Fini.

Well, this afternoon I triumphantly turned in the very last assignment of the Fall semester.  I thought such a monumental event deserved its own blog post even if my brain is too tired to try and come up with something  interesting to say.
At the very start of the semester, I was hopeful about being able to finish it.
One week in, I was sure I was headed for something much, much harder than expected.
A month in, it was going okay as I still hadn't had any big projects due yet and my grades weren't terrible.  At the two month mark, I was sure they were trying to kill me.
Three months in and I knew death was not only imminent, but may in fact already have happened and I was really just a floating specter trying to absorb French through osmosis.
I hit four months and by then I knew I wasn't actually dead even though my GPA was about to be.  I knew I could finish my finals, but at this point I was reduced to studying in ten minute chunks alternating with any and everything to motivate me to complete the next ten minutes.

a not very good picture of the snow this morning

Four months, one week, and two days brings me to today.  Today I spent from 7 to 4:45 with minimal breaks translating my eight page paper into French. It was supposed to be 10 pages, but I truly have nothing more to say about An-Nawawi, Les Quarante Hadiths, freewill, qadar, qadariyya, qadarisme, qadari, or any other version of the word "qadar."  I sent it to the professor along with the English version for good measure, and that was it.  A whole semester over in one little attached file on a hastily written email.
When as tired as I am now, it is hard to focus on one's achievements, but I do have to admit, I've come a long ways.  I was hands down the weakest in the group when I arrived with a French comprehension level that was practically nonexistent and that made me question the judgement of the professors and advisers who sent me here even though I realize now that they were right.  Somewhere along the way though I learned to ask for directions, answer the phone, read bank forms, understand the weather lady, order a sandwich with extra pepper but no mayonnaise, and simply have a conversation.
After my Art History oral exam, the professor looked at me and basically said, "I was really scared at the beginning of the semester.  I didn't think you could do it, but you have improved so much.  You are a hardworking student, and you have done well."  I do believe "bosseuse" was the word she used.  My grades may be a C- average for the semester, but the toughest teacher in the program actually gave me a complement, so I'm gonna take it and use it as a substitute for any grade that doesn't meet my usual standards.  You take what you can get when you have the language skills of a four year-old and are expected to do college level work with those skills.
Obviously, school has not been the only aspect of life here despite how I may make it sound.  I have come to call this city home and everyday I feel less like a tourist and more like I belong.  I walk around my quartier and it really is mine.  It's kind of crazy because when I first arrived, I felt less at home in the Chinatown where I lived than in the places around the city where I visited because they felt more "western".  But now, I know I'm home when I see the McDonald's with the Chinese characters, the little cluster of stark, high-rise apartments, the old ladies doing Tai Chi in the community center courtyard on cold mornings, and all the men fighting for a place around the small TV at the corner shop, waiting for the lotto numbers to be drawn while smoking their cheap cigarettes and speaking a melange of languages I can't even recognize.  It's mine now too.  Don't worry though, I don't currently have any plans to stay past my visa.
Thanks to all of yall back home for being so very supportive and helping me get where I am today.  That whole "takes a village" thing actually is true, and I am very grateful.  One semester down and one more awesome semester to go!  I have hopes that my evolving French skills will make this one easier academically and thus make room for even more adventures.
Au revoir, bon courage, merci, et grosses bises!
-Kate Alice

Best Day Ever

      Given that I'm in France, you would expect that my best day ever here would entail something possibly, or even remotely, French.  However, no matter where you go in the world, it is hard to beat Disneyland!  Disneyland Paris is smaller than the other two, but it was so incredibly fun that I am getting excited just thinking about it.  One of my friends had a season pass because he is gaga about Disney, so he invited us to come with this special coupon and we got in for 1/4 the normal price.  In retrospect though, it was worth the full amount.  Now, before I continue, I must add that we spent the entire day outside on the coldest day that the Paris area has seen all winter.  Every time we checked the weather it was below freezing.  Needless to say I was wearing four layers of long sleeves, tights under my jeans, and two layers of Smartwool socks (thanks Mo and D!), and I was still cold.

       Michel, the season pass holder, was so anxious to get to the park that he managed to drag us out of bed, on a 45min. train ride, and to the park thirty minutes before it actually opened.  He was afraid of the lines that would be forming...because everyone wants to get out of bed at 8am to stand outside in 27 degree weather to be the first to ride the spinning teacups.  As you can see, the family ahead of us offered some steep competition.

he was very excited (please note all of the snow)

We were so cold in this picture, but already so psyched that it didn't matter.

one of many selfies

      The joke of the trip was that Mary is sort of a Grinch when it comes to things Disney, so this is her actually being sarcastic about being up this early in the cold.  Also, I still don't know what the "20" was celebrating, but it's pretty!  

      After this point, I don't have any photos of the rest of the morning, but it was quite fun.  The last time I went on a roller coaster I was eight and screaming and crying to be let off of Splash Mountain, so I always assumed that I didn't like them.  Thus, you can understand my mild terror when they drug me straight in the direction of Space Mountain.  Along the way, we figured that we would get a Fast Pass for another ride, but the young guy working there just looked at us and said, "You know, the wait time only says five minutes because we can't put zero, right?"  There were so few people at the park that the longest we waited was about 10 min. on one ride near the end of the day, and the rest of the time what took the longest was winding through the barricades just to get to the ride.  Pretty nifty.  

     It was probably best that I didn't have much time to process my fear of roller coasters, because before I knew it I was lowering the harness and the thing started to move.  It was not what I was expecting, it was way better!  I have never screamed or cussed with such fervor as during that ride.  I had my eyes closed pretty much the whole time and nearly pulled a muscle holding on to the handles so tight.  When it finally stopped, my adrenalin was going so fast I could hardly get out of the car, but one of the first things we agreed upon was that we wanted to go back and do it again!  It was so much better the second time around, and I was having so much fun that I couldn't stop laughing, and thus was the start of our six rounds on Space Mountain.  

      On round three a couple obviously not feeling the Disney spirit at that hour asked us if their daughter could go with us as we headed back to do it again and they would meet us at the exit.  That was how we met the absolute cutest 10 year old Corsican of all time.  It was a wonderful affirmation of our growing French abilities to be able to have a legible and funny conversation with a little kid, and she joined us for the rest of our rounds as well.

      After a surprisingly awesome Star Wars themed ride obviously from the eighties, some more smaller rides, and the absolute weirdest 3D movie ever by George Lucas, Frances Ford Coppola, and Michael Jackson, we headed back to Frontier Land where we had seen a Mexican food place, but it was closed so the obvious next choice was BBQ at this place that was a French version of an American chuckwagon restaurant complete with harmonica versions of "Oh My Darlin'" and a real fire.  I must say the Angus burger filled with fried onion rings, flame-grilled patties, and arugula of all things was actually very good.  

      Because of our full stomachs, roller coasters weren't really an option for a while, so we rode the carousel, visited the haunted mansion, and some little kid rides.   

We got a free hot drink with our lunch receipts, so hot chocolate it was.

I only include this blurry photo because the expression on the girl's face behind me is just a winner.

      After hot cocoa, we went to the other park.  I hit notes I never thought reachable when they convinced me to go on the Hollywood Tower Hotel ride.  That was true terror right there as we were dropped twelve stories in an elevator over and over again faster than the speed of gravity.  It was still fun, but I don't really think that's my type of ride.  The view from the top before they dropped us was quite nice though.  Afterwards was the Rockin' Roller Coaster (best ride ever!!!!!), and then off to the Toy Land of sorts.

Quote of the Day

Random lady:  Elle est belle!    [She is beautiful!]

Me: Non, elle est Cendrillon.     [No, she is Cinderella.]

The parachute jump was a bit more intense than expected.

      One of the last things we did was go say hi to Minnie which was the perfect end to a pretty much perfect day.  It might have been all of the adrenalin running through our system, but we were all in very good moods and just had so much fun.  Kudos to my awesome friends as always, and I can't wait to go on a roller coaster again!  Much love,

Kate Alice

Walking

        Many miles were logged in our worn out shoes today.  My friend Adrian from Austin College is in town for a week before his study abroad program begins in Nantes, France, and we have been exploring the city together a bit.  This morning I met him at his auberge/hostel in the 11th and we walked around the Bastille, on to the Marais, ate falafel on Rue de Rosiers, continued to Ile St. Louis, Ile de la cite, Notre Dame, Place St. Michel, St. Germain, hopped the metro to Pere Lachaise cemetery, and then home.

        I was already fairly familiar with pretty much all of the places that we went, but it was still nice to walk around and show him some of my favorite places.  This is just practice for when all of yall family people come visit.  However, as I have come to realize, it is really hard to be an enthused tourist for much longer than three hours at a time.  After that, you just need to sit down for a while with a cup of coffee or take a nap.  Thus, a new part of my tour guide research has been a focus on finding places to not do anything.  Pere Lachaise provides such a spot if you are willing to navigate the slick and sometimes steep cobblestone streets.  

Some of the older tombs were completely covered in thick moss like this one.

        I love how ornate the Gothic elements of some of these tombs are.  They are like miniature cathedrals and make one realize just how boring most cemeteries in are in comparison.  After we had officially worn ourselves out and our feet were aching, we split ways on the metro and I returned to my little room to sip on off-brand Ramen noodle broth and read the oh so exciting Quarante Hadiths of An-Nawawi as translated by Mohammed Tahar.  It actually isn't that boring, but I keep finding myself copying down the arabic script that is on the right page instead of actually reading the french on the left page.  What has most surprised me about it, is how incredibly similar it is to reading the Bible.  I would make a bet that if you anglicized the names, it would be possible to insert it into the Bible and none would be the wiser.  There's Moses, Adam, Gabriel, Jesus, Paradise, Hell, Resurrection day, Noah, and the list goes on.  It's crazy how interconnected the world's religions really are and the advice they all give on how to live a good life is practically identical.  On foot the world is so big, but in books it is so very small.

Well, my leisure reading time is at hand.  Love and miss you all dearly.

-Kate Alice

Return of the Blogger

        I do love when great minds think alike.  I woke up this morning thinking about how it had been way, way too long since I had blogged last, and set about getting some photos together and brainstorming what to say, and then I logged on and saw the sad post about the lack of posts.  I guess I was a few hours too late.  Please take my lack of posts as a sign that I have settled in well, am doing my homework, have been spending my free time exploring the city, have drunk way too many espressos, and am doing all of my writing in my journal instead.  As they say, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, but the second best time is today, so here goes.

Boats on the Seine with Notre Dame casually sitting in the background

        Finals finished with what I can only describe as the complete opposite of a bang.  It was more like, "i ne can pas spoke anglais or France because mon brain is completement toast. je need a vacance. help moi."  Four hour, in class, written exams on a passage of Moliere at 8am on a Saturday can have that affect on exchange students, but I lived with the help of the biggest English/French dictionary I could find.  The Italian exchange student in the same class brought with her two of the biggest dictionaries I have ever seen.  They literally would not fit in her backpack, and laying on top of one another they were about a foot tall.  I'm not even sure how she was able to find the words she needed!  I think the next semester will be much easier given that my french has improved and I am familiar with the system, and despite my complete inability to remember conjugations, I managed to inch up to a slightly more advance grammar class, so that is a relief.  Given the amount of red ink on all of my homework, that is a small miracle.  

        The saddest part of the semester was definitely having to say goodbye to all of my friends who returned to the states.  Our going away party was very fun and much cake was eaten to soften the blow of last goodbyes.  Of course, all of them being gone only made me realize just how much I missed being home, but that problem was partially solved with more espresso, gummy bears, and the complete set of Harry Potter books in french as a Christmas gift to myself.  Needless to say I have spent much of my break sitting in the Jardin du Luxembourg reading in what little sunlight is left this time of year.  In fact, that's what I did all afternoon.

        I've also been taking a lot of walking tours around and making lots of stops at interesting places such as this third story art gallery above a bookshop in the Marais.   

    All of the walls were covered in rather interesting posters and these were the large windows that, as you can see, were also covered in posters.  I was the only one in there, and it was all very surreal.  I'm not sure what the statement was, but the person who put the collection together must be a rather odd and unhappy person.

         This is in front of the Institute du Monde Arabe where I went the other day to visit the museum, but they happened to be closed that day.

So, I continued my walk along the Seine and sat at this place for a while reading until I got too cold and had to keep moving.

I sat next to this man for a while in the Jardin du Luxembourg a while ago, and discretely snuck a few shots while pretending to dust off my camera screen.  The angle is a bit off, but I like to think of that as artistic license.

And finally.....

....the one you've been waiting for....

...and by "you" I mean my mother...

        

...your's truly with her fuzzy hair, sitting in the kitchen on a cloudy day, sipping tea, reading Agatha Christie (in French of course), and trying to look happy but relaxed at the same time.  Well, I know this little post doesn't make up for the entire month of December, but at least I have a few photos to show for it.  Love and miss you all back home, and happy new year!

-Kate Alice

[Reserved Post Space]

[Sorry.  This blog post space has been reserved for Hubert.  She is currently too busy with holding down a chair in a Parisian coffee shop to contribute exciting photographs and paragraphs to this spot.  But do not despair. It shouldn't be too long before we see something!]

Cat waiting.