Culture Shock

At my very first API meeting, I got a handout of a crappy hand drawn roller coaster meant to represent the ups and downs of studying abroad. First you get there and you are happy and excited, then you plummet, then you're happy again, then you hate everyone, then you go home. I thought it was complete bullshit, especially because I'm only here for a month. I'm pretty sure I threw it away.

So wrong. I have had so many ups and downs since I've been here. I was super excited for the first few days, and then at some point I just plummeted and got so frustrated with not being able to speak the language and understand my classmates and my professor and just being away from home, and it was so hard for a few days. It was on its way back up until around today I guess, which was definitely one of my lowest points on the roller coaster. I woke up in such pain this morning I didn't want to get out of bed, but I have my final tomorrow so I had to go to class. My head was throbbing the entire way there. I was so sick and irritable in my morning class. Every little thing really got to me, and I was getting so frustrated with not being able to understand the activities that we were doing, which just made it harder for me to figure out what was going on. My professor asked me a question that I didn't know the answer to and she just kept pushing me and pushing me to give her the right answer, but I had no idea and I just wanted to start crying. It was so frustrating to me for some reason and I kept trying to tell myself that I'm in college and not know the answer shouldn't frustrate me so much but I just couldn't help it.

Then in my afternoon class my sickness really really got to me. The room was so hot that it was making me even sicker, and I had to leave a couple of times because I thought I was going to throw up. I just couldn't focus and I couldn't understand anything that anyone was saying to me and I could barely participate in the activity we were doing. My head was still throbbing and at one point my vision was going blurry and I felt like I was outside of my body. I was in so much pain I started crying, even though I was trying so hard not to, which just made it worse. My professor was really concerned about me, he kept asking me if I needed to leave and he gave me his phone number in case I couldn't make it home ok.

After class I heard that another girl from my school had gone home after throwing up during class, and another girl told me that she had felt the exact same way yesterday, which leads me to believe that we are all at the same stage on the roller coaster of culture shock. It's just one of the worst feelings in the world feeling this bad mentally and physically and being so far away from home and anyone who can do anything about it, which makes the feeling even worse.

My mom is coming on Thursday though and I don't want her to know that I'm having such a hard time as of recently and ruin her vacation. I'd also like to say right now that she wants to go to Versailles, which is probably one of the most overrated sites in France (worse than the Mona Lisa), and I will not be returning. Once is enough.

In a week and two days I'll be on a flight back to Boston and I'll regret wasting any of my time here on being homesick or actually sick or frustrated and stressed out in class, but for now I just kind of wish I was in my own bead.

Weekend Excursion

Today we had an excursion to Barbizon and Vaux le Vicomte, where we had way too much time at Vaux le Vicomte and way too little time at Barbizon.

Barbizon was this adorable little village that I am totally going to retire at. There were quite a few art galleries and museums that we didn't have enough time to go into.

Vaux le Vicomte is the chateau that Versailles was modeled after, and Nicolas Fouquet, its builder, was imprisoned for his entire life because Louis XIV was so jealous of his palace. It was nice, but we got there at like 5:30 and couldn't go into the chateau until 8 (awesome planning!) so we kind of mulled around the garden for several hours. When we finally did get into the chateau, we had to pretty much sprint through it in order to be back on the bus by 9. But it was still beautiful, and it was nice to spend time in the garden even if it was kind of excessive. The chateau was supposed to be fully candle-lit but we didn't get to fully experience it because it wasn't very dark when we left.

Then we proceeded to be American tourists and stop our bus at a McDonald's and rush in as one huge group. A lot of people in the group were kind of offended that we are in Paris and were wasting a meal at McDonald's but like...who can be mad at McDonald's? Plus I was hungry so shut up.

In other news, my "I Have 25 Euros in my Wallet etc." game went pretty well even though I had to hit the ATM for more money yesterday. But the game commences again on Monday, so be there.

I am the Thinker

Right after school, we booked it to meet up with our group at the Musee Rodin, the former home of the sculptor who created the Gates of Hell and the Thinker. Many of the pieces, particularly the ones displayed in the garden, were reproductions, but were made from the original mold (which makes them somewhat original?). The way it was explained to me, a sculpture is made with the intent of a mold being made and several copies of it being produced, all of which are considered "originals" but only one of which was actually the handcrafted sculpture.

Regardless, it was cool. I got more excited about some of the pieces at this museum that I had never heard of than I did about some of the well-known art at the Louvre and d'Orsay.

As I had predicted on the metro on the way there, the Thinker was crowded by (American) tourists next to the statue reproducing the position and taking pictures and thinking they were really clever. Original.

Pique Nique!

Okay I know I've been terrible about updating but I have a bunch of entries from the last few days saved on my computer that I will try to upload and date accordingly. I'm going to add pictures too since I have taken A TON.

I've decided to try playing this game, which came about because I spent about 80 euro in one day on Saturday. It is called "I Have 25 Euro in my Wallet and I'm Not Taking Money Out of the ATM until Friday". I like to think it's pretty self-explanatory but we'll see how it goes. I think I've spent about 7 euro in the last two days so pas mal.

I had a picnic with a bunch of my friends today at the garden behind (in front of?) the Louvre. It was beautiful (except for an unpleasant visit from a creepy man who exposed himself. Fun.) and it was so gorgeous out. There was also a carnival that we checked out but I refrained from playing any games to win crappy stuffed animals and buy overpriced Italian ice and churros for 3 euro (yes, carnivals are much the same in Paris as they are in America).

I wanted to go to Ireland for a weekend to visit a friend who is studying there, but we don't have any free weekends and it's all going by so fast that I don't think I'll be able to. I've said this so many times, but time really really flies in Paris. It's already week 3, and the days go by so fast. Even 3 hours of class breezes by. I feel like everyday I look at my watch and say "When did it get to be 10:30?!" ...though it doesn't help that it's usually still bright outside.

La Fete Nationale!

Aujourd'hui, c'est la fete nationale! La quatorze juillet! BASTILLE DAY! An important day for the French, mostly because...I don't have class today!

Even without class, I didn't get to sleep in, since we decided to leave at 7 am to get good spots at the parade...and we still didn't. We made it past the first barricade but we were in the dead last row. It was still a great experience though. We saw all the French military and tanks, and President Sarcozy was driven by as well. Though one of the things I saw the most of we very strange cardboard periscope things with mirrors on them that allowed people to see over the crowd. Fortunately the woman directly in front of me had a bright orange one that is in every single on of my pictures.
After the parade we went back to the dorm, packed a lunch, and headed out to find a spot to watch the fireworks. We ended up at the Place de la Concorde, near the Louvre, and we had an okay view of the Eiffel Tower but the fireworks were somewhat hidden by trees though. Both the parade and the fireworks were pretty cool even though we couldn't really see either of them... you really can't get mad when you're in Paris for Bastille Day.

"Do you want to go the the cemetery?! YEAH!"

This entire trip I have completely sympathized with Adrianne Curry from the first season of America's Next Top Model. She ends up in Paris with a bunch of chicks who want to shop at overpriced boutiques and buy shoes and purses and be boring and spend a lot of money. But all the poor girl wants to do is see Jim Morrison's grave.

Well today, ladies and gentlemen, after several weeks of lame shopping trips (among other things, but still), my friend (the Elise to my Adrianne) and I finally made it to la Cimitiere Pere Lachaise, home of the tomb of Jim Morrison. We also saw Oscar Wilde, Chopin, and Marcel Proust. The cemetery was huge and we actually spent 3 hours just walking around.

We were also too cheap to spend 2 euro on a map so I took a picture of the big one at the entrance and we consulted that throughout our visit.

Also, tonight was supposed to be a really exciting night in Paris, as there are a ton of Bals de Pompiers (Fireman's Balls) at all of the fire stations (pretty much big parties). Unfortunately we waited in line for about two hours talking to a creepy French man who kept making fun of Americans and pissing off our Phillipino friend, and then had to leave anyway because we needed to take the metro home before it closed. It was cool though, we came back to the dorm and made pasta. Equally as exciting.

Allez France!

Today, completely by accident, I ended up at a historic exhibition game of the French football team. Someone suggested we go to a football game, and not questioning it at all (despite the fact that it is in fact not football season), we went.

In 1998, the French national football team won the World Cup for the first time in their history, over almost 7 decades. Today was the 10 year anniversary of the victory, so they had a rematch exhibition game, and afterwards had one of the sickest fireworks shows I've ever seen.

Read more about the match here!