Exams are like exams everywhere... maybe not.

I just finished up my finals, so now two weeks of freedom and then back to the U.S.

It seems like my last few posts have been about either ballet or the cat... but I shall entertain you with a few more cat photos :).

Lily looks exhausted. NO MORE STUDYING. I agree.

Close-up. She didn't even budge whilst I took photos (making strange noises, like turning on a camera, usually gets her attention).

"No, really, how much can you study? I give up."

Not studying so much would have been a wise choice. Because the professor asked questions on topics he never mentioned in class. But that's not the fun part.

I was entertained by the student sitting next to me who didn't know what seminar section he was in, what his professor's name was, nor when he went to class.

The professor left the room about 10 times... during which the final quickly became a group exam. Don't know the answer to a question? Ask your neighbor!

Or be resourceful (pull out a reference book).

I can now get back to leading a more interesting life.

Ahem.

Hello, hello!

I'm a bit busy with end-of-semester craziness (and nearly done with classes!), trying to relearn how to spend time with my nose in a book after the lovely two-week break (don't worry, I spent half of it looking at the book and wishing it would magically go away)...

Anyway, I shall eventually get back to some posting about mid-April adventures, but for now some recent daily-life stories.

~I have lots of upcoming concerts to go to -- Joshua Bell on May 10, then 6 (yes, six) La Bayadères. Once for each cast. (Oh dear, if host family found three performances strange, six -- they'll think I'm insane. They may be right.)

~May 1st was Labor Day and buy-a-lily-of-the-valley day. They sold little bunches of the flowers all along the streets all day. It was quite lovely -- they're supposed to bring good luck. But I don't really like the French word for lily of the valley: muguet. Russian ландыши also sounds prettier.

[Yes, I finally got a new camera. Here's a yay! for Canon PowerShot SX200 IS.]

~Jeanne (nearly 3-year-old host daughter) is very argumentative lately. She wants everything done her way, and just at that very moment. Needless to say, her parents don't agree. So they argue. Mom: "no, Mommy decides. Jeanne does not decide. It's the parents who decide. Adults. Not little Jeanne." Jeanne: "Jeanne decides. Jeanne decides. Jeanne decides." Mom: "No. Mommy decides." Jeanne: "I decide, not you." Mom [gives that look]: "euh... No."

All this during dinner. Joanne (my roommate) and I try our hardest not to crack up -- fail. We end up shaking silently from laughter. Makes for very interesting (read: theatrical :)) dinners.

~The Cat (Madame Lily) and I get along. Sometimes.

She has huge green eyes. I'm jealous.

So innocently asleep.

But keeping an eye on me. Because I might, you know, come pet her. Again. For the twentieth time.

All-time favorite: standing on my suitcase. My sink is apparently fascinating.

~Beautiful Paris from spring break with Mommy Dearest :).

Spring! And very nearly summer. But now - around 8°C/43°F. Yeah...

Behind Notre Dame, on the Rue St. Louis-en-Ile

From a boat on the Seine.

Eiffel Tower, at the tippy-top. 1) Awesome. 2) BRRRR! Freeeezing. 3) Still awesome.

Photos from just before Nikon demise

I finally discovered a slot for memory cards in my computer...and retrieved some photos from February, before my Nikon died. (Yes, new camera is coming, but since, you know, that volcano in Iceland has other plans, it's taking a while.)

Whenever I'm trying to read or do some work on my bed, darling kitty finds it awfully cozy to plop down in front of me, obscuring all view of the papers.

But like many college students, Lilly finds reading Dr. Faustus a bit exhausting.

Perhaps some coffee would help...

Or, a more kitty-friendly snack...

Weekend in Charleville-Mézières - Part 2 - Trip to Reims

Saturday afternoon we visited Reims (a city of about 200,000 mid-way between Paris and Charleville).

First stop - Pommery champagne cellars. It turns out that they were designed along the lines of the Oxford-Cambridge style. We didn't do much inside (other than look at lots of champagne bottles, of different types and sizes but all equally shiny).

Champagne Pommery

Madame Dufour (host mom), Camille, me

Camille and I

In front of the Villa Demoiselle

Stained glass doors that were recreated from special pieces of glass: they are ridgy due to the metal (platinum?) they contain.

Japanese-style landscape in the wood.

Champagne tasting. It was yummy.

In front of the Cathédrale de Reims.

Finally some sun!

Stained glass designed by Marc Chagall.

Side-street in Reims.

Untitled, because I'm too lazy to come up with one :)

Living without a camera is doable, but that means I need to write entire posts and that's harder than captions... (Me? Avoiding a challenge? Why, never...)

Anyway, some happy things from this week:

--Seeing an English setter. And an English cocker spaniel, vacuuming along a Parisian street. And lots of Goldies. Did I mention I want a dog?

--Hearing the echoes of kids on recess from within the stone walls of les écoles maternelles.

--Seeing a little kid whose hair was standing on end in the wind pull out a chocolate from a box with so much concentration and then eating it ever so slowly.

--When our 2-year-old host daughter wants to get attention, she likes to say, "eo!"

--Seeing the first flowering tree! Flowers have started blooming too. Spring is heeereee! (attempting to sing)

--Trying to cut down my theater presentation from 25 minutes to 20, and having professor tell me that "in France, for us to say a presentation is 'too long,' it'd have to be 1:30!" I gladly avoided the handy technique of cutting time by talking even faster.

--Relearning to walk in high heels because it's finally warm enough to wear them.

--Walking home instead of taking the metro just because.

I couldn't resist posting this photo of 'impossibly cute, perfectly perched, flying floofballs.'

(Credit to Cuteoverload.com)

Did I hear "squeee!"? Good, glad to know I'm not the only one.

Life is good. Happy Monday!

Introducing Lilly, the Host Cat (and now my roommate)

That would be Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. Cozy pillow, I know...

Une petite note

Internet is spotty here. It connects and disconnects as it pleases, so writing back and skyping are an issue -- each page takes forever to load and requires a reload or two. Apologies for dropped skype calls.

Heater decided to work again.

It rained and is cold and wet. No pictures today :(.