Plan: leave apartment at 9:50 take the tram to the 7 then the 7 to the 5 and arrive at Gare Austerlitz around 10 20 giving the others 30 min to print their tickets.

What actually happened: first Michael bought the ticket for March 12th not February 12th.  Left the apartment at 10 rode the tram to the 7 then decided we weren’t going to make it in time so hailed a cab. Got to the station at 10 29. I had already printed my ticket so I was fine and Deb has a European credit card so she got hers from the machine. Dayna Caity and Seth had to wait in the longest line ever. So me and Deb took the 10 48 and they bought tickets for the 11:41.

Deb and I ate lunch at a cute little caf� in Orleans. Thankfully we had to wait an hour for them to get there because this little caf� had possibly the worst customer service ever. Not only did everything take about 3 times too long to get to us but the waiter also dropped my coca-light on the ground and completely covered my boots in diet coke. Thankfully my mom waterproofed my boots so I didn’t have to worry about them getting ruined.

Once they finally got there we headed to the hotel where all of the fencers were staying and the lady at the front desk told us how to get to the tournament. We watched the first few rounds leading up to the final 8. Then we met Mariel Zagunis the 2008 Olympics Gold Medalist (USA). The final 8 was at another place about 45 min away later that night at 8pm. There was just a little problem and that was that it was sold out and we didn’t have tickets.

Seth and Deb decided to go home rather than deal with the hassle of trying to get into the place without tickets and the 45 min tram ride to the finals. Lucky for us we found some girls from the Poland team who didn’t have anyone going to the final 8 so they gave Dayna, Caity, and me their team wrist bands so we could get into the tournament. Caity used to fence for the US national team up until the 2008 olympics. The first rounds were over at around 4 so we had until about 7 to hang out in Orleans before we had to start heading over to the complex where the finals were.  We went shopping at the little town square for about 2 hours and then we stopped at a little side street sandwich place and got Paninis for dinner.

We got to the Fencing Tournament at around 7:50 and walked right in and got to sit in the section with all of the other teams. The opening ceremony was crazy with a cover band and a light show. They were also serving flutes of champagne so we had to get those. There were glow bracelets on everyone’s chairs and noise makers. To start it off they had stunt doubles of the competitors repel from the ceiling. We were able to watch the first round which was exciting. That was followed by half time where there were two guys doing tricks on bikes. They did one trick where they hopped over a kid and the one accidently hit the little kid in the leg. We got to see Mariel start her second round but had to leave to make it to the train on time. Mariel ended up winning the whole thing.

When we got out of the complex though the tram had 20 min until it would get to the station and then a 20 min ride there was no way were going to make our train on time. So we went to the closest restaurant and asked them to call us a cab. While we were waiting for the cab though Caity thought it was necessary to stand on the corner trying to get ever car that drove by to give us a ride the train station. We got in the cab and it took us to the train station and we made it with about 10 min to spare. Then we rode the train home and got back to our apartment at about 1 am.

When we got back Michael and Kate were waiting for us and we all decided to order a pizza except I am pretty sure we found the only delivery place open past 11 pm in Paris. We ate and then went to bed it was a great day.

Travel Tip: If you go to Paris and there happens to be a fencing tournament you should go. It is a real event and if you buy tickets in advance then only end up costing between 8-12 euro.

Location: Orleans, Paris

At the Louvre and Les Invalides of course.

On Wednesday for Art and Architecture we went to the Louvre for class to look at what remains of the original one. The one that is there today was actually the second Louvre. The first was built outside the city as a protective castle. In part of the Louvre there is what remains. There are some of the walls and the dungeon. The dungeon however was not used to keep prisoners but to keep books and expensive artifacts. We also learned that people signed the bricks they built with their own symbol (heart,cross,etc)r and were then paid based on how many bricks had there symbol at the end of each day. We also saw the Tour de Jean sans Peur. It is just what is left of the Hotel (mansion) from the Kings cousin.

For French Politics and Society we went to Les Invalides this morning. It was originally a hospital for wounded soldiers but is now the museum of the army. We toured the section of the museum for WWI, WWII, and Charles de Gaulle. We also got to see the tomb of Napoleon.

And The Sun was out Today!

In other school news my economics and governance class has been cancelled all week because my teacher lost his voice.

Side Note: A lot of people here don’t really like to just wander around on their own and site see. Today after our trip to Les Invalides I wandered around the area with a ham and cheese baguette and looked around. I found a really pretty church and a very residential neighborhood of Paris.

Also, France just got a lot easier. I got my box of Kraft Mac’n’cheese, Ranch Dressing, and Taco Kit from my mom. There are just some things that a college student can’t live without.

Location: Paris, France

I have finished my first week of classes. It is a little bit like high school being that you are only allowed one excused absence for the entire semester, the classes went ok. On Mondays and Wednesdays I only have class from 9 am until 12:30 which is nice because then I have the rest of the day to go shopping or wander aimlessly around Paris. I have The History of Paris through Art and Architecture first. I think that it will be really fun because half of our classes are field trips to see art and architecture all over the city of Paris. For our first non syllabus day class we went and saw the ancient Roman ruins that are still here today in Paris. There are the Cluny Baths, the amphitheatre, and the ruins in the crypt of Notre Dame.

Also for that class today I went to a small museum, Pavillon De l’Arsenal, which is free near Bastille that is all about the different periods of Architecture in Paris. We had to pick a time period and in class on Monday give a five minute presentation on our time period.

My Second class is French Politics and Society where we learn about aspects of French life and try to learn to look at the world the way a French person does. Also seems like a very interesting class. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have 3 classes. First I have Supranational Governance in the 21^st century. Basically only taking this class because I had to get out of my all French history of Louis XIV; so we will see how it goes. Next I have the Political Economy of European Integration, only taking this class because it fulfils my requirement for my International Business minor. Both of these classes are taught by the same professor and it really just seems like a lot of presentations approximately 5 for each class throughout the semester. Also I have to start being educated about the world around me and read things like the Economist and The Wall Street Journal when I would much rather read things like the sports section of the Collegian. Then 4 hours after that I have my French class which also seems like it will be very simple. The only real problem with these classes is that we have actual homework not just reading assignments anymore. Not really a fan of the “study” abroad I think I should have signed up for Live abroad for 4 months and do no school work.

Today after my visit to the museum I wandered around Paris for about an hour stopping in random shops and browsing. I stumbled upon the Bastille Monument (Reason for Bastille Day where the prison used to be) and a nice little demonstration about all that is going on in Egypt right now.

Then on a completely random note I found a street that was completely lined with lamp stores? One of the stores sold only chandeliers which were absolutely awesome so I took pictures.

Location: Paris, France

I was supposed to wake up for my first class the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP) at 7:15 so I could get ready and look like I belonged at a French University so that I could leave by 7:50 to make sure I got to class with plenty of time. However, I slept through my alarm and woke up at 7:50 so I rushed to get ready threw on my leggings, t-shirt, sneakers, and hair in a pony tail. (Why, yes I am the most American looking person in Paris today) I put my make-up into my bag and ran out the door to catch the tram. I found ICP relatively easily given my past experiences with trying to read maps. I arrived about 2 min before class started but that didn’t really matter because the class room was locked and the professor ended up showing up about 5 min after class started. It was refreshing to be in a lecture rather than a small high school style classroom for a change. Once everyone got situated the professor went through the usual things; exams (2 four hour sessions writing essays) were the only grades, how essential taking notes was, etc. Then, he starts right into the class talking at approximately a million miles a minute. I took notes for the first 45 min of the class and then realized I had heard about half of what he had said and actually written on my paper even less than that. Then, I wrote FML on the top of my paper and politely sat through the rest of class listening knowing very well that when I got back to the IES center I was dropping that class immediately. It wasn’t just the French that got to me I wouldn’t have taken a class like that in America let alone when I am studying abroad. The school was very beautiful but sadly if I ever go back there it will just be to visit not to take a class. My advice for anyone studying abroad is that you should most likely be fluent if you are going to take a class taught in another language or have them taught where all of the students are taking it as a second language. As for the rest of my classes they are going well but I will talk about them in my next entry.

Location: 21 rue d'Assas 75270 Paris, France

Intensive French classes are finished for now and real classes start next week. I am really excited to start classes (for now at least). I am taking art and architecture in Paris, advanced French 1, politics and economy and European integration (or something along those lines), French politics and society, and a class at the institute catholique de Paris (aka ICP).

In this past week we have spent a lot of time trying to get to know Paris mostly the night life and the shopping. For the football games on Sunday some of us went to a Canadian bar called The Moose; and who was there well of course John C. Reilly and Jodi Foster. Then on Tuesday we didn’t have class for intensive French so I attempted to do laundry which takes FOREVER in France. The washer washes the clothes for approximately an hour and then the dryer dries them for an hour and a half so to do 2 loads of laundry it took me about 4 hours, not to mention the dryer on the left doesn’t work right so I had to dry the first load twice. It also cost about 10 euro to do laundry here. And the machines are really tiny the loads I did here I probably could have done in 1 load back in the States (tiny bit of culture shock).

On Monday before class out teacher took us on a tour of “le marais”. Which is a part of Paris very close to the center of the city, near l’ile de la cite (Notre Dame). We got Falafels for lunch and I found out I like everything about falafels except for the falafel part. I like the sauce and the vegetables and the hummus and the pita but not so much the fried chick pea part. Then we went back later to look at all of the cute little boutiques and shops.

On Wednesday we went to lunch at a creperie and we got a huge meal. We had a salad and a lunch crepe I got cheese and mushrooms, most people got ham, cheese, and egg. Then we got a dessert crepe and of course I got a chocolate one. Then the school paid for us to go on a bus tour of Paris. It was cold and rainy but that’s just France. There are rumors we are going to get to see the sun tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. Anyway, We started at the Eiffel Tower, then the military academy, then saw invalides, then the grand and petit palace, next the national assembly, the Louvre, Notre Dame, The Madeline cathedrale, The Opera, and finished at the L’arc de Triomphe. Most people sat inside the bus but me and the other girl from Penn State decided to brave the cold and sit up top to make sure that we got the best pictures possible. Also, you get a headset and you can hear a recording tell you about all of the monuments but in between you get to listen to music out soundtrack just happened to be the nutcracker. Then after the tour me and the other Penn State girl went shopping at H&M on the Champs-Elysees.

Thursday we had out last class for intensive French and anyone who spoke English in class (and got caught) had to get up in front of the class and sing a song with the teacher. I think my favorite song was le petite escargot.

Overall I would say that these have been a pretty great first two weeks but pretty soon the whole study part of study abroad is going to start so we will see if I am so happy when I have to take actually classes in Paris.

Note: click on pictures to see them bigger.

Location: Paris, France