Leave it! Laissez-le!

I don’t know what I would do without my Pilates mat in Paris. I know it sounds neurotic, but every day I need to empty my brain of the gunk, basically that acquires and threatens my sanity. After about thirty minutes, I can once again think clearly and remember that what ever happened is finished, and that it is time to move on. No embarrassing moment or anxiety should detract from the general splendor and beauty that I encounter every day in Paris.

I mention this because the academic aspect of this program has been marinating for a few weeks now, but finally it is really starting to register as the 31st approaches. I am excited to start classes, and yet I can’t help but doubt that I can sit amongst French students in a classroom and understand the teacher because, after all, I often feel lost in my English classes at home! Intellectuals, aka: teachers, tend to go on tangents and it is difficult to follow, even without the language barrier! I picked l’Institut Catholique de Paris, however because I have only heard wonderful things from MICEFA alumni who studied there, and I was impressed when I visited the school. Some part of me knows that it will be okay,after all, I remember when I was unsettled, to say the least, about arriving here and guess what, I’m not dead yet! By a sequence of bizarrely fortuitous circumstances, I have been in Paris for almost three weeks and I have few complaints. I suppose at first, there was so much to conceive of that would change as soon as I arrived that I could only digest a few, like meeting my family, passing the intensive two-week course (which I am not convinced that I accomplished), and feeling safe and comfortable in Paris. The most important step has without a doubt been feeling like I have a home here, and at least one or two people who care about me. My social life is still unstable, understandably, but more and more I have been meeting some wonderful people through MICEFA, who I look forward to spending more time with!

Anyway, that was a lengthy digression to explain that I am progressively settling here, although it is easy to slip and fall. This afternoon, for instance, I believed that I lost my only pair of Coach gloves when we were leaving the museum! I was genuinely upset because for the past few days, it has been so cold and wet outside that my hands go numb and they still ache at night, which has never happened before! I returned to the café, where my friend and I had earlier sought shelter before our scheduled museum visit, and clumsily asked the waiter if they had found a pair of gloves, or at least I tried. I was so ecstatic when he brought them to me that I easily gave him a kiss on the check when he asked! Moments like this remind me not to immediately give up because sometimes your fortune is not nearly as bad as you immediately assumed!

Like I mentioned before, though, there is so much to see in Paris that I am courageously able to continue my efforts to speak a language resembling French for one more day. This afternoon, I walked through Le Marais district, or the fourth arrondissement with my friends and they showed me the glorious department store that humbles IKEA called BHV! I couldn't believe that I bought a nice Samsonite backpack there for only 12.80 euro, because they are typically around 80 dollars! I needed a carry-on for Ryan air because the restrictions are absurdly tiny, and with the soldes everything is so inexpensive! I need to be careful though, that I don't easily spend myself into my own financial crisis, and that’s just considering the necessities like, my phone card, metro passes, and oh right, food!

Then it was time for lunch and I was allured by the familiar “Zaggat-rated” sign on the adorable hole-in-the-wall called, “Chez Marianne.” If it wasn’t the most delicious Mediterranean spread in Paris, then I need to see what is, and I was in culinary bliss! You can order “La Petite,” “La moyenne,” or “La grande,” and the amount of dishes that you get varies accordingly. I ordered the hummus, sautéed eggplant, artichoke salad, and some other pepper, olive oil, and spice glob of mushy goodness! They serve you freshly made bread to eat it with, of course, and all of the flavors blend together in an unforgettable dinning experience! Plus, the service and atmosphere was warm and friendly! After leaving we drooled past the regional Greek and or Jewish bakeries, where they prepare fresh pastries that would tempt any diet-eater from salads! If I hadn’t just finished the most satisfying meal since I had been in Paris, then I would have splurged on any of the giant and squishy delicacies with all sorts of spices, nuts, and butter, so you know that they are divine! Do not be disappointed because I will return with an empty stomach and high hopes! To its credit, Paris has rendered few disappointments so far!