Whatever, I want to, okay?

Okay so I am in Paris, omg wooo! I was inspired by my friend Brendan to keep a blog (blahblahblog). He's in Mexico and is doing it and I think it's a good/easy way to keep people updated on what is going on with my European adventures.

So far...
The first week I spent here was mostly orientation/touristy stuff, but that's okay because I have never been to Europe, let alone Paris, and so I was (hopefully not anymore, but I know any Parisian would think otherwise) a tourist. We went to the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, had a walking tour of Montmartre and also le Marais, went on a boat tour on the Seine, and did some exploring of our own. Post-orientation we've done a couple more touristy things as well, this weekend in particular. Well, we went to an opera show on Saturday night, which wasn't exactly touristy, but it was new. It was a German opera I believe (it definitely wasn't in French, Italian, or English) called Cardillac and it was a lot shorter than I expected, which I guess was a good thing. Sunday a small group of us went to Père Lachaise, the cemetery that has, among many many many others, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and Chopin buried in it.

So little by little I'm getting to know Paris better. I take the metro multiple times a day and so by metro I feel really comfortable. I still would have no idea off the top of my head how to get from one part of Paris to another just by walking though. That is why I (further labeling myself as a tourist, or at least a non-resident) always carry a street map with me. It's kind of embarrassing to have to step to the side on a street so I can figure out where I am and how to get where I need to go, but it's necessary sometimes and I've come to terms with that recently.

As far as my progress with French goes.. well it could be better. It's hard when you are with only Americans all day long. We started one of our classes a week ago today though and that is beginning to help. I thought living with a host family would be a sure thing for improving my French quickly, but it's rare that I am in the apartment at the same time as they are, let alone for long enough to have some French conversations. But it's getting better. I definitely know enough to get by in restaurants, stores, and the post office as I discovered today, but if I continue at this rate, I am going to be nowhere near as fluent as I want to be by the end of May. It's just a lot more difficult to take the initiative and separate myself from other English-speakers just so I can have a conversation with a French person, especially when those English-speakers are the only people I know here. BUT the difficulty does not lie, as many people like to believe, in the fact that Parisians are rude and refuse to speak to me. So let's all drop that stereotype right now.

Well, I think I'll stop there for now. Maybe I'll detail the people I've met later, but I have to get ready to go see a movie (Miller's Crossing by the Coen Brothers circa 1990.. it's playing in a theater here and one of my friends really wants to go see it) and finish up some reading before I leave.

Also, for pictures to go along with this (well that wasn't the original intent, but if you want to enjoy pictures as well), go here.

Au revoir!