I got up at 1pm with no desire to go out, but I had to! Being in this tiny studio makes me stir crazy! I got ready and went on a wifi quest, but not before I went to my old church in the 16th. I got there and asked what time church was. It's not far from the Champs Elysées so i went to MacDo for wifi...I ordered and guess what? The internet wasn't working! GREAT!
I went back to the MacDo next to my church, but decided to try Starbucks out. Their wifi wasn't working either! WTF is with this country and their wifi! We're in Paris for crying out loud!!!!!
So I dragged myself back to MacDo...or should I say McCafé! lol The barista took forever! I grabbed a seat and spent the entire time on FB and Gmail...argh! I had a chocolat viennois...bad idea...the milk was too much...=/ lactose intolerant!
I went to mass and i felt an immediate inner peace and calm when I walked in. It was so surreal to be back. It felt so good. It was about time I came back and gave thanks. I'm not very religious, but I'm a believer and I try to make it to church and if I don't I at least say my Our father every night ^^ I'm not a perfect Catholic...but who is? I didn't recognize any of the parishoners except for the guitar player, an older woman who always came to mass by herself, and a young woman who walked in super late. I recognized all the nuns, but the youngest one wasn't around. Hermana Pilar was a sweetheart. She always made me feel welcome and I was hoping to see her...After mass I asked the woman I recognized if she remembered me. She said no, lol. No worries, i asked her about Hermana Pilar and she told me she had passed away a year ago from Cancer....WHAT? NO WAY! NO! She was so young, so sweet, always smiling, very welcoming, and never ever ever showed a sign of illness. It made me very sad...I wanted to shed a tear. She passed away while I had been in Paris on vacation, had I taken the time to stop, I would've been able to say goodbye...T_T I will always hold the sweetest memories of her in my heart. May she rest in peace. <3
I met up with Eliana at her place in the 20th. She found housing at her Lycée. Its pretty sweet, she has free internet and laundry mat! The lycée is HUGE! We went out to Rue des Rosiers. It was raining, but our spirits were up. We had falafels at L'As du Falafel. It was good, but now my favorite are in SF at Sunrise Deli...=) We called it a night because it was coming down hard.
Monday, September 27, 2010
U2??? Can I get an encore??? =) Sat. Sept.. 25
I had a goodbye dinner with Loreto. She has been living in my former studio since I left 2 years ago. I couldn't stay long because I had to go to Yanis' b-day bash (which I had promised to go since 2 weeks ago. I got to practice my Arabic with one of her friends =) She said I was good! YAY! success! I peaced out and luckily I was just in time for the bus! I met up with the guys and the old flame =/ ouch...Everyone was ahead of me. I had some catching up to do. Straight to the Chien Méchant! yumm! Eliana & Lorena made it! I hope they had fun...=/
I was having a good time. Yanis' brother and friend didn't make it through the night without throwing up...I mean after a chien méchant, some beers, vodka Red Bull, Jack&Coke, and at least 3 meters of shots(mystery shots) who could survive...well except for Jerome!!
Our two female bartenders didn't disappoint us! We ended the night with U2...with or without you, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For...like taking a knife through anyone's heart! lol
We stopped at out late night Brasserie and Rémi kept talking up SF and cali, he is truly in love with my state! =) yay! I one him over! before his stay in Long Beach there was only NYC...>> Ben fell asleep just as before. Everyone was arguing over Soccer, NBA, and Hockey...yay Sharks! Once we were kicked out...at 4am, we headed to St Mich. Le Départ is 24/7!!!! I had an order of fries =) and Jerome and Rémi kept the party going with another beer...O.M.G. I don't know how they do it...
I caught the metro at 6am...taking the metro solo at 6am is no fun my friends...its so eerie...ah! I was watching my back the entire time...=O
I was having a good time. Yanis' brother and friend didn't make it through the night without throwing up...I mean after a chien méchant, some beers, vodka Red Bull, Jack&Coke, and at least 3 meters of shots(mystery shots) who could survive...well except for Jerome!!
Our two female bartenders didn't disappoint us! We ended the night with U2...with or without you, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For...like taking a knife through anyone's heart! lol
We stopped at out late night Brasserie and Rémi kept talking up SF and cali, he is truly in love with my state! =) yay! I one him over! before his stay in Long Beach there was only NYC...>> Ben fell asleep just as before. Everyone was arguing over Soccer, NBA, and Hockey...yay Sharks! Once we were kicked out...at 4am, we headed to St Mich. Le Départ is 24/7!!!! I had an order of fries =) and Jerome and Rémi kept the party going with another beer...O.M.G. I don't know how they do it...
I caught the metro at 6am...taking the metro solo at 6am is no fun my friends...its so eerie...ah! I was watching my back the entire time...=O
2 day combo--Sept 23&24
Thurs.--I rocked my new skirt and navy blue sweater today! It was awesome! The day was cloudy, but the temperature was a nice 70degrees. I went to H&M and exchanged my leggings....a pair of brown ankle boots caught my eye...I was sold...
Friday--I went to MICEFA bright and early; I spent most of my time on FB, don't judge me. I got a friend request from someone I didn't know. She included a msg and said she was in Paris as an assistant too. I accepted her request and sent her my number so we could meet up. I wasn't expecting to hear from her so soon. She texted me that same afternoon and asked if we could go out that very night. I figured if Kelly turned out to be normal this girl must be normal too. We met up at the Hideout in Chatelet. They told me about themselves and so did I. One Jack&Coke and one pint of beer later...I was drunk. I'm a light weight ok! The guy thought looked like the lead singer from GreenDay was there too, I turned the other way...>_> We went down to the basement for some dancing but the DJ wasn't the best and we headed out.
I caught the metro, but one stop before I got off they texted and said they were going for a walk. I went back and took them to pont des arts (the one with all the locks). It was beautiful and my emotions got the best of me. Sometimes you do things that you shouldn't and you just think oh well, I'm going for it! I got home still drunk and my nostalgia was as strong as ever.
It had to come out sometime. You can't suppress something for so long with out consequences later.
Friday--I went to MICEFA bright and early; I spent most of my time on FB, don't judge me. I got a friend request from someone I didn't know. She included a msg and said she was in Paris as an assistant too. I accepted her request and sent her my number so we could meet up. I wasn't expecting to hear from her so soon. She texted me that same afternoon and asked if we could go out that very night. I figured if Kelly turned out to be normal this girl must be normal too. We met up at the Hideout in Chatelet. They told me about themselves and so did I. One Jack&Coke and one pint of beer later...I was drunk. I'm a light weight ok! The guy thought looked like the lead singer from GreenDay was there too, I turned the other way...>_> We went down to the basement for some dancing but the DJ wasn't the best and we headed out.
I caught the metro, but one stop before I got off they texted and said they were going for a walk. I went back and took them to pont des arts (the one with all the locks). It was beautiful and my emotions got the best of me. Sometimes you do things that you shouldn't and you just think oh well, I'm going for it! I got home still drunk and my nostalgia was as strong as ever.
It had to come out sometime. You can't suppress something for so long with out consequences later.
Pyaar Threading =) Sept 22 (wed)
Sorry gang. I got lost like a rolling stone and couldn't find a real reason to get back to my blog, but honestly you didn't miss out on much. =)
Wednesday, I got a notice from my bank saying I could pick up my Debit card. YES! But oh no...I got there and they said they hadn't received a delivery confirmation from the previous letter they had sent and therefore they couldn't give me my debit card! WTF WTF WTF...this is not happening...I almost lost it...I grabbed my stuff and stormed out. Tears were building up...it's just so frustrating!!!!!!! I just want to have internet at my place and I can't do that without a damn debit card...lame right???? I was so angry....So angry that I went out for lunch ^^ I tried a new Lebanese café next to my place. The owner was super nice. He wanted to put lettuce and tomatos in my zaatar "pita bread," but I'm a sucker for the plain bread/zaatar that our Professor made us. He said "it's too salty on its own," why do these two Lebanese cafés always think that I don't know what I'm ordering....I KNOW WHAT IT IS...If I didn't, I wouldn't ask for it! JEEZ! Anyway he invited me to sit down, "asseyez vous, mangez tranquilement sur la terrasse" (very loose translation: sit, eat in peace on our terrace). He was very convincing and I sat there people watching and eating...it felt very normal, like I had always done this...weird...
I met up with Kelly at Rue de Fbg St. Denis. I needed to get my eyebrows threaded with a quickness. They were ridiculously thick...=/ It was her first time in the NRI neighborhood. We had samosas and mango lassi, yum yum. I then went to her great find. Its a discount store with brand name clothing, next to Opéra. I found some great stuff, but nothing in my size except for a navy blue sweater that I've already worn twice! I love it!
I commited a mortal sin. I went to H&M and spent money. Just the fact that I'm spending money...on clothes! is already a NO NO. I spent 20min in line to try on clothes. The lines at H&M to pay or get in the dressing room are always ridiculously long...
I would've bought more, but I was trying to be sensible...=) I walked out with a new black skirt, long black leggings, and a beige sweater (super cute). Please don't ask for the total...let's just say that every time they slide my card I cringe...
Wednesday, I got a notice from my bank saying I could pick up my Debit card. YES! But oh no...I got there and they said they hadn't received a delivery confirmation from the previous letter they had sent and therefore they couldn't give me my debit card! WTF WTF WTF...this is not happening...I almost lost it...I grabbed my stuff and stormed out. Tears were building up...it's just so frustrating!!!!!!! I just want to have internet at my place and I can't do that without a damn debit card...lame right???? I was so angry....So angry that I went out for lunch ^^ I tried a new Lebanese café next to my place. The owner was super nice. He wanted to put lettuce and tomatos in my zaatar "pita bread," but I'm a sucker for the plain bread/zaatar that our Professor made us. He said "it's too salty on its own," why do these two Lebanese cafés always think that I don't know what I'm ordering....I KNOW WHAT IT IS...If I didn't, I wouldn't ask for it! JEEZ! Anyway he invited me to sit down, "asseyez vous, mangez tranquilement sur la terrasse" (very loose translation: sit, eat in peace on our terrace). He was very convincing and I sat there people watching and eating...it felt very normal, like I had always done this...weird...
I met up with Kelly at Rue de Fbg St. Denis. I needed to get my eyebrows threaded with a quickness. They were ridiculously thick...=/ It was her first time in the NRI neighborhood. We had samosas and mango lassi, yum yum. I then went to her great find. Its a discount store with brand name clothing, next to Opéra. I found some great stuff, but nothing in my size except for a navy blue sweater that I've already worn twice! I love it!
I commited a mortal sin. I went to H&M and spent money. Just the fact that I'm spending money...on clothes! is already a NO NO. I spent 20min in line to try on clothes. The lines at H&M to pay or get in the dressing room are always ridiculously long...
I would've bought more, but I was trying to be sensible...=) I walked out with a new black skirt, long black leggings, and a beige sweater (super cute). Please don't ask for the total...let's just say that every time they slide my card I cringe...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, Can't go on--Sept 20
I feel like I’m going nowhere fast. That is how paperwork in France is making me feel. I woke up and honestly had no desire to get up. What for? Nothing that I want to get done is getting done! LOL But the sun was shining and I eventually unglued myself from my bed…It was a beautiful day in terms of weather, but the morale was at an all time LOW. I got to MICEFA a lil too late, in time for the student crowd. Judith was about to lose it. We had a good convo. One of the students recognized me, so weird! Two years ago when I had gotten back Topher and I carpooled to SFSU for Study Abroad Orientation. This student had been part of our group. I can’t believe he recognized me LOL. He has now been here two years…wow! Good for him! We exchanged numbers…I hope we hang out! =)
That afternoon I got another call…but I got to hang out with the lil ones and the boy I sit keeps saying words in English, but refuses to put together actual sentences. He’s too cute. He said “regarde, quand tu squeeze le requin!” «regarde, il y a un little one, là-bas! » When I ask him what color something is he says “bleu!” I give him a look and he giggles and says “blue”…sneaky, sneaky, I’m sure he’s just playing with us AAdults.
That afternoon I got another call…but I got to hang out with the lil ones and the boy I sit keeps saying words in English, but refuses to put together actual sentences. He’s too cute. He said “regarde, quand tu squeeze le requin!” «regarde, il y a un little one, là-bas! » When I ask him what color something is he says “bleu!” I give him a look and he giggles and says “blue”…sneaky, sneaky, I’m sure he’s just playing with us AAdults.
sunday's a B.Z. Sept 19
Around 11am…I crawl back into bed after changing into my comfy clothes…I notice the biggest bruise on my upper arm. WTF? How did that get there? I have no recollection of that happening…and this is a huge black and blue bruise the size of the bottom of a can of coke! O.M.G. lol…anyway I’m tossing and turning, my stomach feels like shit, my head keeps going in circles. I want to puke, but I don’t. I get a call which only makes me feel worse. I can hear everyone going up and down the stairs. I’m about to hurl in my mezzanine bed and false hope fills my thoughts…I HATE TODAY! I read a lil and am finally able to sleep for 30min…I HATE TODAY! I get ready and head to MacDo. The walk is exhausting and I feel like fainting, every smell makes me nauseous and Paris has one too many smells going on. I make it in one piece and order fries. Not a good idea. I skype with Ly, Lu & Peters…My emo state is at its peak. My eyes are bulging through the camera. I had been listening to Amy Winehouse’s song “You know I’m no good” and got a lil too much inspiration in terms of eye liner. LOL.
I ran to meet my old girlfriend from my study abroad year. It has been almost 3 years since the last time I saw her. My hangover was a lil better, but I was still very emo LOL. I met her and her friends at a Mexican restaurant in St Mich. Her friend persuaded them to give us tequila shots. It felt nice! We walked to Pont des Arts. There were locks hanging off the railings. I want to add my lock TOO! Her friends were really nice and funny! I got to listen to the Brazilian French accent and the Italian French accent, both quite charming. We went to her new love nest. It’s the cutest most French apartment I’ve ever seen. The ceilings have the most beautiful crown molding. She has the most old school French chimneys, and a tall stained glass window. The neighborhood is quiet and around the corner you have the Eiffel Tower and other side has a straight view to Les Invalides. It’s perfect! So cute! AND she got a great deal on it and its furnished! Mad props to my friend for hustlin’ and makin’ this happen. We caught up to 3yrs of our lives LOL we had a lot to say. She explained some things and others we differed. She told me I was strong and that she would’ve cracked, but honestly sometimes it takes every bone in my body to hold back. I’m telling you this is the most emo day I’ve had yet… T_T
I ran to meet my old girlfriend from my study abroad year. It has been almost 3 years since the last time I saw her. My hangover was a lil better, but I was still very emo LOL. I met her and her friends at a Mexican restaurant in St Mich. Her friend persuaded them to give us tequila shots. It felt nice! We walked to Pont des Arts. There were locks hanging off the railings. I want to add my lock TOO! Her friends were really nice and funny! I got to listen to the Brazilian French accent and the Italian French accent, both quite charming. We went to her new love nest. It’s the cutest most French apartment I’ve ever seen. The ceilings have the most beautiful crown molding. She has the most old school French chimneys, and a tall stained glass window. The neighborhood is quiet and around the corner you have the Eiffel Tower and other side has a straight view to Les Invalides. It’s perfect! So cute! AND she got a great deal on it and its furnished! Mad props to my friend for hustlin’ and makin’ this happen. We caught up to 3yrs of our lives LOL we had a lot to say. She explained some things and others we differed. She told me I was strong and that she would’ve cracked, but honestly sometimes it takes every bone in my body to hold back. I’m telling you this is the most emo day I’ve had yet… T_T
One Night Only! U2 =) Sept18
I didn’t actually go see them, but Saturday NIGHT should have its own entry entirely. It started out like any other Saturday with my potes (guy friends), but it quickly turned into a sloppy affaire (well 2hours later). We met at our usual haunt, Place Monge, and headed to our new favorite barThe River.
Again the bartenders were two females. The band of the night was U2 because they were hosting a concert the same night in Paris. I ordered up two chien méchant shots and two jack & cokes. I had just gotten paid and it had been a long week…I was gettin’ my groove back that night! LOL The shot did nothing ^^ but 3 chien méchant shots later…and 2 J&Cs later I was feelin’ pretty good. It was only Jerome and I, we talked about learning English in France and he gave me some tips/ideas/encouragement. Manny showed up 2hours late…Took a shot with us and it all got sloppy from there. Yanis showed up after his date which he refused to introduce us to =( much to my disappointment. A good girl friend always wants to check out her buddy’s main squeeze, hahahaha.
Jerome invited his friends Christophe & Sonia. She had super long blond hair…Jerome kept wrapping his face around it…obviously we had lost him, HAHAHAHA. Manny and him were gettin’ loud up in there. Sonia doesn’t drink so she can serve as testimony for the crazy night.
There was a large party behind us and all of them looked super young…around 16yrs old in my opinion. One of the girls walked over to the bathroom stall with her boyfriend and pulled him in, O.M.G. A line quickly started to form and I told everyone, “I wouldn’t want be next in there if I were you.” 15min later, the girl runs out of the stall and her boyfriend stumbles out after her. LMAO. Remember my last entry? That stall is disgusting… It was a great night. Jerome taught me a new expression. I always learn so much from him. Apparently, at some point I “tapper dans les yeux de quelqu’un” (loose translation: to catch someone’s eye). A guy was passing by and said something to me (I forgot what) and I said “you have nice glasses” and he said “you have a nice face.” As always I failed to follow through. LOL. I met someone else who in my opinion looked like the lead singer of Green Day, but according to everyone I was with “rien à voir” (loose translation: not at all). Well Green Day wouldn’t leave me alone after our chat and everyone told me to stop talking to him…Jerome was about to pounce and I freaked out, hahaha, but everything was good good =)
I was feelin’ a lil too drunk to the point where you just feel crappy, so I bugged the bartender for 5 glasses of water, at some point she switched to tap. U2 kept playing and the nostalgia kicked in. Drunken nostalgia is never good, especially not to songs like “With or Without You.” I was about to pleur (cry). The thing was right in front of my face too. That’s criminal!
They kicked us out around 2am I yelled after the guys, but instead I got another Jerome to turn around. He was cute, but Jerome chased him away once we got outside…aw man! But good lookin’ out he was probably just looking for a lay. Blegh! We ended up back at Place Monge, but not before Jerome pissed all over the window of a resto (restaurant), it was hilarious! And dégeu (gross)!
Once we got to the Place, there was a guy running around it butt naked. He was just covering his genitalia. A tall blond started chatting it up with me in Spanish and French…very nice! But his friends took him away to a bar, and then someone came by and gave me a white rose LOL and then ran off. What a random sequence of events! I love Place Monge! It has never done me wrong!
We stopped for a last drink at a brasserie. I ran down to the bathroom and a girl told me someone was going at it in the stall. A group of English guys was waiting for the men’s stall and we told them we were about to hurl so they let us through…yes I went in to the stall with her! LOL don’t ask me why…I was drunk! I was supposed to be the friend that held her hair back while she went projectile on the toilet bowl! LOL Needless to say I turned away and told her I didn’t feel the need to pee anymore…. I walked out to wash my hands and someone had puked all over the sink…ok nvm…I went back upstairs and Jerome and Manny were gone…Yanis was the only one left. Jerome had left his entire beer…I guess they just decided to leave…later I heard from Manny (that they left because he had to puke around the corner and Jerome and him caught a cab. Jerome stole a chair from a restaurant and tried to take it home, but the cabbie refused, O.M.G. LMAO).
Around 4am: Yanis told me about his woes and then we caught a cab to my place…I immediately passed out. Waking up to the worst hangover EVER! T_T but with the funniest memories in mind! =D
Again the bartenders were two females. The band of the night was U2 because they were hosting a concert the same night in Paris. I ordered up two chien méchant shots and two jack & cokes. I had just gotten paid and it had been a long week…I was gettin’ my groove back that night! LOL The shot did nothing ^^ but 3 chien méchant shots later…and 2 J&Cs later I was feelin’ pretty good. It was only Jerome and I, we talked about learning English in France and he gave me some tips/ideas/encouragement. Manny showed up 2hours late…Took a shot with us and it all got sloppy from there. Yanis showed up after his date which he refused to introduce us to =( much to my disappointment. A good girl friend always wants to check out her buddy’s main squeeze, hahahaha.
Jerome invited his friends Christophe & Sonia. She had super long blond hair…Jerome kept wrapping his face around it…obviously we had lost him, HAHAHAHA. Manny and him were gettin’ loud up in there. Sonia doesn’t drink so she can serve as testimony for the crazy night.
There was a large party behind us and all of them looked super young…around 16yrs old in my opinion. One of the girls walked over to the bathroom stall with her boyfriend and pulled him in, O.M.G. A line quickly started to form and I told everyone, “I wouldn’t want be next in there if I were you.” 15min later, the girl runs out of the stall and her boyfriend stumbles out after her. LMAO. Remember my last entry? That stall is disgusting… It was a great night. Jerome taught me a new expression. I always learn so much from him. Apparently, at some point I “tapper dans les yeux de quelqu’un” (loose translation: to catch someone’s eye). A guy was passing by and said something to me (I forgot what) and I said “you have nice glasses” and he said “you have a nice face.” As always I failed to follow through. LOL. I met someone else who in my opinion looked like the lead singer of Green Day, but according to everyone I was with “rien à voir” (loose translation: not at all). Well Green Day wouldn’t leave me alone after our chat and everyone told me to stop talking to him…Jerome was about to pounce and I freaked out, hahaha, but everything was good good =)
I was feelin’ a lil too drunk to the point where you just feel crappy, so I bugged the bartender for 5 glasses of water, at some point she switched to tap. U2 kept playing and the nostalgia kicked in. Drunken nostalgia is never good, especially not to songs like “With or Without You.” I was about to pleur (cry). The thing was right in front of my face too. That’s criminal!
They kicked us out around 2am I yelled after the guys, but instead I got another Jerome to turn around. He was cute, but Jerome chased him away once we got outside…aw man! But good lookin’ out he was probably just looking for a lay. Blegh! We ended up back at Place Monge, but not before Jerome pissed all over the window of a resto (restaurant), it was hilarious! And dégeu (gross)!
Once we got to the Place, there was a guy running around it butt naked. He was just covering his genitalia. A tall blond started chatting it up with me in Spanish and French…very nice! But his friends took him away to a bar, and then someone came by and gave me a white rose LOL and then ran off. What a random sequence of events! I love Place Monge! It has never done me wrong!
We stopped for a last drink at a brasserie. I ran down to the bathroom and a girl told me someone was going at it in the stall. A group of English guys was waiting for the men’s stall and we told them we were about to hurl so they let us through…yes I went in to the stall with her! LOL don’t ask me why…I was drunk! I was supposed to be the friend that held her hair back while she went projectile on the toilet bowl! LOL Needless to say I turned away and told her I didn’t feel the need to pee anymore…. I walked out to wash my hands and someone had puked all over the sink…ok nvm…I went back upstairs and Jerome and Manny were gone…Yanis was the only one left. Jerome had left his entire beer…I guess they just decided to leave…later I heard from Manny (that they left because he had to puke around the corner and Jerome and him caught a cab. Jerome stole a chair from a restaurant and tried to take it home, but the cabbie refused, O.M.G. LMAO).
Around 4am: Yanis told me about his woes and then we caught a cab to my place…I immediately passed out. Waking up to the worst hangover EVER! T_T but with the funniest memories in mind! =D
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wind Chill...Saturday--Sept 18th
Oki, très bien; oki merci; oki pas de problème, oki ça marche. Just some of the many ways the French use OKI ^^ makes me giggle inside.
My day just started, but already I have so much to say so eff it I’m writing!
***CAUTION: this half gets really body conscious/personal (you have been warned).***
Oki so I ran to BHV to see if my dreamy black tunic was still there in my size (two years ago I was a 34 here and now I’m a 36…(insert scream here) it’s ok np, I blame it on my top heaviness…oki oki and an inch or two around my waist ^^) Anyway it wasn’t there…I guess it wasn’t meant to be. There were only 3 size 34s left…I couldn’t help it, I tried on the 34…I shouldn’t have done that…The top buttons wouldn’t even close…I mean I couldn’t even get them within 2 inches of each other. My bust was bursting out…ARGH! I don’t understand, it’s not like I have a lot of cleavage! Sometimes I yearn for the days when I was still a B cup =/ sometimes! Hahahaha. It’s better this way, I really can’t afford to be buying clothes anyhow.
This month like every other month it came and I had to make that trip to the grocery store. I picked the one that I went to yesterday; I remember one of the cashiers was a woman, score! I don’t like my usual grocery store because one of the cashiers always gives me the stink eye. As I walk into my chosen store, I see 3 male cashiers…GREAT! WHY WHY WHY ME!?!?!?! Oh well… The stuff is next to the milk…you can imagine the lack of space in Parisian grocery stores if you have to be next to the milk while you decide if you want regular or maxi…ARGH!
I proceeded with my walk of embarrassment to the register line. I had to stand there holding it with my bare hands…that’s all I was carrying…I know I’m weird about this type of purchase. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is to me. Don’t ask why, I dono. The cashier took a second look at my liners…ARGH! Just scan, pay, and run! =/ I stuffed them in my purse and walked away with my thizz face.
My day just started, but already I have so much to say so eff it I’m writing!
***CAUTION: this half gets really body conscious/personal (you have been warned).***
Oki so I ran to BHV to see if my dreamy black tunic was still there in my size (two years ago I was a 34 here and now I’m a 36…(insert scream here) it’s ok np, I blame it on my top heaviness…oki oki and an inch or two around my waist ^^) Anyway it wasn’t there…I guess it wasn’t meant to be. There were only 3 size 34s left…I couldn’t help it, I tried on the 34…I shouldn’t have done that…The top buttons wouldn’t even close…I mean I couldn’t even get them within 2 inches of each other. My bust was bursting out…ARGH! I don’t understand, it’s not like I have a lot of cleavage! Sometimes I yearn for the days when I was still a B cup =/ sometimes! Hahahaha. It’s better this way, I really can’t afford to be buying clothes anyhow.
This month like every other month it came and I had to make that trip to the grocery store. I picked the one that I went to yesterday; I remember one of the cashiers was a woman, score! I don’t like my usual grocery store because one of the cashiers always gives me the stink eye. As I walk into my chosen store, I see 3 male cashiers…GREAT! WHY WHY WHY ME!?!?!?! Oh well… The stuff is next to the milk…you can imagine the lack of space in Parisian grocery stores if you have to be next to the milk while you decide if you want regular or maxi…ARGH!
I proceeded with my walk of embarrassment to the register line. I had to stand there holding it with my bare hands…that’s all I was carrying…I know I’m weird about this type of purchase. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is to me. Don’t ask why, I dono. The cashier took a second look at my liners…ARGH! Just scan, pay, and run! =/ I stuffed them in my purse and walked away with my thizz face.
TGIFriday—Sept 17
I set out to BHV (Bazar d’Hotel de Ville) It’ a huge department store right in the middle of paris and only a few blocks from my place =D I needed to buy a hair accessory, brush, and maybe just browse through the clothing section ;-). I know I’m broke, but they were having a sale! The hair accessory section was some serious business. They only carried brand name accessory lines…wow…they take hair accessories very seriously here…not cheap either! I couldn’t resist I checked out the clothing sale items…I stumbled onto a great line…yes the clothing is divided into clothing lines…this ain’t no Macy’s Junior section LOL You can hardly find anything under 50euro here…Well I found a bin labeled 40% off I could afford that…not…but hey that’s why there’s plastic! I know I know, this is a big no no…but…40% off…come on! I found a hot tunic…I tried it on…it was all OVER! It was amazing! It slimed out my heavy top (for my small figure) and flowed away from my muffin top =) Plus, it was a great thin breathable cotton! Originally 35euro I got it for 20euro…yay! It’s mine! I bought it in hot pink…but I left craving the same tunic in BLACK. Granted I don’t NEED another black shirt, BUT this cut and fit is amazing! By my standards…it may not be everyone’s style…but to me it screams my NAME! BUY ME BUY ME…I might not be here tomorrow! I might just go back…=) don’t judge me! ^^
I skipped all the way back home with my new purchases! I was so happy! Retail therapy! It always works wonders!
Something about shopping in Paris makes you feel important, all the sales people refer to you as Madame or Mademoiselle. “Oui, Madame; non, Madame, Merci Madame; Bonne journée Madame.” Jeez…wait to make me feel important…I kinda like it…it weirds me out too. ^^
I picked up my lil ones and the lil girl bumped her knee on her scooter…ouchy! She burst into tears and turned a tomato red with huge green eyes in the middle. I didn’t know what to do. I guess this is where my maternal instinct should’ve kicked in, but mine didn’t. I hugged her, told her it would be ok, and rubbed her knee, nothing helped…AH! What do I do…She eventually calmed herself down and her brother said “pleure pas, viens je te fais un bisou” (don’t cry, come I’ll give you a kiss). It was sooooo cute! He leaned over and kissed her. Aw! Then he turns to me and says “ah, je suis mouillé parce qu’elle pleure” (ah, now I’m wet because she’s crying) LOL I started giggling…He had tears on his lips and brushed them off. I felt so bad, I didn’t even have tissue for my lil girl…I’m such a bad nounou…=/
I splurged and bought a slice of tart and baguette…carbs carbs carbs, I know! Ay! Ok it was a one time thing…=/ My friends called and invited me to their place for drinks, but I pulled a hermit move and said no. I was so tired from running around all day. As soon as I hung up the phone (around 9:30pm) I passed out…ZzZzZzz…
I skipped all the way back home with my new purchases! I was so happy! Retail therapy! It always works wonders!
Something about shopping in Paris makes you feel important, all the sales people refer to you as Madame or Mademoiselle. “Oui, Madame; non, Madame, Merci Madame; Bonne journée Madame.” Jeez…wait to make me feel important…I kinda like it…it weirds me out too. ^^
I picked up my lil ones and the lil girl bumped her knee on her scooter…ouchy! She burst into tears and turned a tomato red with huge green eyes in the middle. I didn’t know what to do. I guess this is where my maternal instinct should’ve kicked in, but mine didn’t. I hugged her, told her it would be ok, and rubbed her knee, nothing helped…AH! What do I do…She eventually calmed herself down and her brother said “pleure pas, viens je te fais un bisou” (don’t cry, come I’ll give you a kiss). It was sooooo cute! He leaned over and kissed her. Aw! Then he turns to me and says “ah, je suis mouillé parce qu’elle pleure” (ah, now I’m wet because she’s crying) LOL I started giggling…He had tears on his lips and brushed them off. I felt so bad, I didn’t even have tissue for my lil girl…I’m such a bad nounou…=/
I splurged and bought a slice of tart and baguette…carbs carbs carbs, I know! Ay! Ok it was a one time thing…=/ My friends called and invited me to their place for drinks, but I pulled a hermit move and said no. I was so tired from running around all day. As soon as I hung up the phone (around 9:30pm) I passed out…ZzZzZzz…
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday Errands-- Sept. 16th
***Happy Mexican Independence Day!***
I ran many errands today and I TRIED to get internet, but there was yet another road block…I don’t have a French Visa or check book, argh! I’ve only been here 9 days, I know, but it seems like no matter how much I try and run around, nothing gets done. =( I just want internet! I have so much homework for my online classes and it’s not possible to do it at MacDo.
Tonight I met another girl who is teaching English here through the same program. We’re part of the Facebook group for our program and we found out we were getting here around the same day. She called. She gave me an address. I showed up. I asked no questions. I just said OK. HAHAHAHA. Wait…where…am I going? Hehehehe…no idea. I arrived at the address a few blocks from the Moulin Rouge. I had to walk through so many sex shops to get there. Um…where am I going? He he he. It’s ok! It turned out to be a tattoo shop that was hosting a Yelp event. I know, right! The place had free beer, samosas, and cupcakes. It was full of French and American Yelpers. These are hard core yelpers who review places on a regular basis. She was waiting outside. Success! We talked and talked and talked. She hadn’t wanted to tell me it was a Yelp event, because she thought it might be weird. Not weird at all. I use Yelp all the time. BTW this is my first time meeting someone from the internet. I got home around 11pm and was very buzzed.
Last night was the first night since I got here that I slept through the entire night. I usually end up waking up at 4am and tossing and turning til 7am… =( no fun!
I ran many errands today and I TRIED to get internet, but there was yet another road block…I don’t have a French Visa or check book, argh! I’ve only been here 9 days, I know, but it seems like no matter how much I try and run around, nothing gets done. =( I just want internet! I have so much homework for my online classes and it’s not possible to do it at MacDo.
Tonight I met another girl who is teaching English here through the same program. We’re part of the Facebook group for our program and we found out we were getting here around the same day. She called. She gave me an address. I showed up. I asked no questions. I just said OK. HAHAHAHA. Wait…where…am I going? Hehehehe…no idea. I arrived at the address a few blocks from the Moulin Rouge. I had to walk through so many sex shops to get there. Um…where am I going? He he he. It’s ok! It turned out to be a tattoo shop that was hosting a Yelp event. I know, right! The place had free beer, samosas, and cupcakes. It was full of French and American Yelpers. These are hard core yelpers who review places on a regular basis. She was waiting outside. Success! We talked and talked and talked. She hadn’t wanted to tell me it was a Yelp event, because she thought it might be weird. Not weird at all. I use Yelp all the time. BTW this is my first time meeting someone from the internet. I got home around 11pm and was very buzzed.
Last night was the first night since I got here that I slept through the entire night. I usually end up waking up at 4am and tossing and turning til 7am… =( no fun!
Never ending list --Wed. Sept 15th
Wednesday will be my afternoons off. I don’t have the lil ones. I opened my bank account today. The banker asked a lot of questions about what I was doing here and my job. He was a just a tad too nice towards the end…As long as I have a bank account I’m happy. It will be at least a week before I can make any deposits or have a debit card.
I mailed off my Visa paper work today! I’m very proud of myself because I mailed it in myself without MICEFA’s help (well I asked a few questions but that’s all). My first time in France MICEFA took care of everything. The fact that I opened my own bank account too really impressed me. MICEFA set up everything the first time too…=)
I went on a wild Zaatar chase this evening. I was craving Zaatar and hobz because everytime I walk by this Lebanese café they’re always making it. I took out my Yellow Pages and wrote down every Arab named mom & pop grocer listed in my neighborhood. There were 3 total. One didn’t exist. One didn’t carry any. The last one located on the same street as the Lebanese café didn’t have any either, but a very nice Maghrebeeya (Moroccan lady) worked there. She was surprised that I asked for zaatar. She said “how do you know about zaatar? you’re not maghrebee and have no maghrebee origins.” HAHAHHAA. She said African zaatar and Lebanese zaatar are different. She had some in the back and gave me a lil bag with African zaatar. She then told me to go chez les Arabes in Barbès, but glanced at my Longchamp bag and told me to be careful. ^^ She was so cute.
Setting up a life here takes so much time and there are so many things to do! It makes me very happy that I decided to get here 3 weeks before my job started. Here is my list of things to do to build a life here:
1.Mail visa paperwork
2.Get a French cell phone
3.Find/rent a studio
4.Sign rent contract
5.Open bank account
6.Sign up for renter’s insurance/civil responsibility insurance
7.Get a social security number
8.Sign internet/tv/phone contract (no way out of the bundle…)
9.Give bank account info to EDF (=PG&E) (so I keep my electricity)
10.Sign up for Housing Aid (should get 200euro/mo…hopefully!)
11.Sign up for transportation reimbursement (work pays ½…yay!)
12.Sign up for direct deposit
13.Ask for pay advance (1st paycheck is end of Nov….adv if granted comes at the end of Oct…lame, I know!)
Not that easy to make it here…
I mailed off my Visa paper work today! I’m very proud of myself because I mailed it in myself without MICEFA’s help (well I asked a few questions but that’s all). My first time in France MICEFA took care of everything. The fact that I opened my own bank account too really impressed me. MICEFA set up everything the first time too…=)
I went on a wild Zaatar chase this evening. I was craving Zaatar and hobz because everytime I walk by this Lebanese café they’re always making it. I took out my Yellow Pages and wrote down every Arab named mom & pop grocer listed in my neighborhood. There were 3 total. One didn’t exist. One didn’t carry any. The last one located on the same street as the Lebanese café didn’t have any either, but a very nice Maghrebeeya (Moroccan lady) worked there. She was surprised that I asked for zaatar. She said “how do you know about zaatar? you’re not maghrebee and have no maghrebee origins.” HAHAHHAA. She said African zaatar and Lebanese zaatar are different. She had some in the back and gave me a lil bag with African zaatar. She then told me to go chez les Arabes in Barbès, but glanced at my Longchamp bag and told me to be careful. ^^ She was so cute.
Setting up a life here takes so much time and there are so many things to do! It makes me very happy that I decided to get here 3 weeks before my job started. Here is my list of things to do to build a life here:
1.Mail visa paperwork
2.Get a French cell phone
3.Find/rent a studio
4.Sign rent contract
5.Open bank account
6.Sign up for renter’s insurance/civil responsibility insurance
7.Get a social security number
8.Sign internet/tv/phone contract (no way out of the bundle…)
9.Give bank account info to EDF (=PG&E) (so I keep my electricity)
10.Sign up for Housing Aid (should get 200euro/mo…hopefully!)
11.Sign up for transportation reimbursement (work pays ½…yay!)
12.Sign up for direct deposit
13.Ask for pay advance (1st paycheck is end of Nov….adv if granted comes at the end of Oct…lame, I know!)
Not that easy to make it here…
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday is the hurdle--Sept. 14th
So much to talk about! I walk around all day gathering up ideas for my blog. Things I want to talk about! When I finally sit to write at the end of the day, I’m overwhelmed and end up forgetting half of them…so lame, right?
Anyway, I had to wake up early because I promised my advisor I would meet with her. When I opened the door to the teacher’s lounge it was bursting with professors. There were so many and they were all super excited to meet me. Everyone introduced themselves and they all tried their very best to practice their English. It was very cute. There are some characters and I already met the clown of the bunch. He cracks the silliest jokes. He is tall and lanky, he has long salt and pepper hair, he always has a cup of coffee in hand, and he is quite good looking in a professor kind of way. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a look at an Arab looking professor, woowee he was hott! ^^
My advisor took me on a tour of the school. There are only 500 students and about 60 professors. They have an inner courtyard which is quite large. The halls are always full of students and it can be a bit cumbersome because the halls are somewhat narrow. We met the school principal. He’s a nice man, a little on the shy side, but very sweet. He was happy I spoke French. All the staff was very happy that I spoke French =) so was I!!! The connections you make with people are much better and stronger when you speak their language!
I was introduced to all 5 English teachers, they were all very nice and they were all French. Some had studied English in Canada others in the British Isles. I was invited to sit in on two classes and one mock exam. The first class was an average sized group, but the classroom was really small. I couldn’t talk and just sat in the corner observing. Students stared at me. The teacher would occasionally ask me to confirm a vocab word and the entire class would turn to look at me. The sternness of the teacher and the aloof nature of the students reminded me of the film The Class (Entre les Murs). They were so disconnected and the distance between her and her students made me sad. No one wanted to participate; it was grueling to watch, like pulling teeth. I would hate for one of my classes to go like that. The front row was riding a participation wave. They were the only ones who ever said anything. It was a group of 3 girls in the corner. They were really good! I had two boys next to me who whispered to each other during the entire class period. The teacher never acknowledged them (I guess she’s used to them by now).
A boy in the front row really striked me, he had that thinker look. You could tell the wheels in his head were turning, but he hardly said five words in class. He was a cute young man and left me curious as to what he could’ve said had he been called on. There was only one person in the back row who ever answered a question. He wasn’t always right and didn’t have the best pronunciation, but gosh darn it did he try! I like him already! This class was a little cheeky and I thought I could hear the students whispering about the teacher and the teacher always had her guard up. Even when she tried to be nice you could tell it was forced. She must be really jaded. I wonder if she even enjoys teaching anymore… I’m sure she does, but… =/
My advisor’s class was next. I was expecting the worst after the first class, but au contraire I was pleasantly surprised. It was a smaller group about half the size (10students). Two students came in and immediately spoke to me. I pretended I didn’t understand and they tried their best to speak English. It was pretty good, but we didn’t get far. Hehehe. I tried to talk to the others, but they were either too shy or had too much of a hard time looking for the right words. When my advisor came in I could immediately tell she had a much better relationship with her students. Sure, at times she seemed guarded, but you could tell she enjoyed her work and wanted her students to try. She cared about their efforts. This group seemed much more advanced and weren’t as cheeky as the last. Again I wasn’t introduced and just sat in quietly. They were all so curious about me, but they weren’t allowed to ask me any questions =/
I can’t wait to start! I’m scared and uber-excited at the same time! =D
After her class I sat in on a mock exam. The student had to role play a situation in English. I participated. It was fun until the administrator got her knickers in a knot and began to bicker with the other professors in front of the student about the test. AYE! I wanted out of there! The next student did the same thing in Spanish. I think she was Peruvian so it wasn’t much of a challenge, but she was too quiet and mumbled her words. I wasn’t impressed. She hadn’t prepared anything and kept saying, “I don’t know, I don’t know.” Lame! NEXT! Her answers were BS and it didn’t seem like she cared at all.
I was at the school from 9:30am to 1pm AYE! All of my day!
I picked up the lil ones from school and we went to the playground. Flashbacks from my last babysitting playground experience in France came rushing back. All the benches were taken by parents and nounous (babysitters). All the kids were violently thrashing themselves in the playground (or at least that’s what it looked like to me). My kids were happily playing amongst themselves. I love seeing their sister brother relationship it’s so sweet. They are always so nice to each other. They never whine (too much), they always listen to me, they always play together. Such a change from the last kids I babysat in Paris. We came home and played a color game. I would throw a ball while calling out a color in English and they would have to repeat it or choose another one. The boy who is only 3yrs old understands English but won’t speak it. He loved the game! He started repeating the colors! He even asked how to say new ones! His big sister would help him! It was so sweet! Needless to say his mom was very proud when she got home! =) success!
I guess I must be blending in more because two people asked me for “feu” (a light) today. Do I look like a smoker? Hahaha. I don’t think so…Not only that but two girls asked me if they could pass through the metro with me. I find you only get asked this question when you have a NAVIGO pass. That’s how they know you’re from around here! Success!
So tired! Aye! T_T this entry is getting too long so I’ll hold off on talking about Paris and its homeless people.
BTW if I don’t post many pics it’s because I have no camera. I know that’s lame…I know…long story… =/ in any case I can’t afford to buy one so tant pis (too bad).
Anyway, I had to wake up early because I promised my advisor I would meet with her. When I opened the door to the teacher’s lounge it was bursting with professors. There were so many and they were all super excited to meet me. Everyone introduced themselves and they all tried their very best to practice their English. It was very cute. There are some characters and I already met the clown of the bunch. He cracks the silliest jokes. He is tall and lanky, he has long salt and pepper hair, he always has a cup of coffee in hand, and he is quite good looking in a professor kind of way. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a look at an Arab looking professor, woowee he was hott! ^^
My advisor took me on a tour of the school. There are only 500 students and about 60 professors. They have an inner courtyard which is quite large. The halls are always full of students and it can be a bit cumbersome because the halls are somewhat narrow. We met the school principal. He’s a nice man, a little on the shy side, but very sweet. He was happy I spoke French. All the staff was very happy that I spoke French =) so was I!!! The connections you make with people are much better and stronger when you speak their language!
I was introduced to all 5 English teachers, they were all very nice and they were all French. Some had studied English in Canada others in the British Isles. I was invited to sit in on two classes and one mock exam. The first class was an average sized group, but the classroom was really small. I couldn’t talk and just sat in the corner observing. Students stared at me. The teacher would occasionally ask me to confirm a vocab word and the entire class would turn to look at me. The sternness of the teacher and the aloof nature of the students reminded me of the film The Class (Entre les Murs). They were so disconnected and the distance between her and her students made me sad. No one wanted to participate; it was grueling to watch, like pulling teeth. I would hate for one of my classes to go like that. The front row was riding a participation wave. They were the only ones who ever said anything. It was a group of 3 girls in the corner. They were really good! I had two boys next to me who whispered to each other during the entire class period. The teacher never acknowledged them (I guess she’s used to them by now).
A boy in the front row really striked me, he had that thinker look. You could tell the wheels in his head were turning, but he hardly said five words in class. He was a cute young man and left me curious as to what he could’ve said had he been called on. There was only one person in the back row who ever answered a question. He wasn’t always right and didn’t have the best pronunciation, but gosh darn it did he try! I like him already! This class was a little cheeky and I thought I could hear the students whispering about the teacher and the teacher always had her guard up. Even when she tried to be nice you could tell it was forced. She must be really jaded. I wonder if she even enjoys teaching anymore… I’m sure she does, but… =/
My advisor’s class was next. I was expecting the worst after the first class, but au contraire I was pleasantly surprised. It was a smaller group about half the size (10students). Two students came in and immediately spoke to me. I pretended I didn’t understand and they tried their best to speak English. It was pretty good, but we didn’t get far. Hehehe. I tried to talk to the others, but they were either too shy or had too much of a hard time looking for the right words. When my advisor came in I could immediately tell she had a much better relationship with her students. Sure, at times she seemed guarded, but you could tell she enjoyed her work and wanted her students to try. She cared about their efforts. This group seemed much more advanced and weren’t as cheeky as the last. Again I wasn’t introduced and just sat in quietly. They were all so curious about me, but they weren’t allowed to ask me any questions =/
I can’t wait to start! I’m scared and uber-excited at the same time! =D
After her class I sat in on a mock exam. The student had to role play a situation in English. I participated. It was fun until the administrator got her knickers in a knot and began to bicker with the other professors in front of the student about the test. AYE! I wanted out of there! The next student did the same thing in Spanish. I think she was Peruvian so it wasn’t much of a challenge, but she was too quiet and mumbled her words. I wasn’t impressed. She hadn’t prepared anything and kept saying, “I don’t know, I don’t know.” Lame! NEXT! Her answers were BS and it didn’t seem like she cared at all.
I was at the school from 9:30am to 1pm AYE! All of my day!
I picked up the lil ones from school and we went to the playground. Flashbacks from my last babysitting playground experience in France came rushing back. All the benches were taken by parents and nounous (babysitters). All the kids were violently thrashing themselves in the playground (or at least that’s what it looked like to me). My kids were happily playing amongst themselves. I love seeing their sister brother relationship it’s so sweet. They are always so nice to each other. They never whine (too much), they always listen to me, they always play together. Such a change from the last kids I babysat in Paris. We came home and played a color game. I would throw a ball while calling out a color in English and they would have to repeat it or choose another one. The boy who is only 3yrs old understands English but won’t speak it. He loved the game! He started repeating the colors! He even asked how to say new ones! His big sister would help him! It was so sweet! Needless to say his mom was very proud when she got home! =) success!
I guess I must be blending in more because two people asked me for “feu” (a light) today. Do I look like a smoker? Hahaha. I don’t think so…Not only that but two girls asked me if they could pass through the metro with me. I find you only get asked this question when you have a NAVIGO pass. That’s how they know you’re from around here! Success!
So tired! Aye! T_T this entry is getting too long so I’ll hold off on talking about Paris and its homeless people.
BTW if I don’t post many pics it’s because I have no camera. I know that’s lame…I know…long story… =/ in any case I can’t afford to buy one so tant pis (too bad).
Just Another Manic Monday =) Sept 13
This was probably the most interesting day yet! lol and that says something about my life here (so far). I headed straight for the metro to recharge my NAVIGO pass for the week. I don’t feel like I’m back in Parisian mode unless I recharge that thing. You just slide it through the detector and you’re in! If you live here you have one…if you don’t you’re not from around here. And now I have one! Success!
Afterwards I went to my school, the high school where I will be teaching conversational English for the next 7 months. The neighborhood was nice and the students were all waiting in front of the school. Most of the guys had man purses (teehehe). I walked up to the door keeper lady and told her I was the new language assistant. I was directed up a central staircase. Two women were at their desks. They knew who I was! Exactly who I was! They said “oh, we might confuse you with the Spanish teacher, her name is Perez too.” GREAT another Perez, my banker and now a colleague. Wonderful. She gave me a welcome packet and other paperwork to fill out, including my form to be reimbursed for half of my transportation costs! Sweet, that stuff is expensive! She looked up the English teacher’s schedule and walked me to the Teacher’s lounge! How nice! I was expecting nothing from this visit. I met the English teacher, she was the sweetest. She showed me my locker, yes, I have a locker. She gave me so much information and was so happy that I had come in early. (We don’t start til Oct. 1) She even invited me to the English teachers meeting tomorrow morning! I will have students from 5 different professors. They are all business students. There was a huge portfolio in her locker holding all the material from last year. Sweet, because I brought nothing with me. She walked me out and introduced me to everyone we ran into in the halls. I’m excited because tomorrow I’ll be sitting in on one of her classes. =)
That afternoon I picked up my lil ones from their school. We went to the bois (woods) and they had their snack. The boy found a stick and the girl swooped on it and said let’s play “chien!” huh? Did I hear correctly? Does she really want to play dog? 0_o lol she does! Her brother throws the stick and she runs after it. I had never seen anything like it. When it was his turn to be the dog he refused. We tried to build a fire, ended up building a Teepee, and buried a treasure. We spent 2 hours at the bois! I can’t believe it!
I’m pooped! What a tiring day! And they’ll only get worse!
Afterwards I went to my school, the high school where I will be teaching conversational English for the next 7 months. The neighborhood was nice and the students were all waiting in front of the school. Most of the guys had man purses (teehehe). I walked up to the door keeper lady and told her I was the new language assistant. I was directed up a central staircase. Two women were at their desks. They knew who I was! Exactly who I was! They said “oh, we might confuse you with the Spanish teacher, her name is Perez too.” GREAT another Perez, my banker and now a colleague. Wonderful. She gave me a welcome packet and other paperwork to fill out, including my form to be reimbursed for half of my transportation costs! Sweet, that stuff is expensive! She looked up the English teacher’s schedule and walked me to the Teacher’s lounge! How nice! I was expecting nothing from this visit. I met the English teacher, she was the sweetest. She showed me my locker, yes, I have a locker. She gave me so much information and was so happy that I had come in early. (We don’t start til Oct. 1) She even invited me to the English teachers meeting tomorrow morning! I will have students from 5 different professors. They are all business students. There was a huge portfolio in her locker holding all the material from last year. Sweet, because I brought nothing with me. She walked me out and introduced me to everyone we ran into in the halls. I’m excited because tomorrow I’ll be sitting in on one of her classes. =)
That afternoon I picked up my lil ones from their school. We went to the bois (woods) and they had their snack. The boy found a stick and the girl swooped on it and said let’s play “chien!” huh? Did I hear correctly? Does she really want to play dog? 0_o lol she does! Her brother throws the stick and she runs after it. I had never seen anything like it. When it was his turn to be the dog he refused. We tried to build a fire, ended up building a Teepee, and buried a treasure. We spent 2 hours at the bois! I can’t believe it!
I’m pooped! What a tiring day! And they’ll only get worse!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Mon Weekend =) Sept 11-12
Saturday started a lil’ late…because I actually slept in! Incroyable(unbelievable)! I took out my Yellow Pages (remember I have no internet) and looked for a store genre Target/Ikea. I found LeRoyMerlin. It was right in my neighborhood…I had never been, but I always see people with their reusable bags. I went out and was pleasantly surprised! It had a small entrance, but was huge inside. I found what I wanted right away. I was looking for canvas baskets and wall stickers. I know wall stickers sound weird for an American, but they are super popular in France. It’s a great way to decorate a wall when you’re renting and can’t paint or drill holes to hang stuff. I wanted to cover my wall in the dining/living room and well you can see…
I wondered into the lighting section because my living area is a tad dark being that it’s under my mezzanine bed, however, all the lamps were out of my price range =/ c’est dommage (it’s too bad). The containers were in the same area and I settled for a grey canvas container. It fit my book case perfectly! I needed a few, but only bought one because I am on a budget…You see I need the containers because I have a bunch of random stuff all over my shelves and it looks bad. I hate exposing my stuff and I can’t stuff everything into my small closet. =/ When I went up to pay I took out my GAP Visa card and again I got the same reaction…”what kind of card is that?” The kind you pay with, I thought to myself…I explained yet again that it was American and for every amount spent you got a rewards card. She was so impressed and annoyed that in France they didn’t have the same thing.
@ around 2pm I started approaching Forum Les Halles and if you know Paris you know this area is a no go…a place you avoid. Why you ask? Because it has a lot of shady people. It’s a huge shopping center/mall and all of the major trains coming from all of Paris’ suburbs meet at this point. Hence you get a lot of shady people and very inappropriate males… I am walking along and this guy (in his skin tight jeans, leather bomber jacket and fake LV man purse) approaches me. He’s trying to hand me a flyer and I ignore him. He starts yelling at me and says « tu peux au moins être gentille, t’es toute moche, vas te claquer » (you can at least be nice, you’re all ugly, go slap yourself”) LOL OMG I remembered why I never came here!
Later that day I was exhausted and decided it would be an excellent idea to nap. I slept from 4 to 7:30pm…ouch! I’m late for my rendez-vous and now I’ll never be able to sleep later! (Then again I wasn’t counting on sleeping a lot after a night with my friends hehehe).
We had Greek food…I’m so over the kebab/gyro meat in France. On rue Mouffetard our favorite bar was no more. Apparently, the owner sold it to pay off some gambling debt. This always happens to us! At our last favorite bar our bartender left and then the new bartender was an a**hole. We found this new bar and now he sold it! GREAT! We settled for a pub in Place Monge. It was ok =/ It was super full and the back room had no AC (no surprise, we’re in France). We had one drink and left. Then we went to The River! It was EXCELLENT! The bartenders were clearly females…all they played was Sheryl Crow and ABBA hahahaha. I liked it and everyone else seemed to enjoy it too. We had the usual Jack&Coke and a meter of shots…I have no idea what kind of shots. I got stuck with one that tasted like cough syrup. =P not my cup of tea.
Later Jerome said I HAD to try the chien méchant (mean dog) shot. It smelled good, but he refused to tell me what was in it…ok…I trust him. It was soooo good!!!!!! My new favorite shot! It has vodka, 5drops of Tabasco sauce, and some grenadine (berry syrup). You couldn’t taste the vodka, but the Tabasco sauce made sure your mouth was on fire for a good 5min.
Pubs in Paris are known for their gritty bathrooms, but when I finally went in I was actually pretty amused at the revolting state of the stall. Graffiti everywhere, no toilet seat, no ventilation, the stench of pee, black floors, TP all over the floor. It was awesome! I missed gritty bathrooms. It’s part of the experience I guess…lol
We weren’t done drinking! We went to a super expensive brasserie and the waitress was a lil cheeky! Beezie you ain’t got nothing on this! Shut yo’ trap! lol I was not amused by her comment. We then took the night bus to St Mich and had a super expensive snack. It was a 24hr Ben & Jerry’s. Its right in front of the metro and people were sitting around waiting for the metro to open. Aw I missed Paris!
It’s about 4:30am right now and we walked from St Mich to my place in the Marais. It took forever. We had a quick snack and then passed out until about Noon. No hangover! WOOHOO!!! Some of the things we saw on the street that night…well it’s best we just block those images…LOL
Why you should love drinking in Paris:
1.You don’t need a car! You don’t have to worry about driving home!
2.You don’t have to be 21 to drink
3.You can take the night bus home or party til 5am and take the metro home.
4.Around 2:00am bars start closing and a flood of drunks stumble onto the streets of Paris.
5.Clubs close at 5am.
6.You can be drunk on the street and the po don’t care, as long as you’re not killing someone.
What sucks about drinking in Paris:
1.No fast food places are open. You can only find expensive cafés.
2.There are no Jack in the Box Tacos T_T
Not a lot of negatives my friends.
What sucks about drinking in San Jose:
1.You need a car to get home and therefore can never drink more than 1 cocktail/beer.
2.Bars kick you out at 1:15am
3.Clubs kick you out at 1:30am if not 1:15am…
4.There is no night bus to get home! Or metro…
Aw Paris, how I love thee!
I wondered into the lighting section because my living area is a tad dark being that it’s under my mezzanine bed, however, all the lamps were out of my price range =/ c’est dommage (it’s too bad). The containers were in the same area and I settled for a grey canvas container. It fit my book case perfectly! I needed a few, but only bought one because I am on a budget…You see I need the containers because I have a bunch of random stuff all over my shelves and it looks bad. I hate exposing my stuff and I can’t stuff everything into my small closet. =/ When I went up to pay I took out my GAP Visa card and again I got the same reaction…”what kind of card is that?” The kind you pay with, I thought to myself…I explained yet again that it was American and for every amount spent you got a rewards card. She was so impressed and annoyed that in France they didn’t have the same thing.
@ around 2pm I started approaching Forum Les Halles and if you know Paris you know this area is a no go…a place you avoid. Why you ask? Because it has a lot of shady people. It’s a huge shopping center/mall and all of the major trains coming from all of Paris’ suburbs meet at this point. Hence you get a lot of shady people and very inappropriate males… I am walking along and this guy (in his skin tight jeans, leather bomber jacket and fake LV man purse) approaches me. He’s trying to hand me a flyer and I ignore him. He starts yelling at me and says « tu peux au moins être gentille, t’es toute moche, vas te claquer » (you can at least be nice, you’re all ugly, go slap yourself”) LOL OMG I remembered why I never came here!
Later that day I was exhausted and decided it would be an excellent idea to nap. I slept from 4 to 7:30pm…ouch! I’m late for my rendez-vous and now I’ll never be able to sleep later! (Then again I wasn’t counting on sleeping a lot after a night with my friends hehehe).
We had Greek food…I’m so over the kebab/gyro meat in France. On rue Mouffetard our favorite bar was no more. Apparently, the owner sold it to pay off some gambling debt. This always happens to us! At our last favorite bar our bartender left and then the new bartender was an a**hole. We found this new bar and now he sold it! GREAT! We settled for a pub in Place Monge. It was ok =/ It was super full and the back room had no AC (no surprise, we’re in France). We had one drink and left. Then we went to The River! It was EXCELLENT! The bartenders were clearly females…all they played was Sheryl Crow and ABBA hahahaha. I liked it and everyone else seemed to enjoy it too. We had the usual Jack&Coke and a meter of shots…I have no idea what kind of shots. I got stuck with one that tasted like cough syrup. =P not my cup of tea.
Later Jerome said I HAD to try the chien méchant (mean dog) shot. It smelled good, but he refused to tell me what was in it…ok…I trust him. It was soooo good!!!!!! My new favorite shot! It has vodka, 5drops of Tabasco sauce, and some grenadine (berry syrup). You couldn’t taste the vodka, but the Tabasco sauce made sure your mouth was on fire for a good 5min.
Pubs in Paris are known for their gritty bathrooms, but when I finally went in I was actually pretty amused at the revolting state of the stall. Graffiti everywhere, no toilet seat, no ventilation, the stench of pee, black floors, TP all over the floor. It was awesome! I missed gritty bathrooms. It’s part of the experience I guess…lol
We weren’t done drinking! We went to a super expensive brasserie and the waitress was a lil cheeky! Beezie you ain’t got nothing on this! Shut yo’ trap! lol I was not amused by her comment. We then took the night bus to St Mich and had a super expensive snack. It was a 24hr Ben & Jerry’s. Its right in front of the metro and people were sitting around waiting for the metro to open. Aw I missed Paris!
It’s about 4:30am right now and we walked from St Mich to my place in the Marais. It took forever. We had a quick snack and then passed out until about Noon. No hangover! WOOHOO!!! Some of the things we saw on the street that night…well it’s best we just block those images…LOL
Why you should love drinking in Paris:
1.You don’t need a car! You don’t have to worry about driving home!
2.You don’t have to be 21 to drink
3.You can take the night bus home or party til 5am and take the metro home.
4.Around 2:00am bars start closing and a flood of drunks stumble onto the streets of Paris.
5.Clubs close at 5am.
6.You can be drunk on the street and the po don’t care, as long as you’re not killing someone.
What sucks about drinking in Paris:
1.No fast food places are open. You can only find expensive cafés.
2.There are no Jack in the Box Tacos T_T
Not a lot of negatives my friends.
What sucks about drinking in San Jose:
1.You need a car to get home and therefore can never drink more than 1 cocktail/beer.
2.Bars kick you out at 1:15am
3.Clubs kick you out at 1:30am if not 1:15am…
4.There is no night bus to get home! Or metro…
Aw Paris, how I love thee!
Things to like about Paris-Sept 10th
The Men:
I live in the Marais so men are everywhere. I actually live two blocks from the LGBT center of Paris. Anyway so…men! Men and their man purses! They’re everywhere! LV, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, all kinds of man purses. I find the younger the man the more likely he is to be wearing a man purse! lol =P
The older ones are all about the briefcase! Leather ones are the favorites! Dark brown or classic Black, the French business man who weaves through the streets and sits in the metro always has his briefcase! He is pretty hott my friends! lol In a way I feel like they take themselves too seriously, but I guess it’s part of their jobs. Some of the younger guys have the Longchamp pliage briefcase…a lot more Cas! lol
I must also comment on the French man and his skinny jeans! Black pants, black or blue jeans…all of them are skinny skinny skinny! (I’m talking about the pants/jeans) They’re everywhere! I appreciate a fit man in his skinny jeans! If you’ve ever been or lived in Paris you know what I’m talking about. This Frenchy is wearing the heck out them pants and rockin’ his black v-neck tee with a ciggie in hand! LOL he is too cute and too euro for me! But nice to look at!
Anyway what is it about Paris that makes you want to wear things you would never even think of in the States! For example…I’m seriously considering a pair of Camel ankle boots…I would never do that in the States! lol ankle boots…what a thought! The window spotting in Zara didn’t help much either! I walked by a pair of my fantasy boots in Luxembourg…I had to mentally hold myself back from charging yet another splurge on my credit card! In my defense they were only 25euro! Very reasonable price if you ask me! They will be mine! Come December…if not November! I will be featuring a pic of my proud purchase!
@Gibert Joseph
This is a 5 story bookstore in Paris’ Latin Quarter. I had to go buy my books for the semester. If you need books this is the place to go…and…they’re super cheap, if you can find a used copy of your book! Well I did and I ended up paying 18euro (roughly $23) for all six books! Sweet! In the States I would’ve paid at least $10 for each one!
The registers were packed because it’s Back to School and everyone’s stocking up. My line was relatively short but someone had to ask about a club card…and then the lady before me had to do 2 separate transactions! Needless to say I was watching all the other lines move at a record pace compared to mine! When I finally got up to pay the guy was super sweet. He reminded me of a Joseph I once knew. I handed him my GAP card and he said “oh are you sponsored by them?” LOL “um, no buddy!”(didn’t really say that) I just said “non.” Then he asked me for my autograph! LoL how original! He had a twinkle in his eye. Is he flirting? See in France people are nice and flirty when they want to be. Most of the time they’re serious and don’t give a eff. So when someone is nice to you you take notice right away, especially with guys! I’m pretty oblivious when guys flirt with me; you have to be pretty obvious for me to get the hint. With French guys I know right away especially when it’s an employee somewhere. In the States employees always have to be nice to the customer no matter what. In France they genuinely don’t care and customer service is NOT king. So this guy’s smile and lame jokes made me walk away thinking…hhmmm…was he? I think he was? Hhmmm…should I have followed up on that? Nah! Too late now! LoL
Today was a good day because I finally talked to my mom! She didn’t have very good news for me, but financially for me things would be ok! =) What would I do without parentals!?! I try to be independent, but I guess you have to admit to yourself and others when you need help and I definitely NEED help. I also got to chat with one of my BFFs Peters! The skype connection wasn’t the best, but we got to catch up =) Hours later I got a mysterious blocked call! It could only mean one thing! A skype call! It was Kalisa! O-M-G it was so nice to hear from her, from a friend! She was so sweet to me! =) Thanx Kalisa!
Wanna know what Frenchies listen to? Check out NRJ radio online…their playlist includes:
Flo Rida
Joyce Johnson
James Blunt
Usher
Superbus
James Derulo
And too much Katy Perry!
You guessed it…they listen to a lot of American music…much to our (or my) disappointment.
I live in the Marais so men are everywhere. I actually live two blocks from the LGBT center of Paris. Anyway so…men! Men and their man purses! They’re everywhere! LV, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, all kinds of man purses. I find the younger the man the more likely he is to be wearing a man purse! lol =P
The older ones are all about the briefcase! Leather ones are the favorites! Dark brown or classic Black, the French business man who weaves through the streets and sits in the metro always has his briefcase! He is pretty hott my friends! lol In a way I feel like they take themselves too seriously, but I guess it’s part of their jobs. Some of the younger guys have the Longchamp pliage briefcase…a lot more Cas! lol
I must also comment on the French man and his skinny jeans! Black pants, black or blue jeans…all of them are skinny skinny skinny! (I’m talking about the pants/jeans) They’re everywhere! I appreciate a fit man in his skinny jeans! If you’ve ever been or lived in Paris you know what I’m talking about. This Frenchy is wearing the heck out them pants and rockin’ his black v-neck tee with a ciggie in hand! LOL he is too cute and too euro for me! But nice to look at!
Anyway what is it about Paris that makes you want to wear things you would never even think of in the States! For example…I’m seriously considering a pair of Camel ankle boots…I would never do that in the States! lol ankle boots…what a thought! The window spotting in Zara didn’t help much either! I walked by a pair of my fantasy boots in Luxembourg…I had to mentally hold myself back from charging yet another splurge on my credit card! In my defense they were only 25euro! Very reasonable price if you ask me! They will be mine! Come December…if not November! I will be featuring a pic of my proud purchase!
@Gibert Joseph
This is a 5 story bookstore in Paris’ Latin Quarter. I had to go buy my books for the semester. If you need books this is the place to go…and…they’re super cheap, if you can find a used copy of your book! Well I did and I ended up paying 18euro (roughly $23) for all six books! Sweet! In the States I would’ve paid at least $10 for each one!
The registers were packed because it’s Back to School and everyone’s stocking up. My line was relatively short but someone had to ask about a club card…and then the lady before me had to do 2 separate transactions! Needless to say I was watching all the other lines move at a record pace compared to mine! When I finally got up to pay the guy was super sweet. He reminded me of a Joseph I once knew. I handed him my GAP card and he said “oh are you sponsored by them?” LOL “um, no buddy!”(didn’t really say that) I just said “non.” Then he asked me for my autograph! LoL how original! He had a twinkle in his eye. Is he flirting? See in France people are nice and flirty when they want to be. Most of the time they’re serious and don’t give a eff. So when someone is nice to you you take notice right away, especially with guys! I’m pretty oblivious when guys flirt with me; you have to be pretty obvious for me to get the hint. With French guys I know right away especially when it’s an employee somewhere. In the States employees always have to be nice to the customer no matter what. In France they genuinely don’t care and customer service is NOT king. So this guy’s smile and lame jokes made me walk away thinking…hhmmm…was he? I think he was? Hhmmm…should I have followed up on that? Nah! Too late now! LoL
Today was a good day because I finally talked to my mom! She didn’t have very good news for me, but financially for me things would be ok! =) What would I do without parentals!?! I try to be independent, but I guess you have to admit to yourself and others when you need help and I definitely NEED help. I also got to chat with one of my BFFs Peters! The skype connection wasn’t the best, but we got to catch up =) Hours later I got a mysterious blocked call! It could only mean one thing! A skype call! It was Kalisa! O-M-G it was so nice to hear from her, from a friend! She was so sweet to me! =) Thanx Kalisa!
Wanna know what Frenchies listen to? Check out NRJ radio online…their playlist includes:
Flo Rida
Joyce Johnson
James Blunt
Usher
Superbus
James Derulo
And too much Katy Perry!
You guessed it…they listen to a lot of American music…much to our (or my) disappointment.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pics from my world!
pics from top to bottom:a beautiful rose from something that was and is no more T_T, my straight hair using no brush! lol i forgot it in Cali!, looking out my window, my kitchenette, my living/dining room.
My food porn in Paris
Aside from the occasional MacDo because I need free wifi, I’ve been eating pretty well. I was even able to button my black skinny pants! (I bought them 2yrs ago at GAP Paris) Since my landlady bought me veggies (purple and black eggplant, tomatos, yellow/green bell peppers), I’ve been pan frying them with eggs, or with basil and olive oil. I topped some of the eggplant with Mimolette cheese (an orange aged cheese that we ate at my house last Friday!) it was a good idea! With the leftovers I stuffed a galette (a crepe that is used for savory crepes). Galettes are much thinner and darker than the ones you normally see. I honestly didn’t know what to buy in grocery stores here until I started eating with my ex and shopping with his mom. I learned what cheeses to buy, what cereal to choose, what breakfast foods to pick up,
I learned which one was the GOOD butter! =)
Happy Eid friends! BTW I’ve been listening to Beur FM (beur is what Frenchies call people from North Africa who live here). There are many Eid Celebrations going on! I’d love to go, but I have no Arab friends to go with! T_T I wanna go!!!! =( It’s so cool to hear French Arabic together lol I love it! =) Yes! Now I can work on my Arabic listening and French listening! Thanks Beur FM! =)
Fete of eid!: aux émittes de paris 18 sept. I dono where???
11sept. la Kasbah paris 11eme, disco!
I learned which one was the GOOD butter! =)
Happy Eid friends! BTW I’ve been listening to Beur FM (beur is what Frenchies call people from North Africa who live here). There are many Eid Celebrations going on! I’d love to go, but I have no Arab friends to go with! T_T I wanna go!!!! =( It’s so cool to hear French Arabic together lol I love it! =) Yes! Now I can work on my Arabic listening and French listening! Thanks Beur FM! =)
Fete of eid!: aux émittes de paris 18 sept. I dono where???
11sept. la Kasbah paris 11eme, disco!
Ça pue la mèrde…Paris! Sept 9th
A lil poem I made up while walking around my neighborhood.
Paris, tes coins puent la pisse…
Tes bâtiments sont tous vieux
Paris, tes clochards puent la pisse…
Tes places sont sales
Paris, tes pigeons puent la mèrde…
Tes trottoirs sont trop petits
Paris…tu pues la mèrde mais je t’aime quand même =)
Mon quartier (my neighborhood)
Ok, it’s sketchy…I have to tell it like it is. The northern part is a lil’ sketch but the southern part is ok. North of my street: full of whole sale shops/ small narrow streets. South of my street: cafés/shops/Centre Pompidou. I guess I won’t go anywhere North of my street! Ça craint! (it’s scary) I’m starting to have a better sense of direction around these streets. There are so many lil ones I get confused! Some buildings lean into the street because they’re so old. On others you see lil tunnels leading to another street, lil shortcuts.
I have to thank Jean-Marc for my Nano! =) It’s been such a blessing! I was able to record a tour of my place and listen to French radio. I have no TV so it’s great to still be up to date on music, news, and weather! I listened to the morning show and the DJ said « salut à tous, et à toi qui te poses des questions existentielles ce matin…arrête c’est pas la peine, tu vas métro, boulot, dodo, c’est fini, arrêt ! » (Loose translation : Hi everyone, and you who’s asking yourself existential questions this morning…stop, it’s not worth it, you’re going to the metro, work, and sleep, it’s over, stop!) LOL I dono, but when he said that I started cracking up! How often do we? Do I? Wake up in the morning asking ourselves random questions like: why am I here? What am I doing with my life? Why in Paris? LOL just let it go! And the fact that he poked fun at it (in French) made me chuckle! =)
I went to the bank and booked my appt to open an account apparently my banker’s last name is also Perez! Oh joy! >_> no BFD lady! <_< like there aren’t a billion million others out there with that name! My appt was in the early afternoon so I decided to head to MacDo for free wifi…a homeless guy sat next to me and mumbled something random. He was looking for a girl who lived in the suburbs and wanted me to use my internet to help him find her…uh…no…sorry. But I told him to wait until I finished. I was almost outta battery and wondered how I would get out of this…argh! He asked for a pen and I lied saying I didn’t have one. He wanted to write down her name for me. He went off asking everyone for a pen. I closed my netbook and ran off! LOL I’m sorry! I really didn’t want to deal with him, he was smelly, weird, mumbling, and wheezing…and I’m a busy bee my friend! LOL obviously today wasn’t the best day for Karma…tant pis (oh well)!
It being such a beautiful day I wandered around the Marais (gay neighborhood in Paris aka: my neighborhood). It was a warm 70degrees and the streets were full of people =) As I’m walking in my most confident posture ^^ a Frenchy checks out my shoes LOL eyeing me from top to bottom as we cross paths! LOL so funny…Parisian women do that sometimes. I can’t believe she was checking out my shoes LOL an old pair of Aldo boots I bought in the States. They are so worn out, but haven’t failed me yet! I wanted to sit in the sun and sat on a ledge next to Centre Pompidou. It was full of pigeon poop…>_< and dirty feathers. In the corner there was a small group of pigeons. I sat down and opened my netbook. I had a faint internet signal from the Centre and signed on to FB. There was a light breeze and then all I could smell was bird poop. Woof after woof…it was nauseating…I wanted to puke…I couldn’t take it…I was going to hurl. The heat from the sun, the breeze, and the group of pigeons hanging around made it impossible to stick around! I ran ran ran as fast and as far as I could…such a great location…it’s too bad! =/ damn pigeons!
This is the Paris I missed…Fall in the city, sunny streets, people watching, and sun bathing on benches. =) That afternoon at the bank: I can’t open a bank acct. without proof of residence…maybe Monday…ARGH
I met up with the family that I will nounou (babysit). We picked up the kids. I met the teachers. And it was pouring rain! The kids had scooters and were going super fast! I was afraid they would fall. We ended up going into a building and waiting out the rain a lil’.
We went to Denfert to pick up my blow dryer and straightener. It was an interesting afternoon, but I think I needed it. It was good. The night was still young so I headed to MacDo at Hotel de Ville for free wifi. When you sit in MacDo looking out at the Hotel de Ville…it is very surreal! I felt so lucky to be in Paris =) I ruined my dinner by ordering fries…I didn’t get home til 9:45pm and was too tired to cook. Walking through my neighborhood on Beaubourg it was a lil sketch, but once I got to Rambateau and turned onto Rue St Martin things were better. There were tons of people on the street. That’s what I love about Paris there are always people on the street. Then on my street there was a crowd of people lining up in front of a resto (slang for restaurant). It wasn’t quiet at all! I gotta get out more! Lol
Paris, tes coins puent la pisse…
Tes bâtiments sont tous vieux
Paris, tes clochards puent la pisse…
Tes places sont sales
Paris, tes pigeons puent la mèrde…
Tes trottoirs sont trop petits
Paris…tu pues la mèrde mais je t’aime quand même =)
Mon quartier (my neighborhood)
Ok, it’s sketchy…I have to tell it like it is. The northern part is a lil’ sketch but the southern part is ok. North of my street: full of whole sale shops/ small narrow streets. South of my street: cafés/shops/Centre Pompidou. I guess I won’t go anywhere North of my street! Ça craint! (it’s scary) I’m starting to have a better sense of direction around these streets. There are so many lil ones I get confused! Some buildings lean into the street because they’re so old. On others you see lil tunnels leading to another street, lil shortcuts.
I have to thank Jean-Marc for my Nano! =) It’s been such a blessing! I was able to record a tour of my place and listen to French radio. I have no TV so it’s great to still be up to date on music, news, and weather! I listened to the morning show and the DJ said « salut à tous, et à toi qui te poses des questions existentielles ce matin…arrête c’est pas la peine, tu vas métro, boulot, dodo, c’est fini, arrêt ! » (Loose translation : Hi everyone, and you who’s asking yourself existential questions this morning…stop, it’s not worth it, you’re going to the metro, work, and sleep, it’s over, stop!) LOL I dono, but when he said that I started cracking up! How often do we? Do I? Wake up in the morning asking ourselves random questions like: why am I here? What am I doing with my life? Why in Paris? LOL just let it go! And the fact that he poked fun at it (in French) made me chuckle! =)
I went to the bank and booked my appt to open an account apparently my banker’s last name is also Perez! Oh joy! >_> no BFD lady! <_< like there aren’t a billion million others out there with that name! My appt was in the early afternoon so I decided to head to MacDo for free wifi…a homeless guy sat next to me and mumbled something random. He was looking for a girl who lived in the suburbs and wanted me to use my internet to help him find her…uh…no…sorry. But I told him to wait until I finished. I was almost outta battery and wondered how I would get out of this…argh! He asked for a pen and I lied saying I didn’t have one. He wanted to write down her name for me. He went off asking everyone for a pen. I closed my netbook and ran off! LOL I’m sorry! I really didn’t want to deal with him, he was smelly, weird, mumbling, and wheezing…and I’m a busy bee my friend! LOL obviously today wasn’t the best day for Karma…tant pis (oh well)!
It being such a beautiful day I wandered around the Marais (gay neighborhood in Paris aka: my neighborhood). It was a warm 70degrees and the streets were full of people =) As I’m walking in my most confident posture ^^ a Frenchy checks out my shoes LOL eyeing me from top to bottom as we cross paths! LOL so funny…Parisian women do that sometimes. I can’t believe she was checking out my shoes LOL an old pair of Aldo boots I bought in the States. They are so worn out, but haven’t failed me yet! I wanted to sit in the sun and sat on a ledge next to Centre Pompidou. It was full of pigeon poop…>_< and dirty feathers. In the corner there was a small group of pigeons. I sat down and opened my netbook. I had a faint internet signal from the Centre and signed on to FB. There was a light breeze and then all I could smell was bird poop. Woof after woof…it was nauseating…I wanted to puke…I couldn’t take it…I was going to hurl. The heat from the sun, the breeze, and the group of pigeons hanging around made it impossible to stick around! I ran ran ran as fast and as far as I could…such a great location…it’s too bad! =/ damn pigeons!
This is the Paris I missed…Fall in the city, sunny streets, people watching, and sun bathing on benches. =) That afternoon at the bank: I can’t open a bank acct. without proof of residence…maybe Monday…ARGH
I met up with the family that I will nounou (babysit). We picked up the kids. I met the teachers. And it was pouring rain! The kids had scooters and were going super fast! I was afraid they would fall. We ended up going into a building and waiting out the rain a lil’.
We went to Denfert to pick up my blow dryer and straightener. It was an interesting afternoon, but I think I needed it. It was good. The night was still young so I headed to MacDo at Hotel de Ville for free wifi. When you sit in MacDo looking out at the Hotel de Ville…it is very surreal! I felt so lucky to be in Paris =) I ruined my dinner by ordering fries…I didn’t get home til 9:45pm and was too tired to cook. Walking through my neighborhood on Beaubourg it was a lil sketch, but once I got to Rambateau and turned onto Rue St Martin things were better. There were tons of people on the street. That’s what I love about Paris there are always people on the street. Then on my street there was a crowd of people lining up in front of a resto (slang for restaurant). It wasn’t quiet at all! I gotta get out more! Lol
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Day 2 in Paris
I had my cereal, wrote in my journal ^^ and ran to MICEFA. I had left my big suitcase there yesterday. I think the 38 is now my life line… =) I was fresh, clean, and struttin my boots on a cloudy rainy morning in Paris! I was feelin’ good. One thing about my neighborhood it’s a lil sketch. Some streets are very busy others are small, dark, and quiet, its next to two main boulevards with a bit of everything creepers and normal peeps…it’s a great central location, but I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out at <_< >_> night...
I used the internet at the MICEFA and finally headed out with my suitcase. No rush hour this time so it was easy getting on the bus. The bus lady was surprisingly nice! She said bonjour, merci for exact change, aw ma pauvre because I had a huge suitcase. =) it’s ok NP =) I got to my place and commenced the clunking of my suitcase with every step…luckily the gardien was around and heard my struggle. He ran down the stairs and carried it all the way up =) merci beaucoup! =) see people! As many meanies as there are in Paris you find super nice ones too! =) I unloaded my life and made lunch. I headed out to find free wifi with no luck. I know MacDo has free wifi but it’s always so full and smelly and has the sleeziest men hanging around it… So I went to Vincennes to meet the kids that I will be babysitting this year. They were super nice! We had plum tart with their mom and played with some toys. We took a stroll through the neighborhood and made a date for tomorrow. I felt better about being back today. I felt like I could get back into the swing of things =)
TO DO LIST:
Get visa paperwork done! (this should be interesting!)
Open bank account (that’ll be a process)
Once #2 is done I can get internet & pay my electricity bill =)
Visit my school of employment =)
Side note: all of today and yesterday I’ve been hearing from old friends via text msgs. It’s super nice to hear from people that I met here! It gives me hope for a great time in Paris! =) Thanks friends! <3
*** Strut the streets of Paris to the Kings of Leon album and you’ll rock it! I did it today and felt like I could take on the world. LOL =D especially to their songs ‘Crawl’ and ‘Sex On Fire’
Parisian women: they have the most amazing sweaters I’ve ever seen! I want them! So jealous!
I used the internet at the MICEFA and finally headed out with my suitcase. No rush hour this time so it was easy getting on the bus. The bus lady was surprisingly nice! She said bonjour, merci for exact change, aw ma pauvre because I had a huge suitcase. =) it’s ok NP =) I got to my place and commenced the clunking of my suitcase with every step…luckily the gardien was around and heard my struggle. He ran down the stairs and carried it all the way up =) merci beaucoup! =) see people! As many meanies as there are in Paris you find super nice ones too! =) I unloaded my life and made lunch. I headed out to find free wifi with no luck. I know MacDo has free wifi but it’s always so full and smelly and has the sleeziest men hanging around it… So I went to Vincennes to meet the kids that I will be babysitting this year. They were super nice! We had plum tart with their mom and played with some toys. We took a stroll through the neighborhood and made a date for tomorrow. I felt better about being back today. I felt like I could get back into the swing of things =)
TO DO LIST:
Get visa paperwork done! (this should be interesting!)
Open bank account (that’ll be a process)
Once #2 is done I can get internet & pay my electricity bill =)
Visit my school of employment =)
Side note: all of today and yesterday I’ve been hearing from old friends via text msgs. It’s super nice to hear from people that I met here! It gives me hope for a great time in Paris! =) Thanks friends! <3
*** Strut the streets of Paris to the Kings of Leon album and you’ll rock it! I did it today and felt like I could take on the world. LOL =D especially to their songs ‘Crawl’ and ‘Sex On Fire’
Parisian women: they have the most amazing sweaters I’ve ever seen! I want them! So jealous!
You have ARRIVED! Sept 7th
When we landed, a cloudy île-de-France greeted me…mèrde!(shit) what am I doing here? What did I get myself into!? Is this what I wanted? Every bad Parisian/French memory kept flashing through my mind…why? Why? Why? Why had I come back? AAHHH!!!! I was so worried would Ed be here? What if he wasn’t? What if I hate my time here? What had I done!? Then I thought…would you want to be in San Jose? UH…NO! hahahaha that was easy and then I smiled to myself. I got off the plane shaky and nervous. I immediately heard the French…it was all around…the intercom…the adverts…the signs…the passports…the cars…AIR FRANCE planes…I was back…back…here again…HELLO again France… >_<
The passport control guy asked me nothing, just stamped…baggage claim was a breeze aside from the heavy lifting. It was an hour after my landing time. POOP! Would Ed be here? PLEASE…PLEASE be here! I exited and saw a sea of people…where was my former student/friend who I hadn’t seen in 2yrs!? I turned the corner and saw a tall blond guy in glasses, holding a scarf, and carrying a briefcase (very French) he was walking toward me. It was him! He was here! Waiting for me! YAY! All anxiety left me in that moment! We hugged and went to the parking lot. He had a Renault…of course! (very French!) We squeezed my luggage in the back and we were off. I was so happy to see him and catch up. So grateful that he had done me this huge favor! =) I’m truly blessed to have met people like him in France =) The Périphérique was for the most part traffic free and fluide =) We got to the MICEFA and he went off to work. I promised him a drink to thank him =)
MICEFA
I walked two blocks to the MICEFA office a walk that I know all too well. During my year abroad they proved to be an invaluable resource and here I was 2 years later looking to them for shelter because my landlady wasn’t in Paris yet…=( I was sweating bricks when I got there. When I walked in and saw Mel and Nancy I was overwhelmed with relief to see familiar faces =) They were so sweet and genuinely happy to see me. ^^ I walked a few blocks down and bought a SIM card for my French phone. Only two people were ahead of me, but it took the staff 30min to get done with them. An older woman was ahead of me and the employee skipped her and went on to the next person. She snapped at the employee! Aw old people in Paris! I missed you! You get crazy on everyone! Never happy! I went back to MICEFA and squatted in the office til my landlady got to Paris. I was super exhausted and just wanted to pass out.
75003
Around 4:45 I got the call! My landlady was here! I rushed to the 38 and squeezed into the bus. I didn’t think I could fit and stood outside the door but a lady kept telling me to climb in. I got in as the door hit my butt. It was packed with people who had just gotten off work. I didn’t even pay! LOL it was so full! We were sardines! This guy hit an older lady (I’m sure it was because it was so packed and he hadn’t meant to). Well she went off on him calling him a grosse mèrde, a chien, a gros conard! LoL it was crazy! He slapped her. She raised her voice again and started to slap him with her newspaper. Everyone told her to calm down and he continued to yell at her. It was an uproar, but the bus driver paid no mind LOL =P it was pure entertainment! Drama! <_< Ah Paris, Paris!
Chez moi at last!
As I’m walking to my place, I see two men arguing ahead of me. They were yelling at each other because one didn’t move out of the way! LOL aw Parisians…so aggressive! How I missed thee! I saw my landlady at the end of my street. She was lookin’ sharp! =) we walked through a small door and up an old winding staircase. I have a rabbit doormat! So cute! LoL It’s a small studio, but has everything I need! A small kitchen with: coffee maker, hot water maker thingy, cutting board, utensils and plates included! The previous tenant even left some food! And my landlady brought me veggies from her garden! =) so nice! She cut my rent for the month because I came in on the 7th, yay! =) she even left cleaning products for me! =) She gave me towels and bedding! I’m so lucky! =) Merci beaucoup!
That night I went to G20 a supermarket down the street and around the corner. I got some essentials and once again experienced the never ending line of customers. It makes me chuckle when there are five registers and only 2 are open when both lines are at the back of the store…only in Paris! Ah Paris!
I made dinner steak haché and tomato salad. =) nom nom! =P I slept well til midnight when I woke up…and then again at 4am…damn jet lag! But it’s ok! I made soup and fell sound asleep til 8am =) Nothin like a good bowl of soup to put you to bed =) I used to think living alone would be lonely, but I totally enjoyed it last time. The quiet, you can do what you want without having to worry about bothering others. It’s nice, it’s yours, only yours! =)
MICEFA
I walked two blocks to the MICEFA office a walk that I know all too well. During my year abroad they proved to be an invaluable resource and here I was 2 years later looking to them for shelter because my landlady wasn’t in Paris yet…=( I was sweating bricks when I got there. When I walked in and saw Mel and Nancy I was overwhelmed with relief to see familiar faces =) They were so sweet and genuinely happy to see me. ^^ I walked a few blocks down and bought a SIM card for my French phone. Only two people were ahead of me, but it took the staff 30min to get done with them. An older woman was ahead of me and the employee skipped her and went on to the next person. She snapped at the employee! Aw old people in Paris! I missed you! You get crazy on everyone! Never happy! I went back to MICEFA and squatted in the office til my landlady got to Paris. I was super exhausted and just wanted to pass out.
75003
Around 4:45 I got the call! My landlady was here! I rushed to the 38 and squeezed into the bus. I didn’t think I could fit and stood outside the door but a lady kept telling me to climb in. I got in as the door hit my butt. It was packed with people who had just gotten off work. I didn’t even pay! LOL it was so full! We were sardines! This guy hit an older lady (I’m sure it was because it was so packed and he hadn’t meant to). Well she went off on him calling him a grosse mèrde, a chien, a gros conard! LoL it was crazy! He slapped her. She raised her voice again and started to slap him with her newspaper. Everyone told her to calm down and he continued to yell at her. It was an uproar, but the bus driver paid no mind LOL =P it was pure entertainment! Drama! <_< Ah Paris, Paris!
Chez moi at last!
As I’m walking to my place, I see two men arguing ahead of me. They were yelling at each other because one didn’t move out of the way! LOL aw Parisians…so aggressive! How I missed thee! I saw my landlady at the end of my street. She was lookin’ sharp! =) we walked through a small door and up an old winding staircase. I have a rabbit doormat! So cute! LoL It’s a small studio, but has everything I need! A small kitchen with: coffee maker, hot water maker thingy, cutting board, utensils and plates included! The previous tenant even left some food! And my landlady brought me veggies from her garden! =) so nice! She cut my rent for the month because I came in on the 7th, yay! =) she even left cleaning products for me! =) She gave me towels and bedding! I’m so lucky! =) Merci beaucoup!
That night I went to G20 a supermarket down the street and around the corner. I got some essentials and once again experienced the never ending line of customers. It makes me chuckle when there are five registers and only 2 are open when both lines are at the back of the store…only in Paris! Ah Paris!
I made dinner steak haché and tomato salad. =) nom nom! =P I slept well til midnight when I woke up…and then again at 4am…damn jet lag! But it’s ok! I made soup and fell sound asleep til 8am =) Nothin like a good bowl of soup to put you to bed =) I used to think living alone would be lonely, but I totally enjoyed it last time. The quiet, you can do what you want without having to worry about bothering others. It’s nice, it’s yours, only yours! =)
Flights and Airports
FLIGHT 1:
I was assigned group 3, but was the first group called up. I boarded the plane and got an aisle seat in the back. An old couple was already sitting down in my row. I hadn’t slept all night and immediately passed out. This was the first time I had brought an inflatable travel pillow with me. It proved to be heaven sent. =) I woke up to this old man elbowing me. He wasn’t a big guy but I guess he didn’t mind elbowing me as he moved. He never even apologized! RUDE! I usually need gum to keep my ears from plugging up during take-off and landing, but this time my ears were fine…weird…cool…but weird…maybe I now have the habitude =) When we landed the old guy immediately got up. He forced himself through, his butt in my face and grabbed his carry-on from the overhead bin. Ok buddy, no one is moving we’re all stuck here, you getting up isn’t going to make things move any faster! The entire time he kept speaking Portuguese to his wife telling her to hop over to the aisle. I’m still sitting here buddy! And we’re still not moving! Her getting up does nothing! People start to file out and I finally get up so that she can move closer to her hubby. However, we’re still stuck there and he’s still nagging her to get up, except I’m standing in front of her seat with nowhere to move. It was so annoying!!!>_<)
Miami Airport:
Its only 2:30 when we arrive to Miami and I have to wait til 6:20pm for my flight to Paris. As I walk towards the gate I get really light headed…shit! I’m going to pass out! My backpack is so heavy…I’m sleep deprived, starving (because American airlines don’t give food anymore!>_< so stingy!), and annoyed! I’m looking for food as I walk, but all I see are newsstands >_< and the occasional coffee and refrigerated sandwich place…where is the FOODCOURT! What is with these Miami people? All the women are in espardillas, shorts, skirts, huge sunglasses, great tans! And bodies! They looked beach friendly and fashion forward…and here I am, frizzy hair, huge bags under my eyes, yoga pants, dirty white Vans, and a white shirt full of sweat, enormous backpack, lugging my carry-on! And rockin’ my new scarf that I got from Kanhong! (Ya Kanhong! hahaha)…needless to say I felt very small in this sea of beachy fashionistas…=/
I settle for Nathan’s Hotdog stand…very crappy fries…gag! No seating! I had to sit in a waiting area, balancing my food on my knees, as I’m about to pass out! I eat and call my peeps back home. I finally start heading back to my gate. I popped 2 motion sickness pills and ate so I’m feelin’ a lil’ better. ^^
I see a duty free shop and stop to buy cheap VS Coconut Passion mist(b/c I forgot my perfume)(for some reason I’m obsessed with everything that smells like coconut right now! I have no idea why! Before I couldn’t stand that smell and now its intoxicating to me! ^_^) The meanie poo who rang me up was the same Beezie that greeted me at the door…=/ she wasn’t very nice…The two men helping me out at the counter looked African American to me, but they immediately spoke Spanish to me! MIND BLOWING! Sorry, but I’m only used to hearing/seeing Mexicans speak Spanish. Remember I’m from the west coast LOL NorCal…we don’t get very many islanders from the Caribbean, so every time I hear a Cuban or Dominican or Puerto Rican speak Spanish the accent blows my mind :D
Walking back to my gate I stop by a newsstand…I’m debating between Cosmo or Glamour…the news girl comes over and says “don’t get those! Get one of these!” She’s pointing to Us Weekly and OK magazine LOL I tell her, “I would, but they have no fashion section” she says “oh I hate that!” LOL LOL this spins off into a long conversation, well as long as is possible since she’s working. LOL We start talking about everything. I spit my TeenMom obsession and we discuss boys, work, school, Florida weather and the flat terrain of the state. She is truly unhappy here. Surprising…>_> She totally opens up to me! And I to her! I’m feeling so crappy (and mad that I always get stuck with crappy people sitting next to me on flights!) and she is standing there listening to me and telling me all about her! LoL it was so refreshing to meet someone new who’s actually nice! =) I tell her about my ex and my history with everything French, hehehe. She tells me about her Refs…it went down like this: “My ex is a Ref so…” I’m thinking: “huh? A ref? qu’est-ce que c’est que ça?????” LoL I stop her and ask. She looks surprised that I don’t understand the reference. :D She tells me, “it’s what you call people who just got off the boat” VAT??? I say, “you mean Fob?” and she says “yea, but in Miami, they’re called Refs, short for Refugee.” LOL wow! I just learned something new! =D it was awesome! Now it’s getting busy and two Spanish guys with man purses purchase ciggies from her. She speaks Spanish to them and I immediately recognize her Cuban accent! Cool! I don’t hear that accent too often, so it’s kind of amusing to listen to. We exchange contact info promising to add each other on Facebook.
****Well Miami newsstand girl if you’re reading this know that you made my day with our great conversation, keep smiling and talking to lonely travelers! =)
Flight 2:
The plane is cheapy; there are no individual tv screens. I was sitting in the back AGAIN! Aisle seat AGAIN, but this time no neighbor. Great! I either get a crappy neighbor or NO neighbor! ARGH >_< We watched some Queen Latifa movie. She plays a girl who’s always a friend and never a girlfriend…ouch! It was an ok movie. I slept. I read Glamour. I ate. I listened to music. I read my Goodbye messages in my travel journal! They were all very sweet! My fave was the food porn drawing! Thanks to whoever drew that, it truly made me laugh out loud, hahaha. There is another drawing that I couldn’t quite figure out…<_< someone will have to explain it later lol. The stewardess was an older man with shaggy salt & pepper hair. He was super nice and spoke to me in Français. =) The rest of the stewardesses were grouchy middle aged American women…not nice at all…maybe they need eat some SOUP!
I was assigned group 3, but was the first group called up. I boarded the plane and got an aisle seat in the back. An old couple was already sitting down in my row. I hadn’t slept all night and immediately passed out. This was the first time I had brought an inflatable travel pillow with me. It proved to be heaven sent. =) I woke up to this old man elbowing me. He wasn’t a big guy but I guess he didn’t mind elbowing me as he moved. He never even apologized! RUDE! I usually need gum to keep my ears from plugging up during take-off and landing, but this time my ears were fine…weird…cool…but weird…maybe I now have the habitude =) When we landed the old guy immediately got up. He forced himself through, his butt in my face and grabbed his carry-on from the overhead bin. Ok buddy, no one is moving we’re all stuck here, you getting up isn’t going to make things move any faster! The entire time he kept speaking Portuguese to his wife telling her to hop over to the aisle. I’m still sitting here buddy! And we’re still not moving! Her getting up does nothing! People start to file out and I finally get up so that she can move closer to her hubby. However, we’re still stuck there and he’s still nagging her to get up, except I’m standing in front of her seat with nowhere to move. It was so annoying!!!>_<)
Miami Airport:
Its only 2:30 when we arrive to Miami and I have to wait til 6:20pm for my flight to Paris. As I walk towards the gate I get really light headed…shit! I’m going to pass out! My backpack is so heavy…I’m sleep deprived, starving (because American airlines don’t give food anymore!>_< so stingy!), and annoyed! I’m looking for food as I walk, but all I see are newsstands >_< and the occasional coffee and refrigerated sandwich place…where is the FOODCOURT! What is with these Miami people? All the women are in espardillas, shorts, skirts, huge sunglasses, great tans! And bodies! They looked beach friendly and fashion forward…and here I am, frizzy hair, huge bags under my eyes, yoga pants, dirty white Vans, and a white shirt full of sweat, enormous backpack, lugging my carry-on! And rockin’ my new scarf that I got from Kanhong! (Ya Kanhong! hahaha)…needless to say I felt very small in this sea of beachy fashionistas…=/
I settle for Nathan’s Hotdog stand…very crappy fries…gag! No seating! I had to sit in a waiting area, balancing my food on my knees, as I’m about to pass out! I eat and call my peeps back home. I finally start heading back to my gate. I popped 2 motion sickness pills and ate so I’m feelin’ a lil’ better. ^^
I see a duty free shop and stop to buy cheap VS Coconut Passion mist(b/c I forgot my perfume)(for some reason I’m obsessed with everything that smells like coconut right now! I have no idea why! Before I couldn’t stand that smell and now its intoxicating to me! ^_^) The meanie poo who rang me up was the same Beezie that greeted me at the door…=/ she wasn’t very nice…The two men helping me out at the counter looked African American to me, but they immediately spoke Spanish to me! MIND BLOWING! Sorry, but I’m only used to hearing/seeing Mexicans speak Spanish. Remember I’m from the west coast LOL NorCal…we don’t get very many islanders from the Caribbean, so every time I hear a Cuban or Dominican or Puerto Rican speak Spanish the accent blows my mind :D
Walking back to my gate I stop by a newsstand…I’m debating between Cosmo or Glamour…the news girl comes over and says “don’t get those! Get one of these!” She’s pointing to Us Weekly and OK magazine LOL I tell her, “I would, but they have no fashion section” she says “oh I hate that!” LOL LOL this spins off into a long conversation, well as long as is possible since she’s working. LOL We start talking about everything. I spit my TeenMom obsession and we discuss boys, work, school, Florida weather and the flat terrain of the state. She is truly unhappy here. Surprising…>_> She totally opens up to me! And I to her! I’m feeling so crappy (and mad that I always get stuck with crappy people sitting next to me on flights!) and she is standing there listening to me and telling me all about her! LoL it was so refreshing to meet someone new who’s actually nice! =) I tell her about my ex and my history with everything French, hehehe. She tells me about her Refs…it went down like this: “My ex is a Ref so…” I’m thinking: “huh? A ref? qu’est-ce que c’est que ça?????” LoL I stop her and ask. She looks surprised that I don’t understand the reference. :D She tells me, “it’s what you call people who just got off the boat” VAT??? I say, “you mean Fob?” and she says “yea, but in Miami, they’re called Refs, short for Refugee.” LOL wow! I just learned something new! =D it was awesome! Now it’s getting busy and two Spanish guys with man purses purchase ciggies from her. She speaks Spanish to them and I immediately recognize her Cuban accent! Cool! I don’t hear that accent too often, so it’s kind of amusing to listen to. We exchange contact info promising to add each other on Facebook.
****Well Miami newsstand girl if you’re reading this know that you made my day with our great conversation, keep smiling and talking to lonely travelers! =)
Flight 2:
The plane is cheapy; there are no individual tv screens. I was sitting in the back AGAIN! Aisle seat AGAIN, but this time no neighbor. Great! I either get a crappy neighbor or NO neighbor! ARGH >_< We watched some Queen Latifa movie. She plays a girl who’s always a friend and never a girlfriend…ouch! It was an ok movie. I slept. I read Glamour. I ate. I listened to music. I read my Goodbye messages in my travel journal! They were all very sweet! My fave was the food porn drawing! Thanks to whoever drew that, it truly made me laugh out loud, hahaha. There is another drawing that I couldn’t quite figure out…<_< someone will have to explain it later lol. The stewardess was an older man with shaggy salt & pepper hair. He was super nice and spoke to me in Français. =) The rest of the stewardesses were grouchy middle aged American women…not nice at all…maybe they need eat some SOUP!
Pre-departure
I am so nervous about leaving. I don’t know what to expect when I get there. I figure I’ll be alone. Living on my own and no BF there anymore. I imagine mean High school kids, and snobby French people. I’m freaking out about leaving. I put off packing. I waited til Sunday to pack. Even then it took a lot of effort to actually start. I packed clothes, clothes, clothes. I wanted to limit myself to one big suitcase and a carry on. I knew I would have to lug them around alone this time…
I heard about the strike and freaked out! I knew I would get a taxi, but now I was worried about traffic, with the grève on a week day morning traffic would be horrendous. I posted my fears on Facebook without expecting anyone to offer help…but a higher power heard my prayers and Ed, a former student of mine started an FB chat with me. He was worried and said he could pick me up! =) I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t seen him in 2yrs and during that time I only saw him a few times. We would leave the occasional comment on our FB walls or pics but that’s it, and here he was saving my life, offering me a ride that would save me a lot of money, trouble, and stress. He solved a thousand logistical problems in that instant. I will forever be thankful for his gentillesse. =) I am truly blessed to have met people like him in Paris. A huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could go back to packing my 23kg (50lb) suitcase in toute tranquilité. =)
That Sunday afternoon while packing I heard from other people I had met in Paris and from American friends there now. It was nice to know that I wouldn’t be alone while there. I finally finished packing around…2am. My flight was at 6am. I jumped in the shower and was ready to go at 3am. My parents got up and so did my sis…on our way to the airport I couldn’t believe it…I couldn’t believe I was once again going to France…AGAIN! UNBELIEVABLE!
My Dad was being a grouch because he hadn’t had his cigarette yet =/ my sis and I held hands in the car. I would rub her belly and said I would miss her and Santi very much. She squeezed my hand and began to cry…I leaned on her belly and fell asleep. I felt so sad for leaving her and my mom. We’re so close and I know it tears my mom apart to see me go…
At the airport my Dad was pretty serious, but hugged me and told me to be safe. My mom and sis stood and watched as I passed the security check point. It tore my heart to walk away and when I looked back they were gone. This is it, I’m on my own once again.
I heard about the strike and freaked out! I knew I would get a taxi, but now I was worried about traffic, with the grève on a week day morning traffic would be horrendous. I posted my fears on Facebook without expecting anyone to offer help…but a higher power heard my prayers and Ed, a former student of mine started an FB chat with me. He was worried and said he could pick me up! =) I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t seen him in 2yrs and during that time I only saw him a few times. We would leave the occasional comment on our FB walls or pics but that’s it, and here he was saving my life, offering me a ride that would save me a lot of money, trouble, and stress. He solved a thousand logistical problems in that instant. I will forever be thankful for his gentillesse. =) I am truly blessed to have met people like him in Paris. A huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could go back to packing my 23kg (50lb) suitcase in toute tranquilité. =)
That Sunday afternoon while packing I heard from other people I had met in Paris and from American friends there now. It was nice to know that I wouldn’t be alone while there. I finally finished packing around…2am. My flight was at 6am. I jumped in the shower and was ready to go at 3am. My parents got up and so did my sis…on our way to the airport I couldn’t believe it…I couldn’t believe I was once again going to France…AGAIN! UNBELIEVABLE!
My Dad was being a grouch because he hadn’t had his cigarette yet =/ my sis and I held hands in the car. I would rub her belly and said I would miss her and Santi very much. She squeezed my hand and began to cry…I leaned on her belly and fell asleep. I felt so sad for leaving her and my mom. We’re so close and I know it tears my mom apart to see me go…
At the airport my Dad was pretty serious, but hugged me and told me to be safe. My mom and sis stood and watched as I passed the security check point. It tore my heart to walk away and when I looked back they were gone. This is it, I’m on my own once again.
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