January 6,2011
My First Step In Paris
Today we arrived in Paris and the airport was quite different from the ones in the United States. The men that checked our passports were very nice and they joked around with the students a lot. I felt that this was a good welcoming for us to have. The escalators were covered and instead of steps they had just straight walkways. The top of the airport was open and I think this was why the escalators were covered. It reminded me much like hamster cages. All the people in the airport were apart of many different ethnicities. I really enjoyed watching the French communicate to each other at the airport the best out of everyone. I feel that French is such a beautiful language and it is very interesting to listen too. After we people watched and waited for our baggage we left the airport. Once we left the airport, we all go onto a bus that happened to be made by Mercedes! I was so shocked to see that most of the taxi’s and buses were made by luxury car companies. While we were on the bus we got a little tour of France. The tour guide named Antoine was quite informational and I enjoyed learning where everything was at in the city. We passed the Eiffel Tower and it was so nice to see in person. It was beyond beautiful and I could not believe how big it actually was. We went to the Notre Dame and toured it. We got to walk around the Notre Dame and see what the city was like on our own. After we got back on the bus and the tour was over, we checked into our hotel and all of the students could hardly fit into the hotel lobby. It was very small and the elevator was so tiny that only two bags could fit into it. I was amazed by how small hotels are in Paris especially this one. Once everyone got to our rooms we got ready for dinner and had some free time. Then we began our adventure to the place that we were scheduled to have dinner at. We got to ride the Metropolitan and it was quite different from the one that is in Chicago. The seats that were in the station were bright colors and they looked like a bubble. The actual train was quite clean and it seemed to always be packed. The people on the train all seemed interested in us because we were students from the United States. One woman actually picked up on one of my fellow classmate’s Chicago accent. I thought that was very amazing because not many people in other countries can pick up on particular accents from a certain state. We finally made it to dinner, which took quite sometime because we got lost and kept walked up and down the same street. We walked into the restaurant the place seating were quite different from how the United States usually sets their tables. The spoons were beneath the glasses and there were two forks on the left side and two knives on the right side. We got to try a salad that had very large pieces of tomato in it and the French bread was VERY good. For the main course we got to eat beef burgundy and it tasted much stronger in France rather than the United States. While we began to eat, CNN’s Jim Bittermann came to speak to us about how he is a United States’ correspondent and the great things that Paris offers. He answered many questions that students had about their personal projects and future careers. I enjoyed listening to Jim’s adventures and how his everyday life is different from a reporter who would just work in the United States. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got a good night’s sleep so that we could be ready for the next day.
January 7, 2011
Learning More Everyday In The City Of Love
Today when I woke up I headed down to the little lounge in the hotel to meet with Yolanda. There were about six students in the room listening to ideas that Yolanda had about what we should do for our upcoming projects. Every person got to tell what their topic was and what they planned on doing for their final projects. Yolanda gave me a lot of great ideas that helped me prepare for my final projects that had to be completed for this course. After Yolanda helped us organize our ideas and show us how to shoot different shots on our iflips, we went out into the streets of Paris in search for some pictures and videos that we could shoot. I walked around the streets close to the hotel and found out when a minor league soccer game would be held. I plan on attending the soccer game tomorrow and I want to interview fans. I want to see if these fans are similar to American football fans. I think that this will be an interesting topic that will help me with my future career as a sports reporter. After I walked around the streets and found out some information on soccer games and fans, I decided to buy a crepe. I ordered a jambon and fromage crepe because it was the only one on the lunch menu that I recognized from my high school French class. I liked ham and cheese sandwiches so I figured that this would be a good choice to order. It was very good and I could not believe how good the crepes were here compared to America. I didn’t realize that they would be so much different. After I ate my crepe, I decided to catch up on some work for my final projects. I sat in the lounge of the hotel and started some of my final projects. After I did some work, all of the students went to the French Conflict, Refugees and Resolution’s office and learned about what this business does. I really thought that the video that was shown to the students was helpful. After this we went to the Tour of Agence France Presse. It was neat to see how the French Press works. I would love to get the chance to intern for a press office in Paris like this. I felt that I learned a lot of good information from this Press’s briefing. After we left this building, I decided to walk around Paris and site see. I met a lot of nice people and picked up on some French language. It was a lot of fun to go out on my own and meet new people and experience everything Paris has to offer.
January 8,2011
A First Glance At A Queen’s Life
Today I woke up very early and went down to the lounge in the hotel and ate breakfast. French breakfast is quite different from American breakfast. There was a lot of bread served with the meal and I tried some chocolate cereal. It tasted a lot like coco puffs but they were shaped different. After breakfast, all the students went to Versailles. It was unbelievably so beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing the Queen’s bedroom. It was so neat to see how big the bedrooms were back then. The gardens were also very pretty and I could only imagine how much time it takes the gardeners to keep it looking like that. We looked in stores and ate in a café next. After we left Versailles everyone went to the Eiffel Tower. On the journey to the Eiffel Tower, we got to see where Princess Diana died and that really touched me because I have always been really interested in her life. We took a lot of groups pictures and got to ride up to the top of the tower. The view from there was so unreal and I could not get over the fact that people back then made a building that was as tall as the Eiffel Tower was. I met a couple that was from London and it was amazing to actually hear a real English accent. They were so nice and we decided to exchange Facebook information and they planned on coming to Chicago to visit anyway. It will be nice to be able to keep in touch with them and show them around the city of Chicago. I love meeting people from different places and keeping in touch with them. After the Eiffel Tower, we went to the Tour Louvre Museum. It was such a huge museum and I really enjoyed getting the chance to see the Mona Lisa in person. The other art in the museum was very creative and this also amazed me how people a long time ago made these great creations. After we left the museum we got to tour the Fragonard Museum. It smelled like heaven in this building. We got a tour on how many perfumes and colognes are made and we got some free samples. It was a very neat experience and I have never been to anything like it before. After the museum, my roommate and I went to get food. We decided to get cheeseburgers and french fries. It was good to try something American here because it still tasted much different than it does in the States. After this long day, I decided to go back to my room and work on some homework and get some rest for tomorrow’s adventures.
January 9,2010
From Flea Markets To Gravestones
Today I woke up pretty early and went down to the lounge to eat breakfast. I am starting to get tired of the same breakfast everyday but I still ate some cereal. After breakfast, I went to a flea market with a small group of students and Yolanda. It reminded me a lot like the streets of New York City. Many men were selling fake purses and there was a lot of souvenir stands. Many of the men who were selling fake purses were very pushy and did not take no for an answer. The part of Paris that this flea market was in was very different from where our hotel is. It seemed to me that it was more like the ghetto of Paris. We stayed at the flea market for about two hours. After the flea market a group of students and I went to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I got to see Jim Morrison’s (who is a member of the band called The Doors) gravestone. I really enjoyed seeing all the messages that were put on the tree beside his gravestone. I also got to see Oscar Wilde’s grave. Oscar Wilde’s work touched many people and I feel that his gravestone did the same. There were many kisses smeared on the gravestone. My friends and I put lipstick on and kissed the grave as well. It was a really beautiful graveyard and the structure of the whole cemetery was built on a hill. I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed my trip to this graveyard. After the graveyard I got ready and went on a boat ride tour of Paris. It was so pretty to see the city from the river. It was a quick but informational ride and I am glad that I got the chance to experience it. After the boat ride, I went to dinner by the Moulin Rouge with a few friends and Yolanda. I got chicken and potatoes and it was very good to say the least. Food in France is such a better quality than it is in the United States through my eyes. After dinner we walked around this part of the city and we went into gift shops and a McDonald’s. I took a lot of pictures in the McDonald’s because it was so different from the ones in the United States. After all this walking we ended up on the highest point in Paris and the view was outstanding. After this we took a taxi back home since our metro track was out of order and the taxi driver was quite funny. He was very interested that we were Americans and I had a lot of fun talking to him as well. I really enjoyed today’s adventures and I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow.
January 10, 2011
International Reporting At Its Finest
Today when I woke up, I headed downstairs to meet the rest of the students and go to The International Herald Tribune. When we arrived there it looked much like an American newsroom. We got to go a tour of the building and got a lot of questions answered about our future careers. We also got to go into the room where most of the meetings take place. There were a lot of newspapers on the wall that the IHT published that were major events throughout the world. I enjoyed the September 11th and Obama being elected into office the best. I learned a lot from this tour and was happy that we got the chance to go visit this place. After this tour, I went to lunch with a few of the students and the meal was very good as always. After eating we went shopping at the Galeries Lafayette. I could not get over how many stores were in this one place. The structure of the building was so beautiful too and it was unlike any mall I have ever seen. After browsing through many of the high priced fashion stores we left. We walked around and bought some crepes and scarves from some street vendors. Then we headed back towards our hotel to get some interviews done for our final projects. After talking to a few people and getting the information we needed, we went back to the hotel to work on some homework. It was a very relaxing day and I was happy that it was.
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