I'm Back!

Sorry for the lack of posts... my parents and godparents came to visit last week and school has picked up so I've been really busy lately. Seeing family was really nice and comforting. It's great to be able to share this experience with people that really know me, especially so that later when I'm back in Canada complaining about how I miss Paris, my family will actually know what I'm talking about since they've seen my apartment and a lot of the places that I've been enjoying here. We walked along the Seine, went on a boat cruise, saw the arc de triomphe, eiffel tower, Sacre Coeure and Montmartre, Versailles and just did a lot of walking around the city! Tomorrow Joce is coming to visit me from England which is very exciting! Having guests is fun because it makes me do more touristy stuff again. When I first arrived here I was really into sight-seeing and exploring different places, but now that school is underway and I've settled in I've become sort of lazy and there are still so many things that I need to see!

Cell Phones!

Everyone in Paris is obsessed with their cell phones! I mistake at least 5 people a day for being crazy because they are talking into earphones/a small headset and at first glance it just looks like they are talking to themselves. I went to a museum the other day, and every room had an employee in it sitting in the corner to "watch" and make sure that the exhibits weren't touched, and every single one of those people were texting or browsing on their phones. I think it's also really noticeable for me because you can get reception on the metro in Paris so I see many people chatting away underground as well. In class a lot of people just have their cell phones sitting on their desk in front of them. Canadians are pretty cell phone obsessed as well, but I think that we are a bit more discrete about it than the Parisians.

LUCKY LUKE

So "Lucky Luke" is coming out in theatres this week, and it is pretty popular with the French from what I can see. It's based on a Franco-Belgian comic book that is apparently on the same level as Asterix and Tintin in terms of popularity and is one of the best-selling comics in Europe. It's about a cowboy in the American Old West who can "shoot faster than his shadow."

French kids are cute!

French kids are really cute. There seem to be a lot of kids in France, and they are all adorable! I've had conversations about their cuteness with many people. I think part of it has to do with the way their parents dress them (very nicely), but also with their genetic make-up. They all seem to have really nice hair that is either blond/sun-kissed, or really dark and curly. They also have big, round eyes a lot of the time. I think the fact that they speak French also makes them a bit more adorable. This does not only apply to kids in Paris, because the kids that I looked after in the south of France and their friends were also really cute!

L'affaire Farewell

This is a trailer for a French movie that is out in theatres, I couldn't find one with subtitles but it has something to do with spies and the cold war. The main actor in it is one of the few French actors that I know, and I have liked him ever since he was in "The Beach." His name is Guillaume Canet and I think that he has become a pretty big actor in France. I've only seen him in one or two French movies so far, so I might check this one out.

Paris Nightlife

This past week I went out to two different clubs in Paris and really enjoyed myself. Both places were pretty big, had really good DJs and were very crowded. The first place that I went to was called Club 75/Social Club and it seemed to be a cool spot for the hipster crowd. Everyone was crowded around the DJ who was playing techno beats and there were green and blue lights flashing. The second place I went to was called CAB/Lelounge (apparently most clubs have two names here...). It was right beside the Louvre, and it was more upscale appearnce wise, but the crowd seemed to be more immature. The music was mainly dance and hip-hop, the type of songs you'd hear at most dance places.

Here are some things that I've noticed about the nightlife in Paris:

- As in most of Europe, the night starts and ends later (usually you don't get to a bar before 12, and you leave after 3).
- Most places have 10-20 euro cover, but you can often print a kind of coupon off the internet that gets you in for free or at a discounted rate before a certain time.
- Drinks at clubs are very expensive, at a more casual bar they usually average around 6 euros
- The average french 20 year old drinks way more than they should... I know this from the numerous stories I've heard about/from the French people at my school, and from seeing 4 people get sick outside the club I went to on Saturday
- The French are really into PDA (public displays of "affection"), there are always many couples/strangers/acquaintences being extremely friendly with one another everywhere in the club.
- It is really difficult to get a cab late at night if you are at a popular club because everyone is outside waiting for them, you have to be really patient, or find somewhere else to wait, but most cabs that drive by have their lights off meaning that they already have a passenger. The lines at the taxi stands are also huge late at night.
- They don't ID very often here, but it does happen occassionally so it's smart to always have it with you.
- The clubs are very hot, dont' wear long sleaves or anything too heavy because you will get sweaty and overheated! It's hard to stay on the dancefloor for long because the heat along with the crowd can be overpowering.

Movie Theatres

Did you know that in a lot of European countries, seats in movie theatres are assigned? When I went to the movies with my friends last week, they were telling me that in their respective countries (Germany, Finland and Belgium) you have to buy tickets in groups to make sure that you get seats beside one another. It is like going to a concert or a real theatre. I found this really strange, because I've never even heard or thought about that, but apparently it's common across Europe. In France the movie theatres are the same as in Canada, but there are some differences:

1) The prices: night is more expensive (10 euros), they have cheap morning prices (4 Euros), when you buy a ticket it usually comes with a coupon for some sort of deal (food, discount ticket, etc.)
2) The popcorn: they have salty and sweet... but salty is just with salt, not with butter, I haven't tried sweet yet...
3) They dub over most of the English movies (which I'm pretty sure they never do to any foreign film in Canada)