The French like just one bottle.

Something is missing here...

And apparently this is OK? In the US, you can't even open your food in a grocery store before buying it. But in Paris, anything goes (and I almost mean that to its fullest). In every store- Monoprix, Franprix, Tabacs, etc etc. packages of water, soda, juice, and even beer can be split open and sold individually. I think this is a fantastic idea. I haven't tried it myself- ripping open a package all rebellious and only buying one beer. It sounds kind of fun and dangerous. Next time I have a hankering for Amstel Light, I know where to find you!

It wasn't me your honor!

The French like Menus

and by "Menu" I mean more food for a cheaper price. All over Paris, restaurants have a reasonable lunch/dinner option called a "Menu". For a cheaper price, restaurants offer an Entrée+Plat+Dessert (Appetizer, Entree, Dessert) or a combination of two. This fabulous idea, which I don't think the US has picked up on... or have they? I can't even think of an American equivalent off the top of my head. Not a buffet.... oh my gosh. someone help me out here.
In Saint Michel, the ethnic restaurants are flooded with Menus ranging from 10 euro to 15 euro. That's about $15-25. Not cheap, by our small town standards where ordering beef with your Japanese pan noodles at Noodles & Co. is a financial risk. Here, getting you an appetizer, an entree, and dessert for under $20 is quite the financial upgrade.
However, I can't be spending that kind of money every weekend night (although, doesn't mean that I don't...) when I'm on my own. However, it is something every Parisian tourist should try- you get to try a wide range of French food for a moins cher price. My belly and wallet like it too.

My Entree (or Plat in French).
This is just 1/3 of the entire meal!
Ow Karumba!

These photos are a bomb. urghhh

Me at "Le Chat Qui Peche"
which means "The cat who fishes".. I think.
Anyways, I'm eating Moules (again).
And that's just the appetizer. 

What I Like

The view from my window at sunset. 

• Book Off- stumbled into this bookstore looking for the French version of Harry Potter. After finishing the seventh for the second time, I'm having Potter withdrawals. Therefore, reading the first one in French is improving my skills and I'm back into my fantasy land with Potter. Anyways, this bookstore has it all. including a 1Euro section (where I bought the first three in the series). Just like Hogwarts, this place is too good to be true. 
• This fine feathered artist. Again, I see some similarities to Harry Potter. 
• Bastille Optics so this $$$ eyeglasses shop is heaven on earth. They have, hands down, the most interesting pairs of glasses. My favorite discoveries are the incredibly lightweight wooden frames in light navy and the red sparkly ones that looks like "dorothy's shoes on your face". Picture mine, but a thousand times more radiant and fabulous. 

That's all for now! Busy weeks ahead... my absence will be inevitable. 

The French like Playing Doctor

In the literal sense... I know what you're thinking dirty minds. Every student abroad student staying in Paris over 3 months is required to have a medical examination. The OFII has never been nice or easy to us clueless American students. First, don't even let me begin with the Visa process. talk about hell on earth. Acquiring a Visa takes time and lots and lots of money. Then upon your arrival in Paris, you have to succumb yourself to a medical examination in the hands of French doctors and pay $80 for a "stamp" that goes somewhere. The stereotype falls true when you find yourself in the immigration medical building (or at least that's what I'm calling it). The medical exam tests to see if you're well enough to stay in France- they check your lungs, vision, weight, height, blood pressure, etc etc. Upon arriving, there was a long queue formed by immigrants. It sort of felt like I was arriving on Ellis Island if it were in the middle of Paris in a dinky building in the year 2011. We arrived having heard two rumors: the process could take 2-3 hours and you have to be naked. Okay, I don't fancy going to hospitals in the first place, but when they ask me strip is just whole other problem all together. My name was first to be called out of our group of 20 or so from Madison/Milwaukee. Therefore, I was the first to finish and everyone who saw the tattered look drawn on my face probably got scared. Kind of like the times when you were a child waiting for a shot and then becoming swollen with fear from the screams in the opposite room. However, it wasn't so bad because it was short.
When they called my name, they gave me a quick look over- vision, weight, height- no scares there. Then they directed me to a tiny room with two doors. It kind of looked like a Gap changing room, but instead of trying on clothes, I had to take all of mine off. My first French doctor told me to wait in the room for the lady on the other side and remain topless. I started to panic because it was all happening so fast but I gave the room a quick look and saw that there wasn't a drape like in American hospital rooms to keep your modesty intact, so I asked for one but the lady ignored my requests for decency and told me to get naked. Alright then, I usually don't like taking my top off for someone whom I don't know their first name, but I sucked it up and went Brazilian. The door on the other side swung open without warning and one doctor saw me awkwardly missing some clothes due north and said something in quick incomprehensible French and returned back into her room. I peeked my head out and heard talking and saw machines... Who is on the other side? Is there a boy present? Are there other patients around? What the hell am I doing!??! So I said in nervous French "I'm ready" after I made sure I was stepping into the right room I was about to give a peep show in. The (female) doctor lead me to the X-ray sheet and she pressed me against the screen. It kind of hurt and I felt really peculiar in this pose where she made me hug the screen (topless), point my chin up (topless), and wait for 20 seconds (topless). But then it was over. She told me to go back in my room and then she locked the door behind her. So I was back in this what I-wished-to-be-Gap room and I was left clueless. How do I leave? Am I locked in? I tried the other door and it was open so I left apprehensively and made my escape. That's when my classmates saw my "i've just been exposed/violated" face and probably got really excited to have their turn. Afterwards, we were called into another room with another doctor and here they took our blood pressure and checked our heart beats. Since I had a curious older man I felt like I was recreating the Amelie scene where her father checks her rapidly beating heart and therefore determines that she has a heart defect. He ended that appointment by handing me back the X-ray of my lungs. Well, I guess this was worth taking off my top for.
All in all, I'm happy to be healthy by the French standards. I just think the OFII medical process could be tremendously improved. My friend Zoe waited 4 hours to complete her exam, whereas I was there for less than two hours. Not quite fair. Get your stuff together, France!

The French like Mussels

Escargot, Mussels... am I becoming a seafood princess? Guess what. I like mussels. Now despite the look of them, they are delectable. Don't get me wrong, throughout most of the manging of this Alien look alike, it took a lot of muscle to swallow these mussels. Just like the escargot, you eat them in a specific way. After you finish one shell, you use it as a tool to pry out the next mussel. That probably was the most enjoyable part of the experience. The least enjoyable? No not the taste... the appearance of these sea dwelling monsters. They are dreadful looking. I had thoughts running through my head that they were only playing dead at the moment I ate them, so that they can join together in my stomach and emerge from belly button later and kill me in the process and probably whoever was with me at the time until Sigourney could come out of space and kill the little bugger.
I guess only time will tell.... I've only had one stomach ache today.

The French like Museums

Museum Post Numbero Uno: Orangerie et Monet-Marmottan. Paris has over 100 museums. Even if I went to a museum each day until the day I should leave, there would not be enough time to see them all! Which means... I've got to be selective and make time for them. Paris is, after all, a lucky spot to have enormous amounts of museums since the temperament is usually drowsy and rainy. Last week I went to Le Musée Monet-Marmottan. Today I went to Le Musée d'Orangerie. Tomorrow I am Rouen/Giverny bound. These museums compliment my trip tomorrow because Monet's work was largely produced in this area. His grand horizontal portraits of water lilies are displayed at  L'Orangerie and some of his other pieces painted of his gardens and city are held at Marmottan. Seeing the work of Monet in person feels like your mind is exhaling for the first time. His pieces are incredibly dreary and dramatic. They rob any words that are trying to muster out of your mouth. A brief history of Monet: Like most artists, Monet's paintings acted as a mirror to his feelings. During the good times at Rouen and Giverny, he painted his garden with tenderness with an array of celebratory colors. However, after the turbulence of his son's and wife's death, his paintings carried his misery through his sombre pallet of paint. Either way, the work of Monet can easily provoke its viewer like sappy romance movies. I wouldn't recommend bringing tissues or anything, but the views within the museums will make you take a seat and reflect (much like a water lilied pond?) upon the power of his work.

Pictures taken at Le Musee d'Orangerie. Photos were not permitted inside Le Musee Monet-Marmotten 

The French like Parks

Le Premier Parc: Belleville Oh la la. Each day I need to set a goal for myself to take the Metro to someplace I have not been because even though this sounds impossible to the max, i want to go everywhere in Paris. (a run on sentence is an indication that you've got to spit out whats on your mind because its probably important and too hard to sum up and convey everything you would like to say, do you know what i mean? tee hee) Yesterday, I did just that and chose to go to Belleville Parc while the shy, yet blessed sun was finally making an appearance in the sky. I must rewind a bit and say that the majority of the places I have discovered should largely be credited to my christmas gift last year, Lonely Planet's travel book. The website can tell you this, but there are beautiful photos (I recommend a travel book with photos- just text in a travel book is such a drag to read. Pictures are necessary for beaming at. They get your blood flowing and your voice might skip an octave with all the excitement) of popular destinations, a map, details (with some humor sprinkled throughout the summaries of each attraction), and they are cheaper in America than in Paris. Belleville Parc has always sparked an interest of mine after I saw the movie Triplets at Belleville. The attraction of this park is that it is located 200m above sea level. For those of you who, like me, can't put dimensions into perspective, that's high enough to see the Eiffel Tower, the Pompidou, Notre Dame, chinatown, among many other areas. The park attracts a lot of french munchkins:  adorable babies, toddlers, and kids who probably should be in school. There are flowers, blooming trees, green grass, fresh air.
Positives: it's not touristy or over crowded. Parks like Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin du Tuileries outshine the many charming and lesser known ones, like Belleville. The view. Public bathrooms. Free wi-fi. Negatives: think again. well after thinking, you may need to bring a bottle of water. the climb to the top is tres difficle, but you know it's worth it.

And enjoy the view ^^^