Hey everyone!

Everything in Paris is great. Tomorrow is our last day of the preliminary French review class. I am glad it's over and we can finally start learning. I visited the campus of University of Paris where I wanted to take class and none of them really fit my schedule. The one I wanted most was at 8:30 am and 1:30 pm on Friday, which I was planning on keeping open for traveling. I am sort of disappointed, but I am sure the classes at NYU will be good and I hope they are worth the classes I am missing at UP.

Today there was a strike in the city. When this happens in Paris not only is it a transit strike for the public transportation, but many of the other public employees follow suit, including schools. A lot of people had to walk to school today to get there on time. Luckily for me my class was moved to a later time so our teacher could get there, so I was able to take the metro with very few delays. Apparently at rush hour this morning it was ridiculous with tons of people just waiting on the platform as trains came hoping to find a spot where they could squeeze in. Some lines weren't even really working so people did not come in.

After school I decided to take a walk and explore the park near my apartment. I am so glad I did because I definitely found my new favorite spot in Paris. The Parc Monceau was built by one of the king's cousins in the late 1700's. It is not a French park in that it doesn't have a lot of symmetry and is much more freely planned, so it is technically called an English park for the way it is laid out. After the Revolution it became a public park. All over the various green patches are statues of famous composers and writers, and there are a bunch of scaled down architecture models from all over the world, including an Egyptian pyramid and a Dutch windmill. The park is surrounded by tons of gorgeous old mansions which you can see from the outside border. There is a playground and a great jogging-walking track around the perimeter that I hope to use more when it is a tad warmer. I am so glad I live close by!

I am really going to try to go to synagogue this week. I have a place picked out that is a bit far from here but is supposed to be great. The rabbi there is the first woman rabbi in France, so I am sure she is really interesting.

I think that's all for now. I will post soon if I do anything exciting this weekend.