Smile, you're in Spain...
Current mood: ecstatic

Barcelona was absolutely amazing! I was there only for three days but i loved every minute of it. Come to think of it, i think i liked it more than paris! ;)
The whole trip just felt surreal, it felt like i was in a movie the entire time. The city had charm and beauty. You can find everything from old stone roads, to impressive cathedrals, to musicians playing under the twilight. If you ever go to Barcelona take a significant other, the city was just so romantic.  Imagine walking down a stone road: stores, lights, smells of spices all surrounding you. Twlight is setting and in the distance you hear a man singing in spanish. The air is crisp and the night clear... i fell in love with the city.
I know im going back there one day, when i was leaving the city i felt .. homesick... i didnt want to go back to Paris. (one reason was because Paris just means stress to me right now..lol). I felt that i was leaving something so familiar and close to home. In Barcelona people are so friendly! Everyone smiling going about their lives. Waiters crack jokes and make you feel at home. Vendors are quite fun because you hassel your way into purchasing something 10 euros cheaper.. thats what i did ;) Another reason that i felt so comfortable was that i was at complete ease with the language. I had no trouble communicating and everything just felt right. One thing i do want to learn is Catalan. Catalan in a language spoken only in Barcelona which is a mixture of the spanish and french language. I figured out that i can understand it when i read it and hear it, but i dont know how to speak it.. wish i could. Barcelona was just the complete opposite of Paris: everyone one is more at ease and a lot friendlier. The weather was great too, i'd rather have high 50's than the 28F we have here in Paris.
While in Barcelona i went to tourist spots (of course), the sea port and looked over the ocean, clubs, and wonderful dinning! I didnt realize how much i missed food with spices! Paella and a glass of sangria.. yum! its the best =) Then later on you buy your churros with chocolate or maybe an empanada... the food was great.
The clubs were a lot of fun, everything was free! haha.. yeah.. it rocks to be a girl in barcelona ;) Oh yes the prices! everything is so much cheaper! i couldnt believe it, i had gotten used to prices in Paris. I really want to go back and probably take my family.. such a great city.
I would also like to visit Madrid! Barcelona is a city that consists of shops and tourists, i didnt really see any house, just some old buildings/apartement. Oh and while i was there, the soccer game Barcelona vs Madrid was going on. Barca won!!! it was so much fun afterwards.. people were in the streets singing, dancing, drinking...lol. They were burning firecrackers and toilet paper for some reason. I actually got hit with a firecracker. not the safest thing.. lol..but i was fine.  Another thing, Barca is the city that never sleeps (especially the night of the game). Friday night when we were getting back from the club like at 3 am, the streets were full of people. Some peole looked like if they were just heading for the clubs! haha.. oh yes and the street cleaners were working at that time and there were venders on "La Rambla" (main tourist street) selling a variety of birds, including chickens and roosters.. haha.. so much fun...

My heart belongs to Spain..........not to mention those cute spanish boys ;) haha.. the weekend was so much fun. Now next weekend im heading of to Rome! Hmm.. Rome has a lot to live up now that i've been to Barcelona.. we'll see which is better....

1:59 PM - 3 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Clarification
Current mood: angry

What Sarkozy announced on the news yesterday was that the government will deport all immigrants (illegal or legal) if they are caught rioting. He said that it does not matter if they have a "titre de sejour" because by furthering the riots they are rejecting the french nation and government, thus rejecting the country of France.
I'll comment on that later....

10:05 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Riots: update and personal opinions
Current mood: contemplative

Being in france as the riots rage on is proving to be quite an experience. I just wanted to tell everyone who has been aiming, emailing, calling, that i am all right- the riots have not affected me so far. Thanks for caring :) It's just been crazy, everyday in the news i hear about new developments within the banlieues (suburbs) and the government's actions. In class that's all we talk about, people near my school are trying to organize a peaceful demonstration. According to a flyer they gave me, the riots are  a consequence of desorder on a state (goverment) level. It is neccessary for all french citiznes to unite, surpass this left-right clivage and find a solution. Wow, i thought the united states had immigration problems, french minorities and immigrants are ranging war against the government..
the difference is that if this would be occuring in the united states we woluld have a high death count by now, at least here the aim is towards political institutions. Anything that represents the government is being burned:  stores, schools, post office, etc. At least for now, it isn't a group of people which are being targeted.
It's interesting to listen to the news and read the left and right wing newspapers. According to the right wing the leftists are misinterpreting Sarkozy's words about "hosing out the problems from the banlieues". According to the right wing, he means he wants to get rid of drugs and violence that exist within these poor cites. According to left wing (and the popular interpretation) he wants to "hose" out immigrants and foreigners out of france. Sarkozy actually used the word "hose" and the funny thing is that he used a brand name that comes from germany.. go figure.
Tonight Sarkozy announced (unless i misunderstood) that he wants immigrants out of france. As history has shown us, the minorities are blamed for all the social problems. Why doesnt Sarkozy actually look around him and notice whats going on? These banlieues have 40nemployment! The apartments are small, rotting, people can't find jobs, there's discrimination, teenagers resort to selling drugs to make any amount of money. Come to think of it reminds me a bit of south central LA....
this whole situation gets even better after talking to my host mom about the current events. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion but after what she told me i am in utter shock. According to her, "riots" is too strong of a word to use. She says that the social instability is caused by crazy teenagers who like to create problems and like violence. It's their parents fault  because they don't control their kids and they don't teach them how to behave. According to her if the parents had raised their kids right, this wouldnt be happening. I then asked her about sarkozy's statement concerning the "hosing out of problems" and using derogatory words in refernce to minorities. She then looked and me and admitted she disagreed with Sarkozy's word choice but he is doing a good job. He has done great thing for france and it's the crazy parents fault for not controling their violence-crazed kids. I went to my room picked up the newspaper and started smiling. There was a quote from Sarkozy who was talking about crazy teenagers and bad parental skils...so my host mother is a right wing supporter. I couldnt get anything more out of her about her political participation, i was interested as an american admist french instability but she would say anything more. I think that she honestly believes its just a bunch of crazy kids.. she's always telling me how the north of paris is full of drugs, violence, and danger.
This weekend im supposed to go see the france vs germany soccer game in the north of paris. I'll be right next to the suburbs suffering from the riots. I was told i should be okay because there will be high security but im really curious about the social condition i'll encounter while im there.
Being in france has really forced to open my eyes and my mind....

12:46 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Aix en Provence
Current mood: quixotic

This weekend i was able to go to Aix en Provence for 3 days- it was so beautiful. (see my blog pictures to see how it looks like). We got to Aix on friday- that day i got really sick. The thing was that i had not slept at all the night before. On thursday i went to Barrio Latino and then after that went to a club called Sanz San. I got home at 6:30 am; I packed, showered, ate breakfast, and left the house at around 8am. I got to the train station at about 9ish and then the train left at 10 am. I couldnt sleep very much on the three hour ride so when we got to Aix i felt like i was going to pass out. We dropped our things off at the hotel and then went on a tour of the city. We had a great tour guide lady but i just wanted to get away-i didnt get to sleep until about midmight of friday night. The next day i woke up and felt like i was going to die; i felt soo incredibly sick. All saturday i felt pretty bad and then sunday i woke up with no voice- that was really annoying. Luckily i now have my voice back and getting over my cold.
   Now that ive explained my health for no particular reason let me tell you about Aix en Provence. Provence is in the south of france where its supposed to be warmer but this weekend it was cloudy and rainy. On friday we had a small tour of the city but it wasn't anything shocking. It was on saturday that i was able to see some of the most beautiful landscapes i have ever seen. We went to Arles which is a cute little town in Provence. There are a lot of places to shop, open markets selling spices, cheeses, meats, and wonderful smelling soaps. Actually now that i remember the pictures I posted were taken in Arles, not in Aix. In Arles we got to see an old Roman style amphitheatre- good stuff. It was in this little village where a lot of painters came for artistic inspiration. We got to see the famous van gogh cafe and i was able to visit the mental hospital that served as a home for van gogh.  After that we left to "Les Baux de Provence"- my favorite part of the trip. We visited this tiny village located on the mountain side. I felt like i was in a scene of a movie: you had your little shops, houses, stone roads, and at the top of the mountain the ruins of a once majestic chateau. Chateau des Baux was... indescribable. The view from the top pf the chateau of the  mountain range was breathtaking. I wasn't able to take any pictures but my friend promised to send some along so i'll post those as soon as i get them. We were able to climb up a broken-down tower- it was just a great experience. Sadly we had to leave "Les Baux de Provence" and go back to Aix.
  On sunday we traveled a bit more around Aix and got to see more beautiful countryside-or so i was told because i feel asleep in the bus... he he. I did get to see Paul Cezanne's art studio. That was pretty intense because first we were shown some of cezanne's famous paintings- then we were lead up the stairs and Viola! We were in Cezanne's art studio and many of the objects he used for his painting were still there. Actually a lot his  personal belongings were still intact. I wasn't allowed to take any pix so if you want to see his studio you need to go there yourself ;)
  Oh yeah, the food we were served in Provence! I thought food in paris was good, but it is by far lacking in presentation  in comparison to meals in Provence. Everything was served in perfect color combination- i didnt want t touch my food it was so pretty..lol.. Ive come to realize that meals in France are truly a type of art. We were explained that not all the food in one meal can be of one texture, one temperature, and you need to have about 3 different colors in every plate. Yeah it was pretty crazy but the food was soo good. They served us many plate variations of lamb and, of course, a lot of cheese and bread (goat cheese to be precise). The desserts were amazing too: chocolate cakes, chocolate cakes with ice cream, pineapple with rum, of course they are all different in presentation and taste. yum!
   this weekend was pretty good but now im drowing in work. I wish i didnt have any classes... lol.. i just want a nice, long vacation ;) Okay ive spent enough time avoiding econ reading- ill update some more later.

2:11 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Culture Shock: Nothing here is user friendly or client friendly
Current mood: shocked

October 2, 2005

 France is definitely the country of assimilation and not accommodation. You have to become French if you want to fit in, people in this country will not cater to your needs or compromise. First aspect of culture shock that I’m still not used to: Bathrooms.

Bathrooms:

     There literally is a room just for a bath and a room for the toilet. It is very annoying that when I use the restroom, I have to go to another room to wash my hands. Why not make a sink in the room with the toilet? Apparently that just can’t be. Oh and the shower room, it drives me crazy. Back home we have the shower head above our heads, not here. You have to somehow wash yourself with one hand and hold the showerhead with your other hand to rinse yourself off. It is very annoying and I still haven’t gotten the hang of it. Worse of all, these people don’t use curtains!  So I’ve made a mess several times with the showerhead because it accidentally pointed it to the side of the tub and it made a mess on the floor… ha ha.. oh well nice experience. Another thing, they asked us what we think is an appropriate time for showers… I thought 20-30 min, right? Here in France, 15 min is pushing it; it’s because everything is so expensive, people have to be very resourceful.

Privacy:

People really respect and like their privacy here in Paris. After dinner people go their separate rooms and do their own thing. Doors are always closed, that part really annoys me. I don’t even like having my dorm door closed I need distraction. While I’m here at home I don’t really see my host mom. I’m in my room with the door closed and only go out to use the restroom. People in France don’t really use the living room; it’s more for the entertainment of guest when people come over. My host mom sometimes uses it to watch TV at night, but otherwise she’s I her room or she is in the kitchen. Actually I haven’t really even talked to her, except at dinner when we have about a 30 min conversation and then we go our separate ways. I’m going to have to interview for my internship homework, that might be a little weird, now our daily 30 min talk might be an hour long… lol.

Metro:

I use the metro every single day to get to school and I think imp getting the hang of it! He he. It has become my best friend. The only thing about the metro that was definitely a big culture shock was the lack of warmth between people. I know that back at home people aren’t the nicest all the time, but if you smile they will smile back. (well they usually do). You can’t do that here, you should make eye contact with people on the streets or the metro. Most people in the metro are reading or just in deep thought. No smiling allowed. It was hard for me because I smile so much and I would catch myself smiling in the metro and then people would give me weird looks. Apparently in France you smile only if you have a reason to smile, otherwise you have a straight face- very hard thing for me to do. According to French custom you don’t interfere in others lives and smiling would be somewhat of interference of private life.

Customs and Mentality:

We were told if you see someone that needs help in the streets; it is rare that some will stop to help. Again we encounter the mentality of private life vs public meddling. They will only stop to help if you ask for help; otherwise you are on your own. If you see someone with a jacket that you like, in the US you can ask where they got it. The person will take it as a compliment, thank you and tell you where it was bought. Here in France you can’t do that, it will seem rude. With your host family you can’t ask many questions about their family because that is considered rude and a bit boring. French conversation is actually an art you must master. Conversation is not about everyday life or what you did- It’s about intellectual pondering and debates. If you want to join a conversation you better have a good vocabulary and you better be an expert on the subject of the day. One thing that I really can’t stand is that you can’t sit anywhere if you don’t pay. If you want to sit out on a table by a cute café you have to buy something. In certain clubs if you want down, you have to buy a drink. It’s really annoying, especially when you’ve spent all day walking and all night dancing. Therefore if you go to a café and order a piece of quiche and you leave, it will be cheaper than sitting down to eat. Then if you don’t leave an appropriate tip they give you evil glares. Oh if you are sitting outside, don’t even think about moving a chair to another table, we go in trouble for doing that! Lol…. Poor nick..

A Girl’s Got to Know

            Flirting: a wonderful game of give and take that many French adolescents like to play ;) Our advisor explained that this game is played a little differently here in France. Back at home if there is an empty seat next to me and someone wants to sit down and they ask, I wouldn’t think anything of it. Here in France if a girl is sitting down in bench or something and a guy wants to sit next to her and she gives her consent, she is giving her consent to talk and possibly date this guy. This guy will now talk to the girl and try to get her to go out with him. Anywhere in the US people just sit down when they’re tired, not here. Oh yeah and if you smile at a guy passing on the metro or the street, it’s an invitation for the guy to ask you out on a date. Yes, everything here is very straight forward. I realized this in the club Thursday; French guys are very straight forward. Some guys just grab you by the arm or something and pull you away to talk. Others are just very direct about what they want- that happened to me on Thursday. Yes most guys where drunk (by the way, these were guys from my school -ISEP) but it was still very funny and an interesting experience; I just kept thinking, “I’m possible going to see you at school on Mondays, that’s going to be weird”. Anyways, most guys thought I was Spanish (from spain) and they starting speaking in Spanish to me. That was a bit disappointing because I really want to practice my French.

            Oh yeah the French love techno! Ha ha it was sooo freakin funny. I kept asking the DJ for hip-hop (in my broken French and then he starting speakin in English.. grrr) and they finally played it at 2 am. I don’t know why they don’t play more R&B, people liked it! It was definitely an experience watching French students dancing to techno and trying to figure out how to that too.. lol.  I had a lot of fun and look forward to the next club party ;)

One thing about Paris that’s great, well at least the southern part of Paris, is that the streets are very safe at night. So far every night I’ve been here, I’ve gone out and gotten home after 1 am. (Yes it was on metro but I still have to walk a while to get home).  Well Thursday I got home at 6:15 am, (that would be Friday morning) and yesterday I got home at 7:15 am, (so that would be today Sunday morning). Yeah this trend of going out every night is stopping today. I’m going to burnout very soon and I think I’m getting a cold; it’s freezing and raining over here! I seriously need to sleep; my body can only take so much. I will update later on the week long party and on the La Nuit Blanche!( that was last night) The craziest night and it only happens once a year, I got to experience it! I’ve also been doing a lot sight seeing- I’ll update on that soon hopefully and post pictures.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving every minute in Paris, it’s just that culture shock is part of the experience. I love all the historical value found in every little street, the amazement at getting lost by myself and finding my way back without a map, and the best feeling in the world is when I talk to someone in French and they continue in French! That hasn’t happened a lot, lol, most of the times I go to a store and for something in French they know I speak English and they start speaking English.. darn them. ;)

1:32 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

les jardins
Current mood: artistic

Let’s see…. what to update today....I start class this evening. Im taking a poli sci class, econ classes, French II intermediate, Lecture Paris series, and a media internship. It’s 18 units but I was assured that the internship and the lecture series are a piece of cake. Basically with the lecture series I get to chose 7 places of interest, write notes about them (in French or English) and at the end write a two page paper discussing a uniting theme. Oh yeah and I get reimbursed for all 7 museums or events I choose to attend. In the internship I’ll be shadowing a director/produced.[ by the way this is taking me forever to type because I was just getting used to the French system keyboard and now im using mine so its taking a while].

So far in Paris I’ve been a French bar and had some great wine. I’ve had too many pastries and I know im going to pay for that soon… lol.. hopefully im walking off all this damn sugar. Ive gone to about 5 different cafes, gone to espresso bars, already eaten a ton of cheese, I have baguettes everyday for lunch, some quiche, but I yet to have a real French croissant! Lol.. I’ve had some really good scones… everything is so rich.

Besides eating too much food I have also been culturally engaged. I’ve gone to the jardin de Luxembourg about 4 times, today I went to le cimetiere du montparnasse. I went to go see a French film, and I think ive mastered the metro! Lol.. yeah I have a lot more sight seeing to do, I haven’t really started. Most people have a headstart because they actually live in paris next to the tour effiel or champs-des-lyses, but I live in vanves. It’s not too bad- I’m very close to paris but im not getting the experience of living in the crowded streets of Paris- which now that I think about it, is probably a good thing. Not to worry, I have ample time to get lost in the streets of paris. (actually I already got lost by myself…lol)

i still have to write about the grand thing called cultural shock, everything is so damn different. Now i nust go, ive been using the co,puter all morning!

2:46 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Greeting from paris!!!!!!

so i made it to paris and its going great. everything is so different; like this keyboard for example, im having the hardest ti,e typing. i feel like like im in the forth grade or so,ething- its because the letters are all switched up here, so its kinda of like learning how to type all over again..... damn..... lol.

so im deciding on my classes? i thought about taking a media internship but i realized i wont have time for it. Im going to end up taking french economy ( how the hell am i going to write 8 pages in french about econ????? AHHHHHHH!), a poli sci class, and im debating between a french language class or women in french cinema. The reason i would take the french class is because my prof. will correct one of my papers for another class- so thats nice to hear.

so my host mom, yes i live alone with this lay- she is the cutest thing. she talks about her grand kids a lot and i think im going to meet them this weekend. My host mom is reeally nice, i can understand everything she says and she helps ,e out when i have trouble saying a word. Oh yeah she knos abouot three words in english... haha... its going to be an interesting three months. At first it was a bit awkard at dinner becase it was only us two and i didnt know what to talk about, but things are getting better, we:re warming p tp each other and we talk more. abother thibng, she doesnt eat meat so she just cooks eat for me which makes me feel bad, she gives me so much food!!!!! these people can eat! lol and i feel bad when i dont finish it because no one else will eat it but i think she is learning ,y eating habits so it wont be so bad.

living arrangments, i dont live in paris- i live in Vanves which is about a 10 min walk from paris. i live in a small apartment and i have ,y own room with a view of Rue Gabrielle D'estree. a very cute little neighboordhood.

im loving paris more and more every minute. Ive had lunch at the jardin du luxembourg twice! it is sooooo beautiful! i need to take a lot of pîctures and then iùll post them up.
last night i went to this wibe bar- so ,uch fun! i got to get to know the people of the progra, a bit ,ore so that was a lot of fun. oh yeah the desserts here- WOW! i had the best cheesecake yesterday..... lol. everything looks too nice to eat, im scared of eating it because i, detroying something so artistic.

ive never wlaked so ,uch in a week in my life. every night my body aches.....lol. Today im to to be as french as possible so i, wearing ,y black boots.. let me tell you not the best idea but im trying.... :)

okay i have to go for the rest of orientation ill post again soon and post some pictures... oh yes it ,ight be a while- my internet is very limited, i only have access at school.

aurevoir,
mademoiselle yesenia

12:38 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Im not ready to leave....
Current mood: sad

Im leaving to france in about 12 hours... i really dont feel ready. Im so nervous right now. I should be sleeping, my family is already sleeping.. but i just cant. I've been calling a couple of people, but no one is answering their phones!! ahhh.. very frustrating.. lol.

just thinking that i'll be in another country in less thatn 24 hours frightens me. I dont really know anyone going on the trip so i dont really have a friendly face to receive me, well except for my host family (or lady). I just feel... alone.... i don't know

its really hard to say goodbye to my family. I know i do that at the end of every summer but when im at school if i ever feel homesick or anything, my family is just a call away...even a drive away... now the communication line isnt as strong. Just to let you know.. i get homesick very easily...

its very hard to say bye to friends too... i had a great summer... and i have my friends to thank for that. I have a whole other collection of crazy experiences and stories. thanx you guys ;)

well now that im all emotional, i think i should stop writing. I know you might be thinking im being silly or exaggerating, yes i will be back soon. ..Just that at this precise moment, 3 months seems like a long time....

i guess i'll be using this blog a lot more to write about my experiences and ill be posting pictures for anyone interested. :)

good nite.  

12:24 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

4 more days....
Current mood: nervous

only four days left in the states.. then im off to paris....thats way too soon

im not ready to leave.. not yet...

9:34 PM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

It's almost time
Current mood: confused

im leaving in 9 days.. i cant believe it...

i feel excited, nervous, ecstatic, apprehensive, cautious, adventurous, and a bit sadden.

i think this summer will be one of the hardest ones to leave. I dont know if its because im leavin the country or because its been a good summer.

i mean every  year i just think, ok its time to leave, ill be back soon. I know that i can come visit whenever i want, friends and family are just a phone call away... Now i feel that im going to be cut off from everything familiar to me for about 3 months. I guess thats part of the thrill :)

Of course i am very grateful to be in Paris for a quarter. Just watch, when its time to come back to the states, i won't want to leave... lol. 

10:27 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment