Suzette’s Studette

If I were a native French person my name would be Suzette because not only do I love the name, but I live in a studette, or small apartment, and Suzette’s Studette rhymes too wonderfully.

I am officially in my apartment in the premier arrondissement, meaning I am in the middle of Paris. Ma chambre est très petite. There is a twin sized bed that pulls out from the wall, a kitchenette (whose sink is used for both cooking and brushing my teeth), a shower in the corner of the room, a small table used as my kitchen table and desk, and the bathroom is in the hallway. Adapting to my apartment has come pretty smoothly. I look at having everything together as a convenience instead of living in small quarters. This is exactly where I want to be, and I have my own apartment in the middle of a very metropolitan area with restaurants, cafés, and boutiques.

I’m a 15 minute walk from la Louvre and a 20 minute walk from the Musée d’Orsay, which we visited today. C’est très magnifique. I saw many masterpieces including Van Gogh’s most famous self-portrait, many of Monet’s famous water lillies, and Renoir’s wonderful painting of a crowd dancing at the Bal du Moulin de la Galette. It was so surreal seeing these works in detail.

My awe of the la Tour Eiffel has not stopped after being here almost a week. It is just so epic. Every night at 8 p.m. the tower lights up and sparkles. The light show was initially  just for New Year’s Eve, but Parisians requested to make it a permanent staple of the city in 2000 and why not?

My language barrier makes me feel naïve about this culture and I am so curious. Every time I speak to a French person I learn something. When I was in the McDonald’s (the only place close to my apartment with free wireless) two high school students were nice enough to talk to me. I got to practice my French on them and they got to practice their English on me. Unfortunately, the outlet or une prise electrique ne marche pas, but at least I learned what the word for plug is in French, une prise. Last night a man sitting next to me, asked me where I was from and before I could reply he guessed California. This was right on, since I did grow up in California. He then brought up Obama’s victory. I replied, “J’ai voté pour Obama!” He was très content. I really loved this moment because we both shared the hope of seeing some change in the U.S., regardless of where we were from.

As I travel the metro, walk past chic cafés, smell cigarette smoke, hear very fast French, and see the generally stylish Parisians it hits me–I’m here. I have so much yet to discover and learn about Paris.