So, What Do You Do in Paris, Anyway?

This morning, I received an amazing email from a close friend, who will remain anonymous. As someone who has studied à Paris before, she recommends several things to do and places to see in the fabulous City of Light! Here are a few of my favorites:

-Visit the Musée d'Orsay, an art museum located in a former train station. My study abroad program offers a class taught in the museum itself! Imagine going to school in a gorgeous station built for the Universal Exposition of 1900, surrounded by art....
-Visit the catacombs, but only if you are feeling courageous-- exploring an underground graveyard is bound to give you goosebumps!
-Order crêpes from street vendors found all over Paris. I have done this before and it is fun to watch the vendor make a thin pancake in front of you and then smother it in Nutella or whipped cream or whatever you order. Perfect for a rainy autumn day!
-Explore the beautiful parks located all over the city.
-To quote my friend directly, "YOU MUST MUST MUST go to La Durée to get macaroons – they are these cookies that are really famous in Paris and they kind of look like little colored hamburgers. You’ll think you died and went to heaven." Enough said.
-I ordered a must-read she recommends entitled Bonjour, Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. Can't wait until it arrives!
-And my favorite bit of advice, "There is usually free wi fi in McDonalds! Random…."

So, equipped with her amazing advice, and excited to run off and explore Paris, I get ready to... go into work. I am still in the U.S., after all, and it is a Thursday morning, and this means work. I guess I'll have to daydream about eating macaroons on a park bench with a view of Notre Dame while I perform data entry.

To consider liminality for a moment, it is strange to to be caught between the present and future, as I am today. It's like waking up the day before your birthday, and thinking for one brief second that today's your special day, and then realizing you're off by 24 hours. It's like waking up on the morning of your last final exam, and wishing against hope that it was already tomorrow. It's like waking up in Oakland, and realizing that your sister is in Chicago and your parents are in Los Angeles, even though you half expect to hear their familiar voices while you eat your cereal. It's not necessarily a bad thing, to be caught in limbo, but it sure is strange!

And as for work today? It's a good thing a girl's allowed to dream...