after nearly a two month hiatus, i'm back in the motherland (in this case motherland refers to the land where my mother in fact resides...america). france was awesome. definitely one of the best experiences of my life. i spent 5 weeks in paris with an awesome host family, 1 week taking a bus tour of northwestern france, and a week in southern france on the coast of the mediterranean. and while i wish i could give a full recap of my trip, that would take too incredibly long and most likely be boring to anyone except me. so here's some pics (out of order but pictures nonetheless) and a few key things that i learned, observed, and enjoyed on my spring 2008 study abroad.
the french are very proper, especially with their eating habits. once at dinner with my host family, we were eating fruit and i chose a banana. as i was going about my business unpeeling and what-not, i looked over to notice that my host parents were eating their raw apples with a fork and knife. i then realized the extent of my barbaric tendencies and from then on i never ate anything with my hands. yes. i peeled and ate a banana with a fork and a knife. it really made me appreciate that scene in "pirates of the carribbean" where kiera knightly tears into the turkey leg on the black pearl.
men (this is a general statement including all nationalities) are swine and should be avoided. especially in metro stations.
french women have the skinniest thighs i have ever beheld in my entire life. and yes, spending two months surrounded by those skinny thighs does in fact make you never want to eat again.
but i overcame the thigh depression by consoling myself with the ever-abundant french pastry. it was addictive and gratifying.
in france, drivers (while still being utterly insane and death-defying) actually heed the real meaning of the yellow light (as in, slow down/stop) rather than speeding up to run them. in my entire time there i never saw someone drive past a yellow light.
nutella tastes good on everything. it's like the french ketchup.
versailles palace
notre dame de paris
fountains at place de la concorde
