London, baby!

Jan 29

FINALLY GOT INTERNET IN THE APARTMENT!

First, I must apologize to my dedicated audience. Now that I have access to the internet, and that my schedule has approached some pattern of regularity, I’d like to hope that I will never again starve my readers of the meaty entrées that are my blog posts.

Rewind back to Thursday (Jan 21). Fortunately I took notes on my experiences and feelings since then. I wrote, “Frustrating day lingually.” Let’s unpack that, shall we? I’ve now been in Paris for more than two weeks and I have been feeling the affects of immersion. Every interaction I share with a Parisian requires me to speak French, and it can be both exhausting and frustrating. Sure, I know how to get around a word I don’t know by describing it with other words. But not being able to express yourself and then be understood is the frustrating part. Since I have arrived, I’ve opened a French bank account, I’ve purchased a French cell phone, I’ve activated French internet, I’ve ordered French food. Of course, I’m proud of all these small accomplishments, yet the inability to create solid and efficient sentence structures seamlessly requires a lot of patience. And, yes, I know that comes with time and practice and whatever. But I feel like I’m treading water with my little floaties on, and all I want to do is play with the big kids in the deep end (to do list: Get picture of self wearing little floaties).

Anyways, I saw my first opera on Thursday! It was at the Opèra Comique and the show was called The Fairy Queen. The house was a quintessential Parisian opera house decorated ornately with gold leaves and angels. The building must have been a century old and the seats were raked so dramatically that the mezzanines and balconies were literally stacked on top of eachother. Basically, I was sitting in the wall of the fifth mezzanine and could look straight down to the orchestra seating. The opera itself was an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the director really exercised his creative license. Scenes would transition from Victorian era settings and costumes to those of modern day. At one point, there were upwards of 30 mascot-type bunnies on stage fornicating in positions I didn’t even know were possible. It was a very… cultural night.

On Friday, I took the Eurostar through the chunnel to London for the first time. On the train, a couple of six year olds speaking French caught my ear because I could actually understand what they were saying. I don’t know if I should feel happy because I could understand French people, or depressed because they were six. The ride was only two hours and I was surprised to find Alex and Morgan waiting for me. Shortly after, Liz and Jamie showed up and I took my first tube ride… after getting pictures at Platform 9 ¾, of course. I was surprised at how loud and busy London was right when I stepped onto the streets. Coming from the delicately respectful city of Paris, I felt like I was back in New York. Everyone was racing somewhere, the cabbies drove wildly, and people spoke English. What a refresher that was! Finally I could speak to people well and read menus again.

Saturday was an afternoon of sightseeing. We worked all the monuments along the River Thames starting with the Tower Bridge. We followed the river past the Tower of London, over Millennium Bridge and past St. Paul’s Cathedral towards the Tate Museum and the London Eye where I participated in a street performance by riding an electric bike to provide power to the speakers for the instruments that were being played. Next, we walked right by Big Ben, the massive clock tower that is simply amazing to see up close.
Saturday night was spent pub crawling through Camden. The scene in Camden was unlike any place I’ve been before. The center of the neighborhood is situated where all these different roads intersect nonsensically, and the people were what really gave the place life. Camden is definitely where all the crazies convene; from the Goths to the hipster Londoners. It’s really too wild to describe, and is for sure a must-see on any trip to London.

The next day (Sunday) was spent meandering through all the Camden markets. All the Camden markets comprise the best flea market in the world, hands down! I spent more than four hours wandering along all the little paths that snake through this market, and I could not get enough of it. Everything is there. Some of the coolest, most unique places and pieces are in these markets. I almost ended up buying a vintage suitcase. There was this one place called Cyberdog which was like a futuristic fashion house that had gogo dancers dressed in furs and massive boots and neon clothes. The walls of the store looked like exposed circuitry and pulsing tubes of light were choreographed with the music. And there were giant robots! So crazy.
At night, I checked out the small dorms that the NYU in London students were provided. I totally appreciate where I’m living so much more now. We went out to a bar called Rocket and I ran into my NYU in Paris friend Ashley… the first “small world coincidence” moment that has been happening more than I thought it would (ohhhhh, foreshadow).

To wrap up the past Monday-Friday week, I tried macaroons for the first time. It was at this restaurant called La Durée that specializes in macaroons and they were amahhhzing! On the way back to campus, I ran into an old friend of mine that I went to high school with in Los Angeles! It was such an unbelievable moment. Here I am half way around the world in Paris, and I hear someone call my name. But, wait, there’s more. Turns out his girlfriend is studying at NYU in Paris and he happens to be studying in Paris as well through another program. Re-dic-u-lous.