Dithyrambique

Une dithyrambique is the french word for a long, elegiac speech. It's the title of this post because it's been awhile since I last posted and I want to update everyone on what's been happening. Essentially, I've been very, very busy. Schoolwork combined with trips and visitors to Paris has made these last couple weeks completely insane, but a good kind of insane. It's always fun getting to take trips and see new places, and I also love it when people come to Paris and I get to show them around this amazing city. In doing the traveling that I have been doing (visiting friends on their various study-abroad programs in Prague and London) I've gotten a chance (actually, two chances) to see other programs, other cities, and how other people approach study abroad. It's been fascinating! It has made me realize how well I know Paris and how comfortable I feel in this city -- I can get anywhere I need to be on a daily basis without a problem, and if someone gives me an address I don't know, I can usually get myself at least to that neighborhood without a map. I walk everywhere in Paris, for four reasons. One is that the first day of orientation my program handed out "Pass Navigos" to everyone, which is essentially like a frequent user card that you stock up at the beginning of the month and use to take public transportation everywhere. Except for some reason they were three short and so (of course) me and two other people didn't get them. They made it seem like it would be no problem to just hop into the nearest metro station and get one (it's free), but I was jetlagged and sick of French bureaucracy and you couldn't do it at the metro station near my apartment so I was just like, "Whatever, I'll figure this out another time." Anddd I just never did...So while that reason may be out of laziness, the other three are legit. The first being that I don't want to be 300 pounds from eating French food and walking keeps me in shape, and the second is that a monthly pass is expensive and I'd rather spend that money on, say, food. Or clothes. And the last reason is that walking is the best way to see the city and get a sense of it. It's honestly been the best thing for allowing me to get acquainted with the city because I get to explore different neighborhoods on the way to different events, I get to see streets and different times and in different conditions (yes, I walk even when it's raining - that's what rainboots are for!) and I get to feel like I'm a part of the city. Sometimes it's annoying because it takes me 40 minutes to get to class, but at the end of the day I'm always happy I walked when I could have taken the metro, not least because it's frequently late/really hot or the frenchies are striking (comme d'habitude - like always).

A guy doing tricks with a soccer ball on top of a lamp post in Montmartre. Only in Paris.

Yeah, I live here.

Anyways, besides giving me the opportunity to congratulate myself on how well I know the city, having friends here also gives me a chance to fall in love with Paris all over again. Watching them sit down to eat their first french meal at an adorable local restaurant or bite into their first crepe on the street or watching their faces when they are face-to-face with Notre Dame is always so rewarding! I love watching people fall in love with this place. Recently, my dear friend Ali came and visited me -- she's doing a Fullbright teaching English in Turkey for the year. I had been bugging her to come visit me because I really wanted to see her, and while we were talking about buying tickets she said, "You know Hannah, Paris just isn't on my list of top destinations to go to." I WAS SHOCKED. Who doesn't want to go to Paris? There are frustrated middle-aged housewives all over the US who would die for a chance to come to the most romantic city in the world and gourmands across the world who would kill to eat the food I eat every day. But Ali being Ali, she'd rather go hiking in Jordan or see the Nile River. And not that those aren't things I want to do as well, but Paris is Paris. Ali continued the sentence with saying how much she wanted to see me and what an amazing experience it would be to see Paris with someone who knows the city, but after hearing about her initial hesitance I was determined to show her Paris in all it's glory. And I did, because honestly, who can resist Paris? Try and try as one might, I think Ali fell for it somewhere between her first macaron and hot chocolate at Angelina -- so thick it's like drinking liquid fudge. That combined with exploring the Musee D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower at night and I think the girl was hooked. Upon leaving she told me Paris was "incredible" and "magical" and that she never thought she'd fall in love with it the way she did. I told her I knew she would because honestly, we all have.

Ali in front of Val de Grace - loving every minute of it!