and you're sure

Three people stopped me today - two for directions and one to do a survey - so I must be doing something right?
(I mean, until I talk, because then it is clear that I am not a French person :P .)
Also, today I remembered my umbrella, my scarf, and a map. That doesn't happen often!

( came back another way )

Today I went (back) to Le Bon Marché. That I am posting those photos before those of our trip to see the gothic cathedral or the Musee d'Orsay probably says something about my priorities :P .
I have three basic categories of pictures for this store: Christmas stuff, toys, and sugar.
...
Maybe I should just call it "Things I Like" and be done with it :) .

( Christmas stuff )

( Toys )

( Sugar )

That concludes my super-long tour of my shopping trip this afternoon. I didn't buy anything, although I was tempted to.
And if you made it this far, you probably deserve some of those sugar hearts or something.
<333

Today I went to the Louvre and, by the time that I had gotten my ticket, I realized that all I really wanted to do was see Winged Victory.
Nine euros is a lot of money to see one statue, yet...



( winged victory + others )

I also took a stroll up the Champs Elysees... once I found it. I don't know; I just don't have a good track record with not getting lost in that area. By that time, though, I was just about ready to go home. I visited the big bookstore - I didn't find anything - and then I did.
Tomorrow... I am not sure. Grocery shopping and the post office, probably.
<3's.

Hmm. I am really not sure how to describe today, except that it was cold, and full of togetherness, and that I should have bought more postcards. We went to the Chateau de Fontainebleau, which my prof had described as a 'castle.'
It is not a castle. It is a weekend castle, which means that it is smaller and whatnot, except... well. From the inside...
I think that I will just let my pictures speak for themselves. Some of them are not the best, in part because my camera just does not do color all that well, but in person it is overwhelming. I had a difficult time picking out which pictures to post, honestly, because there is just so much.



( castles and colors. )

Almost all of the walls, the floors, the ceilings... all decorated. It is kind of crazy, but cool to look at.
Afterward we went out to lunch as a group and then had the option of going on a hike. I bowed out because it was cold and windy and because there was just a little too much togetherness going on.
And now there is homework and whatnot to do.
<3's ~

Today I was lying in bed, working on my thirty-one page reading for my cinema class, and I thought to myself, I did not come to France to read in English.
So I went to St. Michel instead.

I feel like I am trying to make a life here.



I do not really do touristy things, although I take touristy pictures; I go to class and to the supermarket and to the bakery, I wander around the city (between classes yesterday, I accidentally ended up at the Seine), and I stay in.
I have fallen in love with the metro. It is one of my favorite things here, definitely; I love the posters and the advertisements, I enjoy going from one place to the other underground, I like having a pass so that I don't have to buy a ticket every time.



It's strange to come home to this neighborhood -- the other parts of the city that I have gone to are all so alive, overflowing with people, and then I get back here and it's calm and still. We're surrounded by apartments, schools, and hospitals.
This is a good place to be, I think.



These pictures were taken between the apartment and Carrefour, which is kind of like a cross between a Walmart and a Costco, atmosphere-wise. (I will not be going on a Saturday again. It was super, super hectic. I was amazed at how much stuff some of these people were buying.)
Little grocery carrier things with wheels are VERY popular here. I felt kind of out of place, and ended up snagging a bag in the frozen food section (a nice bag! Dual-layered! It was only 00,10 euros, too, which worked for me). This ended up being a really good choice, because they don't have bags at the checkouts there - it is strictly a bring your own situation. Good to know.
And... yes.

As for classes, that is an interesting situation. I described it to a friend a few days ago as being like elementary school (in that you see the same people in every class and go on field trips and whatnot together), except with more alcohol and caffeine involved.
I have class for an hour and 45 minutes or so on Wednesday and Friday mornings, and then have it from again from 1:30 until it's done. (So far, that has been at about 6:00-6:30.) That part is kind of painful, and not very interactive. It involves a lot of movies and lecturing.
On Thursdays we go on field trips. I have pictures of all this, but they are even more touristy than usual :P . Perhaps more later!

It rained in Paris today.

So, I am in Paris now, with my host family and my roommate. I got in early last morning (on French time; late Friday night on Washington time), and... Well. Let's start out by just saying that metros, which are full of staircases, and suitcases don't exactly mix, shall we? :P
Otherwise, it is kind of a "Well, now I'm here, so I have to buck up and do this" sort of situation. Not in a bad way, though.
I was dead on my feet all of yesterday, so -- today! Today C (roommate) and I started out by going to a marche (an outdoor market). I had been to a small one in Foix, but it wasn't hardly anything compared to this one, which was huge and extremely crowded. Claustrophobic.



But it was fun! All the produce looks fresher; it might be France, it might be the being outside, I don't know. I did notice yesterday that some of the supermarkets label where their produce is from though (not on the tags, on signs) and that a lot of it is from France.
There was a lot of fruit, meat (bacon! Rabbit! Tongue! Brains! Snail! You had all of your bases covered), cheese (which C really enjoyed) and flowers, as well as things like clothing and jewelry. The food areas were definitely the most crowded, though.
It was only a short walk from the apartment of the family that we're staying with. Speaking of that --



This is a view from one of the windows. It is a beautiful apartment in a beautiful area; the only thing that I'd really like to change is for there to be light on the stairs. (We're on the 7th floor and C and I have not figured out how to make the stairs light up yet, supposing that that is possible.)



Our host mother is kind of a professional host mother -- she's had a lot of students from several countries -- but she's really nice, and so is the son that we see relatively often. The apartment is rectangular rather than squarish; our bedroom is at the end of an extremely long hallway with uneven, creaky floors. There is a lot of charm here.
(Although, I wouldn't want to be tall, like C, and use that shower! And I need to remember to be even more of a tourist and take pictures of the details in the architecture around here, because if there are somethings that says that I am not in the states anymore, that is definitely on the list.)
I am having a hell of a time with the time change, although not in the sense that I'm jetlagged. I just have no idea what time it is unless I'm in front of a clock (and I have issues converting between times).

After the marche, we met up with some other girls from our group at the Louvre -- the first Sunday of each month has free admission -- but it was crowded and C had to go and up with someone else. I didn't feel like staying, so I took the metro home alone. (Are you proud of me? You should be proud of me :P .)
The metro really is better than buses, although you see less, scenery-wise. I am very fond of my little map and have underlined the stations that I will be using regularly.



And... yes. That is what I have done today. I might go out again to find something to eat, but we only have one key between us, and C is currently out and about. Hmm.
We have orientation tomorrow, and then class Wednesday, and I don't know how to fill the time in-between. That's probably not a good thing to say :P . I will find something!
(Probably something tourist-y!)



<3's, darlings.

At the beginning of the year, we were all issued these bright red 'emergency' backpacks, which include 'emergency food rations.'
And, since the beginning of the year, I have been wondering what they tasted like.

( What exactly makes up 'apple cinnamon flavoring'?? )