This thanksgiving I'm thankful for a few things [ let's see how this goes ]:
1. I'm thankful for McDonald's being everywhere I look because when it comes down to it, that McChicken sandwich will never taste good back home no matter how hard I try to enjoy it. Also because I feel like McDonald's is a born-and-raised American all the way but when it got sidetracked studying abroad in college and never went back home. MacDo is a global citizen and so I can go there guilt free or at least balance out the guilt with a nutella crêpe down the road.
2. I'm thankful for Fanpop, because without it ... I would have free time.
3. I'm thankful for RyanAir and its commitment to low cost airfare and that it's taking me away to avoid dealing with missing my favorite holiday by drowning it in Renaissance art / architecture, pasta, and gelato. Furthermore, I'm thankful everytime we touch down.
4. Finally, I'm thankful for everyone's emails / mail / blog comments / "Hi"s! Keep 'em coming, they're my favorite!
love and thanks from paris and florence!
g
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I have to walk 20 miles uphill to school ... both ways!
Does anyone share in my frustration with the strikes? Maybe my excessive posts on the subject with emote this anger...
Here in Paris it's day .... who knows ... and the metro / bus / train situation seems to be getting worse. I decided to forgo any attempt at dealing with being mashed between doors and smelly frenchmen. I took my chances with the sidewalks and walked my way across town. Walking really isn't the issue and the time is not as bad as it could be - the problem with walking to school is the fact that I'm exhausted before I even set out and end up slowing down to a stroll by the time I hit Chatlet [ oh about 45 minutes into my commute ]. By the time I got to Luxembourg Gardens [ about 1 hour 15 minutes ] I was swaying like a drunkard trying to stay awake until I at least made it to the sanctuary of the boulangerie with the amazing Pain au Chocolats by school. Somehow I managed to make it in 1 hour 45 minutes which was well under the time I allowed and I found myself excessively early again with nothing to do. At least I worked off the entire block of camembert that I ate yesterday for lunch [ I'm addicted - send me to rehab ]. I got my breakfast and went to the metro station to get myself a newspaper [ in the mornings there are free newspapers and I always get Metro if only for the sudoku... ] but apparently the newspaper people are on strike?
Actually, apparently, everyone is on strike now. Everyone being on strike works out for me in that the combined student strikes and [ newly commenced ] teachers strikes mean that my Sorbonne class is cancelled. So we have the teachers and students, transportation and now today civil servants and airline workers are going on strike. This spells problems for a lot of people at my school who are awaiting family and friends who are unlucky enough to be traveling via Air France - who are all going on strike.
On top of all this, the weather is terrible. It's freezing and it's rainy - two issues I failed to prepare for this morning due to laundry issues and the fact that I shut my curtains at night because they drown out the light absolutely - one should always look outside before venturing into the unkown.
Hopefully these french people get it together soon - I miss loving the metro.
Here in Paris it's day .... who knows ... and the metro / bus / train situation seems to be getting worse. I decided to forgo any attempt at dealing with being mashed between doors and smelly frenchmen. I took my chances with the sidewalks and walked my way across town. Walking really isn't the issue and the time is not as bad as it could be - the problem with walking to school is the fact that I'm exhausted before I even set out and end up slowing down to a stroll by the time I hit Chatlet [ oh about 45 minutes into my commute ]. By the time I got to Luxembourg Gardens [ about 1 hour 15 minutes ] I was swaying like a drunkard trying to stay awake until I at least made it to the sanctuary of the boulangerie with the amazing Pain au Chocolats by school. Somehow I managed to make it in 1 hour 45 minutes which was well under the time I allowed and I found myself excessively early again with nothing to do. At least I worked off the entire block of camembert that I ate yesterday for lunch [ I'm addicted - send me to rehab ]. I got my breakfast and went to the metro station to get myself a newspaper [ in the mornings there are free newspapers and I always get Metro if only for the sudoku... ] but apparently the newspaper people are on strike?
Actually, apparently, everyone is on strike now. Everyone being on strike works out for me in that the combined student strikes and [ newly commenced ] teachers strikes mean that my Sorbonne class is cancelled. So we have the teachers and students, transportation and now today civil servants and airline workers are going on strike. This spells problems for a lot of people at my school who are awaiting family and friends who are unlucky enough to be traveling via Air France - who are all going on strike.
On top of all this, the weather is terrible. It's freezing and it's rainy - two issues I failed to prepare for this morning due to laundry issues and the fact that I shut my curtains at night because they drown out the light absolutely - one should always look outside before venturing into the unkown.
Hopefully these french people get it together soon - I miss loving the metro.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The downfall of public transportation
Well the week went interestingly. I missed my first class Thursday because the transportation website misinformed me about metro lines being open or closed [ I ended up having to walk because I couldn't get on a metro / all the metro stations near me were closed ]. I was pretty frustrated since we only get a certain amount of free absences and I hate to waste one because I couldn't be there in time - even though I tried.
Anyway, I think the french actually really enjoy these strikes. They hate how they disrupt their routines but, and I hate to confirm the stereotypes, the french love to complain about it. In my wanderings around town trying to get to school, and the sorbonne, and wherever, it became quite obvious to me that all the traffic, and accidents, and bicyclists, well they all are oppourtunities for confronation and arguments. Parisians love confrontation and arguments.
Other than that, I'm starting to look forward to coming home and seeing everyone again! I'm pretty bummed to be missing my favorite holiday and even more bummed that all my friends have their family over here now so our "French Thanksgiving" dinner won't be happening like I had thought. Dominique leaves for Rome on Sunday though so I think I will maybe do some sort of Thanksgiving for one thing then. I mean half the fun of Thanksgiving is leftovers anyway right!? I gotta at least have cream corn .... :).
I will definitely miss being over here - I've found it really easy to adapt to european life / french life. I think if I had a job I could live here for a long time [ although unfortunately .... probably not france - I'm sick of speaking French haha ]. Registering for classes next semester really made me realize how quickly this semester is coming to an end. I'm not exactly looking forward to my 20 credit hours next semester. :(
Today I have to try and make it out to the suburbs for Camille's mom's birthday party. Should be interesting - hopefully the trains will work in my favor for once. Maybe I'll have to brush up on my french insults before I go in case any arguments should arise :)
love and civil unrest!
g
Anyway, I think the french actually really enjoy these strikes. They hate how they disrupt their routines but, and I hate to confirm the stereotypes, the french love to complain about it. In my wanderings around town trying to get to school, and the sorbonne, and wherever, it became quite obvious to me that all the traffic, and accidents, and bicyclists, well they all are oppourtunities for confronation and arguments. Parisians love confrontation and arguments.
Other than that, I'm starting to look forward to coming home and seeing everyone again! I'm pretty bummed to be missing my favorite holiday and even more bummed that all my friends have their family over here now so our "French Thanksgiving" dinner won't be happening like I had thought. Dominique leaves for Rome on Sunday though so I think I will maybe do some sort of Thanksgiving for one thing then. I mean half the fun of Thanksgiving is leftovers anyway right!? I gotta at least have cream corn .... :).
I will definitely miss being over here - I've found it really easy to adapt to european life / french life. I think if I had a job I could live here for a long time [ although unfortunately .... probably not france - I'm sick of speaking French haha ]. Registering for classes next semester really made me realize how quickly this semester is coming to an end. I'm not exactly looking forward to my 20 credit hours next semester. :(
Today I have to try and make it out to the suburbs for Camille's mom's birthday party. Should be interesting - hopefully the trains will work in my favor for once. Maybe I'll have to brush up on my french insults before I go in case any arguments should arise :)
love and civil unrest!
g
Monday, November 12, 2007
"Strike!"
I decided to ignore the current exchange rates and go ahead and plan a trip [ hopefully not the last but who knows ]. So today I decided to go out in search of a birthday present for Camille's mom and a travel guide for my trip. Unfortunately I didn't time it right and well, I was looking for n'importe quoi with basically every other person in all of Paris. Apparently, this strike is going to be pretty intense. It was originally supposed to start on Wednesday but it keeps being pushed up - now it officially starts Tuesday at 8. But on top of the total RATP strike [ so that means all of the suburban trains and all of the metro ], the SCNF strike [ all of the trains that run throughout the entire country ], and the buses [ probably ] ... students will be reinstating their strikes from last week [ they are striking against the governments desire to privitize university a little - make them pay at least something for their school ]. So the students are going to be joining in by blocking the train stations.
Needless to say, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of possibly dealing with no metro for the rest of the week. It will hopefully start working more starting on Thursday - but it will be very slow [ one train out of 5 at least ] and crowded, and annoying. At least they cancelled our classes on Wednesday. We have to make them up some Friday in the future but that's okay. Better than having to leave my apartment by 6 and walk all the way to school. So I get to enjoy a free day. Thanks strikers. Only Wednesday though. I don't want to walk to school Thursday.
In other news, I met a homeless hippie on the metro today [ or well he did all the talking ] who tried to convince me that he was Pope John Paul II's brother. Interesting. I can't say I really believed him but - he threw me a peace sign when he got off the metro. It was pretty classy.
Needless to say, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of possibly dealing with no metro for the rest of the week. It will hopefully start working more starting on Thursday - but it will be very slow [ one train out of 5 at least ] and crowded, and annoying. At least they cancelled our classes on Wednesday. We have to make them up some Friday in the future but that's okay. Better than having to leave my apartment by 6 and walk all the way to school. So I get to enjoy a free day. Thanks strikers. Only Wednesday though. I don't want to walk to school Thursday.
In other news, I met a homeless hippie on the metro today [ or well he did all the talking ] who tried to convince me that he was Pope John Paul II's brother. Interesting. I can't say I really believed him but - he threw me a peace sign when he got off the metro. It was pretty classy.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
I love Paris is the fall-time
Yellows and Oranges suit this city really well. In my neck of the woods [ thanks to Baron Haussman ] all the the streets are lined with trees [ although it's not as beautiful as the ritzy Neuilly neighborhood ] and the falling leaves are really a pretty sight. The weather reminds me of home finally too. Cold, cold, cold. Only in the wind though. I hear that there is snow back home though? I'm pretending like it's not true ... I can't decide if I want snow here or not. Rumor has it that people freak out. They are terrible drivers as it is - and especially the crazy bikers. I don't want to watch them try it in the snow - I only trust Minnesotans on ice with bikes :).
I started going to Bikram yoga with my friend Leigh which has been fun. They had a 10 day trial thing that was decently cheap so we're trying it out. It's pretty intense - bikram - and even more so in french! We did go to the english class once though so we're getting the hang of it.
Last Thursday I went to show to see my favorite french artist, Ben Ricour. It was fun because I was definitely the only American there - it was a pretty low-key deal. After two years of wishing I would get to see him sometime I finally had the chance. It was fun. Plus the place was in a part of Paris I had never been before. A little sketchy but ... an adventure nonetheless.
So tomorrow I am going to see a Chateau with Camille's mom, Anne. Other than that, not too much planned for the future. Yoga, schoolwork, and dealing with another transportation strike [ more on that after I deal with it I'm sure - last one I skipped out on by going to London ].
Love from Siberia
g
I started going to Bikram yoga with my friend Leigh which has been fun. They had a 10 day trial thing that was decently cheap so we're trying it out. It's pretty intense - bikram - and even more so in french! We did go to the english class once though so we're getting the hang of it.
Last Thursday I went to show to see my favorite french artist, Ben Ricour. It was fun because I was definitely the only American there - it was a pretty low-key deal. After two years of wishing I would get to see him sometime I finally had the chance. It was fun. Plus the place was in a part of Paris I had never been before. A little sketchy but ... an adventure nonetheless.
So tomorrow I am going to see a Chateau with Camille's mom, Anne. Other than that, not too much planned for the future. Yoga, schoolwork, and dealing with another transportation strike [ more on that after I deal with it I'm sure - last one I skipped out on by going to London ].
Love from Siberia
g
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Yes Ireland is really as green as you think.
I'm in love with Ireland. Somebody please tell me I have some Irish heritage - there's gotta be some because me are Ireland are best friends forever.
I have two albums of pictures:
http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169282&l=9c7c4&id=16916077
http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169402&l=b7594&id=16916077
First album has all my pictures from walking around Dublin which means : Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ's Church, Trinity College, Temple Bar, and the Guinnes Storehouse. Along with some other random pictures mixed in there. Second Album is pictures from Howth, Ireland which is a little fishing village to the northeast of Dublin where we ( Leigh, Kate, and myself ) went for a day.
So much happened, not all of which is particularly interesting or suitable for all to hear...:) So I will just tell you that it was a fun weekend. Lot's of drama as a result of travelling with 2 other girls who are complete opposites, but it worked out the best it could in the end. We had our fun and met a plethora of amazing people, Irish and otherwise. The Irish are pretty cool though. I ate authentic Irish Stew, authentic Shepard's Pie, and an authentic baked potato ( haha ). I had fun. It was a good break.
If you want more stories or have questions about my pictures, email me! I love emails.
Love from almost Ireland!
g
I have two albums of pictures:
http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169282&l=9c7c4&id=16916077
http://minnesota.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169402&l=b7594&id=16916077
First album has all my pictures from walking around Dublin which means : Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ's Church, Trinity College, Temple Bar, and the Guinnes Storehouse. Along with some other random pictures mixed in there. Second Album is pictures from Howth, Ireland which is a little fishing village to the northeast of Dublin where we ( Leigh, Kate, and myself ) went for a day.
So much happened, not all of which is particularly interesting or suitable for all to hear...:) So I will just tell you that it was a fun weekend. Lot's of drama as a result of travelling with 2 other girls who are complete opposites, but it worked out the best it could in the end. We had our fun and met a plethora of amazing people, Irish and otherwise. The Irish are pretty cool though. I ate authentic Irish Stew, authentic Shepard's Pie, and an authentic baked potato ( haha ). I had fun. It was a good break.
If you want more stories or have questions about my pictures, email me! I love emails.
Love from almost Ireland!
g
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