Happy Chinese New Year!

Bonsoir, everyone!

It's been a while since I last updated, but here I am! So, highlights of the past week:

Last Thursday, I went to the interview for my internship.  It seems like it will be a really great experience! The LDH already has a group of law student interns who work for them, but my supervisor has made it clear  that she doesn't expect me to have the expertise of a French law student. She seems  really willing to take my feedback and help me have a good learning experience, which is great!  I'm afraid the learning curve will be pretty steep, but I'll try my best.

I've visited a bunch of really cool sites with my group.  We went to the assembly hall for the Isle de France regional council, which was fun because we talked to one of the councilmen and were able to use the council member's microphones to pose questions.  Our next trip was to Saint Denis, where we looked at the outside of the chapel and the museum and the football stadium and the shanty town (bidonville) without actually entering any of these places. I understand why the tour  guide didn't take us into the bidonville, but I have no idea why she chose to talk about the basilica for an hour while standing in the back courtyard instead or taking us inside. She made a vague excuse that it was even colder in the church, but I seriously doubt that. I plan to go back soon, though. The basilica is one of Paris' more underrated tourist destinations.  Not only is it a gorgeous cathedral, but its "nécropole royale" houses the remains of almost every French king from the 600's AD to the reign of Louis XVIII.

This morning, we went to see the Institut de France, an complex that houses the 5 Academies of France
(The Academy of French, the Academy of Inscription and Letters, the Academy of the Sciences, The Academy of Fine Arts, and the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences).  These very exclusive clubs for notable thinkers in each field, where they discuss issues and then produce recommendations for the government and linguistically conservative dictionaries and... other academic things. Fun side note: Our guide told us today that, when the Academy of Sciences failed to offer membership to Marie Curie, their excuse was that it was unacceptable for a woman to wear the sword that was part of the Academy members' uniform. Scientific logic at its finest.

After the visit, I walked around Paris with some friends. We visited an art gallery for photography, looked at macarons that we couldn't afford.  Later I went to the Chinese New Year parade. Paris also had its Carnival parade today, but it cold and wet outside, so one parade was enough. The costumes were really beautiful, though!  I'll attach a few pictures at the end of the post.

I should go to sleep now, but I'll be sure to write again before the week is over.

A bientôt,
Laura

"Did you just order coffee in a pub?"

Bonjour à tous!

I sadly don't have much exciting news, but I just wanted to give a general update. As is evident, I survived the presentation I was dreading last week. I wouldn't say it necessarily went well, considering all of the snickers I got from the French students because of my American accent, but my partner was really helpful and the professor said my analysis was "smart". I didn't forget what I was going to say either, so snaps for that! 

The rest of last week was eerily calm: I spent my days off from class doing laundry, watching Disney Channel Original Movies on YouTube, and snacking. Saturday I got to hang out with my friend Natalie, which was really great, but Sunday I became sick with some sort of stomach bug and ended up missing out on the fun day my host fam had planned (#sadface). Thankfully, I made a fast recovery AND my morning class got cancelled Monday so I had even more time for my fave sport: sleep! 

I guess one of the most interesting events that's occurred recently is my going to a pub for the first time! On Tuesday nights, a place called Vert Anglais at Place de La Comédie hosts an English/French mixer where, you guessed it, English and French speakers can come to mingle, play games, etc. This past Tuesday, I went to check it out with 4 of my friends. Being a perpetual optimist, I convinced myself before-hand that it was going to be incredibly enjoyable and that I'd meet lots of new friends! I did make some new friends, but the night was overall sooo not what I expected. First off, though I was really excited to have my first legal drink ever, I was pretty tired by the time we reached the pub and ended up just getting coffee (an action for which I was majorly judged by both the insanely gorgeous Canadian bartender and my friends). Then, as we were finishing our drinks, I had the unfortunate displeasure of being scammed on by a forty-something-year-old from Jersey named Martin (can you say grody?!). After listening to him babble about his brother's love of Virginia for five minutes, I bounced and went to another part of the pub with my friends. We played a few games and "mingled," but the set-up made it sort-of difficult to meet anyone, so I ended up hanging out with familiar people for the better part of the time. It certainly wasn't terrible, but it also didn't really live up to my expectations. My friends want to go again next week, though, so we'll see if the experience is any better a second time around. So long as I don't get sleepy and creepy cougar Martin isn't there, it should be :) 

Well, sorry I'm kind of boring these days. I'll try to get arrested or fall into a lake so that I have more enticing stories to share next time. Thanks for all of your support and prayers! 

À bientôt, 

Mari