Vélib!!!

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. But here is the post I've been super excited to write for quite a while now: The Vélib!

Now the Vélib is the public bike system here. There are 2,000 some odd stations across the city and you can pick up a bike and ride it for 30 minutes (well 45 for me since I'm a student) without charge and just park it in another station. Well obviously it's not completely free, but I think 1,70eur for one day of full access etc and 29, eur for the year! So it's just not wise to not buy it, even if you don't plan on biking too often, it's just too convenient! So since I haven't got my metro pass yet (being France it's extremely complicated to obtain and the last thing I needed was the code of my bank account which I just got last Thursday and so now I can send in all my info and wait another few weeks to get the card) I use the bike as much as I possibly can. I ride to and from school everyday so since the weather has been SO beautiful this past week, I took some pictures for you to see a bit of what my commute to school looks like ... it's not too bad.

So there are several Vélib stations around me, four within a two block radius and of course beyond that a lot more. The one I typically use is right across the street and a block down, right on the river.

That's how they look and what a regular station looks. And lucky for me, this one is always pretty chock full of bikes for me to choose in the morning. Then I pull out and ride straight to the river and go left. I ride parallel to the river the whole way to school. Here are a few pics I took on the way down the river.

Well...that would be the Notre Dame pretty much as soon as I turn left on the river. No big deal or anything...It's just as beautiful every time I see it! I always make sure to admire it as I go by, not just let it fade to just...there, what I see every day etc. Absolutely Beautiful! Except I can't look at it too much because early in the morning on such beautiful days, there are heaps and heaps of tourists also looking at in awe and not understanding the traffic/paying attention. Sidenote: Yes I already bitch and whine about tourists here and there. :P

Just waiting at an intersection. So luckily on this road on the river, there is a bike lane almost the entire ride. That is very rare in Paris and EXTREMELY nice! Typically the bike shares a lane of traffic with the buses, emergency vehicles, and taxis. So it's rather aggressive and you really need to be careful and stay very close to the curb. It's much scarier sounding than it really is though. You get used to it quickly and I've found comfort deciding that the busdrivers, taxis, and other drivers want to hit me just as much as I want them to hit me. I've seen many close calls with other bikers typically when they keep going straight at a green light and a car in the right lane turns right without looking. But yeah you just have to be smart like anything else. It's really not too scary! I hope that everyone that will make it out to Paris can try it ;)

 This is Place St. Michel. I'm not really sure what it is but a beautiful fountain on the end of a building but it's definitely quite famous and always crowded.

I'm also not sure what this is but it looks very pretty and like a big deal. It's one of my favorite landmarks on my way to school...plus it means I'm almost there :P

So then a couple blocks past that last building I turn left onto Rue des Saints-Peres. There are a couple Sciences Po buildings on it and the first Vélib stop near ScPo is there. One of my favorite parts is straight ahead in the distance is the Tour Montparnasse over the horizon of the buildings. You can see it practically everywhere. I hear the view from the top of the Tour is the most beautiful in all of Paris. I can't wait to actually get on top of it! But for now I've just frequented a club at the bottom of it as well as many of the shops on this very long shopping road that leads up to it.

Then finally, I cross the Boulevard St. Germain again and here I am, at my usual Vélib stop! (If I get to class early enough and all the spots aren't taken). Very nice ride right?!

I meant to take some pictures on my way home. I pass some more beautiful things on the Boulevard St. Germain like the church of St. Germain de Pres which is from the 6th century as well as the museum Cluny which has an ancient Roman dig right there and behind that a medieval castle preserved where the medieval museum is. I will make a Vélib article part deux! Because I also have a lot more to say about it. So...to be continued....

Je m'appelle Dana

"Hey bonjour tu t'appelles comment toi?" 

"Salut! Je m'appelle Dana"

"Deena?"

"Dana"

"Diana, enchanté!"

"non non non c'est Day-na"

That is every single first conversation with everyone I meet. Well not always French I'm just acting exotic because yes I believed the French may find it difficult but even all the international students I meet -- no one understands or can say my name! It's very difficult for them. Except when I'm with Dane since then they can connect the two and realize it's just an "uh" at the end of his name. 

But I regret to inform you all that I am now Dana as in...Dah-nah, or maybe more accurately when speaking French, D'nah. The beautiful name my mother has given me has been butchered here haha. It really just makes a lot of confusion for everyone! So now I say Dahnah and everyone gets it right away. I don't get what is so difficult about Day-nah but these people don't get it.

Also there is another American named Dena (who studies at Penn! but is from Kentucky) and people mix us up all the time. "Oh yeah yeah Dena we just met the other night I remember you!" No obviously you don't because you met Dena obviously not Dana you just can't pronounce my name. Ayayaye.

La haute cuisine

So as you can imagine on my glamorous student budget, I am really getting a taste of the food that makes Paris so famous. Or I mean getting a taste of the discounted discount brand of the cheapest supermarket in the city! I've been making out pretty well so far, been here three weeks and have spent just about 100 euros so far on groceries (and that includes all my toiletries and cleaning stuff when I first arrived). I've fallen victim to these hamburger packs -- 8 hamburgers for 4,50 euros and typically potatoes and vegetables. Every night I like to calculate my dinner in my head and it's usually under two euros, sometimes even under one ;) I'm doing pretty well. And I figured from the beginning I am only trying all the Carrefour Discount products to see if they're nice because if they're nice enough then I'm not paying three times the price for the name brand stuff. Well let's just hope that what I'm eating just has nutrition to it but according to the nutrition facts they seem to! Pretty unbelievable! Here's a photo of a typical dinner of mine ...

Oh whoa! Adding pictures is so easy! Okay well I'll make sure to do that from now on! And okay the cookies and chips and chocolate in the background have nothing to do with my classy meal, but a salad, hamburger, mashed potatoes, asparagus...and wine! So okay add the wine this meal was probably 3euros. So it CAN be done!

And other than dinners I also eat very cheaply. I usually have cereal or oatmeal and a fruit in the morning. sometimes toast and eggs if I have the time and need the energy. And for lunch I usually eat salami and cheese sandwiches and an apple. So everything I buy is 1) the Carrefour Discount brand and 2) lasts at least a week or so. Now as I know it's possible to eat well pretty cheaply I just need to branch out hopefully in the same price range because I don't want to be sick of all the great cheap food within a month...




PS. On the subject of eating here, I just wanted to confirm that the stereotypes of the French and their baguettes, wine, and cheese are 100% true. I am really becoming French I hardly never leave the house in the evenings to meet up with friends without a bottle of wine and a demi-baguette in my purse (perfect sized purse for everything). You see people ALL the time walking down the street with fresh baguettes and a lot of the time just people sitting eating plain baguette. I think I'm learning what heaven is like.

In France, a Bastion of Privilege No More - NYTimes.com

In case no one's read this yet:

In France, a Bastion of Privilege No More - NYTimes.com:

Fantastic right? I like how Descoing was criticized in the beginning for Americanizing Sciences Po, forcing 'politically correct' 'failed' diversification methods and encouraging students to participate in the arts. Well it seems to be working out! I guess it's yesterday now that Sciences Po released the official 10 year report to show the effects of the new policies and whatnot but I haven't looked into them yet. Just thought it would be an interesting read for anyone and show you more about my school! Ah =)

La rentrée

Hi everybody!

So the past week has seen the end of the Welcome Programme, more parties, more sightseeing, a visit from Dane, and the beginning of the school year! Here is my schedule:

lundi
10h00 - 12h00  Globalisation, etats, et marches financiers (basically globalization and finance)

mardi
10h00 - 12h00 Tennis
12h30 - 14h30 Sociology of Immigration, Race and Ethnicity (very interesting!)
14h45 - 16h45 La construction europeenne (the construction of the EU/EU law)

mercredi
8h00 - 10h00 European Integration/Economics of the EU (like the economic integration of nations into the EU)
12h30 - 14h30 Globalisation, etats, et marches financiers - the recitation I guess

jeudi
12h30 - 14h30 Clivages socio-politiques en Europe

So it's nice! Thus far I've really enjoyed my classes. The ones in French are quite difficult - I can understand it's just the biggest headache to really follow the whole time. And all of them are borderline over my head but oh well, it just means I will learn a lot this semester. As I mentioned with the Welcome Program, we have these main things called "exposes" which are just oral presentations but in this specific format and typically from 10-30 minutes and besides that the other things are papers, 'fiches techniques' which are basically essays and 'fiches de la lecture' which is probably the easiest I imagine, a 3-page document outlining and developing a reading. It's all a lot different from assignments at home and so far at each intro lecture, it is when we schedule who presents which expose when (or which day my paper is due etc) depending on the subject. So I've been intentionally making them all as early in the semester as possible while still being spread and balanced so that I can get them out of the way so I have more freedom in the rest of the semester and don't have any stress come exams! Well...it's a great idea to me now but I will kicking myself in a matter of days since my first oral presentation will be next Thursday and it's in a French class so...well...I will learn fast.

Other than that has been nothing but fun! Dane came for the last weekend and we did lots. Went shopping for some room stuff (like big pillows for my futon that you can't sit up straight on), picnicking in the Jardin du Luxembourg and all over town really, climbing up and strolling around Montmartre and visiting the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, and more. The highlight was the picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg...I've spent a lot of time there already, meeting up with friends, picnic with the Welcome Program, and even laid there with other students in my group discussing French immigration policy and its conflict with the National Identity of France to prepare our expose (another surreal French experience). But the day we went it was just SO nice out it was unbelievable and we had great food and it was just packed and 'gezellig.' Sacre Coeur was also spectacular. The view from atop the hill is more beautiful than one could imagine (I could even see the Notre Dame and Pantheon so tried to pick out which house was mine in between), but inside the church is what really took my breath away. It really must be one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen and I just found it really unsettling and kind of scary with all the imagery and the style of the design so I really liked it. The dome in it is also amazing with its windows and the way the sun shines through them onto these stone angels. I never knew what the inside of the Sacre-Coeur looked like but wow it was amazing. I will make sure to upload photos when I get them from Dane!

There have also been several "Integration" events the past few days. On Sunday was the Journee d'integration with the Buddy Program. It was in the Bois de Vincennes for all the exchange students. It was amazingly fun though in typical French fashion was completely unorganized and didn't begin till an hour later than scheduled. We were basically assigned to groups (Dane just went along with me which was luckily perfectly fine) and in those groups we went around to different activities and yeah met a bunch of other international students and French students. Dane and I both had fun with the games and meeting people, we were particularly champions with this "Bike Binouze" organization that had a station with things like monocycle races and other strange bike contraption races. Bike Binouze is a student organization at ScPo that I guess once a week or so they are told a bar somewhere in Paris but are only given the name of the bar and the arrondissement, then they hop on their bikes and race to find it. He who gets there first gets free drinks all night and other than that just really cheap beer for everyone (2,50 euro pint which is ridiculously cheap here as it's typically 5,50 6,50). What a great student organization right?! By winning our little races too we kept winning free beer. Great great. Then we did different icebreaker style games at other stations and played soccer at one but more like human foosball so holding hands in lines and having to stay in that straight line etc. Fun. I ended up meeting quite a few nice people though, one girl from Philly too! After the Journee was a bar crawl through the Bastille area which was even nicer. Just more meeting people etc. Since Dane's obsessed with meeting new people especially international students we really had a blast! So no worries, my boyfriend visiting doesn't cramp my social life ;)
Then Monday night was the Soiree d'Integration for the whole school hosted by the Bureau des Eleves (main student board, basically student government). Unfortunately Dane was gone early early in the morning but I got tickets with friends for this party at this cabaret. I went to my friend's little studio apt in Montparnasse with friends for some drinks beforehand then headed out to the party. The venue was absolutely beautiful, all wood with dark red curtains and everything yeah I guess like an old-fashioned cabaret. The DJ was absolutely fantastic so we really had a nice time. It was just too bad it was on the outskirts of town so getting home after the metro closed (at 1230 on weeknights, crazy) was a nightmare. I didn't look up where it was and I figured I'd bike home but noooo nevermind, took a cab with others.

So anyway. Now I'm just doing classes and getting excited for this weekend and the next weekend! There's too much fun to be had here. But right now is business. Today I was productive, I finally got fully registered with Sciences Po by giving them all the documents needed and getting my student ID card and bought my social security. I also got all the needed documents to the bank so now I'm just waiting on an email confirmation with my RIB and I'm set to get my phone and everything. Of course it wasn't a fraction as easy as it sounds, especially with the bank. They kept sending me to different branches and whatnot and oh just awful I really hate the French I really do everything is SO overcomplicated. Now I will organize my schedule and do work because Friday I am meeting with this girl to prepare our expose for next week and I want to have the time to devote my entire Saturday day and night to this Inox Park Festival with some of the biggest and my favorite DJs in the world.

Wahoooooou Paris Paris Paris. Pictures and all coming soon. Love x