With all the excitement of my first two days here, it's been tough to find time to write.
On day one, after arriving at my apartment and taking a brief nap, Jonah and I decided to take advantage of the emerging sun and walk north towards the Pantheon and our school, La Sorbonne. The Pantheon, although rarely mentioned in guidebooks or highlights of Paris, was quite impressive. It was originally built as a cathedral, and is now an off the beaten path tourist attraction. The interior is breathtaking, with its neoclassical architecture, vibrant paintings, and ridiculously high, domed ceilings. Perhaps more interesting, however, was the crypt, the resting place of many famous Frenchmen. Notable burials included Voltaire, Russeau, Alexandre Dumas (author of the Three Musketeers), and Victor Hugo.
My pictures really don't do this place justice... so check out the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth%C3%A9on,_Paris).After our visit to the Pantheon, we made our way over to La Place de la Sorbonne to check out our surrogate UW-Madison for the next four months.
The school itself looked pretty cool, and the surrounding area of the Latin Quarter was even cooler, with fountains, cafes and shops, and a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Not too far away was the Luxembourg Gardens, which after seeing in 40 degree weather, I can only imagine its beauty and popularity in the spring. The "Garden" is really more of a park, with sprawling greens, a large fountain in the middle, and is surrounded by a tall black fence with gilded pointed tips. 
Our outing concluded with a stop at a crepe stand, where Jonah and I each got a freshly made crepe with nutella. But ok, that's enough play-by-play for now.
Although at this point I had only been in Paris for roughly six hours, it quickly became clear just how different life here is from life in America. On the most superficial level, it is unbelievable how well dressed Parisians are. Even the kids I've seen are more well-dressed than the majority of people in the states. All the more impressive is how Parisians compose their outfits. It's rarely anything too fancy, but a nice coat, dark jeans, and a pair of leather shoes or boots is standard. Also, it's pretty much a prerequisite to wear a scarf if you want to live in Paris.
The biggest surprise thus far has been the attitude of Parisians towards Americans. Contrary to what the general notion is in America, I've found that Parisians are very nice when interacting with Americans, although the niceness is typically accompanied by a slight smirk when they detect that our French is mediocre at best. They seem to find young Americans very entertaining, and appear to be semi-genuinely interested in our lives. The middle-aged Frenchies, who are clearly very experienced in dealing with Americans, seem to love to entertain young, intoxicated Americans. And if you use a little French and be polite, it really does go a long way. With that being said, I've definitely experienced the quintessential anti-American attitude. At the cafe we went to yesterday for lunch, our interaction with the waiter was going well, and we were both using French for the majority of the meal.
But when we were ready for the check, a different waiter came over to our table and said something in French, to which I responded, "Oui". He apparently had asked if we wanted anything else, but needless to say I didn't catch that. After that, he sarcastically asked us if we spoke English. Whatever...Perhaps my favorite time of day, from my experience over the past two days, is the time period when the Frenchies are just getting out of work and on their way home... so like 4:00 pm. The middle/older-aged men are particularly interesting, and can always be seen holding a fresh baguette. When you purchase a baguette from a bakery here, you don't get a bag, and usually you don't get any real wrapping for it. They just give you a little napkin to hold it, which is pretty cool, and definitely something you don't see in America. But anyways, it's a standard sight to see very well put together men in their overcoats carrying fresh food home on. Alright, enough rambling for now. Hopefully I'll be able to reflect a little bit more tomorrow.
(doin' work)
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