schoolwork owns me

So in the past few weeks, I have barely had time to do anything. While Sciences Po is a great experience, it also completely dumps you with work. And as with anywhere, once you get settled into a routine you kind of stop realizing how nice everything around you is. Also, the amount of trash tv, 90210 and Friday Night Lights included, that I have been watching lately is pretty abismal.

A couple weeks ago I had a friend from Atlanta come visit me. It was definitely nice to see a friendly face, and it gave me the chance to do some sightseeing with her. We did the usual, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Tuileries, Orangerie. But we also did a few things that were a little out of the norm. Since fashion week, the museum at Petit Palais on the Champs d'Elysees has had an exhibit about Yves Saint Laurent, just showcasing his work and tracking it over the decades, so we decided to go to that. It was actually one of the best things I have seen yet in Paris. They had an entire section dedicated to his lines during the 60's, and the feminist movements. Turns out Yves Saint Laurent was one of the designers that started the women wearing men's clothes era. They showcased a lot of really interesting pieces from there, including an entire wall of le Smoking, his line of tuxedos for women from the 60's or 70's (can't remember which decade). They also showcased his ball gowns, and the very end of the exhibit showed some of the gowns he did right before he died a couple years ago. It was an eye opening exhibit, I want to buy the book about it before I leave here. In contrast, we also went to the museum of discovery here, much like the Smithsonian only much smaller scale. It gave us the opportunity to act like 5 years olds for awhile (not that I don't on a regular basis), and I got to see a real live octopus. It was really cool until I realized it was unhappy in its tank and then I got upset.

Its springtime here, which means its gorgeous. The only downside is the occasional showers we have been experiencing. Me and a friend of mine went out to Montmartre last weekend, which was beautiful. The first thing we did was go see the Moulin Rouge, which looks pretty cool but we didn't see it at night so I didn't get to see the neon windmill. Oddly enough, there's a Starbucks right across the street, and shortly after we got there it started raining so we hung out in there. Its interesting that in a cafe in Paris, you pay 4 euro or more for coffee, whereas at Starbucks you can still get a grande for 2.80. It makes me feel incredibly American, particularly when I ask for it iced, but its definitely the cheaper option. In any case, the rain only lasted about 15 minutes while we were in there. That's the strange thing about spring showers, they can be heavy but they rarely last long. Afterwards we walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur, and sat on the steps there and ate delicious cheescake that we bought on the way up. It started to rain at sunset, so we went into the church. Because it was the day before easter, I decided to light a candle in the church, and we stayed in there for awhile just looking at the stained glass and such.

The weather is getting increasingly better which makes it even hard to be sitting in classes/inside doing work. Its scary to think I only have 2 and a half months left here. I feel like the time is flying by me way too fast. My grandparents are coming to visit in a couple weeks, and it will be really nice to see them. I am looking forward to showing them around, and just being able to see family in general.

That's pretty much all I have for now. A bientot!

Megan