So what do i do? I've thought about doing a whole series of what each day of the week is like, because they are all different but that takes WAY too much effort. So I'm going to start small. With just today. I mean today isn't a typical day for me because I usually don't have class and my internship, but I had to change my schedule around a bit because no one was at the office on Wednesday so I had the day off. Which was nice. I got the chance to walk around Paris and had gyros for lunch in the Latin Quarter. I even went to the post office! But that was Wednesday, I'm trying to write about today. God, I have terrible focus! Sorry!
Today: aka Friday March 29
Today I woke up at 8am to go to my 9:30 European Economy C.M. at Paris VII - luckily my only French university class. French classes are split in two, a T.D. or travail dirigé which is like a seminar, and a C.M. or cours m...something which is a big lecture-hall style class. I had my TD yesterday, which was just about as much fun as getting an root canal without novocain because my professor (just a T.A.) is terrible, he mumbles, he doesn't follow any sort of structure which makes it impossible to know what he is talking about at any given moment, he asks questions without anyone realizing he's asking them (or if so, what he is actually asking), and it's basically just a waste of my time. And after 5 hours of Sweet Briar classes beforehand, I NEVER EVER want to be there. EVER. Just in case you didn't get the idea after the whole "root canal" comment. But what was I talking about again... I was rambling again... oh yeah, waking up! (Wow I really didn't make it that far without getting distracted, did I? This is gonna be a fun blog!)
I struggle to get out of bed because I was out last night at an American-themed evening at this Irish pub/bar, then came home around 12:30 and decided it made sense to watch tv and eat Goldfish (almost an entire bag btw) for another 45 min. Regardless of whether I go out or not, it's usually the same story by the time "bedtime" roles around. Past Mallory (after getting up that morning) say's "I'm going to go to bed early tonight!" Present Mallory decides "HA! No I'm not! I'm not tired!" and Future Mallory (aka waking up Mallory) usually uses a lot of profanity towards Present Mallory (who is now and past Mallory version) and says "Well, I'm definitely going to bed early tonight!" Lather, rinse, repeat. (aka the cycle repeats itself). And then I go to write about it and get super confused about the past/present/future Mallory idea and everyone just ends up needing a glass of wine! Also I just went from talking about myself to including all of you, I think. Now I'm more confused! Make it two glasses of wine...
Long story short, (but not really, it's more like short story drawn out to be very, very long) I got up. brushed my teeth, put in my contacts, washed my face (except reverse order... don't know why I don't just change it but I'm to lazy to go back so you can all just reverse that order in your head). I then realize I'm running out of clean clothes and make a mental note to do laundry soon. Somehow that mental note eventually gets morphed into "Buy more Goldfish" instead of "Do Laundry" but close enough. For breakfast I have orange juice, une brioche (which is just slightly sweet, breadish roll-like things) with raspberry jam, although today I had it with apple butter because my mom sent me some and also we are out of raspberry jam. I also had cereal and yogurt. And more juice. Because juice is a wise person's coffee. I run on sugar instead of caffeine.
I then realize I have to leave, well, now so I run back to my room to put on my boots and coat and scarf and pack up my bag and grab my iPod and say goodbye to my host mom, and head out the door. It's only a 3 min walk to Madeleine (where the metro is) and I hop on line 14 which takes me all the way to Paris 7. Paris 7 isn't that bad but there is this one bridge that I swear could never exist in the USA because it's a lawsuit waiting to happen! It's pretty small and doesn't really go over much of anything, but it leads right into the Paris 7 "campus" (aka like 3 buildings). It's sloped down and the steps are sloped and there is always gravel that you slip on and in the winter there is ALWAYS ice and I have fallen twice even though I am always super careful. People fall all the time. It's funny until it happens to you, especially when you fall on the very last step! I was sooo close! But anyway, I think go up to the 3rd floor and into one of the lecture hall rooms designed for about 200 people. We only have about 80-100 in our class and only about 30 come to the lecture so it's always easy to find a seat. There are even other Americans, here with a different program, that I sit with. So it's not too bad
ARGHHGRHRHGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I HAD LIKE 3 MORE PARAGRAPHS WRITTEN THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY SAVED BUT THEN MY COMPUTER FROZE SO IT WASN'T ACTUALLY SO IT WAS ALL LOST!!! GAH!
I hate technology.
So summary:
- Class from 9:30-11:30
- Learned that I get to write a paper on any topic from the semester instead of taking the final exam. Also turn it in end of April instead of the exam mid-May so I'm done by May. Yay!
- But that makes me not want to go to class anymore. Well the CM is ok because it's genuinely interesting but the TD not so much
- I hate my TD
- I go home, get a sandwich on the way and eat in my room
- Walk to my internship
- Weather was nice. Cold but sunny. Need a coat but not hat or gloves, which is good b/c I still haven't found my green hat. You know, the one in all the pictures
- It was my last day at my internship. Which is weird. 8 weeks went really fast.
- I will miss it, it was interesting. I also really don't want to start writing my paper on it.
- For my last day, I just finished up things and started translating a document they just got today, for the last 2 hours (got 4 pages done btw so not too bad).
- They gave me a chocolate Easter egg as a going-away present, which was super nice
When I got home I realized it was rattling and it turns out there are chocolate pieces inside too!! I was so excited, I took a picture!
 |
| Choco-ception! You can kinda see the chocolate pieces inside. Also I had eaten some already by this point. |
But before getting home and realizing this, I stopped at Monoprix to do some responsible grocery shopping like an adult buy more Goldfish. I got four bags since they were buy one, get one 1/2 off so I basically got a whole bag for free. I came home and wasn't going to eat any but then I had some, which turned into the whole bag. I have a problem. They're just so much better here because they are almost like those Flavor-Blasted Goldfish back home, in that they have extra flavoring/sodium. It makes them addicting. You can't stop. You just can't.
But besides the whole Goldfish thing, I also got a Monoprix card (like a BonusCard, ya know those loyalty cards where you get discounts and points and stuff) so I'm officially a real Parisian now. Most people don't realize it, but it's secretly the only qualification to being accepted into the Parisian culture. Ha! I wish!
But I came home, ate a bag of Goldfish. Ate dinner (my host parents had horse, I had beef. Totally normal, horse is a thing here - just not for me.) and then tried to figure out what to do tonight. I didn't try to make plans earlier because I figured I would be to tired, but I've actually had a ton of energy, which was a bummer because everyone was off with friends/family who are in town. So instead I uploaded pictures to Facebook and wrote this. The end.
That was my day. It was magical.
Oh yeah, I'm guessing some of you might be confused about why I had stuff today since it is Good Friday back home but in France you get the Monday after Easter off instead of the Friday before. It's less religiously symbolic I guess, but much nicer because who wants to worry about homework and having to do stuff on Easter. Granted I'm not doing much for Easter this year, nor will I have anything on Mondays ever anymore now that my internship is over, but you get the idea!
No comments:
Post a Comment