A little slow on the uptake…
I’ve been meaning to get this blog up and running for the past two months, but things kept getting in the way! I’ve been in Paris since the beginning of January, studying at the American University of Paris. It was a surprisingly difficult transition, I definitely felt the culture shock much more intensely than I thought I would. Most people were going through the same thing though, so that made it a little easier.
After spending a few days of orientation at the legendary FIAP hostel, I moved into my apartment in the 15th arrondissement. It’s a really lovely neighborhood called Ségur, very residential, very safe. It’s only a 25 minute walk from school and there’s a metro station about 100 feet away from my door. The building itself is really beautiful, however the seven flights of stairs that I have to walk up are less so. Yes, I live on the seventh floor, no elevator…it sucks. My room is beyond tiny. I have ten square meters which they tell you is the average size of an American dorm room, but this is a lie. It’s small, but I’ve gotten used to it. I have my own kitcheonette which is nice, and my own bathroom. My bathroom is down the hall though, which I hate, mostly because my neighbors ALWAYS leave their door open and awkwardly linger in their doorway which is about 5 inches from my bathroom. This is the life of a student in France though, pauvre moi.
School is cool. I’m taking four classes: Western Art II, Medieval Art, Sources of European Culture, and Paris Through its Architecture. I really like my classes but they’re a lot harder than I thought they’d be. The perks are worth it though. I get a ‘carte des beaux-arts’ which lets me get into most museums for free. I also spend at least two days of the week on site for classes instead of being in the classroom. For example, with my classes I’ve visited The Louvre (many many times), Notre-Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Saint Denis, Saint Eustache, Le Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Judaisme to name a few.
I’ve been really slacking on taking pictures. I have my Holga point and shoot that has been getting some use but I have zero pictures on my digital camera which I intend to change. I have done the touristy things though, I went on a pub crawl which was a lot of fun. One night we went on the Bateaux-mouche which is a boat that goes up and down the Seine which was really nice, but freezing. I have a friend who lives off the Champs-Elysées, so I’ve walked up and down. I went to Sacre-Coeur and saw the view of Paris from Montmartre. I see the Eiffel Tower everyday but I haven’t gone up it yet, I’m waiting for my visitors to come. There’s so much more to do though! And I promise to start taking pictures.
As for the French, they are a strange people. They can be very very nice, but you just have to know how to act around them. It’s not a smiley culture, so when you’re walking down the street, or on the metro you can’t really smile or make eye contact, that’s kind of suggestive. But in some ways they’re super polite. Whenever you enter or leave a store you have to at least say ‘bonjour’ and ‘au revoir’ to the people working there. Also when approaching someone on the street, you will not be helped if you don’t say ‘bonjour’ first or if you don’t at least try to speak in French. They really appreciate that. Needless to say, my French has greatly improved.
A list of other fun things that I’ve done: Mardi gras party, Superbowl at the Amex until 4 AM (the Amex is AUP’s student bar, the wine is cheap and there’s always someone you know there), RENT ( something I will be doing), visiting the open market every Thursday just down the street from my apartment, late night crepes, daily croissants, Haiti benefit concert at the Amex, open mic nights at the Amex, L’AS DU FALAFEL and everything about Le Marais (more to come on that).
It’s been fun so far, and I’m very excited for the rest of the semester. I’ll be traveling to Spain and Italy for spring break starting this Friday. Here is the Itinerary: Paris>Barcelona>Alicante>Madrid>Catania>Naples>Rome>Florence>Paris.
Here are some pictures that have been taken by my friends, I will be sure take some myself!
