Je suis américaine?

I am a master bargainer.

Well...kind of. I’ll get to that later.

Today was another school day, so it was really low key. I woke up and had some of that heaven sent yogurt for breakfast. I sure hope I can find something like it in the states! Mckenna wanted to meet at 10:00am at the institute building to watch the first (and my favorite) Pirates of the Caribbean, but we were running late so that plan crashed and burned. It was actually a total fluke that Amy and I ran into Mckenna. We got close to the Institute building at 10:40am and she was heading to the Centre Pompidou to get a photography exhibit out of the way for photography class. We tagged along and got in for free with our art cards.

The museum was...wow. Maybe I just don’t get modern art. I felt like I could have painted some of the things that I saw! Totally not my thing. But we saw the photo exhibit that they had and went back to the Institute building to watch Pirates. Oh! And I saw this BEAUTIFUL citron (which reminded me of Waterloo/my Daddy) and I ate it in his honor. You’re welcome, Daddy!

It was prettier before it got squished...but it tasted delicious!

Classes were super short today because a bunch of people wanted to go to the French Open. I, however, have no interest in tennis whatsoever and didn’t feel like paying money to sit in the hot sun and watch it. So, I decided to go on a street art hunt to find a painting for my Momma. Before I left, I asked her what she wanted from Paris and she said, “A silk scarf and street art.” I had no idea where to get either of those things! It’s been my quest to find street art for a while and I did at Pont Neuf aujourd’hui (today). Wow...totally just typed in French before realizing it...weird. Anyways, this is where my master bargaining skills come in. The size that I wanted to get her was pretty big and REALLY expensive. 50 Euros! In culture class the other day, M. Olivier taught us the art of bargaining in Paris. Here are some tips:

1. Don’t criticize whatever it is you want to buy (say it’s cracked, broken, etc.) Instead, comment on how beautiful it is. Usually shop owners want their products to go to good homes, so they want to know that you’ll take good care of what they’re selling.

2. Look at it for a while and sigh. But not for too long...they’ll get annoyed if you’re too indecisive.

3. Glance at the price tag and appear to be agonized (not obnoxiously, just sigh a little) that it’s out of your price range.

4. If executed correctly, the shop owner will most likely bring the price down for you as if he/she is doing you a favor. Our professor said that French people either want to be your roadblock or your savior and in this case, they get to be both! It’s a win-win situation!

So that’s what I did. I looked at the painting that I wanted for a bit and the guy came over started talking to me. He was surprised that I spoke French (do I really look THAT American?!) and he asked me which painting I liked. I told him and he automatically brought the price down. A lot. 35 Euros was the starting price, but I wasn’t satisfied. After some talking, I got the price down to 25 Euros plus a free keychain. SOLD! Then, to be sneaky, I told him that I would buy another one if I could get it for 20 Euros. SOLD again! So what would have been 100 Euros and then 70 Euros turned out to be 45 Euros. You’re welcome, Momma!

After the street art shopping, I walked around the Latin Quarter and window-shopped. I also got some raspberry and amaretto gelato to beat the heat. It was delicious! Oh! And I saw this shop window that automatically reminded me of my family and our lovely Wii bonding time. Apparently in French it’s called “The Moron Rabbits,” which I thought was hysterical.

It was super hot outside and my congestion got really bad so I headed home after that. I had a lot of time to think to myself while I was on the metro and here are some of the thoughts I had:

1. I’m in PARIS, FRANCE! How lucky am I?!?!? Seriously. I’m so blessed to be here.

2. How many people look at me and think I’m American?

3. Does the guy sitting next to me think he smells good? Because he doesn’t...and he’s leaning on me. Gross.

4. How many people use the metro every day?

5. I love that girl’s shoes...

6. I wish there were a Christian Louboutin outlet in Paris...or America for that matter.

7. I’m really glad that I live in the suburbs. The sound of cars all day and the clutter of the city would make me crazy.

8. Lady Antebellum is my favorite band of all time.

9. I wish I could have someone my age to speak French to when I home. Maybe when Blake gets back from his mission we can have secret conversations...yes! I’m so excited!

10. I need a nap. Curse you allergies.

I got home around 6:30pm or so and slept until 8:30pm before dinner. Amy was still at the French Open when I woke up, so I just waited until Madame called me downstairs to move. Dinner was good - lasagna, salad, bread, (not as divine) yogurt, and cheese. We ate outside and it was WW3: Mosquitoes vs. Rachel. I hate those things! I don’t think I got any bites, but I’m paranoid that they’re in my room now because Madame left all of the doors open. Amy is super allergic to them and she has a big swollen bump on her leg from dinner already. I hope that’s not the case for me!

Well, tomorrow is my last day of culture class with Monsieur Olivier and my last day ever of my photography class (SAD!!!!). After that, I’m pretty much done with classes! I mean...I’ll still have readings for the culture class and I have to do the conversation class stuff, but it’s not overwhelming. We’re cutting class short again so that M. Olivier can show us his favorite pastry shop. It’s supposed to be AMAZING! Yay for field trips! I’m sure you’ll hear all about it tomorrow. But now, thanks to my dear friend Lacey, it’s Nyquil time. Oh the beauties of modern medicine! J Bonne nuit!!!!