There's FOOD here?!

I don't think that I can give every single detail, as this is from my first week here, but I will try my best.

This post's topics:  Food and budgeting.

Eating during the first week was not easy for me.  I live at home when I'm in the US, so there's almost always something in the house that I can have.  If not, there are lots of grocery stores and even fast-food places within a 10-mile radius of my home.  I also worked--so, chances are, I also had money to pay for that food.  In Paris, however, I am a student and a student only--I don't have a work visa, so the only money I get is from my bank account back home that I access here via ATMs... or when I pay with a credit card (which I don't enjoy doing).

A lot of places to eat here are expensive (I am in Paris), and some close pretty early.  On weekends (particularly Sundays), some places are closed entirely.  Because of this--the fact that I didn't have a ton of money to spend coupled with the fact that store/restaurant hours are so different here--I found myself very hungry during the first week.  I made it a point to go out and get something at least once a day... but that really wasn't working well.  I was also pretty jetlagged...  So the first Sunday I was here, I laid in bed til an obnoxiously late hour (I can't remember, but it was far past noon), and didn't eat a single thing til 5PM.  That was a miserable day.  The only thing I could really do was go to the vending machine downstairs and find something cheap.  I ended up getting a pack of 6 madeleines (soft French cookies) and had them in my room.  Not the most satisfying of meals... and I'm pretty sure that's all I ate that day.

In those moments of desperation, I notified my mom that I really wanted snacks...  Which led to her asking me for a list, and me providing that list, and her sending a box, and me waiting for that box.  It still hasn't arrived, but luckily I have a system worked out now.

Before, I was nervous to even go to the grocery store by myself, especially at night--anywhere, really.  So, when I finally got to a grocery store, I was thrilled.  I try to buy fruits and veggies, as well as things that don't require refrigeration...

Although, I must say, my windowsill served quite well for preserving some things.  ;)

Anyway...  Now I've stocked up pretty well on pasta, rice, and quinoa...  All I really need to do is buy veggies every once in a while, and voilà--cheap and (relatively) healthy dinner.  It's much less expensive than going out all the time (even cafes cost a pretty good amount of money), and I feel like I get a decent meal every day.

My first crêpe in Paris--Nutella, banana, and coconut

Of course, though, I've eaten crêpes, croissants, baguettes, and goat cheese.  C'est la vie parisienne.  :)

As far as budgeting goes, well...  I save money by buying groceries to make meals instead of getting paninis every time I'm out (but JEEZ, do I love paninis), and I save my receipts for everything.  The first week, I wrote down what I was spending my money on, but I got lazy and that habit didn't keep up.  Now I just keep the receipts from any shopping I do and ATM visits.  Keeping track of how much I'm spending has been good...  I find myself spending more on things that will last longer (like fruit and dry snacks, utensils, etc...) and less on silly stuff ("OMG LOOK AT HOW CUTE THAT LITTLE THING THAT COSTS 30€ IS!")

All in all, I'm just trying to be responsible with my money, just in a way that's different than what I used to do back home.  Now it seems as though every single cent really counts... and it does.  Ah, to be a college student abroad!  :-p