Ah yes, the lovely Monday. Oh Monday, I really missed the amount of schoolwork you brought into my life last week. I really enjoy waking up at 8am to buy books and then read them before my 4.5 hour chunk of class time between 1:30 and 6pm. Oh wait. I don't.
Still, there is something to enjoy about Monday in Paris. Since most everything shuts down on Sunday (except certain parts of the Marais), Monday mornings are like the awaking of a city that was on temporary hibernation. It's a rebirth of sorts, where the city comes alive again. The boulangeries bustle at 7am, the metros run every 2 minutes, and I don't feel unusual stationing myself for 3 hours on a park bench with a copy of Césaire's "discours sur le colonialism" and a chocolate pastry.
At 10 am today, I waited outside Gibert Joseph to pick up this little sliver of a book (at the ridiculous price of 5 euros) and an "occasion" copy of 3 short story's by my favorite French author: Gustave Flaubert.
I've been in love with Flaubert ever since I picked up an ancient copy of Madame Bovary. I remember my Aunt Bibi thumbing through the pages before stopping upon her favorite passage in the book, which has now become my own favorite passage. Even in English, the man wrote to my heart. Every word I uncovered from the yellowed and dirty pages of my book seemed like a pearl that ready to pop out of an oyster. I drenched myself in his writing and delved into the life of this woman, Emma Bovary, who I felt I already knew.
Needless to say, this novel is the reason I decided to take a literature class in Paris. Up until this point, I've just been gritting my teeth and bearing the Balzac until I could finally put my hands around my very own French copy of Madame Bovary. Just holding this book makes me want to go to a café and sip something warm while I sink into a wicker chair. Schoolwork has never made me this excited.
Of course, it's not just about Bovary. My teacher wants us to read other short stories by Flaubert -- hence the trip to GJ this morning. I hope I enjoy them as much as Madame Bovary, but to tell the truth, I'm not exactly ready to gobble them up. Nonetheless, I got the 3 stories for 1,3o -- less than my cost of food for the day -- so if they nourish my soul half as much as Madame Bovary has, I'll be very happy.
Class was, well class. But I got some good errands done, too. I reserved Jay and my spots at "Susan's place" for Thanksgiving. Susan's Place is a traditional American restaurant that does a big Thanksgiving dinner. We're both going to miss the holiday and our families, so we decided we might as well not miss out on the food as well! We're expecting much turkey, stuffing, and pies!
I also got sort of raked into coming into school again tomorrow to meet the head of study abroad programs from CMC. I didn't want to go (it's my day off from school and I already had scheduled 2 meetings with professors), but they made it sound like such a big deal that I couldn't say no. Hopefully it will be a simple meeting accompanied by coffee and cake. :) Afterwards, as I mentioned, I have to go into the photo lab to do a self portrait (I'll post pics later) and then meet with my French teacher in the afternoon. Yikes! Some "day off" this is!
All in all, I had a nice day. Now I'm going to do some work like a good student!
Total damages today:
2 books: 6,40 EUR
1 baguette, 1 chocolate pastry: 2,10
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