The Start of Classes. . .

The courtyard of Paris 3

 Classes began this week at both Middlebury College's Centre Madeleine, and Paris 3- La Nouvelle Sorbonne, a large Parisian public university that is known for its programs in literature and language and is home to 18,000 students (of which only 850 are foreign!!). To put it simply, Paris 3 is nowhere similar to the environment, student body, and academic nature that is found at Pomona College. To be clear, I don't mean that in a negative sense, the two academic institutions are simply different in all senses of the word, but I will say that Paris 3 makes me really appreciate (and miss) what Pomona has to offer its students. As you can (sort of) see from the photo, Paris 3 is composed of 4 big buildings which encloses a courtyard. In that courtyard, the Parisians catch up with each other, steal a bite in between classes, and smoke. It was a bit imitating to walk into this space not knowing a soul, (and frankly, being looked at, because we can admit that I don't look French at all), but as the week passed and I asked the other students simple questions, (i.e. how to use the keyboard in the library), I was met with friendly responses. Obviously, it will take a long time to really start to meet and get to know other French students there, but as I have signed up for 2 tandem language partner programs (I speak French, the other student speaks English), I can hopefully get to know others.

Since a class was mysteriously cancelled, I decided to pay a visit to the ever-inspiring  Musée D'Orsay! 

Place de la Concorde, the Eiffel Tower, and the sunset

I felt especially honored that my youngest host brother asked me to
 watch "Pretty Little Liars" with him, and since it was my first time
seeing this show, I have to admit that it was quite thrilling! 

Spending the day with my oldest host brother, and seeing
sites such as the Orangerie, the Tuilleries, the Louvre, and
walking for miles along the Seine.

Stopping by the Louvre (again. .  but why not?) to visit its current
exposition on Ancient Mediterranean empires. 

Pont Alexander

Visiting the French author, Balzac's, home with my
marreine and fellow Middlebury students 

Did you know that Balzac would rewrite a page of one of his stories
15-17 times over until he got it perfect?

Depictions of some of Balzac's many characters

After Balzac's home, we stopped to grab a coffee
at the Musée de Quai Branley, a museum that is home to ancient
empires artifacts. 

Spending Saturday night with my partner in crime, Aaron, and per the
suggestion of my marreine, we decided to cite CentQuatre, a culture
center that provides workshops and performance spaces
for artists all of talents and genres! That night, they opened their
doors to the public late at night and hosted a party for
all to come see and learn more about their get-up!

Some of the many photography expositions on display 

At CenteQuatre, there was a live band that played music that
everyone wanted to dance to! Of course, Aaron and I do not
shy away from any form of dancing, and I dared Aaron
to go dance with an old lady that was dancing by herself.
As you can see from the photo, he did, and they both
had a great time!

Bar hopping at 2:00 in the morning in the 12th arrondissement
with other students from Erasmus, the European exchange program. 

Paying a visit with my host family to the Louis Vuitton Foundation in the Bois
de Bologne. While we did not have the opportunity to go inside
and see the art exhibits, we were able to admire the Frank-Gehry's designed
building from afar.