in "La Défense" of Fashion....

So it's my 14th day here in Paris (only 14 days, really?) and the initial Paris afterglow is wearing off.  The reality that i've committed 4+ months of my life to living in a foreign city is starting to set in. I've been having some issues with the living situation with my host madame, but I talked to the housing agency that placed me here and they've found another family for me so hopefully this issue will be resolved soon. One thing that has has a surprisingly large impact on my life here...the weather. It's...definitely not what i'm used to. The cold I can (somewhat) handle, but the constant lack of sun is starting to take a toll on me. Part of me wants to google a tanning salon just to get some UVA/UVB rays up in here. I know that i'm adjusting to culture shock. In fact, according this handy-dandy little chart provided by the USC Office of Overseas studies, I'm entering the phase of culture shock called "The Plunge":

Past the initial "Arrival Confusion" and "Honeymoon", I am now entereing the dreaded "Plunge"

I'm feeling a bit better about Paris and living here than I was 2 or 3 days ago, though I still have some small complaints (why must I block out 2 hours of my life each day for lunch? ) so hopefully I've already passed the trough and am heading toward an upswing. It's tough explaining how I feel to anyone because all they hear is the word "Paris" and their brain shuts off during the rest. Even though they many not always understand, this experience has definitely made me realize how wonderful my friends and family are, and I thank them so much for keeping in contact with me, it means so much.

To try to kick "The Plunge," I forced myself to get dressed and go out. I headed toward my school in St. Germain-de-Prés hoping to score a cheap lunch at one of the CROUS (gov't subsidized cafeterias for students). To my initial dismay, it was closed, but I decided to use the time to walk around and photograph some of the cooler sights near my school:

The église of St. Germain-de-Prés, the area's namesake. Fun fact: it's oldest church in Paris, according to my guidebook

Yep, Sciences Po has an Armani Café  less than a block from it. Sure beats South Central...

Burberry Thigh-High boots...gimme!

So hot right now

Favorite store/window display so far: Sonia Rykiel

Everything in the store is pleated!

 After hanging out in St. Germain-de-Prés, I decided to head over to La Défense, la cœur of business in Paris. It's like Downtown LA was a few years ago in that outside of office hours its pretty much deserted, which made for some interesting pictures:

The Eiffel Tower and the Arc du Triomphe in the background are a bit surreal

Le Grand Arc, which is in line with the Axis of Paris (Louvre-Champs Elyseés-Arc du Triomphe-Le Grand Arc)

Tiny Arc du Triomphe in the distance

Yep, that's what I wanna see getting off the métro everyday to go to work: zombie businessmen statues

Long post, but I go through all of this to say: you can't keep a good Zee down. No amount of crappy weather/ unfriendly Parisians/ maddeningly formal and unnecessary protocol will EVER accomplish that.

;)