Lots of exciting things have been taking place, actually I guess I've just been going to some exciting places, but nothing REALLY exciting has happened. On Friday, after class, our group took a bus up to Chartres, which is about an hour north, where we had a tour of this amazing cathedral. We had this really knowledgeable tour guide who showed us around, and told us about all the stories in each pane of the stained glass windows. It was so interesting to hear about what certain things symbolized, that you would never catch in just looking in the cathedral on your own. For example, on the wall outside the cathedral, there are statues of biblical characters, and if you study the statue of Abraham holding his son Isaac closely enough, you will notice that he is standing on a lamb. It symbolizes God providing the lamb for his sacrifice instead of sacrificing his son. All the statues had something interesting on which they stood and it was so cool to hear the stories and the symbolism behind it.
After arriving back in Paris from our half day excursion, a group of friends and I found yet another mexican food restaurant. Yes, I do eat that atleast once a week here, but I have to get my fill! This particular restaurant was quite delicious, and its guacomole has been the best so far.
Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day in Paris, so we walked up to Montmartre, which is a hill in Paris where you can see a beautiful view of the city. There is also a square in the center of the area, where artists sit and paint and sell their work. It is so cool to see artwork in the process of being made. While we were up on the hill, we also visited the Sacre Coeur (meaning sacred heart) which is a beautiful white cathedral that was built solely from donations by the community. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful church in Paris.
The past three days in Paris have been completely sunny and atleast 50 degrees. I think that is a record for the most sunny days in a row for Paris :) But it has been nice to sit outside and just enjoy the weather!
Today I bought a ticket to travel to Amsterdam this weekend, so I'm very much looking forward to that trip!
If anyone who does not have my email is interested in updating me with what is going on in their lives, please feel free to write me at claire21@uga.edu. I love emails and hearing about updates in your lives!!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
God is in Control!!
Something that I have notices that is very apparent in french society is that things are very inconsistant. Very rarely can you count on things here. For example, one day, a store will be open, and then another day, at the exact same time, it will be closed, just because they had something else to do or something came up...it's a little frustrating when you are trying to get things done. However, today, amidst some toil that I have been facing through trying switch classes, I was gently reminded that there is absolutely nothing that I myself can take control of. I am not in control of my life! No matter how much I try to be, I will never be, and I just need to rest in the fact that God IS in control, and that he WILL work things out for the better, even if it takes a little longer than usual. I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 46: "Be still and know that I am God." He will always be there for me and He will always be a couple steps ahead, so I need only to be still and let God take control of my life! When you think about it, it is so much more comforting to know that someone else is there to guide you through your life and that you don't have to do it on your own! I just wanted to share with you what God has been teaching me in the past few days.
SO, Yesterday, as we all know was Valentine's Day. However, one wouldnt know it from the weather in Paris. It was one of the ugliest days I have ever seen. It rained on and off all day. BUT don't think that bad weather would stop me from celebrating! Last night, my friend, Katy, and I went to an ice cream store where we split hot chocolate fondue with fruits and ice cream to dip!! It was soo amazing! Then we met up with more friends and explored the streets of Paris. We found ourselves at the Louvre, where we sat and drank some wine and ate somemore chocolate!! It was a perfect way to celebrate a day that promotes the eating of chocolate!! By the end of the night, I had made three new french friends! They are learning english at the Sorbonne, and we are learning french-obviously, so we decided that we would meet up with them and help them with their english, and they would help us with our french! I'm so excited! I hope that it will greatly help in my acceleration of learning french!
SO, Yesterday, as we all know was Valentine's Day. However, one wouldnt know it from the weather in Paris. It was one of the ugliest days I have ever seen. It rained on and off all day. BUT don't think that bad weather would stop me from celebrating! Last night, my friend, Katy, and I went to an ice cream store where we split hot chocolate fondue with fruits and ice cream to dip!! It was soo amazing! Then we met up with more friends and explored the streets of Paris. We found ourselves at the Louvre, where we sat and drank some wine and ate somemore chocolate!! It was a perfect way to celebrate a day that promotes the eating of chocolate!! By the end of the night, I had made three new french friends! They are learning english at the Sorbonne, and we are learning french-obviously, so we decided that we would meet up with them and help them with their english, and they would help us with our french! I'm so excited! I hope that it will greatly help in my acceleration of learning french!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
So i'm hearing a bit of complaining that I haven't blogged enough....Please, if you are unhappy about the number of times that I blog, then maybe YOU (mom) should write me some letters or, ya know, comments on the blog is very much appreciated!! But I do apologize for my skipping days of blogs here and there, and I will try and keep you as up to date as possible! Do let me know about your blogs so I can be caught up with your lives??!! :)
Anywyays, not much has happened from the last time that I blogged, but I will say this. On my way from whichever way I was going today on the metro (I really do lose track of where I'm goin because I ride that thing 24/7, and sometimes forget to get off because I'm just so used to sitting on it: we'll put it this way-if i had a job here, Metro Rider would be my title), just as I hopped on a very crowded car, all at once, I saw throw up smeared across the window, (made me throw up in my mouth) and two people heavily making out on the metro-but not in a corner or anything. They were in the middle of the metro standing amongst the rest of us, so we were pretty much forced to watch them make out for about 2 minutes. O the things you see on the metro....
This evening, I wil be joining the rest of my group in a FONDUE soiree, where we will sit and chat and eat lots and lots of cheese!! I'm pretty excited.
Anywyays, not much has happened from the last time that I blogged, but I will say this. On my way from whichever way I was going today on the metro (I really do lose track of where I'm goin because I ride that thing 24/7, and sometimes forget to get off because I'm just so used to sitting on it: we'll put it this way-if i had a job here, Metro Rider would be my title), just as I hopped on a very crowded car, all at once, I saw throw up smeared across the window, (made me throw up in my mouth) and two people heavily making out on the metro-but not in a corner or anything. They were in the middle of the metro standing amongst the rest of us, so we were pretty much forced to watch them make out for about 2 minutes. O the things you see on the metro....
This evening, I wil be joining the rest of my group in a FONDUE soiree, where we will sit and chat and eat lots and lots of cheese!! I'm pretty excited.
Blown Down
Salut! This weekend was packed with fun, adventure, sightseeing, and yes, crazy weather. Our group took an excursion up to Normandy to check out the DDay beaches and the German bunkers that the Germans had used while at war with America and Great Britain in World War II. It was pretty incredible to see. We also went to the American cemetary where over 9000 American soldiers are buried. It is mind blowing to think about how many people died during that period in time. It was very overcast, cold, and rainy the whole day, so it set the mood for what we were seeing.
After our day in Normandy, we traveled to a small town in Northern France called St. Malo, where we spent the night. St. Malo was built with a wall around the city, so it is very enclosed, and when we pulled up, there was a carnival going on outside the walls. It looked like it was their "state fair" or something, but a very sad attempt. Some of my friends went on the rides and were very suprised when they lasted for about 7 minutes instead of just the regular 1-2 minute rides back in the States. The carnival looked very out of place, next to the old, historic St. Malo. But everything is a little off in France.
On Sunday morning, a couple of friends and I awakened very early in the morning so that we could walk around the ramparts of the St. Malo. It was a beautiful sight, despite the tremendous wind and sleet that we undertook. There are two islands next to St. Malo, which are quite accessible when the tide is low and the weather isn’t bad. One of the islands that had this massive castle on it, was pretty close, and the tide didn’t seem to high, so we decided to adventure out there. But of course, once we finally managed to make it out, the tide began come in, and so we had to get back to land pretty quickly before we got stranded. There were tons of rocks and seaweed everywhere, which made it quite difficult to walk briskly. And just as we were making it back to St. Malo, I took a spill on one of the rocks. Luckily my hands caught me, or it would have been bad news for my face. In all honesty, I don’t think that our trip would have been complete if I hadn’t fallen.
We left St. Malo around noon, and drove up to this even smaller city called, Mont St. Michel, which is a town that looks like one huge castle with quicksand all around it, so there is only one way to get in and out. Two people on average die a year because of being sucked into the quicksand that surrounds the town. To give you a better picture, just imagine the set of Lord of the Rings, because that is where I felt like I was. Mont St. Michel is known for the beautiful abbey that makes up most of the town. It is such a large and tall abbey, that it takes about 15 minutes just to get from bottom to top. My calves were in much pain the next morning from all the stairs that I had walked up!!
We arrived back in Paris late Sunday night, and went straight to bed. Yesterday, after class, I went to a café that Emily Broocks recommended to me. It was a little café in the bastille area called, Café de l’industrie. And it was quite cute and had some really delicious food. Please let me know if there are any places that you know of that are good or that you want me to visit, because I will definitely go explore it!!
After our day in Normandy, we traveled to a small town in Northern France called St. Malo, where we spent the night. St. Malo was built with a wall around the city, so it is very enclosed, and when we pulled up, there was a carnival going on outside the walls. It looked like it was their "state fair" or something, but a very sad attempt. Some of my friends went on the rides and were very suprised when they lasted for about 7 minutes instead of just the regular 1-2 minute rides back in the States. The carnival looked very out of place, next to the old, historic St. Malo. But everything is a little off in France.
On Sunday morning, a couple of friends and I awakened very early in the morning so that we could walk around the ramparts of the St. Malo. It was a beautiful sight, despite the tremendous wind and sleet that we undertook. There are two islands next to St. Malo, which are quite accessible when the tide is low and the weather isn’t bad. One of the islands that had this massive castle on it, was pretty close, and the tide didn’t seem to high, so we decided to adventure out there. But of course, once we finally managed to make it out, the tide began come in, and so we had to get back to land pretty quickly before we got stranded. There were tons of rocks and seaweed everywhere, which made it quite difficult to walk briskly. And just as we were making it back to St. Malo, I took a spill on one of the rocks. Luckily my hands caught me, or it would have been bad news for my face. In all honesty, I don’t think that our trip would have been complete if I hadn’t fallen.
We left St. Malo around noon, and drove up to this even smaller city called, Mont St. Michel, which is a town that looks like one huge castle with quicksand all around it, so there is only one way to get in and out. Two people on average die a year because of being sucked into the quicksand that surrounds the town. To give you a better picture, just imagine the set of Lord of the Rings, because that is where I felt like I was. Mont St. Michel is known for the beautiful abbey that makes up most of the town. It is such a large and tall abbey, that it takes about 15 minutes just to get from bottom to top. My calves were in much pain the next morning from all the stairs that I had walked up!!
We arrived back in Paris late Sunday night, and went straight to bed. Yesterday, after class, I went to a café that Emily Broocks recommended to me. It was a little café in the bastille area called, Café de l’industrie. And it was quite cute and had some really delicious food. Please let me know if there are any places that you know of that are good or that you want me to visit, because I will definitely go explore it!!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Snowing at one minute, sunshine the next...
I thought that I had seen the most beautiful things that Paris had to offer, but then it starts to snow, and I see the city in an entire new light! Yes, yesterday it snowed!! And while it didnt stick, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. And then an hour later, it was back to being sunny and warm...just like that.
I had my first official parisian class yesterday, called "societe Francais", and it was quite interesting. I really dont know how to describe in words how it was, but I will just say that native french teachers just have a different aura about them that is very different from american teachers.
After class, I decided to take the metro and get off at the Tuileries stop, and see where it led me. And of course, I found one of my favorite areas of Paris: Le Jardin des Tuileries!! I walked around the park/garden and tried to take in as much as I could. I went and sat in a cafe called "cafe very," situated in the center of the park, where I people watched and read my french version of "Pride and Prejudice." And I must say that reading a novel in another language is quite a challenge. I'm sure it's comical though for the french who were sitting around me to see this girl reading a book, with an english/french dictionary close at hand.
After a little while, I walked around the Tuileries area and browsed the shops, and I soon found myself very near the Louvre, and soon after, right next to Notre Dame (and the centre de pompidou-which I have yet to tackle). It is so weird how close things are in this city. I'm just so used to taking the metro everywhere, that I don't really get a feel for the layout of the city. So it was nice to find my bearings yesterday. After a long day of exploration, I met some friends for a bite to eat, and then we grabbed a crepe on our way home, and despite my love for nutella, I was very disappointed in my nutella crepe. I don't think I'll be getting another one for a while...atleast I won't be eating the crepe part, that is. :)
Today was a long day of class for me, so this morning I woke up early to get a short run in, and as I was running, I just happened to run by the Arc de Triomphe. It is about a half mile from our apartment, so it's quite conveniant. I still feel like it is weird for me to say that I see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe on a regular basis. I sort of feel like I'm telling a lie or that it really isn't true, But it is!! I promise!! Come visit and you too will see!
This weekend we are going to Normandy to see the D-Day Beaches and Mont St. Michel, so I will have much to blog about when I return home on Sunday!
A bientot!
I had my first official parisian class yesterday, called "societe Francais", and it was quite interesting. I really dont know how to describe in words how it was, but I will just say that native french teachers just have a different aura about them that is very different from american teachers.
After class, I decided to take the metro and get off at the Tuileries stop, and see where it led me. And of course, I found one of my favorite areas of Paris: Le Jardin des Tuileries!! I walked around the park/garden and tried to take in as much as I could. I went and sat in a cafe called "cafe very," situated in the center of the park, where I people watched and read my french version of "Pride and Prejudice." And I must say that reading a novel in another language is quite a challenge. I'm sure it's comical though for the french who were sitting around me to see this girl reading a book, with an english/french dictionary close at hand.
After a little while, I walked around the Tuileries area and browsed the shops, and I soon found myself very near the Louvre, and soon after, right next to Notre Dame (and the centre de pompidou-which I have yet to tackle). It is so weird how close things are in this city. I'm just so used to taking the metro everywhere, that I don't really get a feel for the layout of the city. So it was nice to find my bearings yesterday. After a long day of exploration, I met some friends for a bite to eat, and then we grabbed a crepe on our way home, and despite my love for nutella, I was very disappointed in my nutella crepe. I don't think I'll be getting another one for a while...atleast I won't be eating the crepe part, that is. :)
Today was a long day of class for me, so this morning I woke up early to get a short run in, and as I was running, I just happened to run by the Arc de Triomphe. It is about a half mile from our apartment, so it's quite conveniant. I still feel like it is weird for me to say that I see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe on a regular basis. I sort of feel like I'm telling a lie or that it really isn't true, But it is!! I promise!! Come visit and you too will see!
This weekend we are going to Normandy to see the D-Day Beaches and Mont St. Michel, so I will have much to blog about when I return home on Sunday!
A bientot!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
So much to see, so little time!!
I know that I have not been writing lately, but I have just been so busy with adventuring around the city, and figuring out the metro, ya know, important stuff. But, this past week we had a round of tests and interviews in order to figure out our classes and everything. On top of all that we went to Versailles, the Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame.
Versailles was beautiful, breathtaking in fact! I cannot believe that someone once lived there, nor can I comprehend how much people worshipped royalty! It was really interesting, I cannot wait to go back there in the spring when the weather is nicer and flowers are in full blooms in the Gardens. So then, on Friday night, some girls and I went to check out some of the exhibits at the Louvre. It too, was incredible and really cool at night. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the first half of the Italian Renaissance artwork. After the Louvre, we went and had some Mexican food! Yes, I admit, I have already succumbed to my tex mex cravings. We found this little “hole in the wall” restaurant in the Latin Quartier! Honestly, everything in France just tastes so much better. I have decided too, that crepes are my favorite thing…especially the nutella ones ☺. Sunday morning, I attended a church service at the Notre Dame, and it was so cool! It was nice to not actually be a tourist and be sitting through the service. Yesterday, we attended hot yoga, which we have been doing in hopes to improve our French until classes start up. It has been working out quite nicely, because it is such an intense workout. Then I went and explored the area around the Centre Pompidou-and it is another one of my favorit areas, along with the Latin Quarter and the St. Germaine area. I know that I say this pretty much every time I blog, but each day really does get better and better and I discover new, great things about this city!! It is just so fun and exciting! Last night, we got to see the Eiffel Tower with the lights going off, and it was so surreal looking. Classes begin tomorrow, so I will have an actual schedule to follow, but thank you all so much for all of your thoughts and prayers, and seriously if anyone would want to come visit, all you do is fly over!! A bientot!
Versailles was beautiful, breathtaking in fact! I cannot believe that someone once lived there, nor can I comprehend how much people worshipped royalty! It was really interesting, I cannot wait to go back there in the spring when the weather is nicer and flowers are in full blooms in the Gardens. So then, on Friday night, some girls and I went to check out some of the exhibits at the Louvre. It too, was incredible and really cool at night. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the first half of the Italian Renaissance artwork. After the Louvre, we went and had some Mexican food! Yes, I admit, I have already succumbed to my tex mex cravings. We found this little “hole in the wall” restaurant in the Latin Quartier! Honestly, everything in France just tastes so much better. I have decided too, that crepes are my favorite thing…especially the nutella ones ☺. Sunday morning, I attended a church service at the Notre Dame, and it was so cool! It was nice to not actually be a tourist and be sitting through the service. Yesterday, we attended hot yoga, which we have been doing in hopes to improve our French until classes start up. It has been working out quite nicely, because it is such an intense workout. Then I went and explored the area around the Centre Pompidou-and it is another one of my favorit areas, along with the Latin Quarter and the St. Germaine area. I know that I say this pretty much every time I blog, but each day really does get better and better and I discover new, great things about this city!! It is just so fun and exciting! Last night, we got to see the Eiffel Tower with the lights going off, and it was so surreal looking. Classes begin tomorrow, so I will have an actual schedule to follow, but thank you all so much for all of your thoughts and prayers, and seriously if anyone would want to come visit, all you do is fly over!! A bientot!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
The days keep flying by
I have been in Paris now for almost a week, and it feels like I have been here for two days!! Last night was quite a fun experience. We found this cute village in south eastern Paris and went to this amazing restaurant called "Chai 33." I felt very chic eating there. Then we headed over to the movie theater where we saw Blood Diamond!! To everyone who hasn't seen it, I strongly recommend it. It was fun getting to see the french subtitles at the bottom and how they translated some of our english phrases.
This morning, I got to enjoy some Starbucks, and we shopped all day, just going into cute little shops and browsing. We went into this bookstore, and it was so neat to see all these french books everywhere. Obviously, the french probably don't think twice about their bookstores, but for some reason I was quite fascinated. This afternoon, friends and I did another hot yoga class, but this time we decided we would do it in english, just to make sure that we got everything right. After almost dying in the 110 degree class, we recovered by hittin up some Mickey D's. Let me just make a little side not here: At the Paris McDonalds, the meal portions are much smaller, which answers the question why europeans aren't as fat as us americans! I mean if America had the same portion sizes as the fast food restaurants over here, then we wouldn't be soo obese!
Ok moving, on, tomorrow we are going to visit Versailles, one of my favorite things in all of France!! Although it wont be as pretty in the winter, I am still so excited!! So until I write again, Bonne Journee!!
This morning, I got to enjoy some Starbucks, and we shopped all day, just going into cute little shops and browsing. We went into this bookstore, and it was so neat to see all these french books everywhere. Obviously, the french probably don't think twice about their bookstores, but for some reason I was quite fascinated. This afternoon, friends and I did another hot yoga class, but this time we decided we would do it in english, just to make sure that we got everything right. After almost dying in the 110 degree class, we recovered by hittin up some Mickey D's. Let me just make a little side not here: At the Paris McDonalds, the meal portions are much smaller, which answers the question why europeans aren't as fat as us americans! I mean if America had the same portion sizes as the fast food restaurants over here, then we wouldn't be soo obese!
Ok moving, on, tomorrow we are going to visit Versailles, one of my favorite things in all of France!! Although it wont be as pretty in the winter, I am still so excited!! So until I write again, Bonne Journee!!
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