an interesting week

This week my host parents' son and daughter (and their children) were visiting during the two week February vacation that young students get here. It wasn't bad, though we didn't interact with each other much. The little girl (Berthilde) loved the stuffed kitty that James gave to me and would always stop whatever she was doing and stare at me with a cute little smile on her face when I was near her. I don't think Pierre (grandson) was a big fan of me, but Timothe (other grandson) and I got along pretty well. The son and daughter were civil though not particularly friendly or inviting. The biggest problem was trying to share one bathroom with 6 other people.

Thursday the students were holding a strike due to a new program for teenage students to find work called the CPE. I figured a student strike just meant they wouldn't show up, but instead it meant they would barracade all the entrances and prevent anyone from entering. Eventually I found the small one person at a time pathway they allowed for at the main entrance, but you had to pass by a line of the protestors yelling things and shoving papers in your hands. Not a big deal, but a world away from the political apathy of American students.

Friday was the tour of "haut couture" - high fashion. It started with a little history of fashion accompanied by coffee and croissants at the cafe frequented by the fashion elite. We then went to see the original (flag ship) boutiques for Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Channel. It was definitely an area of life I'm not used to and I was suprised that the stores were dominated by American and Asian clientel rather than French. One American girl was walking around with her (I'm guessing) rich boyfriend in Channel like it was a Target. She announced to him in a ho-hum tone that she needed some sunglasses and started browsing through them - all of which where at least a few hundred euros. A few of us then went to La Duree tea house which Dr. Edwards had suggested for good reason. Their hot chocolate was so amazingly rich - like a bar of dark chocolate in liquid form. All of their desserts were divine, I especially loved the rose flavored whipped cream. I'm hoping to go back every now and then to pick up some macaroons and maybe a hot chocolate while I'm at it.

I started The Da Vinci Code Friday (in English, the cheater way) and finished it Saturday night - needless to say it was pretty much all I did in my free time those days. Saturday night we went out for fondue and decided dinner and desert fondue was too much so we opted for crepes for dinner and fondue for dessert which apparently isn't allowed here - you have to get both. Camilla and I were determined to get chocolate fondue though and decided to go to Haagen Daz for their fondue - several balls of Haagen Daz ice cream plus fruit, cookies and nuts to dip into a dark chocolate fondue. I'll post pictures later, but it was great.

Sunday I went to the Modern Art museum of the city of Paris (not the one in the Centre Pompidou) to do my art project. After waiting in a line that I didn't need to be in I get inside only to find out that I'm not allowed to bring my laptop with me to type up the report so I grudgingly leave it at the vestiare (it was safe Mom and Dad). I do my thing and go back home to type up the paper and my laptop decides that a little over a month of working is enough and refuses to boot up. Now I get to try to get tech support from Gateway while here in Paris, we'll see how that goes. I'm still waiting to hear back from my email...