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« ... j'ai cru qu'on pouvait définir l'aventure : un événement qui sort de l'ordinaire, sans être forcément extraordinaire. On parle de la magie des aventures […] Pour que l'événement le plus banal devienne une aventure, il faut et il suffit qu'on se mette à le raconter…»

- Jean-Paul Sartre, 1938

Monday, February 28, 2011

Le Pain Quotidien.

Well, I’ve officially survived the rigorous first 5-weeks of classes of my study-abroad program.  I’ve written 2 dissertations, given 3 oral presentations (and learned that 10-20 minutes of speaking in French is easier than I thought!), and have taken the three-hour final exam, which was another dissertation written in-class.

Reliving these past few weeks, I’m grateful for the transformation that’s taken place in me, during which I’ve really become accustomed to living here and have made some really great friends.  It’s the little things that make me aware of the adjustments I’ve made. I love the fact that I know no longer need to pull out a metro map to know how to get to certain places.  I use all sorts of French phrases without even thinking about it, even when I’m speaking English or around people who don’t speak French. Sydney’s two friends from the States were visiting this past weekend, and I kept saying things like “Attends!”  or “bien sur!” or “On y va?” The fact that these little phrases have become reflexes that I say without even realizing what language I’m speaking is definitely something to be proud of. While I was in Barcelona (more to come on that later), surrounded by a truly foreign language, on multiple occasions I’d overhear a conversation in French and understand it, hardly realizing that what I’d just heard was even French. It just sounded so soothing, comforting, normal.

I’ve become a frequent customer at more than one boulangerie and am now recognized there. Granted, this is more due to my friend Dan and his regular baguette consumption than to me, but nonetheless, the lady who works at the boulangerie with the red-awning down the street recognizes us 3 Americans and greets us with an extra special, friendly smile ever time any of us enters. This is a fact I’m quite proud of, because while I disagree that the French fit the stereotype of being ‘cold,’ they definitely take some time to warm up to new people. One particularly special day last week, all three of us were there buying baguettes, and, just as we were turning to leave, she said “Attends!” and reached under the chocolate counter, filling a small bag of chocolate-covered orange rind for us.  It was a very special day.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The One-Month Mark.

A cute sign I saw in Belleville
Today is February 13th, 2011, the day before a very important holiday: the one-month anniversary of my arrival in Paris!

First of all, my apologies for the long delay in posting. Since a lot of things have happened since then, this post will be 80% pictures and 20% words, to commemorate some of the milestones that have taken place during my first month of studying abroad!

I honestly am having trouble coming to terms with how fast time is flying by here. I know that's what I was warned of ahead of time, but the reality is when you're trying to cram in so much fun in such a short time, you forget how many days are passing by!

So without further ado, some of the highlights and milestones that have taken place since my plane landed on January 14th:
Coffee with all the W&M girls studying abroad in Paris this semester: Cathy, me, Taylor, Diana, & Alexandra
My very first macaroon!
On Saturday, Feb. 5th, I went with Jen and Sydney to a matinee on Paris' Broadway equivalent.
Mamma Mia! at the Theatre Mogador
Me, Jen, et Sydney in front of the Mamma Mia poster
I also visited the Eiffel Tower....

And tried on a beret....

One day Cathy and I decided to try kebabs, which was a first for both of us -- They're something the real Parisians would snub, but this cheap, delicious, and I'm sure terribly unhealthy street food is a must-try:


I rode the metro far too many times...and one day, at the St. Michel metro stop, I saw a crowd that could have easily have been a large enough for a real concert, clapping and cheering, sounding around a guy singing at a microphone. He was actually not bad, and was signing such classics as "Hey, Jude!" You never know what you'll see in Paris.
After too many trips on the metro, one can be rather exhausted.

A guy singing at the metro station, surrounded by a huge crowd.

Sydney and I visited the open air market in our neighborhood, which takes place every Saturday and Wednesday morning, and were absolutely ravie [delighted] to see all of the gorgeous produce, flowers, bright colors, and the busy crowds.



Just this past week, in the neighborhood called Belleville (more stories to come later, but it turns out, the neighborhood wasn't as belle as we were hoping). Nonetheless, we did stop in an award-winning boulangerie  to try their baguette, which in 2009 was declared the best in all of Paris! It was quite good. Though if I do say so myself, I prefer the boulangerie two blocks away that I frequent, where the lady that works there recognizes me now!
The boulangerie in Belleville with the award-winning baguettes
Their brownies (first time I'd seen them in Paris!) admittedly looked quite good.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mon entretien de stage! [Interview for my Internship]

I should be doing research right now for a 10-minute oral presentation tomorrow on « Identité et Mémoire sous la 5e République », my third oral presentation so far! But first, I have exciting news. Yesterday was my interview (actually more of a meeting, since I’d already gotten the internship) with the director of the organization where I’ll be working.

*Point of clarification: From here on out I will probably be using only the French word for internship, which is “stage” (rhymes with Taj, as in the Taj Mahal).  It just sticks in my head as a better word, even when speaking English.

Anyway, my stage will be at the Centre d’Analyse Strategique du Premier Ministre [Center for Strategic Analysis for the Prime Minister, abbreviated CAS], which is a governmental think tank. It’s a really unique organization because it is at the same time both a think tank and a government agency. The CAS does research and analysis on public policies in the domains of: economic, social, environmental (including sustainable development!) and technologic policy issues.

**Side note on French politics: the Prime Minister to President Sarkozy is currently François Fillon, a member of the political party on the right which is called l’UMP (Le Mouvement Populaire). But attention! When I say it’s a party on the right, that doesn’t correspond directly with the conservative “right” that exists in the U.S.  Their platforms, which I have yet to fully understand myself, can be quite different.

Anyway, the director of CAS is Monsieur Pierre-François Mourier, former Consulat Général of France in San Francisco as well as a senior advisor and speech-writer to former President Jacques Chirac.   Needless to say, I was quite nervous meeting someone so important. During my internship, though, I’ll be working in the department for International Affairs with a younger woman who seems really nice.

Despite my being really nervous for the meeting, everything seemed to have gone really well and today I signed my contract as a stagiaire (intern)! I’m so excited! This opportunity is more than I could have hoped for! 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Toujours Bon Appétit

My new friend Sydney and I share many common interests, and one of them is our shared love of Julia Child.  So, it seemed only natural that we make a day out of seeing Paris from Julia’s eyes – that is, where she lived and shopped.

So this past Saturday, that’s what we did.  While attending Le Cordon Bleu, Julia was a regular customer at E. Dehillerin, a kitchenware store that has been around since 1820.
E. Dehillerin, 18-20 rue Coquillière, 1er arrondissement

The store was absolutely magical.  From the second we opened the creaky door and glimpsed the wall of copper pots and pans hanging on a cork-board, we knew we could easily imagine Julia being right at home there.  There were narrow aisles of every cooking utensil you could imagine stacked neatly on shelves stretching from floor to ceiling: pots and pans (both copper and stainless steel), thirty different types of knives, molds, whisks, things which I didn't know their function…

The store's front-window display of copper pots and pans.
The store just kept going on, and on...it even has a basement, which you access by way of a creaky, winding staircase. It was really charming, actually! And they weren't kidding when they said they sell for professionals.  We found a giant soup pot so big that I probably could've sat in it (if I were looking to get kicked out of the store in 5 seconds flat!) And then, hidden on the back wall, was exactly what I was looking for: a POÊLE À CRÊPES (crêpe pan), the most beautiful kitchenware item I’ve ever owned!


My new, stainless steel crêpe pan!
They also sold crepe pans that were lighter weight, coated with a non-stick material.  But I wanted something really original --and that meant no shortcuts.  This one requires preparation before I can use it! The salesman I talked with explained that with this pan, the crêpes come out with a softer, more authentic texture, and so my decision was made! 

From there, we headed to 81 Rue de l’Université, or “Roo de Loo,” as Julia and her husband Paul affectionately called their Paris apartment.  I had been in that neighborhood in the 7arrondissement before, on our program’s excursion to tour the Assemblée Nationale the previous week.  But what I hadn’t known is that on that day we’d been literally blocks away from Julia’s former apartment! It makes sense that since they’d been living on Paul’s government salary, they’d live in an area with government buildings.




81 Rue de l'Université
I finished the afternoon with a little treat to myself, which I think Julia would very well approve of: English Breakfast tea and a pastry called L’Opéra
While we're on the theme of food, even an act as simple as grocery shopping is really different in France.

One big difference is the grocery stores themselves, which are MUCH smaller than their American counterparts, often with narrow aisles barely wide enough for two people to pass (you have to turn sideways – personal space is not really the same concept here) and shelves almost up to the ceiling.  Another thing: don’t except someone to bag your groceries for you, nor for them to provide you with plastic bags, either! Often there’s a charge for plastic bags, or you’re on your own.  That explains why it’s common to see people walking down the sidewalk with what looks like a giant backpack on wheels.

A couple weeks ago, Sydney and I made an exciting discovery: there’s an organic store right around the corner from our foyer, only a 5-minute walk away! Organic is referred to as bio here. Below is what I bought on my very first real grocery shopping trip here, all from the organic store – oatmeal, soy milk, olive oil, pasta & sauce, and in the second picture, something really hard to find, and quite expensive here: Peanut Butter!! (at around 4 euros, or $5.50 a jar).  

I told myself I wouldn’t make a regular habit of buying peanut butter in order to better integrate myself into real French society...but giving it up is really easier than I thought it would be! While it has normally been a staple of my diet in the U.S. (maybe more so than I’d care to admit), I’ve started to forget it exists over the past couple weeks. I’ve only taken it out once or twice to spread on a morsel of bread or apple, but for now, what I consider the ultimate American comfort food is going to just bide its time to be taken out on special occasions.


And today, I leave you with a quote which I think applies really well here, reminding me to make the most of every minute of my stay in France.  Julia Child concludes her memoir, My Life in France, by reminding us that “the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite — toujours bon appétit!"