World, Come at Me Bro!: School of hard knocks

So, I went to my first class at an actual Parisian University today... yikes. Let's just say it was three hours of scribbling, as I struggled to understand her french while she seemed to try to cover the entire history of cinema in one class period. Besides struggling a bit, it was very interesting and great to be back in a real class. I have had a couple classes at the Madeleine Center for Middlebury, but those are much more discussion based with teachers that want to get to know you. My Language and Culture professor was particularly interesting: within five minutes of entering class yesterday I was called out twice for my American sitting habits. But, turns out he is just an aggressive guy that is also an awesome teacher. Midway through class he decided that we should just go to an art exhibit and took us to an expo on Sempé, a french cartoonist who has drawn the cover of the New Yorker at least 20 times and makes sure everyone knows how dumb he thinks they are in his drawings and comics. My favorite expo so far!
Place de la Concorde is an amazing open square where every big street in Paris converges, and just standing on the outskirts gives you the goosebumps. After class yesterday I decided to really check it out, and had trouble leaving. Sure, it is touristy, but with good reason: it is worth seeing.

Besides my first real class today I had L'as du Falafel, which I have heard from just about everyone I have talked to is the place to find the best falafel sandwiches in the world. Not being one to buy the hype, but being one who likes food, I finally broke down and went... Wow. I just stood on a street corner and ate it, because doing anything other than that seemed to cheat the sandwich. Already planning a return trip. Going to a class that I don't plan on taking but want to check out tomorrow; problem is it is at 9. Ugh. And then another class that I have to take at 1. No one said studying abroad would actually include studying...