Un matin brumeux ne signifie pas un jour nuageux

Before I even got out of bed this morning, I was annoyed.  Technology sometimes kills me.  I had to do a software update on my phone last night, but now my email and my Whatsapp do not work because they need the Verizon network to initialize.  It's really not the end of the world, just very frustrating!  The only time I could use my phone anyway is when I can use my computer, so there are plenty of other means of communication through my laptop.

After I got ready and had breakfast, I walked to find one of the supermarkets that was close by.  There are many supermarkets in Paris, but I went to FranPrix because it is supposed to have lower prices then the others.  It was about a 10 minute walk, close to the metro station.  It was so weird trying to figure out what things were with French labels!  It took me forever to pick out the olive oil.  I hope I bought the right one!  I didn't buy too much, just some seasonings, nutella for my baguettes (yum!), pasta, water, and I had to splurge and buy a bag of Kit Kat bars.  I've heard once you eat a Kit Kat in Europe, you'll never eat another one in the United States.  That may be good for my diet when I go back home!

On another note, being the math major that I am, I calculated how much transportation to class is going to cost me over the next four months.  I only budget 150 USD in my Magis grant, which was a huge mistake.  I will spend almost 400 USD just from metro passes!  Oh mon Dieu! C'est horrible.  What are you going to do, I guess...Hopefully I will be able to make money this summer!

I took the metro to the station stop by school.  I was amazed it only took about 18 minutes!  I do have to walk 10 minutes to the metro station by my school first, then take the metro, then another 5ish minutes to class.  The walk to class from the townhouses suddenly doesn't seem as bad.  I met Danielle and some other girls at the Virgin Mega Store since they needed to check something on their phones.  Technology is terrible!  But anyways, I bought a few notebooks, but let me tell you...the notebooks in Europe are so different than the ones at home! They are all gridded instead of lined, and very very expensive.  I only bought two.  Hopefully I can take notes on the computer for most of my classes.

After that, we went to a little cafe close by school.  I thought we were going to be late too school by the time we got our food, but it came out quickly and was delicious.  We were the first ones in class, as well!  Class was...well it was class.  Not terrible, but it made me realize that I actually have to do work soon.  I just like playing!  At least I am doing work in Paris, I suppose!  Gotta look at the bright side of that!  I had a nice professor and we talked about Paris, had fake phone conversations with each other to practice, and then listened to a song and read it outloud.  I think some French is finally coming back to me!

A few of us stopped at a cafe after class for a drink.  It was a cute place, and we got the happy hour special (even though drinks are still ridiculously expensive here..bye bye bank account!).  A few of the girls ordered les frites, and the server brought us some chips.  DON'T FREAK OUT MOM.  Danielle knows how to say the word for oil better than me, so she asked the server if the chips had peanut oil in them.  He told her there was corn oil and walked away.  So I had a few and he came back and said that there were peanuts in them....but Danielle was asking him over and over again if there was peanut oil and he kept saying this different type of oil but said peanuts as well.  We told him ENGLISH PLEASE and he still said the same thing.  Needless to say, I'm fine :)  Just wont be eating the chips again, just in case.

For some reason, today the smoking was bothering more than usual.  Almost everyone smokes here and I can't handle it!  We sat inside the bar because of the smoking outside, but it still smelled very very smoky inside.  I had to hang my jacket outside the window when I got home! EW.

If you think you've ever been in a crowded place, wait until you ride the metro at rush hour.  Bad mistake, Devan.  I literally couldn't even move.  Luckily, the claustrophobia didn't bother me, since I squeezed myself right by the door and the doors open at each stop.  But let me tell you, know I know what sardines feel like!

I cooked my first meal in France! Nothing that different, since I'm picky.  I just sauteed some chicken and diced up potatoes.  It was pretty good!  I'm finally going to be full when I go to bed!  I have been trying to really pay attention to the conversations that my family here has and I completely understood one today! My host sister has a cold, so she was explaining to her mom what the doctor told her.  She came home with literally 7 boxes of medicine.  Yes, I counted.  Healthcare system in France better or worse than America? Hm. We learned that the French go to the Doctor more often than Americans.  Thought that was a pretty interesting fact!

Demain: Musée d'Orsay

A toute à l'heure! (The Parisians favorite phrase to say "See you soon!")