Last night at about 11:30, some friends and I were wandering around in the Latin Quarter when what should we hear but the whiz of 500 or so roller bladers on an apparent mass excursion through Paris. They went by for five solid minutes, weaving in and out of one another, holding up traffic, muting all the other city noises with the high-pitched whine of hard plastic on asphalt. Another step towards me learning to appreciate city life, I suppose.

Other than that, life has settled into a pretty steady routine. I'm only going to have classes three days a week, I think, which leaves lots of time for wandering around and finding my own little nooks and crannies of the city. I'm still overwhelmed by the amount of THINGS here -- how do I choose among six remarkably similar-looking cafés on the same street? Do I want to go look at contemporary art or wander amongst the sculptures in the garden of the Rodin museum? I'm trying to pace myself while seeing as much as possible, which is a tricky balance to strike -- I want to know this city, but there's almost too much to know.

In the meantime, I'm having a good time poking around here and there, finding my own favorite places. Among them is the Seine by night, shimmering with city lights.

I think this might be the best thing that has happened to me since I've been in Paris: While picnicking in the
Jardin de Luxembourg this noon, I heard the dulcet tones of Donna Summer and co. wafting over from
around the tennis courts.  When I followed the siren song of my good friend Donna, what did I find but
THE GYMNASTICS TEAM OF THE PARIS FIRE DEPARTMENT giving a vaulting/tumbling
demonstration to small Parisian schoolchildren clad in naught but skimpy red shorts and matching white
sneakers.  It was easily the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed, especially as it slowly dawned on me
that this spectacle was the product of careful training funded by the City of Paris's municipal FIREFIGHTING
budget.

Incredible.  I could not keep a smile of pure, unadulterated joy off my face all afternoon.

Parigi!

Well, here I am, all installed at 24 rue de Rocroy in the 10e arrondissement, chez la famille de Chanterac. Paris so far has been huge and overwhelming and really pretty awesome -- which would also be a good way of describing my host family. I've been spending most of my time trying not to get lost on my walk home from the metro (my stop is about two blocks away) and trying to understand my family, all six of them, when they talk at dinner -- that is to say, really quickly, all at the same time, and with their mouths full.
Classes don't start until the 18th, and all we have this week are three "methodology" classes of about 2 hours each, so I and the usual suspects (Emily, Jake, and Kate, who lives on the fifth floor of my apartment building) have been wandering the streets of Paris together trying to get our bearings. So far that's included finding school, finding the Eiffel Tower,
finding Notre Dame, and finding really good ice cream at
Berthillon (I especially enjoyed my pear). I still have no intuitive sense of direction here, although I suppose that will come... right now I'm doing a lot of map consultations, even nervously checking the metro line map to make sure I'm not missing my stop. It's bizarre to think that in just a couple of weeks, I won't even need to look at a map to get to most places -- for instance, the trip from my apartment to Sweet Briar.
I kind of decided what classes I'm taking -- I'll be in Sweet Briar's "atelier d'écriture", an intensive writing class which is supposed to be absolutely wonderful, one or two of three film classes (New Wave, Cocteau/Bresson, or Documentary Theater and Documentary Film), one or two of two literature classes (one about Francophone lit and one about the poetics of violence), and possibly a fifth class -- either one of Sweet Briar's art history classes (I'm especially interested in the one on Impressionism) or a photography class at a studio somewhere in the city. We'll see. The whole signing-up process has been very vague and kind of scary, but I'm sure it will work out just fine, in the end.
I think that's all for now -- Kate and I are about to leave to go on a felafel mission for lunch, and then methodology class number one. In my next entry, I'll try to introduce the members of the host fam (with photos?!).

Fin du séjour

And so, our stay in Tours comes to a close. I'm feeling excited and nervous and sad, among other things -- I've really enjoyed my stay here, and I'm sorry to leave, but I'm just about ready to make it to the big show.

The last week or so has gone by like you wouldn't believe. Classes carried on as always, as did the delicious dinners and excellent host family relations. We went on a group excursion to visit some châteaux over the weekend, which included Chambord and Chenonceau. Each was impressive in its own way. Chambord, Roi Francois 1er's hunting lodge, for its absolutely ridiculous size (440 rooms, 365 chimneys), and Chenonceau, built as a bridge over the Cher and known as the "Chateaux of the women," for its exceptional beauty and formidable collection of copper cookware.

Nothing else of special note has happened here -- I've been continuing to meet new people in the Sweet Briar group, the weather's been lovely, if a little warm. I think the most exciting thing in the past few days has been that I found out my host family information in Paris. I've been placed with a large family -- although the host family coordinator couldn't remember how large [edit: LARGE. Five kids, ages 15-23] -- in the 10e arrondissement, right near the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est, and not at all far from the Sacré Coeur, the Canal St. Martin, or the rest of Montmartre. According to the Lonely Planet quartier summaries, it's a lively quartier with a lot of immigrants and a relatively young population -- my conversation professor said that it was a really fun neighborhood which hasn't really been "discovered" (read: gentrified) yet. I'm excited, and can't wait to get there and start exploring.

In lieu of actual news, I'll leave you with some photos and introductions. First off is, of course, my host parents, Anne-Marie and Patrick. They are wonderful.









Second off is my two best friends here, Emily
(who goes to Haverford with me) and Jake (who sat next to me on the plane). They are wonderful as well.










This is Place Jean Jaurès, in the center of Tours. It contains the Musée des Beaux Arts, the Mairie, the Palais du Justice, and the main Poste. It also contains a number of cafés and bars, and is a central location for meeting other kids in the group. It's also pretty.








That's about all for now -- I should start at least thinking about packing. We head out at 2:30 tomorrow and I, surprise, haven't folded a thing. It's really about time for me to wrap my head around this whole "going to Paris" thing, I think. I'll try to post more frequently and with better stories as I delve further into the semester.