How to exhaust yourself while still getting 10 hours of sleep a night...

You can't escape the past in Paris, and yet what's so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn't seem to burden.

-Allen Ginsberg

This quote perfectly describes my experience of Paris. I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of Paris but I knew a six-month stay in France wouldn't be complete without spending at least a few nights there, so off I went for four days and three nights of Parisian excitement with Chantelle and Cari.

Here's a brief outline of our itinerary:

Monday:

• leave Clermont-Ferrand at 8h30, arrive in Paris at 12h30
• check in at hotel (Hipotel Marne la Vallee, a dinky little 2-star hotel that cost 180€ total for three nights and is right next to an RER stop)
• drop our stuff off and head back to the center of the city--the Eiffel Tower
• accidentally get off the metro at Notre Dame...what a happy accident :)
• walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal
• head back just in time to see the tower light up and start blinking like a huge, metal Christmas tree

Tuesday:

• Disneyland. That's all.

Wednesday:

• Versailles for the afternoon
• McDonald's for dinner (classy, eh?)
• back to the Eiffel Tower to get on a nighttime boat tour on the Seine

Thursday:

• The Louvre.
• get on our train at 19h01, arrive home in Clermont-Ferrand around 22h30

Everywhere we went truly was a blend of past and present...each monument had its' own ability to emanate a sense of timelessness, a feeling that each visitor somehow became something much bigger than themselves simply by taking part in the experience of the monument. There were also countless tidbits of humanity that will continue to be facts of life until the end of the world: beggars begging, couples kissing, babies laughing, teens flirting, teens fighting, art lovers adoring...Paris is a great place to people watch.

We met/talked to some cool people, including some men on the metro who are from Philadelphia and were on their way back home from teaching a Bible class in Lebanon. They were very nice, interesting to talk to, etc...but in a weird way I felt like they were immediately trying to plant the seed that would save my soul. Not that that's a bad goal. But I was glad to be able to tell them I believe the exact same thing they do and that it falls directly in line with the teaching of the Catholic Church :) (Mom, Aunt Rosie, Aunt Therese...I knew you'd like that.) Their faces were kind of funny. And it got them to stop reciting Bible verses at us.

By the end of the four days, I was exhausted, and more than ready to be in my own room with my own bed and no one to share the bathroom with. I think we all were. Nevertheless, we came home happy to have been there, to have taken pictures (you can see them by clicking the link from my last post), and to now be able to say "When I was there..."

Paris Hold the Key to Your Heart.....

That's right, I spent the last four days in Paris. Cari, Chantelle, and I went to the Eiffel Tower, the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, Notre Dame Cathedral, EuroDisney, Versailles, a nighttime boat tour of Paris on the Seine, and the Louvre in just four short days. Click on the words in a different color to see photos...just a warning, there are 372 of them--the main reason I went to Paris was to get photos. And, this result is about 100 photos smaller than it could be. So that's probably a good thing.

More on the stories we collected while in Paris later, but for now...since pictures speak a thousand words each, you can experience my Parisian vacation in 372,000 photographic words :)

And I'm still writing...

As if I haven't already donated enough time and energy to the K-State Collegian (K-State's student-run newspaper, where I served as the Edge editor last semester), this semester's Edge editor convinced me to write about my time here in France for the paper!

Here's the link to my first article, much of it is repeat information but said in a slightly more condensed way.

Former editor exploring new scenery

IRELAND!

I booked my flight to Ireland today and only paid 99.01euro roundtrip!

I'll be there April 12-20. I'm so excited!

Also, here's a little tidbit of the beauty that surrounds me out here. I love the volcanoes!

It just LOOKED so nice out.

Yesterday was the first day since I arrived in Clermont-Ferrand that the sun decided to peep its' head out from behind the clouds. IT WAS SO LOVELY!



It was also not quite as nice as we wanted it to be, because there was still some snow on the ground (and in the middle of the pond all around the fountain), but we pretended it was and went to the beautiful Jardin Lecoq with our blanket, a baguette, some sparkling rose wine, a few books, my camera, and a computer.



There is wireless internet in the garden and we were Skyping some of Chantelle's friends who are studying abroad in Spain when this slight, shivering French man walked up to us and asked if we would mind answering some questions for a survey. We just stared at him for a couple seconds then said, "We're in the middle of a conversation. I don't think so." Then he kept talking and we tried to pretend not to speak anymore French but then he began speaking in English! His English was not very good at all, but the poor guy just wouldn't take no for an answer, so we let him ask us questions about what supermarkets will be like in the future...they were not very interesting questions and I don't think he was too impressed with out answers. But...that's okay.

On a more Lenten note, Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and Cari and I went to Mass and got ashes and Jesus and that was good. Some interesting notes about Mass in France vs. Mass in the U.S.
-People don't all sit/stand/kneel at the same times. This is really only noticeable when it's time for kneeling; some people kneel, some people stand, and others just sit. The churches I've been to don't have kneelers, only cold stone floors, so I understand the not-kneeling thing, but it's very confusing to see all the different postures.
-There is no orderly procession to the altar for the Eucharist or ashes...people in a row just kind of decide it's a good time to get up and start walking and they do.
-At least at the churches I've been to, the music is all more 'classic.' The only instrument played is an organ and the cantor literally conducts the congregation.

I just emailed my first article about life in a foreign country to this semester's Edge editor for the Collegian, K-State's student-run newspaper, so that should be running sometime next week...I'll try to post a link when I know it's on the website.

Three days until Paris! But before then...I'm off to do laundry. Which I haven't done since I landed in France. What does that mean? That I brought a LOT of underwear :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tubL9EaiztM

This video has nothing to do with France, but it's a great video of one of my current favorite songs sung by people with truly fantastic voices...shout out to Madelyn for telling me about it!

I wish all tests were like this.

Yesterday I took my placement exam for my French classes...step number 4 out of 6 in getting credit for my "intensive language and culture semester."
[steps:
1. Go to France
2. Enroll in university
3. Sign up for placement test
4. Take placement test
5. Go to class and learn things
6. Pass finals with flying colors
Something makes me thing steps 1-4 might have been the easy part...]
The test was actually not too bad; three different short writing sections and an "oral exam" that didn't actually involve too much talking--it mostly was just a woman telling me what level I would be in.
I'm in level 4 [there are 6 levels], which is where I hoped to be, and will have 15 hours of French classes a week starting March 2nd. My French classes will include two writing classes (one more essay-based and one more narrative-based I think), a reading comprehension class, a conversation class, a literature class, and a class on the history of civilization in the Auvergne Region.
Between those classes, my 2-3 hour "S.T.A.R." class (Studying The Auvergne as a Region, a class for exchange students taught in English that is separate from my French class on the Auvergne), and my 8 hours per week in the English learning lab, I think I'll have a nice balance of being busy but not TOO busy, a demanding schedule but not TOO demanding.

Next week we have a school holiday [yes, I get to experience a holiday...I technically started classes last Tuesday with my work in the language lab] and a few of us are going to spend a few nights in Paris "doing all the tourist-y things." It should be fun!