ERASURE

is one of my favorite bands. ever.

Fool's Gold @ point fmr

Ce soir: Fool's Gold in Paris!

Leaving in une heure to go see friends Fool's Gold play at Point Ephemere, here, in PARIS!!! Many thanks to my boo ptao for making sure i get in avec mes amis. More on this, avec les photos, later!

bis

À bout de souffle

La nouvelle vague... j'adore.

Things I don't do often enough while in Paris:

1. sleep

2. count (people wearing mittens vs gloves, dogs, jars of honey, etc.)

3. read my vintage Tin Tins from Brussels, Belgium in French

4. go to all the tearooms on my other list

5. cook new recipes

6. take photos

7. run - it's the only way i sleep well, think well, and hurt well, i miss it

8. smile (another thing I've become acclimated to [no smiling, that is])

9. eat baguettes (but to be honest, I'm kind of over them)

10. play chess (it's too cold right now to hit the parks)

The bunny matches...

So I'm downloading a bunch of "nouvelle vague" films right now. I'll start my first voyage into the realm of black and white, snob-fest, film critiquing with "Á Bout de Souffle (Breathless, 1960)" currently ranked number 3 of director Jean-Luc Godard's top ten films PRE-1968... you see? I'm already annoying myself.

Below are some photos taken after dinner. Vogue menthols, my lima bean scramble and an oreo binge = Justine + Brit typical night in Paris. Bah OUI!

If you're missing Paris right now... it's about to go below zero again... >=[ so count your blessings, I suppose; although, I did find myself sweating a little bit today in my tunic and coat. Does this mean I've become acclimated? A terrifying thought, indeed. Today consisted of boring-ly busy orientation week things: La Sorbonne information session, Institut Catholique information session, a short placement test, intensive french classes, grocery shopping at the Ledru-Rollin Monoprix @7:15pm (which is NOT advisable, seeing as everyone in the bottom of the 11th quarter was doing their own last minute dinner shopping...), and then hanging out in the apartment with Justine, and then wining with Samira and her friend Mona. My tummy is growling angrily after the 4-oreo-binge I went on post-dinner-and-Riesling. It's playing its own little digestive tune. So I sit, and let my gluteus maximus' (maximi?) feel like they are congealing and tap away slack-jawed and much too awake for 1:46 am Paris time. Blahhhhhhh. Why can't I sleep???

If i could sum up the night in one photo...

Ma Chambre, Part Deux

Welcome to my cozy room in my new apartment! I live off the metro stop Rue Saint-Maur in the 11th quarter of Paris. I like to describe the area as a charming balance between seedy and student-y.

futon-bed = coach/bed whenever i see fit

my usual view from my couch-bed.

Wine Country!

Seriously considering renting a car and planning a wine-country-wine-tasting trip outside of Paris (Alsace? Loire Vallery??). Am now accepting any and all suggestions! :-]

LES SOLDES

It's Sunday morning and everything is closed. Comme d'habitude, I suppose. I have one mosquito bite on the top of my left foot: this really bothers me.

Yesterday... I slept in and then met up with Co, one of the "new kids" of the USC Paris program. Together, we stormed Rue St-Honoré with heated window-shopping and general exploring of Les Soldes. I was unprepared for the rumored treasures of Parisian Soldes, but they were pretty eye-popping. They only come twice a year, in January and July, and I've finally caught them!

Justine made some new additions to our apartment, a new table and chair, je pense. She found them on the street during late treks home, just like another chair we already had. The XX - Crystalline is playing in the living room and I just moved all the space heaters to strategically better positions. It's 12:41 pm and it's a Sunday - what to do?

I'm about 2/3 through Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, so I 'spose I'll find a cozy café or tea room open to get some reading under my belt. Apologies for the static blogging, my brain isn't quite functioning up to it's normal fluid speed. Things are toppling out like a bin of legos right now, and I can't yet find the means to build anything too formidable.

Bien, bien.

???!!!

Tried to stay up as late as I could, went to bed at 8pm (set my alarm for 7:30am)... Woke up at midnight, stayed up till 6am... WOKE UP AT 1pm !!!

Too Jet-Lagged

...to blog. But I landed around 10:30am, met a really friendly French guy named Dimitri from the Loire Valley, met some of my program peeps, etc. Will elaborate on this further tomorrow!

Hello Readers

I'm back, and blogging!

I've been spending the last three weeks between San Diego and Los Angeles, and it has been fabulous; not to mention so much cheaper! I'm eager to start blogging again during my next semester in Paris; and I hope you're all following along with me!

You'll get to meet my new Parisian roommate, Justine Audrain, and experience pitfalls and triumphs the Parisian way.