Wen: Australian Things

So, I've compiled a list of "Australian" things that I've seen here.

This drink is called Berocca and apparently it's just a bottle of water, except there's a tablet with vitamins and orange flavoring.  It's carbonated so that when you twist open the bottle, it drops in the water and dissolves.  Pretty cool, I guess.
I haven't seen it before in the US, but maybe I'm just not cool enough to be familiar with all the current drink varieties.










So, Dane and I got take out last night from this place called the Noodle Box.  Apparently it's quite popular with youth and adults here.  I've seen ads for it on TV.  I'd say that it's similar to ummm.... maybe Taco Bell?  But probably like 90% less processed and 99% less carcinogenic.  Oh, this food is also not a laxative.
It's basically noodles stir-fried with meat and "Asian" veggies.  Haha... this little baby, which was probably around a pint, was 8+ dollars. Wtf.. yeah so at home it might be 5+ dollars.  Yes, people, food is much more expensive here.





I also thought I'd talk about the Go Card... just because all students pretty much need one when they get here.  Public transportation is so important.  Of course, I'm not really used to it, because even the hobos of CT have a car... jk.
But, I'm glad they rely so much on public transport!  Not glad that it's $1.30 one way to UQ!
Their buses run on natural gas, so emissions are quite clean and don't eff up the environment.




I'm sure many people have heard of Australian "Vegemite".  It's made by Kraft, with was surprising, because I never see it in the US.  And apparently when it is sold in the US, Kraft takes the logo off.  I now understand why.
I blogged before about it and how it tastes like solid soy and I started gagging... well anyway, it's potent.
It's made from "brewer's yeast extract" so basically all the stuff that was leftover from making beer, they made into Vegemite.  Cool!
Haha... fantastic.  Maybe I will learn to love this stuff.  Probably not.

Wen: Hanging out at home

Wow. so I didn't do much today, just cooked a lot!

  I boiled pasta and made pasta sauce with base, mushrooms, zucchini and chicken.  I think it turned out alright, although I only took a few bites.  The rest went into the freezer.  I did some research online, and apparently there are a great deal of recipes called OAMC which stands for "Once a Month Cooking".  Apparently you just spend a lot of time cooking it and you make a ton and just freeze it all.  Yeah, so that's very convenient.. and I'm not really used to it because at home my mom and dad make all the meals on the spot.

Anyway, Judy made ice-cream this evening with an ice cream maker!  I had never seen one of these before!  It's vanilla flavored, and you can see that the ice cream is about to come out because it has so much air mixed in.  I believe it was made with condensed milk, cream and vanilla flavoring.  Pretty cool.  I tasted some and it was really good!




This Koala bear clip on was something I got from Market Day and it was probably my favorite freebie.

It's super adorable and it clip well.  it's currently on my purse, and I hope I don't lose it!

Apparently it's very Australian, and kids like to clip them to their backpacks or something.  I have the same idea as Australian kids... I think I'm assimilating very well.

Wen: Market Day

Wow, so Market Day was intense.  I took the bus this morning and got there around 10am, and there were already hundreds of people there!

I thought it was going to rain because the forecast predicted it, so I brought my umbrella.  It ended up not raining, so I was cool with that.  I did notice that I got tan, borderline burnt after walking around today.... note to self, use sunscreen!

Anyway, as mentioned before, Market Day was intense... they gave out a great deal of stuff.  Lots of literature and lots of freebies.

I joined Quest today, a group that organizes trips and activities for international students.  I think I see a trip to the zoo in the future!

I also got some hats and some drinks.  One of them being a RedBull shot... not sure if I'll be using that in the future!  Also, one of my favorites is probably the huge bumper sticker that says "Caution, driver may be nude".  Very funny.

I also got an assignment pad, which is called a diary here.  Since travel is so long and I don't want to be hauling my heavy laptop around, I think I will have to rely on the diary to remember things etc.  I've been out of practice with using one of these though!

Wen: Mosquito Bites

Wow.  I have like five mosquito bites on my legs from the BBQ and I want to scratch like no other. I've found that Australian mosquitoes have a bite that not only itches but also hurts.  I have to remember to wear long pants if near tall grasses or to apply repellent.  This is sooo uncomfortable!  Well anyway, I'm off to Market Day! 

Wen: Dinner attempt #3

Wow, I've become so self sufficient it's ridiculous. Just kidding, but I am pretty proud of the fact that this is dinner #3... the third of many dinners I will be cooking for myself.

I can't believe how much I've learned about living on my own since coming here! Less than a week ago, I didn't even know how to stir-fry, now I'm making random concoctions that I think are taste pretty delicious!

Judy showed me how to cook rice tonight and that was so helpful! I'm going to end up cooking rice then freezing small portions. This way, I won't have to keep going back to boiling rice etc.

I cubed the chicken (which was previously frozen) and browned it in the pan, making sure to add some water so the chicken breast (which I bought on sale) wouldn't dry out. Then I put it aside in the bowl. Next was the garlic, then the 1/3 of a tomato then the diced up red bell pepper, which is called "Capsicum" (more accurate scientific name) here and sauteed it for a few minutes. Then I added the chicken and "voila"!

As I write this blog post, I am eating this delicious dish. Yeah, so nice balance of carbs and protein! It takes a while, but it's so good... and healthy!

Enough about food. So, I went to UQ today to get my schedule sorted out. I took the bus this afternoon and the bus driver seemed okay. But on the return trip, the bus driver was sort of nasty and rude. So, I've realized that Australians fall on two ends of the spectrum... either they're really nice and friendly or they seem to be pissed at you. Anyway, I went to get my classes straightened out but maybe I'm used to being at UConn where they hand everything to you, but I felt like I was really lost! Hopefully I've figured everything out for Monday.

In the meantime, I'm excited for tomorrow's Market Day, which is like UConn's Activities fair for campus clubs and organizations. Hopefully I can meet more people!

Wen: Conclusion of First Orientation Day

This was a big lizard at the UQ Lake... it was pretty cool looking so I decided to take a picture. 













There was a huge spider web in the tree... one probably can't tell because the picture is so small, but trust me, it was a big spider web.  Also that little dot in the middle of the blue sky is not a blemish on your screen, it is, in fact, a spider!







Here's a cool action shot I took on the bus ride home.  Yes, to all of you who have not experienced driving on the left side of the road, I can tell you it's weird at first.  Also, I sort of think Australians drive pretty quickly for such hilly and curvy terrain!








So, I go to take a shower tonight and I come back into my room and find A HUGE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER!
Jk, because it's actually plastic and was placed on my UConn T by none other than Dane.  Good one... because I did mention that I was concerned about deadly Australia spiders (among other deadly Australian creatures).  I guess this goes along with what we learned about Australians today in Orientation.  If you don't like it, and they know you don't... DON'T SAY ANYTHING!


Lol, good laugh.  I definitely think the crash course to Australian culture was very useful and very funny.  I like the intro to Australian sweets, although I will try to avoid delicious Tim Tams and those coconut things that I can't remember the name of.  I'm gonna try to learn the perfect mimic of an Australian accent.  Dane thinks I'm crazy, but it's gonna happen... for sure.

Wen: The Lake Continued

A lizard... they just randomly chill anywhere... very cool.












Bam... here's a turtle AND a pelican for you. Yeah, the pelican is cool looking, apparently they're actually quite large. I also saw it eating fish before, but unfortunately my camera retrevial instincts are not well refined.










This bird was cool looking because it was jet black, had a beautiful midnight blue breast and had a scarlet red head.











Wow, turtles AND eels?!?? I know, it's amazing. The turtles were pretty interesting. Apparently some have tracking devices on their backs!

Wen: UQ Lake... I'm not sure what it's acutally called

Compared to the "lakes" at UConn, the UQ lake is way more amazing. They have tree fulls of cockatoos! For real, like the cockatoos that people buy as pets and teach to talk are the exact same ones that run wild around UQ. They're so pretty and white!












For some reason, something sets off these thousands of cockatoos and they all just fly out of the trees toward some other tree across the lake. It's really amazing to stand underneath and watch all of them flying over you. They're also all screaming their heads off... it's pretty cool!









There are also your basic geese and ducks. When Belinda mentioned geese though, I immediately thought of Canada Geese.. haha, force of habit. UConn has way too many Canada Geese, and way too much Canada Geese poop on the grass and sidewalk. It seems that these birds are not as dirty!















Here's some random thing that looks like a turkey and a chicken mated after one of them had previous mated with a duck.
It's not very attractive, but it was cool looking. Maybe someone will recognize it! It was pretty cool to see all this wildlife...

Wen: Spending quality time at McDonald's and Using Free Wireless

Jennifer, this one is for you. I was reading a newspaper at McDonald's when I was still bumming at the hostel. By the way, grimiest place ever. Never shall I willingly live in a hostel ever again.

Just a few things for people who aren't familiar with these cheap but grimy places. They're gross. There were like yellow stains on my pillow. I found pubes in my bedding and there were cockroaches in the bathroom.

Anyway, back to the sheitel... this one is for you Jennifer. When you grow up you should get one too




This Ibis was just wandering around the Queen Street Mall, which is a huge shopping center in Brisbane. When I first saw it, I was like omg, that's a beautiful bird! I especially love the tail feathers. Little did I know that locals don't actually love these birds, they actually dislike them! Yeah, apparently they've become so used to humans that they actively seek out food on the street, or even steal it from under peoples' noses! I wasn't just trying to take a picture of the butt, although you can see the fine detail of the tail feathers... I was trying to take a picture but it moved too fast!







Wow, so first night living at the Larsen house and guess who visits us?! A baby blue tongued lizard, that's who!
Yeah, I was super excited about this because I had not previously had the honor of seeing one of these things. Apparently they can get up to twice the size of this guy/girl... and since it was just a baby, it didn't even have a blue tongue yet :(

Wow, as I type this, some kind of animal is screeching outside. I'd say a bat, a possum or something...

Anyway, these lizards eat fruit, so we gave it a piece, but I think that it was too sared to eat and just scurried off :)

Wen: Hong Kong Airport to the Plane

This was a plane in Hong Kong International Airport... I guess it was the most interesting thing in the airport.
I think there's a dummy inside and he or she is supposed to be flying it, or is a famous person. Sort of reminds me of today's Orientation Session at UQ where they told us about a famous Australia who flew over the Pacific to set a record but he dissapeared. Much like the United State's Amelia Earhart (I might be spelling that wrong).









This was the screen in front of me for my trip to Brisbane. Cathay Pacific provides little screens that are way too close to your face and way to bright to watch. I think they are guaranteed to give you a headache.











OMG, it's BRISBANE! And, it's only 8 hours away! By the way, I'm wearing my winter down coat and I realize that I'll be taking that off when I get to Australiaaaaaaa.











This sign was inside the Cathay Pacific plane and I saw it when I was umm... using the bathroom. It was so hilarious that I took a picture... yeah I'm glad I brought my camera into the bathroom with me.

It says "No Smoking" on the top sign, then there's a cigarette ashtray underneath... HOW CONFUSING is that!?!

Haha...

Wen: When I was in Hong Kong...

So, I finally downloaded the pictures off my camera memory card!

 Here we have a picture of me chillin in my Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel Room during the layover of my Hong Kong to Brisbane flight!

It was quite pleasant staying there and it definitely passed my germaphobe test.
The sheets were clean and new... no weird stains or anything.


This would be the HD Samsung TV I had in my room.  Too bad I didn't have anything decent to watch on it.  I left it on HBO and ended up watching like two terrible and old American movies.  One of them had Matthew Broderick and Meg Ryan the other one had Alicia Silverstone and some guy.  I really liked the big window facing the ocean!



The view from my hotel room was pretty cool!

Wen: I have a home again!

Yesterday night I moved into the Larsen house, and at first I was a bit scared because I thought it was far away and bus riding would be too much to handle, but that was not the case! 
They are so cool!  Dane's 18 and Judy's his mom... I've met Leisel (yes, the name from Sound of Music!) and I have yet to meet Jess.
Today Judy took me to UQ for the first time and she, Leisel and I walked around campus to get familiar.  Afterwards, I went shopping with Judy for groceries etc.  This was incredibly helpful, because before this, I had no idea how to buy groceries... yeah, I'm ridiculous.  No worries though, because after this experience in Australia, I will be able to function on my own, just in time for dental school!
I also was able to figure out the bus schedules with the help of Dane... wow, public transportation is sort of really confusing to someone who's not used to it!

Here are some things that I have learned so far:
It's pronounced "Brisbun"
They like lots of American TV shows like How I Met Your Mother etc...
Soccer is called soccer here
Kangaroo meat is a delicacy
Possums are not the same thing as Opossums!  I know! I thought they were too!
And a ton more information!
 
So... anyway, I'm going to orientation tomorrow... that should be fun.  Until tomorrow!
Oh yeah, food here is expensive. Ugh.

Wen: I can't believe you're gone

Today was supposed to be my first post back from being blocked in mainland China.  When I was at Beijing International Airport, I found out about Sagar through UConn Listserve emails. 
I said bye to him before I left for Australia... I still can't believe this is for real.  We were all supposed to graduate and go to medical and dental school together. 
I wish I could do something, and I know Jen feels the same.  Sagar is one of the kindest, most helpful and smartest people I know.  I can't believe this.  I'm not sure I can express how I am feeling at the moment.
I'm sorry this happened to you, Sagar. 

Jen: Missing a very special person

I know this might seem trite or contrived or who even knows what... but I just felt like I had to write about it.  A lot has happened today... cool things even... but I can't really focus on them right now.  I don't like posting on facebook walls about this kind of thing or leaving a message as if they can read it, because I know they can't.  But, I really do miss Sagar... I hate talking about him as a person who 'was.' He is... he always has been.  He is Sagar.
I knew he was a special person even from the first time I met him.  At our cpim interview we immediately hit it off, and out of the maybe 15 or so people present, he is the only person I exchanged email addresses with.  I could tell that he was not only smart and sociable, but truly kind... the kind of person you can truly respect.  And I did.
Although I'm very fortunate to have good friends who call me and skype me and are there for me when I need them most, like times like now, things are still tough.  I refuse to believe half of the rumors.  I cannot even imagine for a second not seeing sagar ever again... ever.  He was the guy we danced with at indian parties... the guy who would smile and wave every time I passed by him... and asked me how I was doing.  He was the person who was so willing to help you out with homework or explain things.  He carried himself in a way that you wanted to emulate... you could just tell he was one of those people.  We all wondered how he could be just so perfect in every way.
He sent me a message on facebook around a week ago asking how I was liking France.  We hadn't talked or seen each other for probably a month prior to that, yet he would always remember me.... and I always thought about him. He was just one of those people that you didn't have to see or talk to everyday, but always cared about, and knew they cared about you.
I just don't understand.  It doesn't make sense.  I miss Sagar.  I really miss him. :'(

Jen: BUSY DAY

I now see how busy I will be from basically now on.  I woke up at around 7ish, left by 8:30, and after a cup of coffee at the cafe got into work at 9:20AM.  I love the people at UNESCO... also they were having some kind of big general meeting today.. and there were legit people from like iraq and afghanistan and stuff... soooo coooool.  The guy I share my office... yes, that's right, I have a fricken office station and everythinggggggg, with is sooooo awesome!!! He like listens to jazz music hah, it's wondeful.  He is also from NJ and studied at UChicago.  We talked about the good ol' Jerz and chatted like buds!  His name is Rami... also, he might get deported... he has to go back to NY to like re-validate his visa or something.  He seems like a great person to share an office with.
I spent the morning doing cool internship things, like editing cases that will be in the international bioethics curriculum.  I then tried to get my ID badge, at the main UNESCO building, but was unable to because it didn't reopen until 2PM... I have class at 2PM.  So I rushed back to the metro, got to class justtttt in time.  I love class by the way... j'adore!!! j'aime!!!  Although we go super fast and I feel like the tests are going to be  riiiiidiculous, it is so much fun!  We learn such practical things.  The only issue is that I get sooooooooo nervous when she asks me a question and I actually have to talk French.  My heart basically explodes through my chest and I feel like I stutter and slur words haha.. it's an awful feeling.  It's still a great class though!
After class I ran back to UNESCO to get the ID.... I posted a picture on facebook.  We have to return the IDs when we leave... but if we lose the ID it is 10euros to replace.... I can't say I haven't already thought about possibly 'losing' it and paying the 10 euros for one I can turn in at the end of the internship.
Also, I just got an email back from this thing I applied for... basically it is a chance to go with 30 students from the european union of jewish students to the UN and discuss issues of human rights... it's ridiculously cool... and they just told me I was accepted to go.  It's in brussels in march... a sunday to a wednesday... I don't know if I will be able to take off from my internship or from class, but I REALLLLLLLLLY want to go.  It sounds so insanely cool I can barely control myself!  I sent my cv on a complete whim thinking that, especiallllly because I'm American, they would like autimatically reject.... guess not..! AHHHHHHHH I LOVE PARIS and EUROPE !!!!!

Jen: bday weekend!

It has basically been forever since I wrote a blog entry.  This weekend has been pretty ridiculously crazy, as it was my 21st birthday weekend.  I think I am just going to some up the events from thursday on... I'm pretty sure I last wrote on tuesday, but I honestly cannot really remember what I did on Wednesday at the moment.

So, for my birthday there were tons of little events.  We went to a kosher restaurant and had a morrocan waiter, yoel, who I was able to speak to in French.  The restaurant was really nice and they even had a little band thing going on as we were eating.  They sang happy birthday to me over dessert... it ended up being just really nice.  We also went to the mix, which always is a good time.  I actually found out that one of the morrocan guys we met there is Jewish... which I would have never guessed in a million years.  They also rented out the bottom of antidote for my bday, which was really nice (it was basically dancing/dj downstairs).  So many people ended up showing which was really cool.  Towards the end of the night my feet were in so much pain that I took off my heels and walked barefoot outside.  When antidote was closing, we went to another place and met some pretty cool guys who offered to drive us home so we wouldn't have to take a taxi.  It was a pretty  sweet deal, and obviously the one who was driving had not been drinking.  He was actually muslim, and I guess pretty devout in that he doesn't drink alcohol.  Either way, it was pretty awesome.

Colleen and I also had a night out just the two of us where we ended up meeting up again with nizar and waseem at a salsa club.... it was really nice- I had a great time.  We also laughed A LOT at the most ridiculous things, I'm pretty sure they thought we were half crazy.

Today for valentine's day we invited over arthur and charlele as well as AZ and Georgia.  We watched pretty woman and made French toast- delicious.  Georgia also made chocolate cake.  Arthur, probably the nicest guy almost ever, got the four of us girls roses which was really sweet.

I start my internship tomorrow... we'll see how it goes!  I have also already started my French class and art history class.  I'm so exhausted that I'm basically falling asleep while typing... late night last night.  I will go into more later when I'm more awake.

Au Revoir!!!!

Jen: amazingness

Last night we ended meeting up with Wassim, Nizar, and Khaled- the tunisian guys.  We met nizar at the mix club last thursday and asked him to bring some friends out and we'd all go to a hookah bar.  I actually later recognized his friend wassim from the mix club as well.  It was really chill and the place was pretty cool.  We had some arabic tea which was delicious.  Later we stopped by antidote, khaled left, and we met up with charlele and artheur.  It was a great time, and the two guys, two girls balance kept conversation going well.

We stayed there basically until the bar closed... at which point we switched to an American bar.  It had really good music and we were able to do some dancing.  ALSO, Wassim said he would teach me French and Arabic!!! This was super exciting and plan on taking him up on his deal.  He said if I help him with English and Hebrew, he'd help me with French and Arabic.   I think it is a wonderful swap.  We also got to listen to some arabic music with them and even throughout the night he was teaching me some arabic words... like the nickname he has for nizar, bargali, which meant like night star or something or other.

Today was also really pleasant.  We met at Solange's to find out or Sorbonne schedule- first class is tomorrow!!!  After that, Colleen, Courtney, and I went to a crepe place and to get coffee... both which were wonderful.  The rest of the day has been chilling, which after getting back at 4:30 in the morning, was much needed.  Wow, I am a bit all over the place chronologically at the moment.  Last night's sleep with the new pillow was great, too.

Tomorrow is my BDAY!!! We have all kinds of fun stuff planned.  Tonight we are going to watch a movie and take shots at midnight... and then tomorrow we are going to go out to a kosher restaurant, see the eiffel tower sparkling, and end it with the Mix club... the party will basically not stop.  Going to dinner soon, more later!

Au Revoir!

Jen: le defense et plus!

I'm not sure if that title made any grammatical sense... but it was supposed to be the defense (the area we went to) et plus (and more!).  Either way, today was quite awesome.  I went to micefa in the morning and YES, got another ID card.  I'm not sure if I've blogged about my obsession with ID cards but anyone who truly knows me would know that I absolutely love having different ID cards from different places.  I also paid for the fountain bleu trip which will be this weekend.
After that, Jill had the wonderful suggestion to go to le defense, which she knew had some kind of giant arch-like thing.  Two other girls and I tagged along and it was actually incredibly cool.  We saw and took pictures by the arch as well as by this weird thumb statue.  We also saw that there was a mall nearby, so we were able to participate in one of the last days of the paris sales!  Shopping-wise, today was also a great day for me.  I finalllllllly got the pillow that I've been wanting (it's a little different and even better than the one in the picture)!  It is actually an enormous pink pillow (of course) in the shape of a heart... it was cheap because of valentine's day I think.  Across it is written "love."  It is really soft and comfortable and I am really psyched about sleeping tonight!  But, it was a pain in the neck carrying it through the metro...!  I also bought socks which I have really needed and a little area mat for the floor... errr... and a dress.  Ok, perhaps I should not stop buying things.  It's just that there have been sales  and I learned that I could use my ATM card as a credit card...  haha, plus they have been awesome buys!
Tonight I am going out with a few of the girls and some guys we met at the Mix to the hookah bar... it shall be interesting...! Argh, I'm going to go shower...!

Bonsoir et beaucoup d'amour! <3

Jen: I love cite

This morning as I am in the midst of finishing the office episode I was watching last night, there is a loud knock on the door.  I figure it is the people to change the sheets... but before I can even get out of bed they open the door.  Then the woman starts speaking French to me really quickly... and I had no clue what she was saying.  I just kept pointing at the bed and she would respond by pointing at the sink... Then a man came in and injected something into like the pipes by the sink and by the heater.  I still have no idea what just went on.  Oh well, back to  my love... ie. the office.

Jen: A new day

Today was a day of realizations and pretty fun times.  I went to the Jewish student center in the morning, which took me a little while to find.  In France, the Jewish centers and places are much less obvious than in America.  They are like in back corners and after windy roads... with barely any signs to point you in the right direction.  It was cool to hang out there for a little bit and they have a cafe so I was able to also get lunch.  I definitely plan to go back!  They have a piano there too, so maybe one time when it isn't crowded I can practice?  eh, I'll probably be too embarrassed to.
After that, I met up with Jill who legit is really sweet.  She is one of the UConn girls.  Together, we shopped for shoes... fortunately or unfortunately I happened to be more successful than her in the finding shoes thing.  I got one pair of beige boots and one pair of black shoes that will be good for once I start my internship.  They were both really good deals because of the sales that are currently going on. : )
Tonight I am going to be getting some dinner with Jill and then hanging out probably with Meghan, Colleen, and the 2 French guys we met in the Kitchen... it should be a relaxing evening I hope.
I totally want to get more involved in the Jewish scene here and I plan too... but once I get more busy I'm not sure how much time I will have to just figure out where/when things are happening.  Meh, if there's a will there's a way.
Also, I love my friends.  They are great and amazing. <3 <3

Au Revior!

Jen: Free Museum Day!

Every first Sunday of the month is free museum day in Paris!  Today we met with Heidi (the assistant director of the UConn Program) at 10:30 at St Michel station.  I woke up the earliest I have in like a week... I need to work on that.  The museums were really cool- we went to two all together with her and then the group split up and went to different museums.  We saw the prison where Marie Antoinette was held as well as a ridiculously large church.  I could look up the names of these places, but meh.
I also made some pretty cool findings at the third museum that I went to with 3 of the girls.  There was a tombstone which was in hebrew.... which I found way interesting.  It was basically a super catholic museum with tons of statues of Jesus and Mary as well as the Saints and other famous Christian figures.  I'm not sure what the tombstone was doing there or who it belonged to.  It was sort of in the back corner almost behind a curtain where I think they were restoring things... so it wasn't really meant to be on display.   It definitely said something-or-other (it was faded and hard to read) 'bat miriam' ... but that really isn't to helpful or descriptive.  The second awesome finding was upstairs in the same museum.  There was tons of jewelry on display, which clearly I looked at very closely.  One ring had hebrew letters on it... and when I looked at the little description block it said it was a jewish engagement/marriage ring.  The ring came to a point at the top and had 6 different faces on the side- which made it harder to understand what was written on it.  I had to basically move in all different angles to see all the letters.  I was elated when I realized that it said "mazal tov."  Pretty darn cool.  I even went back to look at it again and I saw that it was from Italy in the 1300's I believe.
After that, we were pretty excited to go to starbucks, which is a pretty rare find in Paris.  Not only that it is a starbucks, but that you can get a legit coffee to go- with a disposable cup AND lid.  This is fairly uncommon.  We met Artheur there, who I wrote about a couple times in previous blogs (usually along with Charlele).  This time it was just Artheur.  It was actually a really wonderful afternoon.  We walked with him through the gardens and had some wonderful conversations.  He also is pretty into taking pictures so he was our photographer for the afternoon.  Later, he showed us a pool hall and we sat down for a cup of coffee.  I will probably be WIRED tonight after drinking so much coffee!  At the cafe there was a waiter who was wearing a chai (hebrew for 'life'... it's a jew thing) necklace... I reallllllly wanted to go over and say hi or something... but I was too embarrassed/shy.  I told them that when we return to play pool, we MUST go back to the cafe so I can work up the courage to say hi.  It probably won't happen.
I just got back and took a shower... and decided to blog.  Tonight should be nice as well... time to figure out the clothing situation (and maybe call up the fabulous women to find out how her date went last night)!

Bonsoir : )

Jen: Being French

I just wanted to comment about how I was pretty French today.  Although there were quite a few moments that I was most definitely not French... like at Shabbat lunch when I didn't understand anything or when I had the really cool lady translate for me at the nail place, still I had a good amount of French moments, too.  For instance, I was able to give directions to a little old man on the street who was looking for the RER station.  Also, I was able to completely order and pay for a crepe in French without any issues. ALSO, I was able to do the French thing when a foreigner accidentally says bonjour during the evening, and respond with an obnoxious, "BONSOIR!"  Yes, today was a fairly French day for me!
Also, I learned that a French manicure in France is not just called a manicure... it is still called a French manicure... nifty, eh?
Also, I engineered the sweetest contraption the other day to ensure that my food does not fall off the outside window ledge- ask me about it if you are curious and I'd be happy to explain this work of genius.

Bonne nuit!

Jen: Fantastic Parisian Lady

Although some of you might have thought I was talking about myself in the title, it actually describes this really cool person I met!!!  So after Shabbat I looked up nail salon places in Paris in the 14 arrondisenment (sp?).  Either way, I called up 'star nails,' said bonsoir, and then asked the person on the phone if she speaks English (parlez vous anglais???).  She said no so she actually got one of her customers to translate back and forth for me.  After finding out that it is open until 8PM, I quickly took the metro over.  Interestingly enough, this translator lady was still at the nail place when I arrived!  I'm pretty sure we clicked immediately in terms of being able to exchange stories and laugh about silly things.  We were talking about how she had a date tonight, which is why she was getting her nails done.
So, she is actually from Paris, but lived in London for a bit- which is how she knows English so well.  She is going on a date tonight with an American guy from her company (from ohio- by birth state).  She asked me for some advice about American men and then returned the favor and told me how to handle a French man.  These insights will probably be invaluable.  We sat and laughed as we got our nails done... it was great.  I also felt very much at home because the nail people were all korean... just like in America.  The monopoly they have worldwide on nail places amazes me.  I think the big chains should probably take some lessons.
When we were leaving the nail place the Parisian lady gave me her name and phone number and told me I could call her if ever I had any questions about anything or needed help.  She said she, too, knows what it's like to be a foreigner in a country where you barely speak the language.  She was SUPER helpful and SUPER nice.  I think I wouldn't mind going out for a casual cocktail with her and having girl talk.  Plus, I really am curious about how her date tonight will go!  haha... I love random things like this.  Perhaps we will become nail buddies... the possibilities are endless.  Oy vey... this sounds ridiculous- don't judge me!

A bientot!!!!!!

Jen: Thieves!

I went to fran prix again today to get more water because after last night I drank all of the water I had left.  I decided to buy TWO big bottles today instead of just the one I usually buy.  I also tried to get money out with my atm card but apparently I don't know my pin : /  

When I came back, I went to the kitchen to put away the pickles that I also bought.  I look inside to see the other knotted plastic bag I had put in there ripped!  I take out the food inside and see big bites into my kosher cheeeeeese!!!! Everything else looked untouched, but come on!  That's pretty gross!!!  They weren't even smart enough to casually unknot the bag then just retie it...!  ARG.  I will probably just transfer everything except this now gross cheese into another bag and knot it again... and put a sticky note telling people I am very ill and contagious.... they do not want my food!

On the bright side, now I have pickles.

Bonne Journee! : )

Jen: Internship Profile

So below is the proposed plan for my internship, as put together by my supervisor... check it out!

INTERNSHIP 1 (proposed for Ms Jennifer Chevinsky)	Division of Ethics of Science and Technology Ethics Education Programme (EEP) and Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs)
Title	Assist with preparing documents for the UNESCO Bioethics Core Curriculum; Assist with data processing of the GEObs databases, in particular the Database on Ethics Related Legislation and Guidelines
Related workplan activity	Activity 3 and 4
Supervisor	Tee Wee Ang
Duration	4 months (part time) – Ms Chevinsky can only come in the mornings during weekdays as she is taking courses in the afternoon
Possible start date	8 February 2010
Short description	Within the framework of the Ethics Education Programme (EEP), the incumbent’s work include: Assist with the editing of two bioethics casebooks prepared by the UNESCO Chair in Haifa on “Human Dignity” and “Benefit and Harm” Assist with the editing and updating of Section 2 of the UNESCO Bioethics Core Curriculum Assist with organizing and following up on the meeting to establish an International Society for Education in Ethics Within the framework of the Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs), the incumbent’s work include: Assist with processing data for the GEObs Database on Ethics Related Legislation and Guidelines Conducting Internet searches for ethics experts and ethics institutions that are not yet registered in the GEObs databases Inviting these experts and institutions to complete a GEObs questionnaire so that their data can be entered into the databases Following up with experts and institutions that have submitted questionnaires on any missing information required
Expected results	Casebooks on “Human Dignity” and “Benefit and Harm” edited Section 2 of the UNESCO Bioethics Core Curriculum updated Increase number of entries in GEObs4 by 100; GEObs1 by 50; GEObs2 by 25
Evaluation:	-          Expected results above are achieved

How cool is this!!! : )