Socialized Medicine

Before I left for Paris I had alot of trouble getting health insurance because I have Celiac Disease. I finally found a company that would accept me, but at $300 a month. I was really upset about how hard it was for me to get insurance and could only imagine how difficult it would be for someone who couldnt afford a ridiculous $300 a month. I really do think it is a problem in our country and that something should be done about it. ATTTTT the same time. I was perscribed Thyroid medication yesterday, because I am boarderline hypothyroid. First of all it was very difficult for me to find a Dr that would treat me because my condition as far as blood tests say, is boarderline when you refer to the lab ranges. But my symptoms have been completely debilitating (anyone who has seen me in the last 2 years knows that). Its hard to get Drs to treat it because the large medical associations say its not necessary. This is really disturbing to me, as a Dr's job is to treat the individual and everyone's body is very different. This is a problem that exists both in America and France. But something else came up last night as I ordered my perscription from Belgim. Yes Belgim. I am taking natural Thyroid that is taken from Pig thyroid glands. You cannot buy it in France because of the medical socialization and in the U.K. it has recently been made illegal, meaning people who have taken it for years can no longer get the medication they need to function. THAT IS CRAZY! You can buy it in America but it is not FDA approved (because it comes from an animal each does is not 100% exact-- but contains a necessary combination of 2 different hormones that synthetic thyroid medications do not contain), and you have to hunt to get a Dr who will perscribe it because it is not FDA approved. Yet among Thyroid patients it is VERY recommended and is unanimously claimed to be the best. The only reason why its hard to get a perscription is because of the FDA, the same FDA that approves medications that kill people every year. I wish Dr's could just treat patients with medications THEY understood and could feel comfortable to perscribe on their own, without a big organization telling them how to treat symptoms instead of the individual. Kristy youre in drugs-- do something! :-)

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I caved...ROSETTA STONE! My new love!


I finally caved and bought Rosetta Stone. For those of you who dont know it is a language company that teaches you languages on your computer. It is really expensive, but they have an option to not buy the CDs and to go through their server and use the product online for half the price. So this was the option I chose and I am really liking the program. It doesnt explain alot of gramatical sturucture and what not, it just jumps in and starts by associating pictures with sentences. I think I would have been really lost if I had started Rosetta Stone without ANY knowledge of the language but I recommend it for someone who may be a level 2. My French has gotten a lot better, but I still cannot have a normal conversation with people. I can usually get across what I am trying to say, but I know I sound ridiculous. Maybe I will sound like a 5 year old by the time I leave-- heres hoping!

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North Korea is crazy


I think the problem will solve itself as they are likley to blow themselves up trying to make their statement of military force. But really they are crazy. I am probably in the safest country in the world right now, as I doubt that North Korea even knows France exists and i know that France wouldn't voulenteer for a war, it simply isnt their way :-) I havent heard many conversations over here though about North Korea's military action, other than on the British news channel I get. But in all seriousness...this is very concerning.

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I had to shop

Yes-- had to. There were two consecutive days of 80 degree weather when I discovered I did not pack any shorts or skirts. My packing was centered around bringing the more expensive things that I would not want to have to buy once I got here, so shorts were not on that list. I made a trip to the H&M and bought two pairs of shorts, two skirts and a tanktop-- and a pair of sandals. Its funny to think that these will probably be my only warm weather clothes for the next year! I woke up the next morning to rain. Murphy's Law.

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Yes...I have been busy

So sorry for not writing for so long. A combination of good weather, then school work, then not feeling well, then school work AGAIN has lead me ignoring my blog. I will try my hardest to remember everything that has happen the last week!

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Roller Bladers-- Welcome to 1980 in Paris


but I have recently noticed that roller blading is the cool thing to do here in Paris. This was a common sport when I was about 8 and then it gracefully exited and left to Paris. Here you will see people roller blading all over the city and its really weird. It is usually middle aged people and you have two groups. The one who is a professional roller blader and is doing all sorts of tricks and making a spectacle of himself or the cautious roller blader who is head to toe in pads like a sausage. I thought there were only two groups...that is until the new group I discovered today: Roller Blade Police. Yes sir. They have roller blade cops. I dont even really know what to say about it I truly feel that it should be self explanatoryin case not-- I have included a picture.

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Studying with foreigners

OK so I know that I am a foreigner here in France, but the people I go to school with are also foreigners who dont speak English as a first language. Let me start by saying that everyone I go to school with is really nice and they are all pretty smart. We have an architech, lawyer, accountant...people with very good resumes. One of my favorite things to watch is not only our cultural differences but the language barrier. A few weeks ago I was in a group with two boys and a girl. Both of the men were French (one was from the Congo, Africa-- but went to high school in France and now works in Paris). They always agreed on everything especially when it came to issues of employee treatment and cultural greetings. While the girl (Jamaican) and I always thought they were wrong (which they were). The language barrier really is the best though. On Wednesday as Guian Lucca (an architech from Italy) gave a presentation he discussed how the CEO of the company was very "humil and so he was accepting the praises of the other peoples". He used the word humil about 10 times and I was trying really hard not to laugh. He meant humble, but since the word comes from humility he thought humil was correct. Guian Lucca also finishes every sentence with "maybe"-- for example "the CEO is very humil so he does not accept the praises of the other peoples maybe". Even when there is no need for a "maybe" it will undoubtedly finish off the sentence. Later that night we had a glass of wine after class had finished and Bahar (a lawyer from Turkey) was making fun of our pier and said "oh Yann is a bit gay I think, he is half gay". That one got me going for a while-- she meant bi-sexual. Then of course as I ordered my wine I asked for "a mug of the red wine please" and everyone started laughing, so I am not immune to the barrier.

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French Reggae...


No it wasnt good at all. On Saturday night I went and met my friend Mandy out at Cite Universaire. It is this huge compound with a big park and tons of student housing similar to dorms, but dedicated to international students studying in Paris. There was a big party there with a concert out on the lawn. It was raining-- big time. So i wore my 10 layers of clothes and God bless the French for not only having beer-- but wine for little Celicas like me. There was the STRANGEST music EVER. We werent quiet sure what was going on. My favorite of the night was the French Reggae-- priceless really. It was really not good music- lol. Anyways I headed home (she lives out there) because the metro closes at 2am. I sat there with my book (that I LOOOOVE) waiting for the train to come, to take me to the metro. A nice man came over about 3 minutes later to let me know c'est ferme-- "its closed". Of course its closed, because i dont have a cell phone and no money because I hadnt received my bank card yet. SO awesome. I figured out how to walk to the metro station....in the rain...at like 1:30am-- BUT i got there. And was so happy to finally be home. I put on my warmest 1 pair of pajama pants and my extra blanket and curled up in my Murphy bed. A fun night with a little complication!

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C'est normale.


I woke up yesterday morning and started my normal routine. I went to wash my face and heard a funny noise and....no water...?? Thats strange. So I went around to all my faucets and no water. Hmm I thought-- maybe they are doing work on my building. So I poked my head out the window into the court yard and didnt see anything going on. I emailed my landlord, I am pretty sure water is included, but I havent received any sort of bill so I wasnt sure if there was something I should be paying that I am not???? I ate my breakfast and washed my face with what little water I had left over in my water bottle from the day before and went out to get a water and coffee. On my way out my neighbor was leaving and I asked him if he was having a problem with his water. He said "c'est normale a Paris" meaning-- its normal for Paris. He said it is normal for the water to be turned off in Paris and that it would be turned back on by 3. I stood there happy that I hadnt done something wrong, but totally stunned...its normal for Paris to have the water turned off....why? I got my coffee and then came home and Googled it. I couldnt find anything. Later that day I had a hair cut, so I asked my hair dresser (who speaks english) and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said that didnt sound right, but that I live in one of the historic districts so maybe, he wasnt sure. Allll I know is that it would be very Parisian to just not have the water on, cause someone was on a lunch break or something. By the way, in case you are worried that I am working too hard, there is another holiday this Thursday. There have now been 5 holidays out of the 6 weeks I have been here.

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I have my Visa

Yesterday I got my Carte Sejour-- my long stay visa. This was given to me after a medical examination that included a chest x-ray?? So weird. They weigh you, do an eye test then ask you to take off your clothes for a chest x-ray, like you are a carrier of tuberculosis. After that you are interviewed about your health-- nothing weird asked. Then you go to another little room where this lady takes your money and give you your visa. This step is where it got a little sticky. I guess she wasn't having a good day or something because she completely flipped out and kicked everyone out of the room. The only thing is that most of us didn't speak french, so we had no idea what was going on. A nice young man told me we had to leave and stand in the hall way (I haven't been sent to the hall way since high school Algebra). She kept on yelling it was soooooo confusing. Clearly she understands that we have NO idea what she is saying to us! Any ways after standing in the hall for about 10 minutes she let us back in and I got my visa. YAY! no more going to the prefecture!

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My thesis has to be how many pages???

100. Seriously it has to be 100 pages. I wasn't really afraid of a thesis since I have already written one, no big deal-- I'm writing 20 page papers every week, whats a 40 pager?? NO 100 pages. I found this out the other day walking form class to the metro station and my friend said she was really going to have to get working on it (she graduates in January). I was shocked when she said 100 pages or 45,000 words-- you choose. So first things first: Dad, I am going to need a new computer so that I am really excited to type 100 pages, the just came out with a new Mac Book we could donate my current one and make it a tax deductible :-). I have no idea what I am going to write about, my undergrad thesis was about 40 pages about, American Holidays: how they were effected by immigration and capitalist culture. Maybe I could just expand that by 60 pages. Either way a new computer is called for

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I'm talking like I'm british


My eyes are cross from looking at the computer screen ALLLLL day long working on my paper. But when I was writing today I realized something...I am starting to talk like I am British. And no-- not on purpose. The only television I have the is in English is from the UK ans do I find myself using all of these words that I would never use under normal circumstances, for example: as well, or when I was in University, the list goes on. Any ways its weird and if I'm not going to be in a Harry Potter movie or meet Rob Pattinson anytime soon it must be stopped. OR I could be like that friends episode where that girl who lived in the U.K. for 2 months and came back with an accent. Any ways-- its funny.
Speaking of British news, I am sure none of you are aware of British politics because I didn't even know they had politics before I moved here-- BUT- there is a huge scandal over their government employees (that are similar to Senators) using their expense accounts for some really cool stuff. My personal favorite is the guy that had his "moat" cleaned out for like 8,000 pounds. He has a moat around his house...seriously. Dad's favorite one is the guy who bought a pant press-- everyone is really making fun of him. Any ways there is a HUGE fuss and its really funny hearing what all of these people spent money on-- 2,000 pounds to have 25 light bulbs changed.

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I got an A :-)

Hello! I got an A in my very first class. I was excited and thought I should tell everyone.

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Out and about at night


This weekend I had an unexpected visitor. My friend Alex who has been traveling the last 6 months decided to pass through Paris to visit. This was my very first visitor...if you don't count my friend from class who came to fix my T.V. We planned on going to the Louve's Friday night special for people under 26 it is free! Unfortunately because of the holiday it was closed :-(. So instead we went for a lovely walk along St Germain and got a cocktail. We saw the cutest puppy and Alex drank a Mojito (who does that-- lol). We made our way to a restaurant his mother had recommended and the food looked great (I cant eat out at restaurants because of my special diet--no, not a loose weight diet, its a dont die diet). Alex ordered Salmon and mushroom soup. The salmon was 100% raw fillet and the mushrooms were sauteed-- not a soup. BUT he said it was all REALLY good. And now I know a place I can order a meal (I can eat raw salmon). We sat next to this lady and her two children and started talking to them. They had moved from California to Switzerland for the past 2 years and were in Paris for the weekend. She said they just up and moved and its been great (I think you need to be rather wealthy to do that-- she had HUGE diamond earrings). Any ways it was a lovely night. Alex had to fly out the next morning and missed out on the barking dog, who barked from 8am- 7:30pm when his owner came home. When he arrived home he received a nice note from me asking him if there was something that could be done about the last 11 hours of barking I had just endured :-) The dog has been quiet today.

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Nefertiti Fake!


Last summer I went to Germany with my Brother and his family (hes my half brother). While in Berlin we went to a museum with an Egyptian exhibition. The Exhibition' prized piece was the mask of Nefertiti. What makes this piece so special is that it is almost fully intact and the paint is still very bright. It was a beautiful piece and my sister in law (to be) Emy actually got yelled at for taking a flash picture of it. It turns out that this piece is a fake! I read an article where some tests were being analyzed on the mask for historical purposes, and they realized that it is only about 100 years old, not 3,400 years old. There was no documentation of the piece EVER being found! The dig where it was supposes to have been found has no description of the item, which would be un- heard of considering the type of find. So it is basically a huge fake and it doesn't even look like anyone tried to check to see if it was real! This piece, which I am sure was VERY expensive for someone, at some point-- has traveled the world and been thought to be one of the best archaeological finds ever. Well it looks so good cause its not even 100 years old people.

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Another Holiday weekend in France

Tomorrow is another holiday weekend. This is now the......3 or 4th holiday since my arrival in Paris 6 weeks ago. 66% of the weekends have been a holiday. Now this holiday I actually think should exist-- the anniversary of D-Day, and in fact I am a little surprised that we don't celebrate it in America (we were a part of that one right?). I am embarrassed to say that I didn't even know that it was May 8th. Anyways, the whole city will shut down again...through the weekend, and then you know, its always nice to make a 3 day weekend into a 4 day weekend, so Monday most things will also be closed. They wont give me citizenship to this country.

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Some thing are worth paying for...

One of these things would be admission to Musee d'Orsay. This is now the third time I have attempted to go to this museum. The first time was the very first time I came to Paris. After missing my flight to Europe and not sleeping for 48 hours I arrived in Paris and attempted to site see...where upon I slept on the steps of Musee d'Orsay and didnt make it in. The second time was the first Saturday I moved the Paris, Saturday is not the day to see anything in Paris because it is just too busy to enjoy. So I decided to come back when it was not as busy. I decided to go this past Sunday because the first Sunday of the month the admission is free. I thought Sunday might be safe, because this is such a religious country. NO, the line was two blocks long. The regular admission is 5 Euros, and I will gladly pay this some time next week DURING the week, and enjoy the museum in peace and quiet. Lets hope that Free Friday night at the Louve is not as bad!

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