I came back to Paris after Christmas feeling like I'd never been away. Apart from a rather nasty surprise of library fines (that's what you get for getting out three different biographies of De Gaulle and forgetting about them), I'm so happy to be back.
It's very cold here; the pond in the Luxembourg gardens has actually iced over! Somehow this only adds to the Parisian charm. The Christmas decorations are still up, although very late at night last week we witnessed somebody lowering her dead Christmas tree out of the window of her fourth floor apartment by a worryingly thin string. The man who we assumed to be her husband waiting to catch it on the ground looked mortified!
There's a new girl on my floor from Egypt studying for a semester at the Sorbonne, which has resulted in me attending most of their Fresher's events! There's so much going on on the international student scene that I wasn't even aware of last term. They have amazing parties most nights a week, latino dancing nights and of course plenty of language exchanges and trips. I can't wait to get involved this term.
I've taken the decision to leave my job, as I've found it increasingly difficult to balance it with my uni work. I have to work the two month notice period, so I'll be finishing mid-March, just before the exams start.
This is really convenient, not only because it means that I'll have so much more time to study, but also because I can go home for a good chunk of the Easter break. It's only been three weeks, but I'm already missing my family and friends way more than last term. During the Christmas break I had such a good time with everyone that it was hard to leave them behind.
That said, when you're in a city like Paris there is always something to do to take your mind off things. I've been up the Arc de Triomphe for the first time, revisited Napoleon's tomb and the army museum at Invalides, and explored the 10ème.
On Sunday, I went with some friends to a language exchange at the tearoom at the big Mosque in the 13ème. We drank very sweet tea and talked about North Korea, which was actually quite fun. I would definitely recommend it!
Important note to any students reading- check out the Covent Garden Soup Company. They make cartons of healthy fresh soup that all you have to do is heat up. Carrot and Coriander is amazing, as is Thai Chicken. You can find them in Monoprix, Franprix and Casino, and I think I'm eating so much better because of it. Gone are the days of different shapes of pasta!
As always, a heap of important assignments have crept up on me and so these next few weeks probably won't be as eventful as the last. I still have heaps of plans, some more adventurous than others (days out of the city visiting castles and concentration camps among them), but they might have to be put on hold until these essays are out the way! I have to constantly keep reminding myself that I'm here to study...
Speaking of, I have to leave for work now.
K x
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