The Two Invalides (Me and the Monument)

Wednesday, May 15th 2013

When I woke up my throat felt like a bomb had gone off in my throat overnight and I was waking up to the aftermath. And you might think I'm being dramatic - but after checking in the mirror, the image confirmed reflected confirmed what I thought. My tonsils were both the size of golf balls pressing in on my uvula and when I swallowed it felt like two golfballs scraping together in my throat - ouch. Plus whaat's more, I could see white on my throat...as a doctor's daughter I instantly knew what that meant: strep throat. Luckily my directors already knew I felt bad and had tried to contact the doctors so when I showed up to school they were ready to get me an appointment. So while I waited at school my professor was kind enough to make me some herbal tea to soothe my throat. 

Our two professors are both doctors who teach French at BYU and they are a married couple. I didn't really know much about them until we got out to France. The wife is actually Romanian, who learned French in school (apparently Romania has some close ties to France and teach French in all their schools so it's really common) and then went to university in France for a while - so she is practically French to us and even to the locals. She still has a strong accent even though she's lived in the United States for twelve or some odd years and she's tons of fun. I honestly like my professors so much. As she prepared the tea my other professor, her husband told me that she still has many of her Romanian superstitions and habits. Like apparently when you loose something in Romania, you turn over a cup on the table and it's supposed to be like a charm to help you find it. He says that while he is not at all suspicious, he will swear by the herbal remedies she makes. So for my tea she specifically added in ginger as part of the herbs for some healing thing or another. I don't know if it worked but it certainly was delicious! And of course nothing feels better when you're sick than some nice warm tea, especially on all the chilly days Paris has been having lately. Let me just say that nothing reverts you back to your childhood self more than being sick. You just want your mom to feed you warm soup and lie in a comfy bed with soft blankets and watch Tv (preferably your favorite American sitcom) - alas, I suppose part of being a grownup is taking care of yourself when you're sick. And paying the bills. But the former one is probably the worse end of the deal. 

Luckily, my professor was able to book an appointment right that morning and one that spoke English! It was only a couple of streets away from the appartement where we were having class so we were able to walk over there in a few minutes. As part of the cost for the BYU study abroad, students are covered with international health care. At the time I thought, there was no way I would need it because I simply never get sick - but boy was I wrong, and boy was I happy that BYU knew better. At first I was really nervous because the secretary handed me paperwork to fill out in French and I hadn't memorized all the information about my French family. I had memorized the address but not the postal code or the phone number. But when I walked into the doctor's actual room, she started speaking in English and she had a British type of accent, so she wasn't originally French! Such a relief. I was so worried that I would have to try and explain an illness in French and medical terms but I told her about my throat and one quick 3 min strep test later my diagnosis was confirmed. Then she printed out a prescription and I walked to another pharmacy on a corner and picked up my antibiotics. They just had some behind the counter and get this - without insurance (because you have to front all the money and they reimburse you later) the ammoxicilin was only 5 euros. 5!! Maybe it's hard to realize how incredible that is but look at how much your insurance pays for the medicine you get next time and it'll blow you away. That same medicine - which only lasts six days and is a common antibiotic - is typically $60 american dollars. That's because France is much more socialist than America so lots of medicine/doctors ect. is subsidized by the state. I'm not advocating for anything here, just saying how cool it was for me. 

I am so so grateful for modern medicine. I mean if I was in a third world country - like in Africa maybe (like I will be in a few months) I have no idea what they could have done for me. It might have taken a lot longer to get into a doctor, who probably wouldn't have the same level of education or maybe they wouldn't have the tools to perform an immediate strep test and I'd have to wait for results. It's possible medicine could take longer to get to me or even a longer dosage. It really is such an amazing blessing. And I know I take for granted medical care. I mean I'm so used to going to the doctor's whenever I feel sick, as soon as possible, with insurance, no questions. But here I was in a foreign country with no idea of how things worked or how to contact a doctor or how to pay or if I would even be able to communicate my illness - luckily all those things were pretty much taken care of by BYU and my professors - but medicine. What a blessing. And if you're still taking it for granted, just swallow. Yeah, right now. You know that motion that makes your throat move up and down all funny? Do it, see how it's all smooth and functional. Don't take that for granted either. 

So meanwhile the rest of the kids had gone to tour the tomb of Napoleon and les Invalides. I rode to meet them there. It was a mighty large tomb for such a small man. 

Most of the girls had plans to see The Great Gatsby and since I have a deep and abiding love for the book and F. Scott Fitzgerald, I decided to accompany them. We were cheaters and chose to see it in "version original" or in other words, the english version with French subtitles. I really liked the movie though I had certain criticisms. After the movie, I went home and had dinner with my new family. We had cheese soufflé and it was one of THE best foods I have ever eaten. It was absolutely amazing. It looked just like all those fancy-pants restaurant pictures. I really don't know how to describe it besides by saying that the cheese and the crust were like this beautiful contrast of creamy and solid. Let me just say I highly recommend it. I also loved the interaction between my host family. They have four kids but only two live at home: Jeanne (18) and Quentin (24). Quentin goes to university very close nearby, right outside of Paris and Jeanne is essentially a senior, although next year she'll be a senior +. But at dinner Jeanne would tease her parents or they would kid with her. When I told the father we were having bad weather he said "It's the government's fault" with a twinkle in his eye, just joking with me. The family really is so nice and it reminds me of my own in some ways. And we always have dessert :) Tonight we had glace (ice cream) and the flavors were pistache (pistachio) and american cheesecake (I kid you not, that's what it said on the box, hahah). Both flavors were delicious! I gotta say, ice cream is really good out here. It's not like the creamy thick good ice cream that BYU has. But it is really flavor packed. Finishing the day out with a good full meal - there's not much better!

It's a miracle but I don't have any pictures from this day! Maybe because I was so out of it from being sick - but don't worry I still have pictures left over from various shots around my neighborhood :) Enjoy!

Ooh La La~Moulin Rouge

Tuesday, May 14th 2013

One of the coolest things about being in Paris, is that every day I get the opportunity to do something new and I try and take that opportunity as often as possible. Today we had class for a while in the morning and then ate together. Once a week the class helps make a traditional/regional dish from France with our directors and we all eat together in the BYU apartment that the directors stay in. Today we had mussels and crêpes salés. Something not all Americans may know is that there are two different types of crêpes: salé and sucre, sugary and salty, essentially dessert or meal. An example of a meal crêpe is the very popular jambon et fromage (ham and cheese), which is the one we had for lunch. I had never had mussels before so it was cool to get to try them - and I think I liked them. They're not slimy like oysters (not that I've had those either) or at least they weren't the way my professor had cooked them. They were firm and you bite into them...basically the firmness and consistency of a lima bean - but obviously saltier and sea food-ier (yes, that's a new word I just made up). Unfortunately, my throat was still feeling sore so I decided to finally get myself some real medicine instead of continuing to pop a couple of ibuprofen every six hours on the hour - as fun as a game that is...So I went down to a local pharmacy down the street from the apartment to find medicine (another new thing!) If you think finding the right type of medicine is hard in America, wait and try finding some in France. Not only are all the labels in French but none of the medicine or products look the same - not even the one's you're familiar with. So to save myself the pain, I simply approached a pharmacienne and told her my throat hurt and I was looking for some medicine. She spoke quickly to me and indicated towards a shelf and when I looked at her a little confused she walked over and grabbed two different boxes. She took them to the counter and explained how many times to take them. When I asked how much they were (I wanted to make sure I could afford them), she took that to mean I wanted them and rang them up. Luckily they were pretty inexpensive, like the cost of a large bottle of nyquil (which for future reference I swear by. I mean it cures you and it helps you sleep while doing it! It's like the perfect drug! But I digress...) I asked her to repeat the instructions to me because I was afraid I would get them wrong since she spoke a little quick and it was in French. I mean I might be good at French but I'm not THAT good - to assume that I understand how to work pills that we might not even have in America. Once I left the store I examined what I had been sold. One box was essentially pills - I was to take 6 a day. 2 in the morning, 2 at lunch and 2 at night. I would have thought I had heard wrong but - she had wrote the numbers on the box so I knew I wasn't going to overdose myself. Then the other was an antiseptic/anesthetic that was a spray for my throat that I could also take 6 types a day. With this much medicine I figured it would fix me right up in no time! You better believe I took that medicine as fast as I could. That anesthetic spray was weird and I'm pretty sure we don't have anything like that in America. It had about a 3 inch nozzle that you stuck in your mouth and attempted to aim at the injured area. It didn't seem super effective but the pills sure worked! They definitely helped the pain. I'd like to say that this was the beginning of the end for my sickness but unfortunately that happened a whole day later, the story continues...
After school and lunch with the class, we were free to go wherever we'd like as is the case everyday. Today my roommate and some other girls wanted to go to Montmartre and some other sites near by - and they were on my list to see and I went with them. So knowing not everyone is as big a Francophile as me, I'll give a few facts on our site and then those with more interest have the use of google :) Montmartre contains the tallest point in Paris and is the area surrounding the hill upon which Sacre-Coeur rests. It's known for being a really artsy/lively district. Sacre-Coeur is another famous cathedral/church. Why is it famous? I honestly have no idea - besides from just being beautiful and a notable landmark since its at the top of Paris...I don't know. But I really liked it. Possibly more than Notre Dame. First of all, it was quiet and not jam packed with tourists. The inside was more approachable and still functionary. I guess it just felt more real in comparaison to the slightly more "commercialized" Notre Dame. Plus I think the outside is almost more beautiful. It's all white and not as imposing as Notre Dame (I mean honestly, Notre Dame is a little scary looking, with all its gargoyles and spikes and threatening gothic façade). 

Plus, being at the very top of the city means that there is one of the BEST views. It was really super cool to look down on Paris. The thing about Paris (well there are a lot of things, hence the long blog...) is that it is different from other cities. It really is as picturesque as the postcards. For example all the pictures I take are with a point and shoot, pick-up-from-walmart your typical camera. It has practically no manual settings - though that's best for me because I don't know how to work any of that. And my pictures have practically no editing - you better believe I have no idea how to work adobe photoshop. So any picture of mine that looks beautiful, it is 100% the scenery. What's more, it isn't like American cities with big skyscrapers and metal buildings - so much of France is still straight from the 18th or 19th century. When the French update their buildings they simply renovate and upkeep what they have - they don't demolish and build up some new apartment complexes, they keep the ones from the 18th century with the cute little balconies and white walls. You know that part in Inception where Ellen Page is in Cobb's dream and she fold the city of Paris in on itself, and those cute little buildings are suddenly stacked roof to roof? (As you can tell I hardly ever watch this movie...) Yeah well those buildings are real and they are everywhere. It's things like that, the cute things you see in the movie are really what Paris looks like. Which basically is my long way of saying: the view was pretty. Paris is pretty. And yes, you could see the big landmarks like Notre Dame and le Tour Eiffel. 

Obviously the highest part of Paris = a lot of stairs. And by a lot. I mean. A lot. First of all, you walk up these sloping streets for a few block to get to the stairs. And then you have The Stairs. They definitely put the ones south of campus to shame. There is nothing like a good set of stairs to destroy the mental image you have of yourself in good shape. But luckily, the path going down wasn't as steep and it was so pretty. I think no matter how much time I spend in Paris - even after I live here for a couple of years - is how pretty it is. I mean as a city, yeah it's dirty and smelly, but it's not as dirty as NYC and the French love beauty - for beauty's sake, so they make a special effort to make paths pretty and add plants everywhere. Here's an example: 

We found this AMAZING chocolate shop on our way through Montmartre. I think it might be called Le Maison du Chocolat (the house of chocolate) because I know that one is really big and popular/has multiple locations in France, but I'm not sure. But I imagine that it doubled as an off site location to part of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Seriously, it was heavenly just being in there (bc I didn't buy anything - too many choices, so much money, not enough time to peruse). They even had some decorations in chocolate, namely a dia-rama of the Notre Dame all made out of Chocolat!!!

So after Sacre-Coeur we saw another famous Montmartre site. The one. The only. The Moulin Rouge. One of the girls I was with was dying to see it but since I've never seen the movie, it didn't have any strong appeal besides the fact that it was famous (apparently it was like the birthplace of the can-can). Now the side of Montmartre that the Moulin Rouge is on, is known for something a little different than being artsy. And if you know what the Moulin Rouge was - and still is (yeah, one hundred percent, still is) then you'll know what I mean. So yeah it was quite the street walk - definitely different than the usual sites that I see. But it's cool to see the building if you just ignore all the uh-hums, and look from the street. 

Acting a little chelou (sketchy) in front of the Moulin Rouge

After our day of adventures in Paris we caught the train home and ate dinner with our host family. All in all a pretty good day. And as always I have so many pictures so here are some more! Oh and btw if you click on the picture, they expand and you can scroll through just the pictures without having the text separating them or anything! Just a helpful tip in case you're bringing your face inches from the screen to capture all the details :)

The Smile: Who Wore It Best?

Monday, May 14th, 2013

Ok, so I'm incredibly behind on this blog - which means that you might not have to sit through as many of my sidebars and commentaries and get straight to the facts. Hopefully you won't find this boring. I will try and preserve some of my wit even amongst the dull facts - you're welcome. So today was all a day of art - art mania. Class as usual and then we went to the Hôtel de Soubise to examine the Rococo style, it's one of my favorites because everything is kinda frilly like baroque but also soft and dreamy like impressionism. Clearly you can tell by my description that I am not an art major, but that's the way I think of Rococo. So the interior design was beautiful. The details were simply so ornate and detailed.

So after the Hôtel de Soubise we went somewhere that I have been dying to go since I got in Paris - before I got in Paris! Le Louvre! So since I've never been to Paris or even Europe obviously I've never been to Le Louvre but I love art and am just so excited by the idea of all these amazing works of art - legendary works being in one place where you can see them and get close to them. And they are the ORIGINAL pieces. Like these statues truly have been around for HUNDREDS (plural, more than just one hundred but hundredS) of years. That's insane. If you truly think about it - it's insane. Some of these pieces date back before our country was ever formed. Before they ever even new America existed! And you can see them! I think that will always blow my mind. So obviously I was really excited. Although I will admit that my throat was full on hurting today - it hadn't got better since Sunday so I was tired and feeling all that gross sick feeling. Let me just say that it was as cool as I always thought. ART EVERYWHERE!! But let me just say that when they say that the Louvre is big - they mean huge. Like if the Empire State building floors were laid out and consolidated into just a few. It is so long and there are so many rooms. Our teachers had given us a couple of items to find and of course one of them was La Jaconde (Mona Lisa). My friend and I looked for it and tried to locate ourselves for 2 hours! But eventually we did find it!! We were probably in the Louvre for about 4 hours. Obviously it's impossible to choose one favorite thing, but in general I just loved the statues. The amount of life they have is amazing, especially considering that they didn't even have the type of modern tools that we have today. As much as I felt like I could have stared at art forever and ever...four hours of walking and standing (while sick) was a lot and overwhelming. And frustrating. It is frustrating to be lost and wandering. Please excuse the picture overload - you know I just couldn't help myself. So this first one: Besides it being extremely flattering, I had to include it to show our triumph after trying to track down this mysterious lady for nearly 2 hours - seriously, you would think she was Carmen San Diego with the wild goosechase we went on to find her! And yeah, my eyes disappear when I get really excited - I guess that's what happens when you are 0% Asian...

Ok so who wore the smile best??

So after the interesting but exhausting trip in the Louvre, a friend and I went to the Tuilerie Gardens and then due to the poor weather a sidewalk café. We each had a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)and sat in the café - just like real Parisiens. Since it was Monday night, there was an FHE with the jeunes adultes (young adults) at the church building. Pretty much all the kids from the program showed up. It was fun to meet everyone. We just had a lesson which was taught by one of the kid and was so long. It was like an hour lesson, and he was the only one who was teaching - he got us involved but it was still long. Oh and unfortunately, due to the fact that the day had taken its toll on my poor awearied body - I do not know what his lesson was about. Yeah. I know. It was that long and I didn't know what it was about. My bad. To be fair though it was all in French. So I caught some of it but not all of it. Plus they gave us dinner! Which was delicious. To be honest, a lesson I learned in college is that all free food tastes better. It's just true. So we chatted with them after FHE which was cool and then I just went home. A lot of the other girls stayed out and got ice cream but I was done for the day and it was technically late - nearly nothing is late for the French, they stay out till like 2 am every day I swear, it was like 9:30pm and it took an hour to get home so I took my leave. All in all a really good day. I wish I could give more specific details about the Louvre and day but my memories aren't so great (sick that day remember?) and I feel like they'd just be boring anyway! I swear I'm going to get this blogging thing up to date and down to a science. A toute à l'heure! (See ya later)

A Slow Weekend

Saturday, May 12th 2013

So this was one of those really lazy Saturdays. We slept in. We did homework. I checked my e-mail. It was so nice. Nothing too exciting though. Then that evening we went out to celebrate one of the girl's birthdays - Savannah! Unfortunately finding a restaurant was a little difficult - we walked and walked and walked. That's the tough thing about Paris - we're not familiar enough with the city right now to know where we want to go or where everything is. So we started out on the Champs-Elysee and started walking looking for a good place to eat. Then one girl thought she knew where a good restaurant was and we tried to track that down for another half an hour. Then we got to the area and decided we didn't want to keep looking for it. So we hopped on the metro and just popped out at a random station and tried to find a restaurant from there. Yeah, it was a little frustrating. I like to have a plan and know exactly where we're going and get there efficiently at a certain time...but when you don't know where to go that's hard to do. Anyway after a bit of grumbling and frustration, we found a good place. The food was great. I thought I'd try something new so I got lamb! (for the first time) One of the other girls ordered steak and when it came out it was still just in its raw completely rare patty form! The guys sitting next to us said that it was really popular in Australia and that the meat had been treated with something so that it was safe to eat and wouldn't make one sick. Supposedly that's the best way to really savor the natural flavor of the meat. Still...ewwww. And she ate some of it! Although after a few bites, just the idea of the meat like made her stomach upset so she didn't finish it. But the guys at the table next to us who had told us about it did! Haha, so I guess some people really do eat their meat like that! After dinner, it was pretty late and since it takes us nearly an hour to get back to our house we just went home. On our way home riding the metro, we passed right by the Eiffel Tower as it was sparkling and glittering - like it does on the hour at night - and it was beautiful. I was just in such awe that this had become a normal site for me, and that it was one to the thousand of Parisiens everyday. What an amazing blessing. I always feel so humbled when I see one of these monuments because it reminds me of the great opportunity and gift this trip is. I can be so easy to take each day at face value and go through the motions, to the events and monuments, ride the metro, eat a baguette. But. I try (often) to stop myself and have a moment of awe and gratitude. This is a trip that I have dreamed about for a good portion of my life. These stone buildings are not just an average occurrence, rather they hold history of centuries. I have a chance to visit a city and country that is beautiful, historical, fun and that opportunity is one I should never take for granted because it is not offered or possible for everyone.

Sunday, May 13th 2013

Sunday was also a very slow day. We had church early in the morning and that was it. It was at 9:30am which meant we had to leave the house by 8:20am. Luckily since we have school at the institute - that is in the church - we already knew the way. Let me just say, you think that high heels wouldn't be that bad for a ten minute walk or so but they were killer! Especially once we got into all that nasty cobblestone business. Church went well. It was all in French but surprisingly I understood pretty much all of it. It helped a lot that at least 50% of the members were actually Americans just living in Paris...which kinda disappointed me a little. It's hard to feel like you're getting a real French experience when some of the members have a stronger American accent than you do...But! The gospel is true in any and every language and I was grateful that I could receive that confirmation while listening. I couldn't always understand every word, or phrase, or sometimes even comment, but you don't need a language to feel the spirit, and it testifies of the truthfulness of the gospel. I even brought my French book of Mormon! But, in Sunday School we are still studying in Doctrine and Covenants (or Doctrines et Alliances) and so I didn't get to use it - not even once! Unfortunately, I started having a sore throat ( more on this later) in church and once we got home promptly took a nap. I felt a little better once I woke up and a few ibuprofen later. And then one of the best events of the trip! I was able to skype with my family back home on Mother's Day! I had really missed the gang so it was great to see them and talk with them. And it was really nice to share with them in person what was happening too. I gotta admit, the sites of Paris are amazing, the beauty is simply breathtaking but there is nothing in comparison to seeing the faces light up of those you love - and I got that treat Sunday evening. :) So all in all, the weekend was pretty slow and average - just like the ones in America. I feel bad that this post was so dull - so enjoy the pretty pictures of my neighborhood! Keep in mind, these are all just pictures of houses around my neighborhood, an average banlieu outside of Paris, nothing spectacular. And these pictures were all just taken with my iPhone BUT they are still some of the most beautiful ever! How can everything be so beautiful!?!

The Palace of Gold

Friday, May 10th 2013

Ok, Take 2 with class. On day 2 I did not get lost, conned out of money or otherwise taken advantage of. This day we got to class early (a little too early actually) and never got lost. After our lesson, our professors took us to go see the Jewish quarter of Paris and we all ate falafel. It was my first falafel and it was pretty good. Then we walked over to the Vaux de Viscontes, which is essentially the "house" (insert mansion/palace here) that inspired Versailles. And by inspired, I mean Louis XIV got jealous his house wasn't as big and so built Versailles. So then of course we went and saw Versailles!

Unfortunately, the weather was not that nice. Overcast and windy. And the line was like a 40 minute wait. However, it went quick with all the girls chatting and admiring the outside of the palace. If I could choose one word to describe Versailles I'd probably say.... over the top. It is simply astounding and overwhelming the amount of decor and pomp and grandeur that Versailles has. It outdoes elegance. It overdoes luxury. It is insane and simply mindblowing how much money went into this palace - and imagining actually living here. My favorite place was the hall of mirrors. It is soo cool. It has this black and white marble flooring and these beautiful large crystal chandeliers every six feet - and of course - all these gold framed mirrors. I could see myself walking down that hallway in a large dress and even larger wig with my ladies in waiting. Now that I could see. That would certainly be the life. I've always been intrigued by the stories of Versailles and the French Kings who lived there - which just a side note Marie Antoinette never said her infamous phrase "Let Them Eat Cake". Never.

Unfortunately after the large crowds and long hours of standing on my feet, I was too tired to explore the gardens - plus the weather sucked. Fortunately, I can go back on any free day/afternoon and give it a second go :) Too be honest, sometimes it's so exhausting to do all of these museums and see all of these places in one go and so you really can't appreciate it or take it all in. At least that's how I've felt for most of the trip! Versailles was a pretty long trip, so afterward we caught the train back to Paris and then to home. Another one of the girls and I stopped at the store to buy some things for dinner and settled on pasta and spaghetti sauce. Don't underestimate the difficulty of shopping in another country, not only is it difficult because you don't understand all the labels but all the brands are different! I wanted to get Bertolli but alas, all sorts of different French brands. I also had to pick up some conditioner - you see that morning I was excited to use the new shampoo and conditioner I had gotten from the store the day before. The first step went well, I got my hair all lathered up and clean then I rinsed it out. Clean hair, yay! Then, I was ready to moisturize with my conditioner - gave myself a good sized amount on my palm and began to distribute...until I realized that it was also lathering up...and therefore was also shampoo. Shoot! What's even more frustrating is that the word for shampoo is "shampoo"! It's not even hard and the word for conditioner is "après-shampoo" which means "after shampoo" so I really just didn't pay enough attention to the labels, ha! So I made sure to get the right product this time. The store we went to is called a "Monoprix" which in French literally means "one price" - though that's not the case. But it's the closest thing they have to a Walmart because it has food, some jewelry, some make-up, some hair stuff and probably even some clothes - but it's very small. It's like the size of the food section in a super Walmart - yeah the whole store = food section only. So we came back to my place and made our pasta and that night some of the girls went and explored the nightlife of Paris. All in all a pretty good day. And a much better start to school :)

Also I realize my pictures are not the best quality - for that I both apologize and note that most likely you can find pretty great photos online if you really want to see the splendor that my point and shoot camera and shaky hand can't capture!