Feb 29

Feb 29 February 2016: Tiny Victories

Happy Leap Day! I'm not exactly sure how to celebrate, but maybe it's just the excuse I need to spring for that Tropézienne at the boulangerie.

I’m finally publishing this in the month that its intended for. Phew. February flew by and thank goodness. It's been a cold one in Paris and we were both afflicted by some pesky ailments. Steve also had a five day stint in Saudi Arabia in the middle of the month, while I stayed in Paris. It wasn't exactly my favorite month so far. That being said, I’m looking forward to the next one and the seasonal transformation to come! Let’s hope for more sunshine-y days in March!

Presenting February’s wins…

Free books!

I like to read, but books are expensive. Since we’ve been here, I haven’t bought many though I tend to wander into random French and English bookstores. I want to take them all home with me, but I can’t bring myself to spend 15 euros on even one book. So I decided to check out a very wonderful and very free resource - the library. There are a ton in Paris, so I had to do some research to find just the right one. My requirements were 1.) a solid number of English language books and 2.) not terribly far away. After all, who wants to lug pounds of books home on the metro? After lots of googling, I found myself at Bibliothèque Buffon. I signed up for my very own library card while speaking French with the librarian. I checked out three fiction books + another to help me practice French.

My very own articles.

After some consideration over the last few months, I reached out to a few websites to see if I could start writing for them. I thought it would be good experience to start working with editors and begin writing outside of my own personal experience. It would also be something to keep me busy.

One website, Culture Trip, was very quick to assign me topics with deadlines. During February, I had two listicles published on their site (and they include a few of my photos!). One is a photo essay of beautiful staircases around Paris and the other is a rundown of 10 landmarks that transformed the Parisian cityscape. Take a look! And stay tuned for more; I just got my next assignment.

Application accepted.

I was officially accepted into French classes with the Mairie! Whooo! These classes are notoriously hard to get into because they are so inexpensive. For 120 hours of class time, it costs 250 euros. That equates to 2.08 euros per hour. Crazy! I’ve also read that the professors who teach these classes are some of the most qualified; they often have a background in linguistics and can speak multiple languages. So it’s definitely worth it as long as you are ready to put in the effort. Class starts next week on March 7th. On the first morning, I will take my placement test and after that, I’ll continue with classes four times per week, 8 - 10am. I guess it's time for me to become a morning person...