The Everyday, on the other side of the world

So, um, a sort of revolution has happened on Blogger. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but blogger has decided to go over to blogger beta, which in turn means you have to log in with your gmail name, which in turn means...you guessed it! Blogger pages all show up in FRENCH!!! Well, for me anyway. It's interesting, and sort of confusing. I don't know what to do with myself.

So, it's been a good weekend. A good week, I guess. I finished my paper, which is about the biggest accomplishment in about six months for me. It may not sound like much, but considering that I started writing it over three weeks ago and only finished it on Friday, well, let's just say I haven't taken that long to write a paper in ever. Naturally, that accomplishment required a little bit of celebration and a lot-a-bit of reflection on why I am so unproductive. Maybe I should have gone to Oxford, just to have to write something every week. I'm thoroughly convinced that my academism has left. Maybe it's junioritis. You remember that from high school right? The one they never told you about, that came at the most inconvenient time in your h.s. career, and left just in time for senioritis to take it's toll. Yeah, I think I have that. I'm afraid of the quarters ahead.

Anyway, after finishing my paper, I figured it was time to celebrate, to reward myself a little. Everyone else was working on a paper or project or studying for a final or something though, so a night out was not really in the picture. As a result, I spent Friday night relaxing and reading a little bit of David Sedaris, just to get a chance to reflect on my own experiences in Paris. The sad thing is, most of the experiences he describes in Me Talk Pretty One Day are very stark reminders of how banal and quotidien most of the experiences I've been having are. I mean, mine have been interspersed with the occasional crazy night out at The Queen, or the random picnic on the Seine followed the next day by mass at Notre Dame, or watching the fireworks launching behind Sacre Coeur from the base of Montmartre...but still, most of my experience in Paris is about boring things. Avoiding dog shit on my walk from the apartment to the class room, pondering the translation of "Ne mets pas tes mains sur les portes, tu risques de te faire pincer tres fort" as "Keep hands away from door," or hearing the annoyingly high-pitched cry of a passing ambulance, followed immediately by three police cars and their equally high-pitched sirens.

I mean, I guess that's what it comes down to in the end, or am I wrong? I mean, when you really come to love a place, to take it in as a part of you, is it not the minor things that remind you of it. The distinctive scent of the sea that reminds me of Orange County, or the gentle breeze knocking a few brown leaves off of tree-lined boulevards to remind me of Stanford. When a place becomes a part of you, you start to see other places in terms of it. And I have no doubt that when I return, I'll go searching (in earnest, most likely) for the things that remind me of Paris. The Camembert (which is apparently impossible to find in the same quality stateside), the 85 cent baguette (yeah, try finding that at Safeway), the (seriously) familiar scent of dog crap wafting up from the sidewalk (ALERT! Dog poo approaching. Look down!). The day-to-day, the familiar, these are the things I'll remember. I guess that's better.

Which brings me to the distinctly familiar and completely American celebration known as Thanksgiving. French people just don't understand Americans, and I'm pretty sure the confusion goes both ways (myself included). I had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner yesterday (yes, Saturday and NOT Thursday...forgive me oh holy lord of American holidays) with an alumnus of Stanford, his wife, their amazing friends, and a Wellesley student (who was, like myself, randomly invited by the wife, who is of course a Wellesley alumna). That was amazing! Gave me a taste of, I suppose, what Thanksgiving is going to be like once I'm out of college and I or a friend or whoever is preparing the turkey, in the company of numerous friends and gratuitous servings of alcoholic beverages. Essentially, I haven't drinken so much since the summer, but it was paced over an amazing 7-hour celebration, so it was fine. And the food was, well, of course, glorious! Anyway, in the end it made me a little homesick as I realized that I haven't had Thanksgiving at home in over two years, and, well, no stuffing is ever as good as the one your grandma makes. Admit it. I did.

So now I arrive at today, a day spent walking around Paris, counting stores and cars for my "Paris by Numbers" course with Nikki. It was fun, got to see the 19th and 20th, which, while admittedly sketchy compared to the rest of Paris, offer a great deal of low-priced goods and Asian foodstuffs...making them a college student's Paridise! I vow to return at some point. And, I guess I can say I feel accomplished, since I got all of that done, and have begun reading and reflecting on the paper I will eventually (meaning, in like a month or 2) have to turn in for my independent study. After my last experience, it's always good to start early.

Alright, so that's about it. In other news, I've secured an internship working for an architectural research group (I have no idea what that means) next quarter, and my horoscope yesterday told me to go out and buy a new article of clothing (I didn't take it up on its suggestion). Also, Paris is most beautiful when the sun comes out after the rain and a chilling breeze blows through the alleyways.

Anyway, I'm off to bed so I can get up early and go running in the Jardin du Luxembourg, another one of those day-to-day's I'll take home for me (as begin the quest for every possible gravel-covered path I can find on Stanford campus - seriously, gravel is amazing, especially when it soaks up all the rain). I hope everyone else is getting as much excitement from the uninteresting and boring things in their day-to-day routine. And, in conclusion, "Happy Belated Thanksgiving," to quote Ms. Hill.