I've been forgetting something important...

The Food!! I'm a little surprised and/or proud that I have yet to rave about the food here. Eating in Paris is much more an experience rather than just a series of delicious morsels. Eating dinner with my host mom and getting lunch on campus has taught me quite a lot. First, let's go through some common french-food stereotypes:

- The French always eat baguettes: TRUE. Every day people buy a baguette and yes, you do see them carrying it under their arm as they walk down the street (and yes, I feel very Parisian when I do the same). They're always fresh, light, and crispy. Imagine more the bread you'd get at a nice restaurant rather than those heavy "french breads" you buy at the grocery store. And they're under 1 euro.

- The French eat very slowly: FALSE. We had a large discussion over dinner on how the french eat very fast. They take very little at a time (there's never anything left on their plate), and eat and eat. Dinners, on the other hand, take a life time. French food, I've noticed, is all about taste and preserving flavor, which means everything is served in courses. Entree, Plat, Salad, Cheese, Dessert, Wine.

- The French eat a lot of cheese: TRUE. Oh my goodness, the cheese course. My American stomach was not ready. For all of you who use Brie like a spread and place it thinly on your bread, that's wrong. If you think goat cheese is a topping or an accent, that's also wrong. You eat a ton of it with your baguette (which is to be placed on the table top on the left for the duration of the meal, not on your plate) until you're full. This would be great, if I hadn't thought to, I don't know, fill up on dinner like an American.

- French Macaroons are good: FALSE, THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL-AMAZING-LITTLE-BITES-OF-HEAVEN!!!



Anyone who knows me, or had eaten regular meals with me, knows that I am what my dad would call a "white-food queen." I love bread, rice, potatoes, basically anything with starch and carbs. In America, or at least in my immediate family, I'm often scolded for such mono-chromatic eating habits, but not here. Here, I eat croissants in the morning, ham and cheese on a baguette in the afternoon, so more of my baguette with nutella as a snack, and potatoes with some sort of meat at night. I don't think I've eaten a colored vegetable in almost a week (don't worry mom, I'm making myself a salad tonight). In other words, the food here is just my style.

And now an update:
Classes have started and I couldn't be happier. It's 4 hours a day (9-1) and we have La Grammaire and and Les Phontiques. I've been spending a lot of time with my host-mom talking and getting to know her and we get along fabulously. We watch the news and whatever crime-scene soap opera she tapes that night (last night was Les Experts, the night before was Cold Case). I found out that she likes to paint and has a great collection of DVDs including The Marx Brothers Collection, Sabrina, Airplane!, and The Holiday. I think I may actually be HER daughter, and my parents adopted me and never told me. She made me a cake this morning and helps me with my homework when I need learn how to pronounce something. During the day I like to always walk around and go to museums or parks. NYU has proclaimed me an "Art History" student so I can get into all the art museums for free, which is manifique! I'm still in disbelief that I'm actually living and not just vacationing here. I'll upload some more pictures soon!