End of the first week

THURSDAY - 9/12

Group photo in front of the Luxembourg Palace

Today we had our first visit to a French university, Paris IV: La Sorbonne. Paris Sorbonne University is the main inheritor of the old Sorbonne, one of the first universities dating back to the 13th century. The biggest complex in France dedicated to Literature, Languages, Civilizations, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, La Sorbonne is located on the original medieval foundations, and now extends to the Latin Quarter and to other areas in Paris. At 9h30 in the morning, we met at CUPA in the morning and walked over the the Sorbonne together because it was located in the same arrondisment. La Sorbonne actually has 13 campus location all over Paris but we only visited the two closest, which were the archeology department and the main building.

Grades posted for the world to see

Each of the departments is located in a different wing and there are specialized staircases that correspond to similar departments. Each department has a bureau where you can talk to the heads of departments with any questions issues, and the all important information board where the lists for the classes (teachers, locations, times) as well as other last minute changes or important department information is posted. Unlike the email crazed world that most american university students live in, the french are much more traditional. When we visited the french literature department, we also saw an information board that had all of the students' grades posted. This is anothe huge different between the French an American education systems. The French usually grade out of 20 points. Anything 16+ is considered outstanding work; 12 -16 is very good; 8 - 12 is good; and so on. As I looked at all of the grades posted, the clear mode was in the 10-12 range, and this is quite normal. As opposed to American institutions where it is almost expected to get an A, the high grades are reserved only for phenomenal, ground breaking work. (As is should be. None of this grade inflation, must have a perfect GPA to get ahead in life nonsense. Most people do average work and should receive an average grade for it. Grade inflation has really taken things to the extreme and people are not working for the sake of learning, but to "get the grade". But I digress....)

In the square of Sorbonne

Cluny-La Sorbonne metro station

La Sorbonne really is a beautiful campus with plenty of classic architecture for the eyes to feast on. On the left is the picture of the square you transverse on your way to the grand amphitheatre lecture hall. The ceiling was painted just like that of a grand cathedral. Speaking of beautiful ceilings, whilst heading back to CUPA for my afternoon classes, I passed through the Cluny-La Sorbonne metro station. This special station had a mozaïc frieze from Jean Bazaine, called "Les Oiseaux" (The Birds). On each side, you can see the signatures of famous French personas (artists, scientists or politicians) also made of colorful mozaïc. Yet another one of this hidden surprises in Paris.

M. Bouhon's daughter Clare and her girlfriend came over for dinner tonight. It was her birthday and a home cooked meal was their way of celebrating. Before dinner, we flipped through two of Monsieur Bouhon's sketchbooks. They were filled with drawing of all different types ranging from figure drawings, to gestures, landscapes, and drawing studies. After the initial drawing, he often went back to work on pieces, adding and taking away what even he felt was "right" in the moment. Through the use of different kinds of drawing utensils, techniques, and colors, he explained how he could totally change the mood and feel of a piece in a matter of seconds with a few simple stokes. Pieces that were deemed "done" or "untouchable" (no more changes would be made, he sprayed over with fixative that kept the applied materials with rubbing/falling off. There were a particular few pieces with a brilliant orange color that looked to be pastel. When I asked him about it, M. Bouhon explained that it was actually African dirt with he made into a pastel like paste and used that as a coloring tool.  Many of the pieces instigated a funny story or a memory that Clare and M. Bouhon took turns telling. In the end, Clare chose a very modern geometric drawing to take home as her birthday present.

Beef stew in cream sauce

The menu for the evening was very rustic and included a famous French peasant dish of stewed beef in a white creme sauce with carrots and onions. This was eaten alongside boiled salt potatoes and rice (which isn't traditionally served with this dish, but both Missaratou and I like to eat it.) I also had a little bit of the wine with dinner because it was a special occasion. I forget the name of it, but it was a dry red wine that was gifted to Clare by one of her old cinematography teachers. It was supposed to be of a very high quality and aged just to the perfect time, however I found it to be very strong. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy it, so perhaps it is just my lack of experience showing through. I normally to not drink alcohol, but it is hard to get closer to the source of some of the best wine in the world so it couldn't hurt to try a little from time to time.

Slice of heaven, mmmm.

The birthday cake dessert was a chocolate tart with almonds sprinkled on top. I couldn't help but to try a piece and it was spectacular as expected. The tart was light and airy, but had an intense chocolate flavor. Although it was gluten free, it was not heavy or dense at all. I think this will be  good one to learn and perfect for the GF boyfriend. Hope he doesn't mind being the guinea pig!

I ended up going to bed super late tonight because the course selection worksheet was due the next day and I really wanted to look carefully at all of the classes and class reviews to find ones that both interested me and suite my french level. Not to mention I wanted to avoid the classes where the teacher was not accommodating to foreign students. In the end I had a list of about 25 classes that I was interested in. Must cut some out! For all of you students who have ever experienced "shopping period" for your classes, this was that amount of stress times three. (Foreign language, must not be late/leave early form any class you shop, none of the locations or times are posted yet!!!)

FRIDAY - 9/13

Unlucky Friday the 13th! (If you believe in that stuff anyway.)

Today I had had originally planned to go on the CUPA visit to Paris 3 la Sorbonne Nouvelle, but I couldn't because I had my first classe de thermodynamique at the UPMC (Université de Pierre Marie Currie).  It is renown as one of the top science universities in the world, which means several things:

1. It is more likely than not that I will learn the things that I am supposed it and that this class will count towards Yale credit and my major.
2. I get to take the metro even more because UPMC is separate from all the other universities where I will be taking my other classes.
3. If science/engineering classes weren't already hard enough, I get to take my thermo class en français, in an unfamiliar methodology system, competing with the top science students in France/ probably all of Europe. Joy.
4. DId I mention that I missed the first class because UPMC starts two weeks earlier than all of the other French universities? Yup. Already behind before I've even started. And now I have to seek out a French student in the class to copy their notes and get the programme that I have to send to my advise to OK the class. Ahhh!!!

First day of school outfit

Anyways, today's class was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Well, to be accurate, it was more of a recitation section where we worked on problems together with a professor leading us through the solutions. Although it was 10h47 when I poke my head into the classroom (class was supposed to start at 10h45), I was still the first one there. I was almost about to leave because I thought I had the wrong room, but the professor stopped me and asked me what room I was looking for, and told me that I was in the right place. The other students trickled in soon after and the seats began to fill up.

When I assumed that class had started, at first I had no idea what was happening. The professor handed out a packet that looked more or less like a problem set, and then stood off to the side for 10 minutes. After I had quickly flipped through the packet to see the contents, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material that we needed to get through in one 2 hour class. I sat there, concerned that so much time was being wasted, waiting for the professor to start the lecture like they normally would in the US. Nope. Not how it's done in France. Apparently the professor was giving everyone time to read through today's section (which was only the first page of a 5 page packet) and we were all supposed to starting working through the first problem. I only realized this after seeing many of the other students diligently working and had just enough time to write down the first few equations before he started to write the answer up on the board.

This was only the first mini heart attack I had over the course of the class. The second occurred when he said he started randomly picking on people in class to answer questions on the chalk board. Since I was floating delicately between trying not to panic and having half an understanding what was going on, I wanted no part of the front of the class exhibition. Thankfully, only one person ever went up to the board, and he seemed very patient and helpful when the student made a crucial error in solving method and was stuck.

At the end of class, I stayed after for a few minutes to ask the professor a couple of questions about the problem set and the class in general. The teachers at CUPA had instructed us to use perfect grammar and formal french (the vous form) when addressing the professor, and even then, they might not be so welcoming to foreign students. Worrying about what I was going to say made me more nervous than I had to be, which in turn probably made my french sound like gibberish. However, he was a lot nicer than I expected and even switched to english for a little bit when it was clear when I wasn't understanding what he was trying to explain to me.

Fresh Mirabelles

Dinner was mostly left-overs from the night before along with oven roasted tomatoes smothered in garlic olive oil. After dinner, he brought out a bowl of a fruit I had never seen before. They are called mirabelle plums, which is a specialty of the Lorraine region in France. (p.s. plum = undried prune) They were super juicy just like a regular plum, but much more sweet and with a softer flesh. I should get an award for single handedly eating the majority of that bowl. 

Here, I've include a couple of photos showing where I live. My house is located right on the northern end of the 20ième arrondissement. I live on a street called Cité du labyrinthe,located a less wealthy part of Paris where there are many minorities living in the area. I pass by this alleyway to the basketball courts every morning where the walls are full of graffiti. Although it can be considered the ghettos, I have never felt unsafe while walking around, and there are always plenty of children playing in the streets. 

First two days in Paris

What a whirlwind, non-stop few days it has been! With orientation for CUPA, trying to get settled into my new home, and taking in all the sights of Paris, there has been absolutely no time for jet lag that's for sure! Here's how my first two days went. (More to come when I find more time to write.)

MONDAY - 9/9

I arrived at the Paris CDG airport on Monday morning at 07h35, right on schedule and the time when Monsieur Bouhon said he would be at the exit waiting for me. However, I completely forgot about the time it takes to get through customs and pick up my baggage so I ended up leaving Terminal 2A around 08h15. When I finally did exit, I spotted Monsieur Bouhon right away; he looked exactly as he did in the picture. I waved from a distance and after formally greeting him, apologized for being late and making him wait. He waved off my apologies saying of course I would take extra time for other things and that it was no problem. M. Bouhon is an especially relaxed and understanding person, he is an artist after all!

On the car ride from the airport back to his house in the 20ième arrondissement  (a trip of no more than 30km, but took 2 hours because of traffic) we talked about a variety of topics ranging from my background; studying with CUPA; differences between the US,

Graffiti seen on the highway

France and China; modern day France and its problems; graffiti  adolescence; and gangs. He also asked me if I believed in "destiny" and any thoughts I had on the subject. This was a question that I probably couldn't answer in English, let alone en français. After I rambled a bit about my beliefs, he told me about himself. He is the type of person to always live in the moment. To him, we are in a society that is always working towards the future; going to school to make money later down the road, saving up to buy things in the future, being an aggressive driver to try to gain some time for the future. He is certainly not that type of person and I could see that it was true.  The traffic was pretty bad at some parts and there were plenty of crazy drivers weaving in and out, but we only changed lanes when it was absolutely necessary. And although we were usually suck in the slowest lane, he said it just allowed us more time to talk and get to know each other, and for me to take in all of the sights around me as we were very slowly driving into Paris.

Monsieur Bouhon and his brilliant chapeau :)

While I totally agreed with his POV and enjoyed our time together (my french improved infinitely from not being able to say much of anything the moment i got on the car to sustaining genial small talk by the end) we didn't arrive at the house until 10 am, the time when orientation at CUPA was supposed to start. I quickly changed out of my sweatpants and tshirt into a chic jeans/blazer combo with a scarf and my leather messenger bag, trying my best to fit in with the well-dressed locals. Being the friendly and kind person that M. Bouhon is, he accompanied me to CUPA in the 6ième arrondissement so that he could show he how to get there and back and especially how le métro works.

When I finally got to CUPA (40 mins late) they were only at the end of studnet introductions so it was no big deal. CUPA orientation lasts two weeks and there are presentations in the mornings for the first few days talking about cultural and administrative things like host families, what to expect when living in Paris, selecting courses, etc. Starting on Thursday, there are going to be morning visits to each of the main Paris university where CUPA students can take classes. It was important to locate the bureaus of all the departments we were interested in because informations is mostly transferred by postings on the bulletin boards for each. Classes for french universities don't start until the week of the 23rd, except for science classes which started the week of the 2nd and art classes that start the week of the 30th. 

Crèpe provincale: tomato, salad, chèvre, sunny side up egg

I had lunch with a couple of other CUPA people at a crèperie down the road. I ordered a crèpe provincale with lots of veggies, goats cheese, and a barely cooked through egg that created a wonderful rich sauce when mixed with the chèvre. The crèpe itself was super thin so that all of the edges were deliciously crunchy. Other people ordered crèpes filled with spinach and cheese and also ratatouille and egg.

In the afternoon, I had one class at CUPA for la langue (language). Based on our language placement exams, I was placed into group 1. Not sure if this means that I super fail at French or what, but I'm not going to think too much about it. Before class started however, I took the time to go to the phone store Orange to get myself a french SIM card and some minutes. Thank goodness for AT&T and the unlock code they gave me for my phone so I wouldn't have to buy a new one. 

Sitting across the brooding artist with appetizers. 

Dinner on the first night was quite a pleasant surprise. M. Bouhon is a great cook and has been cooking for most of his life. Madame was going to be late coming home from work so it was only the two of us, but nevertheless, the dinner was quite elaborate. He had asked me in the morning what my dining preferences were and I said that I really liked to eat a lot of vegetables, but I really wasn't a picky eater. Les entrées or appetizers consisted of a chopped salad plate with a mustard and crème frais dressing, toasted peanuts with African spices, and baby radishes dipped in salt. There is a fresh market just down the road that M. Bouhon goes to twice a week so the vegetables were incredibly fresh. The main course was bowtie pasta tossed with chèvre, shaved zuchinni, and marinated cherry tomatoes, sprinkled with a little bit of fresh parsley. I enjoyed the food so much that before the end of dinner, I had refilled my plate three times! Around 9 pm, Missaratou came home and joined us at the table. She quickly made herself some African food (a type of polenta like mash with garlic spinach. M. Bouhon asked me if I would like to have an African meal later on, to which I excitedly nodded a yes to.

After dinner, we sat around the table and chatted. I also took this chance to give them the present I had brought for them, a Chinese hand-stitched picture of pandas under a blossom tree set in a circular dark cherry frame with a stand. It took me a while to convince them that it was not a painting, but actually different colored thread sewn on the silk fabric to look like a painting. They both really seemed to like it, which made me extremely content. I really like my host family and appreciate the comfortable and relaxed environment they have at home. Judging from how well we got along in the first day, things look promising for an unforgettable semester. :)

TUESDAY - 9/10

Tuesday morning was pretty hilarious. Monday night, we were looking at my orientation schedule and the block that said famille d'aceuille (host family) 10 am. He was convinced that it was only he who needed to go and that I could sleep in and head into CUPA later at 11. I wasn't too sure so I decided that I would accompany him in the morning and just wait around for a bit if it was actually true that I didn't need to be there. Turns out, it was a meeting for students only! I felt bad that M. Bouhon had to accompany me to CUPA again, but he just laughed about it. He was going to pick his daughter up from the train station anyways so he ended up killing some time in the nearby brasserie (restaurant usually with a bar). 

The morning was filled with more presentations and administrative things, like In the afternoon, I had two classes. The first was my French language class again and then a class called Methédologie, or the French Method. France and the US have very different education systems both with the administration and content wise. Americans are much more used to a contractual education system where all of the expectations and regulations are clearly defined in a rigid system. The American university is a great metaphor for how the education we have in the US encloses us in a bubble and hand feeds us many things. In France, it is the complete opposite. French students have much more autonomy and are expected to do most things by themselves. Our comparison of the American "syllabus" and the French "programme" highlighted this fact. A syllabus has 5 times as much information on it than a programme does. A syllabus will list things such as the time, location, info about the class, contact info for the teacher, all the readings and home work listed by days or class, expectations for the classroom, the breakdown for grades, penalties in the class, etc. The only things on a programme are a list of the class dates, the topic to be covered in each lecture and the homework due. However, each student is only responsible for one of these assignments. How do we know that? The heading of the column states that it is les devoirs, which is the plural for of work. Thus, it is to be assumed that this lists the work for all of the students, not each student. There was also a bibliography listed on the back. From this, the students were supposed to know which one is the textbook and which are supplemental readings. Quite different isn't it?

In this simple analysis, we were able to unveil differences in fundamental ways of thinking between countries. Michel told us that we become the machines of the education system we grow up in and to only way to discover this is to study elsewhere. He himself had a similar experience to us, but the other way around, he went to the United States for graduate school. Only then did he realize how mechanical our brains have become to focusing on one method of learning and thinking. It is really an invaluable experience to be taken out of your comfort zone while still in school and be forced to approach learning in a whole method and with different goals and expectations. While I am a little apprehensive about this change, I know that the end result will be rewarding. 

The exquisite Notre Dame

Dinner was going by myself today because M. Bouhon was at an artist meeting/class/gallery thing. Because it was a beautiful day out and it was only 17h30, I decided to walk around a little before heading home. One of my good friends Jordana, who was just studying in Paris over the summer, told me about her favorite past time, picking a place in Paris to walk around and get lost in. So I did just that. I wanted to walk by the Seine River so I got off at a nearby stop and started exploring. Conveniently, I passed by the Notre Dame and took tons of pictures like a true tourist. I forgot to bring my camera with my, but thankfully my phone has a quality camera!

When I got home quite late, the appetizers were already laid out on the table for me, consisting of half a cup of pasta left over from last night, a bowl of olives, and nuts. The main course was a famous french dish called ratatouille or vegetable stew. It had probably been cooking for hours that afternoon because the sauce was thick and sweet and all of the flavors melded together ever so wonderfully. There was also bread (which is eaten at every meal lol) that I could toast up in the toaster at the edge of the table. Monsieur Bouhon returned home right as I was in the middle of eating and embarrassingly using my computer at the same time on the dinner table (not sure if this is allowed in french culture). He brought several close friends with him and there were to talk over some wine. He called it a "family gathering". Not wanting to be a bother or intrude on their evening, I excused myself and returned to my room. I spent the rest of my evening beginning to write this blog (Turns out i did't get to finish it until Friday! Yikes!) and also researching different activities to do in Paris around this time of year. I also became absorbed in researching each of the 16 different cultural events that CUPA offered this year and, which 4 of the 16 I would choose.I'll update later on about which ones I actually get into. 

Faux leather jacket + fringe scarf? Mais, oui!

BTW, I decided to upload photos of some of my outfits (when I remember to take a photo of them). Their mostly for me to remember when I look back on the blog in the future (hello future me!) and also just cause this is pretty different from the stuff I would wear in the states. Everyone of every age is always dressed impeccably here in Paris, it's kind of crazy. None of that college non sense where people wear sweats and flip flops everywhere. 

Let me know what you guys think and I'll try to update the next one really soon!

Awaiting my flight to Paris

I am sitting at Logan Airport in Boston awaiting my 6:45pm flight to Paris (which arrives tomorrow morning at 7:35 am - yay red eyes! ). It's only been 3 weeks since I last landed on US soil, but I am about to depart on another adventure abroad, this time for 3 and a half months. If my two months in China are any indication of what is to come, I am sure that my time in Paris, France will surpass all of my expectations and I'll be speaking like a real  quasi-native Parisian in no time.

However, ever since visiting Yale for a few days at the end of August, I have been feeling a strong attachment to my school and all my friends. Even though I have been told countless times that I will have an amazing time in France and that no one has ever regretted taking a semester abroad, I still can't help but to feel a little bittersweet about the whole ordeal. As I watched all of my groups and clubs being excited about recruiting in coming freshmen or planning classes together and talking about the Halloween Show, Fall Break, The Game, and other special events that happen in fall semester, I felt like I was going to missing out on so much. Hearing some of my closest friends ask me

"Why are you leaving meeeee???? Why can't you stay?"

made me realize how much I did hate leaving them and think about all of the reason why it would be better to stay at Yale, rather than go live and study in an unfamiliar place with people who I don't know. As the icing on top, I am now very unsure of my major and how I could possibly take all the necessary classes to finish any major in my remaining three semesters at Yale. 

Most of all, I will be missing my boyfriend Ike. We've been going out for 7 and a half months, but only really together (in proximity) for half that time due to my constant travels. I cannot begin to tell him how much I appreciated him visiting me in Upstate NY before he had to start school and how accommodating he was of me and my brother when we were at Yale. I've already felt the strains of a long distance relationship freshman year, and it is quite hilarious to me that I am putting myself back in the same situation. But as they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Not to mention, a special something came in the mail a few days ago and I now have this guy to cuddle with when I am missing my bf.

On the flip side I'M GOING TO PARIS OMG!!! In 7th grade when I chose French for my foreign language, I was determined to study abroad in France for some period of time. It is the city of lights, the city of love, and the center of gastronomy. With the generous Yale scholarship that I was able to transfer over to CUPA, my study program in Paris, this is definitely the opportunity of a lifetime. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a complete worrywart and most of the time, unnecessarily so. Nothing will change when I am abroad, my friends and family aren't going anywhere soon and I can figure out my major later (who cares about graduating? psh). 

And to be honest, there are Yalies everywhere! I am bound to happened upon one at any given moment. As an added bonus, one of my suite mates from last year, Mary Mussman, is going to be in the same program as me. Not to mention, the lovely Megan Phelan is just a train ride away in Madrid, Spain, also studying abroad for the semester. We're taking our suite love international y'all!

There is only half an hour to go until boarding and I am trying to keep myself from over-thinking things. I am genuinely excited to meet my host family. My host father, M. Frederic Bouhon is an artist and he and his wife have a daughter who is slightly older than me. Just this morning, he sent me a cute email assuring me that he would meet me at the airport and that he would be holding a sign saying "CUPA/Cici" so I could easily find him. He even sent me a picture of his outfit with a black felt fedora and purple sunglasses. He is beyond adorable! I hope that the clothes I brought will be able to fit in with the beyond chic Paris. 

That's it for now. If my flight is on time, I'll get to Paris just 2 hours before orientation starts so it'll be a busy day. I'll let you know how everything goes, and if I even remember how to speak French! Yikes!

À la prochaine

Cici