Paul

I picked Paul up at the airport and it took me just as long to get to the airport here in Paris as it does to get to Pearson from my home in Canada. It took me an hour and a half. So, i get to the airport and finally find the right terminal after having to take a little bus to get there and I realize the only thing I know about Paul's flight is the time it was supposed to arrive and the terminal number. He flew from TO to the states and then from there to Paris. I forgot what city in the US he was coming from so I was completely useless standing at the airport. A lady asked me(in french) what city the person I was waiting for came from and I couldnt even answer her because I had no idea.. she must have thought I was nuts. Not only that, but I got there a little late (because of this extra surprise bus) and I wasnt sure if he had already come out. And finally, an hour after his flight landed and me standing at the terminal not knowing if he was already out or if his flight had even landed because I was too afraid to move to check the screen just in case I missed him coming out, he finally came out.

He looked Parisien.

house

so, over the next few days before Paul came, I was getting to know my roommates. I met them all at the same time on the 2nd day I was in the house and I came home and they were all sitting at the table and probably wondering who this random girl is that has moved in. I came in and announced that I was Mandy and I was living upstairs and immediately, everyone was really friendly. They were great. One guy is from Germany, one girl from the US and one guy from the US and the other 3 girls are from France. We speak mostly french in the house which is great for me and frusterating at the same time because there are so many words I still don't know so often times, they'll have to explain words to me or teach me words. Now, dont get me wrong, I actually think this is really great but its very frusterating at the same time because I feel like I cant express myself properly and I have to stick to words I know. But, in time, Im sure it'll get better.

I promise

I promise to give an update soon- Paul is here and we are traveling a lot.

I have finally set up a website where you can view my pics..

www.photos.yahoo.com/mandylynnmurray

check out my pics.. they're pretty cool..

your francophone,

update

so, i moved into my new house. let me tell you about my first night here.

I got in late because I was hanging out with the Canadian girls. There is a dog in the house and as soon as I opened the door, because he doesnt know me yet, he started growling like crazy. Right beside the front door, is a girl's room. Now, she is a nurse and has to get up at 5:15am every morning to go to work. I walked in the door at about 1:30am. Im sure she and everyone else in the house woke up because the dog was growling SO loudly.

I finally got the dog to be quiet and I walked upstairs to my room. Everything was still all over the floor because i had just dropped my suitcases and left again and so, as you can imagine, my room was a disaster. I was stepping around everything trying to get myself organized for bed. I have a bunkbed in my room, but its just a top bunk and then a desk underneath it. I havent been in a bunkbed since i was about 10 (leanne and i used to share.. but, i forget.. did you have the top bunk, Lee??)
So anyways, with bunkbeds, you need to make sure you have everything organized by the time you get to the top rung of the ladder because you dont really want to climb down once you're up there. Of course, i kept forgetting things. One time i forgot my lamp then my cell phone and finally i thought i had everything and i was under the covers when i realized i had left the light on. Man, was I getting frusterated and then i was cursing the bunkbed. Plus, the ladder on the bed is not actually attached so you have to be very careful when you're climbing up and down so that you dont fall. I havent fallen yet.

Then, i was leaning on the night stand that i have above my bed and it fell and SMASHED on the floor. by that time, i hadnt actually met any of my roommates yet and im sure they all hated me because i was being SO loud.

the next morning, i was getting ready to have a shower and i actually couldn't figure out how to turn the shower on. Its one of those bath/shower combos. now, normally the tricky part is getting the shower head to turn on but i couldnt even get the water on. So, what did I do? I just didnt shower. Im getting used to not showering and its not really bothering me.

milk

They do not refrigerate their milk here. yes, i know. Its so weird. I bought milk for the first time yesterday because before this, i wasnt really sure if i should. I decided that i wanted cereal really bad, so i broke down and bought the non-refridgerated milk. I think my cereal expires before my milk does. Gross.

So, i tried the milk and aside from the fact that its not at all refreshing, it wasnt too bad. Im still alive and i havent had any stomach problems, so thats good!

update

so, i havent written in a while and i have a lot to talk about. here we go.

We did secret santa between me and the 4 Canadian girls (Dom, Jordanna, Maria, Tracy) and we opened the gifts last night. You know how sometimes when you're doing secret santa, someone always gets the shaft because they dont get a very thoughtful girl or something? well, that didnt happen at all. Everyone got really really thoughtful girls. It turned out really well. The girls have a Christmas tree in their apartment that they have named Steve (everything object in their apartment has a human name, for whatever reason..) so we decorated the tree and had some cake and opened presents. Good times had by all. I finally feel like Im in the Christmas spirit.

Maria, Dom, Jordanna and I went to a Christmas market in Paris. It was absolutely gorgeous. We walked around and they have the coolest knick knacks there. We bought Christmas presents and some things for ourselves. We tasted hot wine (it was alright, really sweet though..) we then went out for dinner in the Latin Quarter and had french onion soup (dad, you would love it!) It was fantastic.

We went outdoor skating right outside of the Hotel de Ville (which is their city hall and like every other building in Paris, is amazing) we could see the Notre Dame rom where we were and it was awesome. I havent been skating for about 3 years, and (cough) and Im sure to everyones surprise, I wasnt very good. Apparently, I dont bend my knees enough. It was a really good workout and not to mention, the best place Ive skated yet. It was great. It sure beats the Seaforth arena (although, dad, i had to tie my skates on by myself.. tear..)

it was all in all, a great day.

update

So today I had to take my deposit of an ungodly amount of cash over to my landlord. I dont even want to talk about how much money in Canadian dollars this was because it was SO depressing. So, I took the money over and handed it to her in twenties. I also had to hold it in two days, it was so much money. She gladly accepted it, as I cried because I was giving away a lot of money.

Im really excited to move tomorrow. Its going to be really nice to unpack my suitcase and set up camp somewhere. I really enjoyed living at Dom's because the girls are super fun but it'll be nice to have my own space. I havent met any of my roommates yet (there are 4 others) so I guess Ill show up tomorrow and Ill be the random person that no one knows. Its going to be weird.

The other day Jordanna, Dom and I walked around the jewish and gay area (and yes, they share the same area for whatever reason.) Jordanna is Jewish and so she was really excited to go into all the stores. We got pickles out of a huge barrel in one store and it was way too cool. We watched the lady as she took a laddle and put it into this HUGE barrel (like the size of me) to get pickles out of it.

We went out for coffee in a little bar by La Bastille (remember Lee, finding La Bastille and we were SO excited) One night, Leanne and I were walking home from the bar and I was totally convinced in my I-know-where-we-are-going-dont-tell-me-otherwise way that we were going in the right direction and that I knew EXACTLY where we were. I had no idea. All of a sudden, we came across La Bastille which is exactly where we wanted to be. It was too funny. So, we went out for coffee and then came back to the apartment and played a card game. Good times in Paris,

your francophone,

the walk

In Paris, there is this great walk where you start at the Arc de Triomphe (something to do with Napolean) and then walk down Champs Elysees (the famous street I had a job on for 1 day and then got fired) walk to Place de La Concorde (once again, something to do with Napolean) and walk thru a really nice park, walk to the Lourvre, (this is not the time to go in the louvre because it is SO overwhelming) then walk to Notre Dame (famous church) and finish off by walking about the Latin Quarter (which is a really nice Quarter in Paris. Paris is divided up into quarters and this is the best one, in my opinion.) The Latin quarter is where they have all the crepes so you can see why I would like it so much. If you start this walk at about 3pm you will end up at the Louvre just as dark and its SO pretty. You get to see the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower as well. There is one part of the walk, at Place de la Concorde, where you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees and the Louvre. It is too cool.

So Jordanna, Dom and I did that walk yesterday and it was fantastic. We ended up getting paninis and nutella crepes in the Latin Quarter and sitting outside (yes, outside- we have no snow here) and people watched.

We played Oh Shit yesterday, which I think Ive already explained that it is like Euchre and Lost Air. It was great. It gets very intense in the apartment when the 5 of us play because everyone wants to win. Great Times.

We then went out for food and drinks with Laundry mat Jeff. We ended up going to a Hippopotamus (not the one I just quit) and it was really good. It was odd being a client at that restaurant because its obviously the same as the one I worked at. When I worked there, you had to say hello/good bye to every client you see no matter you were doing. It was actually really annoying and if I was the client, I wouldnt like it because you have to say hello/good bye to like 8 people before you actually sit down to eat or before you're out the door. But being a client at the restaurant is definitely better than working there.

update

I decided not to go to Normandy. I was really tired from being up late for no reason the night before.

I signed a lease yesterday. I move on Tuesday. I am living in an "international house" which will be really fun once I get settled again. Its not very far away from Dom's, so thats nice. I know Ill meet lots of really cool people but its just the thought of having to get settled again that isnt very appealing.

I also had a problem with my bank to get enough money in one day to give to the landlord. I have to give her a deposit which isnt a big deal because I have the money in my Canadian bank account (my french one is still at 0) but with TD, I can only take out so much money in one day. I called TD to see if I could get that limit changed and they said I could up it to an amount that still wasnt going to be enough. I was very frusterated. I wanted to take the money out of Canadian account, put it in my French account (so that its not at 0!) and then write a cheque for the landlord. She needs all of this on Monday because she's leaving for the US on Tuesday. Talk about last minute. Oh, and this is another great thing about France: their banks are closed on Mondays. So, ideally, I could have been able to take out enough cash over a few days and then put it all in my account on Monday and write a cheque but the banks arent open on Monday. So, Im going to have to give the landlord SO much cash, its ridiculous. But theres actually nothing else I can do..

Im excited and once again nervous to move. I know Ill like it but now I have to figure out the metro, the bus, the night bus, where it comes, where it drops off, how often it comes and all that all over again.

Yesterday was the Murray family Christmas where my whole family gets together and celebrates Christmas. Clearly I wasnt there. I hope they are having a good time without me, although I doubt it. Today is my mom's side's Family Christmas, Im sure they will miss me there as well.

the polish

One of the girls that I work with is from Poland and she's been in Paris for 5 mths now. She speaks fluent french. Granted, she lives with her french boyfriend. But still, I thought that was awesome. We went out for dessert in between our split shifts (we always work the same shifts) and it was great. We were discussing words in English and French. She was teaching me french expressions and i was teaching her english expressions. This is the first time ive actually been able to carry on a conversation in french in paris and it was super hard but a lot of fun. Its great to have to work your mind and it was great when i actually said things correctly.

I was sad to quit work today because that means that I wont see her on a regular basis.. but, we exchanged emails and phone numbers so we are going to get together to learn english/french.

work

so basically my life in the past few days has been work. I worked a split shift yesterday as well as today. Im going to Normandy tomorrow until Monday so I actually quit my job today. Alicia Dalton (a family friend) is traveling through Europe and is going to Normandy tomorrow so me and two other girls Im living with right now are going to go too. I was planning on quiting my job anyways but I just did it earlier than planned.

I found an apartment. Im really excited. Its an international house, which apparently means that a lot of countries are represented in the house. This lady has slowly started renting out the rooms in her house and tries to get some countries represented. So, there are people from France, Germany, Canada, the states and other countries. I think it'll be pretty cool because then Ill get to learn about other countries and then maybe other languages.

So, Im going to Normandy until Monday and then I move on Tuesday and Paul comes on Friday. Its going to be a busy week.

bar

last night, we went out to the bar. One of Dom's rommmates had two friends that are staying with us for a couple of days so we went out last night. We started at the Moose, which is a Canadian Bar in Paris that has Ladies Night on Tues were you can get regular priced drinks till midnight. We stayed there until about 1am and then we went to a pub near Notre Dame that is opened until 6am. While we were at the Moose, the bartendar gave us all free shots and a hat (like a sun hat) because they were having some kind of promo. So, we all had hats on for the rest of the night.

We stayed at Pub St Michel till about 4am and then me and another girl came home and the rest of them went out to a club.

It was a great night full of drinks and laughing. We slept in way too late today. What else is new.

In other news, I get to pick up my bank card today for the account that is still at 0. In France, they get paid once a month so I have to wait forever for my account to have money in it.

your francophone,

work

Split shifts are great when you have nothing else to do that day. I enjoy working them because you're busy the whole time you're at work but then if you want to plan something else for the day you're supposed to work, its not good to work split shifts because its pretty much impossible.

I worked a split shift on Saturday and Sunday and then I also work split shifts this Thurs/Fri/Sat. I'm not sure how Im going to feel about split shifts after I do a bunch in a row but I guess we will see.

Work is going really well. Its very difficult and I always come home with a splitting headache because I have to concentrate so hard while at work to understand what people are saying that it actually hurts. Its really nice to be immersed in a french environment but its extremely difficult. I realized the other day that I havent worked in a month and so its also nice to to actually get my mind working again.

Monique

My cousin Monique was in Paris yesterday for one night. We met at the Notre Dame and then walked around Paris for a while, went out for coffee, went for a crepe and then saw the Christmas lights on Champs Elysees. It was great to see her because I havent seen her for about 4 years. It was weird meeting up with her in Paris (of all places) because normally Im at my house when I see her and this time I was in France.

Friday

Today, I started work. Now, let me tell you about this job that i have. Its working at a restaurant, much like kelseys at home. They specialize in meat (every restaurant here pretty much specializes in meat).

I got there at 9:30 this morning. The first 10 minutes were awful. After I am done explaining my first 10mins, I hope you all feel sorry for me. The lady gave me a tour which included teaching me how to use their crazy lockers that they have. She gave me a name tag with Amanda on it. Im going by Amanda here because parisians (for whatever reason..) have a hard time saying Mandy. This is funny because Im not used to answering when people say Amanda. So, my boss would be calling my name and I wouldnt really answer because I wouldnt realize she was talking to me. So anyways, she then gives me an outfit. The skirt is the largest size that they have as is the shirt. She then leaves me alone to get ready. I tried to unlock my locker and cant.. turns out I didnt shut it right or something so then I have to get my boss to unlock it for me. I then manage to lose my name tag and have to get them to make me a new one. My boss then tells me that Im supposed to have a necklace and earrings on. She is shocked when I tell her I dont have a necklace and earrings with me. She then tells me I have to wear makeup and is once again shocked when I tell her I dont have any on. She takes me down to the changeroom and puts makeup on me (awkward) then gives me her crazy bling bling to wear. This includes a crazy necklace and earrings and a bracelet. I felt so awkward all day because I just didnt feel like myself. Oh, and I bought the wrong color of nylons and jeepers, that was the end of the world at Hippopotamus (thats the name of the restaurant).. It was so awful.

After the first 10 mins from hell, the job went very well. Turns out its not hard being a hostest. Im pretty good at smiling and asking how many people there are and if they want smoking or non smoking (fumeur ou non fumeur).

I have to work a split shift tomorrow (11-2:30 and 6-midnight). Its going to be awful and I cant wait. We are also going out to the bar tomorrow so whats going to happen is that im going to work tomorrow pretty much all day and then go out all night and work the same shift on Sunday. Its going to be great. I'm in Paris.

your francophone,

Thurs

On Thurs, I went to my work for a little orientation that ended up being a huge waste of time. I didnt actually do anything AND I had to wake up early. They asked me if I wanted to start work today but then told me I couldnt because I didnt have the rights shoes on)

I went to the Pantheon yesterday with the International Club that I joined. I didnt really meet anyone (there were lots of other people there but they were snobby parisians.) It was really cool. This is the place where Voltaire and Victor Hugo are burried. We went on a guided tour and learned all about the scultures and the paintings around the Pantheon. It was great.

We watched the Titanic yesterday in the apartment. It was awesome. Just in case you didnt know, my fav movie is Titanic and I hadnt seen it in a really long time.

We also went to Champs Elysees last night to see the Christmas lights. They were amazing. They have the whole street (which is SO long and at the end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe) lit up with Christmas lights on the trees. It was incredible. This is the street where I originally had my job (which I got fired from, in case you forgot.. but dont worry, im over it). I found the place where I should have been working and threw eggs at it. Ha, no I didnt.. like, i said.. im over it.

We missed the metro last night by one minute so we had to take the noctobus (nocturnal bus.) Now, this bus runs all night and like the metro, you can pretty much get anywhere in the city. However, unlike the metro, it TAKES FOREVER. The ride which would have taken us 30 mins took us an hour and a half. We may or may not have stopped for crepes (yum, crepes..)