where I'm going and if I don't I have a very sublte one in my moleskin. Parfait!
So like 6 weeks ago I went to Cologne! March sometime. I don't know exactly. I went with my friend Caroline, who also lives in a homestay in Neuilly. A bunch of people we knew were going on the ski trip so we said whatevs, let's do the Germany thing. Koln was LOVELY. It's right on the Rhine river and when we walked out of the train station we looked up and saw the giant cathedral and were like 'WHOA.' its so massive. it's scary. slash amaaaazingly cool. we didnt go see it til the next day, cause it was pretty late when we got in. We spent Friday at the Dom and then the Shokoladen museum. aka the chocolate museum. and it is just as amazing as it sounds!!! I felt kind of sick so I took a strong nap in the hostel and Caroline did the museum ludwig. We had done lunch by the river. Bratwurst, frites and yummy yummy Kolsch, the beer of Cologne. We went to a brauhaus for dinner and i had a huge plate of taters and kraut topped with roasted pork. with many a round of kolsch. it was amaazing. We ended up at a club with people we met at the hostel. Which was great til i thought i was going to die because EVERYONE was smoking inside. it was gross. all my clothes smelled like smoke it was FOUL. The next day we rented bikes and rode down the rhine! it was so beauitful and so relaxing and I was so so so happy we did it! It was a lovely lovely LOVELY trip.
The weekend after that I went to Florence. My friend Carolyn from my job in Chicago goes to Depaul but was visiting a friend from home who is studying in Florence. I took a night train and met up with her which was SO great to see someone from home. It was grea to have a first day with her and her friends. We did the Boboli gardens and walked around and had a nice low key dinner. The next day she flew back to the states and I packed up my bag and did a day on my own in Florence. I saw the David, and snuck some illegal photos. Woops. I also found the sandwich place Lynne, Mommy and I had gotten these great sandwiches with eggplant and huge chunks of parmesan on them. I was going to do the Uffizi but the line was just so long and I had this big duffle on my back so I just decided to enjoy Florence. I went to the paper shop and hung out writing and watching Florentines in front of the Pitti palace. It was rainy but still so very lovely. I had a long relaxing dinner on my own, pasta salad wine and some panna cotta before heading to the train station for a night train back to Paris. It was two good full days, I was happy I did it. And the night train experience is pretty unique. I was crammed into a tiny room with three tiered bunks. I actually slept really well. Minues t he train being almost 3 hours behind on the way back and then we had to switch to a new train because the breaks were being funny. that SUCKED. but all in all was an amazing trip.
The weekend after THAT I went to Geneva with Linzy. We left really early Saturday and came back late on Sunday. I. Love. Geneva. It was SOOO beautiful. we had two absolutely gorgeous days and we had a nice little room right by the lake. two days in a row we rented a paddle boat and just paddle way far out and sat and watched the mountains as the day passed by. We did a little picnic lunch on the second day too! It was just so relaxing and we didnt rush or try and get to every museum possible. in fact, we didnt even go to the UN. it was amazing. the water and the mountains were so refreshing and the people there are SO VERY NICE. There isn't really too much more to tell about Geneva, other than how much I lvoed it. OH! on Saturday night we met up with another girl from IES, Meredith, cause she was there with this girl Emily but Emily was unfortunately sick :(. so we bought some wine and went ot drink it in this park on the back side of the city where you can see the mountains and its just lovely. for all you lakengren people, it was tea time. we just sat and watched the sun eventually go down. it was awesome. the trick was, we forgot about a way to OPEN the wine. so we found this tiny shop that sold things like olives and spreads and such and were like 'okay maybe they will.' we asked the guy if he sold wine openers and said no but he had one. he took our bottle, opened it for us and gave us three plastic glasses! told us en francais that three girls pretty as us can't be drinking wine out of the bottle, we will give men the wrong idea about us! it was cute. and guys in geneva have been by far the least creepy. i was really upset when we left. literally teared up on the train. it was such a beautiul weekend and the first time in a while I felt in a homey place. maybe it was the mountains. i blame dougie for that!
SO after that whole trip spring break came up. I skipped class on Thursday to take a Wednesday night train to Barcelona. Im sorry, Barthelona. Can't forget that Spanish lisp. I went with Marcy and Nicole and Connor met up with us Friday evening. I loooove Barcelona. We had a great great hostal that was inexpensive, fit all four of us and had a nice little terrace-y thing. sink and table in room. we spent Friday kind of wandering and went to the beach. it was so great to just be next to the ocean! when the day winded down to tea time we went back to the hostal and on our way stopped and bought some cheese crackers and boxed sangria, 'Don Simon.' The Don is my best friend. we bought some orange to put in it which was great, and for being 1.70 euros for a box, was pretty darn good. We had a nice early evening with that and then went to this tiny little place with really cheap food for dinner and turned in somewhat early. Good Friday = RAINY. i spent quite some time searching out a place for church which failed MISERABLY. we got churros and chocolate for breakfast. and its not like drinkable hot chocolate its more like a mug of melted chocolate. its still amazing though. oh yeah, coffee in spain is really really good. i enjoyed that a LOT. we went to see sagrada familia, which is the CRAZY cathedral by gaudi and it wont even be finished for another 50 years. i had a good time explaining the ridiculous religious symbolism all over hte passion and nativity facades. it was an insane piece of cathedral. i cant even explain. google images. its just nuts. we decided to have ourselves a good dinner and decied to do paella sinc ei wasnt eating meat and had been fasting all day. we found this place on las ramblas with 1 tapas + 1 paella + 1 sangria = 9.9 euros! we had a winner. it was really great cause they just brought us each our sangria and then our three tapas and then a HUGE seafood paella. it was really fun to eat it all togeter like that and was REALLY delicious and not too much food. and just hte right price. we then went up montjuic. mount of the jews. we just called it jew mountain. we watched hte magic fountains show which was SO beautiful and the view of barcelona from way up there is just breahtaking, especially when you can see sagrada familia way in the distance and then the ocean too. we then took the long way to the metro to go meet connor who was getting in from the airport. we found ourselves in the most intense passion parade i have ever seen. drums, incence, carrying floats on backs it was NUTS. slash really cool. I spent the next day on my own as they went up t he coast to see all the Dali stuff and i couldnt really afford a side trip. I went to the huge market there, and just watched all the insane things being sold as everyone was buying things for Easter dinner. I had myself a one euro strawberry coconut juice which was soooo good and then sat myself at this little tapas bar in the back and had myself chorizo tapas (the one spanish thing i wanted but hadnt had yet) and a cafe con leche and journaled and watched the buzz of the market. it was an excellent choice for hte morning. I basically spent he rest of hte day wandering a lot. it was gorgeous so i went to the beach but by the time i had walked there it started to get cloudy. so i sat on the beach and watched storm clouds roll in. and yeah i got caught in the rain but it was fine. i took a long wandering time back to the hostal, showered, packed and went ot find dinner. i foudn a 4 euros falafel place wher eyou get to kind of do like a falafel bar. mine with PACKED with hummus, tomato, onions, fried eggplant and fresh fresh fresh tabouli. SCORE. it was so good. i met up with the rest of hte folks to give them the key to the hostal, bid them farewell a nd headed back to the train station to night train it back to paris. was a little weird, the first time in a LONG time i havent been to easter vigil mass. but i was so happy i went to spain
this has been a huge post. im tired of typing. maybe will fill in on easter/spring break later this evening!
Ellen
Me
This is my face...
22.4.09
18.3.09
Schmeep
Yeah, I didn't know what to do for hte title so that's what you get.
St Pattys day was yesterday! Really uneventful. I wore green! and finally talked christina and caroline, who also line in neuilly, to go to big ben to get guinness. because thats what one should do! However, i am not sure how irish it is to go to british pub. but ssshhh don't tell! There was another neuilly adventure tonight as I dyed my hair for hte first time EVER! caroline did most of the heavy lifting while christina documented the whole experience. i think christina video recording as i flailed about because the water from teh shower head tickled my neck too much was the high light! so now it's a lighter, yet almost redder tone to it. i'm happy, i like it. should have left it on longer, but we can do a roung two in the future.
Going to Cologne this weekend! So stay tuned for updates on that. I have to pack for that. So this is just going to be a short post! But a longer one will come later, I promise!
St Pattys day was yesterday! Really uneventful. I wore green! and finally talked christina and caroline, who also line in neuilly, to go to big ben to get guinness. because thats what one should do! However, i am not sure how irish it is to go to british pub. but ssshhh don't tell! There was another neuilly adventure tonight as I dyed my hair for hte first time EVER! caroline did most of the heavy lifting while christina documented the whole experience. i think christina video recording as i flailed about because the water from teh shower head tickled my neck too much was the high light! so now it's a lighter, yet almost redder tone to it. i'm happy, i like it. should have left it on longer, but we can do a roung two in the future.
Going to Cologne this weekend! So stay tuned for updates on that. I have to pack for that. So this is just going to be a short post! But a longer one will come later, I promise!
10.3.09
Avoiding homework helps me blog...
So I don't want to read for lit. So I am updating my blog. Calm down mother I am going to get it done before class. Which is in two hours. Whatever.
Took a little trip to Provins on Friday with IES excursions. Upsides: Cool Moyen-age (aka middle ages) village. some REALLY cool catacombs taht were creepy and awesome. it was just this lovely village plopped in the middle of the country side. The chocolate cake at lunch was a m a z i n g. Downsides: being on catholic on a friday during lent when you're included meal includes pate and duck confit. what did I eat? ummm letsee. a big-ish salad. and some green bean mushroom combo with tomatoes provencale. which was good, dont get me wrong. but when you're eating rabbit food and everyone else is eating duck confit you kind of want to kill yourself. I also bonked my head twice climbing up and down narrow stone stairwells in the dungeon tower. i thought i was going to get a concussion on my face. and yes i realize how silly that sounds. Additionally, when we were leaving a car caught on fire. naturally we stopped and our bus driver helped direct traffic til firefighters (val) arrived. After I got back I ran home and changed and met cody at this event held be the non profit he interns with (ni putes ni soumises, aka neither whores nor submissives). it was focused on violence against women in teh congo and there was a panel preceded by a video done by eve ensler who wrote vagina monologues about this women in kenya who started a safe house for women escaping genital mutilation. it was really cool.
Saturday: l'institut du monde arabe. aka arabic world institute. was supposed to go day before with islamic art class. went to provins instead. whoops. but i went! and it was really cool. the building is fascinating it has all these geometric shapes in the windows, but they are rigged so they can change shapes. its got some great exhibits, cafes, and a extensive library. i have to use the library for all my islamic art class stuff. weeeeee. so cody and i did that and then went to franprix to get fixins for burgers and a sixpack of leffe. had burgers (roquefort stuffed, bien sur) and beer and watched college humor. it was a very pleasant evening.
anyone who knows me knows i get addicted to tv shows like its my JOB. Top chef is over (woo hosea!) and now i am already stuck on a new one: united states of tara. its on showtime but you can watch it online. it's been less then 24 hrs since i watched the first two episodes and i cant calm down about it. I just can't!
well i ought ot read now. DONT WANNA but i will. i guess. blech.
Ellen
Took a little trip to Provins on Friday with IES excursions. Upsides: Cool Moyen-age (aka middle ages) village. some REALLY cool catacombs taht were creepy and awesome. it was just this lovely village plopped in the middle of the country side. The chocolate cake at lunch was a m a z i n g. Downsides: being on catholic on a friday during lent when you're included meal includes pate and duck confit. what did I eat? ummm letsee. a big-ish salad. and some green bean mushroom combo with tomatoes provencale. which was good, dont get me wrong. but when you're eating rabbit food and everyone else is eating duck confit you kind of want to kill yourself. I also bonked my head twice climbing up and down narrow stone stairwells in the dungeon tower. i thought i was going to get a concussion on my face. and yes i realize how silly that sounds. Additionally, when we were leaving a car caught on fire. naturally we stopped and our bus driver helped direct traffic til firefighters (val) arrived. After I got back I ran home and changed and met cody at this event held be the non profit he interns with (ni putes ni soumises, aka neither whores nor submissives). it was focused on violence against women in teh congo and there was a panel preceded by a video done by eve ensler who wrote vagina monologues about this women in kenya who started a safe house for women escaping genital mutilation. it was really cool.
Saturday: l'institut du monde arabe. aka arabic world institute. was supposed to go day before with islamic art class. went to provins instead. whoops. but i went! and it was really cool. the building is fascinating it has all these geometric shapes in the windows, but they are rigged so they can change shapes. its got some great exhibits, cafes, and a extensive library. i have to use the library for all my islamic art class stuff. weeeeee. so cody and i did that and then went to franprix to get fixins for burgers and a sixpack of leffe. had burgers (roquefort stuffed, bien sur) and beer and watched college humor. it was a very pleasant evening.
anyone who knows me knows i get addicted to tv shows like its my JOB. Top chef is over (woo hosea!) and now i am already stuck on a new one: united states of tara. its on showtime but you can watch it online. it's been less then 24 hrs since i watched the first two episodes and i cant calm down about it. I just can't!
well i ought ot read now. DONT WANNA but i will. i guess. blech.
Ellen
4.3.09
Wow I Am SO Bad at this
Ok, so I am terrible at blog updating. It's been like a month. Enough people have yelled at me so I will update and it will likely be long and I'll hit the good stuff:
a) SCOTLAND. Madeline and I went to Glasgow to visit Jillian. which was LOVELY. i had never been to the UK so it was utterly fantastic. We went to a ceilidh! which is basically traditional scottish dancing. it was in a church and just families and such but was so very down to earth and so much fun. I danced with boys in kilts, how great is that?? the british pound is irritating, and illogical but ah well. i am quite sure i could eat scottish shortbread and tea for the rest of my life. 'til i die! Brodders, you both got little presents from Scotland!
b)CLASSES Oooh classes. Ce n'est pas tres difficile. M/W I have a class on comic books (it's a literature class) that I am liking a lot. We've been discussing elements of racism in comics. On Mondays I also go to a class on Christian theology and interreligoius dialogue at L'institut catholique. It's strange because the only people under age 35 are all the american students. many of the students id say are 50 or older. It's just a very different demographic than in the states. T/Th is my long stretch. Three classes at 9, 1230, and 4. Being at school from 9-530 is a little tiring especially since the commute is about 40 minutes. But i have two 2-hr breaks so I have time to eat and finish up homework and such. I have a language/culture class that i ADORE. mostly the people and atmostphere. Though I do have a secret love of conjugating verbs. I have an Islamic Art class which I like the subject matter of, but my professor drives me a little nuts. She has tagged me and another girl as the religious studies girls. Excellent. Slash mildly annoying. I also am taking a really basic into to lit class. which is fine. cause i hate lit. i like reading. i hate lit classes. period.
c)FRENCH THINGS One of my favorite things I've done in France is actually all in English. No bueno, I know. But its these afternoon teas and discussions at this relatively well known and historical book store near Notre Dame, called Shakespeare and Co. I suggest google ing it. I have met and talked to some interesting people and the history of the bookstore is really awesome. it also functions as what they call the 'tumbleweed hotel' because young people often come and are given a place to sleep in exchange for a few hours of work a day in the store. Cause things like that happen all the time. I spend a lot of time riding the Metro here. It's actually kind of funny. Everywhere is a commute but with my ipod its all fine. except you cant do too much people watching. making eye contact and smiling, particuarly with a man, really not good. so i dont. i try to do sneaky people watching. Mass here is a little nutty - there is no orderly fashion to go to communion everyone just herds at once into the aisles. I actually can't stand it. Of course AshWednesday was fun. The priest dumped ashes down the front of my coat and i forgot to tell my host mom 'no meat today thanks' and came home early afternoon to see a leg of lamb prepped for the oven. what am i supposed to do 'uh thanks for making a special meal, but no thanks.' at least it was a very appropriate meat, eh? My host family left for Argentina today for ten days. They stocked the fridge but I don't think they realize all their bread and cheese and maybe wine will be gone when they get back. well maybe not the wine though my host dad did tell me to help myself! and for any aunts uncles etc thinking 'oh goodness they left you alone!' please remember i am 21 years old and know how to feed myself as well as lock doors. Went to the Agricultural Fair last weekend. LOTS of animals and food and anything a person can grow. Bought the tastiest apples and saw a million cows. Unfortunately a communication mix up kept me from returning the next day to seek out the wine. Ah well.
d) THE HOME FRONT I am lucky enough to have people who arent opposed to paying international postage! i thought i would have my first valentines in a while sans hot tamales and yet my AWESOME twin, Roxanne Tucker, sent me a loving care package with hot tamales, cheez its, and a letter and a photo collage. Alex sent me thin mints! I shared the cheezits with people but not hte tamales or the thin mints. That stuffs like GOLD. So anyone interested in sending me gold, you will win lots of my love and the address is here on my blog. I sent out some postcards yesterday and will try to send more. I am in love with this city but always feel a touch of homesickness. Getting to talk to everyone at home makes me realize how much I need to seize this opportunity so I can get back to everyone i miss as soon as I can with no regrets. Also, if anyone can figure out how to mail me a chipotle burrito, id love you forever! Oh, and get this! Whlie I am in France, I win a party at my favorite dueling piano bar in Chicago. I mean, really? Crazy. I am always on skype if i am at a computer and it's been great chatting with my mom all the time while she's at work. I keep up on everything going on in the family and end up with hysterical stories too. Dougie needs to get skype at work, its fun to just talk to mom between patients. any other fam members have skype, chat me up while you're working, its usually homework time for me and lord knows i love any reason to avoid homework. I like being able to keep up with the family. It has become even more so clear to me lately how very wonderful all my family is and how we aren't a group to mess with! And it's nice to know that I always have an absurd number of people on my side, no matter what. I love my family, all million and a half of them all across the country.
Its like two am i should sleep, eh?
a) SCOTLAND. Madeline and I went to Glasgow to visit Jillian. which was LOVELY. i had never been to the UK so it was utterly fantastic. We went to a ceilidh! which is basically traditional scottish dancing. it was in a church and just families and such but was so very down to earth and so much fun. I danced with boys in kilts, how great is that?? the british pound is irritating, and illogical but ah well. i am quite sure i could eat scottish shortbread and tea for the rest of my life. 'til i die! Brodders, you both got little presents from Scotland!
b)CLASSES Oooh classes. Ce n'est pas tres difficile. M/W I have a class on comic books (it's a literature class) that I am liking a lot. We've been discussing elements of racism in comics. On Mondays I also go to a class on Christian theology and interreligoius dialogue at L'institut catholique. It's strange because the only people under age 35 are all the american students. many of the students id say are 50 or older. It's just a very different demographic than in the states. T/Th is my long stretch. Three classes at 9, 1230, and 4. Being at school from 9-530 is a little tiring especially since the commute is about 40 minutes. But i have two 2-hr breaks so I have time to eat and finish up homework and such. I have a language/culture class that i ADORE. mostly the people and atmostphere. Though I do have a secret love of conjugating verbs. I have an Islamic Art class which I like the subject matter of, but my professor drives me a little nuts. She has tagged me and another girl as the religious studies girls. Excellent. Slash mildly annoying. I also am taking a really basic into to lit class. which is fine. cause i hate lit. i like reading. i hate lit classes. period.
c)FRENCH THINGS One of my favorite things I've done in France is actually all in English. No bueno, I know. But its these afternoon teas and discussions at this relatively well known and historical book store near Notre Dame, called Shakespeare and Co. I suggest google ing it. I have met and talked to some interesting people and the history of the bookstore is really awesome. it also functions as what they call the 'tumbleweed hotel' because young people often come and are given a place to sleep in exchange for a few hours of work a day in the store. Cause things like that happen all the time. I spend a lot of time riding the Metro here. It's actually kind of funny. Everywhere is a commute but with my ipod its all fine. except you cant do too much people watching. making eye contact and smiling, particuarly with a man, really not good. so i dont. i try to do sneaky people watching. Mass here is a little nutty - there is no orderly fashion to go to communion everyone just herds at once into the aisles. I actually can't stand it. Of course AshWednesday was fun. The priest dumped ashes down the front of my coat and i forgot to tell my host mom 'no meat today thanks' and came home early afternoon to see a leg of lamb prepped for the oven. what am i supposed to do 'uh thanks for making a special meal, but no thanks.' at least it was a very appropriate meat, eh? My host family left for Argentina today for ten days. They stocked the fridge but I don't think they realize all their bread and cheese and maybe wine will be gone when they get back. well maybe not the wine though my host dad did tell me to help myself! and for any aunts uncles etc thinking 'oh goodness they left you alone!' please remember i am 21 years old and know how to feed myself as well as lock doors. Went to the Agricultural Fair last weekend. LOTS of animals and food and anything a person can grow. Bought the tastiest apples and saw a million cows. Unfortunately a communication mix up kept me from returning the next day to seek out the wine. Ah well.
d) THE HOME FRONT I am lucky enough to have people who arent opposed to paying international postage! i thought i would have my first valentines in a while sans hot tamales and yet my AWESOME twin, Roxanne Tucker, sent me a loving care package with hot tamales, cheez its, and a letter and a photo collage. Alex sent me thin mints! I shared the cheezits with people but not hte tamales or the thin mints. That stuffs like GOLD. So anyone interested in sending me gold, you will win lots of my love and the address is here on my blog. I sent out some postcards yesterday and will try to send more. I am in love with this city but always feel a touch of homesickness. Getting to talk to everyone at home makes me realize how much I need to seize this opportunity so I can get back to everyone i miss as soon as I can with no regrets. Also, if anyone can figure out how to mail me a chipotle burrito, id love you forever! Oh, and get this! Whlie I am in France, I win a party at my favorite dueling piano bar in Chicago. I mean, really? Crazy. I am always on skype if i am at a computer and it's been great chatting with my mom all the time while she's at work. I keep up on everything going on in the family and end up with hysterical stories too. Dougie needs to get skype at work, its fun to just talk to mom between patients. any other fam members have skype, chat me up while you're working, its usually homework time for me and lord knows i love any reason to avoid homework. I like being able to keep up with the family. It has become even more so clear to me lately how very wonderful all my family is and how we aren't a group to mess with! And it's nice to know that I always have an absurd number of people on my side, no matter what. I love my family, all million and a half of them all across the country.
Its like two am i should sleep, eh?
Hélène
29.1.09
Settling In
So the first full week started. The language placement test, well haven't done something like that since high school. The language intensive course feels like high school but i like it because its very much a review of things that I just haven't gone over in a while, so it's nice to have things like very tenses fresh in my mind.
Had a lovely dinner with Cody the other night in the Latin Quarter. We ended up sitting outside Notre Dame later that evening for a good while just talking. There were very few people which just made it so so nice. I also got to see Elizabeth today! She used to go to DePaul and is actually from Yellow Springs, near Dayton. She's been studying in Bordeaux and is in Paris for the weekend. I ended up spending a lovely afternoon in Montmartre with her, and I hadn't been up there yet. The first sunny day made it perfect to go see Sacre Coeur. We walked around a bunch and ended up having a cafe and just talked. It felt fantastically familiar. Paris is beautiful but being able to meet up with Elizabeth and having Cody around help to hold off the loneliness. and not loneliness as in there's no one here, but loneliness as in missing people who just know me and love me and don't have questions or judgments any more. I was glad to hear Elizabeth may be moving back to Chicago. It was also nice to know that I will very likely see her again and that we may even do a bit of traveling.
Bee. Tee. Dubs. There was apparently supposed to be a strike on the metro. strike? whats strike? i guess since no ones using the metro out of fear of it not working, theres few people on it, its still running just fewer trains and frankly if no one had told me there was a strike i wouldnt have known there was one! But so is France. C'est la vie.
My host family is leaving tomorrow night for a ski vacation until Tuesday. Apparently, they're not the only family doing this. I have a feeling throwing a wild party is out of the question, n'est-ce pas?
Oh yes. The shopping. The soldes. January is sale month here. Like, insane sale month. For fifty euros I purchased: three tops, a pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and a skirt. When typically it would have bought me like the shoes. maybe one of the tops and the skirt. So I am rationalizing clothes shopping by telling myself i won't do much more after the sales because i wont want to. too much money. and the clothes are DAMN cute.
Changed my name to Hélène on fbook and apparently people can't handle it. It's french and the perfect combo of ellen and helen. Deal people.
Hélène
Had a lovely dinner with Cody the other night in the Latin Quarter. We ended up sitting outside Notre Dame later that evening for a good while just talking. There were very few people which just made it so so nice. I also got to see Elizabeth today! She used to go to DePaul and is actually from Yellow Springs, near Dayton. She's been studying in Bordeaux and is in Paris for the weekend. I ended up spending a lovely afternoon in Montmartre with her, and I hadn't been up there yet. The first sunny day made it perfect to go see Sacre Coeur. We walked around a bunch and ended up having a cafe and just talked. It felt fantastically familiar. Paris is beautiful but being able to meet up with Elizabeth and having Cody around help to hold off the loneliness. and not loneliness as in there's no one here, but loneliness as in missing people who just know me and love me and don't have questions or judgments any more. I was glad to hear Elizabeth may be moving back to Chicago. It was also nice to know that I will very likely see her again and that we may even do a bit of traveling.
Bee. Tee. Dubs. There was apparently supposed to be a strike on the metro. strike? whats strike? i guess since no ones using the metro out of fear of it not working, theres few people on it, its still running just fewer trains and frankly if no one had told me there was a strike i wouldnt have known there was one! But so is France. C'est la vie.
My host family is leaving tomorrow night for a ski vacation until Tuesday. Apparently, they're not the only family doing this. I have a feeling throwing a wild party is out of the question, n'est-ce pas?
Oh yes. The shopping. The soldes. January is sale month here. Like, insane sale month. For fifty euros I purchased: three tops, a pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and a skirt. When typically it would have bought me like the shoes. maybe one of the tops and the skirt. So I am rationalizing clothes shopping by telling myself i won't do much more after the sales because i wont want to. too much money. and the clothes are DAMN cute.
Changed my name to Hélène on fbook and apparently people can't handle it. It's french and the perfect combo of ellen and helen. Deal people.
Hélène
25.1.09
I'm A Schmuck, I wake up late
So my first weekend in Paris! Saturday I woke myself up and got ahold of Cody. We went to the chapel with Vinny' corps. He wanted to go and I was impressed withthe fact that I remembered the correct metro station and found it very easily. we arrived just past noon and there was mass at 1230 so we stayed. i figure it counted for sunday, even if it was before five. it was bizarre going to mass in french, just also strangely familiar. because i know what words should be said, it's easier to pick up on the french. what was frustrating was not knowing what to respond with . i have never been more glad that mme smith had us memorize the our father en francais in high school. being able to participate in such a communal part of mass in the right language felt good. we didnt really go to the mother house, but found some quick lunch before cody had to head back to get ready for his uber late bday celebration.
i came home and napped. i was feeling not in the mood to really go out and initially declined to go to oberkampf but when margaux said she was meeting people at champs-elysees i made myself go. i have never been to champs-elysees and decided to push myself. we met some people from her school, jasper and katie. we mostly just walked around for a few hours, and that was fine with me. it was nice just kind of walking talking and people watching. one french guy did try an dkeep talking to us and it was relatively creepy. i never felt threatened but didnt really want to keep talking to him and we finally managed to walk away. but he was definitely a creeper. (dad if you're reading this, don't freak out. it was not a big deal).
i made hte mistake of staying up late once i got home and then margaux had to wake me up this morning in time for lunch. our host parents two kids came for lunch, and the oldest is married with a 2 year old and another on the way. the 2 yr olds name is Sixteen ( though i think they may spell it sixtine). she. is. so. damn. cute. i want to pinch her chubby little cheeks. though rarely 20 minutes after i wake up am i handed a glass of champagne and freshly cooked shrimps. it was really good, and i suppose, very french. lunch was some kind of tasty pot roasty thing, with meet and carrotts and rice. and of course! after all comes cheese and bread ( i went for hte roquefort. dad you'd flip, its SOOOO good). and then the cafe. margaux and i didnt do much chatting but i enjoyed just watching the very pleasant family dynamic and just trying to listen to the conversatoin and not catching all of it but enough ehre and there to kind of follow. the discussion of tv and movies later was fun to listen to. according to charles, their son, Dexter est 'geniale' as is Vicky Cristina Barcelona. it makes me laugh to see giant 'affiches' for Dexter in the metro stations all the time. Dad you're least favorite show for your kids to watch is very popular here! All in all, a very pleasant morning.
I think I may just take a long walk later. I have a pass for the carres rouges, or buses that take a tour through the big touristy sites, but the tourist mood hasn't struck me yet. im still feeling very low key, and i haven't really explored neuilly-sur-seine yet. im going to take my second shower though and see if i can master that damn shower head hose thingy that bested me last time!
a bien tot!
Hélène
(val - helen and ellen are pronounced hte same here. thought you'd like to know!)
i came home and napped. i was feeling not in the mood to really go out and initially declined to go to oberkampf but when margaux said she was meeting people at champs-elysees i made myself go. i have never been to champs-elysees and decided to push myself. we met some people from her school, jasper and katie. we mostly just walked around for a few hours, and that was fine with me. it was nice just kind of walking talking and people watching. one french guy did try an dkeep talking to us and it was relatively creepy. i never felt threatened but didnt really want to keep talking to him and we finally managed to walk away. but he was definitely a creeper. (dad if you're reading this, don't freak out. it was not a big deal).
i made hte mistake of staying up late once i got home and then margaux had to wake me up this morning in time for lunch. our host parents two kids came for lunch, and the oldest is married with a 2 year old and another on the way. the 2 yr olds name is Sixteen ( though i think they may spell it sixtine). she. is. so. damn. cute. i want to pinch her chubby little cheeks. though rarely 20 minutes after i wake up am i handed a glass of champagne and freshly cooked shrimps. it was really good, and i suppose, very french. lunch was some kind of tasty pot roasty thing, with meet and carrotts and rice. and of course! after all comes cheese and bread ( i went for hte roquefort. dad you'd flip, its SOOOO good). and then the cafe. margaux and i didnt do much chatting but i enjoyed just watching the very pleasant family dynamic and just trying to listen to the conversatoin and not catching all of it but enough ehre and there to kind of follow. the discussion of tv and movies later was fun to listen to. according to charles, their son, Dexter est 'geniale' as is Vicky Cristina Barcelona. it makes me laugh to see giant 'affiches' for Dexter in the metro stations all the time. Dad you're least favorite show for your kids to watch is very popular here! All in all, a very pleasant morning.
I think I may just take a long walk later. I have a pass for the carres rouges, or buses that take a tour through the big touristy sites, but the tourist mood hasn't struck me yet. im still feeling very low key, and i haven't really explored neuilly-sur-seine yet. im going to take my second shower though and see if i can master that damn shower head hose thingy that bested me last time!
a bien tot!
Hélène
(val - helen and ellen are pronounced hte same here. thought you'd like to know!)
23.1.09
Day Two
Ok, so day two began. And because my life can never be simple, it begin with an adventure: SHOWERING! I am sorry, I should be more clear. Bathing. Because there is no shower. There is a giant tub (and Delphine continues to encourage Margaux and I to take baths. I make take her up on that). This giant tub has a shower head, but its attached via a hose, and has no wall mount. So I literally hose myself down. Sans shower curtain. I decided sitting in the tub would be easiest but it did not stop me from getting water all over the bathroom. I mean, it wasn't a flood, but it wasn't dry in there. When I got in I just thought it was wet from Margaux's shower since there was no bathmat. It's going to take some finesse is all.
I am quite glad I figured out cell phone stuff before getting here. Thanks mom! Went in at like 930 even though orientation wasnt until 130. margaux had to be there then, so we just took the metro together to make sure we both could find it okay. cody was supposed to meet me at 930, but in true cody fashion was late and arrived after 10. I have never been so happy to see that bearded face! i keep rubbing my hand on his beard. the ies people were a little confused by my rubbing my cheek on his beard. anyone who knows me knows i do this to cody's beard all the time. orientation so far is kind of ok. lots of pledges to sign. language, alcohol, etc. clearly we can drink, but not at school. or at ies events. or have it in our homestays. im not really excited about having to register every detail of any trips i take. I'm trying not to be a brat since it's a small price for such wonderful opportunities but I am so accustomed to decided when and where I go, and I dunno. Takes a tiny sense of adventure out of it. Brianna, you would do just fine 'cause you always have every detail in order.
Stopped at the supermarche on the way home. Reminder: weigh produce. I didn't see the sign and looked like a stupid americaine. mistake will not happen again! i should know better, I shop at Treasure Island!
I suppose that's all for now. Cody and I are going to St. Vincent's Chapel tomorrow. I kind of want to nap before dinner. I love naps. Some things will just never change.
I am quite glad I figured out cell phone stuff before getting here. Thanks mom! Went in at like 930 even though orientation wasnt until 130. margaux had to be there then, so we just took the metro together to make sure we both could find it okay. cody was supposed to meet me at 930, but in true cody fashion was late and arrived after 10. I have never been so happy to see that bearded face! i keep rubbing my hand on his beard. the ies people were a little confused by my rubbing my cheek on his beard. anyone who knows me knows i do this to cody's beard all the time. orientation so far is kind of ok. lots of pledges to sign. language, alcohol, etc. clearly we can drink, but not at school. or at ies events. or have it in our homestays. im not really excited about having to register every detail of any trips i take. I'm trying not to be a brat since it's a small price for such wonderful opportunities but I am so accustomed to decided when and where I go, and I dunno. Takes a tiny sense of adventure out of it. Brianna, you would do just fine 'cause you always have every detail in order.
Stopped at the supermarche on the way home. Reminder: weigh produce. I didn't see the sign and looked like a stupid americaine. mistake will not happen again! i should know better, I shop at Treasure Island!
I suppose that's all for now. Cody and I are going to St. Vincent's Chapel tomorrow. I kind of want to nap before dinner. I love naps. Some things will just never change.
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