Okay so sorry I haven't posted much at the beginning

It's taken some time to find the time to write, but now I think I'm settled in well enough to sit down and post more frequently.

This first couple of weeks have been highlighted by intensive language classes and field trips with IES Abroad, which is the study abroad institute I'm studying with.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was placed in the Intermediate II French class. While the classes are split based on the relative levels of the different students in the program, I was glad to know I made the top half. Maybe my French is better than I thought... no, I'm pretty sure it's not. I do think this challenge will help improve my language significantly in my stay here. The intensive sessions have required me to do a notable amount of work, and I already feel like I am more comfortable speaking and hearing French.

This past Wednesday we began regular classes. In addition to my 6 hour French class, I have three 3 hour classes, which are: French Politics and Society, Economic Integration of the EU, and International Political Economy. These classes are all focused on topics of interest for me and also, in some way, each one is relevant to my thesis, which is useful. After seeing the syllabi (okay spell check says syllabuses, but syllabi sounds so much better) for these other classes, I feel very good about this semester. None of them require to much work compared to my classes at Ole Miss. This should allow me to experience more of Paris, which is a good thing.

As I said earlier, we also took some field trips recently. I'll offer some quick recaps of those.

The first weekend we visited Versailles. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The castle is enormous and stunning, but in my mind the gardens were the highlight of the trip. Perhaps it is the fact that classical music is playing from the bushes, but I felt like I was walking back in time to the court of Louis XIV. Sure there were hundreds of other tourists surrounding me, but I was able to block them out and enjoy the ambiance of the setting. I will actually be visiting there again tomorrow with Susan - who is coming to visit this weekend by the way. So I'll save the details of the palace and gardens for another post.

The second field trip was a three day trip with stops in Strasbourg and Verdun. Strasbourg is one of three homes of the European Union and we visited the European Parliament there along with the Alsace Chamber of Commerce (Alsace is the region Strasbourg is in). Perhaps the highlight of this town was the restaurant we dined at along the river running through the town. We had an excellent meal that included Munster cheese and a chicken dish. Another meal in Strasbourg included a really good fish dish of Salmon and some other white fish. Alcase is none for a particular variety of white wine and we were able to try some of it; it was one of the better white wines I've ever tasted. While in Verdun we visited a fort from World War I and took a tour of the area. It was really spectacular. We also had a great time in our tiny hotel. Verdun is a very small, old town and we didn't think there would be much to do. Much to our surprise the hotel bar stayed open past 9:00 and allowed us to lounge there and hang out for several hours. It was a lot of fun getting to know more of the people in my group a little better in such a relaxed environment.

Another noteworthy event from this week was a visit my French class made to a restaurant. The meal was good - I had duck confit - but the desert was amazing. It was called Ile Flotante. It is similar to meringue floating in sweet cream with vanilla extract. That's not it exactly, but pretty close. It was amazing. I would certainly eat that again.

One final thing that I want to note for my own memory. Last weekend I saw quite possibly the best fireworks show I've ever seen. For about two hours I was able to watch fireworks from my apartment window. This put the 4th of July in DC to shame. The most interesting part is I have no idea why it happened, and despite my best effort, I can't find the reason anywhere.

I hope everyone that reads this is doing well.

Until next time, au revoir.

Intro

Today is technically my fourth day in Paris, but it is my first day in my apartment. Susan left yesterday for Angers, so I am kind of alone now; meeting the other students in my program will be a nice relief.

I know that was an abrupt if not non-existent introduction to my blog, but honestly if you're reading this, you know what I'm blogging about. I am spending this semester in Paris, France. It should be interesting and you can expect many more intriguing and insightful posts, but for now, this will do as a first.