Salon du Livre de Paris 2011

Well--I didn't originally mean to click "new post" so soon, but I leaned over to get my tea and it just sort of happened...  So, hello!  I just want to do a recap of my weekend (well, just today, really--Sunday), because it proves that I AM a big girl and can go and do things on my own if I really want to.

So, I hate staying in my building longer than I have to.  What that means, basically, is that if I'm not sleeping, I don't want to be in my room.  It's just irritating.  It's noisy, lonely, and just plain uninteresting.  I finally decorated a bit, so it feels a bit better in here, but overall, it's just not a place I want to spend excessive amounts of time.

The problem with weekends, though, is that I usually reserve them for shopping or otherwise being lazy.  Sundays are especially boring because most things are closed entirely, or close very early in the day.  Grocery shopping is a pain on the weekends because, if you don't get it done by Saturday, you'll basically have to wait til Monday (unless you're very knowledgeable about the area, which I am not).

Lately I've been seeing these posters advertising the Salon du Livre de Paris--a book convention in the city.  These ads are all over the place.  Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to do further research.  The convention, as it turns out, stretches over a period of four days (March 18th-21st), and is free for students under 26 years of age.  That was what caught my attention.  I looked into it more, and finally pre-registered (a requirement for students), thinking, at the very least, that at least I'd be prepared if I did go.  Since I didn't have to pay, then... why not?  In my original plans, I intended to go yesterday (Saturday), but I ended up spending nearly the entire day with my friends Vanessa and Daniel.  More on that later!

Being busy Saturday turned out to be a good thing.  That meant that my normally boring Sunday had a chance to be interesting.  I got up somewhat early (meaning I got up before noon) and headed to the convention via tram (love it).  It was very easy to find, since the stop was right in front of the convention center.  I brought some water and a little bit of food with me so that I wouldn't have to spend a lot on things non-book-related.  Good plan... but I was extremely thrifty anyway!

some familiar-looking ados

I spent about four hours wandering about the convention center.  It was interesting.  I've been to conventions before, but never by myself.  Not only was I on my own, but I was on my own at a convention in a foreign country.  It was mostly a journey of the eyes.  I didn't speak to a lot of people (two brief "conversations" with the cashiers I made purchases with, and another with two women that asked me to take photos for them), but I had a great time.  I felt independent and a little bit proud for finding something I wanted to go to and following through on that desire.

I found a bunch of Folio editions being sold for only 2€ each, so I picked a few that looked interesting and bought those as souvenirs.  A total of 8€ for four books?  Awesome!  Later I stumbled on a bunch of young adult books (for ados, or "adolescents" as they say here) and had fun finding French editions of books I knew from home (and some I had read before).  I collect the French translations of the Harry Potter books (I have the first and second back home), so I bought the third and that was the end of my purchases for the day.  I spent 16,10€ and got five books to show for it... not to mention a few freebies (which really just included programs/flyers/bags/etc but I like that stuff).  I was very pleased.  :)

Mostly, I'm glad that I went because I didn't want to look back on this weekend later and think, "Man, I should've gone to that."  I didn't want to regret not going, you know?  It was free, after all!  I ended up having fun, so it was worth it.

I finally called it quits at around 6pm and left the convention center, only to be approached by some guy trying to sell stuff outside.  It's like that at every public event, I guess.  Concerts, conventions, you name it.  He wanted me to buy some bookmarks, to contribute to a charity, but I honestly don't have a lot of money...  I told him that my French wasn't very good (true fact), but instead of letting me go, he just asked me if I was Canadian (sure, why not) and that he'd speak slowly for me.  Since I was trapped (why did I have to look in his direction?!), I let him talk, but eventually he gave up on me because I was totally a lost cause.  Sorry!  I need money for meals.  :/

I took a very crowded tram back to my building and have been relaxing since.  I meant to do laundry, but there are only 4 washing machines and 3 dryers in a building consisting of 5 floors plus the ground floor...  So, yeah, my clothes are still dirty.  On a Sunday night, there's not much hope of getting that done.  I waited in the laundry room for at least 20 minutes, waiting for a machine to free up (because I think it's rude to take someone's clothes out of the washer), but to no avail.  Another girl that walked in twice, taking note that all the machines were full, apparently did not have a problem opening two of the previously-in-use washing machines, removing the clothes, and shoving her own in there.  I have to wonder what she thought I was doing, sitting there with my bag of laundry in front of me...  Ugh.  Whatever.  Maybe I should've spoken up, but I didn't think it was necessary.  Oh, how I miss doing laundry at home (and for free)!  I've realized since coming here that I would've HATED dorming back in the US.  No one seems to think the way I do.  Some things I would never do, everyone else seems to do without thinking.  Such is life.

Oh, man...

I've been thinking lately about packing and eating.  I still have to put all of my stuff together, and I can't really pack in excess.  So far I have a small box in my room that has some little things in it, like travel-size soaps, some washcloths, and pictures.  I haven't gotten very far in packing clothes.  I'm hesitating on starting that part only because I still need some clothes to wear at home before I go.  That and I'm just a procrastinator.

About food, though--although I have a place to live once I'm over there, I don't have a meal plan.  Sure, there are places to eat there, whether those places be on the campus or just around the neighborhood, but no guaranteed meals as part of my stay.  It's kind of a scary thought.  I have a debit card that I plan on using over there, I'll have €85 with me already, and my mom is my financial sponsor... so I shouldn't have anything to worry about, really.  It's just weird to know that I'm going to have to fend for myself.

What I was thinking of doing was getting some stuff that I can keep in my room.  This way, I'll always have a little something available.  Bananas, cereal, etc...  You know, things like that.  Food that won't necessarily go bad right away or require refrigeration.  In a way, I'm kinda looking forward to this set-up.  Being on a budget will definitely help cut out the bad stuff in my diet...

... and then I remember that I'm going to be in Paris where there will be pâtisseries and boulangeries everywhere and that cake and bread will become staple foods.

Oh, well!  ;)

The thing is, my building apparently has work out facilities on-site.  That sounds nice.  Over the summer I went running on a pretty regular schedule--then I went on vacation and, after that, started classes again and got "too busy" to keep up with it.  I'm going to make it a point to take advantage of these things while I'm away.  I'll have to do a little more research to find out exactly what is offered--I'm pretty sure there's a pool, anyway.  I love swimming laps!  I can only hope that there will also be treadmills available, but who knows?  When I first applied to study abroad, I had to wonder what the French even did to stay in shape.  I know that it seems a little stupid, but I didn't know if they even used gyms.  Do treadmills exist over there?  Haha.

When I'm not attempting to work out, feed my poor college student belly, or do my assignments, I wonder what I'll be doing on my down-time.  I'll be in Paris with a friend of mine from home, so we'll at the very least have each other to keep ourselves entertained (and you should really see the list of destinations we have... traveling is definitely on our agenda)... but what about when I'm just relaxing in my room?  I asked a friend of mine that went to Paris last spring, and he said it didn't really start to warm up til about April.  Going outside doesn't seem too likely for a while, even though there's a nice park nearby.

I love books.  If I didn't need to pack clothes for four months, I'd stuff my baggage with novel after novel.  However, since this isn't very practical, I have to be very selective.  I want to bring some books with me, sort of like little comforts from home, but I can't bring a lot of them (and that just hurrrrrts).  I'll need something to read for the plane, at the very least.  Plus, I like to have variety.  Aren't I a pain?  ;)

So, aside from books, I will be bringing some favorite movies.  My friend who went last year, who is much more of a "parisavant" than I am recommended taking a few for the first couple of nights and watch them with the French language track.  I was already considering something of the sort, so his recommendation made me say, "Well, then I have to do it!"  I found a good CD case that I got as a gift a few years ago--I think I'll replace the CDs with DVDs and leave it at that.  Now the only thing is, should I bring the portable DVD player or just use my laptop?  That's less to pack, but I'll be relying on my laptop for just about everything.

I'm not good at this!  @_@