What 20 Euros will get you in Paris.

My father would have had a field day!  I was told by a couple people here that I must go to the open air food markets here.  They are scattered all over Paris and occur about twice a week.  The one closest to me is on Bd Chappelle right off Barbes-Rochechouart Metro.  It is open Wednesday from 7am-2:30pm and Saturday from 7am-3pm.  I decided to check it out as the food is really fresh and you can get quite a lot for the amount you spend.  Imagine Atwater Market or Union Square Market with MANY more stalls and people.  I read a description of the market I found online before going and it was very true to the experience:

"Paris Barbès market is sensory overload- a frenetic, vibrating experience that will totally throw you in a new direction. As the little old ladies in head scarves roll their carts over your toes and nudge you out of their way, take pleasure in the fact that you are in a city that can transport you from one corner of the world to another in a 10 minute walk. The vendors are loud, shouting to passerby’s and cracking jokes. All range of fruits, vegetables, spices as well as clothing and other knick-knacks are for sale and great prices.  Marché Barbès is a great resource for shopping. Yes, of course you can buy amazing foods around Paris, but for some of the best prices, a variety of products and a different experience, you can’t beat Barbès."

I think my eyes were too big for my stomach.   I blame it on the sensory overload.  

At first I was overwhelmed and then I just got into it.  The prices were crazy.  In terms of quantities, because I was unsure of the size of a kilo, I asked for things in terms of how much I wanted to pay.  I got 1 Euro's worth of strawberries, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes...and as you can see by the pictures...I ended up with quite a bit.  My salads for lunch this week will be delicious!

This afternoon, I met up with my friend at Canal St Martin, at the same place we went last Sunday called Point Ephemere.  The weather was beautiful and we were in the mood to drink Monaco's.  We sat there chilling from 4:30 till 9pm, and if felt like it hadn't even been an hour.  Its too bad she is going back to New York on Tuesday.    

I met up with a friend who is here from Montreal for two weeks for dinner with two of his friends.  We had a nice dinner in the 17th at a Brazilian resto.

Tomorrow's plans...

gym in the am...tanning at sacre coeur...david lachappelle exhibit in the afternoon

TGIF

I finally realized the true meaning of TGIF today.  THANK G-D IT'S FRIDAY!!! is all I can say.  Today was the closing to my first full week at Upside Down.  How was it?  Well, two words to describe it would be interesting and LONG.  The work day is from 10am to 7pm and even though we have a 1.5hr lunch from 1:30-3pm, the day is still VERY long.  Especially when I wake up at 6:10am so I can be at the gym for 7:30 - yes, as all your mouths drop - I am CRAZY and go every day!  I would rather go in the morning then after work because if not I would only get home at 10pm every night, which is ridiculous.

What I did at work this week that was interesting:

1) worked on a promotional PDF for the commercial side of Upside Down to reach out to a toy company hoping to attract their business

2) created multiple schemas/maps that broke down a new client's competitors websites for the web designer to give him a sense of what to steer clear of when creating the site.  

3) printed and cut promotional pamphlets for our commercial department to use to sell Upside Down's services to de "company de luxe" (companies that specialize in luxurious goods or services)

4) pulled images for a series of DVD box sets we are in the midst of designing

...and many other odds and ends...

After this week, I have really come to understand why people go to do their Masters after they are done with their Bachelors and even continue to their PHD.  Working long days is very HARD!  I have also come to realize how important it is to do something you absolutely LOVE and are passionate about, because if not, these long days will feel EVEN longer.

I am really loving the people I am working with.  Everyone is so nice and friendly.  I am starting to get to know each person's personality and they are all very different which is refreshing.  Lunch time at the office has quite entertaining.  We all break at 1:30 and cram into the little kitchen.  Some warm up Picard, JP gets thai food around the corner every day, I bring a salad, etc.  It is nice because this is when everyone just talks about anything including TV Shows such as Boston Legal, Dr. House, Desperate Housewives, South Park...as well as how we would survive if we ever got locked in the office and couldn't leave -- this led to having to sacrifice someone for food and further which parts of the body each would prefer eating.  Let me tell you, something very different about the French versus the Americans/Canadians - there are no BOUNDARIES.  At home, we are very aware of personal space and what is appropriate to talk about and what is not.  Here, that does not exist.  I can't think of a specific example, but will keep you updated when I remember one or if one occurs. 

What is up for this weekend?  I have no specific plans.  The weather is supposed to continue being nice - something that started for the first time today.  It has been 12 degrees Celsius and colder this entire week.  I am hoping to go and chill/tan in a park and also go to an open air market to get some fresh produce.  I might also hit up this interesting sounding class at the gym called Body Jam...

Most importantly I will SLEEP IN! 

   

PQ = Papier Q = Papier cul.

Every day at the office exposes me to more and more French slang and vocabulary.  With long days of graphic research for clients, these little moments are what keep me going.  

What I learned today:

1) PQ [pronounced Pée-Que] : common word for toilet paper.  It comes from papier cul which was shortened to papier Q and ultimately PQ.  We needed to order some PQ for the office today.

2) Null : means stupid/insignificant.  Has a bad conotation.  One of the most used words in the office.

3) Quasiment : means practically/literally.  My fellow stagiaire's favorite word.  He tends to abbreviate it to quasi.

4) Formation en alternance : working while in school or part time.  We are in the midst of trying to find stagiaires for the other departments and get at least 10 phone calls each day from potential candidates.  Today a girl called saying that she was looking for a formation en alternance and I heard a formation en 'acteur'.  From that I understood that she was studying acting and was very confused as this is a communications and design agency and not at all relating to acting.  I put the phone on hold to as JP what to tell her.  He explained that I misunderstood and she meant she was looking to do a part time stage.  We had a good laugh.

5) T'en pris : your welcome.  In Montreal, I was used to saying de rien as thank you.  Here no one says that - its either t'en pris when you tu-toi the person or vous en pris when you vous-voi. 

**I will continue this list as more vocabulary is introduced**

Sleep.

Since I arrived, I have been very busy here.  Granted I have been making myself busy, but it means that I haven't gotten much sleep and I'm starting to feel it.  Tonight, I've decided I'm coming straight home from work and chilling.  

Last night was really nice.  I met up with a friend from school that was studying abroad here and is here till next Tuesday.  We used to live across the hall my sophomore dorm and I haven't seen her since then.  We went for drinks straight from work at this really cute place called Wine & Bubbles in the 1ière.  They served wine and champaign, along with plates of cheese and charcuterie.  This was her second time being abroad here in Paris and I am so proud of how good her French has gotten.  It is cute, she now knows all the French France expressions that you only learn when you live here.  From speaking fully French at work, I am finding that I am feeling more comfortable speaking.  I started answering the phones yesterday at work - it is a little nerve wracking cause French people tend to talk very fast on the phone and mumble.  If I don't understand I just get the other stagiaire JP to take the phone.

I said something in English at work yesterday and everyone in the office was so dumbfounded at what I said.  They finally got it after explaining and repeating.  They then repeated it in a French accent and told me they knew exactly what I was talking about but didn't understand because I said it in an "American" accent.  Note to self: learn how to say English words with a French accent.  

Thanks to all the followers of my blog.  I am starting to get a little addicted to writing - I feel bad if I don't write and keep you updated.

A plus.  (Slang/abbrv for 'a plus tard')

Theme of the day: Getting LOST.

I have never heard of greenery closing.  I guess this is another thing that is different here - seems like one of the few negatives.  I just got home from a really nice "picnic" with a girl I recently got reacquainted with from high school.  She is older than me and we were not friends back then, but as they say there is something about ECS girls - as corny as this sounds, somehow there is a bond.  We had a great night.  Everything today went wrong until we finally started our picnic.  

This morning I went to the gym and then off to work for my first Monday morning.  When I decided to go to the gym, I chose to take a different route because I kept feeling like I was walking down to ultimately go back up and figured there must be a better way.  In discovering this new way, I got a little lost.  I quickly figured out where I was going and was back on track.  This time, getting lost wasn't so bad - but hey it was only the morning - there was much more of the day to come.  

Finished at the gym, my work day started with the weekly meeting where the whole office convenes and we discuss what jobs will be worked on this week.  My tasks today included translating an english text to french and doing some research on the competitors of a company we are going to be doing a website for.  Note: when translating an english text that a french agency has written - there is not only the challenge of translating my native tongue to a foreign tongue, but in addition the mystery of what is this guy actually trying to say.  The memory of my high school compositions marked up with 'expression anglais'  from when translating word for word from English to French came back to my mind.  Now I understood.  This was what they had done and it made no sense when I read the text.  Therefore, on top of translating English to French, I also had the challenge of correcting the English so it made sense.

Lunch came earlier than usual because of the meeting that took a good 2hrs.  I bought a Lomography Diana medium format camera before I left New York, because I wanted a fun no nonsense camera to throw into my purse and experiment with when I was here.  I had finished my first roll of film and wanted to get it developed.  I asked my boss where to go and he explained it was just down the street.  I ran out before eating my lunch, expecting this trip to the lab to take little time and I ended up going in the complete opposite direction and getting VERY lost.  A very nice man walked me back to my main street half an hour after I had continued walking in the wrong direction.  I was quite nervous because I hadn't brought my map or my phone...as c'était juste a coté du bureau!  Yeah not if you go the wrong way!

After work, I decided to try again.  This time I went in the right direction after thoroughly studying the map but walked way to far up the street and had to turn around.  I call that incident Lost #3.

Today was very hot.  Remember no air conditioning in Paris.  So the office was unbearable and the walk home was even worse.  This lab was further from my apartment, but closer to work the opposite way, so the walk home in the humidity was so much fun.

My friend messaged me wanting to have a picnic cause the weather was so nice and I was excited all day.  The forecast showed that there was a 60% chance of rain as of 7pm, but luckily it held off until just now where it is poring buckets!  I wanted to take her to the cute green patch under Sacre Coeur that I went to on Saturday close to me.  We met at Monoprix (the grocery store) to get stuff for our picnic and walked up there.  Little did I know, parks close here!  The doors were barred closed as of 9pm.  At least we had a nice walk in Montmartre.  We resorted to a fountain 50 meters from my apartment right in the heart of the Red Light district.  Its no park, but granted, it was a nice picnic.

Body Combat

As I sit eating my Picard for dinner, I thought I would tell you about my day.  Just to make you all jealous, I am having the most delicious diner - japanese salad which includes teriyaki chicken with bean sprouts, carrots and edamame as well as grilled vegetables.  I am so thankful that Stella gave me this microwave - without it I don't know what I would do.  

My day started trekking out to Lavallois, which is right on the outskirts of Paris where Nathalie lives.  I met her at her apartment and we walked over to Club Med Gym.  On the topic of Picard, I told her that I have fallen in love with it and she told me that the standing joke with her single friends about the store is that they refer to it as their "Husband".  I think I should open the franchise in New York.  I think it would do even better than Trader Joes! SHOCKER 

At the Gym, I did a class called Body Combat.  Nathalie regularly does classes and dragged me along.  Being the uncoordinated being I am, I was wary about joining her, however I decided to take the plunge.  Body Combat is what we would call kickboxing.  She did a step class before the combat and I chose to do the machines as the coordination involved in step is even harder than kickboxing and I was already going to make a fool of myself, and didn't want to do it in an intermediate step class.  Body Combat was a lot of fun.  It was very different from the class I once did at the YMCA in Montreal - the instructors at all the Club Med Gyms across Paris follow the same choreography that comes from this workout DVD company called Les Mills  (http://www.lesmills.com/) and every trimester they switch the choreography.  This means that if I choose to go to another of the gyms closer to me and take the same class, I will most likely be doing the same class.  What I really liked was that for each song the instructor played there was different punching/kicking choreography that lasted the entire song and switched as the song switched.  The Europeans do not believe in air conditioning, like we do in the US and Canada, and thus the Gyms are not air conditioned.  I haven't decided if I like this or not.  In the gyms I think I like it as it makes me sweat more, however in the workplace I am not sure I do.

After the gym, I returned home met up with a new friend named Alexa.  A colleague in New York connected us through email.  She is one of his clients daughters.  We met for drinks on Friday and hit it off immediately.  Unfortunately, she is leaving June 2nd.  She has been here for the year studying abroad from Sarah Lawrence.  Today I met her and her friend Joyce at Canal St. Martin for drinks.  The weather was beautiful and we sat outside chatting at a little café.  Joyce is originally from california and will be staying here over the summer - Alexa wanted me to meet her for that reason.  She was really nice and accommodating to the fact that I don't know many people here - she was in the same boat when she arrived a year ago.  She will be in Berlin this week with her brother, however when she comes back she said that she would call me to do something.  :)

I had the most refreshing drink today.  Its called a Monaco.  I am not a beer drinker at ALLL...however because of the heat I was in the mood.  It is beer with syrop de fraise.  It was very delicious.  

I returned home and decided to stay in and relax tonight.  I struggled deciding if I should go to a café and sit alone like last night and chose against it.  I can wait for tomorrow - no need to feel that desperate haha

The first week

I arrived on May 15th with my mother.  As she is the best mother in the world, she happily came to help me get settled in.  Everything here was waiting for me - my apartment and my job.  Both two things since December had been causing me way too much stress.   The paperwork involved in getting a stagiaire visa to come to France for three months is unimaginable and finding a furnished apartment is also hell.  What I learned was that firstly, the french consulate in New York and probably everywhere is so unorganized its insane and secondly, never ever trust someone posting an advertisement about renting their apartment that is way too good to be true and further followed up wanting you to make a wire transfer through western union and provide them a copy of your passport.  Yes, I was almost scammed!  

Thankfully everything came into place as my parents kept promising it would and I got my visa and found an apartment.  My apartment in the 9eme arrondisement very close to two metro stations which is very convenient.  I also live a two minute walk to a monoprix - the grocery store and many little cafes and restaurants.  I am also a five minute walk to the Moulin Rouge.  When I told my Grandmother Meme - my father's mother who lived in Paris before coming to Montreal years ago - this she freaked out!!!  She was so worried and told me that I must make sure I stay SAFE - and I am pretty sure by the amount of times she repeated herself, she didn't just mean walking on the street!  The biggest shock of all was by far arriving to the apartment with my mother from the airport and realizing that my neighbors are none other than SEX SHOPS.  I don't just mean one shop, but one after the other after the other!!!  I quickly discovered that they each have their own speciality and cater to all different fetishes.  You learnsomething new every day.  Now, a week later, the initial shock has subsided and I now really feel comfortable in my neighborhood.  I have come to realize that what seems like the Red Light District is actually very touristic and truly kitschy.  Because it is so touristic, there are people on the streets at all hours which is better than 

living in a very residential area which would be rather quiet.  Here is a view from my window to give you a sense. 

My mother did the most amazing job and helping me get settled in.  I started work on Tuesday - was supposed to start Monday but felt ill - and the best mom ever chose to extend her trip two extra days because she wanted to make sure I was alright.  This also gave her more days while I was working to find other odds and ends that she thought would make my life here in the apartment easier.  THANKS SO MUCH MOM.  

My stage is at a Communication/Design agency called

 Upside Down (www.upsidedown.fr).  I was quite unclear of what the business actually did before I arrived, but now I have a better sense.  It is kind of like an advertising agency of sorts.  Upside Down creates DVD, Music CD covers to book covers to the packaging of Power Ranger figurines.  The team is very small - about 12 people total.  There are three sub-teams - production, communication and graphic design.  I am a stagaire in production.  The communication people find the clients, we the producers decide what we will make and we work with the graphic designers to produce the product for the client.  My boss is Cyril and Emilie and there is another stagiaire named JP who I work alongside.  

My first week went very well.  As the week continued, it got better each day as I was given more to do - I am sure that it will keep getting better.  Everyone is very nice and helpful with the fact that French is not my first language.  

I would like to point out some interesting things about the french workplace that are VERY different from anything that I am used to:

1) For the Parisians - the déjeuner or lunch break is very important - and takes an hour and a half!  This means that at 1:30 or should I say 13h30 lunch starts and we can eat at the office or go out and work resumes at 15h.  I am used to a 20 minute lunch break or eating at your desk.  What I ha

ve come to discover is that the déjeuner is the most important meal where the french eat a lot thus eat a very light diner.  I have come to follow this regime as I finish work at 19hr and by the time I get home I don't have the appetite to eat a large meal.

2) To continue on with the topic of déjeuner.  I was very worried that I would have to go out and buy lunch every day because it is not 'cool' here to bring your lunch to work, however thankfully my worries were quickly pushed aside.  I was introduced to Picard my first day.  This will make all of you so jealous!  Think lean cuisine french style - www.picard.fr.  It is a frozen grocery store which has frozen vegetables to frozen mini salmon tartars to frozen sushi and even frozen gourmet desserts.   For lunch, the majority of my colleagues buy stuff from the picard down the street and heat up their meals which you could honestly mistaken for something ordered at a restaurant.  My boss had risotto with artichoke hearts and grilled zucchini - looked incredible.  Today, I went to the first time and bought grilled vegetables, ratatouille, frozen fruit (which included fresh figs) and wonton soup.  I tried the ratatouille and it was so yummy.  

3) We had congé on Thursday because of some national holiday that related to Easter and on Friday when I got to the office - I arrived second.  Emilie was there and JP was the next person to arrive.  He greeted Emilie with two kisses on the cheek and then came over to do the same to me - very odd.  Then one of the Graphic Designer's Thierry arrived and did the same to us both.  I guess it is how you greet people in the workplace.  As I am writing about this - it doesn't seems as weird to me as it was that moment.  Anyways...

4) The majority of the women wear heels to the office.  I will not be doing that!  I am very happy in my sandals.

Today was the first day I have gotten to explore my neighborhood.  I headed to the lower end of my arrondissement and did a little shopping in the morning to try and get some comfortable clothes appropriate for work.  I am finding it very easy to navigate around the city.  It is as easy to walk as it is to take the metro.  I was trying to figure out why this metro seems a lot easier than the Subway in New York and I realized that these are the differences:

1) In Paris there are Metro stops every five minute walking distance in all directions.  In New York there are not.

2) Here only one train runs on the track and not multiple different ones like in New York - the express/the local for example.  There are only local trains here.

3) There are big signs which tell you the stops the train will be making before you decide if you are taking the correct passageway that will lead you to the train going the right direction.  In New York, you are lucky if the signs have not been ripped down.

4) The monthly subways passes called NAVI-GO are magnetic so you don't even need to take it out of your purse to swipe in.  

I have not yet taken the Bus - it seems a little more complicated than the Metro but I am sure I will figure it our someday soon.

I came home after my shopping expedition and was very happy just chilling on my computer, however I forced myself to go out and explore the upper part of my neighborhood that leads into Montmartre.  I walked around and fell upon some very cute cafés and stores.  There were also a number of art galleries with some interesting art.  I made my way to Sacre Coeur which is the church on the top of the hill in Montmatre and sat on the grass below it for a little while.  As I looked around, I was sadly sitting alone while many others were having romantic picnics or with a big group of people talking - however I am sure I will meet people soon enough.  In France you are able to purchase alcohol of all kinds at any grocery store or boulangerie.  What I discovered today is that you are also allowed to drink it in public areas - something that is strictly forbidden in the US and Canada.  I am excited to have a picnic or just chill with some friends and drink wine in a park.

I left there and on my walk home, I struggled with if I wanted to stop at a café for a drink or go home.  I would never feel comfortable in New York or Montreal going to a Bar or Lounge and having a drink alone, however here it seems different.  I was unsure how I felt about it but decided to try it out.  I went to the Long Island Cocktail bar that is down my street that has a happy hour from 14hr-22hr.  I ordered a Kir au Chablis, pulled out my book - Eat, Pray, 

Love and began to read, drink and relax while munching on peanuts.  There was an italian couple on my left and no one on my right until a couple that spoke only English sat down nearing the end of my drink.  The woman asked the waitress for an astray to smoke and she replied that she couldn't give her one as they are illegal in France - how shocking!  They would rather you ash and put your butt on the street.  I don't really get it but hey they're French - there are some things we will never get.  Anyways this is what got us talking.  I learned they were fellow Canadians from London, Ontario.  They arrived yesterday and are here for 10 days.  I had a nice conversation with them and then chose to take my leave.

Tomorrow morning I am meeting Nathalie, my boss and friend - the owner of Upside Down - at her apartment to go to the Club Med Gym she goes to.  We are doing a Body Combat and Body Pump workout class.  We will see how the French do workout classes!

I said I would never do this...

Most importantly, I would like to begin this blog stating that I promised I would never become a blogger as I am not someone who enjoys writing about my life.  I am becoming a blogger for these three months - from now until August 18th.  Feel free to hold me to it.  I am only breaking my promise as to facilitate my life.   I would like to use this blog as a way to fill the people I know and love in with what has been going on since I arrived in Paris.  Please feel free to comment or send me emails saying hi :)