Please excuse my prolonged absence from "J'adore Paris." My new schedule does not seems to consistently permit me to visit my beloved blog; even now, I am awake far past a time suitable for the current setting of my alarm

My schedule has increased considerably. My french language instructor assigns quite a bit of work and now we are preparing for our first excursion for art history. Thursday and Friday, I will be traveling to Giverny and Auvers (two towns a outside of Paris) to visit some museums and the church depicted in van Gogh's painting l'Église d'Auvers (Church in Auvers). What's awesome about our excursions is that U of C pays for them completely (train tickets, hotel accomodations, meals, etc.); its kind of their way of compensating for not giving us devoted French language students a break 7th week like the other programs.

For your information. Over the past week, conversations, comments and emails have indicated that there are a few aspects of my trip, which are unclear; thus I submit the following section for clarification.

• Paris is 7 hours ahead of Chicago.
• I am not a foreign exchange student as there was no student exchaged for me but rather I am studying abroad for a quarter.
  
• My dorm, MPF is apart of a large area of dormitories called Cité Internationale , which consists of various "houses " for different nationalites of students. For instance, the U of C students , who do not speak French, live at the Fondation des États-Unis (The American House). There is also an Armenian House, Suisse House, etc. My dorm is primarily composed of students who live in French provences, thus the name Maison des Provences de France.
  
• Although my living arrangements are secured with the University of Paris, I attend the University of Chicago. Here in Paris, we have a satellite school. Amongst its various other exoribitent purchases, U of C has a built the University of Chicago Paris Center, where all students studying abroad in Paris take their classes. Whereas, I am living at U of P, I am still studying at U of C.
• A final note about my blog. First of all, thanks to all of you who read it, whether consistently or occasionally. Please feel free to comment on any or all entries. Perhaps you have a question about the Parisian transportation system (see 4 octobre); or you agreed that "The Laughing Cow" is a funny name for cheese (7 octobre); or maybe you think that my writting style is pretentious, wordy and excessively unamusing--whatever may be the case, I welcome and encourage all comments, corrections, additions, etc. I really want to hear from you so don't hold back anything; if you say anything, say everything. Whether you choose to comment or not, thank you for your continued support.