The End.

So I think I will retire my blog for a while. For one thing, I haven't written in it for over a month. I no longer have consistent access to internet, which has created a slight problem in trying to be good and regular about the blog. For another thing, it now feels so normal being here that it seems inane and almost vain to chronicle my daily activities in such detail. Paris is no longer a novelty; it's just the city I'm living in. Nothing particularly fresh or interesting is happenening anyway; I've settled into somewhat of a routine. So basically I babysit, I shop, I talk, I walk, I eat, I explore, and I find ways to occupy my days. Random things, like playing truth or dare on the metro, listening to music on the roof, and finding the neighborhoods with the cheapest pastries. Most of my friends at AUP have gone back to the states, with the exception of Serena, Tessa, and the occasional Mathilde. We've actually resorted to trying to meet more French people by (snicker) going to church! And I've been reaching out to AUP people I didn't know that well before. I don't know exactly what I'm doing in the future, but I'd like to visit other European cities this summer, just to experience a new place now that Paris has become stagnant. I'll probably create a different blog when I study abroad again. On to new adventures!

Le Fin.

Paris is Finally Sizzling!

Nothing new happening here, except the weather has become delightfully summery. I need sunblock! And I don't know what to wear now that it's not raining everyday. On Sunday, I had a picnic with Victoria and Brunela on the Champs de Mars, the grassy area in front of the Eiffel tower. Victoria is Norwegian and Brunela is Brazilian, but when we're together, since we speak English, everyone assumes we're from London. And Victoria brought her cute little poodle. Serena and I went to the park by my house on Saturday and sunbathed...


At least the weather will be nice for when dad and Kimbo and Vanessa visit.

I'm pretty busy because I have finals next week, hence the lack of updates. It's sad that the semester is over already! But my adventure is just beginning! I wonder what Paris will be like in the summer. The style is definitely changing; people aren't wearing as much black. Also, nothing is certain, but there's a vague idea formulating among me and a friend to go to Greece in mid-June.



I've found the American Dream!

Orangina! My favorite. It's like a combination of orange juice and orange soda.

Step Up 2 is called Sexy dance here! ha!

Une Princesse de Fleur!

I know i haven't updated my blog in forever, but I have been extremely busy lately and have not had internet as readily available to me. First of all, I have a new address! I moved to 1 Boulevard Emile Augier. It's still in the 16th arrondisement, but I used to live in the northern 16 and now I live in the southern 16. I live at La Muette, right by the metro, ALL the way at the western end of Paris. I love my new area because even though I liked Victor Hugo also, it was very residential. There wasn't too much to see or do without taking a walk. But La Muette is a very ritzy, lively, energetic, dynamic place to live in comparison. There are lots of shopping places, boulangeries, and restaurants nearby. There's a Sephora down the street from me; Serena and I used to try on all the makeup at the Sephora on the Champs Elysees, but now that there's one so close by, we just go there. It's funny because this morning, we went there first thing and just used all their makeup and products. We always put a ton of products in our hair and spray all the perfume. We're so delightfully snobby when we do it too: we go straight for the most expensive products in the back and turn our nose up at the cheaper makeup in the front.

I've been exploring my new area, discovering the best places for macaroons, baguettes, etc. I go to this small mall right by my house called the Passy Plaza. H&M is my favorite store there.

I feel happy with my decision to move out of my housing arrangement early because I'm saving so much money this way, and my room at La Muette is much nicer than my room at Victor Hugo. My room here feels cozy; I have a little kitchen area in the corner, and I live right next door to a park. I climb out the window and sit on the roof. I can see the park and into some people's houses, sort of like Rear Window. There's some sort of embassy across the street which is VERY mysterious... The only sucky thing is that I don't have internet! I suppose I can always take my computer to the McDonald's that's nearby, but I've just been going to the school's library a lot. I've also been checking out movies to watch at home to entertain myself: I've seen The Birds, Mullholland Drive, Elizabeth, Some Like it Hot, and a couple others.

The family I au pair for is in New York for 2 weeks, which is nice because I have no babysitting obligations. Finals are approaching, which is somewhat troublesome. I have to do a lot more painting, especially the 3 paintings that are going to count as our final. My French oral final is this Wednesday. I have an extra credit assignment to do for Human Resource Management. And I have a big group project I'm doing for Entrepreneurship class.

One notable thing I did recently was take a class at Le Cordon Bleu to learn how to make lemon pound cake and lime macaroons. It was just a demonstration; we watched the chef make it, we didnt' actually get to make it ourselves but I enjoyed it. And the two assistants kept saying "Oui chef!" just like on Hell's Kitchen, but in French. I really want to make macaroons now, but I don't know anyone with a high tech oven.

I went to the movies on the Champs Elysees with Mathilde a few times. The screens are so small compared to America! We saw Deux Soeurs Pour Une Roi (The Other Boleyn Girl; the French title means Two Sisters for One King) and Penelope. I was thinking about it and Mathilde is one of the few actual French friends I've made in Paris. It's quite hard to become friends with genuine Parisians because I go to an American school where everyone speaks English and everything is Americanized. School is always the primary place to meet people and make friends, and AUP is such a small university. Many of the students are only visiting, like myself. So most of the people I know and interact with are American; I know some international students and very few French students.

I've heard other students complain about how they feel the French classes at AUP are too easy and they haven't learned anything. To the contrary, I feel like my French has progressed worlds, because I didn't know much before. I'm still not too concerned with grammar and spelling; I prefer learning how to say phrases and construct simple sentences.

Today was the "World's Fair" at AUP where all the students had tables with food representing their different nationalities. I had just bought this shirt from H&M that's white with a purple flowered print on it, and Serena was wearing some flowered dress also; we stopped in the park near the Eiffel tower on our way and braided a bunch of flowers into our hair. Along the way, we started talking about how we looked Hawaiian and joking about how we could say we were representing Hawaii at the World's Fair and avoid the 5 euro cover charge. We started practicing saying "Aloha" and "Mahalo." Well, everyone believed us, even though there wasn't even a Hawaii table! We got all the food for free, mwah ha ha!

These are just random pictures I liked...

Hot Chocolate being poured

chocolate cake
The Simpsons Go To Paris
charmant!
I like to paint whipped cream, because I put lots of colors into it.
pastries
tulips. Paris is getting sunnier..

View from the Sacre Coeur.

This was from that protest of the olympics being held in China. Supposedly, the Chinese have been oppressing Tibet or something, so there was a demonstration.



cemetery

Ha! I forget which museum this was at...


the view at night

scratched in the bathroom in the museum of modern art
some "interesting" works of art, at the centre pompidou
All is well!
The park at La Muette

The tuileries! One of my favorite places in Paris! i've been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. I go sit on the chairs there and it's pleasant.

A shot of Rome:
More paris at night
I learned the words to this french children's song, Une Souris Verte, and I keep singing it. I try to see how fast I can sing the song. I also learned the words to Alouette, but I like to sing them as La Muette.

Pareee

Nothing new happening in the past few days, I've just been painting a lot.