"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust
On Tuesday night we continued to make the most out of our last few nights before class started and go out in the Oberkampf area. Rumor has it that there are cheaper drinks to be found there, although I'm finding that cheaper is a very relative term. I'm starting to resign to the fact that an inexpensive night out is not be had until it gets warm enough to have cheese and wine picnics in the parks. Gabi and I left early so we could catch the metro home instead of paying for a cab. Plus we had to be up early because we decided to go to church in the morning!
We went to a 9am service at Notre Dame...there's just something about that place. I don't count myself as a particularly religious person but Notre Dame definitely gets to you--its a feeling that's very difficult to describe. The mass was short, around 45 minutes, and in French obviously, but very interesting to see. I would definitely be interested in going back to one. So after mass we wandered around the Ile St. Louis area for a bit in search of a creperie and a cafe that didn't cost us an arm and a leg.
Of course creperies are in abundance all over the city but it becomes inherently more difficult to find one when you're actually looking for it. We wandered for around for 45 minutes or so and finally decided the cold was too much. But I had my first crepe of the trip...nutella and banana, yummmmm. Then we hopped on the metro to go get our class schedule. We waited in a ridiculously long and confusing line before we found out that we didn't need to wait in line at all. Sometimes the language barrier causes all sorts of unnecessary waiting.
Dinner last night was delicious as per usual. I am in love with Mme Dugan's cooking--it's very, very French, it forces me to try new things, and it gives me ideas of meals I want to learn to cook when I come home :) We had ham wrapped endives with some sort of creme fraiche sauce with sauteed mushrooms and a flaky warm croissant type cheese thing. Either way it was awesome. And oftentimes dessert consists of bread and cheese, which I am more than okay with especially since Gabi and I have dark chocolate hidden away in our room.
Last night we had one last hurrah before classes started. We ventured to the girls' apartment for a wine, cheese, and bread get together. And can I just say...I'm in love with the bread here. We had an intense discussion at dinner about how Americans just don't make the same kind of bread and that if a French person were to open a REAL french bakery in the States, they would make a fortune. I couldn't agree more. Maybe that's what I'll do with my life ;)
Anyway so our wine/cheese/bread party was lots of fun. It's interesting when everyone gets together because we are all so very, very different. We come from all ends of the country and it's very curious to see the different sub-cultures that make up "American" culture in general. If anything I'm adjusting more to that than I am to French culture. But I have to say as different as everyone is, it's fun to find the common ground. Under normal circumstances, this group would probably never have all come together. But that's what so great about this, these aren't normal circumstances and you have the opportunity to meet people that you might never interact with otherwise.
This morning I started class. Navigating the metro by myself and actually being in class really gave me a jolt of realization--I'm really here. This thing that I've been planning for for years is actually playing itself out. It's actually happening. And I'm actually going to be here for an extended period of time. Up until today it's all sort of felt like an extended vacation.
I hope it gets warmer here. I have the sneaking suspicion that our heat is not working seeing as I'm under the covers in my bed with a sweater, hoodie, and wool socks on and I'm still chilled to the bone. I thought I left this all back in Ohio!
No comments:
Post a Comment