Study Break

Thursday, Ms. Ara and I met up for coffee at a café called L’imprevu, and were later joined by Matt and Neema. After exiting the Metro at Chatelet, I met Ara and we headed over to an area of the Marais (in the fourth district) that I had never been to before, which is much fancier and classier than our normal, “student-friendly” locales. However fancy and classy this area is though, L’imprevu remains charmingly unpretentious. Tucked away in the Marais, it boasts free wifi, a lounge-y/eclectic atmosphere, and a large menu of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. (And yes, I would gladly head their ad campaign if they asked). In our cozy corner in the back, the four of us discussed life, love, and values over the most brilliant Chai Tea I’ve had in a long while, until departing at 2AM. How I enjoy the simpler pleasures in life!

That night, I decided to work, and attempted to finish an exposé that I thought may had been due for my Introduction à la pensée liberale course. I didn’t finish though, but to my relief, the (exceptionally disorganized) course turned out to be cancelled. The good news continued as I received back my midterm in my Grands enjeux de la construction européenne course. In spite of my difficulties during the exam (see blog from beginning of May where I basically call the passing of the test as the hardest two hours of my life), the large number of fail grades in my section, and the fact that every single critique my professor made about the exam was applicable to my test, I received a note signifying that my work was “assez bien”, or “good enough”, a SERIOUS victory!

I celebrated this victory that night, first with a visit to the Tribal Café in the 18^th which serves free couscous with drink purchase, and then at a party at my friend Cara’s apartment. Ms. Andrea even brought me some celebratory sparkling wine and we toasted the end of the week.

The next day I caught up on sleep until meeting Dre in the Marais for a night of Tapas and bar hopping, and man did those tapas get me excited for Barcelona! The rest of the week has been full of studying, studying, studying, and more studying, as I have two exposés on Friday, three papers due after that, and final exams rapidly approaching. However, the discovery of L’imprevenu has made said studying much more enjoyable, as has the company of my friends. (I also took an excellent study break Monday night at the Moose bar where a group of us had a lively debate about the global wealth gap, where I characteristically took on the position of none other than the token bleeding-heart liberal Berkeley hippie. duh.) Currently, it’s early Wednesday morning (5 AM) and I’m sitting next to Ara at Le Départ, an overpriced café in St. Michel whose only draws are its availability of outlets, and its 24-hour access.

Now that I’ve caught you up to date, then, I guess it’s time to end my study break and get back to work. Until next time, wish me luck!