Barcelona, Baby!

So, this past weekend I took a little trip down south to Barcelona. (!) Yay for being in a country where I speak the language! Yay for being in a country that is 15 degrees warmer than where I'm living! But most of all, Yay for being in a country that is currently housing the boyfriend, M! It was so nice to be able to see him after almost a month-long hiatus. It was also super crazy that this reunion was taking place in Europe. I still can't get over the fact that we're both out here.

The weekend was filled with a great balance of sight-seeing, nightlife, and the beloved siestas. I must say, the Spanish are really on to something with this whole siesta thing. I mean, why wouldn't you designate three hours in the middle of the day for rest and relaxation? It just seems so obvious!

During the hours of the day when we were actually awake, M and I did a pretty good job exploring the city. (Thanks to the "City Walks" cards we used as our tour guide...thanks Mom!) Aside from walking the city and discovering random courtyards and statues, M did a pretty great job of putting up with my Gaudi obsession and carting me around all of Barcelona to check out the Gaudi buildings like...

Sagrada Familia! So incredible, even unfinished. (I think the projection nowadays is completion by 2020? Who knows.) Still one of my favorite architectural feats. Ever.

We came across this guy on one of our City Walks. Appropriately titled "Cat," this statue was made by someone important for some other, equally important reason, thus granting it a spot in some plaza that is possibly just as important, though I would have to check my notes to be sure. (M and I do a great job of retaining interesting facts about the city...)

One thing we are really good at is finding cool places to take the ever-polupar "selfie" photos. Yes, we are losers, but you can't judge because you know you do it too. This one features a lovely courtyard that has been around since Medieval times and was once the courtyard of a hospital, which is now a library. (Where that information retention came from, I have no idea.)

Notice M, sporting the short hair nowadays.

Once the sun goes down and we are thoroughly recharged thanks to our siestas, the nightlife begins. We have a quick dinner, tapas from Ciudad Condal, of course. Then it's off to meet up with M's friends from the program, most of whom happen to be giants. Like, for real. At 6'3" and 6'8", we have M's friends, S and P. (Which sounds really funny in initial form...anyone? Salt 'n' Peppa reference? I digress...)

Now, granted, I am a very small person, but this is ridiculous. Especially P on the right. Oh well. Aside from being freakishly tall, they also happen to be two of the coolest people I know. True story.

You can see for yourself in this lovely action shot taken at the Oveja Negra bar. We may or may not have had a sangria-spilling incident. But it was readily taken care of in a very technically complicated and professional manner.

Our nighttime shenanigans continued as we left the bars and headed over to the clubs. Thanks to M's guardian angel, MX (aka, local 20-year-old tour guide/fellow student, pictured above on the left), we were able to skip the line and avoid the cover charge. Woot! The rest of the night entailed lots of music, lots of dancing, lots of people.

All in all, a great trip to Spain. Always love the chance to see M, especially in such a beautiful city. Where will the next adventure take place? You'll just have to wait and see!

L'École

I suddenly remembered that I am actually living in Paris for a semester to study. Practicum started last Monday. First paper was due Thursday. Second due Tomorrow. Quiz everyday. I was happy for a second when I got placed into the advanced French class... Yay French skills, right? Wrong. Boo workload! Oh well. While the other sections are writing their compositions on their first day in Paris and their impressions of France, I will get to broaden my critical thinking skills and discuss (in French, bien sûr) the qualities that make someone a true intellectual based on the definition by J.P. Sartre. Woot. All I have to say is: There is a reason I am an engineer...

I can't really complain though. I have one class per day for the next couple weeks. 2pm - 5pm. Aka...sleeping in everyday. My favorite :). I, of course, get to come home to a delicious dinner and piano-time with C as well. Also my favorite.

I also come home to this:

On a side note, I finally picked my classes for the semester!

Academic Writing in French (mandatory...)

Art Médieval (Medieval Art and Architecture of Paris)

Amerique Latine/Monde Iberique (Latin America/Iberian World)

Analys du Monde Contemporain (Analysis of the Contemporary World)

Note the lack of science/math/physics/engineering courses... Hee hee :)

La Semaine de la Pré-Rentrée

As orientation week continued, we all tried to take advantage of having a week in Paris without having to worry about school work. The Reid Hall program did a pretty good job of taking us around the city. We all got little doses of Parisian modern art, classic museums, monuments, etc. Below is a hazy shot of the city (and a barely visible Eiffel Tower) from the top floor of the George Pompidou center, the largest collection of modern art in Paris.
On Tuesday, my group visited the very new Musée Immigration (Immigration Museum). Formerly a museum of French colonial expansion, the city created this new museum to celebrate the diversity of the French population. (I guess it wasn't very PC to have a museum dedicated to the brutal invasion of African countries...just a guess). Anyway, this museum is only about three years old, and they just introduced a new exhibit. We just so happened to be there right when a camera crew from France3 (like your ABC, NBC, etc.) was taking footage of the exhibit. They asked if they could film us looking at the exhibit and listening to our tour guide, but unfortunately, our tour had just ended. So, the very persistent camera crew asked to interview us, despite the fact that we were all American... Three girls from the group (myself included) shared our thoughts (all in French, mind you) about immigration and the differences between French and American immigration. If you search hard enough on the internet, you might be able to find me making a fool of myself on French national television... Off to a good start Nikki...

Anyway, after our interesting encounters at the museums, a few of us did some of our own sight-seeing. We figured we should get all the touristy things covered relatively soon. So here, on the lovely Île de la Cité (Island of the City), is the recently cleaned and very white Cathedral of Notre Dame.
FUN FACT: The cathedral is actually called Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens (Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens) or just the Amiens Cathedral in English. We just messed up the name over the years...way to go us!

And here is the former Gare d'Orsay (Orsay Train Station) that is now the Musée d'Orsay. I'll be checking out the huge collection of impressionist art very soon. Thanks to the fact that my Reid Hall ID says that I am an Art History major, I can get into any art museum free of charge. Very crafty Reid Hall....very crafty...

As the sun goes down (at 5pm btw, very sad), the night life begins. A group of us has done a very good job of checking out the local bar-hopping streets. Thus far, we've explored St. Germain des Prés, Montmartre (my neighborhood), and Oberkampf. Pretty successful all around. Although, we did run into some very drunk locals one night. It was a fairly friendly encounter, despite the two beers that were spilled on my poor friend, J. Oh well. One of these days we'll master the art of going out and not sticking out right away as Americans...

2, Boulevard de Clichy

I figured I would give you a little tour of my "home away from home" here in Paris. So...

Welcome to 2, Boulevard de Clichy! This lovely little building is my home for the next 4 1/2 months. The apartment is basically the entire 2nd floor (which is actually the 3rd floor if you count it how we do in the US).

Note the balcony that wraps around the building. An incredible feature that I am very much anticipating getting use out of once the weather decides to cooperate with me. The apartment is great. High ceilings, wood (creaky) floors, very spacious. I would give anything to have something this nice in NYC.

Here is the lovely kitchen, where I brew my morning coffee (mon café) and where M-N's delicious dinner creations are born. She is very into organic, healthy, well balanced food, something I certainly never get while I'm at school.

I can't even describe how incredible it is to have home cooked meals on a regular basis. The way the program works, I have dinner with the family three times per week, and am otherwise on my own. This pretty much means that, at some point, I'm going to have to venture into this lovely kitchen and attempt to produce something edible without the use of a microwave or toaster oven, both of which are absent from this typical Parisian kitchen.

Make an about face, and you'll find the family room. (The kitchen table is off to your left, but out of the frame). The Christmas tree (Le Sapin de Noël) is no longer with us, and the piano has taken it's place.

C and I have been having several jam sessions as of late in this lovely room. By jam session, I clearly mean me trying to have enough patience to teach C how to play "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music, despite the fact that she is a typical ADHD-ridden 4-year-old "punk" as M-N calls her. As a matter of fact, C and I have been spending quite a bit of quality time together. (Is is sad that I'm probably learning the most French from a small child?) Just the other night, while M-N was cooking up dinner, C and I were dancing in her room. This is, of course, not unusual as I was the queen (la reine), she was the princess (la princesse), and we were enjoying ourselves at the ball.

Here, you can see the casualties of having a 4-year-old as your best friend. Ça va, I'm just happy we can successfully communicate!

Bienvenue!

After a lovely 5 hour layover in Cincinnati, and a spectacular 8 hour flight, I finally arrived in PARIS! Customs, baggage claim, etc. went surprisingly smoothly, and, suddenly, I was in a taxi on my way to the apartment on Boulevard de Clichy. I've pretty much been a nervous, jittery, wreck since I stepped off the plane. (Granted, that could largely be due to the jet lag or the one hundred cups of coffee I've had since I've been here. Who knows.)

I was, however, extremely comforted when I hopped in the taxi at Charles de Gaulle. Not only was I surprisingly able to hold my own and carry a conversation with the driver, but about five minutes into the trip, I heard a familiar tune on the radio. And suddenly, a little voice from home stared singing, "I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan. Welcome to the land of fame excess, (woah) am I gonna fit in?"

And the Miley song was on, and the Miley song was on...

So I (secretly, in my head) put my hands up, they're playin' my song, and the butterflies fly away! I had to laugh at this DJ's perfect timing, and instantly felt better. Although it was a little strange to be greeted in Paris by "Party in the USA..."

As soon as the taxi hit the city, I was glued to the window. I knew we were getting close to the apartment when the Parisian boulangeries and patisseries turned into "Sexodomes" and "Adult Spectacles." Ah, the red light district... But I assure you, I'm living a little ways away from all the neon obscenities in what my host mom, M-N, calls "the safest neighborhood in all of Paris."

The rest of the day has basically been an attempt to unpack, switch my brain into French mode, and, of course, not freak out. M-N's four-year-old daughter, C, helps a lot with the French. She is quite the little firecracker and has been chatting away all day. (In fact, she is in the bathtub serenading us all with "It's a Hard-Knock Life" as we speak...) C is addicted to Annie and The Sound of Music, and was ecstatic to find that she didn't have to worry about teaching me any of the songs. We've been singing buddies ever since. :)

Aside from the shock of actually being here, it's been a pretty relaxed day. I did have a little bit of trouble unpacking thanks to my new friend who has taken a liking to my shelves...

Meet Alice, C's kitten (petite chatte). Alice hops into my shelves, even now that they are full of clothes. Alice runs circles around my room and thinks my blackberry is a toy. Alice has also decided that she and I are going to share my bed. But alas, Alice is too darn cute to care.

Anyway, orientation starts Monday, and by then, I promise to have more interesting posts/pictures.

Until then, Au Revoir!

Ooooh Man.

Welcome to my very first attempt at this whole blogging thing. I hope it will amuse you for the next few months as I archive my adventures in Paris!

In just a few days, this tiny-studious-Midwest-Nikki will become an excited-nervous-jetlagged-pseudo-Parisian. (Hopefully still studious. Definitely still tiny.) Yes, people, I am setting off this Friday for what will probably be my most exciting semester in college! That being said, you would think I would be more prepared and on top of things...

It's technically Thursday already. I'm looking around my room and see little signs of packing. I attempted to start this morning, so there are several piles of clothes lying around my room. But once I realized that it would take a small miracle to cram these piles into my suitcase, I decided to take a break from packing. A break which has yet to end. (Clearly, starting a blog is more pressing then say, preparing myself for a trip that begins in less than 36 hours.) But such is the life of a procrastinator...

Meanwhile, I've only really been home for a week, so time is flying by faster than I would like. It seems like I just got here and all of a sudden, tomorrow(/today) is my last day?! When did that happen?! As much as I can't wait to be abroad, it would have been nice to have a little more time to soak up the sweetness of little old Madison. Just this morning, I was at Mickies Dairy Bar, and I thought to myself, "Where in Paris will I ever be able to find pancakes the size of a frisbee and hash-browns smothered in (Wisconsin) cheddar cheese and ketchup??" sigh...

Well, as much as I would love to continue reminiscing, I think it's time I do something a little more productive with my time like, I don't know, sleep?

Thanks for starting on what I hope will be a successful blog! (Whatever that means... :D)