Surviving Sign-Up at the Sorbonne

I'm finally signed up for all my classes. I kid you not, it took me over 2 weeks, and I must have walked about 15 miles to different offices to get it done, but it's done. Unfortunately, it's not like most UK Unis, where you just log in online and choose your courses. You have to consult physical catalogues of courses available, figure out which ones fit, which ones give you enough ECTs (the equivalent of credits), and then you have to fill in forms and take them to the respective departments. I'm now realising that I sound like a whiney millennial, "Why can't I do it online?" But honestly, it would make life a lot easier.
Anyhow, here are a couple of things I'd tell myself a few weeks ago if I had the chance, which would have made the whole process easier.
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Spot the difficulty
First step is choosing your courses. There are a few things you need to look out for when you are picking your classes, and finding these things first will let you skip the awkward "Oh crap, that doesn't work, now I have to do it all again" phase. Firstly, make sure your classes don't clash - that goes without saying. None of us are Hermione, we don't have time turners, and we can't be in two places at once, so make sure your classes aren't at the same time. Secondly, take account of which campus your classes are on. I signed up for two classes which were one after the other, and found out that the second one was on a campus which was 40 minutes away by metro. Not ideal. None of us can teleport either, so make sure you have time to get to your classes. Finally, check the assessment type. If you struggle with exams, try not to take courses which have a heavy set of exams; if you're bad at coursework, do the opposite. 
Cater to you
It's not always possible to sign up just for classes you think you will enjoy, because they might clash. That said, try and find as many classes that fit into your timetable that you will actually enjoy. Studying in a new language is hard enough as it is; you don't need the added annoyance of being bored in every single class you go to. It makes it harder to concentrate, harder to revise, and harder to pass. If you've centred your degree at home around Culture, and you enjoy it, then do the same abroad. If you've focused it on Linguistics or Translation, do the same. 
Plan ahead Chances are, you're going to need to go across a few campuses or at least a few different buildings to get your sign-up completed. I had to go to two different campuses over the course of 2 weeks, and see 5 or 6 different people before I got mine done. This is especially true if you're studying two languages, and need to sign up for classes in the language you aren't working on at the moment. For example, I study French and German, so in Paris, I had to sign up for a German course to keep my level of German up. The trick is to plan ahead - make sure you know the office hours of the people you need to see, where they are, and how to get there. It's not fun turning up to an office that is already closed, or knowing who you need to see but not know how to get to them. Before you leave to get your forms signed, sealed and delivered, make sure you've planned your trip.
Don't overload yourself Make sure that you have at least a quick glance at the reading for each course you sign up for. I wasn't wise enough to do this before I signed up, and now realise I've got a hefty list of about 12 books to read this semester. If you're a fast or keen reader, no problem. If you're not, big problem. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
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I'm sure there are other things that other students would add to the list, but at least if you follow this advice you'll save yourself some hassle!

Paris vs Puppies

You read that right. Puppies. My dog at home has just had a litter of 9 adorable baby clouds, and I'm not at home to smother them with cuddles. Heartbreaking. I love Paris, but I hate that I'm not there right now, and have to live through the experience via FaceTime and Snapchat pictures.

Turns out they're actually tiny otters

Confessions of a Culture Vulture

The first week of Uni is always slow. It's even slower when you understand nothing that anyone says. Thankfully, French universities don't seem to set homework for classes, so I don't suppose it matters that I'm confused until the exams. What a horrible thought. 
Anyway, I've spent most of my spare time running through bookshops trying to find the hundred and ten french books, and the five or six english ones I have to read this semester. 

Warning, this book might kill! - Found in Boulinier, Boulevard St Michel

Aside from hiding in bookshops, I've not done much apart from skulk around Paris and find quirky little cultural things, which is great. Cars were the first cute find.

And then a little bit of René Magritte. 

Not sure if that one was a clever pun or cheeky graffiti.

Back to School

Usually the start of the year makes me want to throw myself out of a window. This year is only slightly different. Enrolling for classes at the Sorbonne has already been a massive pain, and I've not even done it properly yet. Don't get me wrong, we tried - we followed the instructions, chose classes, filled in paperwork, the lot. But as it turns out, half the classes clash or are in completely opposite ends of the city, and the other half are boring beyond compare.
Having said that, we have been to a few classes so far. The first day was a bit of a nightmare: we ended up having a four-hour gap between classes. In any other city, it would have been the choice between a mind-numbing library visit or a trip home and back. Luckily, there's more to do in Paris.
We popped up to the Latin Quarter to find a place to get lunch first. We strolled around for a bit trying to find a French place - we figured we should be eating french food given where we were. Naturally we ended up going for Burritos. 

Chido Mexican Street Food - Rue Mouffetard 

Despite giving in to the mouth-watering temptation of Mexican food, we actually thought this was a good find. The food is dead cheap, absolutely delicious, and it's a quiet place too. Definitely recommend. 
Full to bursting point and feeling lazy after the first class of the semester, we had to figure out what to do with the left over three hours before our next lesson.

Ceiling of the Pantheon - this quickly became my desktop background

The decision was made to pop to the Pantheon. I won't lie to you, I don't really know what it is. What I do know is that a lot of France's most prominent figures are buried in the crypt beneath it - Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Voltaire, the list goes on. Quite a creepy place to be honest, but interesting. Unfortunately for us, in the middle of this huge tomb, full of France's most respected people, we got caught by uncontrollable giggling. Definitely not the appropriate time or place.

I didn't sign up for this

So, it's time to sign up for classes. We had a (relatively useless) talk at the University, and I met Sonia, who goes to my Uni at home, but who I've never really talked to before (who knows why, she's fab). We decided to grab lunch after the talk and try and figure out how to sign up for classes. Spoiler alert, it's impossible. If you're headed on a future year abroad, prepare to be baffled for a while, followed by a long period of confusion, before you decide to just write down what your friend did and hope for the best.

In other news, I'm really starting to love this little things about living here. I've lived in a city before, and I've lived in the arse-end of nowhere too, but this is a completely different breed of place. Even the bog-standard view from my window makes me happy.

La Vie Flaneuse

One week on, and I'm still not a student yet. Classes don't start until the 21st, so I've got plenty of spare time. And so begins the sightseeing (I'm allowed to be a tourist until I have actual responsibilities).
In the desperate search for friends that every fresher encounters, I posted on an Erasmus Facebook page, and met a great girl from Norway. We decided to meet up and wander around, and the result, of course, was a whole load of pretty photos. 

We started off at the Eiffel Tower, of course. After sitting on the grass on the Champ de Mars for a while, we moved on to the lesser known parts of Paris.

Ok, when I said lesser known, I may have been stretching the truth. Our next stop was the Louvre. As we were on a self-made walking tour, we didn't go inside (we've both been in before), but the pyramids are a great photo op when you're on a slow walk.

We walked back along the Seine, and without a doubt, I have never enjoyed walking home more. Paris at the moment is in the blissful suspension between Summer and Autumn; the leaves are turning those warm colours, but the sky is still clear blue and the sun is still red hot. What a time to be alive.

10 Things I’ve learnt during my first two weeks in Paris

1. Paris is beautiful.
I mean that one was obvious, no surprise here. 

2. If you want to do anything official in France (open a bank account, set up a SIM card), you’ll need a lot of paperwork.
Passports, attestation d’assurance, student cards, EHIC cards etc. - you need all of it or you’ll get a blank stare from a French employee.

3. Woody Allen was wrong -
Paris is not more beautiful when it rains.

4. The Euro is absolutely not worth the same amount as the Pound.
When you go shopping you don’t need to drop your jaw because you spent 20 euros in Monoprix on what seemed like a small shop - that’s actually less than £15.

5. French water is not pleasant to drink.
It’s clean, and safe to drink, it’s just not nice to drink.

6. This is not like England - everywhere is closed on a Sunday.
Some sparse grocery stores are open, and businesses in massively touristy areas are open, but your local supermarket might be closed.

7. There is an air raid siren that goes off every 1st Wednesday of the month in Paris.
It’s a WW2 air raid siren that they have maintained in the event of nuclear war. Unsettling if you don’t know what it is! (Yes, I did learn the hard way)

8. French Universities are on the same organisational level as Ron Swanson -
0/10. They will schedule an “orientation” talk. They will give you no information. You will have to stand outside of an office for three weeks before you know where you are meant to be.

9. A) There is a lot of pressure on year abroad to make loads of new friends 

and socialize all day every day, but if you need some alone time to recharge, don’t beat yourself up about it. Watch some Netflix. Go for a walk. Whatever.

B) But it is pretty nice to make a couple of friends 

who you can talk to if you need to. Being alone in a new country is some scary shit, it’s nice to have people there for you if you need them.

10. The Eiffel Tower is just scaffolding. 

This is a confirmed fact. There are a lot of prettier things in Paris.