Messrs. West and Mozart

I have a camera again, but my computer is freaking out slash I'm too lazy to figure out what's wrong, so no pictures for the moment.

I am in the midst of one 15-page paper and one 8-page paper, so obviously I have decided that updating this blog is the most prudent activity for me at the moment. Keep in mind that when I say "15," what I actually mean is "35," because they single-space papers over here, plus they use the A4, which is smaller than the 8.5x11, plus they use two-centimeter margins. But thinking of it as a 35-pager makes me want to die, so we'll stick with 15. Oh, and obviously all this stuff is in French.

I'm kind of frustrated right now because I really want to be out exploring and instead I am sitting here surrounded by books I don't want to read. There is so much fun stuff to do in this city and I can't do any of it. And by the time I am done with all this crap, it will be time to go home. It's times like this that I start thinking seriously about staying the whole year. I won't end up doing it, but I really feel like a semester is not enough.

I'm Sports Editor again next semester, despite my best efforts to move to a different section. I guess that's where they needed me, so it's back for round four.

I saw Kanye on Thursday! That was really cool. It was a little hilarious because the concert was kind of like a musical in that it had a plot punctuated by songs. The premise was that Kanye was in a spaceship that crashed on an uninhabited planet. For whatever reason, he was the only person in the spaceship, but fortunately, through some AI thing, the spaceship (named Jane) was able to communicate with him, so it was kind of like he had a friend. It was great because he would say stuff like, "Look at all those shooting stars!" and segue straight into "Flashing Lights," or, "I really wish I could go home and see my mother"--you got it, "Hey Mama." Then he gave a long speech at the end about how glad he was to be in Paris and how he really respects the opinions of the Parisians ("you're some of the few people whose opinions I respect" is actually what he said). I don't know how much of it the actual French people understood, but the Americans thought it was pretty funny. I guess it's not like, "Thank you Los Angeles," though...he doesn't come here very often, so it is a pretty big deal. I took a lot pictures, very few of which came out, but eventually I'll put them up.

I also went to the opera, which I know Marissa will find a lot less exciting than the previous paragraph. We saw "The Magic Flute," which I liked a lot, but apparently many of my fellow audience members did not. I did not know it was okay to boo at the opera, but I guess that's what you're supposed to do if you're underwhelmed. They didn't like the director very much, which I kind of understood, because he had it set up like the entire thing was a video game and they kept flashing stuff like "Press Start to resume play" on the stage. It was a little weird. I was happy, because it was subtitled into French and I understood like 90% of the subtitles. I have to be honest, though, if I were going to write an opera, I don't think I would do it in German. I realize that that's what language Mozart spoke, but I really think the Italians got it right.

My whole family got together this weekend without me and I'm sad. I have two baby first-cousins-once-removed (I looked that up and I'm right) and they are adorable and I want to play with them. Actually, my mom sent me pictures, so you can all see those. Meet Cole (15 months) and Lily (3 months).

My mom and my dad and Marissa are coming on Wednesday for Thanksgiving! We're also inviting a bunch of the kids from my program. I think we're having a turkey, because my host mother was supposed to order one from her butcher (there's not a whole lot of demand for them right now, so you have to get them in advance), but I haven't heard anything about it in awhile, so I should really check on that tonight. Otherwise we're having a big chicken and telling everyone it's a turkey.

I have noticed another interesting cultural difference. I am usually late and always hungry, so the "grab and go" culture that the United States fosters is really perfect for my lifestyle. This does not exist here. Meals are meant to be eaten sitting down with your family and a large number of your closest friends. Even if you buy a sandwich to go, you're expected to eat it in a park or something with a bunch of people. I made myself a PB&J the other day to eat on my way to school, and realized that I was the only person eating on the Metro. You just aren't supposed to do it. I don't like to stick out, but I really like those extra 15 minutes of sleep, so I guess I'll have to continue being "that American" eating on the run.

I really should get back to "the actions of the United States in Germany between 1945 and 1969" (how's that for a paper topic?), because did I mention that it's my only grade in this class? And the professor is literally the scariest authority figure I have ever known? I'm going to go eat some chocolate to prepare me for the task at hand.

Oh! I forgot to say that it snowed here yesterday...everywhere but the eighth, where I live. We had sleet. Thanks, Paris.

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