Exam Season

Normally exam season spells long days filled with books, libraries, cafes and endless dates, facts and memorization. Now I normally find exam season not too bad because at least you don't have to go to class with all the hard work on the horizon. Exam season at Sciences Po, however, was however, even more pleasant than any other I have ever experienced. After a few fun days back in Paris over New Years, we then get into the two week exam period at school. Personally, I think its stupid to have such a long break between end of classes and exams, especially since Christmas is in here. But thanks to the fact that I only had two exams to write, it actually made the time fly by quite relatively enjoyably and lent itself to doing some sightseeing and socializing. Here's how those two weeks went down.

Monday January 3rd:
The first official day of exam break. Since arriving back in Europe and because of late nights, my sleep schedule is terribly out of whack. I, who normally wakes up consistently between 9:30 and 10:30, was sleeping until 1. I really dislike doing this since it makes me feel like so much of the day is wasted needlessly. But then again, if I was sleeping naturally until that time, it was evident I needed the sleep. Anyways, so I slept late on Monday, but once I got up I resolved to start the season off right by getting right into work. I never do this, but for this upcoming exam, French Politics and Society on Saturday, I decided to type up all of my notes. It was quite the chore. But anyways, I was feeling very pleased with myself that I had gotten down to business and was making good headway. Once I get going, I normally feel all pumped about how great I am and try and keep the vibe alive. I took a study break to go for a run and then spent some time organizing a get together later that night to watch the Canada-US World Juniors game, playing at 1:30am. It was supposed to be playing at The Great Canadian Bar by St Michel, but failing that they might close early, I confirmed it would be on at The Highlander, an Irish pub just down the street. I did some more studying before heading to Annie's and then the bar. We were there early, and it was great to catch up with Glenn, Marina and a friend of her's, in addition to Annie and myself. Around 12:30, the Great Canadian told up since pretty much no one was there, they were closing shop and we should head to the Highlander. No sweat. We walked over, and I confirmed with the manager that the game was playing. We took our seats and waited. At game time though, disaster struck. Apparently, they couldn't find the game on any of their channels! I was pretty crushed, and annoyed since I had spent some time all afternoon calling around and confirming this. Oh well. I stayed another half hour and then velibed home and caught the last half of the game of tsn live. Nicely done boys. 4-1 win!

Tues. Jan 4th:
Since the game ended at around 3:30 am, I once again continued my annoying streak of sleeping in much too late. Darn. The rest of the day was restless and unproductive. It was kindof a fail at life actually. It was dreary weather outside, and having champed my review the previous day, I was feeling no motivation to continue so soon with my notes. So much How I Met Your Mother was watched, solo, and later with Etienne. Later that night I also got to chat with Ally for the first time in forever which greatly cheered me and I went to bed resolving to step up my game the next day.

Wed. Jan 5th:
Step it up I did. I got up a little bit earlier than the previous days and polished off the remaining notes to be typed. Went on a fabulous run on my route up around the Eiffel Tower. Later that night, I went to Caveau des Oubliettes in the Latin Quarter to take in some jazz with Glenn, Corina, Shaun and Jordana. In the end we just sat upstairs and had some drinks and chatted. One thing I really got out of the conversation was Shaun and Jordana's stories of making the most out of the visit, and everyday of the week. Sometimes when I know I am here for the whole year, I'm not as active in doing this all the time, but I really should. Tuesday was an example. I need to get out of my routines and comfort sone and try new places. I have resolved to put a museum, or exhibition or something on my list to visit every single week. I took the last metro home and got back in time to stream the gold medal game of World Juniors. I ended up passing out after the first two perios, sure that our 3-0 lead was untouchable. For those who watched we all know what happened...

Thurs. Jan 6th: That's right, I awoke to the news on facebook and tsn of our self-destruct in the 3rd to lose 4-3. Big downer. Of well. I get ready and decided to put my previous night's resolution into action and velibed up to the Musee Rodin by Invalides. I even got to use my Europeen residency card for free entry! It was an overcast afternoon with traces of rain, but it was so calming and soothing. The museum itself is housed in an awesome old mansion in the 7th and there are hundreds of Rodin's sculptures. It was a really cool museum. My favorite was a sculpture by Claudel, the Waltz. Gorgeous. It also showed how sculptures are made which was pretty cool. As I wandered by myself through the rooms, I was also impressed by the large number of art students huddled on small stools and chair by the windows, sketching the works. It really added to the atmosphere. I also visited the gardens, which are exceptional, and I definitely plan on returning in the spring when they are all in bloom. Finally, I also quickly went through a expo on Henry Moore, a British sculptor. It was both weird and cool, an artist who challenged the conventional forms of beauty. Afterwards, I velibed back home, showered, and got ready to go out. I had decided to go to my first Afterwork Party at Club Romeo. They are organized by this group of students, the majority from Quebec/Montreal, at Sc Po who call themselves les Veterans, and they are basically just a social club. Anyways, they have this weekly thursday night soirees at various clubs where from 7-9, you pay 15euro for all you can drink mojitos and all you can eat sushi. Then after 9 the dance floor gets started and you're home by 12. Makes for a good night. It was a lot of fun dancing with Eva, Corina, Annie and some friends of hers, Shaun and Glenn. The other nice thing is that there were a lot of French people there, coming from work to unleash for a little while. Resolution for Paris term 2 #2: get out to places where more French people go rather than always rolling with internationals.

Fri. Jan 7th:
My sleep schedule is getting better little by little, and after showering, I headed over to Daniel's for some pre-exam studying/brainstorming and also enjoyed a lovely cup of tea with he and his roommate Damien. I came back feeling ok, but decided I needed to log a bit more intense review, and did so before heading up to Glenn's for a final party at his, Werewolf Bar Mitzvah (its a song). I stayed for a couple of glasses of wine and left just as things were starting to get funny at 12:30 to go to bed at a reasonable hour since the next day was the exam.

Sat. Jan 8th:
Up, painfully early at 8 (especially after my week of sleep-ins) and off I went to the exam for 10. I think it went very well. The previous day, Daniel and I had pretty much guessed what the essay topic would be and had drafted a plan and problematique for the question. So basically the exam was just putting the plan into essay form. Skill. I time managed well and finished with about a minute to spare. I came out in the best mood ever and decided to velib home to burn off some energy. I relaxed for a bit in the afternoon before going for out on a new exploratory run route that took me along some sidestreets across the 15th and over the the Seine. It is much quieter and totally not touristy down at that end, and I enjoyed some new tunes I had just downloaded. I cut back towards home by the Eiffel Tower and ran through Champs de Mars and home in a tank top since it was so mild out. So sweet. The night didn't produce any exciting plans since all of my friends were pretty beat from the previous night so I just ended up staying in and watching Erin Brockovich for the first time. Really good film.

Sun. Jan 9th:
Got up and organized life a bit before velibing up to Pasteur and meeting Jordana. We then took a metro up to Glenn's and rendezvoused with Glenn, David, Tom and Shaun and went up to Marche aux Puces at Clignancourt. The market up there is so sweet, albeit overwhelming. You can see new things everytime you go. On this trip, we also met up with Annie and her visiting Aussie friends and stayed for about two hours before heading home cold and hungry. I didn't come home empty handed though, having received two awesome 192os style fashion poster which Annie gave me as a Christmas Present, as well as an awesome old key that I'm going to put on a chain and wear as a necklace. I was home for a bit and then headed back towards the center of town to meet Annie, her friends Steph and Mary, and Maia for a lovely girls night at this restaurant Anthracite, which has an awesome vibe. Annie had taken advantage of this site called La Fourchette (the fork) to make the reservation, and so we got 50% off our whole meal! It meant us students could take in an awesome veal dinner with appetizers and desserts for a very reasonable price. I am definitely going to remember the site in the future. They chefs in Paris really know their stuff, and its sinful. After dinner, we rolled by David's who lives just around the corner in Le Marais for a glass of wine before rocking the last metro at 12:30.

Mon. Jan 10th:
Week two of exam season begins! With the next exam, Ethics of War, not until Saturday afternoon, the pressure to study was far away and I when I awoke (back at my normal time) I headed straight for the door before breakfast and went for a run. After I showered and wolfed down lunch I velibed up to Hotel de Ville to meet Ayumi for coffee. Ended up having the most satisfying smoothy from Columbus Cafe, overlooking the small side street. Will definitely have to keep the place it in mind for coffeeshop studying, its perfect. We had a great chat for a couple of hours, resolving to keep the term one kids united. We walked across the river and split up as I headed to check out Shakespeare & Company. It is an old bookshop which has been in Paris for centuries, one of only two places in the city that only sells English-language books. It was the first publisher of James Joyce's masterpeice Ulysses. It has relocated right to Seine since WWII, and it is floor to ceiling books, crammed everywhere. Essentially it is awesome. After browsing the shelves for 20min and taking in to ambience, I bought The Time Traveller's Wife, a book I have been meaning to read for awhile, for my upcoming Spanish vacation. After I exited, I strolled the streets for a little while before heading home. I ended up going out for dinner with Etienne and his mother Gaelle. It was soo good. Two nice dinners out in a row - I am spoiled! Back at home, I watched an episode of Glee and went to bed early.

Tues. Jan 11th:
The morning was leisurely (a nice way of saying slow), and I tidied etc. By the middle of the afternoon I headed up to Sciences Po to study, since I was having a hard time motivating myself at home. I went through all my notes, bumped into Maia and chatted with her, and picked up my paper from Ethics. I went home briefly for the fastest dinner making of life and then headed back to school to Le Basile where I met Josh and Corina for drinks. Joao was also supposed to come, but bailed at the last minute. I hadn't seen Josh since the Christmas dinner, so it was great to catch up. He was the first person I talked to in the Madeleine group on the first real day of the Welcome Programme, and so it was sad to have our last goodbye, as he's heading back U of Florida next week. So begins the farewells that are going to be coming fast and furious. But I'm trying to be optimistic about it and with the wonders of facebook and travelling, I hope that I get to see all these people that have made term one so amazing again soon.

Wed. Jan 12th:
I got up and got ready first thing in the morning and headed to Rue de Rivoli to take in the soldes de Paris. Soldes = sales! In France, sales in retailers are regulated, so all the stores have sales all at the same time, twice a year for a few weeks. Amazing and overwhelming all at the same time. Wednesday was the first day, and I arrived on one of the big shopping boulevards at around 11. Mission: some shoes. My black boots have a bit of a hole in them which is less than ideal in wet and cold weather. Two hours later I walked away tired but thrilled with black ankle boots with a very small heel, dark grey French style shoes (mid-height heel and lace up), a grey midweight coat, a pale pink sweater dress, a cream coloured shirt and a jersey blue longsleeve all for one hundred dollars! I justify it that it was the boxing day I never got. Now to just show restraint for the rest of sale season...I decided to head home before I got any more carried away. I had lunch and went for a run in the afternoon along the perimeter of the city. Afterwards I got ready to go out for dinner with the dutch group for Timon's Last Supper. We went to La Cave de Jojo up in Montmartre. I have been in that neighbourhood only sparringly, but after walking around there tonight, I am resolving to get lost up there some afternoon. Its amazing, and on a huge hill, so good to stretch the legs. It was a nice dinner, with a great turn out, 10 of us in all. Afterwards, Timon, Boudewijn, Lisbeth Sophie and I went to a bar, Aux Rendezvous des Amis to continue the celebrating. The bar itself is cool, with pictures of patrons all over the walls. It was also the first time in Paris that I have been somewhere that serves beer in pitchers! Yureka! It was great night of 'never have I ever', the most fun I've ever had playing that game, and it made me even sadder when the bar kicked us out just after 2. All of those great people are all heading back to Holland. Too many goodbyes. I then requested that as a final goodbye gift, Timon would bike me across the river. It was wonderful. Boudewijn and Lisbeth velibed along, and we rushed down Montmartre, through the 2nd, past Concorde and Grand Palais and across the river by the Eiffel Tower and Invalides. Timon, always the gentleman, even took me right to my door, and we finally got to chat just the two of us for the first time since Christmas. It was really great, and really hard to say goodbye. But hopefully we will see each other again this term as there are plans for the group to reunite in Paris in the spring.

Thurs. Jan 13th:
I got down to some study notes on Thursday until about 2 when I headed across the river by velib to meet Maia and go the Musee Marmottan Monet. I have been really pumped to be biking so much this term. In the case of going to the 16th, it is actually so much faster than taking the metro. We met up and walked by a lovely park on our way to the museum. It is devoted exclusively to Monet, and has a wide variety of his works, from sketches, caricatures, to landscape and of course, his famous paintings in Giverny. Maia and I were thrilled, both by the house and the works inside. It is certainly my favourite museum I have visited yet here in Paris, since it isn't overwhelming, and of course because I love Monet. It took us about an hour to go through everything, I am certainly planning on going back with future visitors. I then headed home, getting a little lost along the way but it wasn't too bad. I had some dinner and finished up a few more study notes before I took exactly the same velib route over to Pedro's (affliated with the Dutch crowd), who also lives in the 16th. He has an awesome studio there, and we had plans to drink a bit there and then head to Erasmus at either mix or Porte de Maillot, but abandoned that idea to sit on the small roof under his 6th floor window and enjoy the stars. It was great, and I got to have a great chat with Eva, Boudewijn, and Sophie. At around 2 we decided to head home, so Sophie, Lauren Bailey, Eva and I took off and tried to perform the 2-person velib. Big fail, and it made my butt hurt for a few days, but when I was finally on my own, I enjoyed the cruising back down to Convention.

Fri. Jan 14th:
I was a little worse for wear in the am but rallied. I headed to Sc Po to fill in a housing form for next year back at UBC, printed plane tickets for the weekend, and worked on more study notes. At 6 I packed it in and enjoyed a lovely walk through the neighbourhood and along the Seine up to the Pompidou, where I met up with Jordana, Melody and her sister for falafels. They just can't be beat. I headed home with the intention of finishing my study notes and going out to celebrate Meltem's birthday, but kindof bailed, feeling tired and not so great. The pouring rain didn't really help motivate me either. It was kindof nice to have a quiet night on the couch watching more How I Met Your Mother. I did look through my notes and was in bed by 1, feeling ready for my exam the next day.

Sat. Jan 15th:
Exam Day #2! I got up in good time and headed straight out the door for a run in the early morning sunshine, since I knew the rest of the day would be busy. I powered reviewed of brunch and got to school with lots of time to spare. As I was waiting in the hall, my History of Fashion teacher Elodie past by and told me I had done very well on my exam, so I was pretty stoked going into the room, just wanting to get it done and be free! The questions were a bit of a disappointment - 3 questions with no choice, and in my opinion rather obscure things from the course. Of course the one lecture I had missed and had borrowed someone else's notes was important on two of the three questions. Most frustrating was that I felt even if I had studied for 10 more hours, I wouldn't have felt better prepared. Oh well. I finished, satisfied with my answers as I was going to be, and left over 30 minutes early. At least it was done! After, I walked along the Seine again, this time in a beautiful crisp sunshine, feeling pretty cool in my new French shoes and grey jacket. I even stopped at some of the weekend stalls and picked up a few cheap prints of the city to decorate my white-walled room, which has been bare up until last week. I walked by Notre Dame and all the way over to Ile St Louis to say goodbye to Rachel. She has decided to head back to Australia early for a number of reason, so it was great that we got a chance to catch up once last time. I wish we had had a chance to hang out more over the semester but c'est la vie - I guess I'll just have to go to Australia and visit her, and all my Aussie friends soon! Home for dinner and then up to Tom's by St Lazare for Glenn's last evening. I had a really great talk with him, and it was a fun night. He is another one that I am really going to miss. All our close friends were there, and we shouted the "Vodka Duck" toast at the end before all heading to catch last metros. I got home and skyped the family since I was heading south in the morning. Packing would have to wait until the morning. Next stop: Espana en la manana!

Cheers!

PS I have been being really good about taking lots of pictures, but my camera had a bit of an accident while in Spain. Fear not, I think the memory card is all good, but I just can't load them right now. Will edit this an insert the visuals as soon as possible! xx