September-November

Bonjour a tous! Hello everyone!

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope you all spent the wonderful holiday with your friends and loved ones. Mine has been postponed until Saturday when I will cook a traditional Thanksgiving feast in Germany with David for some of our friends there… I am so excited.

So, I write you this email from the train I am taking to Strasbourg, it is a TGV and one of the fastest trains in the world. If I am not mistaken, it goes up 320 kilometers per hour, about 200 miles perhour. I am watching the countryside zip by; we pass by small villages so quickly I can just make out the church steeple before it's gone. It is all so quick, like the time. I have already been here for four months! And yet it feels like two weeks. I promise you, that time inParis does not follow the same laws of time as the rest of the world.It is incredible.

Well, there is a lot to catch you up on since my last email. Since that time I have attended the month-long orientation at my school, found an apartment, started school, completed six oral presentations(three of which were really important as they made up about 30-50% of my grade), four papers, made some great friends and best of all, fell in love with Paris. Oh where to start…

From the beginning, I suppose. Well, orientation was interesting. It consisted of two classes, one a language course and the other a methodology class because Sciences Po has a very rigorous structure, even by French standards. The classes were good; I met some interesting people, and learned just how much I didn't know about French history, culture, language and politics. Thanks a lot US education system! But, I must admit, I was not that involved in the classes or the activities they hosted because I was consumed with trying to find an apartment, a very stressful ordeal, to say the least. But I managed to find a great apartment in the 14th arrondissement with a great roommate, Anas. With that out of the way, I could concentrate on Jess' visit, which was in mid-September. She came to stay with me for a long weekend and we had a wonderful time visiting the city and just hanging out.

Then in late August I started real school, which consists of Immigration and Discrimination in Europe, Social Policies of Europe, French language, Yoga, Vie Politique Francaise Aujourd'hui (FrenchPolitical life Today) (which consists of a big lecture with a very prominent French political scientist, and then a small class for discussions), modern Dance, and then finally Painting Practices inParis: a Reflection on Art and Society 1630-1830 (which takes place inthe Louvre!). I really like all of my classes, but they area lot of work! Oh well…

David has been to visit me several times since I have been here inParis, and every time we have such a great time exploring the city together. Trying new things and cooking lovely things. The best so far has been, back when it was warm out, we went to practically every park in Paris, the Buttes Chaumont, the Jardin de Luxembourg, the Toulorises gardens, and would just hang out, have picnics and even nap in the warm sun! It was so nice! I too have visited David, during the wine harvest, and it was such a great weekend. All of Germany's vineyards were on fire, not literally, but they appeared to be with the changing of the seasons they were red, orange and yellow. It was an amazing sight for an Arizona girl. And just after they harvest the grapes, they make new wine which is like bubbly, alcoholic fruit juice and they serve it in tiny stands along the road. We went for a walk inthe forest that borders many of the colorful vineyards and found wild chestnuts, which we later cooked, and fresh, tart apples. It was really wonderful! If you haven't noticed, a lot of my good experiences here revolve around the amazing food!

So, life in Paris is even more incredible than I ever could have imagined! There are so many things to do, always a new quartier to be discovered, new food and fun dance-clubs. I live in the 14th right bythe cemetery of Montparnasse and every Saturday there is an open-air market outside my front door and it is becoming a new tradition of mine to go there and buy fresh veggies and fruit and flowers for the week. I love all of the bright reds of the bell peppers and deep greens of the zucchinis, and all of the cold, rosy faces. Everyone is quickly running around, in such a hurry to stand and wait around for the best clementine's or potatoes and talk with their produce man. Lines are something I am growing accustomed to here. But it is so lively and fun to see the rigid Parisians open up and let loose a bit…over a head of lettuce.

And speaking of cold rosy faces, it is starting to get cold, really cold for an Arizona girl like me. But surprisingly I don't mind it that much. It is somewhat refreshing and fun, in some why, but I am not sure which. I always seem to smile when I step out of my building into the crisp air and smile because to me it is so bizarre and ridiculous that it could be this cold. I look like a smoker when Iwalk outside, as do all the people on the streets, which is pretty fun too.

So, yes, I have seen many great things, like Monet's Lilies, and eaten at the best fondue restaurant in town (where you drink your wine froma baby bottle and climb over your table to get to your seat!), and cooked fresh mussels with David, and tasted delicious French wine and escargot, and eaten many marvelous pastries… needless to say, life is amazing here!

Well, I will leave you with that. I am almost in Strasbourg where Iwill drink mold wine on the Christmas market and eat tarte flambe, aspecialty there.

Lots of love from the most beautiful city in theworld! Bisous,
Nikki