So, after babysitting Alenor ( I swear she gets cuter every week) I hopped on the metro. 8:45 pm, minding my own business, doing reading for a class, when all of a sudden a girl bumps into me, and then her friend bumps into me. I'm sitting down, it's a pretty empty metro. So the woman next to me says "hey, watch where you're going" to the girls and then one of the girls tries to slap her in the face! They had a little fight and then the girls moved on. By then it was clear, they were pickpocketers. There was a "gang" of them, if you will. A gang of teenage eastern European pickpocketing girls.
There were 4 of them, actually. The two that were bothering me were working together and the other two were working the other end of the car. First of all, are you stupid? If you want to successfully pickpocket you might want to separate from your friends. You also might want to stay away from trying to pickpocket multiple people in the car very blatantly. They would bump into you, one would ask for directions or start a fight with you, while the other one (who had a coat over her arm so you couldn't see her hand) tried to get your wallet.
Luckily, no one got anything stolen and they got off at the next stop, but it was a little unsettling. I wanted to say something when the one tried to slap the lady next to me, but I honestly thought they would have beaten me up. Great times!
On another note...Sciences po stop bringing me down. I suck at exposes, the french kids can do them better, they can also speak french better, they win, i lose. Come across the pond and I challenge you to...? What is our version of the expose? OH YEAH, we don't have one because we realize exercises like that are a complete waste of time.
I had my commentaire on victor Hugo and universal suffrage today. The girl who did her expose on him after me was "parfait." The teacher said perfect! They never say perfect! The whole time I was looking at her thinking "god i hate your beautiful French accent, I hate how much you know about Victor Hugo, I hope you do poorly in your study abroad year." Not really, but I was frustrated. I hate getting questioned in front of the class and then getting told everything I did wrong. I get nervous speaking in French in class, and yeah I don't know as much about Victor Hugo because he's not my country's national treasure and therefore I haven't been studying him since I was 5. I just feel stupid, but I know I shouldn't because I don't think the French kids are stupid when they mess up in the English classes.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Classes!
I guess I should post about classes since that is, after all, the reason I'm in France.
U.S. Foreign Policy: So far so good, although a little basic. I like my teacher, he's French Canadian and very sweet.
French language: complete waste of time! She asked us weird questions the first day like "do you like the smell of apples?" Um...sure?
L'histoire Politiques: Idées culture & tempérament: The lectures are too broad and abstract for me, but the discussion is alright. It's basically about how writers view/write/influence history.
Education policies & Social inequalities: Love! My teacher is so cool, she works for the ZEP program here. We will mostly be focusing on the U.S. and France. Today she told us about how a former student was "traumatized" by a teacher at Sciences Po who told her "I know you're American and your president says 'yes we can!' but in France we say 'no you can't!'" HA HA HA. He was basically telling her to quit being a smart ass and stop questioning what he, the teacher and man with the PhD, says.
Gender and Politics: Unfortunately there is only one guy in our class and he is gay...why do straight men never want to take classes that have to do with feminism? It would be interesting to hear their views! Plus you'd be tons of girls, duh. It seems like it will be interesting, but my teacher is sort of a bitchy glass half empty kinda gal.
Cinéma français et identité nationale: I've seen a lot of the movies which is both good and bad I guess. The French love to talk about national identity so that will be fun and by fun I mean frustrating.
I can't really say much because I've only had my classes one or two times, but I'm excited about them!
U.S. Foreign Policy: So far so good, although a little basic. I like my teacher, he's French Canadian and very sweet.
French language: complete waste of time! She asked us weird questions the first day like "do you like the smell of apples?" Um...sure?
L'histoire Politiques: Idées culture & tempérament: The lectures are too broad and abstract for me, but the discussion is alright. It's basically about how writers view/write/influence history.
Education policies & Social inequalities: Love! My teacher is so cool, she works for the ZEP program here. We will mostly be focusing on the U.S. and France. Today she told us about how a former student was "traumatized" by a teacher at Sciences Po who told her "I know you're American and your president says 'yes we can!' but in France we say 'no you can't!'" HA HA HA. He was basically telling her to quit being a smart ass and stop questioning what he, the teacher and man with the PhD, says.
Gender and Politics: Unfortunately there is only one guy in our class and he is gay...why do straight men never want to take classes that have to do with feminism? It would be interesting to hear their views! Plus you'd be tons of girls, duh. It seems like it will be interesting, but my teacher is sort of a bitchy glass half empty kinda gal.
Cinéma français et identité nationale: I've seen a lot of the movies which is both good and bad I guess. The French love to talk about national identity so that will be fun and by fun I mean frustrating.
I can't really say much because I've only had my classes one or two times, but I'm excited about them!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Chez Paul
This past weekend Alice visited me! The whole weekend was great, but my favorite part was our lunch on Sunday. She hadn't yet had a traditional French meal, so I looked up places open on Sundays. We arrived at Chez Paul, which is in the 11th close to Bastille, at around 2. It's so old school, i love it. I don't know how long it's been around, but at least from the 40s. So off the bat I loved that it felt like I was in a little time capsule.
Anyway, we sit down and a few minutes later the table next to us is filled with two french woman and three french men. The one man was so excited to say hello to his friend that he accidentally spilled red wine on her shirt. So, she takes off her shirt. She was sitting there in her beautiful lace bra for a few minutes while she tried to get the wine out of her shirt. She looked at us and said "oh I'm sorry, but you know, we're french!" No big deal, just a 40 year old woman (in incredibly good shape) stripping at lunch.
Then they ordered SO many appetizers. Oysters, risotto with fois gras, sausage, cheese, and on it went. I thought they were having a lunch out of appetizers, oh how I was wrong. They all cleaned the plates of their main dishes. Of course, they were all skinny as well. As their eating and drinking was going on, one of them was drawing caricatures of the waiters on ten euro bills. He was clad in tattoos and had an awesome skull ring, but seemed oddly young and childish. You could tell this group frequented Chez Paul often, they knew all the staff. Throughout my meal he would turn to me and say odd things like "did you catch the flu in Mexico?" when I coughed and asked "are you trying to kill me?" when his chair broke. All in a very lighthearted way, though.
I should mention what Alice and I ate. I had pepper steak that came with a huge portion of potates au gratin-delicious! And Alice had a nice piece of salmon in a cream sauce. We also split a tarte tatin which was quite nice. I would definitely good back for the food.
As we were finishing our meal the guy with the tattoos looked at me and said "you're not going to have an apartif? Have an apartif! It will be our treat! He's the boss, he can do whatever he wants" and he points to his friend who had the coolest red glasses and also a skull ring. So they bought us creme de menthe which looks and tastes like listerine. As we're drinking the listerine the tattoo man started sketching me! It was cool, but also awkward because he was blatantly staring at me. I wanted to ask him for the sketch but was too embarrassed. But hey, that is the closest I will probably come to being a "muse" in Paris.
I guess Chez Paul is where cool Parisians go because the British couple next to us told us they saw Jean-Paul Gaultier the last time they were there. They said he was there with a little boy and "an incredibly glamorous woman." All of a sudden the entire place went dark and waitresses brought out a birthday cake for the little boy and sang him happy birthday.
Anyway, it was a great lunch. I strive to be cool and rich and spend my Sundays eating enormous amounts of food with my friends. I can go without the stripping, but hey if the mood strikes...
Later that day Alice saw a guy propose to his girlfriend at the Eiffel tower! How adorable. He had a band, all her friends and family, and a banner asking her to marry him. She cried, ha. Although I'm sure I would have too, I cried watching the Google Paris commercial from the Superbowl.
On a completely different note, I loved this article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8500246.stm
Anyway, we sit down and a few minutes later the table next to us is filled with two french woman and three french men. The one man was so excited to say hello to his friend that he accidentally spilled red wine on her shirt. So, she takes off her shirt. She was sitting there in her beautiful lace bra for a few minutes while she tried to get the wine out of her shirt. She looked at us and said "oh I'm sorry, but you know, we're french!" No big deal, just a 40 year old woman (in incredibly good shape) stripping at lunch.
Then they ordered SO many appetizers. Oysters, risotto with fois gras, sausage, cheese, and on it went. I thought they were having a lunch out of appetizers, oh how I was wrong. They all cleaned the plates of their main dishes. Of course, they were all skinny as well. As their eating and drinking was going on, one of them was drawing caricatures of the waiters on ten euro bills. He was clad in tattoos and had an awesome skull ring, but seemed oddly young and childish. You could tell this group frequented Chez Paul often, they knew all the staff. Throughout my meal he would turn to me and say odd things like "did you catch the flu in Mexico?" when I coughed and asked "are you trying to kill me?" when his chair broke. All in a very lighthearted way, though.
I should mention what Alice and I ate. I had pepper steak that came with a huge portion of potates au gratin-delicious! And Alice had a nice piece of salmon in a cream sauce. We also split a tarte tatin which was quite nice. I would definitely good back for the food.
As we were finishing our meal the guy with the tattoos looked at me and said "you're not going to have an apartif? Have an apartif! It will be our treat! He's the boss, he can do whatever he wants" and he points to his friend who had the coolest red glasses and also a skull ring. So they bought us creme de menthe which looks and tastes like listerine. As we're drinking the listerine the tattoo man started sketching me! It was cool, but also awkward because he was blatantly staring at me. I wanted to ask him for the sketch but was too embarrassed. But hey, that is the closest I will probably come to being a "muse" in Paris.
I guess Chez Paul is where cool Parisians go because the British couple next to us told us they saw Jean-Paul Gaultier the last time they were there. They said he was there with a little boy and "an incredibly glamorous woman." All of a sudden the entire place went dark and waitresses brought out a birthday cake for the little boy and sang him happy birthday.
Anyway, it was a great lunch. I strive to be cool and rich and spend my Sundays eating enormous amounts of food with my friends. I can go without the stripping, but hey if the mood strikes...
Later that day Alice saw a guy propose to his girlfriend at the Eiffel tower! How adorable. He had a band, all her friends and family, and a banner asking her to marry him. She cried, ha. Although I'm sure I would have too, I cried watching the Google Paris commercial from the Superbowl.
On a completely different note, I loved this article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8500246.stm
Monday, January 25, 2010
Haute Couture
My lovely friend dave interns for Joseph Thimister. Thimister is a Dutch designer who has shown at couture week before and was invited back again! Every year they (being the gods of fashion?) invite one guest designer to show. Supposedly they were impressed with him eight years before so they asked him back. Dave invited me to the show and it was amazing!!! It was cool to be on the other side because when I dressed models for Elie Saab I didn't actually get to see them walk the runway.
The show was in Palais du Tokyo on the second floor in a square room. It was all very modern and sparse. I liked the layout though because since It was a square and the models walked around it everyone had a great view. Plus, you got to see the clothes from different angles. The show was called "1915, opulence and bloodshed" and was inspired by the bloodshed in Russia in 1915. Thus, the blood stained t-shirts. I loved the Russian military jackets on the men, so crisp. Even though I'm not a fur fan, there were some gorgeous furs, like the red cape and huge white coat. Some of the later dresses made looked like tinfoil and made a lot of noise, but they moved beautifully. I read that they were based on the blankets that were used to warm the soldiers and whatever material that was makes a lot of noise. My favorite was the last dress. It was really spiky and masculine, but also such a beautiful classic gown. The way it wraps around her arm in the back, ah so pretty!
I think I saw bill cunningham, but i'm not sure, i have to research to see if he was there. I saw grace coddington! She's anna wintour's right hand man and after seeing the september issue I have so much respect for her and think she has much more of a vision than anna. I also think I saw Lilane Bettencourt, the chief shareholder of L'oreal aka the richest woman in Europe.
It was surreal to be around such fabulously dressed people with amazing jobs. I got to pretend for a little I was one of them!
Here's the link to all the pieces! http://www.vogue.fr/_marketResources/PageRendering/Site.Shows.Gallery.aspx?gid=14000&imageno=0&type=show#Z27
I still don't have school! It's the first week of classes, but only lecture classes. I'm taking two lecture classes, but only one is meeting this week...oh Sciences po. I'm not complaining! Since I don't have school I've been trying to go to museums and neighborhoods I've been meaning to try. On Friday I went to a little free museum in the marais. It was someone's house in the 18th century so it's basically a museum of their things. They had some beautiful tables back then, let me tell you.
My favorite part was the collection of paintings of women fully clothed, except for their breasts. It was as if someone just ran into the picture and pulled down their shirts. They had great titles like "indiscreet" "frivolous love" and "beautiful dream." They cracked me up.
Yesterday I went to Angelina's with Ari for their famous hot chocolate. It was delicious, but so rich. We walked by the American embassy which was reassuring because I'm pretty sure I'm an illegal alien right now (I'm working on it.)
So, I'm trying this whole jogging thing again. Being a poor college student and sciences po not having a gym, I've succumbed to the streets of paris. It's a lot different than running in Chicago or D.C. In Chicago you've got the lake and there's always a million people out. In D.C. there are also always a million people out because everyone in politics jogs, I swear. It's what motivates me. I'm like "alright, if Bush ran 3 miles everyday I can do it too!" I was watching the west wing last night and they had a meeting while running-so D.C. Everyone works out, so that's my motivation there. Here, I'm like "hmmm, I could be having an espresso or some chocolate right now." But I'm gonna keep trying!
I got another babysitting job! "teaching" English to children who are already fluent in English, it's great. There apartment is amazing. I want to sit the parents down and ask them how you get to a point in your life where you have such a stunning Parisian apartment.
Speaking of kiddies, there was a swarm of them outside my door yesterday waiting for the actor who plays Zorro next door to sign their playbills. Adorable! He was so nice to them too.
I saw "Gainsbourg" the other night...not what I expected. There was lots of paper mache involved and a giant "jew" with multiple hands. And lots of smoking and sex. I didn't really know much about his life, but I walked out so confused! My friend Dave who loves him and knows everything about him didn't like the movie either so that reassured me of my opinion. It should have been called "Gainsbourg: his life on acid." But, the theater was filled with 20 something french hipsters and art students so it was great people watching. And a ton of previews were for American movies! I'm excited to see "in the air" here which is "up in the air" in America. Why leave out the up??? They didn't even translate it into french, it's the exact American title minus the up.
I walked by one of the butcher shops around the corner from me and for the first time I looked at the sign. It's called "the white rose." Since I live in a Jewish neighborhood I'm assuming that it's named after the non-violent student resistance group from Nazi Germany. How cool! Not only was that group amazing, but the fact that it's remembered here (and what better a place than a butcher shop) I thought was so clever and... sweet? sad? I'm not sure, but I liked it. I should go buy something from that butcher.
My favorite part was the collection of paintings of women fully clothed, except for their breasts. It was as if someone just ran into the picture and pulled down their shirts. They had great titles like "indiscreet" "frivolous love" and "beautiful dream." They cracked me up.
Yesterday I went to Angelina's with Ari for their famous hot chocolate. It was delicious, but so rich. We walked by the American embassy which was reassuring because I'm pretty sure I'm an illegal alien right now (I'm working on it.)
So, I'm trying this whole jogging thing again. Being a poor college student and sciences po not having a gym, I've succumbed to the streets of paris. It's a lot different than running in Chicago or D.C. In Chicago you've got the lake and there's always a million people out. In D.C. there are also always a million people out because everyone in politics jogs, I swear. It's what motivates me. I'm like "alright, if Bush ran 3 miles everyday I can do it too!" I was watching the west wing last night and they had a meeting while running-so D.C. Everyone works out, so that's my motivation there. Here, I'm like "hmmm, I could be having an espresso or some chocolate right now." But I'm gonna keep trying!
I got another babysitting job! "teaching" English to children who are already fluent in English, it's great. There apartment is amazing. I want to sit the parents down and ask them how you get to a point in your life where you have such a stunning Parisian apartment.
Speaking of kiddies, there was a swarm of them outside my door yesterday waiting for the actor who plays Zorro next door to sign their playbills. Adorable! He was so nice to them too.
I saw "Gainsbourg" the other night...not what I expected. There was lots of paper mache involved and a giant "jew" with multiple hands. And lots of smoking and sex. I didn't really know much about his life, but I walked out so confused! My friend Dave who loves him and knows everything about him didn't like the movie either so that reassured me of my opinion. It should have been called "Gainsbourg: his life on acid." But, the theater was filled with 20 something french hipsters and art students so it was great people watching. And a ton of previews were for American movies! I'm excited to see "in the air" here which is "up in the air" in America. Why leave out the up??? They didn't even translate it into french, it's the exact American title minus the up.
I walked by one of the butcher shops around the corner from me and for the first time I looked at the sign. It's called "the white rose." Since I live in a Jewish neighborhood I'm assuming that it's named after the non-violent student resistance group from Nazi Germany. How cool! Not only was that group amazing, but the fact that it's remembered here (and what better a place than a butcher shop) I thought was so clever and... sweet? sad? I'm not sure, but I liked it. I should go buy something from that butcher.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Crazies Love Me
Today I went Chez Jean to do my usual studying. I love it there because the coffee is cheap, they have free wifi, they are super nice, and it's not usually busy. I go, get my little window spot and this lady starts yelling at me. At first I didn't get she was yelling at me, but then I turned around and she's swearing and saying she hates people like me. I gave her a glare and then went on with my work. Turns out, she's crazy! She had three plate settings, but it was only her. She was having a conversation with three other people...that were all her. Then she spent 30 minutes moving the table and chairs. Drove me crazy/thought she was going to yell at me again so I left.
Later, I was taking the metro home and going through Chatlet (or shitlet as we fondly call it) and I ask this man if I can walk by him on the moving walkway. He turns around and makes a surprised face and starts running full speed ahead. I thought he was being funny, playing a little joke on me, but then he gets off the escalator and starts yelling at me too! Yelling obscenities as I walked away...great times.
Alright, let's talk about laundry. I HATE doing laundry here. 3.70-6 (!) euro depending on the size of the machine plus 1 euro for NINE minutes of the dryer. I'm sorry, but what the hell dries in 9 minutes? That's right, nothing! Everytime I go to the laundromat I put in an ample amount of soap but it never gets all nice and sudsy! I feel like everyone is judging me on my lack of suds. So, I always look crazy and add more soap, but no suds. It gets clean though! mystery. I also can't keep my eyes of the machine when I'm doing the laundry. Partly because I want to see if suds will appear, but also that circular motion sucks me in. I'm like a cat or a baby...not sure which one is better.
Finally, Christmas trees. The tallest Christmas tree I've seen here was up to my shoulder. So sad. I don't even think that qualifies as a Christmas tree. Anyway, it's what they have. Since I've been back I've seen all of these wimpy little trees on the streets, waiting to get picked up by the garbage men. It looks as if someone beat them to a pulp. Hardly any branches left, slumped on the side of the street. For some reason I find it so depressing. Teeny tiny trees all beaten up and left out to die.
I got to see so much family this weekend! Cousins, great aunts, aunts, more cousins. I love old family stories. Makes me miss St. Paul and my grandparents' old house.
Later, I was taking the metro home and going through Chatlet (or shitlet as we fondly call it) and I ask this man if I can walk by him on the moving walkway. He turns around and makes a surprised face and starts running full speed ahead. I thought he was being funny, playing a little joke on me, but then he gets off the escalator and starts yelling at me too! Yelling obscenities as I walked away...great times.
Alright, let's talk about laundry. I HATE doing laundry here. 3.70-6 (!) euro depending on the size of the machine plus 1 euro for NINE minutes of the dryer. I'm sorry, but what the hell dries in 9 minutes? That's right, nothing! Everytime I go to the laundromat I put in an ample amount of soap but it never gets all nice and sudsy! I feel like everyone is judging me on my lack of suds. So, I always look crazy and add more soap, but no suds. It gets clean though! mystery. I also can't keep my eyes of the machine when I'm doing the laundry. Partly because I want to see if suds will appear, but also that circular motion sucks me in. I'm like a cat or a baby...not sure which one is better.
Finally, Christmas trees. The tallest Christmas tree I've seen here was up to my shoulder. So sad. I don't even think that qualifies as a Christmas tree. Anyway, it's what they have. Since I've been back I've seen all of these wimpy little trees on the streets, waiting to get picked up by the garbage men. It looks as if someone beat them to a pulp. Hardly any branches left, slumped on the side of the street. For some reason I find it so depressing. Teeny tiny trees all beaten up and left out to die.
I got to see so much family this weekend! Cousins, great aunts, aunts, more cousins. I love old family stories. Makes me miss St. Paul and my grandparents' old house.
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