Not so baked

For the sake of remembering my time here in Paris, aside from school and tourism, this blog is dedicated to the "life experiences" I had while here. In the 3 1/2 months I have been here thus far, I have:

-Learned how to open a bank account in French

-Learned how to write a check in the European format

-Learned how to open a cell phone account in French

-Learned how to rent an apartment and put in a notice for relocation

-Been assaulted 5 times

-Been mugged 1 time

-Learned how to talk to doctors in broken French and English

-Learned that one only needs a passport to be admitted to the ER at 4 am

-Realized that the French definition of strong mustard is a big understatement

-Learned how to make chocolate chip cookies in Paris, aka making my own brown sugar and chopping chocolate because of the lack of chips sold in Paris

-Realized that the French actually use a system of price comparison throughout the cities for their baguettes and croissants/pain au chocolate

-How to "convert" everything from temperature, weight, and length, to money and verbs

This all being said, I must say, if all of this had not happened, especially in the course of 3 1/2 months, living alone and separated from all of my family and friends, I know I would not be at the level I am now, and I would not be able to consider myself the person I am today. Without coming to Paris and not only learning more about traditional baking and pastry techniques than I could have ever imagined, and going through this seemingly endless list of experiences that build my character, I would be so much closer to my...slightly naive and inexperienced 19 year old student self. Of course being 20, living in Paris, having the ability to enjoy a nice Cabernet and talk in broken French with friends, and realizing that my last 3 months of existence been a complete roller coaster, I am certainly not an experienced adult. I would never even consider trading my experiences, both good and bad, for anything. I suppose what this has all taught me in a retrospective sort of way, is that I cannot really ever think "it's done" when it comes to challenges and hurdles in my routine, but rather, I can be more prepared, and know how to avoid a whole list of already experienced challenges. Now, time for some milk off the shelf and a plate of Pim's...

April

Well, I know I have been negligent with my posts, but I have been busy with school, so I suppose I have an excuse, right? This past week was all about ice creams and sorbets. We learned everything from composition of ice creams to using a refractometer for sorbet. What I did not expect was to learn how to make all sorts of traditional ice cream desserts I had never even heard of. We made ice cream cakes, but these were much different, in that they used items such as meringue shells, layers of different flavor combinations, and more. We made some fun things also, like lady bugs that were almond cake bottoms, with a dome of pistachio ice cream covered with a layer of fresh raspberry sorbet, then decorations. They were so awesome!

Back to the beginning of the month, we have also been doing more technical work with things like doing Croissants, Pain au Chocolate, and more practice on the French Baguette. Aside from class, we took a trip to a flour mill outside of Paris, in the countryside. It was pretty interesting, but the best part was definitely when we went to a second flour mill, that was much older, and was situated in a small village, right on a brook with green fields and old cottages. The owners served us an amazing lunch on the patio by the grass which included fresh baguette made with their own fresh, ground flour, served with brie, quiche, and a whole assortment of traditional French food.

Since the field trip, I was supposed to travel to Milan and Rome last week with a friend from class, but the morning of our trip, it was canceled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. We were pretty bummed out, considering we had a 9 day vacation and no place to go. So, being in Paris, I made the best of it and became a tourist. My friend Amy from Jenks, studying in Madrid at the time, came and visited for a couple of days, and we had a great time just being tourists in Europe as opposed to students. We went to everything from the Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame and Tour Eiffel, to the Pantheon and shops along the Seine river. On Saturday her flight was in the evening, and I was lucky enough to have even more fun to come, in that I was asked to come stay a night in Versailles with my friends, Karen Bentley and her family. They were traveling back to their home in Vienna from the states, after visiting their previous home in Tulsa. We had a wonderful time, and I highly recommend going to Versailles. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have been in Europe. The gardens in the Chateau of Versailles were unbelievable, and the fountains just made it even more amazing. We didn't tour the inside of the Chateau, but that is, for me, good, because I know more people will be coming to visit, and I only live 30 minutes from Versailles, so it's a great afternoon destination.

The remainder of school is less than half, and I am really trying to learn as much as possible. It is so incredible being here in Paris for school, and I can't imagine having a better program for learning SO much in such a condensed amount of time for this vast subject. The internship is drawing nearer, and I am quite curious as to see where I will be in 3 months.