Friends and Home Alone!

(Radio de la France a block from my house)

After not doing much on Monday I had a very busy day on Tuesday. I had to give a presentation or “exposé” in theater on the eight hour play that we had just seen. Luckily I had plenty of material, but it was difficult to focus on one aspect without including everything, but I did well. After class we had a mixer with students from one of the French universities. We went to a café and had crepes and talked for awhile. The students were really cool and a group of us went out afterwards to go to a bar that they highly recommended. It was really fun and now I can integrate into French social circles. Wednesday, I had a long day of classes and after I had dinner with my family. We had duck which was prepared really well and once again it was a bird that he shot on one of his hunting trips. I didn’t have class on Thursday so I decided to meet some of my friends who were going out. First we went to a hookah bar, then most places were closed so everyone went home except. My friend Geneva and I stayed out and sat down for while on the street looking at statues and other crazy people who were out. Thursday I woke up really early to go to a 9:00am movie sponsored by EDUCO. It was called “La Mome” and it was about Edith Piaf the famous French singer. We saw it at this really cool mall called Forum des Halles which I just read sits above the largest subway station in the world. The film was like “Walk the Line” and “Ray” and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Later, I met my friend Dan at Jussieu (a French university) when I was trying to figure out what happened with my class that was cancelled and if it was being rescheduled. We went to his house and then to a park to hang out. There were so many people at the park as there always are in Europe. There was an amazing bird (a crane or egret) that was in a lake at the park that we watched for awhile, after we realized it wasn’t fake, because it was hunting. Then we went to Starbucks. So now I have eaten at McDonald’s and Starbucks while in France which I am not pleased about. That night we went to see a play by Molière called “l’Avare” at this really cool and old theater near the middle of Paris. The theater is called Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin and it the style is traditional and quite different than the other theaters I have visited. I felt that the other plays we have seen were better than this one but it was funny. After the play a lot of people from the group went to our favorite bar, O’Sullivan’s, which was only a few blocks away. It was really fun having everyone in one place. The next morning when I woke up, my host family was packing up for their ski trip in the Alps. They showed me how to lock up the whole house and said see you Saturday. I thought they were only going away for the weekend so this was a complete shock to me. I went to EDUCO to watch a really funny and stupid movie called “Brice de Nice.” It was a nice way to end the week. Friday was my friend Julia’s birthday and her parents came to visit for the occasion so they took a group of us out for a really nice dinner. It was great French cuisine and I think it was a modern style of preparation. Her parents were really fun to eat and talk with. Then the group came back to my house and we hung out for the rest of the night. Saturday, I met my friends at the Rodin museum. It was a beautiful day so the gardens were incredible and there was an interesting exhibition of his drawings. I loved the whole museum, but the drawings were the best part. Here are some pictures of his sculpture “Le Penseur” or The Thinker.

After the museum we came back to my house and had bread, cheese, and wine. Then later we made dinner and had a crazy night. It was a really fun even though we didn’t really do anything except sit in my kitchen. Sunday I went ice skating in front of l’Hotel de Ville. The building is incredible and except for a few falls I had a really good time. It was funny because there were kids there who were amazing and any time someone fell, they quickly skated towards them, stopped abrubtly, and sprayed ice onto them. It was a funny tradition until it happened to me. It was the last day the outdoor rink was open so I’m glad I was able to go and enjoy it. Paris has so much to offer regardless of what you’re looking for. Today I did laundry and caught up on some school work. Although, I had a funny encounter with a French family on my walk back from the Laundromat. It was a mother and her two children. The young son, who was probably about 7 years old, looked back at me, and then kicked his mom in the butt. However I was behind them so she looked at me and as she began to say, “What the…?” I pointed to her son. Luckily she knew her son well enough to know it was him and not me and I quickly walked away laughing. In other news, this weekend I am going to Brussels and Amsterdam!

Au revoir! GO HOYAS CLINCH THE BIG EAST TITLE!

More museum pictures: