22 ans a Paris

Well, a lot has happened since my last post...

Today marks my third week in Paris. I think I am starting to get out of the "honey moon" stage as they call it and starting to feel less and less like a tourist--which is a good thing! We finished up our last week of class at France Langue and I was sad to say good-bye to our wonderful professor. On the last day of class I did a presentation about my life and about Michigan. I put together some pictures of my home, family and friends and showed them to my class. My professor thought it was absolutely HILARIOUS that Michiganeans can show others where they live by pointing to their hand. Haha! I think I'm really going to miss having class and having Michelle as our professor. Even though classes lasted four hours, they were always entertaining and I learned a lot!

On Tuesday it was my birthday!!! 22 in Paris was pretty amazing! I ate the BEST birthday macaron EVER!!!! (Please see picture)
After class, we did a tour of the St. Germain area, which is historically a literary and artistic part of the city. We learned a lot about Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde. It also took us to one of the cafes where the leaders of the French Revolution met--really neat! That night, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant--my choice :) and it was delicious! We also had to split some pitchers of margaritas, of course! Later, we went to our favorite gellato place for dessert. Katie and I had to split the Grandissimo size again. (This size is almost the size of a pint, but it is SO worth it because you can get as many flavors as you want AAND it's cheaper to split than to get our own)!! By the way Mom, Dad and Stef, YES we are going there when you are here. Then, we went to Rue Princesse which is a very fun place to go out in Paris and we went to the Little Temple Bar, quickly becoming one of our favorites. All around, it was an amazing birthday and still can't believe I'm 22...feels like I'm getting older by the second.

When I got home from my night out, there was a gift on my bed. It was a long necklace with a goldish heart pendant from my host mother. It was a very special surprise!
The day after my birthday I was sitting in my room after class and just checking my email. In walks Charlotte, Philippine, Antoine and Maxime with a tarte aux pommes (apple tart pie) filled with candles and singing happy birthday. It. was. so. touching. We all sat down in the kitchen and ate the whole pie :) We sat and talked for a while and it was just a very nice thing for my host brothers and sisters to do. So sweet!

We did a lot of sight-seeing the last week of classes too and got to see some of the parts of Paris we have been neglecting--the Luxembourg Gardens, St. Germain, and the list goes on. One of my favorite moments was sitting in Park Monceau for about five hours last Monday. It was a holiday, so everyone was out enjoying the sunshine! Michael, Katie, Dani and I laid out in the sun all day loooong! I even got sunburnt! Can you even believe it?? This was an amazing day because we had a pic-nic, which is basically my favorite way to eat in Paris because it's cheap and more fun. I loved this day because the park was FILLED with people and families. There were kids playing soccer, tag, make-believe... It was charming to listen to the little kids speak French, yelling, screaming and crying.

I couldn't help but think about these kids growing up in Paris. What a life. What an amazing, different life. It's hard for me to imagine such a life. Growing up on the lake is something that I definitely took for granted. Watching all these kids reminded me of when Stef and I would run around the lake playing outside with all the cousins until the sun went down. For these Parisian kids, Park Monceau is their Hasler Lake. :) Maybe the two places aren't so different after all?...We stayed in the park until about 6pm and then headed home. I'm really missing that hot weather right about now!! Over this past weekend, and into this week it has been so chilly and raining on and off. Yuck!

One of my favorite nights out so far has not been in a bar, surprisingly but on the banks of the Seine. On the weekends, groups of people of all ages will sit along the banks of the Seine and on the bridges over the Seine as the sun goes down. Some people bring their dinner, others just cheese, but one thing that everyone brings with them is WINE. It is such an amazing atmosphere to be in! Groups of French young people discussing politics, others listening to their friend play guitar, laughter, noise and happiness. We took our wine down by the river to sit and be like the locals. We listened to a musical performer sing mostly American classic rock and it was extremely entertaining. Great night!

Another really neat experience we've had over the last week took place on the Champs-Elysee. An agriculture organization shut down the Champs-Elysee, which is one of the busiest streets in Paris, to advocate for farming. It was so incredibly awesome! The Champs-Elysee was basically turned into a jungle with trees, bushes, plants, flowers, with all the explanations as to what this agriculture did for society. The exhibit was amazing and it also cost around 7 million euro--I guess that's the price for shutting down Paris' busiest streets for two days. They are planning on doing the same exhibit next year in New York City. But I saw it first in the city of lights ;)

One of the things I liked most about going to classes for two weeks was obviously everything I've said before, but I also LOVED the morning commute in Paris. There is so much energy, and movement. I love seeing kids of every age either walking, scootering, or taking the metro to school. Scooters are HUGE here in Paris for kids. The kids will scooter to school and the parents will take them back to the apartment. It's hilarious to see the men dressed in their suit and tie ready for work, walking his daughter's pink scooter back to the apartment. Love it! It again just amazed me to think about life in a big city like Paris. Walking outside of your apartment and walking a few blocks to school in the city is almost funny to me. I had to walk that far just to get to the bus stop! And then the bus ride to school was double that--in high school the bus ride would take almost an hour! Haha...such differences from life in Lapeer, East Lansing and now in Paris. I never thought I would truly enjoy life in a big city. I think I am starting to feel more and more at home...