Mmmm....Capitalism

mmmmmmmm SOLDES

today, i started with 50€. i woke up, ate breakfast (fitness avec chocolate, and i tried some french yogurt. i decided french yogurt tasted funny. and then, after forcing myself to finish the carton, i saw that the lid thing that i peeled off had a very large 22/12 on it, after a phrase which i can only assume means expiration date. i'm not dead yet, so i have decided three week old yogurt is a-ok), and then went to the center for class. yesterday i took a french placement test and i was too lazy/forgot to check the results, so i just assumed that i was placed in the lowest level. class went pretty well, and my professor was obviously very excited for the soldes (the sales) and ended class early. i have to do a 20 minute oral presentation. eek.

after class (12:30) we grabbed lunch at a sandwich place that had a long line, because we figured that if that many people wanted it, it must be good. 4,50€ for a sandwich, drink, and dessert! i got a salami and pickle sandwich. it was really good. the pickles are kind of less briney and more spicy. but not actually spicy, maybe more....tangy?

then, i went shopping. i was originally hanging out with a bunch of people, but then we kind of dispersed. at C&A, i bought a corset! yay! i thought my life was complete then, but little did i know what would happen at dinner. the corset was 8,50€ and i bought matching underwear for 6€. and then, i stopped by this other store and i almost bought this mini sweater dress. but it was a sweaterdress, which meant it was for the cold. but it was a mini dress, which meant it was for the hot. and it had like elbow-length poufy sleeves. but really, it was cute, i swear.then i got 80€ from the ATM.

and then i went into a store called (i think) cote a cote. it is too difficult for me to put in accents in blogger. not that i know where they go anyway. it was a little sketch, but super cheap. the walls were pretty much lined with piles of shoeboxes, but there were these signs on the walls that i couldn't really understand. i think it said something about not taking a box out of the wall by yourself. when i walked into the store there was this guy who, i dont know, thought i looked like a shoplifter, so he kind of followed me around. and this is one of those teeny stores (which makes it sketchier), so i left to another corner of the store where he didnt follow me. the store had 8€ flats, 3 for 20€! but they were all in the creeper's part of the store, and i didnt exactly know my size, so unfortch i wasn't able to get any. i did, however purchase a red trenchcoat (15€) and brown flat ankle boots (15€).
after was etam, which was SUPER CROWDED. i looked at a lot of stuff but only bought a green sweater. it was acrylic, but hey, it was only 7,45€and then....H&M. aaaahhh. like i don't spend enough time in this store in the US. three stories, absolutely fabulous. i saw a lot of stuff that i saw in the US, which made me feel kind of bad about thinking about paying more for it. but, i only bought stuff that i don't remember seeing. and, H&Ms in europe sell makeup!! but it's not super-cheap. i did consider this bright blue eyeshadow, before i realized nobody actually looks good in bright blue eyeshadow, and it was 3€, which is like $5 for unflattering eyeshadow. i got three scarves (!). i think i have a scarf problem. one was cream, and kind of pleated (5,90€), another was kind of a purple plaid print (7,90€), and the last was a gorgeous gorgeous blue silk (but not really) for 12,90€. i also got a purple striped sweater that i probably could have gotten in the US for 7€.afterwards, got some books (not particularly interesting, verb conjugations, paris guide, etc, 23€)

after all this i had one 10€ bill in my wallet.

we met our language partners (one from our host engineering school, one from the psychology school across the street) and milled about awkwardly for like an hour while we were supposed to "introduce ourselves and become best friends". this is like when i was little and my parents would go to all these boring parties and bring me and be all like 'dont worry there will be kids there'. yes, i'm going to befriend and play with anybody under the age of 12.

but my language partners are super awesome. Cathy (!), a fourth year psych student (5 year degrees in France) and Patrick, a third year engineering student. we're going to meet next next Monday to see "Paris by Night". we get 20€ per person, but i don't know if i communicated this clearly to them. and anyways, i'm not totally sure what we would be spending it on...

anyways, we (stanford+engineering kids+psych kids) went to this bar, and it was pretty fancy. expensive drinks. not that i know how much alcohol costs, but $12 cocktails? really? during happy hour they're half off....but that's still $6 (4,50€) for a drink. it did come with a glow stick stirrer, though, which was pretty exciting.

after the bar cathy, corina and i went to this creperie and had delicious crepes for dinner...and then a STREET MUSICIAN just came INTO THE RESTAURANT and started SERENADING us. it was AMAZING. he was wearing a red pirate jacket (over normal clothes) and had a black hate with feathers, and his guitar was decoupaged with flags of all the countries and he asked corinna if she was japanese and she said no chinese and then he sang in chinese. it was amazing. he had a song for everybody. and then he came back and started singing champes elysses and i sang along. kind of completed my life.