latvian-parisienne

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 18 - my first international trip to Brussels

I don’t know where I was when people were given out the wish to stay at home and do nothing on Saturdays, but I definitely did not get gifted with this wish. For me, there is no bigger happiness than to purchase a new plane or bus ticket and go somewhere to explore. Especially if I’ve never been in the place yet. This was also the case with Brussels - somehow everyone had already been there, but me. I somehow always re-visited other cities, but never arrived in Brussels.

When I arrived in the Paris bus station at 8 a.m., I already was approached by two tourists who could not understand where to buy the ticket or what to do when a bus is missed. Maybe I have “APPROACH ME” written on my back or do I really start to look like someone who has figured stuff out. That’s still a mystery to me.

From Paris, it took us around 30 EUR together and 4hours one way and we arrived in the capital of the European institutions, Manneken Pis, wonderful street art and the best fries in the world. After visiting the city, I cannot clearly understand why I always managed to skip it. Although in the first moment the city looked quite empty and we had a feeling that all of the inhabitants are busy checking out the flea markets we saw through our bus’s windows, in the very center there were a lot of people. 

Brussels is full of contrasts - when you exit the bus, it feels like you have arrived in New York - high skyscrapers, glass buildings and ongoing renovation works are the things that shape the new center of Brussels. But, whenever you get closer to the old city center, it’s full of magnificent architecture, green parks, golden elements, flowers and smell of waffles. The old city center slightly reminded me of Old Riga, only with more people and more action going on. I always get kinda sad when I see other small cities like Riga which have managed to get much further in life than we have. It’s hard to argue whether it’s our history that has traumatized us so much that we cannot get back on our feet or whether it’s the lack of knowledge of how to spend money and resources properly, but it still makes me sad that we do not look as visited and polished as Brussels do.

Although one day (more precisely, six hours) might be too little to visit the whole Brussels, especially if you’re visiting everything by foot, you can still manage to get the Brussels feeling. The city center itself is quite small and walkable and by walking 11km in the 6 hours, you have seen all of the basics you need.

To my surprise, the prices in Brussels were quite low. I was sure that it would be an expensive city due to the EU institutions and the purchasing power that people should have here, but, in comparison to Paris, I felt super rich. Waffles 4 EUR (with nutella and strawberries and cooked on the spot!), a lot of fries with sauce 3.5 EUR and we even managed to find a bar called Celtica which has happy hours everyday from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. and beers cost starting from 1 EUR only. We chose to try out some fruity Lindemans beers for 2 EUR and, boy, it was worth it! Even in Riga it’s hard to find a qualitative craft beer under 3 EUR in a bar but here we were lucky enough to do that.

What can I say, kids: travel! Try new foods (especially in Brussels where the savory food lovers can eat as many moules frites as possible and sweet tooth can snack on waffles and good Belgian chocolate), visit new cities, experience new cultures and do not sit at home watching Netflix (that you can manage to do on your way there!)

More on the other perspective of the same things - on Thursday, I had a wine night at the Eiffel Tower and it got me thinking very deep thoughts. I decided to come to Paris for the exchange semester just to clear my head. To forget about people not worth remembering, to find new friends, to get rid of different sorts of feelings that are stuck in my mind, to get a fresh start and mindspace.

However, apparently you cannot run away from yourself and your own monsters. For me they are all here, they haven’t even slightly moved. If some people are meant to stuck in your head, it does not matter whether they are close to you or more than 1000km away, they are still in your mind. You tend to see them in your dreams, you tend to think about them whenever your internet isn’t working and you can’t send them a message. So what I can say so far - do not try to run away from your own thoughts. Traveling is amazing and so on, but you, the person on the inside, will not be able to run away from yourself.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 12-15 - Staying home and doing nothing is also a nice thing to do...apart from visiting Versailles

After you have spent the first week and a half in Paris and you have seen every monument there is to be seen and are kind of getting tired of purchasing additional metro tickets (because your dearest Navigo still has not arrived) or walking around, you start to also enjoy the joy of being at home... because you feel like you have a home to go to.

Apart from going to a meeting of the school’s journal and cheerleading trial, I decided not to leave the house for two days in a row. And it was amazing! Waking up whenever you like, napping, preparing some food, watching TV shows and doing laundry also should make a part of your stay in Paris.

And then the exhausting Tuesdays arrive, full of four lectures in a row and flour products, because that is the only thing you can manage to eat during the 15 minute breaks. Still nothing interesting happens, nothing worth talking about at least. Life in Paris can get pretty bring once you are used to it.

That is why one needs to explore more and more whenever the time constraints and sleep levels allow. Today we went to explore the beautiful palace of Versailles and it was, of course, breathtaking; however, I had somehow expected something more, something different.

We decided to go on our Versailles mission on a cloudy Wednesday morning, hoping that it would save us from the endless masses of tourists. We were slightly wrong - tourists were still there, stopping at around places, sticking selfie sticks into your face, creating guided groups which just tended to stay in the middle of a small corridor...it was all there even though we arrived at 10 a.m. And it can also be understood since the palace is beautiful and it is definitely worth visiting it at least once in your life. However, the endless crowds of people did not allow us to fully enjoy the beauty of Versailles - it was simply overcrowded and the only thing I managed to capture into photos was ceilings. They also were really impressive and full of various paintings, but most importantly, no one covered the view of them and it was easy to enjoy their charm.

Gold, glass and marble is basically screaming from every corner you see at Versailles. Although some of us might be willing to live in a similar building at some point in our lives, for me it felt too much. I could never imagine someone living there at all, that’s how over-polished and posh it looked. But that’s kind of the case with all of those big castles - they look majestic, not liveable. Maybe that’s even good - what would I do if I decided that I wanted to live in one someday?

The gardens were pretty indeed. Red and yellow coloured flowers were decorating the beautifully cut garden, which created several ornaments and figures in the ground. From the windows of the castle, the gardens looked even better. 

However, if you take a long walk towards the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, you will get a much better experience of Versailles. There are less people, less posh and more of the feeling that someone has actually lived there or at least would be willing to live there. Grand Trianon was my personal favorite, filled with pastel colors, cosier and smaller rooms and beautiful violet-schemed garden. It felt more put-together and less screaming-in-your-face than Versailles palace itself. Petit Trianon was also cute and worth-visiting, since it also gives you a completely different feeling from the vibe you get at Versailles. When visiting the Trianons, you suddenly feel like in a countryside - a small river, owners with dogs walking around, baby swans swimming in the lake, small chapel in the middle of a meadow and no tourists. It’s an amazing feeling when you know that a 15 minute walk away the people are getting crazy over Versailles. It cannot be felt at the Trianons.

So, am I happy that I went there? Yes. Would I have chosen any other day or time? Probably not, since it was still summery and sunny in the afternoon. Would I go there again? Definitely not in the upcoming 10 years. I feel like I saw everything there and there are plenty of castles of similar style around the whole Europe.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 11 - Traveling around part 1: Reims

What’s the best thing to do when you don’t feel very well? Buy cheap train tickets and make yourself feel better in the blink of an eye.

Although Paris is extremely beautiful itself, the whole France and region around is astonishing, too. When on Friday afternoon I found tickets to Reims for 4.99 EUR each way, it was only a question of with whom I would go rather than whether I would go. At 9:15 1.55h in a bus, then around 8min in a train to Gare du Reims and you are there. Then catch the bus at 18:15 and you’re home at 20:15, just in time to analyze one reading for European Economic Law. And 7 hours is enough to explore the beautiful, however, small city of Reims.

That’s how a managed to gather a team of four travelers from India, Hungary and Taiwan ready to join me in my daytrip. Before going to Reims, I remember having been there quite a few years ago; however, nothing apart from the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Reims had remained in my memory. I remembered that being beautiful, but nothing much. This time, maybe because I was older and could explore the city more properly, I will hopefully remember more.

“Je suis rémois“ is written all over their souvenirs, apparently reminding that not only Paris can be considered a touristy city, but also Reims and that you can be proud to call yourself an inhabitant of Reims. And they have lots to be proud of! The small city is still full of tourists, clean streets, cosy trams, beautiful architecture, tasty champagne and macarons, and museums which are free of charge for students.

When we had arrived to the cathedral, we were amazed and simply very happy about having arrived to a place outside of Paris. It was not overcrowded, it was light and it had a very warm feeling to it.

Afterwards the only problem of the trip started (apart from the fact that we almost missed our bus and I got totally anxious) - we wanted to find something to eat for a normal price. That was definitely a challenge. Although there are cafeterias on every corner, if you don’t feel like paying 10 EUR for a dish, you can’t find anything, and our wish for “eating something French” ended up being “eating something cheap” which was a burrito. It was tasty and offered Cheddar sauce as well, which completely improved the whole burrito experience for us as cheese lovers.

If you choose to go to Reims on Saturday, keep in mind that museums open only starting from 2pm, which for us meant that we have around 2 hours to hang around and wait for Musée des Beaux Arts to open. What did we choose to do? As Reims is located in the region of Champagne and is said to have one of the best champagnes in the world, we decided to drink some champagne even though it was only midday. Nothing’s wrong with that, right? 

Most of the cafeterias offer glasses of champagne as well; however, as imagined, they can be super expensive (even up to 10 EUR per glass) so we walked around several places to find one which costs the least. We were so desperate that some of us even suggested buying a bottle of champagne in the supermarket and then just drinking it in the park, but by doing that, the whole point of drinking the champagne would kind of lose its charm. In the end we bought a bottle for 32 EUR, which meant 7.5 EUR for each of us (for two glasses), therefore, the deal turned out to be pretty cost-efficient for us. You just have to walk around and look for the prices, and don��t forget to ask the representative of the restaurant whether it is allowed that you drink only champagne and that you don’t order any food.

In a slightly tipsy mood we decided to go to Musée des Beaux Arts and Le Palais du Tau. Both entrances for students were for free. While Musée des Beaux Arts was really interesting and provided great artworks, Le Palais du Tau was slightly disappointing. It should be a palais, but at first we did not even notice it, because it was located next to the gracious cathedral and is surpassed in its beauty. Of course, we entered it anyway, and it looked like the staff was preparing the palais for some wedding celebration later in the evening of the following day, but it still felt cold, empty and we had expected more. However, if you enjoy ancient history, this palais and the museum inside it might be for you, since it is home for many ancient sculptures.

Then we went to a cute sweets shop, similar to La Durée only more Reims style. It was called Fossier and it had lots of different sweets to offer, including everyone’s favorite macarons. The pink interior and the possibility to taste the sweets before buying was definitely encouraging; however, it was still not a good enough reason to buy something. Not so much because of the prices, but because of the fact that I would eat everything and the initial idea of bringing them home to my family just would not survive.

And then it was already time to go home. The train to Champagne Ardennes TGV where we had our bus was leaving at 18:01, while the bus was departing at 18:15. There are 8km between the two, so it is not really walkable.  Crazily enough, we managed to get there on time although me as a normal Type A person freaked out and already checked the prices of tickets for the following busses. They were only 5 EUR, so I calmed down - bus tickets to and from Reims really are not expensive.

That was our 1 day trip to Reims. And let me tell you, traveling is addictive because I already started checking out bus tickets to different cities on my way home. And I found some! So other travel experience stories will be coming soon as well!

[latvian-parisienne]

Days 8&9 - Trust me, I’m a Latvian Parisian, not Spanish and not studying in Sweden

Too many parties and afterworks are affecting my writing schedule - if you arrive home past midnight and have lectures (or How to Get Away with Murder bingewatching) planned in the morning, it’s harder to find time. However, life in Paris is slowly starting to get simpler, easier and familiar. Guess what - I don’t need Google maps anymore to find my university! Even if I’m walking from Chatelet and just wandering around.

Also I guess I’m starting to look like a Parisian, because people more often are asking me to show the way to Louvre or the closest pharmacy, or explain what’s written in the menu (because I was speaking French at the moment). As a big surprise to me, I also know how to respond, because I really know the answers to their questions.

Other people still usually think I’m Spanish. Yes, I know that my tan has gone crazy this summer, but mostly this assumption is made because of my name. Nobody cares that probably every 5th girl in Latvia who is born starting from the end of 90s up to right now is called Marta, Martas are associated with Spain, Portugal or Latin America. And it gets even worse if you mention that you are from Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. Then you’re a Spaniard studying in Sweden.

A guy who was trying to persuade me to open up a bank account in a French bank because they would gift me 90 EUR for that (yeah, as if I as an Economics and Finance student believe that money comes for free and they do not have any hidden tricks underneath) asked me three times if I was from Alaska. Still have no clue why he thought so. After I explained him that I was from Latvia, he remember Aļona Ostapenko winning Roland Garros two years ago. They know about us and actually I very rarely feel that people have no clue where Latvia is. When they do not get it at first, it’s usually because of the different pronunciation. Spanish people tend not to understand it the most, because Lettonie, Latvia and Lettland does not work in their language. Other variations I simply don’t know.

On Wednesday Sciences Po organized the best event a Baltic person can wish for - a conference of speakers from all three Baltic countries who talked about the Baltic Way and how our countries have developed since then. A proud Latvian being, I went to the event and even gathered two French masters students to go with (one of them is passionate about Estonia, by the way). It was so inspiring to see so many people from different nations, different countries which have no relation to the Baltic states, sitting in a big auditorium and listening about our past. People care. People are interested. And although we are such a small country on the map of the world, it’s such a proud feeling to be one of us.

Actually, I still don’t feel like studying. French professors are allowing to write exams in English if we feel more comfortable in that language, one of the English subject professors literally said “relax, you will all pass, just don’t take this course seriously at all”, so I think it will be great. So yesterday I had a 5hour break between the lectures and I went to walk around the city. I decided that I was in the mood for some shopping so I walked to Chatelet shopping mall. Was it easy to find it? Not really. There is a big park with several signs showing where Louvre is but no signs of the shopping mall. Walked around for good 20 minutes until I found it. 

Did I buy something? No, because I understood that I as a typical girl need someone to assure me that the clothing item looks good on me and that I need to spend my money on it. But I went to Sephora. Two, to be precise. And no regrets about that!

A weird thing about alcohol in Paris is that strong alcohol is super expensive and beer in shops is not that cheap either. A can costs about starting from 2 EUR up. Ciders and wines on the other hand are cheap. You cannot buy a cider in a can as you are used to do in Riga, ciders are sold only in a big glass bottle starting from 3 EUR (which is a really great deal, in my opinion). Wine can also be quite cheap - I’ve seen bottles of 3 EUR, but French people say that it is definitely not one of the best. Wines at 6 EUR, however, are thought to be the most affordable and tasty ones. Probably will manage to test them out as well at some point.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 7 - The first day of school

Of course, at some point the dog days had to be over, but it feels like time here in Paris is definitely running in a different speed than in Riga. A week has passed already since our arrival! That’s simply crazy.

Yesterday it was my first day at school and let me tell you some things I’ve understood so far.

1. 4 lectures in a row is not the smartest thing to do

Although I am super happy about the fact that I have to go to school only on Tuesdays and Thursday, 4 lectures in a row (meaning 8 academic hours in a row) is quite hard to focus. After every lecture there is only a 15 minute break which is spent by trying to find the classroom for the next lecture, and you have the time to eat some lunch only if the lecturer dismisses the class earlier.

2. Italians are everywhere

That’s not a bad thing and maybe that’s just whom I attract as a person, but in the first 4 lectures I was surrounded by Italians.

It all started in the French language class where I was surrounded by three of them. Then in Economic Sociology I started to talk another girl who turned out to be Italian. European Economic Law - accidentally chose to sit between girls from Milan and Genova. économie au défi du genre - you guessed it. The first person I start to talk to is from Milan again. Italians are quite cool so I don’t mind, I am just surprised by how easily they find me.

3. It’s easier to meet people in the events than in lectures, because you get tired very easily

The lectures seem quite demanding also for an exchange student, and the running and lack of lunch takes the power away even from the strongest of us. Therefore, it can be said that I feel more at ease with meeting new people in the afterwork events. In the lectures you do not want to disturb neither the professor, nor other students, so you do not talk. In the 15 minute breaks you have to be running to a different building in the campus, so you are not able to engage in deep conversations with anyone. It looks like lectures are literally meant for studying and for communication you have to use the other events that the school provides.

4. Don’t be afraid of French seminar courses

As I am not having any French lecture courses, I cannot talk about them, but in French seminar courses about 50% of people are exchange students, so you are definitely not alone there. Moreover, in the seminar that I had yesterday, the lecturer allowed us to write the final paper and the exam in English if we feel more comfortable in it. I am still not sure in which language I’ll write, but at least we have the option. The lecturer also is aware of the fact that half of the class is not francophone, therefore, the seminar is not that hard to understand (at least for now). Especially if you speak and understand French on a decent level, I feel like it’s more worthy to choose a seminar course in French rather than simply take a French language course. Of course, there we can improve our speaking and writing skills, and grammar, but it’s still not the real French you hear there, it’s not as intense. It is easier, but it is also less of a challenge, which I personally need in my daily life. 

5.  Everything is super hard to be found so don’t hesitate to ask for help

When two courses in a row take place in the same building, all is good. You have 15 minutes to find the right classroom, and that’s it, you’re good. When you have 15 minutes to get to a building in a completely different place of the block, you can feel kind of screwed up. For me google maps was my best friend yesterday to find the exact building, but representatives of Sciences Po were the ones I approached when I could not find the room I needed. Also, don’t trust the building that is stated in the calendar - yesterday one lecture was supposed to take place at 56, Rue des Saint-Pères, but no one informed us that the entrance is from Rue Saint-Guillaume. Luckily I had some extra time to get there, but it was a bit of a shock at first. Plus, there are two buildings on Rue des Saint-Pères , therefore, more confusion. In the 28,  Rue des Saint-Pères, the situation seems even messier - three different buildings in the same yard, good luck guessing where you’re supposed to go. That’s when you get rid of your shyness and go to ask for help. French people are quite helpful (at least when you speak French to them), so picking up some words before you arrive in Paris could be useful.

All in all, it was a quite tiring day and I was undeniably happy when it was over. However, now I have only the Thursday left and it’s over for the workweek! I am still not sure whether I really like the things I am studying, and I am missing numbers and finance-related subjects, but so far everything seems interesting. At least for a semester only, definitely.

PS. When I waved to the bus as crazy, it actually stopped for me in the stop, so I guess this hack definitely works.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 6 - The same faces start repeating, but the public transportation is still a mystery

What can I say - when it comes to order and things happening the way they should, never take anything for granted here in Paris.

My first unpleasant surprise arrived on Sunday evening when the lecturer of Tuesday’s class sent an e-mail encouraging us to read two readings for Wednesday’s class. All good (only one of the readings is in French), but there is no class on Wednesday. Who has messed up - me or the lecturer? After I sent a clarification e-mail, no information followed until Monday’s afternoon when it was clarified that the lecture indeed takes place on Tuesday, as I thought it should be, and the lecturer had accidentally messed up.

And if you tend to use busses as we do, since they go directly to the school for us, just keep in mind that they sometimes...just don’t stop at your stops. We are starting to plan some extra time for getting to school just because you never know whether the bus you’re waiting for will stop for you. Our Moldovan mom said yesterday that you have to wave your hand so that the bus driver sees he has to stop, let’s see whether that helps.

I can proudly say that I have started using more French in my daily life - I read my first reading in French and I could understand most of it. Today after 4 lectures we will see whether I can manage to understand what the lecturers are saying and come up with stuff to say back to them. So far when talking to French students understanding is not an issue. My inability to say something back is.

After the first day of school (read: picking up school goodies, signing a statement of period of studies and purchasing some stationary items), we went to check out Louvre and Jardin du Luxembourg. The queues at Louvre are immense, so I am not sure when I will feel careless enough to stand through it all. However, Jardin du Luxembourg was a nice surprise. Maybe it’s only because it was not raining as it was in my home country, but it looked really put-together, beautiful and visited by people. Tourists taking photos, French people reading books or tanning, older messieurs playing pétanques - you can see it all there.

In the evening we decided to go to another Sciences Po Afterworks event (afterworks event is a networking event which takes place in a bar close to the school) and this time it was an afterwork organized by school’s newspaper La Péniche in the Little Temple Bar. Trust me on this, I’ll write a Paris bar and Sciences Po event review at some point here. A good thing was not only the fact that I finally spoke French and got rid of my fears because at this event 95% were French-speaking but also the fact that the same faces start repeating and the same exchange students are attending most events. Six days and you do not feel alone anymore. On Wednesday we are also going shopping. It’s going to be great. Once you meet people, life seems brighter.

At the event, we also managed to get contacts from the representative persons of the newspaper, so it’ll be another challenge - writing some literal pieces in French. They also allow writing in English but where’s the fun in that. No one would probably read it if it was in English anyway.

Today I’ll have my first four lectures from 12:30-21:15. Seems like a lot but since I have nothing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I think it’s bearable. Apart from the fact that three courses are in French. Okay, two, one is French B2. But it still makes me quite anxious.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 5 - Mom, I want to be a cheerleader!

After two nights full of partying, one needs to rest for a day to recharge and get ready for (so far) one of the best events at Sciences Po - Sports Welcome Day! This is an event where you can try different sports activities that Sciences Po offers - volleyball, soccer, rugby, zumba, cheerleading (unfortunately, no beerpong, but rumour has it that it’s popular in all afterparties).

To get it clear, I am not a sporty person at all - I can’t run, I can’t play any ball sports, I can barely swim and I get tangled with my two feet at all wrong moments. However, when everyone is actively participating in a sports activities, you also want to try out something and (hopefully) not fall down in front of everyone.

For me it was a big surprise that the event finally was not too crowded and it was possible to meet many new exchange students (as well as it was possible some old faces from previous events). Thanks to Environnement Society and Association Sportive, we also got free water, free snacks, pizza and fruits! Seriously, it is also a good invitation to participate in sports activities.

After a long discussion with two exchange students whether a better decision would be to try out volleyball or football, I decided to try out the volleyball because at the time the ball was more on the ground than in the air. It seemed promising to me - maybe the other players are as hopeless as me? 5 minutes into the game I understood that I was excessively wrong. People were mostly ignoring me and I barely touched the ball. Not that I can blame them - I really am a quite hopeless volleyball player. Did not manage to try out the football. There were only guys playing and I was afraid of the shame if I accidentally kicked the ball in the wrong goal.

But then zumba and cheerleading practices started and, boy, was I happy! Having been dancing Latvian folk dances for 16 years, I miss the physical activities and would like to come back to doing something similar to that (don’t come at me, Latvian folk dances are like a big cardio training and they also ask for teamwork and choreography skills), and zumba is the only sports activity that I have taken up in my home university. Needless to say, I was really happy about those workshops. And the cheerleading costumes look really tempting, I might want to obtain one of them as well. After being assured that no gymnastic skills are needed and, thankfully, I am on the tall girl side and I would not be the one flying anyway, I actually started to consider this sport as an option. Isn’t that like any girl’s dream - to be a cheerleader at some point in her life? At least for me it definitely has been.

The day full of different workouts was something that I did not even know I needed, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great way to bond with people, find out more about the particular sports (cheerleading, get ready for me!) and just spend a sunny day out in the nature. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the event yet since I was too busy dancing, but there will be some soon on the Facebook and then I will probably share some funny photos of me trying to master zumba and cheerleading.

On the funny side, afterwards we decided to stop at Place d’Italie on our way home to buy some food at Carrefour. Guess what - it works from 9am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday, but on Sundays the working hours are very random - from 9am to 12:45. Cool, Paris, well played again. I guess for food shopping you have to keep in mind that the opening hours can vary a lot and change depending on the day of the week.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 3 - if you want to get lost, use RER

Remember when I told you that Paris is not that crowded? I’m taking that back. Visit any Sciences Po event and you’ll get the feeling that the whole Paris has decided to join the party. Of course, you can meet many nice people there, young French people whom you can apologize about your poor French skills but that’s another story. Let’s start with the fun story how Marta decided to visit la Tour Eiffel.

In theory it sounded very easy when I decided to meet some coursemates at the metro station of Champ de Mars which is next to la Tour Eiffel. Google Maps also agreed and offered me to take Metro ligne 5 until Gare d’Austerlitz and then change to RER C and go to Champ de Mars. Nothing difficult, right?

Ha ha ha.

Easier said than done. While I got to the Gare d’Austerlitz very easily, the further journey was not a piece of cake anymore. Apparently I looked like someone who has everything under control, so I was approached by a lost Danish tourist. When he asked me if I was traveling alone, I got really nervous and 100 different thoughts about the poor Danish guy being a rapist ran through my head. No, no, I said, I am going to meet my friends soon. Of course, I also bragged to him about studying at Sciences Po, as one does. Unfortunately, the guy did not even look impressed. He was more impressed about me studying at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, because a school that (in theory) is located in Stockholm sounded more familiar and prestige to him. Then he showed me his cellphone with Google Maps journey opened and asked whether I know how to get to la Tour Eiffel. I showed him the exact same map on my phone. Two lost tourists in the same boat. 

Although the screen on the platform stated that the train to St-Quentin en Yvelines would arrive at 13:29, it did not. Something else arrived on 13:37 - a two level train terminating at  Montigny Beauchamp but judging from its size it might as well terminate at Bordeaux or some other bigger French city. As it was stated on the screen, it should stop at Champ de Mars as well. Sounds great!

When I got on the train, the surprises continued. While another tourist approached me in French (apparently I not only look like I have it all under control, I also look French!), asking where we are on the map (which I could also proudly show her), I soon realised that it was written on the screen that this train is not stopping anywhere between Musée d’Orsay and the destination which was in the 4th zone. No, thank you, I’m not trying out my luck and checking whether the train stops at Champ de Mars or not. I got off at Musée d’Orsay without any further plan and just hoped for the best. Did not inform the poor Danish guy though. Maybe he’s still on the train. Who knows.

After getting off the messy RER C, Google Maps still advised me to return and take it. No, thank you, never again. Good thing I’m living close to the center and I can avoid using it. After longer consideration, I decided to take a bus 69 whose destination literally is Champ de Mars. It should stop at the destination, right?

Yes, it probably did stop at the destination, but it chose not to stop at Musée d’Orsay. It just drove past it. It’s written in the stop itself that it would stop there, but it simply did not. Luckily a minute later next bus No.69 stopped at the station and I got on. 

However, at the next stop it just decided to stay there for good five minutes. The engine was turned off, all people still sat in the bus, but no movement. My mom was laughing that it was probably ahead the planned timeline so it had to stop for a while. Apparently the previous bus then was behind the schedule if it decided to skip the stop at Musée d’Orsay. But okay, I finally got to la Tour Eiffel and only 30 minutes later than expected.

My adventures with RER do not stop here. To go back home, we decided to take the same RER from Pont de l’Alma. Funnily enough, the station simply was not there due to some renovation works which Google Maps was not aware of. Took two different metros lines and got home anyway, but was more complicated than it should have been. 

And when I got home and told all of my adventures to the Moldovan mom, she was angry with me. It turns out that I could’ve just taken metro No.6 from Place d’Italie and I would’ve directly ended up at la Tour Eiffel. Google Maps did not even suggest such option. Thanks.

The lesson - don’t trust Google Maps and don’t take RER. Especially if you are not 100% sure if the train still is going there. And don’t trust anything that’s written in the station. It’s Paris, do you really expect everything to be in order?

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 2 - Walk 22km per day and dance the night away to balance out the pains-au-chocolat

Have you ever felt anxious? I did today. The ticket registration at our home metro station, Campo Formio, was not working so we did not register our tickets. I never ever use public transportation without a ticket in Riga, and in Paris, after hearing many horror stories about security guards, cameras and big penalties for riding without a ticket, I was scared until the very last moment until we saw the light of day in Monmartre. All turned out well so I think I can now shyly say that I actually managed to use the Paris metro for free.

Accidentally we arrived in Monmartre at the time for the catholic mass. It was an amazing experience. Three priests, the choir singing and people praying - it is not something you get to see in such a popular landmark. And when you see so many people praying there at the same time, it’s magical. 

Afterwards Paris surprised us with its distance again. You can easily walk back to the Centre Pompidou, the to Sciences Po, then to Jardin Tuilleries and then come back home to the 13th arrondissement without even getting completely exhausted. I have never walked so much around Riga because everything feels further there. Here it’s easy. 10 minutes walk and you have another landmark in front of you. Maybe that is the booster needed to walk. Altogether yesterday we walked 22.2km, which is not a crazy amount, I would like to walk even more, but my legs still do not feel tired. I’m wondering when that will happen.

Although I had been at Centre Pompidou a few years ago, I remember it quite different. To be frank, I remember only me not enjoying it very much and having huge queues there. This time we managed to buy the tickets in 3min time and then walk through all expositions in like 2 hours time. A bit of a rush but it was still a great visit.

However, la Tour Eiffel played me very well. From Monmartre you cannot see la Tour Eiffel, I thought it was more to the right than the view includes (as it also turned out to be in the end). When we were walking at the sightseeing platform at Centre Pompidou, I couldn’t find the Tour Eiffel either so I started to brag that “the myth that you can see the Eiffel Tower from any spot in Paris is complete bullsh*t”. Well, in the case of Centre Pompidou it wasn’t true, because you can see it from there. Furthermore, you can see it very clearly. Nothing is far in Paris, that is the key. If you can see it (and you can) you can walk there.

After going back to the school and seeing many unfamiliar faces, we went to Jardins Tuilleries to meet my roommate Sorina’s Moldovan friends who are studying in Lyon. Not only they were amazing people to talk to (they are aware of history of Latvia and of our language group, which is not a usual thing for such small country as Latvia) but they showed as the Musée de l’Orangérie. It is a quite small but very concentrated art gallery full with both classic and well-known painting as well as beautiful artworks that cover the whole room. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an arts guru as my mates seemed to be, but everything was very enjoyable and that’s the most important part.

When we got home, we started to prepare for the Boat Party that Sciences Po was organizing. We could have started getting ready an hour later because the party started 40 minutes later than expected. Everyone was standing outside of the boat and mingling among themselves while serious guards were standing before the entrance. While waiting for the impossible to happen (or the party to start) we managed to meet several Taiwanese and American students, a Finnish student, a Romanian student, and so many more people that it was a great exchange. The party can start later if we can meet new people anyway.

Usually people from the other side of the globe simply do not know where Latvia is and I am aware of such situations. A fun thing happened when I tried to explain to two French students in English where Latvia was. When I mentioned the Baltic States, I heard one of them whispering to the other that I am from the USA. When I corrected her in French and said that I’m from Lettonie, they understood immediately. And why wouldn’t they - as it turned out, one girl’s mom was from Poland. And we’re almost neighbors.

Actually that is so funny whenever you meet a person from Europe, especially Nordic Europe, you already feel like you’ve met a neighbor. Finland, Norway, everything counts. They know where you come from, maybe they have even visited your country, and you feel like you have met someone who’s at least coming from the same side of the globe.

However, the older I get, the less I enjoy club-like parties (good luck, Marta, enjoying the one you are going to tonight haha). It’s so crowded, you cannot even communicate with people, you just have to dance with people jumping on your feet and bumping into your head. C’est la vie at a big university. And don’t even think about knowing the people you see! I’m kiiiinda missing my SSE Riga parties where you know everyone and you greet with everyone. Here it’s none. 800 Bachelor exchange students and even more French students. What can I expect, of course, but I miss knowing people. But probably the best parties will be more fun since I will know more people and (hopefully) they will also not feature 400 people on a small boat. Imagine the biggest SSE Riga party and put it on the “Vecrīga” yacht. That’s what you get. Many people, big mess and no opportunity to talk to anyone or to dance in a bigger space. Luckily everyone was understanding about the lack of space and it was possible to have fun up until 3pm until we both got really tired. And the taxi driver offered us chewing gum. I am still not sure whether we were stinking or he was simply nice but that’s left to rest unknown.

[latvian-parisienne]

Day 1 - Moldovan mom is the best thing one could wish for in Paris

A few weeks ago after many sleepless nights, signed and broken rent contracts, many “je suis désolé mais vous devez visiter l’appartement pour le réserver” and “you are rejected due to various reasons ” me and Sorina were happily surprised that a lucky star shone upon us and we got the best opportunity we could had ever wished for. A Moldovan mom whose two daughters have left Paris has a free apartment very close to the center which she would rent out for a very friendly price to a Moldovan student (and me additionally). Moreover, as the cure for my own worried mom, she would even be living with us for a week to show everything around and take care of us. What could be better? We are basically destined to live la vie en rose from now on.

The positive surprises continued when she prepared us a lunch. As she does not speak English “pas du tout” and my Romanian is even more “pas du tout”, we switch between French, Russian, English and Romanian all the time. Actually, after spending a day with two Moldovans, I feel like I could become fluent in Romanian. I already understand the context of many of their conversations. It would be cool - I’m not sure there are many Latvians who are fluent in Romanian. But it’s still a while to go and my brain is so mushed up that I’m not fluent in any language anymore.

A week ago I had decided to take up a new habit and say no to alcohol because, you know, drinking and partying in a big and unknown city can end badly. I had been holding up pretty strongly and tasted all of the possible non-alcoholic beer and seltzer options one can buy in Rimi, but then the lunch came. It felt like I have a Moldovan grandmother - grandmother because she is pushing us to finish the whole plate and puts on more food even when we don’t want to eat anymore, but Moldovan, because she angrily speaks in Russian if we do not finish the wine glasses. You just have to drink wine with your lunch in Paris. And there’s no discussion about that.

We also walked across the center of Paris and we were surprised how tiny it is. You can walk from Sciences Po to la Sorbonne, then to the Notre-Dame de Paris, then to the Centre Pompidou and not even feel tired (okay, yes, they both are sleeping right now, but I’m still feeling fresh as ever so I think the distance is fine). Paris is just astonishing, which can also be seen from the pictures, but the hot weather was not helping to take it all in fully.

Sciences Po surprised us in the blink of an eye - while we have just decided to just walk past by and understand what the school looks like and how to get to it easier, we accidentally got our student IDs and bought tickets for tomorrow’s boat party. I’m not complaining, it was very efficient experience. Plus, the tickets are sold out now. Lucky us! The school itself reminds us of American movies - two guards standing in front of the entrance, many students and organisations are sitting in the hall, selling tickets to events and presenting their activities. The cafeteria is the best one - although one local already informed us that it was expensive, the whole interior looks like a setup from “Mean Girls” - you can easily imagine that a different group sits at a different table, that there are tables at which “you can’t sit with us”, etc. Comparing to SSE Riga where we come from, it’s HUGE like the letters I just used (I’ll shut up soon, sorry for bad jokes).

However, we found the best ice cream place in Paris (or, to be honest, our cool Moldovan mom showed it to us) - Amorino. It looks like a flower and it has many amazing flavours. I tried organic blackcurrant, organic blood orange and lime & basil flavours. 10/10, would do it again. Also would do it for the aesthetics.

And don’t even think of messing with the Moldovan mom due to her accent when she is speaking French! For dinner we went to a quite tasty Chinese place in the center, but the waiter did not fully understand her request due to the accent. He got us only one dish instead of two and it was too spicy for her taste, so she made him to create a new one from the scratch without so many spices added. Just so you know. You just never mess with Moldovan moms because they are too cool to be messed with.

In a nutshell that’s all we did today. Navigo card will have to be waited for for 10 days, because the webpage is not allowing to choose a place to pick it up in 72hours, so I will have to pick it up at the concierge downstairs. Not that I’m complaining, almost-room service is always a nice thing, but this time I would have enjoyed starting to use the public transportation for cheaper faster. Guess I will have to start enjoying how walkable distance everything is here.