Our trip to Dublin

Looking at some of my friends' blogs from last year, I saw that some of them — particularly Derek Zetlin — seemed to have traveled everywhere in Europe. So, three weeks into my program, Jon and I decided not to wait any longer and book a flight somewhere to get out of Paris for at least a few days. I mean fresh baguettes and three euro bottles of wine are nice, but we were (or at least I was) definitely due for a change of pace after struggling with the French language and people for almost all of January.

Dublin didn't fail to impress. The city, though based on a river and centered around 18th century architecture, couldn't be more different from Paris. The first thing we noticed was the welcoming spirit in seemingly every Dubliner. Unlike in Paris where you need to greet someone and wine and dine them before asking where the metro is, the Irish wanted to help you find your way, and wanted you to have a great time in their great country.
Before I went, I heard Guiness was a pretty big deal in Dublin, but I really had no idea how infused in the culture it actually is. I would say 95 percent of pubs have Guiness on tap, and if you look around, you rarely see someone drinking anything other than "black gold." Obviously, we had to conform, and I had no qualms about consuming a frothy milkshake-like stout.

Our hostel was situated in possibly the best location in Dublin. We were one minute from the Temple Bar district where all the pubs are, across the street from Trinity College and a 10 minute walk from the Guiness Storehouse and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Not too bad for 10 euros a night.

After sleeping through much of the first day, we went out to Temple Bar and had a blast. The pubs there are nothing like they are in the U.S. or in Paris. We also happened to be there during something called the Dublin Trad Festival, which included live traditional Irish music at every pub all day long. We took advantage of that, and since one pint of Guiness can last about 45 minutes, we didn't break the bank either.

On Friday, we did pretty much everything touristy to do in Dublin. We went to the Guiness Storehouse and took a 2-plus hour historical tour of the city. Both were awesome. We learned all about Irish history, all the way from the early settlers to the North-South factions. It was very interesting, and very tiring. We were excited to get back to Temple Bar and relax with a few pints.

At this point, I think I've mentioned Guiness three times (now four). Please don't think I'm an alcoholic — drinking is something the Irish do all the time. Really, all the time. The scene at the bar at 11:30 p.m. on Friday night wasn't much different from the place at 2:00 p.m. With the live music, people like to have a good time and enjoy a truly delicious beer.

Back to the tour: Our guide brought us all around the old medieval district, which isn't so medieval anymore. He showed us the old parliament building, city hall, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar and Trinity College.

After lunch, we went to the Guiness Storehouse, which was probably the best thing we did in Dublin. I had already been to the Heineken factory in Amsterdam, so I thought it would be similar. Fortunately, it was completely different. The museum/brewery is based around an enormous pint glass — the biggest one in the world. The tour ended with a trip to the top of the building, where we got to enjoy a pint in the Gravity Bar, a circular room where you can see all of Dublin. Here's a photo:
Saturday was a bit more mellow. We walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was a bit unimpressive after seeing Notre Dame on a daily basis. It was nonetheless nice to walk around the city and see some parts of Dublin we hadn't seen yet.

But I think the best part of the trip had to be the very end. We had about three hours to kill, so what else to do but go to a pub? We sat down, got a pint, and befriended an older Irish couple from Glaskow. We spent all three hours in the same seat, and the man — Phil — bought us a few pints and we just had a great time making friends with some of the locals. When foreigners come to America, I know I will welcome them the way Phil and Julianne did with us.
I don't really want to bore you with stories that you won't find amusing, so I think I'll just leave it at that. Long story short, it was a great weekend and it was really fun to get a new perspective on European life outside Paris. At the same time, I'm so glad to be back in Paris, and with a new group of Abroadco students coming tomorrow, it's the perfect time to hang out, see the sights, and relax before classes start for real on Feb. 11.

30 pints of Guiness later, we're back...

Jon and I just got back to our Paris apartment after spending a few days in Dublin. It was awesome, but I'm glad we're home. I'm way too tired to write about it all right now, but I will leave you with one quote from a wise man named Phil, who we met at a pub in Temple Bar district in Dublin.

"I've got all me hair, all me teeth, a beautiful girl, a beautiful son, and a pint of Guiness in front of me. What could be better?"

Full updates tomorrow.

Dublin Tomorrow!

So Jon and I got tired of waiting around, so we just decided to book a flight to Dublin for this weekend. Train tickets going out of Paris to places like Brussels, Amsterdam, London, etc. were way too expensive, so we chose Dublin based on a great Ryanair price, and some suggestions from my friends who visited the Irish capital last year.

We have to wake up at about 4:45 a.m. to catch the first metro out of our station at 5:30 a.m. so we can get to a different metro stop where a bus will take us to Paris Beauvais airport in time for our 9:25 a.m. flight. We plan on going to the Guiness Brewery, Jameson Distillery, Dublin Castle, the Temple Bar district and who knows what else. Should be an awesome time, I'll make sure to post pictures when we get back on Saturday evening.

I'm starting to get a hang of this whole walking thing...

Since Jon arrived, I've been walking around parts of the city I didn't even know existed. We saw the Panthéon, walked by Invalides, and even roamed our own neighborhood. But last night trumped all of that.

Sundays in Paris are pretty boring. Almost everything is closed, and it's tough to have fun if you're even remotely lazy. So at about 11:30 p.m. we decided to explore the Latin Quarter, where a bunch of our friends live. We ended up at a jazz bar called Taverne de Cluny where a live jazz band was performing. The band was made up of a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, an accordionist and a violinist.

The few things I could think about during the performance were: Ethan, Nick, bringing my parents to see these guys, and if the guitarist could shred even faster on an electric. Luckily, they play at the same place every Sunday, so I'm not worried about missing out on them.
Now for some stuff that's been on my mind, but completely unrelated to what I just wrote. Thought it might be interesting to share for people who don't know much about Paris:

• A lot of people have little dogs.
• The little dogs make big poops. On the sidewalk. Very annoying.
• Drinks and Food are ridiculously expensive.
• Every bakery is pretty much the same, and their products are amazing.
• It is possible to finish an entire baguette by yourself
• French people can't pronounce a "Th-" sound (i.e. Thermostat = Sermostat)

I will be updating this list constantly. I know I have more than this, so I'll hopefully start writing these things down as I see them. As for this coming week, I have class on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then hopefully Jon and I (and maybe others) will be off to Dublin on Friday.

Finally, here's a random Paris picture, I like it a lot:

Living the "Sug Life"

Badger Herald guest column

A few days ago, Jordan Schelling asked me if I wanted to write a guest column for the Herald. While I am abroad, I am able to keep up with the sports world, so here's my column on Mark McGwire and his admission of using steroids. Hopefully it will be the first of many of my post-Herald days.

Jon arrives, insists we walk around Paris

It's pretty ridiculous that through the first two weeks I've been here — yeah, it really seems longer than that — aside from the walking I've done during tours of famous buildings and museums, I never really walked around my own neighborhood. Yesterday, with Jon's arrival, that changed almost immediately.

We decided we would check out the Panthéon, an 18th century cathedral (which I just learned is of Baroque influence). Like every other famous structure around Paris, this one didn't fail to impress. You don't realize just how massive the building is until you're right next to it, but it clearly was built to amaze those who see it.
I didn't really know what purpose the Panthéon served, but upon going in (and paying a stupid five Euro fee), it was made clear pretty quickly. The building was, and still sometimes functions as a church. It's architecture is consistent with more classic cathedrals, i.e. the Latin cross design and a has equidistant separation between columns and engaged columns.

As if the outside of the building weren't grand enough, the inside was just as impressive. While it is currently undergoing restoration, the canopies near the ceiling and the people waxing the floors didn't detract from the sculptures and and works of art that covered the walls from top to bottom. Little did we know that, for the past 200 years, the Panthéon has served as one of Paris' most famous tombs. We walked down into the crypt, where Jean Jacque Rousseau and Voltaire are buried, among others. We were walking through the cemetery of France's national heroes. Pretty cool.
After the Panthéon, we walked around the nearby Luxembourg Gardens, which were much more pleasant without snow on the ground. We managed to get our bearings in the 5th arrondissement, and managed to get back to our apartment so we could relax before having dinner with everyone in our group.

I guess I have been taking this city for granted over the past two weeks. With such a functional public transportation system, I haven't really seen the need to walk around so much. But now with a buddy to explore with and after having seen more of the city from a pedestrian's point of view, I know I'll be getting a little more exercise.

Now the studying begins...

Finally, classes have started. Sort of. This is the only study abroad program I've heard of that sends students to more than one university. I'm taking classes at both the American University of Paris and the Sorbonne. However, my Sorbonne class, an intensive French course, doesn't start until February 10th. That means that until February 10th, I will only have class twice a week for an hour and 20 minutes, and that's all.

But making a decision on what class to take wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Because my French class will take up so much time (2-3 hours a day, five days a week), I had to choose an AUP class either early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Being an experienced college student, I obviously chose the latter. 9:00 a.m. is simply too early for me.

Yesterday, I attended 19th and 20th century art. No dice. Today, I went to the class I'm actually enrolled in, History of Western Art I - From Greece to the Renaissance. It seemed cool, but the time slot just won't work for me. Finally, I went to Baroque and Rococo art, which turned out to be surprisingly interesting, and most importantly, includes class trips to the Louvre every other week. Yeah, there are some perks to studying in Paris.

I wish I could post some pictures, but I really haven't gone sightseeing the past couple of days. I must say it's been nice to finally settle down and get on a real schedule for once. But last night, we went to a place across from Notre Dame called Shakespeare and Company for a reading from a famous author, Luc Sante. It was awesome. He talked about his inspirations, thoughts on time, art, film, photography and even did a book signing afterward. I'm definitely going back to that place, and if you're in Paris, it's a stop nobody should miss.
Jon comes Thursday morning. I'm sure he and I will enjoy my five-day weekend. Hope to get some more pictures up soon, and thanks for reading!

Rainy Montmartre, Sunny Marais

On Saturday I experienced my first bit of rain in the French capital. Unfortunately, it fell on the date of our tour through Montmartre, a hilly area in the northern part of Paris, which is apparently a fantastic area to walk around in with nice weather. Bad luck I guess. Nevertheless, I put on my shoes, pretending they were rain boots, and trekked up the slopes in the 18th arrondissement, with our final goal being the famous Sacre Coeur Cathedral.

Maybe it was just the weather, but this tour seemed more like a chore than a fun outing. We had to stop for laggers continuously, and our "guide" was nothing more than some guy from the AUP who didn't even claim to know much about the area. Making things even worse, and about five minutes before entering the cathedral, we got hit with a huge storm, soaking us from head to toe. I managed to get a couple pictures before we (thankfully) took a tram back down to the metro station.


Sacre Coeur, though a beautiful and classic building, isn't even 100 years old. To my surprise, it was built in the late nineteenth century and wasn't completed until just before World War I. It is nothing like Notre Dame, or any cathedral I've ever been in. The only thing that it had in common with the others was huge paintings of Jesus all over the place. How original.

We made up for the lackluster tour with a great homemade dinner. Pasta with zucchini and homemade tomato sauce, salad with fresh cherry tomatoes and avocado, really fresh baguette, some stinky cheese, and my personal favorite — chocolate ice cream.

The Jewish Quarter — Le Marais
The weather made a complete 180 on Sunday, giving us a perfect, sunny, 45 degree day to wander through the Marais. While my friends were more inclined to go shopping in the dozens of local clothing stores, I was excited to finally see some of my kind in the city with the biggest Jewish population in Europe.

All you have to do is open up a newspaper in order to read about the growing anti-Semitism in Paris. Jewish life abroad was a big part of my decision, and before I left, I couldn't help but think about the innocent 23-year-old Jew who was tortured and killed by a gang in 2006. Making things even worse were the constant warnings from seemingly everybody who told me about the increasingly anti-Jewish culture in Paris.

I took this all to heart, but my time in the Marais — though brief — made me feel as if I were back in the shtetl of Pico-Robertson. Falafel and shawarma shops, shuls, kosher butchers and bakeries, Judaica stores and Hebrew fliers lined the street of Rue de Rosiers — the heart of Paris' Jewish Quarter.

We stopped at a very famous falafel stand called L'as du Fallafel. It was so good I went back I went back four hours later to get a shawarma — I'm still full. I was hoping to test my Hebrew a little bit (and get a short break from French), but I didn't really have to. The place had a huge line and there wasn't really a lot of time for chatting.

We began walking around the Marais, which happens to be the only — yes, the ONLY area in Paris where every shop is open on Sunday. It was awesome. Unlike our visit to Rue de Rosiers on Friday afternoon, it was absolutely bustling yesterday. We walked all around and wound up in the square next to Centre Pompidou, Paris' modern art museum. It's an awesome building, unlike any other in Paris. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought it was under construction. I guess that's modern art though.
We walked around the square a bit before heading back toward the Marais to meet a couple more friends. But right before we left, we caught a glimpse of a man doing some chalk art on the ground. I thought it was pretty impressive, and it was nice to see a not-so-famous person's art for once. I know, it's a hard-knock life.

Anyway, after getting a delicious shawarma, we went back to the metro and I got home around 8:00 p.m. After such a lousy day on Saturday, this was a perfect way to end our weekend, especially because I start class tomorrow! I'm going to 19th and 20th art history, which I'm really excited for. I don't start my intensive French for almost three weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the blog at the same pace for a little while longer. Au revoir!

The Louvre

My first week in Paris has been spent outside in the cold, wet and sometimes snowy climate. But even with the sub-40 (fahrenheit) temperatures, I didn't really feel compelled to stay indoors at all, let a lone a day.

To give you an idea of what's been going on since I arrived on Friday:

• Friday night bar crawl
• Saturday tour on the Seine River on the top deck of a tour boat
• Staying out Saturday until 6:30 a.m. the next morning
• Walking in the (snow-covered) Luxembourg Gardens
• All-day outdoor scavenger hunt (see previous post)

And that doesn't include the many miles I've walked over the past week while in the Metro stops. Yeah, they take you places, but who knew underground tunnels could be so tiring?

Surprisingly, I hadn't felt more tired than I was yesterday after my tour of the Louvre. While staying indoors all day, we walked and walked...and walked, and saw A LOT of art. More than I had ever seen before.

The Louvre is a stunning building. Upon first glance, you immediately notice the detail on every part of the structure, from the beautiful arched doorways to the sculptures and carvings from top to bottom. Its tan color fits in perfectly in the rest of the architecture in the 1st arrondissement. It sits right along the Seine River, and is an open, rectangular shaped building with an enormous courtyard in the middle. The Carousel de Louvre is an underground shopping area and also an entrance to the museum, which is marked by several modern looking glass pyramids.

To be frank, I don't really know much about art. But there is something about the Louvre that anyone, even a sports guy like me can appreciate. Before he built Versailles in the late 17th century, Louis XIV called the Louvre his home, and Napolean used a section of it — which will be shown later in this post — as his Paris apartment. Anybody can acknowledge the history and beauty of the Louvre.

The Louvre is split into three wings: Richelieu, Denon and Sully. According to Wikipedia (my professors would kill me), the Louvre has 35,000 paintings and 380,000 objects, which is obviously too many to view in one day. I decided to tackle the Denon wing first, which features Italian and French masterpieces such as Mona Lisa, a couple Michelangelo sculptures, and a wide array of French paintings.

Nearly every wall is covered, and rooms with sculptures are littered with them. Everywhere you turn, you hear someone say, "Oh that one's really famous." But to me, that's not the point. I thought the Mona Lisa was pretty unimpressive. Aside from the fact that its covered by a glass, it is the only painting in the building that you can't go right up against. I feel like it's more for novelty than anything else.

Or maybe it's the painting directly across from the Mona Lisa. I mean, it's enormous, and incredibly detailed:


After the Mona Lisa lies the "Grand Hall." It houses the French masterpieces in the Louvre including Eugene Délacroix's Liberty Leading the People and Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa. Both are amazing paintings, but Géricault's was by far my favorite. Apparently, he was chosen to paint the scene of a shipwreck that killed hundreds. He interviewed the survivors and he even went to the morgue to sketch the bodies that were recovered. Forgive me for the poor picture quality, it really doesn't do the painting justice.


After a short lunch at a hole in the wall sandwich shop near the Louvre (it was delicious), we went back in to see another wing, this time the Richelieu. Our tour included massive scultptures from ancient Mesopotamia. These were, in short, tremendous — both in size and elegance. The winged bulls with human heads were built for a ruler in about 700 BCE in order to protect his palace from evil spirits. Not only are they in perfect condition, but their placement in the Louvre is perfect. As you walk into a different room, you walk in between the two bulls that are inscribed with Akkadian script, which is impressive by itself.


Finally, we got a chance to tour the Napoleon apartments. This guy lived the life. We counted the amount of chairs in his dining room, which amounted to 36. His grand salon was velvety red with gold walls and massive chandeliers. I did notice that his bed was a bit small though. If I were a king, I would have a huge bed. Like a really, really big bed. Whatever, the chandeliers made up for it.



Obviously, I saw a lot more, and I took well over 100 photos, so there is a lot that's not shown here. I'll try putting up a slide show, hopefully that will cover more - no promises though. I'll do my best. I don't have much planned for this weekend, but I don't start class until Wednesday, so maybe I'll travel somewhere? Who knows. Until next time...

Le Scavenger Hunt!

What I thought would be my worst day in Paris turned out to be a great experience. Suffering from severe jet lag on day five, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. after sleeping for only an hour and a half. I couldn't fall back asleep, and I thought my day of hell would begin at 12:00 with the Abroadco scavenger hunt.

Seriously, who likes scavenger hunts anyway? In my past experiences in USY, Pressman, Shalhevet, you name it, the "take a picture of this" and "make a human pyramid here" never really did it for me. And after an abysmal night of sleep, roaming the city for five hours was the last thing I wanted to do.

And then I remembered we were in Paris...

Task 1: Notre Dame

I met up with everyone a bit late, and by the time I caught up to my group at Notre Dame, they had already completed the first task of getting a program of the Masses for the week (I know. So Jewish). I went to the cathedral yesterday, so the inside wasn't something I was too upset about missing, but it was nice to see the marvelous architecture of the famous Notre Dame.

Task 2: L'Hotel de Ville

Once again, I was stunned by Paris' architecture, and it wouldn't be the last time of the day. L'Hotel de Ville is another word for the mayor's office. Looking at it, I couldn't help but think if Los Angeles would ever dish out the money for someone like Antonia Villaraigosa. I decided it definitively wouldn't. Regardless, the building is a wonderful piece of art and is mere steps from Notre Dame, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the fourth arrondissment.

Task 3: The Louvre
The Louvre museum is by far the most famous in Paris, and one of the most famous in the world. On our boat tour yesterday, the guide said it is the third most important museum on the planet, whatever that means. We got a chance to really get a close up view on what is, in my opinion, the most extravagant building in Paris I have seen so far. The attention to detail on every single aspect of the building makes it the perfect home for such an acclaimed collection of art. What I didn't know was exactly how big it was. I don't know the exact dimensions, but it is enormous. The courtyard, aside from being huge was beautiful as well. Tomorrow we finally get to go inside the building, and I'm sure it's equally impressive.

Task 4: Arc de Triomphe & Champs Élyssés

Paris seemingly set up its metro system so that tourists don't really have to look to find what they're looking for. Literally off the steps of the Champs Élyssés metro lies the Arc de Triomphe, a huge monument dedicated to Napolean. Clearly, he did something right. It really is difficult to comprehend how big the structure is, and pictures don't really do it justice. It sits in the middle of the biggest roundabout of cars I have ever seen, and every angle has a different and equally amazing view.

Down the street from Arc de Triomphe lies Champs Elysses, which is home to the famous designers like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, etc. It's a really pretty street with wide sidewalks, but the biggest treat was in the bakery Ladurée, which is famous for its macarons, which is a fancy name for double decker cookies. They really were amazing, and the raspberry (framboise) flavor may have been the best pastry I've ever had. They were 1.50 euros a piece, and I would have paid 3.00 a piece. They were that good.

Task 5: The Eiffel Tower

Finally, after four days of being in Paris, I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower from an unobstructed view. In fact, the view was incredible. Aside from the men trying to sell us "bling" outside the viewing spot, it was pretty much perfect. Some people think the tower is an eye sore, but I like its originality and the way the city of Paris has turned it into a national landmark. I can't wait to see it lit up at night.

Task 6: Montparnasse Cafés

The last task we were able to complete was to eat and drink at the cafés near the Montparnasse metro, which is home to the Paris train station that can take you to any part of France. I had my second café au lait of the day, and we did some people watching before heading over to Cité Universite to collect our winnings. It was a nice culmination to the day, and after all of the walking we did, it was nice to get some more caffeine in my system.

For our prize, Tawna — our resident director — got us a few bottles of nice Bordeaux and a galette de rois (king's cake). The cake wasn't as good as some of the other pastries I've had so far, but there was a little prize in the middle, a little ceramic doll that our friend Jaime discovered with the first cut of the cake. We let her take the cardboard crown too.

Well, that's about it. It was a really long and really fun day, but it's almost 9:00 p.m. and I've gotten less than two hours of sleep over the past day and a half, so it looks like I'll be hitting the sack. I'll try to post pictures and thoughts from the Louvre tomorrow. Until then, au revoir!

Notre Dame & Dinner

Even after three full days in Paris, I'm still not over my jet lag. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. today and decided to take a sleeping pill to fall back asleep. I managed to crawl out of bed at 1:00 p.m. and met up with some friends to do some sightseeing in the heart of Paris.

First, we went inside the Notre Dame cathedral, which to my knowledge is the most famous one in Paris. Yesterday, we had delicious hot chocolate at a café across the street, but today we actually toured the nearly eight-century old structure. It isn't like Westminster Abbey in London, which features a courtyard and a bunch of tombs and artifacts, but it is nonetheless a spectacular building. It is a classic cathedral, complete with stained glass windows, a bunch of crosses, Jesus images and nativity scenes. It was also free, so it gained an automatic plus in my book.

After getting a snack at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near Notre Dame (I had a galette aut fromage), we made our way to the Opéra stop on the metro because we had some coupon to get a good exchange rate for changing money. Unfortunately, the coupon was worthless, but the view wasn't. Right off the metro, we saw yet another set of beautiful buildings, nothing short of the rest of Paris' beauty.

Finally, after a long afternoon, we all went our separate ways and I prepared dinner for the 10 of us. I made pasta with homemade tomato sauce, sauteed zucchini and cherry tomatoes, and everyone brought bread, cheese, cookies, and five bottles of wine (yeah, we finished all of them). Dinner was great. It was nice to have a relaxing night and hang out with everyone on our program.

Tomorrow, we're doing some scavenger hunt thing with Abroadco. I don't know exactly what it entails, but I'm sure it will involve taking the metro and going all over the city, which I'm always down to do. Once again, another day of great food, great wine and beautiful sight seeings in Paris. Getting jealous?

First days in Paris

After getting acclimated to the city over the past couple of days, I feel a bit more comfortable in the beautiful city of Paris. The metro is fantastic. You can go pretty much anywhere in the city with ease, and the trains run all the time. But they don't start at 5:00 a.m. — Derek and I learned that the hard way. On Saturday, after our Abroadco orientation, we went on a river boat tour of the Seine River, which separates Paris into Rive Gauche — the south — and Rive Droite — the north. Gauche and Droite actually mean left and right, but whatever, nothing here really seems to make sense.

On the tour we saw some famous sites. The Louvre museum, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, City Hall, etc. Fun fact about the Louvre: with its 36,000 pieces of art, if you were to spend three seconds looking at each one, it would take you nearly three months to see everything. Voila!

We've also been to a few bars. No crazy clubs yet, but the place we went to last night, the Hideout, was pretty bumping, and I actually met a DJ who said he would call me when he's spinning, so that should be cool.

When everyone left the bar at about 4:00 a.m. (yes, there is no "bar time" in Paris), my new friend Derek and I decided to stick around until 5:00, when the metro allegedly opens. Not true. We walked around for a bit and had to wait until almost 6:00 before it finally arrived, and I didn't get to bed until 6:30. Not the most fun I've had, but we were able to walk along the Seine at 4:30 a.m. and get a different perspective of the city.

Probably the biggest thing I've noticed so far is that the Parisians are incredibly well-mannered and overall pleasant people. I've yet to run into the stereotypical anti-American French person, and even with my horrible French speaking abilities, I've actually managed quite well to purchase food, pastries and with help from Derek, and new metro card. It's amazing how much using the pronouns madame, madamoiselle and monsieur can make you so much more polite — it's simply a sign of respect. If you show it to them, they'll return the favor.

Needless to say, it's been an amazing time so far. I love my apartment and its location, the people on the program are all really fun and nice, and I'm just looking forward to the next couple weeks before class starts. Jon also gets here in 10 days, so it will be nice to have a roommate.

(By the way, these pictures belong to Derek. I forgot my camera the first couple days, and that won't happen again!)

Bienvenue à Paris!

After nearly 24 hours straight of traveling, I have finally arrived at my apartment in Paris. It's a bit bigger than I thought it would be, and it actually has quite the amenities. The apartment is in a great location in the far north part of the 13th arrondissment, just south of the 5th. I haven't really had time to take pictures yet, and I'm still completely exhausted, so I'll save all of that for later. We have our orientation dinner tonight, and while I've already met one other person on my program — who happens to be staying in the same building as I am — I'll get a chance to meet everyone else there.