air strike? vraiment, la france?

WELL, looks like i spoke a little too soon. i did not make it to madrid, thanks to france for being angry about everything. not only was there a metro strike yesterday but apparently an air strike as well. is that even allowed??? i mean, really, they need to get over this whole world cup nonsense and MOVE ON.

however, i was lucky to meet a young man from mexico while waiting in the terminal. it was just a few minutes before our flight was boarding and he struck up a conversation. i'm still pretty stand-offish when i meet people in france just because i don't trust anyone. this is probably thanks to my mother for getting me hooked on murder mysteries. anyway, soon i realized he was perfectly safe, and we started talking. he told me about all of his unfortunate experiences in the airport and how he had been waiting all day for this flight. he flew from LA to philadelphia and his flight out of philadelphia was delayed 3 hours, causing him to miss his connecting flight in france to madrid. so, he got to france at 9 something in the morning and was waiting all day at the airport for this 5 35 pm flight to madrid. not only must he have been completely jet-lagged, but he said he knew absolutely no french. (you know, the rumors are mostly true. french people are not the nicest. actually, i've discovered that people who work in airports aren't that nice either. SO french + airport = disaster)

they called the first boarding group to the flight and he said, "well, at least we know nothing worse can happen."

that's when i knew.

he jinxed us.

flight delayed 2 hours.

flight cancelled.

so anyway, i'd normally be complaining a lot more right now BUT i know this young fellow had a much worse experience than me. i got the flight rebooked for tomorrow and will be coming back monday night! i miss the last day of class...looks like i won't be giving that oral presentation. OH DARN.**

both of my roommates are gone so it's a bit lonely but i gotta get up early tomorrow anyway. let's please hope that my next post will be post-madrid!

-molly

river cruise!

bonjour mes amis!

i don't have a lot of time because i'm about to head to the airport to go to MADRID for the weekend! i've never been to spain, and i'm sure my friend, willie, has a LOT planned for us! the metros are actually on strike today (typical france) BUT fortunately, my roommate, molly, is also headed to the airport, so we're sharing a cab service. it's also good that they're only going on strike for one day. PHEW.

this week was the famous fête de la musique! ALL over paris, a bunch of bands and musicians just set up shop and play their hearts out. the streets were packed! people were selling food and drinks on every corner. it was quite the celebration.

last night, we went on the bateaux-mouches, a river boat cruise. we sailed the seine river and saw all of the famous architecture and bridges in paris. it was very pretty.

on the boat! (that's the eiffel tower behind me. ha.)
this is the pont marie. if you raise your legs as you're passing under and make a wish, it's supposed to come true!**
getting some ice cream before the tour! nice, bridgette.
just a pic of the notre dame for you! beautiful!
some of bridgette's friends from school and i at the fête de la musique!

i'm off! i will take PLENTY of pics in madrid, promise!

salut,

-molly

monaco!

so i just realized that i really SUCK because i only have about 2 pictures from my weekend in monte-carlo, monaco. i didn't even get one of the beach! i'm just a horrible blogger.

anyway, i had a blast! i visited my friend, liz, a mutual friend of my good friend, pat wallace, at coe! it was SO nice to see a familiar face, and she was seriously a fantastic host. when i got there, i wasn't feeling in top condition because i was a little hungover. a glass of wine turned into a bottle, watching the world cup at the eiffel tower turned into a international student party on a boat, buying no drinks turned into getting one bought for me AND taking the metro turned into taking a cab. needless to say, the promised sober skype session to ben didn't happen.** karma definitely came for me when i had to fly to Nice the next day though.

fortunately, liz was so understanding. we went and ate dinner on the beach, and i met all of her awesome friends! people from sweden, denmark, italy...? everywhere. i felt so welcomed by everyone. liz and i stayed up for hours talking, and then i FINALLY got to sleep in.

the next day she took me around the town, i got to see all of the famous designer stores. monte-carlo is one fancy city! we ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach again and laid on the beach. i saw a lot more naked women then i ever intended. i think if you're over 30, there should be some kind of rule. there should be a weight limit as well.

for dinner we went to an extremely overpriced tapas lounge, but i was joined by good company. i had a super early flight, so we didn't end up going out to the clubs. i had to catch the 4 am bus to the airport so we left liz's apartment at 3. we waited forever, all the while getting bothered by all kinds of drunk people. being the only sober person in a group is no fun in itself, but with no sleep it's even worse. i rode the bus to the airport, had to ride another bus to get to my terminal, was about 2 hours early for my flight and THEN had to catch the RER metro so i could transfer back to the metro to my apartment. my body clock must be furious with me. i got home and slept until 6 30. next weekend it's going to be the same story when i visit willie waisath in madrid! either way, it is ALL worth it! i am so lucky to have such awesome friends!

this is the last week of classes for me (for session 1) AND i don't have to get up early for phonetics. we have a boat tour on wednesday, and i leave for madrid on thursday night! i got a feelin' that this week is gonna be a good, good week!

liz and i at the tapas restaurant with our cosmopolitans!
i don't remember what this place is called....but it's where a lot of the james bond movies were filmed!!!

again, i apologize for my horrible picture taking skills. ugh!

i miss everyone!

-molly

raw steak

tonight i ate raw steak for dinner. yes. raw steak.

of course i didn't take any pictures because i suck at bringing my camera with me. bridgette and i went to a café near our place, and it was pretty high end. i decided to try something new and the waiter even said, "this is raw meat." i was like, yeah, yeah suuuuure, i know.

well, he wasn't kidding. fortunately, i'm not a picky eater so i was able to eat a good portion of it. after a while, though, it started to feel kind of weird. if you go to this link there are a couple of pictures of what it kind of looked like. anyway, i felt like it was something to blog about.

my professor is still mean, and i hope to god that i don't have her again.

i'm going to nice this weekend to see my friend liz and going to madrid next weekend to see my friend willie!! can't wait!

and i also found a really cute pair of heels.

au revoir!

-molly

world cup at the eiffel tower!

bonjour!

again, everyday i hear of someone new reading my blog and wanting MORE. well i'll give you more. this post has plenty of pictures uploaded from the last few days. unfortunately, i did forget to bring my camera with me to versailles BUT, i did manage to hop on the train and get paid for without anyone noticing! i posed as a business student for the day and got a traditional french picnic (which included wine) and a guided tour of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's castle! i know, probably not very honorable of me, but there are worse things i could do...(break into Grease musical)

last weekend, i visited the louvre, the eiffel tower, versailles AND managed to shop a little. okay, a lot. BUT you'll be happy to know that i am now keeping myself on a tight budget. i calculated exactly how much money i have left and how much that will allow me to spend per day. of course, this means i'll come back with a $0.00 balance on my bank account but let's just hope some good tippers come my way. you'll also be happy to know that france has a huge sale starting at the end of june. my classmates (yes, i finally decided to give in and be friendly) informed me of this wonderful event. starting june 30th, EVERY store in france marks down items...up to 80% off. this goes from refrigerators to super cute shoes...i think you can guess which one i'm more interested in. i even found this awesome article which explains everything! see for yourself!

this week i also found out that i will be living alone for the last 2 weeks. my roommate, molly, is leaving at the end of the first session due to the death of her grandmother. bridgette and i are both really glad that she is able to leave because she was feeling really sad about not being there. even though bridgette is in the same program as me (global learning semesters), she is leaving on the 16th because her school (american business school) is set up differently than mine. there are 3 more girls coming for the second session at the sorbonne, but they will be living in a different apartment. i think living alone has its pros and cons, but it will be nice to have this whole space to myself, especially with all the clothes i plan on purchasing.** ;-) BUT it would be great if my dad would buy my mom a trip to paris for her birthday, which is conveniently right around the time bridgette will be leaving................

finally, some pictures for your enjoyment! i promise i'll start taking my camera with me, but i can't promise that i'll take pictures of everything. you don't want just scenery, do you???

bridgette, molly, kevin and i at the club a few weekends ago! this is when they brought us our liquor and mixers! AWESOME.

the world cup at the eiffel tower! france vs. uruguay. no one scored, so that was kind of lame, but there were a TON of fans everywhere!
my roommates and i before a night out!
MY favorite piece at the louvre. the wedding feast at cana by veronese. last time i was here, my group and i spent probably 30 minutes looking at and dissecting this piece. SO much going on!
duh.

kevin, bridgette and i before going in!

i think i covered everything! i miss you all! don't forget to comment and leave your address. i'll send you a postcard!!

ciao!

-molly

je ne vous comprends pas

well, going from elementary to intermediate french may be a small step for native french speakers but talk about a GIANT leap for me! my goodness, so much for zoning out in class! i mean, realistically, it IS where i should be, but reading all of those 12th century literature pieces at coe (joyce) certainly did not help. the class is full of mostly strange people, but there are a few nice ones. one in particular. i can tell she really wants to be my friend because she always makes a point of saying hi and bye to me, but i'm playing hard to get. besides, i don't have the mental capacity to do anything right after class. yesterday, i didn't even want to go shopping! this class is taking over my life!

on a more exciting note, the students in our group that are taking business courses are going to versailles this weekend for school. they seem convinced that i could just pose as a business student and hop on the train. why not? what's the worst that could happen?**

i received a letter from my best friend, ellen, yesterday! it really made me happy. what's even better, i've never even checked the mail before! and the one day that i decide to, there's a letter waiting for ME. she inspired me to find a cool french café which is exactly what i did. it was called, 'bread and roses.' i ordered an incredible, circular cheesecake topped with two blueberries and a café latté. when the man handed it to me, he said, "mademoiselle." ha! i felt kind of dumb doing my french homework there, but it was worth it. also, i'm pretty sure my server was making fun of a few english girls that were sitting in her section. it's comforting to know that making fun of tables isn't only something that's done at the irish democrat. :)

i read about a museum online just now...something that has to do with yves saint laurent and andy warhol. i must check it out. can't decide if i'm going to go today or later, but i'm definitely going.

everyday i learn of someone new reading my blog! thank you so much everyone! i hope it's interesting enough for you. my french professor fried my brain, but i'm still trying!

au revoir!

-molly

vous-êtes perdu?

hi everyone!

it's been so long, and i apologize. thanks to lauren for reminding me to update...it's nice to know someone is actually keeping up. :)

anyway, crazy weekend! we finally got a chance to experience the night life! on friday night we met some locals and americans at an irish pub! [reminds me of all my favorite ladies back home at the ID :)] it's so nice being a girl in a foreign country. i think i'll make it my goal to never pay for my drink when i'm out. don't worry, ben!!**

however, being a girl in a foreign country also has its downfalls. i was standing outside my apartment at a crepe stand and a homeless man walked by and poured water all down my backside! the worst part was, he laughed and NO ONE did anything. i can't believe a homeless man actually embarrassed me. fortunately, i learned some choice words later on that might help me in the future.

saturday night we went to champs-élysées...a VERY rich and chic part of town with tons of hoppin' clubs! this part of town is so high-end that the first club we tried didn't even let us in. when we did find a club, it was trop cher (very expensive), but that's what's nice about being a girl! my roommates and i helped a little, but nothing compared to what the boys had to pay. when we got in, we had our own little table right on the dance floor. they brought us two bottles of liquor for our group with ice and mixers. as my friend, lindsey, put it: "movie material!" si vrai! we were out till 5 am.

as for my class situation...i DID get it fixed but still haven't gone! :( i caught my teacher before class and she told me to sit in one more time and then see how i felt. we did possessive pronouns and adjectives (duuuuh) so i knew i needed to be up. the office de la sorbonne is supposed to be open until 4 so i went around 3 to get everything changed. well, june 4th was the ONE day that the office closed early...for no reason is pretty much what the security guard told me. since i have friends in the intermediate course, i just showed up to that one today. WELL, little did i know, there are multiple levels! the teacher made me leave because she explained that i might be in a different one. it's weird to me that the administrative people would decide my level, without having me in class or seeing my placement exam, but apparently, that's what needed to happen. when i went back to the sorbonne it looked like te woman was about to place me in another elementary level, and i was like, "no!" i told her how i knew people in the intermediate course, and it's where i should be. she looked at me like i had just told her the easter bunny was real, "connais-tu les personnes dans la classe intérmediare?" the good news is, my class is still at 11. the bad news is, it's not with the same girls that i was hoping to have class with--it appears to be ABOVE them. so hopefully i can keep up!

tonight i'm going with kevin and bridgette to get some sushi! i want to try to get up to sacré-cœur this week, which i've heard is one of the coolest places in paris!

molly, bridgette and i on friday night! OH YA, denim vest! my next purchase is going to be suspenders! (lauren, aren't i making you so proud?)

au revoir!

-molly

le jardin du luxembourg et le vin!

bonjour!

so, after some thought, i decided that i'm going to try to move up to the more advanced french class tomorrow. today we spelled out numbers. NUMBERS! i mean, ya, any review is good review but come on. i think i can take on a little more AND waking up two hours later sounds MUCH more appealing. i'm afraid my professor won't let me, so i'll let you know how it goes.

this afternoon, the group and i went to the luxembourg garden and had a picnic! i had already eaten, so i just brought a bottle of wine and a glass (hey, i had to keep it somewhat classy). it was SO nice out today, and i think everyone got a little bit of a tan! we also went to this great gelato place afterwards that had these really awesome, exotic flavors. i had tiramisu!

the best news of all, we not only managed to get tickets to the sex and the city movie, we were FIRST in line!! we got the best seats in the house. i think it was even better from when i saw it the first time. i can't wait for it to come out on dvd and watch it 3 times a week!**

tomorrow is FRIDAY, so i'm hoping i'll finally get to go out and see the bar scene! last time we tried to do that we ended up losing track of time and staying in! but tomorrow, we are determined...plus i have so many fashionable clothes that paris needs to see!

here are some pictures of my apartment (upon request of someone special). they were somehow uploaded backwards, so it's kind of weird...

this is my room upstairs and that's my roommate, bridgette! i have to duck every time i walk in and out because the ceiling is so low. bridgette is about a foot shorter than me so it seems normal for her.
this is the room downstairs, and that's my other roommate, molly.
the main area. we have a couch too! and check out that sweet collage!
not the greatest kitchen but we can make it work. we have a dishwasher but no oven...that hardly makes sense to me.
some of us at the luxembourg garden! amanda, bridgette and kevin! please ignore my hair, but check out my parisian outfit! i heard someone say that they liked my shorts as i walked by. YES!

au revoir!

-molly

sex and the city = sold out

today was a day of detours and unfortunate events. however, i did learn my way around the city and that my class is actually really close. molly and i have been taking the metro which is SO unnecessary. i also learned that i have no sense of direction. who did i inherit that from?

anyway, paris will ultimately be the downfall of me. it's unfair to tease a young girl with such cute clothes EVERYWHERE. coe college isn't going to know what hit them. i'm going to come back looking so chic...even though my boyfriend** isn't too happy about my most recent purchases (high-waisted shorts are NOT "teacher pants" and ankle sandals are the hottest new fad). i'm especially excited about tomorrow because it's finally going to be warm and i've got the cutest outfit planned. you just wait.

ok, so back to my experiences aka the point of this blog. bridgette and i went for sushi for dinner only to get completely lost. who takes the metro the wrong way after reading a sign? bridgette and molly do. fortunately, we DID find a place, but could i get there again? probably not. i wish cedar rapids had more tiny restaurants on every corner! it's so convenient!

and...the ultimate unfortunate event. sex and the city was SOLD OUT. there were 3 movie theaters all in a cluster, just down the street from our apartment and they were ALL sold out. fortunately, i've already seen the movie but i haven't been able to make an accurate analysis! i must see it at least 3 more times before i can make a precise judgement and perhaps provide a critical evaluation (this is what switching to a literature major did to me).

i got a hold of my friend, charles, who studied at coe for a year. we're going to try to meet up friday night so HOPEFULLY i'll have something more exciting to tell you. i'm still getting used to everything, and it can get rough at times. so many people have told me that by the end i will "not want to go home." i hope that holds true.

this is a picture of the most disgusting thing i've ever tasted. the group and i went to an italian restaurant last night and bridgette and i both got meals that came with salad, a pizza, and a dessert. well, we WANTED the tiramisu but they were out! instead we got this spongy textured blob with what was supposed to be caramel sauce but tasted like burn. i can't even describe it another way. it just tasted like burned-ness. also, mind you, i am NOT a picky eater! this is a first for me. i'll eat anything! (except pork chops, sloppy joes, and jelly beans)

also, if anyone would like to send me a letter, i would greatly accept one! packages too!

for letter:

GLS: Molly Jorgenson

33 Rue du Four

75006 Paris, France

for package: (i know that's kind of unreasonable but in case you stumble across all 6 seasons of sex and the city or a really cute purse...i could definitely take them off your hands)

GLS: Molly Jorgenson

33 Rue du Four #15

Esc. B

digicode 71 B0A, 3ème gauche

75006 Paris, France

i miss everyone! and thank you so much to those of you who are reading this!!

à la fois prochaine,

-molly

pourquoi tu n'as pas le livre?

well today was quite the adventure, and it's only 4 pm!

yesterday, we took our placement exam which was difficult but not impossible. it was a nice refresher of everything i have forgotten since my last french class. i was placed in the same class as my roommate, molly, and so far, it's pretty easy. i can't blame everything on my professor at coe, BUT i think those who have also had her in class could definitely understand why i would like to. i probably could be placed higher and would kind of like to be, but i'll just stick it out for now. i miss the days of being one of the top in the class (3rd grade).

when we got to our class (right next to la notre dame!), we found out that everyone had a book...except us. our professor was NOT happy, but i couldn't tell if she was more angry that we didn't have the book or that i spoke to her in english. but, if there's one phrase i've adopted from my mother it's, "she'll get over it." however, not only were we missing a book, but we were told to purchase yet another one. having a bookstore located conveniently on campus must just be an american thing because molly and i went to about 12 different bookstores to find a book that we're unsure as to whether or not is even the right one.

the good news is, i found an excellent hole-in-the-wall lebanese restaurant AND did some shopping. i wasn't even aware that i liked lebanese food, but apparently, i love it!

i found this at an open market, along with a SWEET 6 euro watch! i didn't buy this headband, because i needed some outside opinion first. really, to ben. would you take me on a date if i wore this?**

tonight we're going to explore the streets near our apartment. our program director mentioned a bar called, "la princesse et le grenouille " (the princess and the frog). apparently, very popular for french students!

salut!

-molly