Normandy and Last few days in Paris

Has it really been a week since we left for Normandy? Good grief, where does the time go?

Last Friday, the day started like any other. Class. But after class, we got to go to the free, stuff your face with French food, buffet at school. After eating lots of French food, I got a text message saying the Catacombs were closed due to flooding. Take 3 at the Catacombs spoiled. So we re did our plans. After leaving school, we headed towards Suzy and Ashleys house for Gelato Friday, and then walked to a nearby souvenir shop for some souvenirs. After a while, we met up with the class to tour the Rodin Museum. It was our last tour with Edith and one of the museums we were most looking forward to seeing. The Rodin Museum used to be where Rodin lived, and in exchange for Rent, he gave his works to the state. The most famous work it houses would be 'The Thinker.' After the museum, we got a very short time to explore the gardens and take pictures before being kicked out of the museum (we got good at getting kicked out of museums for staying too long.) We went over some instructions for meeting in the morning and then everyone headed home for dinner with families and to pack for Normandy tomorrow.

Saturday: We had to meet Dr. Hagan at St. Lazare train station at 7:30 this morning. Do you know how early that is? We had a very uneventful trip there and found Dr. Hagan easily in his bright orange jacket, baseball cap, and his 7 ft tall-ness. We had a 2.5 hour train ride to Normandy that was also uneventful. I managed about an hour nap, and then talked with Dr. Hagan and some other people the rest of the way. When we got to Normandy, we were met by Rose, our tour guide, and our bus driver. Rose told us that rather than doing the beaches on Saturday, she wanted to take us to Mont St. Michel because it would be less packed today. Downside? It was a 2.5 hour bus ride. She was a really good guide though and talked to us the whole way talking about each town we went through and the historic events of the town. It was very informative. I had never heard of Mont St. Michel before and had no idea how it related to the war, but it sounded cool so I was excited to go. Come to find out, I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with D-Day, but it was a cool place.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

These verses describe Mont St. Michel to a tee. Mont Saint Michel is this huge Monastery/ church/ former prison on the very top of a mountain of rock. There is a town (that is very touristy) built below on the mountain. As the tide comes in, every other week the area around the mountain floods. It floods most the parking lots and you end up walking a very long way to get there. We were lucky enough to go at low tide and just had to hike up the side of the mountain. The only way into the town is the access road, which is very long and doesn't generally flood. We toured around the Monastery and had a lot of picture time. This was the highlite of the trip so far. I loved hearing about all the history in the church and how some rooms were supposed to be built, but then they decided not to build them. It was way interesting, and I decided that, someday when I get a nice job and can afford it, I will go back. After the tour, we got some time to go shopping in town and to the beach. The beach was muddy, but many of us still went it. Were Iowans, and this is a real beach. Don't tell us we can't go in! After about half an hour, we loaded the bus and began the long ride back to Bayeux. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant and then headed back to the hotel. Jessie, Eboni and I were rooming together. We had a game of Phase 10, which, point wise, I won, and then headed to bed.

Sunday:

We caught the breakfast (cereal, hot cocoa, warm croissants, bread, jelly, juice, yogurt, and some other stuff we could choose from) at the hotel and then headed out for a busy day of WWII history. We started by going to the German Cemetery. We saw pictures of the Germans and Rose told us of how many soldiers who were captured were actually happy about it because they would be treated better as POW than their own army treated them. From there, we headed to Mont St. Eglise. This is the church were (if you know your D-Day history) the parachuter got stuck on the steeple of the church. We toured the town on the bus, headed to a bakery to pick out lunch, then headed to the museum. It was way cool! We got to see a glider that was used (that I would NEVER ride in.. Hard to describe, but it was not feeling very sturdy.), and then saw a video of what had happened in the town. After wards, we headed to the church. The cool thing about the church was that they had some interesting stained glass windows; for example pictures of the Virgin Mary with soldiers around it. Many things at this church were fairly new as they were not put in until the soldiers returned to the town for the first time about 15 years ago. After this, we headed to Utah Beach. We got to walk around there reading the numerous monuments for soldiers and eating our sandwiches for lunch. Next, we went to Pont du Noc (i think that is what its called). This is were the Rangers climbed up the side of the mountain after an Arial attack, but they were 45 minutes late. This place has not been restored and you could climb in and out of many German bunkers (hide outs) and also see the holes in the ground where the bombs fell. We got about an hour to run around here and crawl around the bunkers which was a lot of fun and a lot of history! Next, we headed to Omaha beach. Omaha beach had the most casualties on D-Day, and is probably the most well known beach in Normandy, for the Americans at least. We saw the one gun that still remains there (behind bars though) that was a huge gun for the Germans and could shoot huge amounts of distances across the beach. Then we headed out to the beach to go wading in the water. We walked quite a bit out even though the tide was coming in . We walked across a few sand bars and after a few minutes, realized the tide was coming in quicker than we though, so we wondered back. When we walked out, the water was about mid calf. Coming back it was up over my knees, so coming back was probably a wise decision. After Omaha beach, we headed to the American cemetery. Rose walked us around and should us the different statues and the maps at the cemetery. We had some time to wonder around and she pointed out different graves that she felt we should see. We saw a grave of one of the few women buried there, the grave of the highest ranking person there (which isn't distinguished at all), the grave of an unknown soldier, and someone who got the Medal of Honor. After that, we walked on the sidewalk over looking the beach, and headed to the last monument that was at the cemetery that had a bunker next to it; so of course we all crawled in and out of the bunker. We took about a 30 minute bus ride back to Bayeaux and then had a few minutes to rest before we decided to head out to the same restaurant we ate at last night. Tonight though, we had some sort of soup, pork and French fries, and chocolate some or else for desert. (Last night was a meat dish for appetizer, some sort of main course that i dont remember but it was good, and apple tart for dessert.) After dinner, a few of us walked Suzy to the train station so she could head home for camp. On the way back, we stopped by a park and got roped into playing (aka kicking around a ball) soccer with a kid and his father. We wondered the park for a little bit and then headed back to the hotel. We had a nice chance to sit and talk with a lady from Wisconsin (whose daughter went to Iowa!) for a while and then headed to bed after a long day.

Monday: Today was a holiday in France so many things were closed. We got to sleep in (until about 8:30!) and then after breakfast at the hotel, headed to the Bayeaux Cathedral where the famous Bayeaux tapestry used to be housed. It was an amazing cathedral. Words cant describe how amazing it was. They had some really nice relics and some other nice stuff. (its okay though, i have 100 pictures :)) Then, Dr. Hagan sent us to a park so we could lay and frolic for a while in the sun. When he caught back up with us, we went down to the tapestry museum to view the 240 foot (70 meter) tapestry. It tells the story of William the Conquerer through embroidered scenes made in 1044 ( I think). Quite the sight. We wondered through that museum and saw the movie for it and then grabbed some Kabobs for lunch and headed for the train back to Paris. Many of us were sad to be leaving and going back to Paris. We had enjoyed the time back in small towns and were not looking forward to the hustle and bustle of a large city. When we got off the train, I saw a fnac (book store) across the street and headed there to find a few more gifts. I then headed to St. Sulpice to look around some more. St. Sulpice is the church where (if you have seen DaVinci code) he kills the nun. The church is absolutely amazing and looking not very much like the church in the movie. The best part: on the wall in the church is a sign that basically, in more words, says "Dan Brown: you are a liar." (I'll put a picture of it on Facebook.. Speaking of Facebook: there are a ton of pictures on there, so if were not Facebook friends and you want to see pictures, friend me!) I then headed home for the night as an exhausted camper.

Tuesday: Today was our last day of class! We just had morning class too! So after class, we did the goodbye and picture thing and then headed to a former Port of the city (Paris used to be a walled city so there were a bunch of doors to get in. Only a couple remain so Dr. Hagan took us to one.) and then got food at an amazing Turkish restaurant. I had some sort of tomato paste for an appetizer (can't say I would voluntarily order it again..), beef for main course, and then that one traditional dessert that i don't remember the name of. I think its a Greek dessert.. (YEY GOOGLE. Its called Baklava.) After that, the majority of us headed to my neighborhood (ish) to a former châteaux/ prison (what is it with the French using things for prisons?). Also there, there is another St. Chappelle (in order to be a St. Chapelle you have to have a certain relic.) So we wondered around both of those places and then Briana, Matt, Ryan, Chanie, Emmalee, Sofie and I headed for the pond (thats right around the corner from my house.) Unfortunately, I had never been to that side of the park. Someone, not me, i promise, had the great idea to turn off the main road so we took a nice 30 minute walk out of our way, but eventually found the pond. We got some crepes and hung out for a while. Later that night, after dinner, I headed back out to meet up with some people from our class at school to see someones boyfriend play at a Jazz Cafe. It was pretty good.

Wednesday: We attempted to go to the catacombs again today. Still flooded. Darn. Were probably not meant to go to the Catacombs. We walked to Luxembourg Gardens one last time, and then some of us did a picnic lunch while others went and got crepes. Afterwards, we walked to St. Michel for coffee, and then i went with people souvenir shopping on the way to BHV. We walked to Bastille, got crepes, got smoothies, then went to Pompidou Center for Gelato. Then we went to a park on the other side of town were you can actually walk on the grass (many places in Paris you can't be on the grass.) and did our individual presentations about things that we had learned/noticed in Paris. I presented mine on the poverty and homelessness in the city. After that, i ran home to change for dinner and headed back out to meet the group. That would be when the most traumatic event of the trip took place. In short, I got stuck in a VERY crowded metro with no light in the middle of a tunnel for a while and then had to make 5 connections because of a passenger accident and showed up at the group dinner, out of breath from running a few blocks, and in tears, 20 minutes late. I was also quite scared out of my mind to ride the metro again. We had a dinner that wasn't all that terribly amazing, and then headed out. We finished dinner around 12:30 am (no joke) and the metros stopped at 1 am, and we were meeting at 7:30 the next morning, so we headed home to pack.

Thursday: Ugh. Sad day. Last day in Paris. I tried to go to the bakery this morning to buy a baguette to bring home for my brother, but nothing in our neighborhood opens until 8 am. I should have guessed. So, i gave my host my thank you gifts, finished packing and then we headed out. After dragging my heavy suite case uphill the 10 minute walk to the metro, we rode a packed metro and RER (basically a passenger train that goes through the suburbs into town) to the station where we were meeting and headed to the airport. We had a rather smooth flight, which was also 40 minutes early, and a smooth landing. It was a nice flight. Headed back towards Iowa to drop people off and do a quick DQ stop so i could see some friends and made it home and went straight to bed. My bed. I forgot how much i loved my bed. With real pillows. and a real blanket.

In all, I loved Paris. It was quite different from anything else I have done/experienced in the states. I can't say I would go back again with a large school group, but I think if i went with the right people,. I'd go in a heartbeat. The best part was, by far, Normandy. I can't describe how amazing it was or why it was so amazing, but you will have to go there yourself and experience it. Now that I'm home, I'm starting to get excited for Maine this summer, and the plans that God has for me there. Yet, it still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm in Iowa. Ill give it a few days. :)

Hospitality and Generosity.

As our time in France comes to a close and we reflect back on everything we've done, we see that we have had an amazing month. The highlight of the month has been the past 4 days. Three of the last 4 days were spent having an AMAZING weekend in the Normandy region of France. We toured all the tourist places (in a bus, so it was even more touristy), climbed in and out of bunkers, walked on the beach, and much more. Add perfect weather and sun to that, and you have an amazing weekend. It was capped off Sunday night by soccer in the old golf course and an amazing dinner. More about Normandy will be posted later probably, but there' s been this thought in my head I had to get out.

When people talk about France, Paris actually, I always here stories of how rude the people are. Eileen even pointed it out the other day. I disagree whole heartily. At our metro stop, it is basically a requirement that you hold the door for the person behind you. It is really nice and a small gesture to remember that people are friendly. At the hotel this weekend, we were in the lobby talking after we got back, and the owner told us we could stay up as late as we would like and even opened the breakfast room for us. You can stop and ask almost anyone where the metro is and they will walk you to the stop. The hospitality and friendliness here is amazing!

We have one 3 hour session of class left Tuesday morning before fitting in as much site seeing and stuffing our faces with food as possible. Dr. Hagan says we like food. Maybe a little too much. Well, Red Drhagan (pronounced, Dragon.), we do like food. and fun. Our time to Paris is winding down, and my mind is moving on to the next leg of my adventure. And I can't wait to have as much fun in Maine as I've had in Paris.

Pictures (New update below)

(pictures go most recent to oldest.. darn uploader/ being lazy..)

the sunset from our apartment.
this is the swing ride i talk about in my post below...
At Moulin Rouge.. We got there about 2 seconds before the picture and left 2 seconds after.
Breaking a rule and sticking my head outside of the Eiffel Tower..
picture perfect day at the Eiffel Tower
picture perfect day at the Eiffel Tower
My kangaroo and mashed tater dinner!
see that small glassed in thing>? thats the Mona Lisa.. And this is the crowd of people in front of it.
Ryan: Closer amanda! Me: Um NO! it might start moving!
the little Pastry rabbits the amazing pastry people were making my Notre Dame at that one bread festival thing

I was sort of entranced by my Gelato, so Jessie took a picture

stairs to get down from the top of the Arc... hope you're not claustrophobic.

Me looking at the tomb of the unknown soldier.. AKA at the Arc de triumph

In front of the Arc de Triumph

Eating a crepe.. Have you had your crepe today?

Sitting on a railing in Germany.. We started in that town down there and climbed

At the Castle in Heidlberg

cooking food with Vanessa in Germany

Week...3? I think its week 3 at least

Dear Sunshine,

You make Paris even more beautiful than it was before you came here to visit us. You make dancing lessons on the river and crepe Thursday even better.

Love,

Wartburg students in Paris

Yes, the sun has FINALLY come to Paris. And don't worry, we are taking full advantage of it. It started on Sunday and has continued all this week! Speaking of this week, is it really Thursday dinner and am I REALLY about to consume snails? Well, my calendar says it is really Thursday, and the note from my host says I'm supposed to cook the snails, so I guess that is a yes as well.

On Monday this week, Jessie and I headed out after class to go up to Sacre- Coeur. Sacre-Couer is a large church up on Montemarte which is an overlook of the city. (I'm loving seeing the city from above..) We took some time to eat our desserts (carrot-orange cake) and then went in to see the church. Unfortunately, no pictures were (legally) allowed in the church, so I can share its beauty with you. After that, we headed for a quick walk past Moulin Rouge and then headed back toward my place. We had intentions of going to the aquarium, but my attention was, for some reason, drawn to the fair. I was told by my host about 5 minutes after I arrived on day 1 to stay away from the fair. Naturally, I wanted to go. It was HUGE. I mean, were talking all rides, food booths and games. Perhaps state fair size! We walked around the whole fair and Jessie decided she wanted to ride the swings. These aren't normal swings (pictures when I get home maybe?), but grown up swings. They went round and round and round and up and round and up and round..etc. Now, background, we had just eaten crepes and waffles. Hmm.. yeah I was not doing so well afterwards. So, I headed home to work on my presentation for class the next day and called it a day.

Tuesday: Class (had my presentation and we were in the lab again, fairly uneventful), and then after some slight shopping at St. Michel, I headed home with a migraine. Ate some dinner, took some Advil PM and slept through the night. It was kind of amazing.

Wednesday: Oh man! Awesome day! After class, we ran to Monoprix (the grocery store) and bought stuff for a picnic. We jumped on the metro and headed for Versailles. We picnicked in the gardens at Versailles then met up with Edith (our AMAZING tour guide) for a tour of the palace. While there, the group decided it would be an amazing night for a boat ride. So, we made plans for a night boat ride. After Versailles, we RAN home, scarfed some beef bourguignon and chocolate cake (Mom, please tell me, it IS a sin to not have milk with warm cake, isn't it?) and then RAN to catch the boat. After a frantic call to tell Dr. Hagan we were coming and to not leave us, we arrived (10 minutes late) and got on the boat for a ride around the city. After the boat ride, some of us went for Gyros and crepes to end the night.

Thursday: We had class today and lunch in the Luxembourg Gardens as we have been doing a lot recently. For afternoon class today, we went to St. Sulpice church (Da Vinci code people: this is the church where he killed the nun..) and then headed towards the river for dance lessons. We learned (sort of) how to dance tango and salsa. Don't except to see any of us on Dancing with the Stars any time soon. We then headed to St. Michel for crepe and coffee Thursday. (This is what it sounds like... we drink coffee and eat crepes on Thursday.) Then I headed home via stops to look for Fnac, a book store, to look for a Dr. Seuss book that doesn't exist in France. LAME. How do these kids grow up with out Dr. Seuss? I'm sitting on the 2 ft porch now trying to swallow the escargot. Wasn't a fan of the first one. Let me try a second. Hmm, tastes like.. snail. Maybe, It's because they were frozen not fresh. Not my favorite food. My host is gone tonight and my roommate is currently MIA, and the note from the host said neither would be home for dinner.. Oh well, house to myself for a little bit. The quiet is a nice change of pace.

Usually, I would wait until Sunday to post about the week, but we are leaving at ridiculous hours of the morning (meeting at a stop 30 minutes away) at 7:30 AM Saturday morning to go to Normandy for the weekend. I know a few of us are very excited to leave Paris and travel around Normandy! It should be fun. After 3 days in Normandy, we have 2 days in Paris and then a day of traveling. One week and 30 minutes from now, we should be touching down in Chicago. (Well, Paris time at least.) Have we really been here that long already? "We're here a month, we can wait to see it." Crap, now we don't have time to see everything!

So Tomorrow, Friday, we start the day with class and then (hopefully, knock on wood) will make it to the free buffet AND the catacombs before Rodin at 3:45. It's our last museum visit :( And then Normandy. So the last few days will fly buy. I think I have a couple gifts to track down and maybe something else for me (yeah, you thought I was spending all my money on other people? I'm not THAT considerate..) and I'll be ready to go. I decided today that I will not have to buy an extra carry on back, but will put everything heavy in my backpack and then also use my drawstring bag. Yes, I'm going to be that person who takes two carry ons. Woops.

Some other cultural differences/ random things that I have noticed this week:

The metro. I know I've mentioned this before, but this is a different thing I have noticed. The metro is amazing. It is an equalizer. Everyone has to take the metro. The people who, unfortunately, wont have a meal on the table tonight. The people who will throw away food tonight. The people who live in the suburbs, the people who live in the city. Everyone rides the metro. Business people, homeless people. People with blue hair, purple hair, no hair. This is the one place these people interact. Who are we to judge others when we are all equal on this basis. The first way you tell who someone is is by their shoes. Are they wearing flats? Tennis shoes? Business shoes? Boots? Thats the first indication of who they are. Then you look at what they're doing. Are they jamming out? Reading the paper? On a crack.. I mean blackberry? Are they drunk? Are they drinking? Are they just standing there? You can tell a lot about someone by what they do on the metro, and it is just interesting to think about how the Parisians feel about it.

Public intoxication. I don't know why, but you can be drunk off your butt here and no one seems to care. Maybe it is because the drinking age is 18 (or is it 16?) but no one cares if a scary old drunk dude gets in your face on a crowded metro and you can smell the alcohol on his breath. Its disgusting. NO, I'm not telling you where i'm going, my name, where I live or giving you my number. Yes, I speak English, and some French, but I have no intentions of talking to you, so PLEASE, get out of my face. Oh look, my stop. Sorry. It can get annoying dealing with drunk people, I'm glad that the US (or Iowa) has that "No Public Intox) rule that we have.

People are not afraid to run over you. Not in a car. But on bike or trampling you in the metro. Today alone, I got run into by a bike and got knocked down in the metro station by some dude sprinting down the staris. (On the bike, I was in the walking lane but the class was in the bike lane so the biker was in the walking lane and didn't like me there.. In the metro station, I was being a good polite Iowan and walking on the right side of the stairs in a crowded stairwell. HE was running down the stairs at full blast through the crowd and ran into me.. OWW!)

Lastly, everything comes in a can. Or so it seems. Who puts milk and apple juice in a can? Can I have my plastic bottles back please? I promise I'll recycle!

A Weekend in Paris

Oh Paris. I love you. Not as much as I love my mommy, but I do love it. You learn so much in Paris. You learn things you take for granted in America, you learn you love foods that you could never eat in the states. You learn that Wartburg internet is actually good compared to Wireless in Paris. You learn that everyone associates Wartburg College with Eisenach, Germany, and thinks you are German. You learn that sunshine can not be taken for granted. You learn how to function on little to no sleep. You learn that (mom and dad don't read!) riding the metro home alone at 1:15 am isn't actually scary and the movie Midnight Meat Train will NEVER actually take place.

Friday was spent at the Louvre. We left school at 12 and hit up Monoprix (the grocery store) for some food and then headed towards Palace Royal. This is the palace by the Louvre and they have some famous gardens there. We wondered around there a little bit, and then wondered around to find the famous pyramid at the Louvre. While walking around the Louvre, we wondered by a souvenir shop that happened to have the souvenir I was looking for. I saw it on Day 1 in France and knew I needed to buy it for someone at school and haven't been able to find it since then. I was so happy, I made the group stop so I could buy it. Sorry guys. We found our way around the Louvre, and headed across the bridge to see what was over there. We met some guy making necklaces and stopped so the other girls could buy some. After we headed into the Louvre. Through many security checks, and long lines to get free tickets. An hour later, we headed into the Sully wing to look at the Egypt stuff. Three hours later, we met up with the group under the inverted pyramid (which isn't actually directly under the big pyramid like Ryan and I thought...Woops.) We went and saw all the things you MUST see at the Louvre with Edith (our very good, informative tour guide) such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Vinus de Milo, and some other things. After the Louvre, we headed up to Abessess near Hagan's place for a group dinner at a small little French Cafe. Dinner menu for me: Angel hair pasta with scallops (yes father, I know scallops are fish, and I ate them and liked them), Kangaroo (which, with the honey glaze, was some of the best meat I think I've ever had... Wish I could get some in Iowa), and chocolate cake with caramel sauce. We left the restaurant around 12:30 am and went straight to bed when we got home.

Saturday:

Janean and I slept in a little bit and then headed towards Hotel de Ville (basically the center of Paris) to look for a specific kind of jacket she wanted that we never actually found.) We then turned towards Notre Dame and the bread festival (or something) that was going on. I wasn't looking to buy bread, but just wanted to smell. It was what I imagine Heaven will smell like. We found a nice bakery to grab a light lunch from and headed to meet up with the group at Musee d'Orsay. This is the "modern" art, or the stuff from the 19th Century. It was an old train station so the building was pretty cool. After the museum, we made plans for that night and for Sunday and I headed back to my apartment. I haven't been sleeping well and a nap sounded pretty good for a Saturday afternoon. :) Saturday after dinner at my house, (Duck and green beans and fries), I headed out to meet up with people to hang out under the Eiffel Tower. It was an amazing night for it and we had lots of fun. I enjoyed a nice long metro ride home around 1 am again and then going straight to bed.

Sunday:

Woke up late. Ran out of the house without breakfast to meet people. Plan for the day: Go up the Eiffel Tower and then go to Catacombs. What did we really do: Meet up at Eiffel Tower, tell the guy that Wartburg was a legit school and we really did have 13 people, Wartburg really IS a legit school, get reservations to go up the tour for 3 hours later. We walked around looking for a super market not realizing it was Sunday and nothing would be open. Finally, we found a small shop and we partnered up to split food and headed back to the green space by the Eiffel Tower for a picnic lunch. We hung out there in the sun (realize, please, that this is the third day of 18 that we have seen the sun..) Around 2, we headed back to the Tower for our reservation. We took the elevator up to the second floor, and then went up up to the top. We had mass amounts of photos taken, broke some rules (like not putting heads or hands through the railings..), and then headed back down to the bottom. At the bottom, we found some street performers to watch and took a nap in the grass. After a while, we headed back to Tracadero (after stopping a few times to watch the break dancers.) and I headed home. For dinner, our host made us crepes with 2 different cheeses. Not two cheeses in each crepe, two different crepes, each with a different type of cheese. Either way, delicious. We had leftover cobbler and fresh strawberries for desert. Then she mentioned chocolate. She likes making us REAL hot cocoa, and we like drinking it. So we are sitting in our room drinking warm cocoa and enjoying the night.

There are now also some pictures on my facebook (an albums worth for now) and I will try, probably tomorrow, to get some on here.

A few other things I have noticed this week:

When you go to the grocery store to buy groceries, you bag your own groceries. And you bring your own bag. They don't provide them. I forgot about this when I went to get some groceries and had fun carrying stuff to my place (luckily it was a whole 8 feet to the front door of my apartment)

Being the minority is a strange feeling. Someone last night tried to ask me something, in French, on the metro, and I didn't know what he was saying and I couldn't help him. Not being able to understand people is a strange feeling. And everyone is free to judge. Because we wear tennis shoes, we are marked as a tourist. Granted, people don't know where we are from (been mistaken for a Canadian, German, Irish, and French), they know you are a tourist because you wear tennis shoes. It is a strange feeling. We are in Paris, a very touristy city, there are still two million people who live here and not understanding everything they are saying or why they are doing things is strange. I have never been the minority before, and the feeling is strange. I've grown up in a primarily white, English speaking town, and go to a small liberal arts school in the middle of no-where Iowa. Being a majority is something I have become accustom to and adjusting to being the minority is strange.

As I sit drinking my hot cocoa, waiting for pictures to upload, it strikes my mind how little time we have left here. It seems like just yesterday we were here and saying "Oh, We will see it later, we are here for a month." Now that month is almost over and we still have things to see and don;t know when we will see them. We have Monday, Tuesday, Thursday off from museum visits, Wednesday we leave at 12:05 from school for our day trip to Versailles, Friday we go to Rodin and Saturday we leave for a 3 day trip to Normandy. We come back Monday, and then leave early, early, early Thursday morning. Our time here is limited, and it should be, hopefully, packed full of shopping trips, crepes, class, and a few more sites to see (Montmarte, Sacre Coeur, Catacombs, and possibly a small group trip (and very quick) to Moulin Rouge.)

Okay, so after many hours of trying, I am not able to upload pictures to the blog, photobucket, facebook, OR twitter. It is a bit ridiculous. I suppose you will have to wait 2 weeks until I get home and meet up with me for picture time. Or I can try another day as well.

Last Few Days in Paris

Ah, it's Thursday afternoon at 3:30 and I am NOT sitting in class. What an amazing feeling. Today is a national holiday, Jour d'Ascension. Or something like that. Ascension Day. The day where Jesus ascended after Easter I would assume..

On Monday, we started the day with class and then headed to Luxembourg Gardens for lunch. After lunch, we headed to St. Chappelle for a tour with Edith. Even though the church was under restoration, it was still pretty cool to see. Lots of stained glass windows and history to go with it. After St. Chapelle we walked two feet next door to the Consiergerie for a way long tour. The consiergerie is an old prison where Marie Antoinette was held, so that was pretty cool to see her cell. Monday night, Chanie and I headed up to Montmarte and walked around for a while while eating crepes :).

Tuesday: During class today we headed to a language lab type thing to do some different exercises using the French computers and getting use to French resources. It was pretty much pouring down rain all day, but after afternoon class, Jessie and I still made time for the Pantheon. We saw the crypts and walked around there until they kicked us out at 6:20 pm (apparently you shouldn't stay past closing time..woops.) Also today, the lady in my French class from Ireland told me I should take a year off from school and study in France because my French is really good. I said no. I love Paris, and I love learning the language and things here, but I think after a while, I would get sick of it. We've been here just shy of two weeks, and I think a month is a perfect time for a visit. Enough time to see everything, but not too long that you get bored.

Wednesday: After class, Jessie and I headed up to the top of the Arc De Triumph. I hadn't seen it up close yet because we went the day when I sprained my ankle and was in way to much pain to walk up there. When we got there, we figured out that as students we could get up to the top for free, so we took full advantage of that and started climbing... (pictures to come.) After that, we headed towards the Musee d'armee (Army Museum) and found some lunch and gelato for Jessie's birthday. Apparently, it was the best birthday Gelato she's ever had! After the museum, I headed home (I was only 45 minutes late for dinner) to find the elevator in our building broken. So I proceeded to climb eight flights of winding stairs. After a great dinner and conversation, I fell asleep and slept through the night AND got to sleep in Thursday morning.

Thursday: Ascension day. No class. No alarm. What a beautiful Day. The sun even tried to come out for a little bit. Then it got sick of trying and went away again. Cloudy and 50s again. I headed to Bastille this morning to walk around after getting up at 10 am. I stumbled, rather accidentally, upon a rather large "market". I can't even describe it. They had EVERYTHING. It was rather like Wal-mart, but outside and many of the same stands. I found some lunch there (some crepe type thing with egg, cheese and sausage.) and found some presents for people. I made a quick stop back at the apartment, and headed for the Catacombs. I suppose I should have checked to see if they were open first. They're closed on national holidays. AKA today. So I headed back to tourist row around Notre Dame and St. Michel in search of that one present I haven't seen again. I found all the other presents I needed, but not the one I was looking for. Maybe I will settle for a little different version of it.. Or keep looking. Rest of today includes doing my reaction paper for tomorrow for class, my reaction for Monday, and preparing my expose for Tuesday. Lots of French work.. You know, procrastinating in Paris is much more fun and easier than in Iowa.

Cultural Differences this week:

The high school/ college kids here don't work while they are in school. School is their job, and because it is free, they don't need to work. This gives them extra time to pick up things like smoking or just to go out. Maybe they are on to something (not the smoking, but the having time to hang out.)

TV shows start at random times. AKA 8:45. Who starts a TV shows at 845? Evidently it is because they have the news until then, so thats when the shows start. And they we think they do not have as many commercials as we do during hows (so our host says they don't), but i think they have more. As a marketing major, I LOVE watching their commercials and looking at the advertisements.

They eat chocolate cake without drinking milk with it. Isn't this a sin? If your'e eating warm cake don't you need milk? They don't just drink a glass of milk, so when I asked for one with my cake, my host thought I was nuts and I had to explain that we just drink straight, cold milk.

Musicians are everywhere. In the metro station, outside the metro station, and in the metro. I head THE WORST EVER alto sax and trumpet duo. It was brutal. And the amp was basically in my ear.

On the flip side, they don't press you for money. They play and then walk around with a cup asking for money, but they don't get in your face about it

There is absolutely no emphasis on sports here. Schools do not have sports teams, and the majority of people seem that they could not care less about sports.

Country Pride. Vanessa pointed it out in Germany and I've now seen it true here as well. Parisins do not walk around in clothing proclaiming where they are from. Where as in the states, we were shirts that say, USA or IOWA, or WISCONSIN, etc, they do not. Vanessa told me she would NEVER where something that said Germany/Deutschland on it. NEVER.

And the last thing, which sort of bugs me,

They don't walk on the right hand side of the road. In the US, you keep to right of a sidewalk and pass on the left. Yeah, that rule doesn't exist here so you always do the awkward side step thing before passing people.

Differences in French and American Culture

We've been in France for 11 days now and there are many things that I have noticed are different in the cultures. Some are better, some I am not so sure about. This post is dedicated to the differences I have noticed.

Everyone in France is fashionable. It doesn't matter if you are 5 or 105. You are fashionable. You don't do your hair, and you don't wear make up. But you are fashionable. You can make 80's style glasses fashionable. I've seen it.

Everyone is always in a hurry. In the morning. At lunch. At night. You run in the metro stations, and walk on escalators and on moving sidewalks. You are always in a hurry.

You are not in a hurry when you are eating. You take two hour lunches, hour long dinners, and long breakfasts. This is the one time you are not in a hurry.

University here is free.

Everyone here lives a somewhat Americanized life. Although Germany is more Americanized, the French watch American TV shows, watch movies in French, speak English, and eat (sometimes) American food. I didn't think as many people would speak English, and I didn't except movies in theaters to be American movies.

Most people here are very polite and friendly. They will point you in the right direction when looking for a metro, and are not afraid to correct your French. Although it is a necessity to make a fool of yourself trying to explain something in French first. If they know you are American, they are not afraid to ask you for help with something. Jessie and I were sitting in the computer lab at school and someone needed an Americans opionon on the Great Depression. Little did we know by helping we were committing to reading her 80 page paper. HA, I haven't gotten to it yet.

The metro system here, yeah we need something like it in Iowa. It is fast, reliable and clean. You
can get anywhere in the city in under an hour (let me tell you, it is 40 minutes anywhere from my house, but never more than an hour!). You never wait more than 8 minutes for a train and usually its 2 minutes maximum. I've only waited 8 minutes twice and both were on Sunday afternoons. They are safe as well. You can ride them alone at night and not worry about your safety, as long as you are smart. People are always willing to help you find the nearest metro stop as well if you can't find it yourself (they are pretty easy to find though because they are all over.)

They have completely different views on sanitation here. They keep their streets and gutters really clean, flushing them with water every day. But then at the little crepe shops or other shops in restaurant row, they take money and then fold your crepe without washing they're hands. This would NEVER fly in the US, but it is fine here. Who knows what else they have touched. I noticed this in Germany too. We would ride bikes someplace, lock them up, touch door handles, and then cook food without washing hands. Well I washed mine, but never saw anyone else. Maybe Americans are just germ-a-phobs.

Germans are not in a hurry. They take their time and they bike everywhere. The students all have bikes and use them to get around town. There are special parts of the sidewalk for bikers and special roads just for bikers. I got my butt kicked on the bike rides around town.

Everyone in Europe drives like a mad man. It is ridiculous how they drive. I'm kind of surprised we haven't seen more accidents. But i suppose they know how to get around and if you don't drive like that you don't get anywhere. Darn polite Iowans.

And just some random annoyances:
There is no ice here. None. I want some ice in my drink or for my ankle.
The light switches. They're strange and always outside the bathroom. I can never find them.
There is always noise. I hear sirens all day. All night. Or you hear the people below you partying, or talking. Or the kids playing. Something is always making noise. Especially when you want to sleep. They like to shoot off fireworks when I want to sleep.
Razor Scooters. Parents: Buy your child a razor scooter. Its the cool thing to do. And then buy one for yourself. And then buy them roller blades as well.
Everyone smokes. It doesn't help my coughing problem. And its rather annoying. And bad for you.

Things that surprised me:
They have these machines that for .50 Euro you can get a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. I'm a fan. Probably waste a lot of money there.. woops.
There are A LOT of catholic churches. They are all very pretty and I like to take pictures of all of them.
And lastly, there are WAY more people who speak English than I expected.

Days 5-11

Wow. What an adventure the last 6 days have been.

Let me recap for you this week:

Monday: We went to school and took our placement exams. I was placed in beginner two with 5 others from Wartburg. Next, we took a tour of the school, saw the chapel and the computer lab (which has become my friend), and headed our seperate ways. My group headed towards BHV and Hotel De Ville to buy Sophie a new camera. After wards, we were in search of food on our way to the Holocaust Museum. We were walking to lunch when I French guy got in my face and started yelling at me, in French. I stopped and had a deer in the headlights look. Apparently, he wanted to scare me. It worked. We headed to lunch and then met up with the group at the Cluny Museum (after a call from D. Hagan, we changed plans.) I don't know how to describe this museum, except by saying it had a little of everything. We had a tour guide and it was about 2.5 hours of tour and I took about 250 pictures.. (about 200 too many maybe..) On the way to the museum, we were WAAAAAAY cold, so we did want any sensible American would do. We stopped at Starbucks. It made us nice and warm and we felt at home. :)

Tuesday: First day of classes. And its a long day. We start at 9 am. On the fourth (well really the fifth) floor of this building. (Building C).. So we climb the stairs (I officially hate stairs.), and sit for three hours. We grab a quick lunch and head to the computer lab. We climb back up the stairs and sit for another three hours. The whole class is in French and we rarely understand what she is saying, but we can get the general gist of things. The afternoon session goes much better than the morning session. After class, we get the schedule of museum visits and head out to a creperie with Dr. Hagan and get some crepes. You can never have too many Crepes as we've found out. We headed home for a chicken dinner and then rested up.

Wednesday: Class. Again. in the same 4th story room. For another 3 hours. After class, Jessie, Chanie, Eboni and I headed out for lunch. We lost Chanie in a phone store on the way, and stopped in restaurant row by St. Michel and found some crepes. (I told you we liked crepes.) I had a ham, egg and cheese one and then on the way out we grabbed dessert crepes and i got one with nutella and whipped cream. I might get another one just for a picture of me eating it :) After that, we headed to meet up with the group at the Carnavilet Museum. This was a history museum with tons of pictures and stuff from Old Paris. I have many pictures from here as well. After the Museum, Jessie and I went back to St. Michel to buy our school books and headed for BHV to buy HER a camera (I don't know what it is with peoples cameras dying..), we couldn't use her card there though, so we went our separate ways after making plans for later. Our host wasn't going to be home for dinner, so I headed out to the Grand Arc again to take pictures since my camera had batteries. I walked the Sarah Palin Bridge to Nowhere (long story..).. I walked around the promenade there and then hit the metro for the Eiffle Tower. Seeing the Eiffle Tower at night is one of the most incredible things I think I have ever seen. Jessie and I hung out there for quite a while, but it was VERY cold and windy or else we would have stayed longer. Chanie met us just in time to see the Eiffle Tower twinkle. It lights up at night and then twinkles every hour on the hour for 5 minutes.

Thursday: Crap. Another long day at school. We grabbed some French Pizza at a cafe near the school. It is owned by a guy from New York, so it was pretty decent and fairly inexpensive. Afternoon class was spent at the nearby Luxembourg Gardens looking around and looking at the photo exhibit of the Nomads. After class, we hit up the Holocaust Museum. Okay, we knew it would be "cool" but, I don't think any of us realized how powerful it would be. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but we spent an hour and a half wondering this 1 story museum, and looking at pictures, reading captions, anything we could do to take in the information. It was WAAAY powerful. After wards, I met up with D. Hagan to go get my train tickets for Germany for the weekend. Lucky I took him because the ticket machine wouldn't read my VISA card since it wasn't a European Card.. yeah i was confused as well. But he helped me get my tickets and then we parted ways, after meeting a nice Scottish guy.

Friday: Class. Again. Then I headed to the Metro and to the train station for Mannhiem. Upon arriving, I found Vanessa and the first thing she said was, "Hi! Its good to see you! I thought i was going to be late because they found 3 old bombs by the river." What a nice greeting. Turns out the bombs were from WWII. We bought some groceries and headed to her apartment. We cooked Fricadela (spelling?) which is basically German meatballs, carrot salad, potatoes, and i think thats all. We had her boyfriend Arno over and one of her roommates was home. After dinner and a quick hi on skype with Dad, we played Phase 10 for a few hours and then watched Euro Trip.

Saturday: We started the morning at Arno's soccer tournament to watch a few games. To get there, we rode bikes. I got my butt kicked. there were no gears on the bike, so it was a hull getting around on it, but quicker than walking. Then we rode to the train station and got on the train towards Heidlberg. It was about a 22 minute train ride in which Vanessa informed me we would be doing lots of walking. I said that was fine, not knowing what I was agreeing too. Heildberg reminded me a lot of Galena. Very pretty and hilly. We hiked up to the castle and walked around a lot up there and had our lunch of leftovers from Friday. We hiked down and then across the bridge and up the hill on the other side. This doesn't sound bad, but ill make sure to post pictures of it. It was rough. I had to stop on the way up the second side to rest. The path up is called "Snake Path" (well its in German..) because it winds all over the place and is long like a snake. After hanging out up there and taking "Senior Pictures" we headed down past all the rich people houses and did some shopping. I bought a nice warm sweatshirt since it is so cold here. We got some Gelato and headed for the train station home around 5:45. When we got back, we went to Vanessas place and had eggs for dinner and some bread. We met up with Arno later to celebrate his winning the soccer tournament. In Mannheim this week is the World Championship Ice Hockey tournament so we listened to some music and ate some food.

Sunday (thats today!): Slept in until 10:15, and then headed to Arno's for lunch. We made noodles with tuna, onions, mushrooms, and spicy sauce; salad, and bread. It was tasty. Mom and Dad, you'd be so proud of all the food I've eaten! Everything listed directly above, and a Gyro, egg plant, zucchini, pesto, pate, and much more! Today is a very lazy day for me. And i am enjoying it. And family, I love you! Happy Mothers Day mom and it was nice to see you!

This week we have class still, except not on Thursday because it is Ascention Day. Our museum visits this week include: St. Chapelle on Monday, Museum de L'Armee on Wednesday, and the Louvre on Friday. Saturday is D'Orsay Museum and Sunday is off.

I will try to put pictures online tonight. Maybe on Photobucket, but I will post that address here when I get to it!

Quick Update

Okay, so this probably wont be too long, but maybe! Otherwise look for a waay long post Monday or Tuesday after i go see Vanessa in Germany this weekend!

Its almost 11 as i start, i have a bad cough, have taken Advil PM and am way tired.. Lets see, since Sunday, we have: Eaten lots of good food, seen lots of sights, not gotten hurt, gotten my cough back, started classes, eaten more food, ridden the metro, and done tons of other stuff.. I have about 850 pictures (probably more) at this point, so i will have to spend some time going through and telling you all about what i did..

some things i have noticed in Paris though:
The metro is never 100% full. If it looks full, you can still get another 10 people on there. Atleast
You always have to be in a hurry. Except when you eat.
You dont wear make up and you dont do your hair.
You can be mean and pushy, but also super polite.
If you run into creepy guys in tourist shops or on the metro, you can get off or leave.
Everyone speaks English, but they like to laugh at your attempt to say stuff in French.
If you want ice, Go to america.


Look for pictures and a longer post next week sometime.
Miss you all!

Days 2,3,4 in Paris

Ah, It is Sunday afternoon in Paris. As many Americans begin to rise (its about 10 am in Iowa..) I have been out and about Paris.

Day 2 in Paris (who can take the most artistic picture)
Day two was Thursday. Janean and I met up with Sus and Ashley F at St. Michel in the morning to do a little wandering around. After we figured out how to get the un-lost, we ended up a couple of blocks away at Notre Dame. We witnessed some Gypsy women pocket picking tourists and decided to avoid them. We saw a nice little garden that we walked through and then hit to the streets. Eventually, Sus (short for Susannah) and I decided we were hungry for our first french Crepe. we found a stand that had them for 2,50 euro. We split a crepe with nutella and banana. It was delicious. After that, it was time to meet up with the whole group again at the St. Michel fountain. We found our way back and found Ryan and Zach waiting for us. As soon as everyone got there, we took off following Dr. Hagan like ducklings. Well, tourist ducklings maybe. We all had cameras out and we were following a tall guy in an orange rain coat and a baseball cap. We walked around the Latin Quarter looking at small shops and old churches and then toured Notre Dame. Ryan and I had a "Who can take the most artistic picture?" contest in Notre Dame.. Proud to say, I think I won. Notre Dame was amazing. Words cant describe how absolutely aw inspiring it is. We got many history lessons inside from Hagan and made sure we saw every inch of the place. Next we continued our walking tour and saw another church, St. Severin. It was another Catholic church with a lot of history and amazing stained glass. We found a place for some people to exchange money and headed for lunch as it was past time for Americans to eat and we are college kids and always hungry. Ryan, Sofie, Emmalee, Briana, and I found a nice restaurant that had a lunch special of an entree, and un plat (appetizer and main course) or un plat et un desert (main course and desert) for 12,50 Euro. French lunch is like American Dinner, so we went for it. c'etait tres delicious (it was very delicious) We had a french style lunch and took an hour and a half to eat. We met up with Janean and Zach and Zach and Ryan left to nap while Janean went back to our place. Sof, Bri, Em and I went around to shops shopping and then back to the BHV store (a HUGE 7 story department store where we bought phones on day 1) to confirm we had unlimited texting (yes, we do. and yes, this is an absolute necessity.. oh look a new text!) After that, we headed back to our apartments and Janean and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I found a boulangerie and bought some sort of something with chocolate.. I think it was like a croissant. We stopped at the local church to look around. Another HUGE catholic church, got lost in the neighborhood, and made it home in time for diner. Over cooked (or undercooked.. not perfectly cooked) meat, green beans, and leaks for desert. How, um, very un appetizing. After dinner, I headed back to St. Michel to meet up with Ryan, Zach, Eboni, Bri, Sof, and Em to go out for a little bit. After we found out the girls did NOT get taken in Paris, (they weren't answering phones and were an hour late) we headed for a Gilato shop.
End of Day 2

This made my Happy this morning..

Notre Dame

Day 3 in Paris. (who can ruin the most group shots?)
Slept in. Breakfast of toast and nutella substitute that is still very good. Rode the number 6 metro from Bel Air to Tracdero (supposedly a 45 min ride that we made in 20 minutes..)We got there, met up with Ryan and Zach, and headed out. BAM! Theres the Eiffel Tower.. One word. Amazing. We saw the guys from Cameroon that were trying to sell us Eiffel Tower key chains. They're supposed to be 3 for 1 Euro. Ryan and I were offered 10 for 1 at one point, but ended up buying at 7 for one Euro.. (aka i have 7 key chains if you want one.) We walked around, did the tourist thing of taking pictures, and stuff. Then as we were walking down to the tour, i turned to tell Ryan something and next thing I knew i was laying on the ground. Everyone thought it was my knee cause i guess i fell hard, but it was just an ankle sprain. Toughed it out with some help from Sus' advil and kept going. We visited the mini statute of Liberty, and then had lunch in front of the Eiffel Tower. I have no clue what Dr. Hagan put on my sandwich, but it was AMAZING. on a baguette too! We got our month long, all access transportation passes (FREEDOM!) and headed for Le grand arc. The Grand Arc is a big Arch type thing in a very modern part of the city that the french hate. It is full of high rise office buildings, modern architecture and upscale shops. On the way there, we got off the metro at yet another church were a choir was singing. (i don't know what it was called cause my camera was dead so i couldn't take many pictures today) After the Grand Arch, we made a short video for the video Dr. Hagan is putting together. It was us, as a group, saying "Bonjour! Nous sommes au Paris! C'est chuet! Aujord'hui, nous sommes avons vu le tour Eiffel, le grand arch, et the L'arc de triumph." (Hello! We re in Paris. Its awesome! Today we saw the Eiffel Tower, The Grand Arch and the Arc de Triumph) Apres ca, we headed towards the Arc de Triumph. at this point, the pain in my ankle over took me and Dr. HAgan called my host to let her know and he pretty much told me i was done for a couple days. I headed home in tears, to rest for the night. Today was also May 1, or the French version of labor day. So everything was closed and all the tourists were out. Mighty crazy.

Sofie, Emmalee, Ryan and I by the Eiffel Tower

Artsy Picture of Ryan Winder

Day 4 in Paris.
Breakfast was at 9:30. I got out of bed at 9:25. Had a piece of toast. I was hungry. I didn't eat last night either. I was going to go to Mass at Notre Dame with Ryan, Bri, sof, Em, and chanie, but figured id better not. I let them know i'd meet up with them after. On the way to meet up, i grabbed a crepe with nutella (more expensive and not as good as the last one) and met up with them once I tracked them down. We headed towards the Rennes stop where we were meeting Hagan and found some food. We stopped at a Soupe, Sandwich and Salade shop and got sandwiches, drinks and a desert for 8 euro. i got a salade and some peach tea which was basically amazing. (give me a break, no milk or tea since tuesday? what was i supposed to do?!?) We met up with Hagan and Jessie (who just got in today !!!) and went to see the school and toured around a little bit. We ended up at the Luxemborg Gardens and got caught in the rain.. AGAIN. its been raining all day. After a while, when there was a break in the rain for 2 seconds, we made a dash for the nearest metro stations so some of us could head home. After 2 long days, a lot of us were beat and want to sleep. We caught the RER (a train that runs faster than the metro and runs through the suburbs as well..) and rode to the metro then walked home in the rain.. (about a 5-6 minute walk from the station. I would have loved to have walked around some more, but Hagan was pretty instant i not walk around today. So, i'm home now, tried to watch TV online and found out you cant watch American shows out of the US, so i will probably nap some since i cant go anywhere, its raining, and there's nothing else to do! School starts tomorrow, and we do our placement test so it shouldn't take all morning.

The trees at Luxomburg Gardens were perfectly lined up.. It bothered us.. So we took pictures

We saw this at the farmers market today.. Yes, It is a cows head.. There were chickens next to it

We have yet to see the Eiffel Tower at night (it is about a 30 minute metro ride for us as we are way in the boonies of Paris..) but we are taking a night boat ride soon so we will see it then. I love the metro system here. It is (with the exception of this morning )on time, fast, clean and easy to use. We are all getting to be pros at riding it. Well, this is WAAY long, and i've been writing for a while so i'm going to go and try to get some rest (after I put some pictures up for you to see.)