The nuns are running

We're re-starting soon....Right were we left off. Bless!

Sneaking In

It was 6:30 by the time I started heading back to the dorm. I was tired, but energized by the coming morning (and the three cups of expresso I had at Ignacio's) . The streets were very still, and empty except for the vendors setting up their market stalls and some drowsy waiters preparing for breakfast at the all-night cafes.

I was very quiet going into the dorm, as I was dreading running into a nun. Last time I came in so late I said I had gone for an early, early morning walk, but it's not like I could use that one again, especially with the same nun. And I had already used the "Oh, I'm just heading out right now" and just turned around and walked back out the door. Not that it would be a big deal, but it just seems so delinquent to come in at 7am from a night out, while a nun had to get up at dawn to start fixing my breakfast.

Unfortunately, I did run into a nun. So I just waved and ran up the stairs. It was one of the old ones, so I'm hoping she couldn't see me clearly and would maybe confuse me for a japanese.

Nun-Dinners

This is the dining room at the St. Famille Dorm. We have breakfast here every morning from 7:30-8:30 (if I get up), and dinner at 6:30pm sharp. It's very important to get to meals on time . Otherwise the nuns get pissy and worse, you risk sitting with someone unpleasant.

Breakfast usually consists of baguette, coffee, tea, and various jams, jellies, and nutella. Now, I'm not a coffee drinker, but you're kinda forced to drink it here. I'm even drinking it black. But when in Rome...

Dinners are more creative. I've probably mentioned this before, given my obssession with food, but it always begins with an appetizer, then the main dinner fixings (fish-on fridays-or meat, veggies, cous-cous, etc.), followed by cheese course, and then dessert. And always, lots of bread!

We're in charge of taking our dishes to the wash room and then going to a little window to pick up the next course for our table. If everything goes well, we get rewarded with extra dessert. We're very Pavlovian here.

A typical Friday dinner: Fish and veggies.

Probably everyone's least favorite appetizer. Which meant more for me. Yay!

Artfully prepared tomato with hard boiled egg slices.
Strangely good appetizer of pineapple rings and creme fraiche.

We're #1!!!

Jason just informed me that if you do a Google search for "nuns" and "WiFi", my site is the first one to pop up. I would like to thank the nuns, the WiFi and everyone who's been reading for making this historic moment possible!!! (and Jason...who actually checked. Jeez).

Su-su-sugar Town

The weather was warm and extremely humid, so we left the Petit Palais with the sole goal of getting some ice cream. Berthillon was too far away, so Don suggested we take the bus in the direction of the dorm and look for something around there. The bus though, was way too hot, and so was the metro, so we jumped out and walked to Rue Raspail.

A few blocks down, we stopped at a cafe that had ice cream and I bought a delicious double scoop cone with Lemon and Mango (which in french is mangue, which reminds me of mange, blech!) sorbets. Since the weather wasn't cooling down and the ice creams were melting rapidly, we just hung out on the street corner, like common ice cream-eating hooligans.

After that nice break, we crossed the street to keep heading home and ran right smack into Le Maison de Chocolate, at which point, Gina suddenly decided she really, really wanted some chocolate. So we went in, got some free samples, and Gina bought a dark chocolate eclair to take home. She made it around the corner before decreeing that in order to preserve the integrity of the eclair we had to eat right there and then. Otherwise, the chocolate could melt and other horrible things could happen to it along the way. Why argue? She split it into threes. Right there I decided to give up sugar for the rest of the day before I went into sugar-shock.
Which was the best of intentions, except the nuns had Nutella-filled donuts for dessert at dinner. And if a nun gives you food, you have to eat it because of starving children in Africa (and they do actually get pissy if you waste food).

The Auburn Girls vs. The Nuns

After a series of warnings and glares, things have gotten a little heated lately between the nuns and the girls from Auburn University. No matter what they do, the Auburn girls can't live up to the standards set by the sisters. Granted, they're coming in drunk at 3am, slamming doors and sneaking boys in, but like they say, "WE'RE not nuns".

Just the other night Lisa from AU was complaining about how Mother Superior gave her a dirty look when she came in at 11:30 pm. The fact that she was barefoot, carrying a plastic cup of beer, and reeking of alcohol on our doorway, and that nuns maybe don't approve of those things (well, maybe the barefoot part if you're a Sound of Music-type nun in the mountains), didn't seem to factor into the situation. She was like, "it's not like we're coming in drunk all the time and making noise". Except that they are. Even Don yelled at them on Thursday for waking him up at 2am. And he's all christian.

The worse part is that we all get lectured at dinner time about proper behavior in the dorm. Everyone's thought about narc-ing them out, but they really are kinda nice when they're not drunk.

A Night At the Opera (at the Opera)

After Saint Chapelle, Gina and I took the metro to the Opera Bastille to watch a performance of "Louise", which is a reinterpretation of La Traviata. We got there a little early, so we went walking around the Bastille neighborhood for a while we waited for the rest.

The opera is housed in a modern structure, built circa late 80's I would say, and it totally looks it.

The inside is not much better. It's a little bit of a mess, with stairs that only go up one flight leaving you stranded, mini-levels on each floor, and no artwork or decorations on the walls save for one lone Nikki de St. Phalle sculpture, which is so colorful and lively it looks like it wandered in from somewhere actually fun and couldn't get back out.

The opera itself was a mixed bag. The sets were amazing, the actual piece not. I, because I thrive on consistency, kept falling asleep. The first act was two hours, so we left during the intermission and left Louise to her fate (which, with this being an opera, I assume was death).

The best part was that there were nuns sitting next to us. For a country whose citizens insist they're not interested in religion, they're everywhere. I am working on a theory that there is a nun in every building and place of interest in Paris. You probably get a nun toy in your happy meal at McDonald's.

Happy 4th of July!

The nuns were great this morning and everyone had nice little surprise at breakfast. They had left congratulatory 4th of July notes on every table along with a free postcard for each person. I hope they have hot dogs for dinner.

And What Else Is Going On?

In the afternoon, I ran some errands and then met the rest of the group for a cultural tour of St. Germain de Pres.

Madame Dominique was a charming guide, but it was still boring, so Gina and I skipped out the back stairs of the theater we were visiting and walked up St. Michel to the Seine. We flanneured around and took some pictures and then went for a drink at the Pub St. Germain, which was horrendously expensive for what we got: Gina a very slushy and sweet Mojito, and a filled-to-the-brim-with-Cassis Kir for me. But it was still fun (be on the lookout for a post about soap).

Then we walked around the Luxembourg Gardens, stopped by Monop...to buy snacks (including the fore mentioned cutest snack ever!), and headed back to the dorm for nun dinner. Today's menu: grapefruit, meatloaf nuggets wrapped in bacon, green salad, french/American/freedom fries, brie cheese course, and semolina pudding.

Later on, I took a walk to Monoprix to buy some nun-friendly-lenght pajama shorts and school supplies. I love my new Trapper Keeper!

You Can't Lie to Nuns

They'll know.

Gina left the skylight window in her room open during class, and, of course, it rained. When she came back to her weirdly shaped mini-dorm room, there was a huge puddle and the floor was warped.

She was thinking of telling the nuns that the floor was like that when she got there, but like she said "you can't lie to a nun". Plus, she already got in trouble for taking the Lord's name in vain. LOL

Room With a View

A little E.M. Forster-y, but this is the view from my window.

The building on the corner with the yellowish brick and gray rooftop is the Institute Catholique, where I'll be taking my classes. And where I was also subjected to a comprehension placement test today where for the life of me I couldn't figure out if freakin' Pierre Fosse was a gardener or an architect and why he called his neighbors crazy.

On the good side, it's only half-a-block away, which means I only have to get up early enough to find the shower key and make it down to nun breakfast. Then I can leisurely walk the two minutes to class in classic flanneur fashion.

Get Me to Thee Nunnery

So my dorm is on the Rue de Vaugirard close to the Luxembourg Gradens in the 6th. It is definitely run by nuns, as it was Mother Superior Soeur Marie-Jean who answered the door and gaveme my room assignment.

The room is on the fourth floor of a five floor walk-up, and for once I was glad I only packed what I did. Whew! The room, however, is adorable. Little desk, fireplace with mirror, wardrobe, credenza, and a hidden closet.

As far as facilities, I have a sink in my room, but the toilet is at the end of the hall. Showers are another story.

It's a little like a sorority house at the Dorm of the Saint Famille. There are only two other guys in the house other than me, so it feels a little like "Bossom Buddies", with girls running around in towels and having toenail painting parties (it's true, I saw one on my floor). Anyway, we have an assigned "douche de garcon", in a room on the third floor. So we have to get the key, shower, and make sure we put it back so the next guy can use it. Should be interesting in the mornings. But overall, the place is totally cute and the nuns are nice.

More about nun dinners later, but tonight we had: Pineapple rounds with sour cream, bread, green salad, roasted chicken, chicken cordon bleu, rice with red peppers, a cheese course, and ice cream.