I am alive!

This entry is dedicated to my mother, who, bless her heart, was terribly worried that I didn't put in a blog entry asap.

Yesterday I went to eat at resto U (CROUS) and loved it. Truly fabulous. They are on "points" system there so you can choose whatever items you want so long as they add up to 6 points, and if you go over 6 the extra point costs you a mere ,55 EUR. Staying within 6 points is very easy. For example, a plate from the salad bar is 1 point, fruit is one point, tarts are 2 points, a piece of ham is 1 point, yogurt is 1 point, the "plat du jour" is four points, the regular plat is 3 points, bread is complimentary, and the water is plentiful. I want to take a moment to assure my mother that I even ate my veggies. The plat du jour was a big plate of ratatouille, rice with corn, and salmon to which I also added a salad and fruit. See mom, not just bread!

After Resto U, I had a meeting with the director of the SLC program about what classes I'm going to take etc... Then I bought some draino (called desTop here) and laundry detergent, returned home for a brief bite, lost my keys, found my keys, and went to a concert at Sainte Chapelle. Sainte Chapelle is really interesting because it is surrounded by la prefecture de la police so that you can't actually get in the church unless you pass through security (even just to visit). After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, we were finally in. Sainte Chapelle was absolutely beautiful (even though it was very much under restorations). We listened to a string group followed by a children's chorus that sent chills down my spine (it was very much like les choristes). I very much enjoyed both the location and the music.

I finished the night up by hanging out at Sam's new apt. in the 9th. She has a truly beautiful place and had a couple of girlfriends over to catch up, eat some snacks, and listen to some music. It was really nice to see Sam again, meet her friends/ coworkers, and learn a lot about Paris. It was well worth the $2.oo I probably spent in phone calls trying to figure out which way to turn once I got off the metro (thanks for putting up with me, Sam). :)

Total Damages:

Lunch at CROUS: 2,90 EUR
Draino + Detergent: 5,52 EUR

Night walk

I made a short little night walk down to TATI and some other local shops before I came home for dinner. On my way I happened across a very cute street with lots of Asian (mostly Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai) restaurants and 1 truly American shop: a bagel café that had a full stock of peanut butter and bisquick. Let me say one thing: these products are EXTREMELY expensive in France and completely defeat the point of living in another country (in my opinion), but I did enjoy that the American food was placed amoung other foreign or "exotic" restaurants as I believe it should be in France.

I returned to the apt. for a dinner that included no products with American labels: spaghetti with basil tomato sauce, an end of yesterday's baguette, a glass of wine, and lunch's chocolate cake (heated up in the microwave, yum!) for dessert. All products of the fabulous F.R.A.N.C.E. Quite a good day for my gastronomical senses, if I do say so myself.

I just got a text from Samouille and hope that I'll get to see her tonight. If not -- definitely one of these days we'll have to cross paths. I'm so glad there are wonderful Pomona grads in Paris to make me feel more "at home."

Pictures to come

Plans for tomorrow:
1. Sleep in
2. Check out CROUS
3. Consultation with Monique (the "directrice") about the classes I want to take
4. Ramen for dinner before a concert at Saint Chapelle (6:15-9:00)
5. Maybe rendre visite à Sam?