A Day in My Shoes (P.S. they're from eram)

Wake up at 6AM when Isabelle takes shower, and sleep on and off while she eats breakfast, listens to French radio, and proceeds to dress very noisily.  Girls wake up at 7AM, therefore I wake up again.  Officially wake up at 7:30AM when alarm goes off.  Family leaves at 7:45AM.  In peaceful silence, get dressed, put on make up, and fix hair.  Have breakfast (Kellogs corn flakes cereal with apricot yogurt and organic strawberry jam on a piece of toast... I'd kill for egg whites) at 8AM.

Leave by 8:30 feeling very prepared for the rain.

Proceed to walk up a hill, cross the street, go through an apartment parking lot, and prepare for my morning exercise (aka the Hobbit's Hole, aka the Hill of Doom... I'm trying to say this hill is stupid steep and should have stairs but doesn't and goes on forever.  This photo does not do it justice).  Jam to "Rebellion (Lies)" by Arcade Fire thinking it's going to be an awesome day.  Then realize I've left my umbrella at home and curse (in English) because there's no time to go back for it, and there's like a 99% chance of rain.

Survive hill and continue walking past preschool where adorable little French kids are being dropped off.

Keep walking...

Arrive at metro station Gare de Valmy, and ride in the direction of Gare de Venissieux.

Read free newspaper during six stops to Gare de Sans-Souci.

Go up the stairs, use tiny newspaper like umbrella because it's begun to rain, and jaywalk across traffic which is at a standstill on a work morning.

Stop at MacDonalds for a cappucino and find numerous classmates finishing their essays last minute.  Hurry down a line of cafes I have yet to try and hope I'm not late to Meunier's class.

Arrive at Universite Jean-Moulin Lyon 3 and walk up 3 flights of stairs because when they say deuxieme etage, they actually mean the 3rd floor.  Smile and say "Bonjour" to Madame Meunier in hopes she won't humiliate me in class.  Try not to act suspicious when she's in a good mood.  Take 3 pages of notes.  She might turn on me tomorrow.

Go to Professor Vessely's class and talk about French stuff.  Get essay back (93!) and head out for lunch at 12PM.  Thankfully my passes for Resto-U have run so that I can proceed to a quaint cafe down the street for a peaceful lunch all by myself.  It's one of those surreal moments I have every now and again in France.

I order une tartine with tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto and a petite salade on the side.  Pleasantly on my own, I sit back in my chair, sip from my glass of water, and consider the mixture of antique and modern elements within the bar.  They meld seamlessly like every aspect of France, the peeling paint on the bar not looking out of place beside the shiny metal tap or the assortment of candies kept in vintage jars.  It's raining outside.  Softly, "You Belong to Me" is playing overhead, the tables are buzzing with a steady hum of gossip and discussion in French, the sole waitress bustles about me looking simultaneously flustered and composed (as only French woman I've discovered can manage)... There is an ultimate sense of calm that washes over me.  It is so endearing I'm not the least bit upset when my food arrives some twenty minutes later.

Ah-maz-ing! And for dessert... The best cappuccino I've ever had in my life.

Return to campus to la salle d'informatique (computer lab) to work on my presentation for Monster Meunier's class, and at 2AM meet the rest of the program downstairs for our afternoon excursion to Croix-Rousse to see the painted murals of Lyon and the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater (not to be confused with other Roman Theater in Vieux Lyon).

Finish the tour and act disgruntled to find Madame Kelton doesn't have ice cream waiting.  Alas, Tara and I return to metro station near l'Hotel de Ville (stopping once for her to buy some cereal for breakfast and once for me to buy a prauline cookie [prauline's here are better...sorry]) and ride toward Place Bellecour.  Change to D line and ride toward Gare de Vaise.  Walk up the numerous hills, including the Hill of Doom which is much worse uphill, through the apartment parking lot, and finally arrive at apartment.  Thank God there's an elevator to ride up to the 7eme etage (8th floor... you get it).

Talk to family a little. Do homework.  Have dinner around 8:30: thinly sliced smoked salmon, mini garden tomatoes, tabouleh, a slice of cheese from Savoie, and fruit for dessert.  Feeling ready to pop, take shower and retreat to room to finish affairs before school tomorrow.

Celebrate finishing my presentation by painting my nails Paris blue (or so I call it because I bought the color in Paris).  Go to bed around 10:45 with windows open, headphones in my ears, and iPod playing.