Slanted Rays

A statue on Boulevard Saint-Germain, photographed after a (very) late lunch Hello! This post is a bit more scattered than my usual content, because it was initially formatted as a numbered list in an attempt to curb my temptation to go into long tangents about stationary. On Sunday, I noticed that the blanket on my chair was moving. Please enjoy this footage of an adorable stowaway and a Very High-Pitched Lydia voice. I bought some new stickers! The dinosaurs were an exciting find, and they have already gotten some positive attention from my classmates. I saw the animals dressed like Native American people stickers, and was oddly amused by the peculiar ignorance and image of the Americas that has to go into a French company marketing these stickers to French people. However, the weird irony of it all was lost when I (an American who understands why appropriating Native American cultures is wrong) purchased them, and now they are a guiltily-used bullet journal accessor

A beautiful view from the balcony of Bibliothèque François Mitterand Hello! I am writing this from the depths of a terrible cold. I guess that it isn't entirely surprising that I'm sick; I can hear people sniffling and sneezing throughout the metro, and this is my first extended stay in a cold climate. But, it is definitely frustrating that I set some semi-adventurous goals on Sunday and then was sick by Tuesday. My host mom took me to the pharmacy, recounted my symptoms to the pharmacist in detail, and had me buy a substantial amount of cold medicine. She was very insistent that "You take medicine, and, if the medicine doesn't help, you go to the doctor". I guess that this is what life is like in a country with an affordable health care system? Since I don't have any pre-existing conditions that could be affected by a cold, I would never go to the doctor for a cold. I've only barely come around to taking medication for colds, and even that is as a s

It may look like I was looking out near the top of a verdant hill, but it's actually a wall with moss on it. Bonjour! I'm going to format this post a little differently, by dividing it into three sections: "What's going well?", "What's going poorly?", and "What do I want to do during the upcoming week?". I feel like I haven't been doing as many new and exciting things recently, so I am including the last list to encourage myself to branch out a little bit more. What's going well? I found a Chipotle in Paris! I am getting better at navigating my daily life here in Paris. Using the metro, walking around without getting lost, being mindful of my homestay's rules...all of it is getting easier. Please enjoy this video of me navigating my building's elevator I chose to take 18 hours of class per week, in the hopes of improving my French and having some sense of routine. Thus far, I have not fallen behind,

This whole section makes me want to be much more invested in clothes than I am. When I was a small child, I honestly believed that I had never been to a department store. I read all these nineteenth century books that featured department stores, and dreamed of the day when I would get to visit one myself. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that the J.C. Penney's in the mall was a department store. Despite my very public distaste for shopping, I had thought that department stores would provide a new and transcendent shopping experience only to discover that my family had been dragging me through a department store all along. And then, on Thursday, I found the store that I thought existed only in my dreams. It's name is Merci, and I am absolutely floored by its existence. Imagine visiting the store from  The Paradise,  except it's the twenty-first century and none of the attendants try to speak to you. (My introverted self is loving the lack of customer serv

One of my favorite photos that I have taken, outside the Gare de Lyon metro station Bonjour! Yesterday was my weekly day with six hours of class, with my first class starting at 9 AM and my final class ending at 5 PM. After this long day, I returned home to find that my host cat, who I love dearly, had thrown up on a piece of my bedding. My host mom was away for the night, so I just kinda wrapped it up and put it on the floor of my closet. I was very hungry, so I went to the boulangerie. I somehow managed to butcher the name of the pastry that I wanted so badly that the person behind me ordered for me. But, I returned home with my pastry in hand, and I was able to savor it until my normal dinner time of 7:30 PM. A dismal and busy day Since my host mom was away, she had instructed me to choose the food that I wanted from the options she left on the stove and microwave it. There were two fish options, and I normally dislike fish, but I was like "Why not try? Maybe I

Stained glass chicken at the Madeleine metro station Bonjour! Yesterday, I went to a location of the CROUS, Paris' student restaurant, that was on a docked boat. The restaurant is near the Bibliothèque François Mitterand, which has a copy of every book ever published in France. Nearly everything, including the outlet stores and the movie theater, has "bibliothèque" in the name. I'm definitely going to go back and visit the library soon! Le Barge CROUS Today was my first day of class. My French professor is very friendly and helpful so far. I am the only American in my class, and the majority of the students in my class from Japan. Who would've thought that I would cross continents only to once again find myself as the only American in a French class with predominantly Japanese students? There are many people in my class who already live full-time in France, including a Catholic priest from India who is also a professor of philosophy and religion

#25 in street artist Jae Ray Mie's Expressions Idiomatiques series Bonjour! After a week filled with new people and experiences, I decided to try for a more restful day yesterday. I spent the morning lounging around the house, and enjoyed cold pizza (the true taste of America) for lunch. On Friday, I found some really cool street art while I was walking to the pizza place, so I decided to go back and photograph it. I love the creativity and intricacy of street art; it always feels as though I have made a discover in a way that no art museum can replicate. Aladdin and Jasmine take the streets of Paris! (by street artist Toctoc) This one has strong Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children vibes. My personal favorite piece of street art In an effort to avoid wasting away at home, I decided to go to the papeterie section of Gibert Jeune to buy some pens, because the pens that I brought from home are on the verge of death. As stressful as my study abro

View from a Parisian garden Bonjour! It has been a weird couple of days. On Thursday, I went to the Louvre with a few new friends from my program. Overall, it was a really positive experience. I definitely want to go back with a walking tour downloaded onto my phone. Everything in the museum looks like something that you read about somewhere, and I want to have the historical context for the most significant works of art. Before I went, I had heard many contradictory opinions of the Mona Lisa. The room that houses the Mona Lisa is much larger than I expected from other people's descriptions. It was really shocking to turn the corner and see the Mona Lisa. My personal opinion is that there are definitely layers to the painting that show up better in person, but people who act as if you haven't seen Real Art until you see the Mona Lisa in person are wrong. Crowd looking at the Mona Lisa Portrait of Claudius, Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54 Anyway, this whole amazin

View from the student restaurant where we ate lunch Bonjour! Yesterday was a much better day. I cannot say that it was easy, and I cannot even say that I didn't get lost. But, it was mostly "good lost", and I think I'm getting better at navigating the city/finding my way back. I'm probably the worst person to give advice, but here are my tips for navigating Paris with no sense of direction. If you don't have Wi-fi or data, always look up instructions ahead of time, screenshot them, and put them in a folder on your phone with the name of your destination. At some point, you might look around and think that you missed your turnoff. If you were on the correct road before you missed your turnoff, please do not turn onto some other road hoping to connect with the right road. I do not know why I ever think that this is a good idea, but I have made this mistake multiple times. If you can locate a metro station, you can probably navigate the metro system

Bonjour! Today has honestly been one of the hardest days of my life. My host mom encouraged me to leave my homestay quickly, which somehow led to me deciding to leave the house without using the restroom or filling my water bottle. I left the house at 8:15 AM, and made it to the métro after some small hiccups. On the métro, I accidentally went one stop too far, but it wasn't a big deal because the stops were really close together. I was running a little late for the day's 9:30 AM start time, but I wasn't too worried because it was only a ten minute walk. And then, I somehow got horrifically lost. I found myself wandering Paris, hopelessly trying to find my study abroad program's office and feeling absolutely horrid. I finally arrived at about 10:50 AM. I felt terrible, not only because of my miserable experience, but because the program staff and my host mom were worried about me. To be honest, I still feel as though I am a disorganized and monstrous being. A warm

Bonjour! I am officially in Paris! My travel day to get here was very long and exhausting. I woke up at 2:20 AM (after what was essentially a short nap) to get ready to catch my 3:20 AM shuttle to LAX. Fortunately, I got to LAX well before my 7:55 AM flight to Dallas Fort Worth, and security was a breeze. Unfortunately, I was wandering around LAX while being absolutely exhausted until my flight. After my flight landed at about 12:30 PM Dallas time, I had a layover until 4:55 PM. At last, I was able to fly to Paris. Miraculously, I didn't get flight sick all day, and I was able to nap a bit on my flight. 8 hours and 40 minutes later, I landed in Paris and immediately got a torrential nosebleed. So, I was running around the airport while looking as though I had been in a fist fight. I expected that I would be able to shuttle to my host mom's house right away, but I actually wound up having to remain at the airport for several hours. The biggest culture shock was by far the mi

Hello! Today is the first day after my self-imposed month off from social media. I gave myself a ten minute time limit on Facebook browsing, and then stopped after four minutes because that shirt was boring. (I have taken to occasionally using Good Place style swear word replacements.) I think that my endless Facebook scrolling in the past was largely because I was constantly seeking meaning and satisfaction that simply wasn't there. Even when Facebook use is enjoyable, their exploitation of user data makes me want to leave the platform entirely. I'm curious to see if Twitter is as much fun/chaos as I remember. In other news, study abroad preparations are in full swing. My flight is at 7:55 AM on Sunday morning, which is (a) nerve-wracking and (b) much earlier than any flight should ever be. People keep on asking me if I'm ready, and I'm like "Well, I hope so...it's a bit too late to start preparing". Over the past few months, counseling has helped me