Vive Les Week-ends!

I've just finished Welcome Week, and I must say, it's good to be back at Sciences Po. Such a beautiful little campus.

The little jardin in between two of Sciences Po's buildings

The last time I came to Sciences Po, I arrived in January. It's a nice change to begin the term in the summer while everything is still green and in bloom. 

After the end of Friday's activities, I went to Café de Flore with a girl from my program. I've walked by Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots-two of Paris' most well-known cafes-more than a few times, but I'd never stopped to have un café because the prices are somewhat steep. But it's all about the ambiance, and the unmatched people watching...right? Might as well try it. 

A café creme for her, and a cappuccino for me. 

 In Paris, I've learned after some mildly embarrassing personal experiences that you have an idea of where to sit at a cafe for food or for a drink based upon the table setting. A bare table is for a drink, tables with silverware/menus/paper coverings are for ordering food. At Café de Flore, they have these amazing table coverings with an intricate drawing of the cafe surrounded by all of the hustle and bustle of Boulevard Saint Germain. I asked our waiter for one to take home, and he was nice enough to oblige me.

So cute. I love that the artist also included people of color. 

It makes a cute little table covering for my #treatyoself bouquet :)

On Saturday, I just took care of some things around my neighborhood. Its so cool to randomly see one of the mini-towers of St. Sulpice down a street and think, woah, I live here...

Ok, cool, macaron Eiffel tower...

Omg make-your-own macaron bar? That's some next-level ish.

I haven't indulged in the make-your-own macaron bar yet; trying to prolong the onset of any sugar-related illnesses I may be due for for as long as I can...

I decided to hit up the Le Bon Marche to see what all the hubbub is about, but I got there too late...although the website said that it would be open until 9pm (21h) and I arrived at 8pm? Ah well, another time. On the way there I saw a man cutting up a bunch of lavender on the sidewalk and it smelled amaaaazing:

So provencal.

 I also got to stop by the little garden next to Le Bon Marche and see the adorable little families playing games and having evening picnics.

 Fun fact about Le Bon Marche: it has been credited with advancing women's rights in France by providing women with a safe space to work at a time when the bulk of employment opportunities for women consisted of either being a domestic or a prostitute. Le Bon Marche was the world's first "grand magasin"; up until it's inception, clothiers would visit the homes of well-to-do customers to show them their latest goods and to fit them for pieces. Le Bon Marche was viewed as being a store for the people, by the people..."a temple of commerce", as Emile Zola put it. Though now it's hella expensive. #irony.

L'église at sunset. #StGermaindesPres

Today, I attempted to go to the medieval town of Provins for a harvest festival with Hannah, a girl in my program, but I didn't realize until I got on the train that it was under construction and wouldn't take me all the way to Gare de L'Est. I definitely got some PTSD-esque flashbacks related to trying to get into Manhattan from Williamsburg on weekends on the L. My original plan foiled, I decided to go to my second-favorite Parisian neighborhood: Le Marais.

I had some time to kill before L'As du Falafel opened for the day, so I did some flaneuring around until I found this gem of a park: Jardin des Rosiers-Joseph-Migneret. It's huge, and it has a garden full of fruits and veggies. Super cute. I don't remember this being here during my last visit, and the sign seems to indicate that it was reopened to the public in 2014.

Little parisien pumpkins hehe

Le Marais is kind of like the Williamsburg of Paris in that it is home to many hipsters and orthodox Jews. Also like Williamsburg, it is getting fancier by the day. Also, I think the price of falafels went up (womp, womp).

 There is another pretty cool little jardin close by called Square Georges Caïn that showcases ornamental stone fixtures from the old Palais des Tuileries. Also, free wifi.

On the way home, I did decide to indulge my sweet tooth a bit in the spirit of discovery. "What is a 'chou'? ", I wondered many times as I passed the tiny shop La Maison du Chou. Well, now I know that it is a tiny pastry puff that can be filled to-order with an assortment of creamy fillings. I got the "classic", being a first-timer and all. 

Mon petit chou

In French class back in the day, we learned that "mon petit chou" is used by the french as a term of endearment. We also learned that the literal translation of "chou" was "cabbage". I much prefer to think of calling my beloved "my little creampuff" rather than "my little cabbage" haha.

Fun times, but real classes start tomorrow and I still am not quite sure when and where all of them are (eek!). Back to the grind. Hope you all have enjoyed your respective weekends, as well!

Back to École

Today marks the midway point of my grad program's Welcome Week! We've certainly hit the ground running. The program started off with a 2-day, 8-hour lecture (all in french) introducing us to legal theory in a french context, followed by the requisite campus tours, etc. The pièce de résistance so far has been a veritable blitzkrieg of a lecture on french civil procedure and the hierarchy of courts. When the professor asked at the  end of the lecture if everyone had understood what had been said, I heard a few mumbled, sarcastic "non"s  from some of the french grad students in the crowd, which made me feel a bit better about my own lack of comprehension.

Luckily, I don't need to know any of that! It's interesting, certainly, and a good opportunity to improve my "ear" for french, but I have no plans to practice domestic french law.  I'm looking forward to starting my global governance classes, which won't begin until next week. In the meantime, it's been fun to meet the other students in the program. As a whole, everyone has been a lot friendlier than I anticipated based upon my undergrad experience.  Many of the other students have been required by their undergrad programs to spend time abroad, so they remember what it is like to be the "weird foreign kid". I think I've also done a better job of not being so self-conscious. The other candidate here from my law school, Jon, has also been good about encouraging me to branch out and make friends.

An animated Jon telling our Columbia Law friends a story

School is nice, but man, I miss laying around and doing nothing haha. Vacation can't last forever, though. 

Photobombed by some friendly tourists from Perpignan at the Jardin de Tuileries 

Sweet espresso cup set I got en solde for 12 euro

Each flower has a matching saucer :)

Rose given to me by the owner of a nearby restaurant, placed in an empty wine bottle, of course. #trèsclasse

La Vie de Zee...Part Deux!

La Vie de Zee...Part Deux!!

Heyoooo mes amis! Zee is back, and back in action...in Paris! Fast forward to 2015: I am about to begin my third year of law school, and I will be spending it abroad in Paris, France as part of a program offered by my law school. This time, I'll be here for a full 9 months (mon dieu!) and I'll be in a Masters program at the same school I attended the last time around.

I arrived in Paris on the 11th of May after a brief layover in Iceland (more on that later) and I have been alternately sleeping/attempting to get my life in order/tourist-traipsing since. Some contextual updates:

-I am 25 now instead of 20, so more life experience under my belt (?)
-I've visited 6 additional countries since arriving in France back in 2011, which at that time was my first foray abroad
-I'm living sans-roommates within walking distance of school (no more madame-madness)
-I have spent the last 3 summers living and working in NYC for law firm internships

In terms of initial impressions, these are the thoughts which have crystalized so far:

• "Huh, knowing more french definitely makes life a lot easier. Imagine that (duh). "
• "'Scary' New Yorkers make 'scary' Parisians look like annoying perfume ladies in high-end department stores."
• "I forgot how old everything is here. This can be both a good and a bad thing."
• "Thank you, technology. As long as I can schmooze/con/flirt my way into a wifi code, imma be golden."
• "Delicious chocolates, where have you been all my life? Gotta step outside of the pastries more often."
• "Jet lag is real. Real annoying." 

I flew from NYC to Paris via Reykjavik, which was an interesting experience in and of itself. The flight itself was fine, even though the plane was a bit older, and the two adorable english tots next to me got moved to the back of the plane to be closer to their parents so MAMMA GOT THE WHOLE ROW TO HERSELF. You heard right. I was laid out.

The layover itself was perfect because it was just long enough to not have to run through the airport, but short enough as to not be annoying. I went to the bathroom-stay with me here- and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were separate rooms rather than stalls with a shared trough of sinks.  Very much an Ikea-vibe to the whole setup, and the sink was a dual sink/dryer with these jet-powered hand dryer handles that stuck out from the water spout. 

Also, Icelanders seem to love puffins. A lot.

Landing in Reykjavik was an interesting experience in that the landscape looked like nothing I had ever seen before. It looked as though we were landing on a sheet of lava that had cooled maybe a year or two max. beforehand. Not a tree in sight. Scrubby little shrubs and moss were the only vegetation I was able to pick out. That said, the landscape was very beautiful. There were gorgeous mountains in the distance, and occasionally the sun would burst through the clouds in really beautiful sunbeams that would illuminate patches of the countryside.

Iceland Air was a cool experience overall (hehe puns) and I might try and take advantage on the way back of a promotion the airline was touting in which you can apparently stay in Iceland for a few nights for free during your layover.

During the layover in Reykjavik, I met a charming girl from Seattle that is doing an undergrad exchange program at the same french uni I will be attending. We shared a taxi into Paris, and it was so nice to relive old memories as I tried to give her some helpful hints from my undergrad experience.

My apartment is in a very "chic" part of Paris, as I have been told by a few Parisians I've met so far, and I innocently protest that I chose it for proximity to school. Though I have to admit, if you're going to do the Paris experience, you might as well go for it, and I'm glad I did. After a few unsatisfying experiences scrimping on housing, I decided to reallocate my budget to allow for nicer digs. I went through an agency, and I got a cute studio with gorgeous big windows.

I've been getting the lay of the land ever since which, thankfully, is very much familiar from last time.  I discovered a little popup resto in a courtyard near my apartment inside a building that during the school year is a catholic school for orphans. You can get various items such as wine and cheese plates, and there are occasionally live performances (I am aware of how "hipster" this sounds, and I don't care :p). I went there today with a Laduree goodie that I purchased.

The entrance

Some nice citronnade for a summer's evening

A religieuse rose-framboise from Laduree. 

The inside: delicious raspberries and pastry cream

Bob Dylan-esque american performer

Still a lot of admin stuff to do, but all in all a good start to the experience. So grateful that apps like WhatsApp exist this time around so I can take calls anywhere I have a wifi connection, so I don't feel like I'm so far from home. Apologies for the long post! Until next time!

When Life Gives You Persimmons...

       Just outside my backyard fence, straddled in between what could be considered both our and our neighbor's property, bordered by a small creek, is a Persimmon tree. Last summer, before I knew what species the tree was was, I noticed that it had started dropping odd, squishy, seed-filled fruits into a corner of our backyard. This summer, the fruits seemed even larger than last year, and I decided to go online to figure out what they were, and more importantly, whether or not they were edible. I can't remember, but I think I googled something like "wild fruit south carolina" and browsed through photos until I found a match. The fruits were persimmons, and they were indeed edible. They were used by the Native Americans to make puddings due to the high amount of naturally occurring pectin, as well as an alcoholic persimmon moonshine-type beverage. I've often complained that despite the abundance of trees in South Carolina, it's rare to find trees that grow anything useful, i.e. delicious fruits or nuts. I'm always that weird kid that tries to get coconuts off of trees on vacation in Miami, or pick oranges from trees in a friend's backyard in California, or try the wild fruit I find out on the golf course during golf practice. I like the idea of being able to "live off of the land", and now this persimmon tree was giving me a golden opportunity for a foray into foraging.

               Although sometimes my actions seem reckless and foolhardy to the casual observer, like consuming random wild fruit and feeding it to my family for example, I always do my research first. I made sure that persimmons didn't have any similar-looking, poisonous relatives in the fruit tree family. I read up on how to properly harvest them for peak ripeness: apparently, you have to let them fall to the ground first before you can eat them. I even tasted them, and man o' manischewitz did I get a serious case of drymouth. Even slightly unripe persimmons contain super high amounts of tanins, which caused my mouth to pucker up rather uncomfortably. I "harvested" the fallen persimmons from my backyard twice a day, usually when letting my dog out for some fresh air. That way I knew they hadn't been on the ground long, and I didn't have to compete with ants and snails for the fruit.

               After I had enough ( in the interval I stored them in the fridge) I would pulpify them, squishing them with a wooden rice paddle through a mesh sieve. I then froze the pulp and waited until I collected enough persimmons for the next batch. I looked up different persimmon pulp recipes and decided to try my hand at persimmon pudding, which is more like a pudding in the english sense; dense, moist, and cake-like by our standards. Here is a link to the recipe I used, in case any of you are lucky enough to have access to your own persimmon tree.

Pulpy goodness

                About a week and a half later, amid near-constant chiding (Mom-"I hope you don't waste all of those ingredients on something we can't even eat." Sister-"Why don't YOU try it first...you know, just in case it's poisonous and you die") I mixed the pulp with flour, sugar, milk, butter, etc and popped it into the oven. I used a bundt pan instead of the recommended 13x9" because it appealed more to my aesthetic, i.e. the finished product would look "prettier." As an accoutrement, I decided to whip up some Sour Lemon Sauce, per the suggestion of Martha Stewart Living online, where it was recommended as an ideal accompaniment to persimmon pudding. If it's good enough for Martha, it's good enough for me. I didn't have any lemons, though, so I zested some clementines and used RealLemon lemon juice.

                  It's one thing to think you're a great cook or to think that you did enough research to properly identify and prepare a wild fruit in a dessert, it's a whole other thing to eat said dessert. My sister eyed me suspiciously as a took my first forkful. She was watching, I suspect, for the sudden outbreak of a cold sweat or for me to start gagging. Surprise, surprise, it was pretty darn good. A little bit drymouth-inducing, but it went away quickly and stayed away during subsequent bites of the pudding. I had done it; I had transformed wild, fragrant pulpy persimmons into an attractive dessert with a full-bodied, sophisticated flavor. Making this pudding was an accomplishment in more ways than one. It gave me confidence that I could do something and see it through from the initial research phase to the finished product. It showed me that I had enough patience to every day collect small fruits and to store and pulp them. It gave me a chance to express my creative side through cooking, and taking photos throughout the process reminded me how much I love photography and how beautiful the outdoors can be. Who would have thought that the persimmon tree would turn out to be my very own Giving Tree.  In a job market where countless unanswered cover letter emails can make it easy to feel down on yourself, it was nice to remind myself that despite my currently unemployed status, I can do stuff. And that stuff can taste good.

First Post, Part Deux

Hello All,

I'm back! I've been vacillating back and forth for a bit over a month now on whether or not I should start blogging again, and I was finally convinced by an Ira Glass quote I came across on that virtual forum of wisdom, Facebook. The quote goes as follows:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.”

I wouldn't call myself a writer per se or even an aspiring writer, in the professional sense. I do enjoy writing, however, and I love the written word. I've been told that I'm a pretty good writer, and I've just recently gotten to the point that I don't cringe in disgust when I re-read something that I've written. One day I want to be a good writer, I know that much. Not so that I can get a job at WSJ, particularly, but for the knowledge that I can write, and write well.  It's important to me that my writing meets up with the expectations of my internal critic. And so, to that end, I take up the virtual quill again, hoping that the old maxim "practice makes perfect" will play itself out. 

I wondered if it was a good idea to publish using the same travel blog I used during study abroad last year, but the blog's title still holds up for what I expect the subject matter will mostly concern, various goings-on in my life. For example, the first post will be about my experiences identifying and collecting wild persimmons from a tree that grows just beyond the wooden fence in my backyard, and making said persimmons into an edible delight. I also consider myself an amateur photographer, so there will be photos (woo hoo!). 

Nothing is static in life. This is me moving forward.    :)

Au Revoir: The Final Post

I've been back in the states for about two and a half weeks now and it's finally time to write the final chapter of my study-abroad saga. When I started this blog, I did it to serve the dual purposes of recording my experiences for my friends and family to see and also as a way to organize my thoughts and process the significance of my various adventures. I read back over it today and it was amazing to see how my perception of the world has shifted so much in only about 5 months. To close, I thought I'd do a Q and A sesh with some questions that I've been asked since I've returned home and some questions that have been lingering in my own mind about my time in Paris.

What was the first thing you did when you arrived in Paris?
The first thing I did, after going to Accent and meeting up with the rest of the USC peeps, was to walk around the Bastille and then at some point we wandered across the Seine...I just remember how in awe and grateful we all were...I almost walked into a lady because I was so enamored by the architecture.
What did you hope to gain from your study abroad in Paris?
I wanted to learn more french...I remember that in the beginning I wanted to be fluent, which seems hilarious now haha. I also wanted to learn more about French culture and to travel and to know what it would be like to be an exchange student.
What did you miss most about the United States?
 I missed my friends and family, obviously. I also came to realize how much more nice and laid back most Americans are in comparison to a lot of Parisians. I also missed decent Mexican food haha. Weird, I know haha.
What was your most "glam" moment in Paris?
I had my fair share of "glam" moments in Paris but my favorite was the night I went to see the ballet Copèlia at Palais Garnier. I was wearing a purple silk BCBG dress and I was with Lindsey P. When I left the opera it was surprisingly warm so I just walked around for a while and then I took the metro home. When I walked up the stairs to get to the street level a gust of wind caught my dress in just the right way and blew up a plume of purple silk while I was walking out of the metro and I remember being happy and thinking how cool the night had been.
What did you think about the guys you met?
I met a lot of cool guys abroad, it's hard to make a general statement. I feel like I grew up a lot and learned a lot. One thing I feel I can say about "European guys" is that it's refreshingly easy to know how they feel about you. No awkward friend zone in France.
What is your favorite tourist attraction in Paris?
I really liked the Eiffel Tower, I don't care how boring that sounds. Beautiful during the day, even more beautiful at night. Beautiful close up, Beautiful far away. From the top, you get an amazing, 360 degree view of the city.
Who will you miss the most?
I'll miss my madame, she was really cool and I learned a lot from her. In general,  I met a lot of really interesting people that I only got to spend a few hours with in some cases, but it was a good lesson in just letting life flow through you and enjoying it for what it is instead of trying to grasp on to things.
What's something you consider to be really important that you learned from study abroad?
I learned that when I need to be, I am extremely competent. I can live in a foreign city and be okay. I can get around by myself. This was my first time abroad, so for me it was a major achievement.
What's your favorite memory from Paris?
My favorite memories of Paris are the various amazing spring picnics that I had with the "crew". My favorite spot was Invalides. Just chillin and playing ultimate and shocking the french ppl with my female athleticism.
What's something that you learned about French culture?
 I learned that many French are ,"Reverent of the past, hesitant about the present and afraid of the future". History plays a big part and they're not a big fan of a lot of change or things that we would consider "progress" from an American perspective.
Are you fluent now?
Ha not quite. Though if I had to quantify it, I'd say I'm about 77% fluent.
What did you really like about your host university, Sciences Po?
I liked that we had a cute little courtyard garden, and that we got free copies of Wall Street Journal Europe haha. I liked the location of the school and I liked the majority of my professors. I liked that there were a lot of international students there.
What did you really dislike about it?
This is no fault of ScoPo, but I'm not a huge fan of the French style of higher education. Not a big fan of formulating problematiques and such. I dont have any major complaints about Sciences Po, I learned a lot there and I felt lucky to be there (most of the time haha)
What surprised you most about your time in Paris?
How quickly it would pass, how much I would be able to do in such a short amount of time, how much and yet how little I know about Paris now...how somewhere so foreign can come to feel like home
What do you miss most about la vie parisienne?
Walking. I miss being able to wander around and find interesting stuff. I wish we had more walkable cities in the U.S.

Thank you to all of my friends and family, to everyone who gave me positive feedback and encouraged me to continue blogging. I'm glad that you've enjoyed my blog and I've certainly enjoyed writing it. I hope that this blog has been informative and perhaps humorous, maybe even educational at times. Thanks again for following me on what has certainly been an amazing time in my life. :)

À bientôt for now...

Bonus Post:: Touring Paris with the Tastebuds

I'm no food blogger, but I realized when I went to Europe that in any country the food is a large part of the cultural experience. In France, eating and preparing food was viewed as being tantamount to a sacred ritual.  No wonder French cuisine was added to UNESCO's list of the world's "intangible cultural heritage". Sometimes when I came aross something really tasty, unusual, or something with symbolic significance to my experience there, I took a picture of it. Here is my trip, as experienced through my taste buds.

First drink purchased ever...pint of Guiness

What was to be the first of many, many macaroons. Purchased from my favorite patisserie on the corner of blvd St. Germain and Rue de Bac.

Tartine w/ tomates et fromage. Purchased during dinner with the Berkley Girls after a Welcome Week session with "Gregoire".

A glimpse into my grocery basket...

Fettucini with morels. Consumed during my Welcome Week group dinner at a little restaurant across the street from the Seine and Notre Dame

First Ladurée St. Honoré

Falafels with hummus and tahini sauce. Dinner in the Marais on a cold winter's Saturday when L'As du Falafel wasn't open

Close-up of a chocolate eclair

Starving on Champs Elysées, I decided to try the first Mc Donalds that i'd had in years out of perhaps a misguided sense of homesickness? Right after I experienced a surprisingly suggestive wink from a French waiter at a nearby café.

L'as du Falafel falafel. aka "vegetarian's best friend in Paris" aka "delicious cheap eats"aka "best falafel I have had and probably will ever have in my life." Lenny Kravitz approved.

Coffee purchased on a Sunday when Pedro, Isa, and I went to hang out around one of Paris' canals.

Best Chocolate Mousse in Paris at Chez René on Blv. Saint Germain, according to Le Figaro

Pizza during a much-needed dinner outing with Elise and Prerna.  Boy talk heals the soul.

Kir, my favorite drink. Mix white wine and syrup of cassis.

Nachos-my version of comfort food. It took about 2 days to compile all of the ingredients required to make this. Not pictured: sketchy guy selling avocados out of boxes near the metro entrance.

One of my many lunch dates with Isa E. Croque Monsieur for her and Club Vegétarienne for me.

Salad au Chevre Chaude from an Ashkenazi restaurant in the Marais

And for dessert, créme brulée!

Blurry, but awesome. Piece of Mille Feuille (literally, "a thousand sheets") with a chocolate fan on top that my friend Victoria S. got me for my 21st birthday.

Fresh produce from Marché Richard Lenoir in the Bastille

60% of my diet in France: baugette and cheese

St. Honoré au Framboise (raspberry) waaaayyy better than the original. So delicious. And yes, that is a rose petal on top.

France taught me to value the preparation, the consumption, and the quality of food. Not to say that I won't eat a Dorito from time to time but I do think more about the quality of ingredients that I use in my food now than I did before. Well prepared food can be something that brings you and your friends together, or give you a reason to savor a certain evening or event. For me, each of these meals represents a memory.