Back to School--Sort Of

Sacre Coeur

My favorite Crepe place...like a carnival!

One view of my tiny but cozy room
A view from Fontaineblue, a town (and forest) outside of Paris

Awesome street art in Saint Ouen, outside Paris
Emily et moi at the Louvre (!!!)

The girls at the Louvre

La Notre Dame, beautifully lit at night

Showcasing my first crepe of the trip...certainly not the last!

It's been a few days. I want to write a post every day but I don't have the time, unfortunately. Every minute of the day and night is worthy of being noted, I think. My weekend was a whirlwind, with some highlights:

Visiting Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

Giant flea market in the 18th

Climbing a mountain in Fountainebleu

Enjoying an evening in my favorite garden, alone, writing in my journal (spectacular)

Dinner with high school (and middle/elementary school) friend Iliana and her mom

Today we had two classes at IFE. Classes don't officially start until the 7th of September (which it technically already is, in paris--rabbit, rabbit!) at the Sorbonne and the 14th for IFE. But as part of orientation, we have to attend some courses to get us better acclimated with France and our environment. I'm adopting the country for the next four months so it's important to know a lot about my new home. It's kind of like extended French classes from Goucher...but A LOT better. The first was all about culture and politics in France and the relationship between the two--both today and over the past numerous centuries. It was like an extension of FR 245 so I was familiar with some of the information, which was nice. I learned a lot of really interesting things, such as when French became the official language of the country. (1992, correct me if I'm wrong). Also, contemporary art is becoming a lot more expensive than older art from the Renaissance, for example. A painting by Raphael is not as valuable as a contemporary instillation, which surprises me. I generally do not have a fine appreciation for contemporary art--just don't GET it--so this really interests me. The class went from 9-12:30 so MAN was I tired in the beginning and very hungry by the end. Luckily, we had an hour and a half until the next course and so all picnicked in a nearby park for lunch. :)

The second class was on methodology--or, basically, what is expected of French students in school. How they get things done. We were taught everything about the dissertations we're going to have to be giving--AHHHH!--right down to how many spaces between paragraphs and how many tabs on the tab bar. It's all very specific. French students are used to only getting credit for responding to both/all sides of a question. It's not enough to take one position; you have to consider and address all arguments. It's a strict format but I'm glad I had this chance to prepare before classes begin. The class was taught by Thomas, who I will be doing my internship with.

He told me more about my internship and I think I'm going to really like it! I get to essentially work wherever I want and read books/author bios and correspond with authors, both French and American. I'll conduct interviews and often have to conference with them and go out for "cocktails" as he said. Water for me, please! Can you imagine me drinking wine with an author? I'd have a sip and have to take a taxi home. I'm very excited but still naturally nervous.

My afternoon was spent by buying a monthly pass for the metro, a stop at the bank, and a little shopping trip. MUMSY DON'T GET MAD AND PLEASE DON'T CHECK MY BANK ACCOUNT. A little retail therapy never hurt anyone, right? That's what Kat, Michelle, and I all think, so we did a little damage and it was wonderful. We girls hung out in my room tonight and had so much fun laughing and talking and John joined us for a little, too. It was a great way to end the night :) We're all so fortunate that we get along well. And I'm starting to make some friends in the foyer!

Ok, this is it for tonight. Tomorrow: a trip to the catacombs. How exotic! (Notice the photos, for the first time!)