December 2008
7 posts
Exams are Done!
I finished my last paper today and was a free man as of about 7:30 this evening. I went out with some friends to celebrate and have a nice evening about the town. It struck me that having now completed 4 of 12 quarters of undergraduate education I am 1/3 through my college career! How times flies!
I’m currently packing my bags and planning out my day tomorrow. There are a lot of little...
Thanksgiving in Florence
Several months ago I received a welcome piece of information from my good friend Kelly Hill. Her sister, Nikki, was going to spend the fall quarter studying in Florence, so she and her parents had decided to hop on a plane to Italy and have an Italian Thanksgiving! As I was going to be in Paris, I was invited to swing on down and say hello.
Now for those of you that don’t know Kelly Hill,...
Papers to write and Books to Read
The title pretty much sums up what my last two weeks here are going to be like. I thought I had done good work throughout the quarter setting myself up for the end, but I just realized that the only thing that is in good shape is the research for my paper for the Louvre class. Check the title:
“Waiting for Wittgenstein: A Comparative Analysis of the Visual and Verbal Elements of...
November 2008
26 posts
Things I'll Be Happy to Get Back To
Paris is truly wonderful, but there are some small, simple things back home I miss. Spending time abroad not only helps one understand other cultures, but it gives you a true appreciation for your own. Here’s a list of some things I looking forward getting back to:
Big breakfasts with pancakes, sausages, eggs, toast, OJ… you know, the works!
Sweatpants & Sweatshirts- sweatpants...
An Afternoon in Paris
With just over two weeks left in Paris, I’m starting to realize how much there is to do and not very much time to do it! In my first couple weeks here, I hit up the big spots: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc. My pace soon slowed as I settled into Parisian life; there would be plenty of time to see everything else. Three months is a long time, right? Wrong.
After my initial...
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,...”
– The opening to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I felt that the first juxtaposition applied the most to Barcelona, but when the opportunity arises to insert a long literary quote into a blog, you take it!
Catch a plane to Barcelona, 'cause this city's a...
(Note: the title of this post is not meant to insinuate that Paris is “a drag”. Rather, it is the only song lyric with which I am familiar that mentions Barcelona.)
When in doubt regarding how to express myself, I humbly bow to the masters of language and gratefully borrow their words. This is the case with the above Charles Dickens quote. Barcelona was both wonderful, and at the same...
Set List to the Show
The set list was something, though perhaps not exactly, to this effect:
Good Morning
I Wonder
Heard ‘Em Say
Through the Wire
Champion
Get ‘Em High
Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Can’t Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
Spaceship
All Falls Down
Gold Digger
Good Life
Jesus Walks
Hey, Mama
Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey, sung by backup singer)
Stronger
Homecoming
Touch the Sky
American...
Get down, go ahead, get down!
Thursday the 20th of November was a much anticipated date for me in Paris. On the advice of Coach Ermilio, as I arrived in Paris I was on the look-out for a world tour concert. While taking the bus around the city dropping students off at their respective host families places, we passed Bercy Stadium and I saw an advertisement for a Kanye West show.
Now Kanye West and I have a bit of a history...
Amsterdam
Our host institution, ISEP, recently organized a school trip to Amsterdam for the weekend. I was quite fortunate because my language partner managed to save me a spot on the trip. 88 euros for transportation and lodging is a deal not easily beat by any American traveling abroad!
We left late Friday night (12:30 AM) so as to arrive around 8 AM Saturday morning. I didn’t manage to get much...
Where the strawberry beds sweep down to the...
I must again apologize for my negligence in the maintenance of this blog. As I said last time, too many things with which to occupy myself and not enough to document them has contributed to its fall from grave. I will attempt, however, to tell you my tales of Eire. Before I start, I wish to inform you that I will include various links throughout the blog to songs of Youtube. A curiosity for Irish...
Breaking News... CNN Projects Obama Elected...
I apologize for my lack of updates in the past week. Many things have been going on which provides me with plenty material on which to report, yet no much time to do so. To start, let’s back track one week to November 4th, the day of the Presidential Elections.
The historical importance of this election has already been well-documented: a black presidential candidate, a female VP candidate,...
Modern Art: A Day at the Centre Pompidou
Having greatly neglected the treasure troves of art around this city, I resolved yesterday to visit the Centre Pompidou this morning with a friend. The Pompidou hosts a public libraryand cinema, but mostly famously a wonderful collection of modern art. The building itself can be considered a work of art (modern, that is) in itself. Built as though the building were inside out, the most striking...
Rigoletto
On Tuesday night, we had our final cultural experience, a trip to Rigoletto at the Bastille Opera! This being my first opera, I was quite looking forward to it, but was wary that I might be disappointed; I’m told you either love or hate opera the first time you see it, and I wasn’t confident enough in my cultured tastes to be sure I would appreciate it.
Before the night begins,...
October 2008
15 posts
Autumn in Paris
Today was one of those days that perhaps I will not remember years down the road, but it is of the kind that, when strung together with other days like itself, leave the impression of immense happiness and form fond memories of a particular place and time.
I woke up late; my phone let me know it was already 12:30. I rolled back my shades and was greeted by a grey sky struggling to hold back the...
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you...”
– A quote from Ernest Hemingway I first saw in the Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore in Paris. I can only hope that it is true, but my intuition tells me that it is!
Blanche Neige- A Night at the Ballet
One of the cultural experiences that the Bing Program had lined up for us was a night at the ballet! So Tuesday night we all assembled on the steps of Chaillot Theater ready to be entertained!
For my part, I cannot particularly remember ever attending a professional ballet, though I am sure that I saw The Nutcracker at some point. Thus, I was quite excited! There were some ballerinas in our group...
The Loire Valley
Each quarter, Stanford in Paris organizes a weekend trip to some region of France intended to promote a cultural understanding of France as a whole. It allows students to step out of the big city and see parts of France that aren’t as well known to the rest of the world. The trip is made possible by the generosity of Madame Bing, the patron of Stanford study abroad programs; to her, we owe...
First Class in the Louvre
As mentioned in my first post, one of the classes I am taking in Paris is called “Images of Domestic Life in the Louvre”. This was a topic that did not interest me at all initially, however, once I learned that the majority of the class would take place in the museum itself I reserved a place immediately. The opportunity to take a class in the Louvre under the tutorial of a Stanford...
The Eiffel Tower
Today after class, some friends- Dana Sittler, Dana Sherne, Olivia, and Elise- and I chose to make our way over to the Eiffel Tower to view the City of Lights from the top. It was a beautiful day- unseasonably warm with not a cloud in the sky. Crunchy leaves tumbling and swirling as cars zoom by along the river banks while we approached the Champ de Mars, the park in which the tower is located.
...
Inaugural Blog from Paris
Bonjour mes amis!
In order to keep a good account of my trip to Paris and to share my adventures with you, I have begun this blog!! I have now been in Paris for just over two weeks. I arrived tired and jetlagged on Thursday, September 25th. That first weekend passed quickly with obligatory orientation sessions; our hotel’s location- far from the heart of the city- along with no metro passes...
