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Published: November 30th -0001
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Chateau Chambord
The biggest castle in the world! My dearest wonderful Australians,
I regret sincerely the time that it has taken me to post this new blog update. Have an awful lot to fill you all in on… we’ll see how I go.
Let me start with the thing that seems to take up all of my blog-writing time. Uni. SciencesPo is an amazing place. It is right in the heart of Paris, the area is called Saint Germain des Pres. The tree lined streets are filled with fancy cafes, boutique clothing stores and well-dressed Parisians (not the ideal area for cash-strapped university students I must say) but the atmosphere is intoxicating. 5 minutes walk away from uni are the Luxembourg Gardens, the perfect place to eat lunch with friends and do some quiet reading. My classes are very interesting, I have never had such inspiring professors, they are all experts and their fields and the quality of the teaching is obvious. This does mean however that the level of work required is also extremely high. Oh there is so much! So far I have presented 6 twenty minute oral presentations, I still have 2 more to go, and then there are the 6000 word essays to
Halloween
Valentina, Janina and I looking very scary... begin. Lucky I am fascinated by the topics! My favourite subject is the Balkans, such a tumultuous region. I have been inspired to travel there and am hoping to plan a trip to Bulgaria and Romania after Christmas.
Travel… it’s all just at my fingertips. As I mentioned in my last blog I went to the south of France for some sun and sea. Since then I have been to the Loire Valley as well. A 2 hour train ride south of Paris and you are in the land of fairytales. Castles that were the homes of 16th century French nobles all over and they are exactly as you would imagine. Intricate architecture, incredible gardens, extravagant interiors and surrounded by moats. Just magical. Unfortunately now I want to live in a castle… Dad? Hehe. Am taking a weekend trip with some of my friends to Barcelona on Friday. Am very excited about this, cannot wait to eat Paella and marvel at Gaudi’s creations.
I have also been experiencing the cultural side of Paris. I just loved the musee d’Orsay, have found my new favourite painter; Jean-Leon Gerome. He paints historical scenes in such cinematic style. I really loved
his orientalist period, also links with my Balkans studies. I also went to the Institute of the Arab World and Centre de Pompidou which were both incredibly interesting and the Chateau Versailles, the king's palace just outside paris. On Halloween I went to the Cemetery Pere Lachaise where Jim Morrison (I kissed his grave!!) and Oscar Wilde are buried, then to Parc Asterix; the French equivalent to Disney Land. Was so much fun, and actually very scary! They had a haunted house that was only for over 18’s… very freaky.
Have made a lot of friends through the university from all over the world. We have this little tradition that every Thursday night we go to a restaurant of someone’s home country. So far we have been to Thai, Italian, Chilean, Moroccan, Lebanese and Swiss. Am having trouble finding an Aussie restaurant though. Might have to cook… but am not sure what?!?
One thing that is definitely not pleasant is the French bureaucracy… ah, it’s a nightmare. I have finally gotten my transport card after 2 months, my bank account is now fully function after I signed my signature 36 times!!! (yes, I counted). I had to get
Dinner with friends.
Mmm... apple pie and wine!! a medical check to get my residency permit approved which took a whole day (yay, I don’t have tuberculosis!!) and am still waiting to be approved for rent assistance. Also, I'm sure you have probably heard on the news about all of the strikes and protests. Makes getting around very difficult sometimes. Luckily they have a public bicycle system and I love taking that. It is all such a headache, completely disorganised but I just remind myself that I am living in Paris and it’s ok. “C’est la France” as they say. (“This is France”.)
Well… that is about the update of my life for now. I apologise for taking so long again. Hope that you are all well and happy and enjoying the arrival of the warm weather. It is certainly getting cold here, average of 10 degrees at the moment and I know it’s only going to get colder. Lucky the heating in my house is super.
Lots of love, Julianne.
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