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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Schon Ausgerutscht


So, Frohes Neues Jahr! That’s one thing I learned here last year, it’s ok to say “Happy new year,” even a few weeks after the 1st. I think the unspoken rule is, if you haven’t seen that person yet then it’s still ok to greet them as if it were the 2nd. I feel the statute of limitations on this greeting is until late January.

The holidays were great and I enjoyed a nice little homecation. I had a week and a half without classes and I took the time to not do work and relax. At the moment I am entertaining a fellow Californian. Since I've lived here I decided having someone from the states over is always a nice reason to take the train to Paris, since it's about two and a half hours away. 

It was my third time in Paris so I felt a little more comfortable than the second (since my first time I was with people who knew the ins and outs of the city). I feel like the hardest part for me is figuring out the metro network. Every trip (I mean trip within the city, moving from one point of interest to the next) becomes about coordinating stations and making connections, at least for someone like myself who is hopeless at reading maps and prone to losing my way if I have to walk more than a few minutes. Incidentally, I was there with my mom last year in April and was forced to figure out the metro to get us around. I did just fine with no blunders if my memory serves correct. We could see Sacré-Cœur from our hotel balcony so I thought, “well I could get us there.” Armed with a set of instructions from the hotel reception, which I obviously forgot upon exiting, and a crude tourist map I set off in the direction of the basilica. After taking a few side streets that probably (actually definitely not necessary) and a little wander later, we arrived after about twenty minutes or so. 

This time around, I actually found the metro stop for the Sacré-Cœur and had to walk only a few minutes. I remembered the hotel where I had stayed was also a short walk from the Moulin Rouge. So atop the hill I suggested to Jacquelynn that we try walking there rather than getting on the metro. I was a bit nervous I’d get us lost but actually we were only minutes away from the hotel, ha. 

The next day I decided The Louvre would be a good choice. It was a Monday so I thought that would mean it would be less busy. I found the key was getting there early, just after opening time, before all the tour groups get there. Before we entered the museum, we felt a few pictures of I M Pei’s pyramid were in order. There were some other tourists who were there as well, and they made one of those jumping pictures where you look airborn after jumping off something/springing in the air. I will be the first to admit I have a terrible center of gravity and am not by any stretch of the imagination nimble or otherwise aerobatic, but for some reason I thought I'd try it. I got a good amount of air, but actually more than I bargained for. I ended up landing on my heel with most of my body weight. It hurt pretty bad. Too bad it was not even 10 and I had an entire day of city walking planned. I continued to lead a mini tour de force through the city, hitting up Notre Dame and the tower before my inevitable surrender before we could get to the arc. I made it back to my friend's place for a nice home cooked meal and a bit of rest before the trip back.

(view from the hotel balcony in April)






 (Jump at own risk)

 Really not as exciting when compared to some of the other works, but here's a picture of it (Photo credit: Jax!)














The next day I shuffled to the train station, with Jacquelynn’s help carrying my bag,
and made it back home. I went to the doctor today and the good news is that nothing’s broken, just a bruised ego and an uncomfortable foot for a few more days. I learned that I can do just fine checking in to a hospital (answering questions is no problem), but taking directions is still iffy. I had to have Röntgenaufnahme (X rays) and the technician was trying to tell me what to do because she didn't want to hurt my foot. I realized there are so many body parts and verbs for movement that I still just don’t know! It’s ironic that I didn’t heed one students departing words, “Guten Rutsch! Aber nicht so viel rutschen! Nicht ausrutschen!” Looks like I didn’t make it into 2012 as gracefully as possible.

1 comment:

  1. Hello! I just stumbled across your blog and I love it! Funny thing is, I'm a UC student who studied abroad in Ireland and now I'm in the process of getting my TESOL certification and I'm looking to move to Aachen and teach English to be with my German boyfriend! If you don't mind me asking, what school do you work for? Do you have any tips for someone who's looking to follow your example? Thanks!

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