East Coast Ramblings of a West Coast Girl

The fine thing about NYU Abroad is that they organize great events for you to explore the city and outside the city. It's all included in our tuition and they're just keen, I think. Recently, we went to see some castles on the outside of Paris, and they were beautiful!

However, I am not going to discuss the castles.

I am, though, going to tell you something perhaps a bit more morbid: In the 1 month I've been here (yes, it's finally been a month. 4 weeks), I have been to a cemetery 3/4 of those weeks. Interesting, I know. What is it about seeing dead people that makes us so happy?

Look! There's Proust!

Hark! It's Debussy!

In my humble opinion, these people do not compare to the fancy Oscar Wilde. I have had the great pleasure to see Wilde's tomb (that's what they're called, right?) and give it a little peck (or two). Now for my tutorial about how to kiss stone like a pro:

1. Be sure to layer on that lipstick

2. Look intently for a good place to make your mark.
a. Don't bother looking for an area that will make you stand in an awkward position
b. Don't think about the other lipstick marks. They've probably been there longer than you've been alive.
c. Stand firmly in front of the site

3. Seal the deal and make sure you press hard!

Congratulations! Now your lipstick will last for decades to come.

Oscar Wilde once said that the only way to resist temptation is to yield to it. I have never better understood the meaning of those words until I have begun to embrace Soldes. Soldes is a fancy French way of saying "Sales". However, in Paris, soldes are only allowed twice a year. I'm lucky in that I arrived when soldes had just begun, but now it's ending at the end of this week.

I'm not the type to shop, shop, shop forever and ever. BUT, I have been looking for a new handbag. While failing my search several times, I have only just purchased other things like shirts, a sweater, and New York City in a bag, for instance.

Never had I felt more of an urge to embrace, embrace, embrace! How much more can you get involved in a culture than by shopping? (Here is something pertinent to school: everyone has those longchamp pliage bags. I am doing my best to stay away from buying one)

Classes are going well, so far. The professors are very good and they are clearly very eager to help us if we have any issues grasping the French language. Despite the schedule of classes being quite spread out and erratic (fault: too few classrooms), I think we've got a well-oiled machine going on here (knock on wood).