Hey everyone,

This is going to be my last blog post in Paris. As I write this, I definitely have mixed emotions and overall, I am just so glad I did this. Ever since I was in elementary school, I have thought that I should study abroad in Paris and it was a huge dream of mine. It was definitely all I expected and more. I learned so much about French language, culture, and history that I will take back with me to New York and carry with me.

My family was part of what made this so wonderful. I stayed with this older couple who are absolutely some of the best people (definitely in France at least). They open their doors to American students each semester, not for money, but to share in a cultural exchange that they relish. We had so many wonderful discussions about America, Europe, politics, religion, food, and everything in between. I also really bonded with their grandchildren which was such a treat. It probably helps that I gave them toys and played with them, but I am not above buying a child's love with toys. It was so fun to play with such happy, funny children every week when they came to visit their grandparents and it helped me to see how French children live.

French people....what can I even say about them? At their best, I feel they are some of the warmest people with a wonderful sense of humor and great pleasure for life. They really take so much out of life and take the time to enjoy everything. They will use any chance they can get to take off work or eat another slice of tarte, and it can really make you see how Europeans get the most out of everythig. I think I became much more aware of how much Americans work and how different societies take care of their citizens in general. But I will say French people definitely can live up to their somewhat unfavorable reputation. A nasty mix of haughty, passive-aggressive, and distant/cold has been known to ruin a day or two of many American students. The sense of politeness and etiquette of every shop keeper, bureaucrat, and administrator exceeds my grandmother in even her most zealous reading of Emily Post. It is built into the language and every day life to have various, somewhat nonsensical levels of formality and social cues are like a whole different language unto themselves. It is not my favorite part of being her, but I guess it is a lesson learned!

My classes here were great and I feel like my French has improved. Instead of speaking like I am reciting 19th century novels or reading my latest essay out in class, I speak with much more fluency and comfort than ever before. Having all my courses in French was daunting at first, but I have managed to get really high marks just as much as in New York and the teachers were wonderful. In my history of modern art class, we got to see some of the best 20th century art museums in Paris and the teacher really made the most out of the city, taking us to a different exhibit or museum every week. The NYU staff was very caring and organized, arranging some really fun speakers and interesting events for us to attend at the university campus here. I liked that they knew my name and I felt like I got to know many of them. I also got to meet so many other fellow students here I never would have met in New York. We all came to Paris for different reasons with different sets of expectations, but we managed to form some kind of community and I made many very special friends in the past 4 months I plan to keep in touch with this summer and in the fall.

A List of my Top Ten Favorite Paris Things--in no particular order
1) Baguettes







2) Musee d'Orsay









3) Day trip to the Giverny Gardens and Monet's House






4) The Louvre










5) Angelina's Hot Chocolate






6) The Marais (Jewish-gay-really trendy) neighborhood








7) Le Grand Epicerie de Paris at Bon Marche






8) Wandering along the Seine at night












9) Spending hours at a cafe









10) Parc Monceau (the gorgeous public garden near my apartment)







I want to leave and go back to my family, my friends, and my city, but I also could stay a while longer. Overall I feel like this was a tremendous opportunity that I will always remember. Paris is a city where you can feel the history and the sense of pride it has in itself in each and every neighborhood. The food was obviously a perk, and I will miss running to a bakery whenever neccessary for a crusty baguette or flakey butter-based pastry. I hope to have many happy, safe returns to this incredible city and I know that it will still hold the special place in my heart it has since I came here with my family when I was 13 years old. Europe is still my passion and I know I made the most out of my time here.

A special thanks to my parents who encouraged me to write this blog (and read it) and for making this semester even at all a possibility.

Thanks for reading! Au revoir...

Bonjour!
I have a few updates but nothing that exciting. This week and next week we have exams, then I have to pack, and I return home! I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly here. I am really enjoying my time and feel like I have gotten the most out of this experience.

At the end of spring break, I actually spent three days in Toulouse in the south-west of France. I have two French friends who live there and they invited me for a visit. It is a university town with lots of young people and fun shops. It is also the headquarters for AirBus (like the airplanes) so there are lots of people from different countries who live and work there. It is a really charming town and some of the buildings date back to the 1500s and 1600s. While I was there I got to visit an art museum, do some shopping, and relax! My friends are a couple and the girl Sophie is British, so I actually ended up staying at her house, where there was British/American satellite TV. I was in heaven sitting around watching trashy MTV for a few hours every day. My last night, Philippe organized a crepe party with all his friends. We all talked and stuffed ourselves with crepes, then we headed out to the local English pub where everyone hangs out. It was fun to actually meet French people and talk to them about college life here. Overall a wonderful trip!

For the past 5 days, Alissa was here in Paris. She is one of my very best friends and it was her first time here, so it was a pleasure to take her around and see the sights. I also had class so she was on her own part of the time but we both had so much fun. The two major things we did together that I really loved were Versailles and the Cluny Museum. Versailles I had seen before, but it was under a lot of rennovation. I got to see the whole thing this time and many rooms were open that I was not able to see before. It is really an amazing place and it's crazy that kings only lived there for 3 generations (I had thought it was much longer). The Cluny Museum is the largest museum of the Medieval period in Paris...possible in France. They have a great collection of everyday objects from the period which is pretty rare. They also had some great art and sculpture. When you go to Notre Dame Cathedral, you see that in the front a lot of the figures are missing their heads because they were knocked off during the Revolution. I had always wondered where all those heads went and apparently it was in the Cluny! I was really excited to see them there some of them are really remarkable, still with traces of their original painting. We also both loved the main attraction, which are the tapestries of the Lady and the Unicorn. They are a set of 6, representing an allegory of each of the 5 senses plus one very mysterious one. They were gorgeous and we spent a lot of time there sitting and staring, and obviously left with lots of postcards and merchandise. We also had great dinners, fun shopping, and nice girly talks together and it was a wonderful trip.

Last night I got to have a lovely final dinner with Bruno and family. The food was delicious and we talked about my time here, my rabbinic studies, religion, and lots of other things. I am hoping to be able to see Astrid this summer and when I come back to Paris I will definitely come visit them! They are great people and fun to be with.

Right now, I am trying to figure out packing and studying. The last thing I want to do before I leave is get to Giverny and see Monet's gardens with my roomate. We had been planning on it and it never happpened. I am hoping we can go the Friday before we go home at least for half the day. We will see...