The Friday Freak-out

hey y'all!

My first Friday here has come and gone. My one IES obligation today was a mandatory seminar on stress and anxiety while studying abroad. It was thus deeply ironic that the commute there was one of the most stressful and anxiety-inducing experiences I've had in Paris.

The disaster began when I got on the wrong bus 62, which was headed in the opposite direction that I wanted to go. After realizing this, I got off the bus and rerouted, only to have google maps continually tell me I was zero feet from my destination. After double and triple checking that that I was on the correct trains and a short, freezing walk later, I arrived at the location, which was conveniently unmarked and hidden behind a locked door with a keypad whose code we *shockingly* did not receive.

What transpired after my arrival wasn't much better. The organization had decided to squeeze about 50 of us into a shoebox size classroom. With 50 loud Americans all having separate conversations with each other, it felt like the vocal equivalent of an elephant stampede. All of this was incredibly anxiety inducing. The seminar was ok, but I much prefer the teachings of my father's psychiatry guru Jud Brewer.

Sorry mom and dad, but I decided I'd had enough and left during one of the breaks. The boulangerie down the street offered a warm place to sit, even though I ended up receiving a small espresso shot instead of the latte macchiato I thought I had asked for. The croissant was surprisingly good, but had some kind of clear, sweet glaze on top that was sticky and a bit unnerving. After that I visited a nearby vintage store that was comically out of my price range (I'm talking 200 euros for a jacket) and a sweet little French bookstore with a robust sociology and political science section.

The market at the end of the street was my favorite to walk through. The amalgamation of scents, all the textures and flavors of different foods are magical. The colors are so bright, like jewels. Ripe lychees with tourmaline spikes. Carnelian seville oranges with their emerald leaves still attached. Delicately sliced and arranged meats with white, marbled fat and deep, garnet-colored flesh. Sacks of fat grapes that look like beads of amethyst and jade, and packs of raspberries that resemble precious rubies. It's a spectacle, so much so that you have to stop and take it all in. These are the parts of Paris that my delicate senses can handle and fully appreciate. The ride home was quiet, as it usually is. Even on the days that aren't the easiest, I never forget that I'm in Paris and that there are beautiful things here waiting to be seen.Read more