french(esca): Better & better

I've been in Paris for three weeks now and each day has been an adventure in some way. The city is so much bigger than San Francisco so it's hard to get a grasp on the land but I'm definitely working on it. School is way less structured so that's taking some getting used to but nothing to complain about. In some ways, it moves faster and in other ways it moves slower than my school in SF. More on that when I have it figured out a little better...

This past Thursday, the study abroad organization put together an outing at an Australian bar called Cafe Oz which was really fun. There was tons of people and even more dancing. Bars and clubs in Paris don't get really going until later so after the bar, me and a few friends went to a club where they played a lot of old-ish American songs mixed in with today's hits so that was super fun too. Friday, I saw the most amazing firework show ever. It was at La Defense which is a huge business area with awesomely constructed buildings and big statues/sculptures. The firework show was narrated by this almighty French voice and even though I couldn't understand what the voice was saying, the fireworks and visuals explained the start and evolution of the universe. It was incredibly unique and went through the big bang and first organisms on Earth, etc. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. After the show, I went with a group of friends to an area called Oberkampf where there are a lot of bars. We hung out at a couple bars but kept it pretty low key, just talking and laughing the night away.

Saturday night was one of the most fun nights I've had in Paris so far. Me and a group of about 7 girls went to a club called quinze quinze (1515) near the Champs Elyseé. We met up with some French friends from our school and danced allllll night. It was awesome. Then on Sunday, I slept in late and met up with my culture class for a walking tour of the 5th arrondissement. We visited the jardin du luxembourg, pantheon, Hemingway's old apartment, roman ruins, a famous mosque, jardin des plantes, l'institue du monde arabe and the cute neighborhood surrounding all these great places. After the pretty walking tour, I met up with my friend Sebastian at the Notre Dame. He's a chef, so he knows all the best places to eat and I'm basically a professional eater so we have an easy friendship. We got the best ice cream I've ever had then walked around a Jewish/gay area called la marais which I fell in love with. The streets are narrow and there's tons of food and shopping - it's quintessentially Parisian. Later, I met up with some other friends to see a movie which was nice and made me feel at home. It was an amazing weekend and I can't wait for later this coming week - Cindy & Drew (Matt & Megan's good friends) will be here and then I'm going to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest! Stay tuned for beer and weinerschnitzels ;)