Paris Take 2

Well my weekend in Paris was epic! I had a good time. We boarded the bus and left late (not surprising), and took the 3 hour bus ride to Paris. We did a tour of Paris on the bus when we got there, so I got to see all the major things that I saw last time. I enjoyed site seeing though! We arrived at the hostel, and it wasn’t that bad. I roomed with Kim and Rebecca, and we had a basic hotel room with our own bathroom and shower, which I wasn’t expecting.

My main prerogative in Paris was to go to the market, so that’s what I did. Madame Beckman told a group of us where to go, so we took like an hour long metro ride to the opposite side of the city. This market was not what I was looking for. We were in the sketchy ghetto part of Paris and the market was like that too. There was old furniture, old DVD’s, random electronics, thong underwear, and just a lot of run down items. We left after five minutes. I was peeved we had wasted so much time on the sub-par market.

Me and Hannah eventually met up with Kim and Rebecca. We headed straight to a café near the Notre Dame to take a break. Paris was SO FULL with people. It was way more crowded than last time. This weekend was a long weekend with a bank holiday on Monday, so it was annoying dealing with the crazy crowds. After our break, we headed toward Moulin Rouge. It was a lot smaller than I expected, but I am glad I got to see it. Sacre Coeur was nearby, so we wandered around town and eventually found it. That side of Paris is really nice. It is full of restaurants, bars, and cute shops, so I didn’t mind wandering around. Sacre Coeur was, of course, amazing as usual. I am glad I visited it again.

We went back to the hostel and started to drink wine the boys bought for us. The plan was to “pre drink” before our visit up the Eiffel Tower. Our reservation was for 11pm at the Eiffel Tower, so we ended up there at that time. I wish I had brought my camera because it was beautiful seeing the view of Paris at night. Before I knew it, we had to leave, and we ended up following a girl in our program to a street with bars. The street was lame and the bars were too, but we ended up at one bar with some dancing, so I danced for a while. The metros were closed, so we had to take a bus back. Somehow we figured out which one to take and got home safe and sound.

I woke up early the next morning and headed to breakfast. I ran into some people going to Versailles and decided to tag along since I knew my roomies would sleep in. A small group of us headed to Versailles, and the metro to get there took so long. I was tired from the previous night, so I napped. The metro was full, so it was crowded when we all got off. I assumed the metro would take us right to the palace, but there was a town first. We decided to buy tickets before we got to the palace and waited a while for that. I paid 16 euro for a ticket to the palace and later learned I could get in for free with my French student ID, so I am mad about that. We waited like 1.5 hours to get into the palace. The line to get in was sooooo long, but luckily, it moved pretty fast. We finally got inside, I pretty much saw everything in 45 minutes. There were hordes of crowds in there and you could barely walk, so I was glad to leave. I honestly didn’t think the palace was that amazing. It was so touristy, and I felt like I was being herded down the halls the whole time. I am glad I saw it, but I don’t want to go back again. The whole process getting there and back and the amount of people made the experience not as good as it could have been.

It was a long day, so I was glad to get back to the hostel and relax. Luckily, my roommates showed up soon after, and I was glad to see them since I hadn’t all day. We walked around the area near our hostel and bought some alcohol. We then stopped at restaurant across the street from the hostel and had dinner. I had spaghetti fruits de mer; it was good. It was nice to have a break from a sandwich and crepe haha. We then got ready and met up with some of our group and headed towards Moulin Rouge for a bar crawl we found in a brochure.

We showed up late, but somehow found the people organizing the event. You had to pay 12 euro to go to three bars and night club and you got a free shot with when you bought a drink and you didn’t have to pay the cover to get into the club. I decided to not buy into it, which ended up being a cheaper decision for me. The bar crawl was a lot of fun! All the bars had a lot of people and I met a lot of people in the group. I met some guys from University of South Carolina, which was nice to meet someone who knew where I was from. I snuck into the night club successfully so I didn’t have to pay haha. I had the most fun at the club. I just danced the entire night, which was fine by me!

Today I was just tired and didn’t want to do a lot. I ended up fowlloing people to see Jim Morrisson’s grave. We got lost but eventually found it. It was cool. I didn’t really care. I just wanted to find somewhere to sit and relax and that’s what we did. We found a little restaurant and had crepes. I had cheese, egg, and mushrooms. It took a long time but tasted so good! I love crepes so much. I wish America was more into them. We headed back near our hostel and stopped at a café for hot chocolate with extra whipped crème. That was so yummy too! We continued our food escapade and bought chocolate croissants at a bakery. The last thing I did in Paris was visit a cute, little park near the hostel. It was beautiful. I love the parks in France. They are just so pretty and right in the middle of the city!

I slept and read on the bus ride back. I am now back in my dorm. I had a good weekend. I am glad to be back and get some rest though. Tomorrow I visit SKEMA!!! I am very excited. I may get dinner downtown and visit H & M. That’s the plan at least!

Au Revoir until Monday

I am going to Paris this weekend! Actually in 30 minutes I will be on a bus en route to Paris. I am happy to go back to the city. I had a great experience last time I was there! My goal for this weekend is shopping and hopefully finding someone to go with me to Versailles! I am very excited about shopping. I have bought a few things here and there, but I want to go all out this weekend. I want to get some european clothes; clothes that I can't get in the States. We'll see how successful I am with that!

The NC State group is also going to go up the Eiffel Tower tonight  believe. This is one of the things we didn't do last time, but I am excited. I will take tons of pictures!

Since my last post, not much has happend. Clases are going well. I enjoy my French class, and I hope to learn a lot. ICC is going well too, but I only have one more of those classes and then the final exam. I haven't had my elective since my last post, but I hope that gets better. The first class was not fun or interesting at all.

I haven't really explored Lille, so my goal next week is to do that. A few of us looked up things to do, and so far we want to go to Vieux Lille, a shop where you buy clothes by the kilo, the free zoo, and the Cathedral de Lille. Viuex Lille is Old Lille, and from looking at pictures, it looks so cute and quaint like all the other towns I have been too. I am so excited to see it! The shop by the kilo looks like a thrift store where you literally by clothes by the kilo; should be interesting. The free zoo is well free, so I am down for that anytime! And I don't know much about the cathedral, but it is like a 10 minute walk from my dorm, and the whole fortress is shaped like a star!

Another thing I am extremely excited about is visiting SKEMA next Tuesday! SKEMA is a french business school that has campuses across France, and it recently has partnered with NC State and some of its students studied abroad at State last year. My current life goals are to go to SKEMA for grad school, so I am going to talk to whoever I can to get information on that! SKEMA is located in downtown Lille, which is a really cool location and one of my favorite areas of the city that I have visited so far.

Overall I really love Lille, and I hope to come back someday if at all possible. I finished my first week of class yesterday, which is so sad to say! Only 3 more weeks of class, and then my little trip to London and wherever else. I don't want it to fly by like my trip has so far! I will post Monday night most likely to discuss my adventures in Paris Take 2!

Belgium

This morning I had a French conversation class. I was with five other students and a native French girl, and we just practiced French the whole time. The class was good; I understood about 50% of what she said, so hopefully I make progress.

We then went on a field trip to Ieper, Belgium. I have never heard of this town before, but I LOVED it. It was so amazingly beautiful and quaint! I can’t describe how pretty it was. We were supposed to go to a museum, but a lot of us skipped that and explored the town. We all bought Belgian chocolate! I got a small bag of truffles, yum! We then found a cute coffee shop. I ordered a hot chocolate, and it was the best hot chocolate ever. It was served in a glass of warm milk and then there was a block of chocolate on a stick that you dipped into the milk to melt. A caramel, some chocolate, and some chocolate coffee beans were served with it as well. I liked dipping the block of chocolate into the milk; it was so fun haha.

We had dinner at a really cool restaurant called like Markt 22. It had a blue and black color scheme, so it looked really modern and hip. We had this pastry and chicken pot pie dinner that was tasty and then a spiced cookie yogurt dessert.

When we got back tonight we started planning our weekend trips. There is so much to plan and it is so expensive last minute. I should have planned earlier, but I didn’t want to plan things with people I didn’t know. It’s looking like we may go to Belgium again because it’s cheap, and I don’t mind at all. I want to go back!

And Class Begins...

Yesterday morning we took the French placement test. I was nervous because I haven’t had French in over a year, so I expected to not do as well as I should. I ended up getting in level two, and I was initially upset because my goal was level three or four. I had my first French class today, though, and I realize I belong in the level two class! I think it is a good fit, and I hope to learn a lot. My teacher spoke French the whole time, which is a good thing. I am actually excited to be taking French again. I was relieved when I dropped my French minor a year ago, but I am happy I have added it back since then. Being here has rejuvenated my desire to learn French, and I hope someday I can be fluent! I love France, and I love Lille, and I hope to come back some day!

I had my other classes as well today and yesterday. Yesterday I had an Intercultural Communications class. We basically talk about French culture compared to everyone else’s culture. I was excited for it, but after the class, I am not as excited anymore. It seems kind of pointless and annoying, but I will deal with it I guess. I just don’t like humanities courses. I am a business girl!

 I had French Art and Society today, and it was my least favorite. My teacher droned on and on about paintings, and I fought the urge to sleep the whole time. I was so glad to get out of there. I hope it turns out better. We even had a homework assignment…blehhh! We had to write a one page paper on our favorite artwork in France. First of all, I don’t really like art to begin with haha. I already wrote the paper anyway and chose one from the Musee d’Orsay.

The worst thing about these classes is I have two 3 hour classes a day. I feel like this is way too much class, and I haven’t had so much school since high school. College has spoiled me. I hope I get used to it because today was our first full day, and it was hard. I feel like I am wasting my day away being inside instead of exploring Lille! I really do like my French class, but I could do without the others. I will just have to deal with this I guess. I am used to not having class, so I just have to get in the mode.

I did my laundry for the first time yesterday. Claire and I went to a Laundromat near the Carrefour. The washing machines were so tiny, but I managed to fit my clothes in there. A lot of the boys showed up later on, so we had a laundry party. My washing machine ended up leaking everywhere. I am not sure if I didn’t close it right, or if it was just faulty. It was difficult figuring out how to operate the machines since everything was in French, but we did it! Claire, Bryan, and I shared a dryer. The dryer is a complete rip-off; one euro for 10 minutes. After 40 minutes, we gave up because our clothes were still not dry and it was getting expensive. I covered my dorm room in half-wet clothes to air dry. I am glad I did my laundry, though!

I had an hour and half lunch break today. I ate a quick lunch, and Rebecca and I headed to the market. My goal was to get some cute gladiator sandals, but I didn’t find any. I did buy a cute shirt for six euro though! It’s scary buying clothes because you can’t try them on, but the shirt fit me fine and I really like it.

Tomorrow we are going to Belgium for a field trip about some WW1 thing. I am excited about Belgium but not the WW1 thing. Hope it is fun!

Acclimating to Lille

Laying out was fun. No one else there was in their bathing suit, but I didn’t care because I wanted some sun! We laid out for an hour or two, and I had a tan line, so I am happy. The park was so beautiful! It is one of my favorite places in Lille so far. We then had dinner somewhere downtown. The restaurant was super HOT and miserable. The service sucked too. It took forever; I was so hungry and ready to leave when we did. Dinners here take like 2 hours; I kinda hate it haha. I think one hour is perfect, but it’s the French way, so I need to get used to it. Downtown Lille is really nice and pretty. I looks like a mini Pars! I love it there. There is good shopping, bars, food, and lots of people. Afterwards I went to Bryan’s room with a few people uploading pictures for a while. All of us had decided to not go out that night, but then randomly we heard people were, so I got ready in five minutes to join them.

We headed towards After Hours, which supposedly has international students, but it was closed for some reason. We kept walking on and found another bar that was full of cute French guys, so I was happy. I met a Piere, and he was so interesting to talk too. I just asked him all about France, his travels, and studies. A small group of us then followed another French guy to show us more nightlife, and I had a blast. I felt like a VIP because this French guy knew of where to go and could get us into places that we otherwise couldn’t have.

This morning we went to the Sunday market! It was so cool. There were so many people and vendors crammed together and lots of amazing shopping. The clothes and shoes were so cheap. I bought a pair of what I call gypsy pants. They are so unique, European, and comfortable! I am getting shoes next time for sure; they were only six euros! I got lots of cheap and yummy fruit too. I am glad the market is open three days a week!

We headed back to the park again in hopes of laying out, but it was too cloudy. I had fun regardless; we all just talked and had fun. We explored more of the park and we discovered a canal and there was a little carnival for kids going on. We saw a man dressed up in a chicken suit performing and singing; it was cute. We then headed to downtown to see a movie. We saw Very Bad Trip 2 (aka The Hangover). The movie theater was a little different than what I am used too. The theater and screen were smaller, and people chatted a lot through the commercials, so I was worried they would continue to do so during the movie, but luckily they didn’t. I fell asleep during the movie. The lack of sleep caught up to me, so I just let myself pass out. I am mad I didn’t really watch it, but I can see it again someday. It was also weird because you had to exit at the opposite entrance from where you entered. We made fools of ourselves trying to get out the wrong way but quickly learned.

Now I am back. I am soooo tired. I have not gotten a proper night’s sleep since being in France, so I am retiring early!

Expect the Unexpected

The next morning we left a little later than normal; I believe it was around 10:30am, which is late for us! I lugged my heavy bag all the way to the bus, which was long walk over cobblestones, and was worn out by the time I loaded my bag. We rode the bus for like 45 minutes to another town on the beach called Etretat. There is a famous painting of the cliffs there; it was a gorgeous view. The water was aqua blue and there were smooth pebbles instead of sand on the beach. We only had an hour there, or I would have explored the cliffs.

We had a quick lunch (Croque Monsieur- grilled cheese) and headed back to the bus to finally drive to Lille! The bus ride was like four or five hours, so I was ready to get off. As we drove into our home for the next few weeks, my eyes didn’t see the image I expected to see of Lille. I imagined Lille as a mini Paris, but it was more dingy and not as pretty. It was a letdown in a way. I’ll explain in detail later.

We all unloaded our bags and headed to our dorm, which was a mess piling into a small room and getting keys and such. The dorm is seven stories, and I by some random luck I am on the first floor along with Claire! I am very happy about this…very convenient. Unfortunately, everyone else is on the 4^th floor and up, but it hasn’t been too bad to deal with so far. I threw my bags into my room and helped carry everyone’s bags to their floors, and then we immediately had a mini tour of Lille by an American student who has studied here since January.

 The tour was interesting to say the least. Noel, our tour guide, did not sugarcoat Lille by any means. One of the first things she mentioned was that there have been four murders in the past 6 months of young men; not exactly the first piece of info I want to know. She also said that of the dorms at the university, we are in the “nerdy” dorm. Great. There is a zero alcohol policy here and quiet hours start at 10pm. NC State is a lot more lax about these type of things, but I’ll deal with it. I hope my R.A., who haven’t met yet, is a laidback person.

We headed for a big Carrefour, a super market, to buy some things. I got an alarm clock, detergent, wine, hangers, yogurt, and hand soap. The store was super crowded and it took forever to check out. A small group of us headed back to the dorm, and I went to a smaller Carrefour to get a little sandwich to eat for dinner. A few of the girls were feeling the same way as me. They were sketched out by Lille so far and not impressed with the city. They had stronger feelings about this than me, but I could tell where they were coming from.

I finally got back to my dorm and unpacked. Unpacking is all I have wanted to do since I landed in Paris. I love not living out of a suitcase! I have a nice dorm you could say. I surprisingly have my own shower too (someone must love me up there). First floor and shower! Others are on higher floors and have a communal shower. They shower isn’t that nice, but hey I have privacy; I am happy. I have a huge mini-fridge, a big wardrobe, a desk (more of a piece of wood balanced on two legs), and a small but comfortable bed with a pink cover. My walls are mint green; it is quite cute. One problem is my window, though. I am on the first floor and my window won’t lock. I am about 10 feet above the street, but I am still scared someone might break in because if someone really wanted to they could. Overall I have a nice room and it’s a lot better than I expected it to be.

 I then hung out with Pranj, who was upset and overwhelmed by Lille. We talked and she felt better, and we then found some of the guys. I drank some of my wine to just loosen up from this hectic and culture shock of a day. After a while, we went to explore Lille and the nightlife along with Noel from earlier. All the girls left the guys and we found Noel who took us to some bar and we all split a fish bowl drink. I spent 2.50 euros since we split the huge drink! We then went and danced at a club, and after a while me and Pranj got separated from our group. We looked forever for them but had no luck, so we decided to try and go home. Problem was that we had no idea where are dorm was. We asked a girl how to get to our dorm, but the language barrier didn’t help things. Me and Pranj roamed the streets, and I felt so sketched out. We eventually got on streets that were empty, and I was so scared. We just ran down the empty streets to get passed them. Eventually we found our dorm. I have no idea how. Again somewhere up there must love me. I am so glad we got home safe and sound. I left a note on Claire’s door explaining we were safe because I knew they must have been freaked out they couldn’t find us.

I got up and showered today and then headed to an orientation. It was pretty boring, but I met some fellow students in the European Summer Program. They were form Tennessee and Canada. We had a tour of the building with our classrooms and had a free lunch. I am now writing this and meeting up with the girls later to layout at some park.

Lille is not what I expected so far! I have gotten over the initial shock and have accepted that Lille is its own city and shouldn’t be like Paris. For some reason, I feel like Paris was safer. It is just weird being in a single dorm. I am used to being with everyone all the time, so it is lonely now. I guess I felt safer there because I was never alone, and now I am. I am getting used to it though, and I appreciate having my own space. I will grow to like Lille more once I get my bearings and can know where I am at all times. It sucks not knowing how to get around. I learned Paris pretty quickly though, so I am sure I will learn how to navigate Lille soon enough. Paris spoiled my expectations of Lille because I expected Lille to be different. I really can’t wait to fall in love with this city; I am already beginning to feel that way. I just need to get over my initial shock.

Normandy

On Tuesday, we went out for Steve’s birthday. I had a lot of fun! We had a few drinks at the hotel and visited two bars. One of which was a bar in a cave! It was a very cool and fun atmosphere. We then went to another bar that served sparklers in drinks…very entertaining.

We left Paris on Wednesday morning. We took a nice, big tour bus to Giverny first and visited Monet’s house and gardens. The traffic out of Paris was awful. It just goes to show that the metro is so convenient. Anyway, the garden was beautiful. There were ponds, streams, and tons of flowers. The house was fun too; each room had a color theme. The dining room was a pastel yellow, and the kitchen was baby blue and had pretty blue tile all over the walls. We then took the bus for a few hours to Saint Mont Michel, which is a cathedral on a little island surrounded by a small, quaint town.

We were supposed to tour the cathedral, but we ran out of time, so we only got to tour the outside and the little town. I am disappointed because we couldn’t see the cathedral, but at least we got to stay in the town. Our hotel was quaint as well, although small, but we only stayed there one night, so it didn’t matter. We watched the tides, and they were so strong  that we could see it coming in. It was an amazing thing to watch. That night we had a group dinner, and we ate an omelet. It was interesting, but it had this foam and t weirded me out, but I still ate most of it. The girls had a girl night afterwards, and that was fun! You could tell the guys missed us, which was funny because they kept trying to get us to hangout and distract us.

We left early this morning to tour Omaha Beach and this American museum about the fallen soldiers of D Day. It was very interesting and heartwarming. One of the first graves I looked at happened to have the last name of Stinson, and I am curious to see if I am related. I am going to look that up at some point! We are now in this (again) quaint, little harbor town. I have no idea what it is called, though haha. We had fish stew (interesting), veal (sad), and this yummy ice cream and interesting meringue for dinner. We all hung out in one of the rooms afterward and had a lot of fun. The guys were sweet and bought wine for the girls, along for themselves, so we had a good night tonight knowing we could sleep in (compared to this past week) tomorrow.

I love my study abroad group so much! We get along so well; it’s crazy how well we get along. I am excited so much for Lille too. I am tired of moving around all the time and carrying my luggage. I just want to settle down and actually live in Lille and not be a tourist. I can’t find half the stuff in my suitcase, so it will be nice to move into my dorm room and have a place for everything. I am just so happy right now. I love France and I love my study abroad family. J