So on the subject of school, it's a lot different than school at Alabama, and in the States in general. I think our teachers realize that we're foreign exchange students and we're also here to have a good time, so they don't seem to be too strict (but of course that doesn't stop me from trying to stick to my perfectionist ways when it comes to school!). One guy in my language class completely didn't show up for an exam, or the week after the exam, but they let him take the test home with him when he did finally show up! Yea that wouldn't happen so much at UA! It's kind of weird not being stressed out with MIS group projects in this point in the semester. As far as the presentation I mentioned go, I am so so thankful for my CBH presentation training! All my classmates were so nervous and worried about making/giving their presentations, but after presenting so much at home, I really wasn't too worried about presenting here (even though they were in French.) All my presentations seemed to be well received by my professors and of course they were all amazed by the "CBH Bar" in my PowerPoints lol.
So besides boring school stuff, I've been having lots of fun adventures lately! My time here is drawing to a close (only 4 weeks left!) so I am trying to make the most of it!
I guess first thing that happened these past few weeks, was Halloween. While it isn't celebrated quite as much here as it is in the States, there are definitely people that seem to be catching on! I would say it's probably more for my age people though instead of children, because if I had I young kid I wouldn't trust Parisian strangers to be giving them candy either! I think it's just too big of a city for that kind for the same level of trick-or-treating to go on. I did dress up and went out with some friends to celebrate though!
My biggest adventure these past few weeks, and by far my favorite thing I have done since being here, was to attend a pastry class at Le Cordon Bleu! Those of you that know me know I have a passion for baking, so I was absolutely in heaven to be in a professional kitchen learning to make croissants from a chef that pretty much fits the stereotypical image of a French chef perfectly!
The class started bright and early at 8:30 and lasted until 3 in the afternoon. We learned how to make croissants, pain au chocolat, and brioche. Then the chef also showed us variations that use the same dough . While the class only lasted 6 hours, it would take a lot longer to replicate the results at home. They already had the dough made for us when we got there because it has to chill over night. So really the process would take a good 2 days to do, but I definitely intend to at least try it once I get back home! Here are some pictures from the day:
Brioche "en tête" The circle in the middle is called the head. The chef made sure to tell us to make sure they were well attached so that our brioche wouldn't be like Louis XVI :)
Layered effect on the croissant dough. It's necessary to fold it many times and re-roll it out.
Julia Child and I :)
Braided Brioche
Making Choco-suisse : Croissant dough, pastry cream, and mini chocolate chips.
My finished croissants!
Le Chef and I :)
Kouign Amann: Croissant dough but instead of being rolled out with flour it is rolled out with more and more sugar each time and filled with apples. So delicious!
Besides my Cordon Bleu class, I have been doing "tourist days" with my friend Debbie. We're trying to make sure we get everything in before we leave. So last Saturday, we went to Père Lachaise cemetery, and la Grande Mosquée. The cemetery was suprisingly really cool! Besides getting to see famous people's headstones like Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Edith Piaf, it was just a really cool place in general! There were so many ornate tombs that were quite pretty. Unfortunately Oscar Wilde's grave was closed, so we may have to revisit it before leaving.
Chopin
Jim Morrison
Edith Piaf
After the cemetery, we headed over to the mosque. We didn't really look around on the inside because it was super crowded, but we got what we really wanted: mint tea! Normally I am not a fan of tea, unless it is really sweet, but this was actually really good! It was sweet, so really it tasted like sweet tea that's hot with a little mint flavor. We also tried one of the pastries there, but it was a little to nutty for us.
Nuttiness
Debbie and I with our tea :)
Besides the touristy, Parisian things, Debbie also introduced me to a new store! It's really an American store, but the closest one is 130 miles from home in Alabama (yes I looked lol), so I feel like it's still ok to go here! It's called Lush (http://www.lushusa.com/shop). It has all sorts of wonderful beauty/bath products! I am very excited to go back and pay it another visit sometime soon.
This weekend (11/18-20) has also been very fun filled! Friday I went to see the new Twilight with some friends. As far as the Twilight movies go, it was pretty good! But of course it still doesn't come close to the book. I know my boyfriend is very excited I went ahead and went to see it here lol. I also went to the oldest bakery in Paris (over 200 years old) for a tour! I was amazed how much they still do manually, like they have to keep a constant watch on the temperature instead of using an automated proofing box like we did at Le Cordon Bleu. It was really cool to meet the baker and have him show us around!
Cute pig cookies
Bread fresh out of the oven. You can see the steam coming out of it!
Saturday, my friends Debbie, Amber, and I decided to celebrate our 21st birthdays since they are all Dec-Feb and we wont be together to celebrate them. We drank the wine that I bought in the Loire Valley (in hopes of bringing home, but US customs says that's not ok since I'm not 21) at the Eiffel Tower. We also went on a boat tour on the Seine and went and checked out the Christmas festival that just opened on the Champs Elysées. The Christmas festival was so exciting! It has all sorts of jewelry, food, drinks, souvenirs, and of course lights and music! I think the plan is to go to a new one every weekend because it was really really cool! It was a little overwhelming seeing everything the first time, but I definitely intend to go back and buy some more Christmas gifts, assuming there is room in my luggage! Here are a few pictures from our evening:
Punch de Noel. Delicious!
Ferris Wheel
Lights and a train for the kiddies!
Well that's pretty much everything up to date! The next excitement I am looking forward to is going to Italy the first weekend in December! We're going to Venice and plan on eating lots of Italian food and riding a gondola so I am pretty pumped! As of today, I only have 4 weeks left to go! While I am definitely sad that I will be leaving the friends I have made here, I am getting really pumped to come home and see everyone! I'll try and update at least once more before I leave though.
As always, thanks for reading!
Callie
