In which Paul Bunyan and I have something in common (finally!)

UPDATE: The person above has launched a new offensive in their chair conflict.  They have moved their desk to the opposite corner of the room, perhaps in a strategic maneuver to take the chair by surprise.

I am too tall and too scandinavian for this country.  There, I've said it.  It's out there, we can all address it and move on.  Not only am I head and shoulders above most of the people here, but I also lack the grace and poise they seem to be born with.  I cannot tell you how many times I have bumped my head standing up from my seat on the metro or tried on a pair of pants that only comes halfway down my shins.  There are also a distinct lack of blondes here, a fact exploited on my friends when trying to find me in a crowd.  As the only tall blonde girl, I am a living highlighter marker.

What is this?  My arm doesn't go back any further, I am being discriminated against

This week classes got started for real.  I think I'm really going to enjoy my art history course.  I have never taken an art course outside of middle school, so this should be interesting.  Especially because the majority of the students in the class are art majors, so they actually know what they're talking about.  I am completely lost, but in a good way.  I went to an art show on my own this wednesday, one recommended by our instructor as the subject for our paper.  It was called the "Museum of Everything".  It is a contemporary art show, displaying works by people who never intended to show their work.  Most of it is stuff found in their basements or attics after their death.  By this logic, all the crayon scribblings I know my mother still has somewhere should one day be prominently displayed, and my achievements heralded as the greatest artistic achievement of the century.

One thing I'm really enjoying is walking.  Since you know that if you get truly lost, there is a metro stop somewhere nearby, it is very fun to just start walking in the direction you think you want to go.  After the art show the other day, I decided to go for a jaunt around Paris.  Knowing that my classes are around the Eiffel Tower gives me an easy landmark to work towards.  It was sunny for the first time since I've been here I think.  Of course, it was all a cruel joke since it started snowing that night.

This is not Google Images, I took this myself

I don't have classes on fridays, which is nice since it gives us a chance to explore on our own a bit.  I went to the Stadium down the road and poked around.  It is actually a huge complex, with tons of facilities in addition to the main field.  It also houses the French Olympic Committee headquarters.  I went in to see if there was a souvenir shop of some kind.  The woman at the front desk looked at me like I was some kind of idiot and said "No, the Olympics were in London this year, why would we have souvenirs?".  Of course! I am so dumb, why did I even bother coming in here when I should have hopped on a plane to London.  Thanks for nothing front desk woman.

Yesterday afternoon was a group outing to the Chocolate Museum.  Despite not being a huge chocolate fan, it was interesting and something I would not have done on my own.  We got to actually make praline truffles, using traditional chocolatiers tools.  Definitely an experience.  Today my friend Jacqui and I are headed to the Louvre to soak up some culture, ciao for now!