one//what is actually going on here???
well, i'm going to school. i'm enrolled in five classes, and meet for three of them. people asked me all the time what classes i would be taking and now that i am actually taking them, i can give a better answer!
first//we have religion. i'm taking a class about how my church came to france and it's influence here. it's taught where we have church, which is the paris institute building by the head of the institute here in france. this class is in english
second// french 362 is pretty much a history class taught in french. this is taught by my professor who is in charge of the program. it covers louis xiv forward, so pretty much the french revolution to more recent history. we have class at the apartment byu owns and the professors and their wives live in.
third//art history. this is taught by bernie, this american guy who lives in paris and is an art historian. we have these classes in the museums and it's taught in english
fourth//french conversation. we don't meet for this class, but we are required to find twenty new vocab words a week and have eleven conversations on certain topics we are given while we are in france (convos in french obvi)
fifth//paris walks. this is my favorite class and pretty much the only way to get college credit from here on out. three credit hours from going on walks, taking pictures, and journal-ing about it? o-tay! but really we have this textbook with twenty walks that tell us where to go, what to see, and the history behind it because the only way to see paris is by walking around and feeling it all in
oh and i definitely have homework, which is the main #struggle in paris because who wants to do homework (but don't worry mom i'm doing it). it's actually a lot easier to learn here because we are learning about the place we are living in. the history is unavoidable here, so everything gets re-iterated several times, it's all very cool.
^^^the current homework situation^^^
two//where do i live???
i live inside paris (the city) only four of us in my program actually live in the city, the rest live in the burbs. i live on a street they call spring. it's a beautiful part of the city. it's surrounded by schools so the buildings are gorgeous and there are young people everywhere. one day i'll take pictures because i live in this pretty apartment building where you have a code and then a key to get out of the lobby and a key to get inside, i'm becoming very cosmopolitan and chic. i even have a canvas bag that i use when i get groceries and go to the market (mainly because plastic grocery bags costs extra moolah but it's whatever).
three//food???
OH THE FOOD. don't be surprised if they have to roll me back to america because bread is everywhere. and cheese. and chocolate. and pastries. and chocolate. and they take their orange juice very seriously here which is heaven. and bueno bars. clearly the church is true. i eat dinner with my host grand mother three times a week, and she is an excellent cook. the quiche is my favorite. and french people ALWAYS have deserts with their dinner. always. tarts for dayzzzz. and the best baguette you ever did eat is at a bakery on our way home from the metro. ohhhh i want to eat all the food all the time. felafel (they don't have that on spell check so i don't know if i spelled that right). crepes. cheese. bueno bars.
^^^i was forced to eat three chocolate things at once while sitting in front of the eiffel tower^^^
four//french people???
FORGET ALL THE STEREOTYPES YOU'VE EVER HAD ABOUT FRENCH PEOPLE RN. okay well maybe not all of them because some of them are true. i have only met kind french people. as long as you aren't obnoxious, they like you. they think it's endearing that you're american, and they like when you try to speak french. french boys love american girls. a week doesn't go by when i'm not told i'm pretty and that happens to every girl here. sometimes it's creepy, but most of the time they just tell you what's up and then walk away. okay french men you can love me if you want. hardly anyone has blond hair, and blue eyes? i can count how many people with blue eyes i've seen on one hand (that wasn't american).
they do carry alcohol around with them everywhere. bottles of wine on the metro forever! and they do dress obnoxiously well. it's fine i don't do my hair one day and i look like i have been hit by a train.
five// favorite things???
oh everything about paris! there is certainly a reason why paris is as cliche as it is because it truly has a magical element to it. that eiffel tower man. i will never get over it. everything is beautiful and everything is a million more times greater than i thought it would be. i love the luxembourg gardens and i love sacre coeur but everything is great! paris is not a place that you can go see a whole bunch of things in one day. you need to take your time in paris. and you need to see paris in the rain, paris at night, paris in the fall... i think you get the idea :) also you MUST see the eiffel tower sparkle. starting at 8 or 9, depending on when the sun goes down, she sparkles for five minutes every hour on the hour and that is quite an experience. like the kind that you get emotional about it's that good.
six// so are you going to become an ex-pat or wat?
i love paris with all my heart, but i will always always always love america. and public bathrooms (peeing is a basic, human, right,) and i miss tacos. and dr. pepper. and regular milk (their milk doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened, and is super thick. just give me 1% puh-lease!) and food that is refrigerated in general. i also really miss macaroni. and pandora. and tacos (i always crave tacos). but french food though. so there will always be good food here, but america will always be #1 in this coeur. i don't just miss food, don't worry i miss all you guys too. oh and i cannot wait to take my phone off airplane mode because that little airplane in the top left hand corner is so annoying.
pretty much every day, several times a day, i get super excited and overwhelmed because i'm in paris. and i've been here for a month (i never want december to come just let me stay here forever plz)
I'm French, and yes its true. We love American women! :)
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