My life in Paris could be described as balancing on the fine line between enthusiasm and exhaustion. I am eager to learn and I am happy with the diverse range of courses I managed to choose: didactics, literature, translation, pragmatics, French culture... But studying all of this in a foreign language, in a new environment in a city packed with people makes me tired. The good thing about it is that I am finally learning how important it is to go to bed early. My exchange university is Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3. The school buildings are somewhat decrepit and the air in the classrooms is stuffy - I recently read that because of health problems a new campus will be built by 2018. Alongside the gloominess of the buildings, I have found two things that I absolutely adore at my university here: a cinema showing classic films twice a day and a grand piano in the corner of a student café. At the cinema, I've watched early black and white films, and 'Hiroshima mon amour' - a very beautiful film. At the café, anyone can play the piano, and the classical melodies always get me on a better mood, even make me, a Finn, smile at strangers.
I'm used to traveling, to changing places quickly, but now I'm staying in one place for a long time, and it feels good. I can have some routines, and little by little get to know this new home city of mine that has plenty of new places to explore. A couple of times, I've gone for a picnic that tutors have organized for us Erasmus students. The picture above was taken at Canal Saint-Martin. We've also had a picnic on a wooden bridge next to Parc de Bercy. On Saturdays, Erasmus students can go for visits to historic districts of Paris, guided by a retired professor. The first walking tour took place in Montparnasse, where artists moved from Montmartre during the first decades of the 20th century. Picasso, Modigliani, Lenin, Sartre, Hemingway... They loved the atmosphere of Montparnasse and enjoyed sitting in the cafés, such as Dôme (in the photo below, with Tour Montparnasse in the background), Select, Coupole, Rotonde...
Next we visited Montmartre, the original center of bohemian and artistic life in Paris, and the district of cabarets. One of the sights is the building of the artist residence Bateau-Lavoir, which was home to Picasso, Modigliani, Apollinaire... Montmartre is also where I live for the moment, right next to Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
In Montmartre, our guide tactfully avoided the street with all the sex shops and obscene nightlife. But living around the corner, I have been to the boulevard a few times. It was here that I finally found a sauna. But as it was right next to the sex shops, I didn't dare to go in. In fact, I was totally disgusted to see how they had ruined something so sacred in the Finnish culture, our symbol of purity.
Last Saturday, it was time to visit Marais. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance. We saw several 'hôtels', i.e. Renaissance mansions of aristocratic families. Later the district went into decline, but nowadays Marais has become a fashionable district, home to many trendy restaurants, fashion houses, and hype galleries.
Oh, and I have also been on a short holiday back home in Finland. At the beginning of October, my little brother got married, so I went to the wedding. It was so good to see my boyfriend, my family, my house mates - all the loved ones! I miss you! And I miss sauna, and the forest, and the autumn colors I've seen in Facebook... but not the cold and the autumn storms and the snow that people complain about. :-) Luckily during my visit, I had time to go cranberry picking on a bog.
