Thursday, September 1, 2011

Une Smithesse

bonjour à tous!

it has been almost a week since i left massachusetts for paris, and life is beginning to feel more manageable.  i expect to walk at least five hours a day, sit down for a dinner of primarily fish or meat or both, look for cars before crossing the street, to ignore what i heard called the "aggressive heterosexuality" of comments and stares, and drink coffee in cups the size of thimbles. je suis en train d'être très à l'aise en paris!

here, we are not "smithies" but instead "des smithesses," which to me feels ever more ridiculous than our name in northampton and i can't help but picture little princesses when i hear it. although, i've never lived anywhere quite as beautiful or felt as pampered as i do here... so maybe there is a bit of truth to the princess feeling.

already, i've marché à pied (walked) through and past countless parisian landmarks. even though paris is a big city, you're never more than two blocks away from the sight of the top of a cultural icon. when we arrived friday we stayed in a hotel across from the "only skyscraper in paris," which we thought was hideous but is apparently a tourist attraction! until today, when we took the bus, my housemate and i have walked to the smith center (reed hall) everyday, we cross the seine, pass notre dame, le jardin de cluny, la sorbonne, and le jardin de luxembourg, a 45 minute walk from our apartment in the 4th but très beau!

voici, the view from a bridge on our way to school!






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