So I know I haven't been updating this as much as I was hoping to....honestly I can't think of too many exciting events to talk about at this point. I've officially been here in Paris one month and one day and everything is starting to feel like normal. This past week or so I've just been wanting to catch up on sleep and so today I was finally able to sleep in as long as I wanted, it was much needed. All my classes are going well and we're starting to get into tougher material and actually writing papers/doing presentations etc. Spring break starts at the ends of next week and 3 friends and I will be adventuring to Italy and Morocco. There are so many places I want to visit around here it's going to be hard deciding which ones to leave out.

Anyway, the little video I posted is of La Bonita (the 4 month old kitten) and Samsam playing with eachother. I really love having a kitten around despite all the scratches I receive from her.

Un Weekend à Amsterdam

It was super foggy the second day of our trip
This is the room Kelsey and I stayed in, in our boat-hostel
This is the bookshelf behind which the Frank family resided in secret for 3 years
There was randomly someone dressed like the grim reeper standing in the middle of this plaza
Another pic of the same plaza
Me, Amanda, Kelsey, and Annie in front of the canal
There was some cool graffiti around the city
Lots of swans in the canals. I was surprised at how big they are in real life!

On the dock where our boat-hostel resided

So this past weekend three of my friends from IES and I took a bus to Amsterdam. We left Thursday night at 11pm and arrived at 5:30am at the Amsterdam bus station. We then proceeded on a small adventure to try and get to our Hostel which is actually a house-boat hostel called Vita Nova. We took a taxi but the driver had no idea where on the dock our boat was so he just dropped us off near the dock. We then walked for about an hour or so in the freezing cold Amsterdam weather with all our luggage to find our nautical home. At around 7am we finally arrived and had to wake the hostel manager up to check into our rooms ( I still feel bad about doing that but he told us it would be okay to check in that early!) We took about an hour long nap in our 7x7 ft. squared room. This time of year in Amsterdam it doesn't get light until about 8:30am and then starts getting dark again around 6 or 6:30pm which took some getting used to.

Amsterdam is a really fun city full of lots to do. It was a nice break from the expensive city of Paris but I somehow managed to spend a lot of money anyway. Two of the best touristy excursions we did while there was 1) Visit Anne Frank's House and 2) The Heineken Brewery/museum. I highly recommend both of these attractions to anyone who is thinking of going to Amsterdam. In the historical Anne Frank house we got to see the actual hiding spots of the Frank family and got to experience a bit of the life in hiding that they lived during 3 years of the Holocaust. It's a very interesting story and fascinating to be there in the actual place where they lived. The Heineken Museum, on the other hand, was fascinating in a very different, less depressing type of way. We got to tour the brewery and taste what the different stages of the beer were. There was also an interactive part of the museum where we got to "get brewed" into a Heineken beer bottle. Basically it was a platform we stood on and a big screen in front of us showing what stage of the brewing process we were going through and there were special effects (such as splashing water on us) at different stages of the "ride" to really feel what it's like to become a beer.......kind of like Heineken's version of the Disney ride "Honey I Shrunk the Audience", if anyone has experienced that one. At the end of the tour we got free samples of freshly brewed Heineken. Needless to say, the whole experience definitely brainwashed me to become more of a Heineken fan.


The above photos only capture the first half of our Amsterdam adventure because my camera died at the beginning of our second day...ironic because my dad had e-mailed me and told me to make sure the battery was charged before the trip.

First of many photos to come

Out on the town with some French people we met
Me and Annie
Roomies
A cool area with lots to do at night
Igor with his diaper. It still cracks me up.
This is the IES Center where I take all my classes
This is an action shot of Igor slipping on the hardwood floor while wearing his diaper.

Sam Sam
Close-up

The living room
The kitchen/dinning room
My little window closet with cute drapes.
My desk
My bed (with Sam Sam sleeping on it as usual)

So I finally got some pictures up! Hope everyone enjoys seeing a bit about my living and schooling situation here in Paris :) I still haven't been able to capture a shot of La Bonita, the little 3 month kitten we have here, because she is too quick to run away and hide. It'll happen eventually!

Jeudi, ma Quatriémè Journée à Paris

I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things here. I finally have a cell phone, enough metro tickets to last me until the end of the month (ish) and am getting to know people in the IES program better and better. Last night I hung out with a few other girls from the program and it was a lot of fun. We met up late and walked around the area around Bastille, did some bar hopping, and ended the night with a warm butter and sugar crepe at a place that stays open late. Soo good.

Yesterday, first thing in the morning, we all took a language placement test to see which level of French language and culture class we would be placed in. It is the only class that is mandatory for all the IES students to take, so we are broken into three different levels. I scored in the middle group, so there's one group more advanced and one group more basic than the one I'm in. I'm happy with my placement and even know a few girls that are in my class.

So today we started our week of "intensive french" sessions. I put this in quotes because it is only a two hour session that we take every day for one whole week. It's pretty much just review of basic things like conjugating verbs in the present tense. Wow, pretty intense. But joking aside, I do think it is useful to go over it all and I'm sure it will get a bit harder when we get into the more difficult niches of French grammar.

In other news, me and Sam Sam have become quite close lately. He likes to help himself into my room as he pleases, and it's become routine for him to sneak his way in at around 5-5:30am each morning. Fuuuun. If he isn't able to get the door open by himself he will proceed to meow at the door until I get up and let him in. He's decided that my bed is the best in the house, so I'm afraid my fate is sealed. He's a snuggly little guy and likes to stretch out right next to me and purr away as I try to fall back asleep.

Hope everything is going well in the States! I know how boring all these words can be to read, but I swear pictures are coming soon!

Julia

Duexième Journée à Paris

Today was my second day in Paris, but my first full day. I had orientation at the IES abroad center from about 1:30 to 3pm which was full of useful information to stay safe and out of trouble in Paris.

The family I'm living with consists of a husband and wife, their 17-year old daughter, Constance, two cats and one dog. Igor, the dog is almost 20 years old and is very feeble. They told me that "his only working organ is his nose". The whole family is vegetarian and Gladys and Ivan make most of their meals themselves. Ivan is a FABULOUS chef. Tonight for dinner we had homemade vegetable soup with homemade bread. Then we had cooked and seasoned tomatoes with rice. They are very healthy eaters.

The appartment is a beautiful, old building from the 1700's situated in the 3e arrondissment, which is very close to the center of the city. The streets around here are all very tiny, barely enough room for one car to get through! There is one other American IES student living with me, named Annie, and our rooms are right next to each other, sharing a door.

That's all I can think of to share for now. It is still a bit overwhelming for me to be immersed in such a different culture and as of now I am completely exhausted!

Bon nuit!

Julia

3 days before I leave...

I've decided to start a blog in order to keep everyone who is interested informed of my time spent abroad. It's 3 days before I leave for the City of Lights and I'm beginning to get excited about my upcoming adventure! I have my finances straightened out, my visa in hand, and a warm winter coat. Currently one of my biggest concerns is that I don't have a big enough suitcase.

I'm going to be staying with a vegetarian family in the 3e arrondissment who have a 17 year-old daughter living at home and a cat and dog as well. I will also be living with another American student who's from Indiana. I found out that my school is about a 40 minute commute by metro, or an hour long walk...so that will take some getting used to!

Well that's all I can think to share for now. I'm hoping to keep up with this on a semi-regular basis.

Au revoir!