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Wednesday 30 September 2015
Monday 28 September 2015
Sunday 27 September 2015
Saturday 26 September 2015
Saturday 19 September 2015
Thursday 17 September 2015
Sunday 13 September 2015
Saturday 12 September 2015
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Week 2 update
So since my week 1 update I have done a few posts about some things that I have done (Eiffel Tower, various bars, ranting, etc.) but I said that I would do a post on my other classes which I hadn't yet had this time last week.
Startups et Management de l'Innovation Numérique
This module is all about digital innovation, looking at how huge tech startups and apps have become so popular and indispensible as part of modern daily life (for the young anyway). It seems like its going to be a really interesting module and just like in my 'management d'entreprise' we have to come up with a business in small groups of 3 (which is apparently the best number for starting a business). We also have to do an individual exposé, a 10 minute presentation, and my topic is all about Design Thinking. I did a module at Warwick last year on design thinking and its the best essay I have ever written (still not sure how I got 81%) so hopefully the background knowledge will help with this. It was meant to be the week 1 topic but a nice guy agreed to swap with me because I said I was nervous about going first, having never done an exposé. So yeah, this module looks good. It's late though: 7.15 - 9.15pm!
Initiation à l'Entrepreneuriat
This module is very similar to the one above, but with less of a focus on digital and just a focus on start ups in general. It was a really big class size for an elective, about 100 students I would say, and most of them masters students so 4th/5th year students. The lecturer was really engaging, and he started his career at Disney, before going on to create his own business which is cool. This module is graded on a range of things from individual to group work and class participation. I'm worried how i'm going to get a good grade for participation (40% of my mark) in such a large class with only a 2 hour lecture each week, especially given i'm not the most confident with my french yet but we'll see.
Last week, we were put into groups of 8 and given 10€ and literally told to return to the lecture next week with more money (!) My group decided on massages, I never really thought it was going to be the greatest idea, because I personally wouldn't want a massage off a random student in the courtyard of uni, but I don't really have the french vocab to disagree and I was happy to make a poster for the event and go with the flow. (See poster below)
So Monday and Tuesday we were giving massages in the garden and it was kind of awkward and we only made 25€ by massaging friends that we had persuaded to come (none of my friends came). We will see how successful that was VS others in the lesson tomorrow! As a "learning" exercise though I guess it was interesting because we can easily address where we went wrong (no one wants massages!!!). I needed my dream-team from the Warwick apprentice with me, we would have smashed it.
So that's the rest of my courses. Already straight in on the workload, presentations coming up, articles to read that never get marked (see previous blog post), group projects to work on etc. Tomorrow night is the big night out planned by the BDE (bureau des élèves, a.k.a the Students Union), at the third biggest club in Paris called Zig Zag just off the Champs Élysées so that's pretty exciting, and then cheer tryouts on Friday afternoon (although after tomorrow night i'm not sure how good I will be feeling!).
Startups et Management de l'Innovation Numérique
This module is all about digital innovation, looking at how huge tech startups and apps have become so popular and indispensible as part of modern daily life (for the young anyway). It seems like its going to be a really interesting module and just like in my 'management d'entreprise' we have to come up with a business in small groups of 3 (which is apparently the best number for starting a business). We also have to do an individual exposé, a 10 minute presentation, and my topic is all about Design Thinking. I did a module at Warwick last year on design thinking and its the best essay I have ever written (still not sure how I got 81%) so hopefully the background knowledge will help with this. It was meant to be the week 1 topic but a nice guy agreed to swap with me because I said I was nervous about going first, having never done an exposé. So yeah, this module looks good. It's late though: 7.15 - 9.15pm!
Initiation à l'Entrepreneuriat
This module is very similar to the one above, but with less of a focus on digital and just a focus on start ups in general. It was a really big class size for an elective, about 100 students I would say, and most of them masters students so 4th/5th year students. The lecturer was really engaging, and he started his career at Disney, before going on to create his own business which is cool. This module is graded on a range of things from individual to group work and class participation. I'm worried how i'm going to get a good grade for participation (40% of my mark) in such a large class with only a 2 hour lecture each week, especially given i'm not the most confident with my french yet but we'll see.
Last week, we were put into groups of 8 and given 10€ and literally told to return to the lecture next week with more money (!) My group decided on massages, I never really thought it was going to be the greatest idea, because I personally wouldn't want a massage off a random student in the courtyard of uni, but I don't really have the french vocab to disagree and I was happy to make a poster for the event and go with the flow. (See poster below)
So that's the rest of my courses. Already straight in on the workload, presentations coming up, articles to read that never get marked (see previous blog post), group projects to work on etc. Tomorrow night is the big night out planned by the BDE (bureau des élèves, a.k.a the Students Union), at the third biggest club in Paris called Zig Zag just off the Champs Élysées so that's pretty exciting, and then cheer tryouts on Friday afternoon (although after tomorrow night i'm not sure how good I will be feeling!).
Things I currently hate about France
Don't get me wrong here, I absolutely love Paris, uni generally is great (if a little challenging but i'll get used to that) and Paris is super magical and exciting etc. but I feel I need to vent some of the things that have been driving me mad and hopefully then I can feel happier about them:
1) I still don't have internet. It took them over a week to manually cancel the old tenants contracts. A further 3 days for this to take effect for them to then be able to give me a box, and now its going to take 2 weeks for them to activate my line?!?! How can it take 2 weeks to activate an internet line that it took only 3 days to cancel? and why should I have to pay this month of internet when half of the month i'm not actually going to have any internet? I don't know if it is Bouygues or just France that is generally incompetent and slow, but this is getting annoying now. I am going to have used all the date on my phone (because this is my only internet when at home) way before the end of the month, and then have to pay Bouygues even more money...
2) For my lecture "Espace Mondiale" each week we have to read the core article and then write a 500 word summary on the main theory, how the author argues this and it's limitations. This week it was this article: http://conflits.revues.org/267 It took me literally hours to read and understand enough to be able summarise the key points and try to identify limitations. But then we get to class and she only collects a random handful each week, and this week mine wasn't one of them (!!). Whilst I get that obviously it's important to read the articles every week anyway its just frustrating when you spend so long on it and then its not even going to get looked at. I don't even know if I properly understood the article! I never will know.
3) I have a 4 hour gap until my next lecture at 7.15pm. I just bought a sandwich, found a nice table (near a plug, currently only 11% laptop battery) and as i'm sitting down someone else plugs their laptop in the plug socket. I have 42 minutes of power remaining on my Macbook and 4 hours until my next lecture. HELP. I even remembered my adaptor today. The other day I was so proud to find a plug spot until I realised I didn't have a plug adaptor and so couldn't plug in my charger anyway.
4) In France, you can't get out 10€ at a cash point, the minimum you can get is 20€, but when you get 20€ they give you two 10 euro notes!! Where is the logic in that? Oh, and by the way you can apparently get 1000€ out at a cash point (not sure this is true but it comes up as an option on the screen). It doesn't make sense.
On the plus side the sun is shining today and its a lot warmer, and Paris is much nicer when it's sunny and warm so it's not all bad but my current mood is #firstworldproblems #yearabroadfail
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Monday 7 September 2015
Being a tourist at the Eiffel Tower
I know I said I wanted to do untouristy things whilst I was here (see last post) but yesterday, having spent hours reading (or trying to read) some awful long french article for one of my modules I thought "you know what, i'm in Paris, I'm going to go and take a selfie with the Eiffel Tower", and so I did. They say that as a foreigner in Paris, no matter how many times you see the Eiffel Tower it is never not exciting and breathtaking, and I have to say that's true (although i've only been here two weeks, we'll see at the end of the year). As I turned the corner at the top of the Jardins de Trocadero there it is, huge and looming straight ahead, and as impressive as ever. It's kind of weird how this effectively useless monument has become so hugely popular and so hugely iconic of Paris.
I could not believe the amount of people that were there, like me, to take photos of it, with it etc. People doing wedding photo shoots, popping champagne in their finest dresses for photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Selfie sticks left, right and centre, silly poses trying to pinch the top of it. It's such a bizarre thing to sit and watch people doing but then you can't judge people because we're all equally guilty of doing exactly the same thing and 5 minutes later it was me, on my own, posing for selfies with it in the background.
The size of it is hard to comprehend as well. It looms way above any of the surrounding buildings, so stood out from the rest of Paris. If you stand underneath it and look up it makes you feel dizzy, and i'm sure if you stand at the top and look down you feel even dizzier. On my list of things I want to do is go up to the observation deck of the Tour Montparnasse because I think you would get a great view of the Eiffel Tower and how it stands out against the Paris skyline. It's like when you go up the Empire State building in New York, you get a great view of New York, but not of the world-famous building itself because you're stood on it. Where as from the Rockefeller centre you get an amazing view of New York AND the Empire State building. So I think it would be cool to see the Eiffel Tower from a different view point than the ground.
I always forget what a weird light brown colour it is. Imagine if it was in gold or silver, or metallic pink, like the tiny little key rings sold underneath it, 5 for 1€.
A brief history of the Eiffel tower (as googled by me):
- Designed by Gustave Eiffel, in 1889 to celebrate the 100-anniversary of the French Revolution.
- At the time it was completed it was the tallest building in the world at 381m. (The current tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands at 828m, almost 3 times the height of the Tour Eiffel).
- It was only intended to be a temporary structure and was nearly torn down in 1909, but saved due to recognition for its usage as a radiotelegraph station (it is apparently not as useless as I thought).
- It is repainted every 7 years (maybe metallic pink is an option?) and receives more visitors yearly than any other monument in the world, over 7 million on average.
- You can have dinner on the Eiffel tower for 190€ per person, plus 95€ for wine. Anyone want to take me?
I could not believe the amount of people that were there, like me, to take photos of it, with it etc. People doing wedding photo shoots, popping champagne in their finest dresses for photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Selfie sticks left, right and centre, silly poses trying to pinch the top of it. It's such a bizarre thing to sit and watch people doing but then you can't judge people because we're all equally guilty of doing exactly the same thing and 5 minutes later it was me, on my own, posing for selfies with it in the background.
The size of it is hard to comprehend as well. It looms way above any of the surrounding buildings, so stood out from the rest of Paris. If you stand underneath it and look up it makes you feel dizzy, and i'm sure if you stand at the top and look down you feel even dizzier. On my list of things I want to do is go up to the observation deck of the Tour Montparnasse because I think you would get a great view of the Eiffel Tower and how it stands out against the Paris skyline. It's like when you go up the Empire State building in New York, you get a great view of New York, but not of the world-famous building itself because you're stood on it. Where as from the Rockefeller centre you get an amazing view of New York AND the Empire State building. So I think it would be cool to see the Eiffel Tower from a different view point than the ground.I always forget what a weird light brown colour it is. Imagine if it was in gold or silver, or metallic pink, like the tiny little key rings sold underneath it, 5 for 1€.
A brief history of the Eiffel tower (as googled by me):
- Designed by Gustave Eiffel, in 1889 to celebrate the 100-anniversary of the French Revolution.
- At the time it was completed it was the tallest building in the world at 381m. (The current tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands at 828m, almost 3 times the height of the Tour Eiffel).
- It was only intended to be a temporary structure and was nearly torn down in 1909, but saved due to recognition for its usage as a radiotelegraph station (it is apparently not as useless as I thought).
- It is repainted every 7 years (maybe metallic pink is an option?) and receives more visitors yearly than any other monument in the world, over 7 million on average.
- You can have dinner on the Eiffel tower for 190€ per person, plus 95€ for wine. Anyone want to take me?
Exploring bars in rue Mouffetard, 5ème
On Friday night we explored some bars in the 5th arrondissement, where a few of my international friends are living. There's a really vibrant street called rue Mouffetard which is lined with bars, and creperies, and restaurants, and ice cream parlours, and brasseries and on a Friday night it's buzzing with people.
The first place we went to was called Le Requin Chagrin, which I had heard about online. It had a kind of english pub feel to it inside, with french-style brasserie tables outside. On Thursday it's happy hour all night for ladies and cocktails are only 5€ so mental note made to spend a Thursday evening there (especially since I have no lectures on a friday). I didn't take this picture myself because I often don't think/forget to take photos when i'm out. They're showing all the Rugby World Cup games here and though i'm not exactly a huge rugby fan and I don't know how many of the games i'll watch, I reckon it would be a good atmosphere if you did want to watch a game and support your nation.
The second place we went to was a tapas restaurant/bar called Le Bar de Fer. This was a really small space, they struggled to squeeze us in, but it had a great atmosphere and the food looked amazing. They had a guy playing live music, just his voice and his guitar, and he was seriously good. He had a perfect repetoire mix from more chilled acoustic songs to more upbeat tracks like Stand by Me and Cheerleader which had quite a few people up and dancing and others singing along. It was also really cool decor in there because they had literally just got people to write all over the wall, quotes, drawings, messages, where they were from etc. and it just had this kind of lived-in vibe which I liked a lot. I wish I had taken a picture of it! The drinks weren't that cheap, 5.50€ for a glass of wine, but it was nice wine, and the atmosphere, music, vibe etc. was great.
Word of advice: don't order a tea. A friend ordered a tea, 15 minutes later (having been bought the wine/beer we'd ordered) we ask where the tea is and the waitress looks at us like we're completely stupid because obviously the tea is being made and will arrive. Another 15 minutes later, and eventually they bring out a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side - how that took half an hour to make I don't know, and for 4€ my advice would be to just order alcohol instead!
The first place we went to was called Le Requin Chagrin, which I had heard about online. It had a kind of english pub feel to it inside, with french-style brasserie tables outside. On Thursday it's happy hour all night for ladies and cocktails are only 5€ so mental note made to spend a Thursday evening there (especially since I have no lectures on a friday). I didn't take this picture myself because I often don't think/forget to take photos when i'm out. They're showing all the Rugby World Cup games here and though i'm not exactly a huge rugby fan and I don't know how many of the games i'll watch, I reckon it would be a good atmosphere if you did want to watch a game and support your nation.The second place we went to was a tapas restaurant/bar called Le Bar de Fer. This was a really small space, they struggled to squeeze us in, but it had a great atmosphere and the food looked amazing. They had a guy playing live music, just his voice and his guitar, and he was seriously good. He had a perfect repetoire mix from more chilled acoustic songs to more upbeat tracks like Stand by Me and Cheerleader which had quite a few people up and dancing and others singing along. It was also really cool decor in there because they had literally just got people to write all over the wall, quotes, drawings, messages, where they were from etc. and it just had this kind of lived-in vibe which I liked a lot. I wish I had taken a picture of it! The drinks weren't that cheap, 5.50€ for a glass of wine, but it was nice wine, and the atmosphere, music, vibe etc. was great.
Word of advice: don't order a tea. A friend ordered a tea, 15 minutes later (having been bought the wine/beer we'd ordered) we ask where the tea is and the waitress looks at us like we're completely stupid because obviously the tea is being made and will arrive. Another 15 minutes later, and eventually they bring out a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side - how that took half an hour to make I don't know, and for 4€ my advice would be to just order alcohol instead!
Sunday 6 September 2015
Friday 4 September 2015
Thursday 3 September 2015
Wednesday 2 September 2015
Week 1 update
So I have now officially started term and I wanted to up date you a little on how things have been so far and what my first thoughts on some of my modules, societies and uni in general.
Management de l'entreprise:
On Monday I had my first lesson at 8am, which for me seemed stupidly early but is something I will have to get used to. This was one of my elective modules and is a class of about 20 students, I would say maybe 60% exchange students, some studying at Sciences Po full time but originally from other places and a few actual french students. The two professors that run this module seemed great, both of them work (always have and still do) in consulting, one for Capgemini and the other now owns his own company, so it's pretty cool that they run this module alongside their jobs.One of the main aspects of the module is creating our own business in small groups, similar to a module I did in first year of uni so I think that will be really interesting and its also a great way to get to know other people. Another big aspects of the module is discussion and class participation so I think that will be really good for my french too and it will force me to speak in class in order to get a good grade.
Overall this module is looking like its going to be interesting, it's just a bit early for a Monday morning!
Espace Mondiale:
I also have for this a 'conférence' which is in smaller groups of around 20. In my class there are only 3 exchange students for this (including me) and the rest are 2nd year Sciences Po students, so this is going to be really good for my french. We have to do a 15 minute individual exposé and my topic for this is "qu'est-ce que c'est la gouvernance mondiale?"(what is global governance?). The thought of having to stand in front of the group and discuss this on my own for 15 minutes is pretty scary but mine is at the end of term so hopefully by then I will be improved and a lot more confident!
As well as this there is presentations of the readings each week, done in pairs. Mine is in a couple of weeks with two other french guys and luckily the text to present is in english so that will ease my in a bit as scholarly articles scare me in english let alone french! The worst part though is probably the 4 and a half hour exam at the end of the term. There is no way I can write for that long, my hand would fall off!!
There is also a big emphasis on maps and cartography in this module which to be honest I don't really understand the relevance but we shall see. So hugely mixed feelings and not real excitement about this module but hopefully it will get better.
Societies:
I have found that there is a "pom" society at Sciences Po. My excitement went through the roof! I didn't think there were any sports I could be even remotely ok about and I really wanted to do a sport to meet people but then I found cheer! I have tryouts next friday and fingers crossed if i'm not too awful then soon I'll be a part of the cheer soc! Woo hoo!
I have also discovered, just today, that there is a fashion society too! Hoping I will have a chance to use my video editing "skills" and maybe do some graphic design work for them, and the girl I spoke to said they have a lot of contacts who I can talk to about an internship too so that could also be pretty useful.
Sciences Po VS Warwick:
So now that I have done a few days of lessons I have noticed some more differences/similarities between Sciences Po and Warwick.
As a fairly small collection of buildings right in the middle of the city Sciences Po does not have that much space to chill out. The library is not that huge and the main hall area/courtyard of the main building are always packed. For anyone at Warwick who knows what it's like trying to leave Ramphal building at the end of a lecture with all the internationals kissing and greeting each other in the doorway then imagine that on a much larger scale and you have an idea of what it's like here.Also, whilst at Warwick we may have an abundance of (sometimes racist) geese and ducks, at Sciences Po there is a cat, Marcel. He lives in the 13 rue de l'université building and he just casually strolled past me whilst I am writing this. He even has his own facebook page and can be seen often chilling in classes on desks (see above). I suppose famous animals is a similarity between unis?
In other news, I still have no wifi at my apartment so yesterday I tried a cool internet café in Le Maris where you pay 4 euros an hour for unlimited coffee and snacks, called l'Anticafé. A really cool and original concept and a great quiet space to catch up on work or emails or just browse the web. See photos below:
I will update you on the other modules at the end of the week so stay tuned.
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Wednesday 30 September 2015
Monday 28 September 2015
Sunday 27 September 2015
Saturday 26 September 2015
Saturday 19 September 2015
Thursday 17 September 2015
Sunday 13 September 2015
Saturday 12 September 2015
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Week 2 update
So since my week 1 update I have done a few posts about some things that I have done (Eiffel Tower, various bars, ranting, etc.) but I said that I would do a post on my other classes which I hadn't yet had this time last week.
Startups et Management de l'Innovation Numérique
This module is all about digital innovation, looking at how huge tech startups and apps have become so popular and indispensible as part of modern daily life (for the young anyway). It seems like its going to be a really interesting module and just like in my 'management d'entreprise' we have to come up with a business in small groups of 3 (which is apparently the best number for starting a business). We also have to do an individual exposé, a 10 minute presentation, and my topic is all about Design Thinking. I did a module at Warwick last year on design thinking and its the best essay I have ever written (still not sure how I got 81%) so hopefully the background knowledge will help with this. It was meant to be the week 1 topic but a nice guy agreed to swap with me because I said I was nervous about going first, having never done an exposé. So yeah, this module looks good. It's late though: 7.15 - 9.15pm!
Initiation à l'Entrepreneuriat
This module is very similar to the one above, but with less of a focus on digital and just a focus on start ups in general. It was a really big class size for an elective, about 100 students I would say, and most of them masters students so 4th/5th year students. The lecturer was really engaging, and he started his career at Disney, before going on to create his own business which is cool. This module is graded on a range of things from individual to group work and class participation. I'm worried how i'm going to get a good grade for participation (40% of my mark) in such a large class with only a 2 hour lecture each week, especially given i'm not the most confident with my french yet but we'll see.
Last week, we were put into groups of 8 and given 10€ and literally told to return to the lecture next week with more money (!) My group decided on massages, I never really thought it was going to be the greatest idea, because I personally wouldn't want a massage off a random student in the courtyard of uni, but I don't really have the french vocab to disagree and I was happy to make a poster for the event and go with the flow. (See poster below)
So Monday and Tuesday we were giving massages in the garden and it was kind of awkward and we only made 25€ by massaging friends that we had persuaded to come (none of my friends came). We will see how successful that was VS others in the lesson tomorrow! As a "learning" exercise though I guess it was interesting because we can easily address where we went wrong (no one wants massages!!!). I needed my dream-team from the Warwick apprentice with me, we would have smashed it.
So that's the rest of my courses. Already straight in on the workload, presentations coming up, articles to read that never get marked (see previous blog post), group projects to work on etc. Tomorrow night is the big night out planned by the BDE (bureau des élèves, a.k.a the Students Union), at the third biggest club in Paris called Zig Zag just off the Champs Élysées so that's pretty exciting, and then cheer tryouts on Friday afternoon (although after tomorrow night i'm not sure how good I will be feeling!).
Startups et Management de l'Innovation Numérique
This module is all about digital innovation, looking at how huge tech startups and apps have become so popular and indispensible as part of modern daily life (for the young anyway). It seems like its going to be a really interesting module and just like in my 'management d'entreprise' we have to come up with a business in small groups of 3 (which is apparently the best number for starting a business). We also have to do an individual exposé, a 10 minute presentation, and my topic is all about Design Thinking. I did a module at Warwick last year on design thinking and its the best essay I have ever written (still not sure how I got 81%) so hopefully the background knowledge will help with this. It was meant to be the week 1 topic but a nice guy agreed to swap with me because I said I was nervous about going first, having never done an exposé. So yeah, this module looks good. It's late though: 7.15 - 9.15pm!
Initiation à l'Entrepreneuriat
This module is very similar to the one above, but with less of a focus on digital and just a focus on start ups in general. It was a really big class size for an elective, about 100 students I would say, and most of them masters students so 4th/5th year students. The lecturer was really engaging, and he started his career at Disney, before going on to create his own business which is cool. This module is graded on a range of things from individual to group work and class participation. I'm worried how i'm going to get a good grade for participation (40% of my mark) in such a large class with only a 2 hour lecture each week, especially given i'm not the most confident with my french yet but we'll see.
Last week, we were put into groups of 8 and given 10€ and literally told to return to the lecture next week with more money (!) My group decided on massages, I never really thought it was going to be the greatest idea, because I personally wouldn't want a massage off a random student in the courtyard of uni, but I don't really have the french vocab to disagree and I was happy to make a poster for the event and go with the flow. (See poster below)
So that's the rest of my courses. Already straight in on the workload, presentations coming up, articles to read that never get marked (see previous blog post), group projects to work on etc. Tomorrow night is the big night out planned by the BDE (bureau des élèves, a.k.a the Students Union), at the third biggest club in Paris called Zig Zag just off the Champs Élysées so that's pretty exciting, and then cheer tryouts on Friday afternoon (although after tomorrow night i'm not sure how good I will be feeling!).
Things I currently hate about France
Don't get me wrong here, I absolutely love Paris, uni generally is great (if a little challenging but i'll get used to that) and Paris is super magical and exciting etc. but I feel I need to vent some of the things that have been driving me mad and hopefully then I can feel happier about them:
1) I still don't have internet. It took them over a week to manually cancel the old tenants contracts. A further 3 days for this to take effect for them to then be able to give me a box, and now its going to take 2 weeks for them to activate my line?!?! How can it take 2 weeks to activate an internet line that it took only 3 days to cancel? and why should I have to pay this month of internet when half of the month i'm not actually going to have any internet? I don't know if it is Bouygues or just France that is generally incompetent and slow, but this is getting annoying now. I am going to have used all the date on my phone (because this is my only internet when at home) way before the end of the month, and then have to pay Bouygues even more money...
2) For my lecture "Espace Mondiale" each week we have to read the core article and then write a 500 word summary on the main theory, how the author argues this and it's limitations. This week it was this article: http://conflits.revues.org/267 It took me literally hours to read and understand enough to be able summarise the key points and try to identify limitations. But then we get to class and she only collects a random handful each week, and this week mine wasn't one of them (!!). Whilst I get that obviously it's important to read the articles every week anyway its just frustrating when you spend so long on it and then its not even going to get looked at. I don't even know if I properly understood the article! I never will know.
3) I have a 4 hour gap until my next lecture at 7.15pm. I just bought a sandwich, found a nice table (near a plug, currently only 11% laptop battery) and as i'm sitting down someone else plugs their laptop in the plug socket. I have 42 minutes of power remaining on my Macbook and 4 hours until my next lecture. HELP. I even remembered my adaptor today. The other day I was so proud to find a plug spot until I realised I didn't have a plug adaptor and so couldn't plug in my charger anyway.
4) In France, you can't get out 10€ at a cash point, the minimum you can get is 20€, but when you get 20€ they give you two 10 euro notes!! Where is the logic in that? Oh, and by the way you can apparently get 1000€ out at a cash point (not sure this is true but it comes up as an option on the screen). It doesn't make sense.
On the plus side the sun is shining today and its a lot warmer, and Paris is much nicer when it's sunny and warm so it's not all bad but my current mood is #firstworldproblems #yearabroadfail
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Monday 7 September 2015
Being a tourist at the Eiffel Tower
I know I said I wanted to do untouristy things whilst I was here (see last post) but yesterday, having spent hours reading (or trying to read) some awful long french article for one of my modules I thought "you know what, i'm in Paris, I'm going to go and take a selfie with the Eiffel Tower", and so I did. They say that as a foreigner in Paris, no matter how many times you see the Eiffel Tower it is never not exciting and breathtaking, and I have to say that's true (although i've only been here two weeks, we'll see at the end of the year). As I turned the corner at the top of the Jardins de Trocadero there it is, huge and looming straight ahead, and as impressive as ever. It's kind of weird how this effectively useless monument has become so hugely popular and so hugely iconic of Paris.
I could not believe the amount of people that were there, like me, to take photos of it, with it etc. People doing wedding photo shoots, popping champagne in their finest dresses for photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Selfie sticks left, right and centre, silly poses trying to pinch the top of it. It's such a bizarre thing to sit and watch people doing but then you can't judge people because we're all equally guilty of doing exactly the same thing and 5 minutes later it was me, on my own, posing for selfies with it in the background.
The size of it is hard to comprehend as well. It looms way above any of the surrounding buildings, so stood out from the rest of Paris. If you stand underneath it and look up it makes you feel dizzy, and i'm sure if you stand at the top and look down you feel even dizzier. On my list of things I want to do is go up to the observation deck of the Tour Montparnasse because I think you would get a great view of the Eiffel Tower and how it stands out against the Paris skyline. It's like when you go up the Empire State building in New York, you get a great view of New York, but not of the world-famous building itself because you're stood on it. Where as from the Rockefeller centre you get an amazing view of New York AND the Empire State building. So I think it would be cool to see the Eiffel Tower from a different view point than the ground.
I always forget what a weird light brown colour it is. Imagine if it was in gold or silver, or metallic pink, like the tiny little key rings sold underneath it, 5 for 1€.
A brief history of the Eiffel tower (as googled by me):
- Designed by Gustave Eiffel, in 1889 to celebrate the 100-anniversary of the French Revolution.
- At the time it was completed it was the tallest building in the world at 381m. (The current tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands at 828m, almost 3 times the height of the Tour Eiffel).
- It was only intended to be a temporary structure and was nearly torn down in 1909, but saved due to recognition for its usage as a radiotelegraph station (it is apparently not as useless as I thought).
- It is repainted every 7 years (maybe metallic pink is an option?) and receives more visitors yearly than any other monument in the world, over 7 million on average.
- You can have dinner on the Eiffel tower for 190€ per person, plus 95€ for wine. Anyone want to take me?
I could not believe the amount of people that were there, like me, to take photos of it, with it etc. People doing wedding photo shoots, popping champagne in their finest dresses for photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Selfie sticks left, right and centre, silly poses trying to pinch the top of it. It's such a bizarre thing to sit and watch people doing but then you can't judge people because we're all equally guilty of doing exactly the same thing and 5 minutes later it was me, on my own, posing for selfies with it in the background.
The size of it is hard to comprehend as well. It looms way above any of the surrounding buildings, so stood out from the rest of Paris. If you stand underneath it and look up it makes you feel dizzy, and i'm sure if you stand at the top and look down you feel even dizzier. On my list of things I want to do is go up to the observation deck of the Tour Montparnasse because I think you would get a great view of the Eiffel Tower and how it stands out against the Paris skyline. It's like when you go up the Empire State building in New York, you get a great view of New York, but not of the world-famous building itself because you're stood on it. Where as from the Rockefeller centre you get an amazing view of New York AND the Empire State building. So I think it would be cool to see the Eiffel Tower from a different view point than the ground.I always forget what a weird light brown colour it is. Imagine if it was in gold or silver, or metallic pink, like the tiny little key rings sold underneath it, 5 for 1€.
A brief history of the Eiffel tower (as googled by me):
- Designed by Gustave Eiffel, in 1889 to celebrate the 100-anniversary of the French Revolution.
- At the time it was completed it was the tallest building in the world at 381m. (The current tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands at 828m, almost 3 times the height of the Tour Eiffel).
- It was only intended to be a temporary structure and was nearly torn down in 1909, but saved due to recognition for its usage as a radiotelegraph station (it is apparently not as useless as I thought).
- It is repainted every 7 years (maybe metallic pink is an option?) and receives more visitors yearly than any other monument in the world, over 7 million on average.
- You can have dinner on the Eiffel tower for 190€ per person, plus 95€ for wine. Anyone want to take me?
Exploring bars in rue Mouffetard, 5ème
On Friday night we explored some bars in the 5th arrondissement, where a few of my international friends are living. There's a really vibrant street called rue Mouffetard which is lined with bars, and creperies, and restaurants, and ice cream parlours, and brasseries and on a Friday night it's buzzing with people.
The first place we went to was called Le Requin Chagrin, which I had heard about online. It had a kind of english pub feel to it inside, with french-style brasserie tables outside. On Thursday it's happy hour all night for ladies and cocktails are only 5€ so mental note made to spend a Thursday evening there (especially since I have no lectures on a friday). I didn't take this picture myself because I often don't think/forget to take photos when i'm out. They're showing all the Rugby World Cup games here and though i'm not exactly a huge rugby fan and I don't know how many of the games i'll watch, I reckon it would be a good atmosphere if you did want to watch a game and support your nation.
The second place we went to was a tapas restaurant/bar called Le Bar de Fer. This was a really small space, they struggled to squeeze us in, but it had a great atmosphere and the food looked amazing. They had a guy playing live music, just his voice and his guitar, and he was seriously good. He had a perfect repetoire mix from more chilled acoustic songs to more upbeat tracks like Stand by Me and Cheerleader which had quite a few people up and dancing and others singing along. It was also really cool decor in there because they had literally just got people to write all over the wall, quotes, drawings, messages, where they were from etc. and it just had this kind of lived-in vibe which I liked a lot. I wish I had taken a picture of it! The drinks weren't that cheap, 5.50€ for a glass of wine, but it was nice wine, and the atmosphere, music, vibe etc. was great.
Word of advice: don't order a tea. A friend ordered a tea, 15 minutes later (having been bought the wine/beer we'd ordered) we ask where the tea is and the waitress looks at us like we're completely stupid because obviously the tea is being made and will arrive. Another 15 minutes later, and eventually they bring out a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side - how that took half an hour to make I don't know, and for 4€ my advice would be to just order alcohol instead!
The first place we went to was called Le Requin Chagrin, which I had heard about online. It had a kind of english pub feel to it inside, with french-style brasserie tables outside. On Thursday it's happy hour all night for ladies and cocktails are only 5€ so mental note made to spend a Thursday evening there (especially since I have no lectures on a friday). I didn't take this picture myself because I often don't think/forget to take photos when i'm out. They're showing all the Rugby World Cup games here and though i'm not exactly a huge rugby fan and I don't know how many of the games i'll watch, I reckon it would be a good atmosphere if you did want to watch a game and support your nation.The second place we went to was a tapas restaurant/bar called Le Bar de Fer. This was a really small space, they struggled to squeeze us in, but it had a great atmosphere and the food looked amazing. They had a guy playing live music, just his voice and his guitar, and he was seriously good. He had a perfect repetoire mix from more chilled acoustic songs to more upbeat tracks like Stand by Me and Cheerleader which had quite a few people up and dancing and others singing along. It was also really cool decor in there because they had literally just got people to write all over the wall, quotes, drawings, messages, where they were from etc. and it just had this kind of lived-in vibe which I liked a lot. I wish I had taken a picture of it! The drinks weren't that cheap, 5.50€ for a glass of wine, but it was nice wine, and the atmosphere, music, vibe etc. was great.
Word of advice: don't order a tea. A friend ordered a tea, 15 minutes later (having been bought the wine/beer we'd ordered) we ask where the tea is and the waitress looks at us like we're completely stupid because obviously the tea is being made and will arrive. Another 15 minutes later, and eventually they bring out a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side - how that took half an hour to make I don't know, and for 4€ my advice would be to just order alcohol instead!
Sunday 6 September 2015
Friday 4 September 2015
Thursday 3 September 2015
Wednesday 2 September 2015
Week 1 update
So I have now officially started term and I wanted to up date you a little on how things have been so far and what my first thoughts on some of my modules, societies and uni in general.
Management de l'entreprise:
On Monday I had my first lesson at 8am, which for me seemed stupidly early but is something I will have to get used to. This was one of my elective modules and is a class of about 20 students, I would say maybe 60% exchange students, some studying at Sciences Po full time but originally from other places and a few actual french students. The two professors that run this module seemed great, both of them work (always have and still do) in consulting, one for Capgemini and the other now owns his own company, so it's pretty cool that they run this module alongside their jobs.One of the main aspects of the module is creating our own business in small groups, similar to a module I did in first year of uni so I think that will be really interesting and its also a great way to get to know other people. Another big aspects of the module is discussion and class participation so I think that will be really good for my french too and it will force me to speak in class in order to get a good grade.
Overall this module is looking like its going to be interesting, it's just a bit early for a Monday morning!
Espace Mondiale:
I also have for this a 'conférence' which is in smaller groups of around 20. In my class there are only 3 exchange students for this (including me) and the rest are 2nd year Sciences Po students, so this is going to be really good for my french. We have to do a 15 minute individual exposé and my topic for this is "qu'est-ce que c'est la gouvernance mondiale?"(what is global governance?). The thought of having to stand in front of the group and discuss this on my own for 15 minutes is pretty scary but mine is at the end of term so hopefully by then I will be improved and a lot more confident!
As well as this there is presentations of the readings each week, done in pairs. Mine is in a couple of weeks with two other french guys and luckily the text to present is in english so that will ease my in a bit as scholarly articles scare me in english let alone french! The worst part though is probably the 4 and a half hour exam at the end of the term. There is no way I can write for that long, my hand would fall off!!
There is also a big emphasis on maps and cartography in this module which to be honest I don't really understand the relevance but we shall see. So hugely mixed feelings and not real excitement about this module but hopefully it will get better.
Societies:
I have found that there is a "pom" society at Sciences Po. My excitement went through the roof! I didn't think there were any sports I could be even remotely ok about and I really wanted to do a sport to meet people but then I found cheer! I have tryouts next friday and fingers crossed if i'm not too awful then soon I'll be a part of the cheer soc! Woo hoo!
I have also discovered, just today, that there is a fashion society too! Hoping I will have a chance to use my video editing "skills" and maybe do some graphic design work for them, and the girl I spoke to said they have a lot of contacts who I can talk to about an internship too so that could also be pretty useful.
Sciences Po VS Warwick:
So now that I have done a few days of lessons I have noticed some more differences/similarities between Sciences Po and Warwick.
As a fairly small collection of buildings right in the middle of the city Sciences Po does not have that much space to chill out. The library is not that huge and the main hall area/courtyard of the main building are always packed. For anyone at Warwick who knows what it's like trying to leave Ramphal building at the end of a lecture with all the internationals kissing and greeting each other in the doorway then imagine that on a much larger scale and you have an idea of what it's like here.Also, whilst at Warwick we may have an abundance of (sometimes racist) geese and ducks, at Sciences Po there is a cat, Marcel. He lives in the 13 rue de l'université building and he just casually strolled past me whilst I am writing this. He even has his own facebook page and can be seen often chilling in classes on desks (see above). I suppose famous animals is a similarity between unis?
In other news, I still have no wifi at my apartment so yesterday I tried a cool internet café in Le Maris where you pay 4 euros an hour for unlimited coffee and snacks, called l'Anticafé. A really cool and original concept and a great quiet space to catch up on work or emails or just browse the web. See photos below:
I will update you on the other modules at the end of the week so stay tuned.
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