So, I just realized it has been over a week since I posted.  I am now a month into the semester, and I am really getting busy.  With doing school work, working and going to the gym, I have been very busy lately.  Right now for my classes I am only assigned reading to do, but I have a 10-15 page paper due in January, but I have to read 2, 250+ page french books before I write it!  I also have a 5-6 page paper due in January, but I also have to read a 200 page french novel for that paper too.  Not to mention all of my weekly readings!  Talk about being busy.

Anyway, so to take a break from school and my daily routine I took a trip with my exchange program to Mont-Saint-Michel this weekend.  it was SOOO much fun.  In fact, I said before I even came to France, that if there was one place I was going to go while I was here, it would be to visit Mont-Saint-Michel.  So I can check that off my list. 

It took about 5 hours to get there with one stop.  The ride wasn’t bad, it rained a bit, but when does it not rain in France.  We arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel at about 12:30 and I was so excited.  It is on the borders of Normandie and Bretagne and it is a small little village on an island.  The island is completely surround by quicksand, in fact it is famous for the quicksand and the tides that come up everyday and can cover the road making the island inaccessible by car. 

Once you get inside the walls of Mont-st-Michel there are very narrow streets with lots of resturants and shops.  It was crowded and very busy.  I felt like I was really in an authentic very very old town.  It was so charming. 

The views from the village are incredible and everything was very old and built from stone.  The village is all centered around a very large, castle looking church.  It was built in 708 in honor of the Archangel Saint Michel.  I was very surpised at how large the church was, it was almost like a maze, and there were even parts that had a Harry Potter Hogwarts feel.  It was so cool.

We spent about an hour and a half inside the church, then I walked around the village with my friend Rachel.  We got Crepes and ate them looking out at the English Channel, which is the body of water that borders Mont-Saint-Michel. 

We only made a day trip to visit Mont-Saint-Michel, but from what I hear generally when people visit the island they make a trip out of it and spend a day at Mont-Saint-Michel, then travel around Normandie and Bretagne for the remainder of their trip.  Since Mont-Saint-Michel is such a small little town, there is only enough to do for one day.  We only spent about 5 hours there and I feel like I saw most of the town.  It was so nice and I loved it.  It was fun to walk on the sand and in the quicksand.  There were a lot of kids in my group that were playing on the beaches and got really dirty.  I guess that’s what happens when you get college students around quicksand!

Besides Mont-Saint-Michel, there hasn’t been a whole lot of interesting things going on.  I have been busy with classes and working and my normal day to day activities.  I did book my train tickets to go to visit one of my friends in The Netherlands next month!  I am so excited to go travel around the rest of Europe.  Hopefully I will get a chance to go more places.  I am already going to The Netherlands and Germany, but I also hope to go to Spain and Austria!  It’s so easy to travel in Europe, I just need to find the time, and at the same time get all my school work done.  I am sure I will be happy with whatever I do.  I am just enjoying my time while I am here.  At the same time I can’t wait to get back to Oswego because hockey season has started and I am dying to get back on the ice with my Laker’s!  Speaking of which, Good Luck to all the ladies on my team and with your games this upcoming weekend! 

Anyway, I have some homework to do before I get to bed since it is past 11 here!  Enjoy my post!

So this week was pretty normal…except I started another class this week.  It is called Interculturality, studying cultural differences between France and the United States.  Already it has been my favorite class, it is so interesting.  In my Education of Non-french speaking students class, I realized yet another cultural difference between France and the US.  Since the history of the USA is so short, we learn a lot about how our county was started through immigration and the effects on the industry, the effects on the citizens of the country and the struggles that immigrants face.  Although, immigration is minimal in France’s long history, and in high school students don’t learn as much about immigration.  So we spent a whole class learning about immigration and I was so bored, but I am in a class with graduate students and we actually needed to spend a whole class learning about immigration.  Talk about major cultural differences.

Erica Shapey, one of my hockey teammates who is studying in Barcelona this semester, came to visit Paris this weekend.  She arrived on Thursday night, it was pretty late so we just went back to my apartment for the night. 

On Friday, I gave her a tour of Paris.  We started near my apartment and went to Montmartre and the Sacre-Coeur. 

 It wasn’t as busy since it was a Friday, but it was beautiful as always.  Then we walked down the street to the Moulin Rouge, it is always fun walking from Montmartre to the Moulin Rouge and walking through the Red-Light District during the day.   

After that we took the Metro to the champs-elysees and the arc de triomphe. (see below) 

We made our way down the champs elysees stopping at some stores and getting little tartlettes with raspberries.  We walked all the way to the place de la concorde past the obelisk. (see below)

 and the madeleine

to the Opera Garnier. 

After we did some sight-seeing we did some shopping.  Of course in paris one must shop and eat yummy food.  Later that night we went to a birthday party that my French friends were having for one of their friends.  It was so fun and we had a great time. 

Saturday we went to the eiffel tower, Twice!  haha We had to go during the day and at night because it is very different both times!

(Note to self: Instert Pic of Tiff and Shapey at Eiffel Tower) 🙂

Take a look for yourself:

So awesome, but so crazy how the same thing can be so different!

And of course the view from the tippy top of the eiffel tower, sorry its a little blurry:

We are very far from home…

So besides the eiffel tower on Saturday we did more shopping and we saw the Louvre and we went to dinner and it was so french and so fabulous!!!!!!!! Later we hung out with one of my French friends at La Batorfar, its a club on a boat! It was really fun and of course so European! 

Before Erica left on Sunday we took one last trip to Montmartre to get one last Crepe before she left and enjoyed eating them on the steps of the Sacre Coeur!  I had such a fun weekend and it was so nice to see a familiar face, but it reminded me of how much I miss hockey and Oswego!!!!

Oh big news for me, I had a job interview for babysitting a little girl here in paris and I got a phone call today and I got the job!  I start tomorrow and I am so excited to be working and going to school in Paris!  What an experience!

Well that should do it for now.  This week seems to be more about pictures.  But what use is telling about all the sights we saw if I didn’t include pictures.  Enjoy!!!!

So I am offically finished my first week of university in Paris.  I will have to say it is better than I expected, and sitting in a class for three hours is proving to be easier than I originally thought it would be! 

 The most difficult class I am taking, Scolarisation des eleves non-francophone, is an undergraduate/graduate class.  Lucky me!  It was very interesting, and my education classes I have already taken in the States made it easier.  During class our professor asked the class what the definition of multiculturalism was, and after taking an education class that focused on multiculturalism, I immediately raised my hand.  I said that it was a mix of many cultures and my teacher responded by saying, “that is so anglophone of you, where are you from?”  I said New York State and she said, “Yes that is why you think that.”  I was so confused as she asked another student to answer the question.  Apparently different cultures have different definitions for words.  In Europe, all the cultures are essentially divided by the borders of their countries, so in Europe the definition of Multiculturalism is juxtaposing cultures or cultures side-by-side.  Since the United States is many cultures mixed together, it is obvious we would believe multiculturalism is various cultures in an given area.  I knew I was in France, but I never thought I would hear someone tell me, “ohh that was so anglophone of you!” 

The rest of my classes went well, although due to a minor conflict in classes, I switched from my grammer class to an Interculturality class.  I think that comparing French and American cultures will be more interesting than grammer anyway, so it all worked out fine.

Friday I had no classes, but it ended up being one of my busiest days of this week!  I have to go to the Office of Immigrations and have a medical appointment to get my Carte de Sejour that allows me to reenter France if I travel.  So I am hoping to start travelling very soon.  I know that I am going to spend Christmas in Germany with my “brother” Johannes.  Johannes was an exchange student who lived with me and my family while I was in high school.  I am very lucky to be able to spend Christmas with people I know while I am living in Europe.  I hope to visit some other friends I have in Europe as well, but we will see what time allows.  Speaking of travelling,  I booked a spot to go to Mont-Saint-Michel at the end of this month with my exchange program.  I had said before I even left to come to France that if I went anywhere while I was studying abroad it would be to Mont-Saint-Michel, so I am very very excited.

On Friday night I went out to dinner at a resturant near Boulevard Saint Germain.  I went with two of my French friends and it was a lot of fun.  We had some champagne, wine and we ate lots of French food!  For our appetizer we had a french dish that was an egg in a cream mushroom sauce.  It was very good.  For dinner I ate Boeuf Bourguignon, it is beef in a sauce with potatos and carrots.  I forgot the name of the dish my friends had but I tried it then they proceefed to tell me that I actually ate the bone marrow from a beef bone.  It was surprisingly good, but it was hardest to get over the fact that I had eaten bone marrow, I had assumed that the center of the bone had been stuffed with something, not that we were actually eating the marrow of the bone.  Oh well, cultural difference and I tried something new!  And of course for dessert we had creme brulee. 

Saturday I went to La Fete des Vendanges. 

It is the festival of grape harvesting, and there were lots of wine stands to buy local wine.  I saw a parade in the middle of Montmartre and it was a lot of fun.  In addition to a wide variety of wines, many of the regions of France had stands with their local cuisines and wines.  It was once again a festival celebrating the culture of France.  I have never seen a country so proud of their culture and heritage and I really enjoy all of the events that happen every weekend.  I have been here for a little over a month and there has already been 3 separate festivals and events celebrating culture!  

People in Montmartre at the Festival!

Later Saturday, I went to the Seine (The big river that runs through the center of Paris) to celebrate one of my friends birthday.  We sat on the edge of the river, drinking wine and eating lots of Prince cookies and bread with cheese.  It was a lot of fun and I loved watching all of the tour boats going by with their bright lights that shine on the shore.  It was so relaxing and peaceful!

Oh and this is and advertisement in the Metro for Orange Internet and I think it is hilarious so I am posting it!

(There is Internet…… and Internet, I love Mr. Potato Head!)

Paris has been so fun this week, if I stay this busy Iwill be it will be January before I know it.  I don’t know how time can seem so fast or slow!  But  am enjoying my time here while it lasts!  Hope you enjoyed my post this week!  ENJOY!!!!!

Toute a l’heure!

So this week has been very eventful.  My orientation program ended about a week ago and I had an entire week to have fun and explore Paris!  Not to mention that I took lots of time to relax before classes started.

So last monday I went to my university, Paris 8: Saint-Denis to choose my classes.  I am taking  literature and politics, advanced grammer, written and oral expression in french and teaching french to non-french speaking students.  I am very happy with my courses that I have picked, but the only class I have actually been to so far is my literature and politics class.  The classes are much different here.  Instead of having one class 3 times a week for 50 minutes or one class twice a week for an hour and 20 min all the classes are 3 hours long and they are each only once a week.  And as a result, I have a lot of free time.  I only have classes on Monday’s, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  It is nice to have a lot of free time, but I am trying to find a job to fill up the rest of my days.  I am waiting for a call from a woman who is looking for a native english speaking person to tutor her two children.  Hopefully it will work out, money and a cultural experience what could be better! 

Last week I also took a day and went to the neighborhood called Bercy.  It is a more modern neighborhood.  I had to take the metro line 14 which is 100% automated, there is nothing running it but computers and I felt like I was in a space age in the metro station.  It is really cool.  Anyway, I took a walking tour of Bercy and I visited the Ministry of France which is a building that was actually moved to it’s current location from the Louvre.  My walking tour continued with the Pala omnisports de Paris-Bercy which is a sports complex and it has grass convered walls that slope down at a 45 degress angle.  I saw a maintenance man mowing the walls, it was an interesting process.  There is a skating rink in Bercy, but it is most used to figure skating and other events like that.  It is sad that the French don’t play much hockey.  Ice Hockey is so rare in France that you actually have to say I play Ice Hockey, because if I were to only say I play hockey everyone would assume I play field hockey.  Oh well, its just another example of cultural differences.  Speaking of hockey, there were several hockey games played in Finland recently and I am very sad that I didn’t get to go, I wanted to but it is quite expensive to fly to Finland from Paris.  C’est la vie!  Outside of the entrance to the skating rink is a water feature that is meant to replicate the gorges of North America, it was very interesting.  Anyway I also visited the Cinematheque Francaise which is a cinema museum and a theatre that showcases  different periods and styles of french cinema.  Right next to the French Cinema there is le Parc de Bercy which is a beautiful park with beautiful gardens and different water features.  It was beautiful.  I really enjoyed my exploration of Bercy.   After visiting Bercy  I went to the Gym and on the way home I happened to meet a French guy named Bille, he was very nice.  It was interesting to meet a french person and spend an evening talking one on one in french.  We visited the Sacre Coeur and then we went to the Champs Elyees.  It was very relaxing and it was such a beautiful night. 

On Thursday I spent a day sightseeing in the Jussieu neighborhood.  I started my walking tour at the Jardin des Plantes.  It is another beautiful botanical garden in Paris.  There are pathways that are protected by trees which arch over the pathways.  It was very magical especially when the sunlight was shining down through the trees.  Then I walked to the Mosque.  It cost money to take a tour, and I just wanted to see the building and the courtyard, but from what I saw it was a very beautiful building.  It was exotic white walled muslim styled building.  It was incredible from what I did see.  My walking tour then brought me toArenes de Lutece.  To me it looked like an arena for theatre or performances, and i learned that it was actually used fcircus and theatrical presentations.  Next to it isthe Cluny bath house which took my breath away the details and beauty of the staircase near it was incredible.  I was really shocked to see that today the arenes de lutece is used for leisurely activities for the people of Paris.  I love when buildings and monuments are used practically and they aren’t just sitting to be looked at.  I also walked by the Pierre and Marie Curie University.  It is a very modern and chic looking building in the middle of Paris, I was quite surprised. 

I think the biggest event of my week was La nuit blanche.  It is an event that happens once a year in Paris.  Basically, it is a celebration of contemporary art that lasts from 7pm until dawn.  There are light exhibits and live music and there were techno dance parties and it was a lot of fun.  It was a really big event and the streets were full of people all night. Here is a link to la nuit blanche in english:   

http://www.paris.fr/portail/english/Portal.lut?page_id=8118&document_type_id=2&document_id=59828&portlet_id=19237

So Saturday night I went to sushi restaurant with a bunch of my friends.   It was good, I don’t like fish but I had some really good kabobs.  After dinner we did some sight seeing in the city until we met up with a few of our other friends.  Then we went to the Luxembourg gardens which was the main event location for la nuit blanche and we had to wait an hour to get in, but we hung out and enjoyed the night while we waited to get in.  The exhibits the garden were incredible they were all based upon lights and expression through light.  I really enjoyed myself.  After that we went to a restaurant bar and got some dessert with wine at 4 in the morning.  It was a nice way to end the evening.  We sat and visited for a few hours.  I stayed the night a friends house and we didn’t go to bed until 7:30 am and of course I got up at noon because I had plans to go to the Louvre. 

Since the Louvre is free the first sunday in every month I decided to spend a few hours exploring the parts of the louvre that I didn’t visit when I last went in March.  It was very relaxing and I had a good time.  I went with one of my french friends and it was funny trying to explain the story behind some of the paintings in French when I learned about it in English.  After spending a few hours in the Louvre we went to eat a late lunch and it was really fun.

Today was my first day of classes.  I had one class and it was literature and politics.  I really enjoyed the class.  It is going to take a little time to get used to the difference in teaching methods from the US to France, but that is why I am here.  I am looking forward to my classes on Wednesday and hopefully they will be as good as my class today! 

SO I wrote a lot today.  It has been a busy week.  I hope everyone enjoys my post and I will try to post more often so my posts aren’t so long.  Thanks for reading and ENJOY!!!

Here is a link to my photo album on Facebook with all my pictures from this week, its my post in photo form! :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2109922&id=28408367&l=6bbaac8df9

So time does fly by quite fast.  I keep feeling like everything is going by so slow, but I have already been here for a month and it feels like I just got here.  I am getting more comfortable living in Paris, which is a good thing.  Hopefully everything will feel totally comfortable by the time I leave.  But to think about it, that is how it always is…you finally get comfortable with something and then you need to leave. 

So I am 100% officially a student of Saint-Denis, Paris 8.  I got my student card yesterday and I even registered for all of my classes.  I am taking 4 courses this semester, and I already finished one 3 credit course since I have been here through MICEFA.  The classes here a much different, there is no set time slots for the classes, it is all based upon when the professor wants class to be each week.  For example, there is no MWF 9:10-10:05 classes, the teacher decides they want class 12-3 in the afternoon and thats when class is.  Oh another thing about classes here is that they meet only once a week generally for 3 hours, but sometimes 2 and 1/2.  Anyway, my courses this semester are, Litterature and Politics, French Grammer, Expression through Speaking and Writing and the schooling of non-french speaking students (essentially learning how to teach non-french speaking students french).  I am most excited about the teaching course, it is going to be very difficult, but I am so interested to learn about methods of teaching and instruction in France.  I am also sure that it will help me be a better French teacher in the US.  Europe must be doing something right with foreign language instruction considering almost everyone speaks at least one foreign language. 

The past few days have been very ordinary days, even though I live in Paris I still need to do chores and errands like in the states.  It is not always the glitz and glamour people think of when they hear you are studying abroad :). I went to they gym, did grocery shopping, did my laundry and cleaned my apartment.  The past 3 days have been very productive.  Although, I will have to say that doing laundry here was a little bit of a challenge.  Once I figured it out it wasn’t that hard, I just had to learn how the process worked.   They charge by the weight of your laundry but then you are supposed to know (through growing up and living in europe) that the washers are different sizes.  So technically you pay to use a washer and they hold a certain amount of laundry.  Then the other big difference is that you have to load your washer, make sure the detergent is in and there is one control panel by the door.  You put the number of your washer machine into the keypad then it tells you how much to pay and you put the money in.  But to control everything in the laundry mat there is one place to pay and everything has a number, even to buy laundry detergent.  The fun things you have to learn in a foreign country and take for granted at home. 

That is it for now, I have some more things I have to do today.  Enjoy my post for now, hopefully I will post again soon. 🙂

So these past few days have been really busy.  Like I said in my last post.  Saturday and Sunday were the heritage days in Paris (les journees du patrimoine) and they occur only once a year.  It is a really big deal and the French really appreciate and value their heritage.  Most of the government buildings that are generally closed to the public, open their doors to the world.  And for the most part, everything is free. 

Anyway, Saturday I went to the Assemblee National, the Centre Pompidou, and we went to a concert of 17^th century music at L’oratoire de le Louvre.  The national assembly was very cool, the building had esquisite details in every room and all the details were painted in gold leaf.  They had a string quartet playing and in the courtyard they had some french military guys playing french horns.  It was really wonderful.  At the Church of the Louvre the concert was amazing.  We went to the centre pompidou after and it was free because of the heritage days, we lucked out.  After the museum closed I walked around paris because it was so beautiful outside.  The weather was perfect.  It was nice to see some of the nightlife before I headed home.

I got up at 6am sunday morning and went to the Moulin rouge for the last Heritage Day.  We waited for 4 hours to get in.  We were even close to the front (it didn’t open until 9, but then we waited until 11 to get in.)  It was the first time they have ever participated in the Heritage Days, and it was free to enter.  I am glad I went because they told us when we went in they said that this is the first and last time that they are participating in these days.  It is the 120^th anniversary and they wanted to do something special.  We got to go and see the whole theatre and then they brought us back stage to see all of the costumes and the dressing rooms and everything.  We even got to go on stage.  It was amazing and worth the wait.  Even the people that pay to see the show don’t get to see what I got to see.  And it is the only time they are ever ever doing something like that.  What an opportunity.  It was incredible, we got to take lots of pictures, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures backstage of the costumes.  Oh well,  they were still amazing.  We also went to the Insitut de France.  It is comprised of 5 academies.  The most famous one, the academy francaise is the institution that decides everything about the French language.  They explain the usage of the language and its proper intentions.  It identifies the language of French and everything to do with speech, spelling, meanings, usage,  and the fields in which it is used.  They are the entity that decides what is French and what is not French regarding the language.  This building is never open to the public except for these two days, so it was really cool to go inside.    We did a lot and it was really fun.  I am glad I got to do these things.  It was really lucky that I was here for these days.  

I had my orientation French class Monday and yesterday then I just hung out and went to the gym to keep in shape for hockey.  I have been quite sore the past few days, it is starting to wear off a bit and I am almost able to walk normal again. 

Today I had class in the morning, then I went to my university for a tour.  It is called Paris 8: Saint Denis.  It is in the north of Paris, only about a 25 min metro ride from my apartment.  It was much bigger than the universities that are located in the middle of Paris.  I really liked it.  The area seemed very nice, although like I have said all along, things are always more difficult in Paris.  To register for classes we need to go to each department to register for differnent classes.  For example, you need to go to the FLE department to register for french as a foreign language classes and you need to go to the history department for history classes and the art department for art classes.  It is a pain in the butt and very inconvient.  Anyway, I found the office for international student relations, it was a cute little office in the adminstrative building.  There were little cafes all over the campus and in european style they all had beer.   I really enjoyed my visit. 

I have to go back to the campus on Monday to register for classes.  I get my student ID card either tomorrow or friday so then i will be able to register for classes.  There is no huge rush because classes don’t start until October 8th.  I am going to do lots of travelling and sign-seeing until then.  Anyway I have a little work that I need to do.  I will post soon.  Byye!

So things are starting to settle down now that i have been here for almost 3 weeks.  I have my apartment (and I am working on the internet).  I officialy signed up for my univiersity here in Paris.  It is called Paris 8: Saint-Denis.  It is only about 15-20 min from my apartment.  I have an official visit and  tour scheduled for this coming wednesday.  I am quite excited and maybe I will get to pick some of my classes.  They are very disorganized here, but at least classes don’t officially start until October 5. 

 In the meantime, I have been spending my time in language courses that are part of my orientation program with my exchange program.  We spend 3-4 hours a day in class practicing french and learning about the city to orient ourselves to be main-streamed into French Universities.  There are 4 different french classes that meet and i believe that there is about 80 students in my exchange program from the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.  It is really nice to meet so many new people from all over North America.

So besides classes I have been exploring the city and specifically the neighborhood i live in.  I really love where I live.  Within 5 min of me there are hundreds of stores, but in Paris you will never find a Wal-mart.  It has been very interesting getting used to going to 5 different stores just to do daily shopping.  There are Boulangeries, Patisseries, Boucheries, Fromageries, Creperies, Brassaries, Tabacs, Papateries, libraries, etc.   Most stores are specialty stores, so you spend a lot of time finding out where you can get certain foods, or school supplies or even household items.  It is in enriching to experience something so different.  It is a lifestyle  change that is for sure.

Tonight I went to “Le Lapin Agile” with some of the other people in my exchange program.  It was really cool.  The Lapin Agile (Agile Rabbit) is a Parisian style Cabaret.  It has been around since th1800’s and was a place that many famous artists and musicians spent their time.  The show was actually 5 hours long, but most of my class only stayed from hours which seemed to be the norm.  It seemed like there were people waiting to get into the show after people started leaving.  They sang a lot of famous french songs and there were instruments like th piano, guitar and accordian that were played.  The audience was very involved in the performance and it was a lot of fun.   

(Note: It took too long tonight when I tried, but I plan on getting a video of the Lapin Agile in here, So look for that eventually)

This weekend is a very special weekend in Paris.  Saturday and Sunday are called “Les Journees du Patrimoine.”  It means the hertiage days.  And on these days, and these days only, buildings and places such as the national assembly, the town hall, the national archives, ander govermentment buildings and other important places that are normally closed to the public are open for anyone to see.  It is a very special event in Paris, and I am looking forward to going to several places.  I also am hoping to do some home shopping with some of my friends at Ikea which is a little outside of the city.  With all of that and some homework to do, it is going to be a busy weekend.  Until then A Bientot!  (See you soon)

So it has been a little while since I posted, but the day after I got to Paris I found an apartment.  It is in the 18th arrondissement which is in the North of Paris.  It is a 37 sq. meter(I am not sure how much that is in feet)  that I am sharing with a girl that is from SUNYGeneseo.  We met before we came to Paris because she is going through the international education department at Oswego because we offer a Paris program that is not offered at Geneseo. 

Anyway, our apartment is really nice, the only problem is there is not internet.  And let me tell you from personal experience that getting internet in France is not the easiest thing to do.  You need a RIB (its an identification card from your bank, which is something only french banks give out, so I had to get a bank account first, which also isn’t easy).  You also need proof that you reside at the address you give them, and you need to know the number of your apartment according to French Telecom which is on a plaque at the base of your door.  And the worst thing is, once you finally bring them all of this information you need to wait until the wifi box is mailed which takes 2-3 weeks.  Welcome to Paris I suppose.  I just am frustrated that it takes long to get internet here.  There are not very many cafes that have internet so I have been sitting in the computer lab, (which is the only one in the school and only has about 15 computers) trying to keep in touch with the world.  It is very frustrating.

Things here are much more layed back.  People don’t rush to do things and everything is unorganized.  I start school in less than 2 weeks and ther course bulletin isn’t even out yet.  In Paris, you show up in class the first day it is offered and that is how you sign up.  I definately miss myoswego and web registration, go USA.  lol

I am studying abroad in Paris through an exchange program called MICEFA(International mission for coordination of french and american exchange or mission interuniversitaire de cordination des exchange franco-americain).  I arrived a few weeks before classes because we have an orientation program and intensive language courses.  That has been keeping me busy because we are in class 3 hours a day monday through friday.  We also have been doing some sight seeing in Paris.  We went to Pont Neuf on a boat ride on the seine and we went to the Carnavalet Museum today. MICEFA is a great exchange program and I have had a great time thus far. 

I am a little homesick, but I hope it gets better once school starts, I think it will.  There is a big difference in the culture and lifestyles of Paris.  I really love baugettes and Strawberry and Raspberry tartlettes.  They are amazing.  There is one thing that can never go wrong in Paris and that is food.  Yummy yummy food. 

Anyway, hopefully I will get internet permanately soon, then I will post some more pictures.  🙂

My name is Tiffany Duquette. I am a senior at SUNY Oswego. I have two majors and they are Adolescence Education and French. My goal is to become a French Teacher. So, I am studying abroad in Paris, France for fall of 2009. I just got to my housing in Paris. I am staying at temporary housing at La maison des etudiants canadiens. Anyway, it has been a very long night and I still have to get through today. It’s 6:43 am in NY, which is what time zone I am on, but it’s 11:43 maybe 12:43 in Paris. Although, I am so tired and mentally exhausted that I really don’t know the time exactly. I guess that is what happens when to travel for over 16 hours and skip ahead in time zones.