Joyeux Anniversaire!

I have been trying to post for a while now, but the internet here is so slow that I feel like I need to have a good block of time to get this loaded! I have lots of new stories to tell though, so tune in!

First and foremost, my dad's (hi dad!!) birthday was this past Wednesday, and I have been trying to load this picture for him ever since!

As some of you may have guessed, the sign says Happy

Birthday in French. So Happy Birthday, Daddy!

You are the greatest, love you!!

In addition, to May 19th being my dad's birthday, it was also Arya's birthday. We celebrated. All I have to say is that I need to learn not to get on skype after getting home from the bars at three in the morning. The lucky person that I got to speak to in a drunken state was my mother and younger sister. Sorry, mom, but at least you know I am alive and well!

Kelsey, Katy, Caitlin, and I

Birthday boy & Drew

Will, pinky out.

Group shot

Another group shot

Saba and Arya

Kelsey, Katy, Caitlin and I again!

Having fun!

I started classes this past week. They have turned out to be very, very easy, and will hopefully remain very, very easy. Our first homework reminded me a lot of the high school busy work, which was nice to revisit. I have also visited an Architecture museum, and toured the sewers of Paris for the site visits! The sewers were very stinky, but everything we learned was very interesting. Our actual classes have been held in the park, and I have found it very hard to pay attention in the beautiful sunshine!

I have learned that when Napoleon reigned, he completely restructured the city of Paris. He built roads where he wanted them, and made them much more wide. A couple of reasons for this were so that it was easier for the military to travel through the city. He also implemented that buildings should only be about six stories in height. This was so that the city had a very aesthetically pleasing veiw for a person standing in the street. Napoleon III also pushed for a cleaner city, and helped to implement the sewer system. Here are a couple of pictures of touring that sewer!

The Pantheon

The Pantheon

Arya, Katy, and Saba

Caitlin in the smelly sewer!

Group shot outside of the sewer entrance with the Eiffel Tower

Walking through the Latin Quarter

Latin Quarter

I got a surprise message that Taylor Lykes is coming to Paris earlier than expected. I am super excited to see her Sunday morning and guide her around the city, even though I have much more to learn! Apparently, I do look french though because an abnormal amount of people try to converse to me. They could be speaking Parseltongue for all I know. I wish I could understand - it would make things a lot more fun!

We went to a cute little pastry place called Laduree while walking the Champs Elysee. Of course, I got chocolate. It was so very rich, but I was determined to eat the whole thing, even if it made me puke afterwards! During this walk up and down the Champs Elysee, I got to see the Arc de Triumphe, which is extremely cool. In one direction, you can see the Louve, and in the other, the L' Arche or la Defense. The la Defense is a modern day representation of the Arc de Triumphe. I have been told that we will get to visit a couple of construction sites in the more modern, skyscraperish, side of Paris.

I finally had my banana and nutella crepe, and it was definitely worth the wait. So delicious. Why do they not have these in America? A couple of things that I have been missing from back home, besides you all, of course, is Chick fil a and my TV shows. I have been told that Grey's Anatomy was extremely intense, and I haven't been able to watch it!! Other than that, I think I could stay here for ever.

Anyways, I love the group that I am with. Caitlin was told in confidance by all the boys, that I have been dubbed the crazy, fun girl - not too bad of a reputation to have, but I promise I haven't been that crazy! Things have been a blast, and I even have lots of things to look forward to in the upcoming weeks - Taylor visiting, Rachel visiting, and then Brussels and Amsterdam!!

Day Trois

Today was our first day of actual site seeing, and it started out a little slow! We didn't leave la foundation until about noon. It was drizzling, but this didn't deter us from trekking across the city! We took the RER train to the St. Michael - Notre Dame stop, and as we travelled up the escalator the first thing that we encountered was crepes!

Above, Caitlin and Kelsey are pictured with their crepes, and below is the crepe stand!

I haven't had one yet since I had just had breakfast, but I do know that I will be ordering the chocolate and banane crepe when I do order one!

Apparently, Paris used to be split up into three separate areas. The city, known for the churches, the town, known for the palaces, and the university, known for the colleges. We headed to Notre Dame, and as we walked inside the stained glass took my breath away. To even imagine how the church was built was a feat in itself! If you are interested, you should read The Pillars of the Earth which is a historical novel by Ken Follett about the building of a cathedral in England in the middle of the twelfth century, and would have many similarities to the building of the Notre Dame. Notre Dame means 'Our Lady' in French, and was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress technique, which transmits the horizontal force of a vaulted ceiling through the walls and across an intervening space (just to share a little building construction with you). We had to take the pictures with no flash to show respect, which made some of the picture taking difficult, but here are a couple of photos that I thought were the best....

The front of Notre Dame.

The famous stain glass window inside of Notre Dame.

Some more of the pretty stained glass and archways.

Some of the archways on the inside.

A picture inside Notre Dame with the massive organ in the top right corner. The organ has 7,800 pipes, and 900 of them are still classified as historical. It has 111 stops, five 56-key manuals and a 32-key pedalboard. Not sure what all this means, but it must be impressive if the position of the titular (head or chief) organist at Notre Dame is considered to be one of the most prestigious organist posts in France.

Climbing in to the South Tower to look at the great bourdon bell. The Belfry is a wooden tower, which absorbs and deflects the ringing into a more solid lower part of the cathedral. The vibrations of the bells would otherwise possibly crack the sculpted stone of the towers.

Katy, Kelsey, myself, and Caitlin at the top of Notre Dame with the city of paris in the background (wish you could actually see that part).

We had some delicious gyros from a small little stand before we headed home to take a nap. Either we are still jet lagged, or all the walking made us really, really tired. We went out at night, but that turned in to a disaster. Two of the boys were too drunk, and were not allowed in a lot (and by a lot, I many any) of the bars, so it was pretty much just a lot of wandering around through the Latin Quarter of Paris. We may leave the boys at home next time.

Day Deux

It is now Day Two of my stay in Paris, and I have learned several lessons.

Un (this is one in French): Don't just assume that it is normal when your adaptor/ converter is making a weird whizzing noise. You may find out that your mac's battery and charger become fried. Another computer lesson, when making your password for the wireless internet via the foundation's computers, don't use numbers. It is a French keyboard, the numbers are weird symbols that you do not have on your American keyboard. IE, this makes typing in your password on your laptop a real problem.

Deux: Weigh your fruit, vegetables, etc. at the grocery store on your own! I walked up with several bags of vegetables, and as the lady started talking to me in French, I knew there was a problem. It ended up being a lot of pointing and French vs. English. She finally went and weighed them herself. Unfortunately, I had just forgotten how to say "I'm sorry!" in French. I'll be sure to remember it next time! I ended up saying thank you about ten times in ten seconds.

Trois: If your professor tells you that you don't need to know any French before coming to Paris, DON'T believe him, unless you want to walk around the city constantly feeling like an idiot. Hopefully, I get used to this feeling soon!

Other than those mistakes, I have no complaints! I am staying at the Cite Internationale Universitaire De Paris in the Foundation Des Etats - Unis, and it is beautiful! Not so much in my actual dorm room, but the campus is gorgeous, and looks very scholarly. I will post some pictures soon! I don't know why they call it the United States House though because all I hear is French, French, French.

Last night, we went out for dinner, and had some delicious pizza, but tonight I am really looking forward to actually going out! Some more people arrived today so that makes it a total of seven so far!

Classes don't start until Monday, so hopefully we get some actual touristy things in tomorrow! Miss you all :)