Last day of Intensive Class.

We went through Luxembourg park to talk to random people on the last day of Intensive Class. Then later in the day I went with a friend around. The picture of me reading is in the Pompidou center and the arc is somewhere where I was shopping.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109350395655649550088/LuxembourgWalk#

Sunday Stroll.

I took a stroll last Sunday, here are some photos from that.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109350395655649550088/SundayStroll#

Album Link.

It's easy to upload pictures on this online album website. So here is the link for a visit I took to Sacre Coeur. Enjoy! https://picasaweb.google.com/109350395655649550088/SacreCouerVisit#

Excursion- Caen.

On Saturday February 26th I had an excursion to Caen and the coast. I left to the Gare Saint Lazare train station at 6:40 AM. It was a littlemore than a 2 hour train ride to Caen and I endedup falling asleep for most of the ride. Iarrived in Caen around 10 AM, the group got into a small bus and we headed for the Memorial Museum which is for the World Wars. I really enjoyed the museum and would recommend it. It's set up nicely so you pretty much follow a path through the years, truly amazing photos and interesting videos. I took me about 2 hours to go through the museum, I took a lot of pictures and spent time reading most of the information. After that, I watched a 15 minute film that was pretty good as well. There was two screens going side by side, one with preparations of the Allies and one with the enemies up until the D-Day battle and then it cut to a modern day shot of the beaches on a sunny day and then flashed back to the battle. After the film I ate lunch and then everyone got back into the bus. We got a tour guide from the museum to take up to the beaches and to the American cemetery. She was really nice and did a great job with the tour.On the 40 minute drive to Omaha beach she explained why Normandy was chosen as the place of attack and why the date was chosen. She explained that a previous battle had taught the Allies that they needed to attack on sandy beaches instead of pebble because the pebble was too difficult to work quickly on. She explained that Normandy is relatively flat and easy to move quickly on as well. She also explained that they needed to attack when it was mid-tide because during high-tide there isn't enough beach to get everyone on to and during low-tide there was a quarter mile of land which was too much to cover while being shot at from the hills. Also it had to be during a full moon because the Allies needed to take out bridges from the sky during the night and the moon would allow them to see well enough. There was only three dates corresponding to the conditions during that summer May 5th, June 5th and July 18th (I think). The first date was too soon and things couldn't be ready by then so June 5th was chosen. Then there was a weather report saying there was a huge storm coming for that date, the Americans got more information about the storm though knowing there would be a pocket of weather in the earlymorning suitable for the attack. The Germans weren't aware of this and weren't ready for the attack because they assumed there was no way for anything to go down with such bad weather. The Germans were so unprepared in fact that one of the main generals (I think) left Normandy the day before because his wife's birthday was on June 5th so he went to go celebrate with her. I also learned that the Allies were very lucky they chose the middle date insteadof the last because on the last date with the conditions, the worst storm of the decade occurred. I found the whole story to be amazing, what good luck or fate for the Allies. We only actually stopped at the Omaha Beach because I wanted to collect sand from there, we were suppose to go straight the the cemetery. I wanted sand from this beach because I had collected sand from one of the other beaches and I wanted to add to the collection since I got to visit this place again. The beach was beautiful, we went on a nice day. The sand was golden and so soft.I miss being around the ocean. After a short stop this beach we left for the American Cemetery.

On the way there we saw some of the holes that the Germans hid in to fire at anyone that may try to attack the coast. It was amazing to see that things are still around. It may sound dumb to say but it makes the war seem more real, it's not just a story you read about in books and hear about from grandparents, it's a real hole that a man crouched inside of to fire a huge gun at another young man that was fighting for his country. Really the whole day meant a lot to me, very eye opening. Once we got to the cemetery it started to rain some and we went under an area that had maps to show where the fighting occurred. The tour guide told us facts about the cemetery for example almost 10,000 men are buried there. The families had the choice to have the bodies buried in France were they died or to be taken back home. We also learned that on the dog tags on the bodies, the men that showed their Jewish religion were buried under the star rather than the cross, only about 140 men, I think. More were probably Jewish but because it was so dangerous to show that at that time, many men didn't. The crosses

were a lot bigger than I expected, probably about 3, 3 and a half, feet tall, all facing west towards home, America. It stopped rainingand the sun came out as we started to walk through the cemetery. We saw a few specific graves. One was an unknown solider, one of many in the cemetery. On the back of the headstone was a number, just like all the other graves but on the front insteadof a name, rank, home state and death date it just said, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." I thought it was very sad that so many families never knew what happened to their sonsor husbands or brothers, the men buried under these stones are just mysteries. I saw the graves of the Niland brothers, two brothers that died in the war and also had two brothers that survived the war. In the cemetery there are brothers buried next to each other and also fathers and sons. I also saw the grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr, who was given the gold star for a decision he made that saved the lives of many men, his information is written in gold becauseof this. The cemetery was very nice, very green grass and information signs are written in English first and then French (a nice/surprising change). I took a walk on the path around the cemetery and then it was time to go to our next stop, the Arromanches beach. It was about a fifteen minute drive here and we only were here for another 15 minutes.

It was quite windy, which is exactly how I remembered it being the last time I was here. The cliffs at this beach are so beautiful, I wished we had more time to go down on the beach rather than just take a few pictures from a cliff. We then headed back to Caen, dropped off the tour guide and went to the train station. We were all given 10 euros for dinner and had an hour to find something to eat. 5 other people and myself went to a cafe across the street from the station. We watched the France vs. England rugby match and ate, I had the Croque Monsieur and a small carafe of white wine. It was another 2 hour-ish ride back to Paris. I sat across from another girl in my program, Bita, and we talked the whole way back about frustrations we had/are having with Abroadco and about things we're loving in Paris and the food. I'm a huge candy monster so of course I had packed sour gummy worms and a Twix bar for the ride home. After we got back to Paris we all met up at Citè, the dorms for most students in Paris, and went out for the night. I had a great day.

Catching Up.

It's pouring rain today so it seems like a good time to go back and remember the last week or so that I haven't written anything.

February 5th- 3 other people in my program and myself met our resident director at the Saint Michel fountain at noon. For 6 hours we did a 'treasure hunt' around the city finding a bunch of cool places and learning some random things about the city. We were each given a paper with a list of places and how to get there from the stop before and we had to take a picture or collect something from the place. Most of the places were things I have seen before but it was fun to see the excitement in the other peoples faces that were experiencing all the cool things Paris has to offer for the first time. One place I hadn't been to before was Trocadero, its a large platform that has a wonderful view of the Tour Eiffel. Trocadero is sort of the start of the park that sits under the shadows of the tower, there are fountains and gardens and beautiful tiles on the ground and a museum to one side. We also went to Rue Mouffetard which is near where I live. It is a well known street that really captures the Parisian feel of life. Its a narrow, cobblestone road with shops filled with cheese and meat, restaurants and pubs that are so pretty and classic Parisian that you question if you're on the set of a movie, crepes stands with amazing street food and flower shops that you can't pass by without smelling the lilacs. If you know the french movie Amelie, Rue Mouffetard is the street that is used a lot in the movie. At the end of the 'treasure hunt', our resident director rewarded us with a bottle of French Bordeaux red wine and a delicious cake topped with strawberries.

February 6th- At 1pm, everyone that is attending the Catholic University of Paris and a part of Abroadco, 8 students, met our resident director in front of Notre Dame. For about an hour we walked around the Notre Dame area with a tour guide who told us some facts and showed us some cool sights. I learned that originally Notre Dame was a place of business and inside was a loud place where people did things like sell live chickens and pigs. Also, back in the day Notre Dame was very connected the the city rather than standing out on a pedestal as a monument. I saw where the monks used to learn and heard a story of the only women ever to enter the back part of the island that was specially a place for the monks to live and learn. I also learned that Notre Dame was almost completely ruined and had to be redone to be what we all see today. The man who was chosen to redo the architecture put his face on many of the things seen on, around and in the church (I thought this was funny, especially when you start to notice the same face all around). After the tour we went on a boat ride down the river. Although it was nice to go on a boat ride this was kind of boring, something you'd probably ever only want to do once just to say you did it. The boat ride is a good way to see a lot of the city if you are only in Paris for a little bit.

February 9th- I had my first exam and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The test consisted of listening and reading comprehension and a writing section.

February 11th- Kathy, the girl that lives next to me, had a dinner party and invited other students in the program over. Kathy made quiches, two girls brought salads, three people brought wines, and myself and another girl brought dessert. It was a fun night, we talked about a lot of random things and got to know each other some more.

February 12th- We had our first excursion today to the city of Tours and the Chenonceux Chateau. Kathy and I left our apartments at 6:40 AM and we had to be to the train station by 7. We met everyone at the station and left for a two hour train ride to Tours. When we got to Tours we went to a wine museum and then the old part of town and walked around. Then we slowly started walking back towards the train station when Kathy and I decided to side step and check out a few stores. She was looking for shoes and I wanted to browse the Soldes (the government mandated sales that were lasting for one more week. We were provided money for lunch so Kathy and I also stopped and got lunch to go that we could eat on the train. We both got there lunch special, I got the mozzarella and tomato panini, an apricot tart and a coke. We got back to the train station and had a 20 minute ride to the chateau. We had 4 hours to tour the chateau and walk around. Once we got inside we were all given iPods to do a self guided tour, we could chose from a 40 minute or 90 minute tour. I think most people did the 40 minute tour but I figured we had so much time so I chose the 90 minute tour and I'm glad I did. The chateau was amazing. I would advise anyone to see it, it isn't as big as other chateaus but I just really loved it and how it was situated over the river was so cool. One thing I love about Europe is all the little details put into the buildings and this chateau didn't disappoint. Also, all the gardens around the property were beautiful.

February 16th- I had my second and final test of my intensive class and it was extremely hard. Most people in the class had no idea what to even do for the test. This was was twice as long as the first test and consisted of a listening comprehension and then long answer responses and then a short essay. I ended up doing decently well on the exam, getting the same grade as I did on the first one.

February 17th- This was my last full day of the intensive course, I had the morning session left the next day and then I was finally free! The 2-5 section of the class today was fun. We were all given a picture and a notecard with a question. The pictures were all places in Paris and we each had to place a picture on the map and then answer the question as a class. My teacher brought wine, bread and cheese for the class to have while we did this last activity. I learned I also like the cheese 'chevre' today and another cheese that sort of tastes like parmesan. My host mom had a dinner party tonight with two men I had met before and then a couple I hadn't met yet. For dinner we had minestrone soup then duck and some sort of mashed green vegetable then cheeses and bread and then dessert. Dessert was oranges and apples, macaroons, and a pasty that is sort of like a chewy donut, I'm a fan of it.

February 18th- The last morning of class was fun as well. We did a few activities and then went and walked around town asking random people questions. Split into groups, we started off at Saint Surplice and then walked to the Luxembourg garden, talking to 5 different people. It's awkward to stop and try to get people to talk to you but fun if the person you catch is actually nice. We did this type of thing once before in class, and each time I've talked to some extremely nice and understanding people and then some people that understand you're a student learning and still won't give you three minutes to ask them a few questions. That evening I had Alia over and we watched some french TV and drank champagne and then met up with a couple other people at a bar near the Luxembourg garden. When we were walking up to the bar, we could tell it was packed and they weren't letting people inside. Luckily, since we already had two people inside and they had a table with two extra seats saved for us we were allowed to go in. The people at the two tables on each side of us happened to be members of two different bands touring Europe right now. It was fun to talk to everyone and hear about what they do and what goes in behind the scenes.

Ice Skating On The Tour Eiffel.

I heard about an ice rink that is on the first level on the Tour Eiffel and I wanted togo ever since, I just had to find a date that worked for other peopleto come with me. I finally got to go on February 8th. I wentwith 4 other people that are in the same program as me, Abroadco. I met up with Kathy, a girl that lives right next to me, at 8 pm and we went to go meet Alia, Lauren and Brennan at the Raspail stop on line 6. We all continued to take the 6 to Bir-Hakiem,which is the closest metro stop to the Tour Eiffel. After about a 5 minute walk from the metro, we bought our tickets for 6.50 euros and stood in line for about 15 minutes. The elevator takes you to the2nd level, so we all took some pictures and then climb the stairs down to the1st level. Going down the stairs, I could hear the music coming from the ice skating rink. I think Alia and I were the most excited to skate around. With the price of the elevator ticket, anyone can get skates and go on the rink for free.

It wasn't as cold as I expected and there were many colored lights pointingdown to the ice. We were on the tower for about an hour and a half and then left to go get a latenight meal. It is an quick metro ride to a good crepe and panini cafe and we didn't leave the cafe until 11:45, when I decided I needed to get home because I had an exam in the morning.........

Apartment Photo Tour.

front doorbuzzerkitchenfridge and washer porchbookshelves dining roomother proch shower

Busy Week of School.

Since I started classes on February 2nd time has been flying by. I haven't gone to 6 hours of school a day since sophomore year of high school and it is hard to get used to again. I'm starting to understand more of what is being said but still having a hard time speaking. It's interesting to see that all the American students in my class are good at writing and reading the language, while the other people from Chile, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and some asian countries can speak alright but don't know how anything is actually spelt or the grammar of the sentences. I had my first exam today and, although it was simpler than expected, I don't think I did too great. Now that I know how the exams are laid out hopefully the next one will be easier for me to prepare for.

The pictures I added are of: the front of my school, the Catholic University of Paris, of the courtyard that connects most of the buildings and of a hallway when you first walk into the main building.

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Intensive Class.

Yesterday, February 2nd, was my first day of classes. Somehow Abroadco never got the student schedules so everyone had to meet and figure things out before we could go to class. I met Kathy, my neighbor, at 8:30 AM and we took the metro to get to the Catho. After one transfer and about 20 minutes we arrived at the Catho and waited for the rest of the group. Tawna, the resident director, then took me into an office where I received my schedule and student ID. She then showed me a map and I had to go find my classroom, it wasn't in the same building so I had to go back to the street and down a few buildings. I was a little frustrated that I was going to be late for my first class, it started at 9 AM and I didn't get into the room until around 9:15.

Once I got into the skinny, tall room I found my way to the only open seat and sat down. The teacher was speaking in French very quickly and I couldn't pick much up. Class ran until noon. I then had a 2 hour break before my next class started so I was going to get lunch and a notebook and pencil. The other American girl met me by the door and asked if I wanted to get lunch with her, so we started walking around and introducing each other.

Perry was from Chicago and was in Paris to study for 3 weeks and then just to live in the city for 3 months. Her family runs some of the Hilton hotels around the world including one in Spain, a few in Mexico and some throughout the states. She was telling me about one in Beverly Hills and how it holds the Golden Globe Awards. She also mentioned some of her friends that live in Europe and she was going to travel around and visit them while she was here. Perry and I found an electronic type store with books, so we went inside and bought pocket dictionaries. Then we went to Monoprix and I bought a notebook and pencil. On our way back to the school we had lunch at a cafe on the street and chatted some more about being in Paris, our class and ourselves.

The next class was held in the same room, with the same people and a different teacher. He talked a lot slower and was a little easier to understand. This class ran from 2 PM until 5 PM, and by the middle of the class I was so tired of paying such close attention. In both classes, the students just listen to the teacher and try to understand new words and phrases and then we do quick activities and the teacher talks back and forth with the class, it is really conversational.

After I got out of class for the day, I caught the metro back home and relaxed for about an hour. Then Alia, a girl from Abroadco, came over and we talked for a little bit and then went to the Tour Eiffel. I wanted to take pictures of it at night and she said she would come along. We were going to go ice skating on the first level too, but it was closed due to something leaking.