ok this week has gone by so very fast! so we hit up the sales on wednesday i guess it was and found some cute little shops on la rue de st. michel. i mean, it is up to 70 percent off!! insane! i found the CUTEST dress shop ever, too, but the dresses were still like 60 euros even with the sale. we looked for a good while and then headed over to Rue des Rennes and found H&M (kind of like forever 21). it was 3 stories!! so cool! the lines to try stuff on were very long, and the dressing rooms are not nearly as nice as they are in the states, but it was fun! i got a pair of shorts for 15 euros. i am hesitant to wear them here, though, because you get whistled at if you wear shorts. not cool.

ok so then we headed home for our usual family dinner. tonight was special, though, because their previous foreign exchange student was coming for a visit. she goes to harvard. she was there for all of fall semester i think. she walked in the door and ashley and i were like, “oh crap she speaks french sooo well!” needless to say, the only time we opened our mouth for then entire dinner was when we had to put food in it. but, i do have to say, i could understand almost everything they were talking about! really! so that was kind of fun! we ate in the dining room for the first time since we have been here, so that was nice too. we usually try to crowd around the tiniest kitchen table known to man for dinner every night (i have pictures to prove my point). anyway, the girl (julie) was very sweet and very cute. she said she had been to france 7 times and was so amazed that it was our first. she said she was here to do research for a thesis and that harvard was paying for it…must be nice.

ok so then the next day after class i cant remember what we did…probably study. but the next day (friday i guess) was our last day of class (yay!!). we went out to eat as a class and on the way there, i ran into kristy!! it was so funny!! i was crossing a street and then out of nowhere i hear, “gracie whitaker?!” omg it made me sooo happy!!! we have been trying to get together this whole time and it has never worked out! but, we planned to have lunch or something on sunday, so that should be good. then after about 3 metro connections later we end up at this maroccan restaurant. i got couscous with chicken, and it wasnt the best, but it was ok. i would take mexican over that anyday. it was pretty cool, though, to add another cultural experience to the mix.

ok so after lunch (and after buying some chocolates), a group of us had to go to a french university and take some pictures for an assignment. the place was huge and so confusing with a ton of buildings that kind of connected, but not really. i like american universities better i think. but i only saw one so i cant base my assumption on that i guess. then we had to head over to the Belleville…which is supposed to translate to beautiful city, but it is the farthest thing away from beautiful. i hated it. it was supposed to be a melting pot type place with a ton of different nationalities all in one central area, and it was, but it was just dirty. there was trash everywhere, soo many people, and i did not feel very safe at all. we had boys with us, but i just didnt want to hang out there. it made me appreciate the very very nice part of town i live in! oh yeah, and the metro ride too forever because it was waaaay on the other side of town.

so then we went home finally. thank goodness. it wasn’t that bad, but i had a lot of studying to do and that trip took up most of my afternoon. so then i studied forever and ever and tried to cram 2 semesters worth of french in my brain…not fun. we had our last family dinner last night because they went to normandy again. tonight we are on our own and attempting to make our favorite meal- ravioli! exciting! then i studied more and went to bed. days without naps are kind of hard…haha!

so then today i took my finals. they were ok. not too bad. hopefully i did ok. we will see i guess. we are going shopping at a vintage store today so i will let you know how that goes. ok. i come home monday, and i am excited, but i love paris!! it is fantastic! i am looking forward to seeing everyone, though! :) can’t wait!

ps- sooo glad my classes are finished!!!