My return to Paris from my trip to Scotland last weekend elicited all of the above results. Though my bed in Paris is not exactly the same as my bed at home, I certainly prefer it to the unfamiliar hostel bed, and while I am pretty sure I was fairly upbeat the whole trip, as soon as I was putting my pictures on my computer, I found myself subtly erasing the restaurant that didn't have room to seat us and the worries I had about getting to the airport on time from my memory of the trip (I actually had to think pretty hard just now to even remember those, and the restaurant thing did actually become a joke between me and my friends that weekend). When I got back to Paris, I appreciated not having to look at a map to get home from the metro, the cheese we had after dinner, and sitting down to watch the news with my host mom.
My trip made me appreciate coming back to Paris, but the fourth "back from vacation" observation also proved true: I have done more school work this week than I have done in the rest of the semester combined! In this case, I am thinking that I am not just coming back from a trip to Scotland, but coming back to reality after the first two and a half months I have spent in France have been mostly "abroad" with very little "study." I had my first test in a Paris university on Wednesday, and I think it went pretty well, though I did have to ask my teacher how to spell Czechoslovakia in French (Tchécoslovaquie), and they do grade considerably harder, so I am still a bit nervous for the result. I have my first in-class essay on Tuesday, so I have been carefully re-reading Molière's "École des Femmes" in preparation. I also have a test in my art-history class and a document analysis essay due for my history of the 20th century class on Wednesday.
The notable difference here is that, even though I am "back" from my vacation to Scotland, I am still at least partially on vacation in Paris. I know that when I get home, I will fall asleep in my real bed thinking about the great semester I had, and any negativity or stress I experienced will magically melt away, allowing me to conserve nothing but the best memories of the trip. I might as well not have the negative thoughts to begin with! Plus, it would be pretty tough to get too down about my workload when I can see the top of the Eiffel Tower as I work, and my study breaks this weekend consisted of visits to the Musée d'Orsay, Cité des Sciences, and a soccer game at Stade de France. I'm not saying the work is easy, but studies are the reason I get to be here in the first place, and even the most stressful week I could have in Paris is better than a week NOT in Paris, so you won't hear me complaining (unless you are my parents, in which case I may have already vented a little bit... oops! Thank you guys for listening and being supportive, no matter what. I couldn't ask for a better family!)
Now for the pictures!
Friday, which was a day off for everyone here as it was Veteran's Day, just like in the States, I went to visit the Musée D'Orsay during the day. No pictures are allowed in the exhibits, but it is a really spectacular museum. I loved the setup and the building as much as I loved the art inside it!
Fun Fact #27: The Musée d'Orsay was actually a train station until the trains became too long for its platforms in the late 1930's. It was not actually opened as a museum until 1986.
It was a rather cloudy day, but the outside of the museum still looks like the train station, complete with clocks, and the names of destinations etched into the side!
I needed to go buy some books for my history class at a bookstore about a mile away, so I decided to take a stroll along the river instead of taking the metro. Always a good choice in Paris! This city makes even the mundane look artistic. Booksellers along the river with a view of the Louvre in the background.
Friday night, I was able to go to the US vs. France soccer game at the Stade de France with two friends from Tufts! The US lost 1 - 0, but it was fun to see the stadium and it was a pretty interesting game. We also happened to run into a TA of mine from Tufts. He was seated in our section of the stands, visiting France for a bit before heading to Lebanon. Proving how small the world can be!
Fun Fact #28: At the Stade de France, they didn't sell alcohol. I guess this makes sense if you don't want fans getting out of hand. However, they did sell non-alcoholic beer. When we were on our way home, we encountered some other American students, one of whom apologized for his state of mind, claiming that he was drunk after having one too many beers at the game. Clearly, he is not a fan of reading the fine print!
On Saturday, I visited a really cool exhibit about Les Gaulois at the Cité des Sciences museum. Last summer, I was digging on a site inhabited by the Gauls, so this exhibit was particularly interesting to me. It was made more fun by the fact that I was able to go see it with two of my friends from the dig that I had not yet caught up with! It was a really great time!
Today, I have been particularly boring, trying to get my paper written for my history class. This means lots of reading and re-reading and searching for the english translations of documents just to be sure I understand (hey, they were translated from German in the first place, so the French version isn't the original either). It was so nice out though, so I decided to set up on the little balcony outside my room in the sun. The benefits of being outside with the added bonus of wifi and indoor plumbing at my disposal. Not a bad way to spend a day!
Anyway, I gotta get back to work! Hope your week is magnifique! (I know it's cheesy... just roll with it!)
~SKS~
Hope you have a productive and fun week!
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