Davis' Thoughts on Beijing

Hi y'all,

Ludell and I are in Beijing for about 1/2 of the summer. In this brief email update, I'll write about a few of the things I've found most striking. If you're interested in an "on the ground" perspective of Beijing (and to some extent, mainland China), maybe you'll be interested in reading on.

• The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the Only Game in Town and You Have to Play Ball

The CPC invades every element of life for Beijingers. 

They are in the neighborhoods. For example, when I was in Beijing in 2008-2009, I noticed the ubiquitous black Audi A6s. At first I thought that they were simply chosen by a lot of the upper middle class Chinese citizens, but I was wrong. These Audis are government-issued cars to those individuals who are high up in the Party, and in 2012, I still notice that they're all over the place. 

They cripple the internet. When you are in China, without sophisticated networking tools your communications are crippled. Some of the most fundamental information sources for modern society are blocked by the firewall, radically changing the information available to a normal Beijinger. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, NPR, and virtually every major international newspaper are difficult to access from the mainland. So it's no wonder that at least two Beijingers I've spoken with (one former Chinese professor at Rollins College in the States and one small business owner) say that the pollution in Beijing isn't pollution at all: they say that it's "fog." That's not to say that everyone drinks the CPC kool-aid, but most do and if you don't, there's virtually nothing you can do about it.

They pervade business. Recently, I was lucky enough to interview Aaron Fang, a young start-up entrepreneur here in Beijing who is a native of mainland China (see the interview by clicking here). Ludell and I went out to dinner with him after the interview and he told me something I found shocking: at many large companies in China if one doesn't join the CPC, access to high-level positions is impossible. So the entanglement of medium and larger Chinese enterprises and the CPC is extremely intimate. 

• There is a lot of Work to be Done in Beijing

Generally, Beijing is still very dirty. Did you have the idea that Beijing would be somewhat clean because of the frequent media reports about China's rise and eventual economic dominance? If you did, that is not the case. Though I cannot speak about other urban centers, it almost goes without saying that Beijing is one of the most important cities in China and it is still very dirty and rough. I find that there are sink holes in many of the sidewalks and that pavers are often out of place. There is often trash on the ground and the city still lacks modern waste management systems; trash is still collected by individuals on bikes. 

Beijing's transportation infrastructure is overwhelmed. Yesterday, Ludell and I tried to take the subway at about 7:30 pm. At one interchange, there was literally a sea of people attempting to use a particular subway line. There was a long corridor that was perhaps 100 yards long and ten feet wide that lead up to the subway line itself, and in the corridor there was not a space to be found (see the picture enclosed). If I had to guess, I believe that there were somewhere around 35,000 people moving in a massive group towards that particular subway line. The roads are overwhelmed, too. We have witnessed some of the most epic traffic jams in history. This shouldn't have surprised us, because I remember seeing that Beijing had a traffic jam that was 9 days long in 2010. The CPC is encouraging people to use the public transportation systems, but they are clearly as overwhelmed as the roads. Interestingly, the entrepreneur I mentioned in the previous section told me that official figures say that Beijing has around 30.5 million people. When I was here in 2008, it had around 27 million people. So, that means that the city is adding roughly 1 million people per year. 

Counterfeiting is Still Rampant in the City. Recently, Ludell and I visited Beijing's famous silk market. The market is located just a few blocks down from some of the most famous brands in the world: Prada, Bottega Veneta, etc. At the silk market, it's possible to buy everything counterfeit: handbags, dresses, shoes, shirts, watches, DVDs and anything else you want, and it's a big business. In front of the market (we've been twice), there are usually 10 - 15 tour busses who have brought bus loads of tourists to come and buy the counterfeited goods. Clearly, counterfeiting is still a huge business and there are no signs of it needing to go underground, despite the incredible proximity to Beijing's most up-market shopping areas.

• There is No Clean Air Left in Mainland China's Major Cities

When Ludell and I first arrived, the pollution (or "the fog" as some kool-aid drinking Beijingers say) was overwhelming. We both were bed-ridden with painful headaches for the first three days we were in Beijing. Looking for alternative solutions to the problem, I wanted to see if we could take a quick trip to a nearby city where the pollution wasn't as bad. I was astonished at the scale of the pollution problem. When I came across this map of China's air quality, I realized that no major cities on the mainland had access to clean air. There is no city in mainland China with clean air. 

Anyway, these are just a few of my reflections. Perhaps they will be of interest to you.

Wishing you all the best,

Davis Jones

Summer Summer Summer Time

May 28, 2012

I've gotten really bad at blogging lately because I am on course overload until September.  I have made a realistic goal of blogging once a month.  

This weekend we went to Carros- in the hills of Nice- to visit our new Belgian friends, Patrick and Hetty.  These are the best friends of Bieke, the woman you've probably heard me refer to as my Healdsburg mom on multiple occasions.  They are the coolest 60 years olds you will ever meet.  They are so hip, stylish, and have great taste in music.  Had some great food, but spent most of the weekend doing homework.  At least I got to sit by the pool for a little while.  They also have some cool kids.  Jesse is their son and he has this adorable girlfriend, Celeste- also Belgian- and we were having fun learning naughty phrases in Belgian.  We are meeting them this Thursday to go to the Crossover Festival and see Metronomy and Charlotte Gainsbourg.  

I also just bought us tickets to see NZCA/Lines and Cassius at the Rock Island Festival in Marseille.  It's going to be so much fun.  That's the great thing about living in Europe...access to really good shows.  

Everyone is saying that there has never been a spring like this in Nice before.  It was raining all last week and it looks like it will be the same this week.  The days start out with sunny beach weather and it completely changes by late afternoon.  Of course the French Riviera decides to be non-French Riviera when we are living here.  You can pretty much go lay by the beach in the morning and into early afternoon, but the clouds start rolling around by 5.

I got into the graduate program that I applied for, so it looks like we will be here until late June 2013.  Then, we might head to San Francisco to work for a few years.  Colorado is also an option, which would be amazing.  

Fourth Month In...

Last night, I made some excellent Asian meat balls with broccoli and Canton noodles. Super simple, but very delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Asian-Inspired Meatballs and Spaghetti

Makes 24 small meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1/2 cup panko
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 egg
• Safflower oil
• 1 package soba noodles
• 
  
• Sauce Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 – 2 teaspoons of sriracha (depends on how spicy you like it)
• 
  
• Directions:
• In a saucepan, over low heat, add the brown sugar, white wine and soy sauce. Stir and cook just until the sugar melts; about 2 minutes. Add the ginger and sriracha; stir and continue to simmer over very low heat, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients except the safflower oil and soba noodles. Using your hands, mix well. Form the mixture into meatballs. I like them to be on the smaller size, but do whatever makes you happy.
• In a shallow frying pan, add about a 1/4 inch of safflower oil; heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add the meatballs a few at a time. Brown each side. Remove to a paper towel. Repeat the process.
• Once all the meatballs are browned, wipe out the frying pan with a paper towel (do not rinse or wash), and put the meatball back into the pan. Pour the sauce over the top, and let simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Right before serving, cook the noodles according to the package direction. Drain. Toss with a teaspoon of safflower oil to prevent noodles from sticking.
• Add the meatballs to the noodles. If the sauce is a bit thin, raise the heat and cook down a bit until it is thick. Pour over the noodles, gently toss. Serve. Eat.

Our friends Bieke, Brian, Katina, and Leonard came to visit us last week. It really renewed my outlook on Nice. I am still ready to leave this place, but it was nice to find out where some of the good food is and see some familiar faces.

That being said, France just isn't right for us in the long term. We really enjoy good food, living healthy, and working hard. And the French just aren't about those things. They like finding ways to not work and live off the government. They are way too proud of their failing country and are not open to being a real participant in the world. They are stuck on thinking that they are the best and are missing the fact that they really aren't and are actually pretty inferior to America.

And this is a lot coming from me, previously a very open America hater. Living here has really made me appreciate where I come from. France claims to have the most efficient workers. They get more done in less time. This may be true of the business people working in places like Paris, but the majority of the French people simply hardly work and live off the government. Local store owners close their shops whenever they please and nothing is about contributing to the economy or serving people.

It's a very selfish, misguided way of living. Sure, when I have a real job I would love to sit down on a week day once a week and have some wine with lunch. But I don't want to do that every day. And I don't want to be part of a culture where people show up at the pub at 8:30 in the morning to start drinking and don't have to worry about paying for groceries because the government will take care of it. I don't want to stand in line at the store behind the nicest dressed, put together French guy I've ever seen who is using food stamps to purchase groceries.

These people, as a whole, are extremely delusional and actually believe in their superiority in all things cultural, culinary, fashionable, etc. That's funny because if you come here, it's actually hard to find those things in high quality. What's even more hilarious is their simultaneous hate of America and their shameless consumption of American pop culture. There is some major dissonance here. It just doesn't add up.

Don't get me wrong. France is a totally nice place to live for a while and explore. It's beautiful. The wine and cheese are amazing and cheap. It's so close to many other cool places, like Italy, Spain, Germany, and England. But when you notice and care about the state of the economy and character of the people like we do, your brain will reach near explosion at least once, daily.

For example, we took the train to Grasse the other day and saw some political posters by the train station. Sarkozy, of course, was amongst them. One of the candidates used anti-capitalism to sell himself. It said something along the lines of, "We are going to fix this mess that capitalism has caused." Ummm....you guys better check the facts on that because I'm pretty sure your socialist government has gotten you where you are now. You know, all the people not working and mooching instead?

And being forced to watch people shamelessly litter. They have no sense of their effect of the environment. The other day, I was studying at my desk and looked down to the street to see someone in their car unwrapping a pack of cigarettes and nonchalantly throwing their trash out the window. This is not uncommon. It happens all the time. A woman eating a snack while walking and just dropping the box on the ground instead of finding a trash can. And when I see someone actually clean up after their dog, I have to fight the urge to exclaim in an excitement and give them a giant hug.

I AM having fun here. I mean, it's the French Riviera. And if you have the money to really do the French thing, I am sure it's amazing. But I have had to work really hard on changing the way I react to things. I try to not get angry or too annoyed and just remember that it's the French way. I am also glad that I know that France isn't the place you see in movies. I'm glad I know the truth and I am excited about my new found appreciation for where I come from. I am a hard working, capitalism-loving, contributing American and I am so very proud of that.

Having Fun is Fun

I haven't blogged in a while because France has gotten pretty fun in the last month. The Carnival de Nice was going on for about two weeks. It's kind of similar to Mardi Gras and started in the 13th century. There were a couple events that were just okay, but the Parade of Lights was pretty cool and some of the floats and costumes were amazing.

Then, we went to London for a bit and had a blast. We filled up on good restaurant food because we are still missing it over here. We had Mexican one night and I am pretty sure I didn't look up from my plate the whole time because I was busy scarfing down my burrito. We went shopping and I found some ridiculously affordable vintage clothes, which is a big deal since clothes are so expensive here and the shopping options are not great.

We saw an interesting art exhibit with Barney Wong at the Tate Modern that left me feeling a little out of sorts because of her acid inspired work. It was Yayoi Kusama- a Japanese multimedia artist who thrived during the 60s and 70s in New York's avant-garde scene. She was crazy, did lots of acid, and finally admitted herself to an institution. I found her very phallic pieces a little unsettling, but loved her light installations. We also saw some of her pieces in the Louis Vuitton store. Anyway, she's interesting so check her out if you have a chance.

Right after our return to Nice, we headed up to Aups in Provence to stay with some friends for a couple days. This place is ridiculously beautiful. I wish I didn't have to work on homework so much while I was there so I could enjoy it more. They made the village life see so charming. We ate some good food, saw a cool church and a monastery, and actually got to enjoy the sun for the first time in a while. Very simple life, but could be a second home when we are like 80 or something.

Now, it's back to the grind: schoolwork (the load will increase for me after this week so I can graduate early in September), grad school applications, and fleshing out plans for the future. Two weeks ago, something happened to me. I don't know exactly what caused it, but something in me changed. I feel more educated, more aware, more excited about the future, and in general more healthy about my outlook on life than ever.

I know that one influence is the fact that I now study so much- for school and independently. I used to read a lot as a kid- like, a big chapter book a day. This feeling is kind of comparable to that. I am adding so much information to my brain every day. My ability to understand issues in the news- especially marketing and business related issues- has increased immensely.

Also, since I am applying to schools, I have been forced to really think about what I am going to do with my life. If I am going to be admitted to this program that only accepts 30 people, I need to show how I will use the education for my businesses and projects. I need to know where I am headed. And now I do. And it's a little scary.

I have never really been at full potential before. There has always been something weighing me down like negativity, bad boyfriends from the past, thinking I'm not good enough, feeling like I'm never smart enough, having an unfulfilling job, and the list goes on and on. But, those things are not in my life or in my head anymore.

Also, I have the most amazing partner any girl could ask for. I am so lucky to have found my soulmate. He is so supportive and inspired me to make a lot of changes, of which I am now seeing the rewards. Dang. My man is awesome and we are going to do some great things for this world.

Workin' Out and Makin' Good Food

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. It's been extremely cold and I was sick last week. Really, I haven't been doing much except trying to stay warm and exercising a ridiculous amount.

Never before have I had time to work out. And now that my metabolism is slowing (and I fattened up a little with the delicious Italian in California), I need to shape up. I have to say that what I am doing is working. I made a work out schedule, but I make sure that I am not too hard on myself and that I keep it fun. Within 3 weeks I have tripled my reps and don't have to break most of the exercises into sets anymore. I have had the most success with my legs.

I do have an "open" schedule but I still study a ridiculous amount so don't think it's impossible. Here's what I am doing if anyone is interested:

Monday- Misc. warm up for the week

1. Walking day: I take a really long walk and do all errands by foot

2. Jump rope: Invest in one because it's a great way to get your heart rate up if you hate running like I do. 20-40 min. Whatever feels right. Don't be hard on yourself.

3. Arms: 4 sets of 15 traditional/girly pushups

4 sets of 15 against the wall push ups

Tuesday- Abs (Find instructions here: http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm)

1. Yoga for abs (I love Rodney Yee)

2. Bicycle: start with 4 sets of 12 and increase reps with time. Right now I do 2 sets of 50.

3. Vertical Leg Crunch: 2 sets of 25

4. Long Arm Crunch: 3 sets, 12 reps

5. Reverse Crunch: 2 sets of 25

Wednesday- Butt (Find Instructions here: http://exercise.about.com/od/butthipsthighs/tp/butt.htm)

1. Squats (2 sets of 10)

2. Lunges (2 sets of 12)

3. Leg Extensions (2 sets of 12, each leg)

Thursday- Legs (Find instructions here: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/thighs/exercises/hot-legs-exercises/?page=3)

1. Diagonal Leg (2 sets of 10)

2. Side lung butt kicker (2 sets of 10)

3. Thigh Trimmer (2 sets of 10)

4. Golf swing (2 sets of 10)

Friday- Bodyrock TV (http://www.bodyrock.tv/)

I am not actually participating in the 30 day challenge because I DON"T want my body to look like hers. Try one of the challenges once a week. You don't need any of the equipment. Watch the end of the video and she'll tell you how to work the same muscles with what you have at home.

Increase reps and sets when it feels right.

On another note, I made an excellent dinner last week. Davis took the leftovers to school with him and one of the Asian girls freaked out over it. I made apple-honey drumsticks and wings with rice and julienned sauteed veggies.

Apple-Honey Drumsticks

Ingredients

• 12 skin-on chicken drumsticks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the drumsticks on the rack and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes; flip the drumsticks and continue baking until golden and crisp, about 30 more minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Bring the apple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt to a high simmer in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the sauce is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside until the chicken is done.

Stir the sesame seeds into the sauce, if using, and warm over medium heat, if necessary. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl. Add the sauce and butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a platter and drizzle with any remaining sauce from the bowl.

Szechwan Mixed Veggies

Ingredients

• Cooking spray, as needed
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup julienned carrots
• 1/4 cup julienned celery
• 1/4 cup julienned red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup julienned yellow bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons toasted peanuts
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, and add water. Add the carrots, celery, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, peanuts, garlic, and hot pepper flakes and saute until tender, but still crisp. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Ludomesticated

Guys, it's official. I am domesticated. A large part of my days involve deciding on a dinner menu, going to the market, and making dinner. I totally don't mind because one of my goals here is to become a better cook, but this stay at home partner thing does not agree with my personality. I miss working, but trying to learn French, doing homework, and completing every day tasks (it takes twice as long to pick out laundry detergent when you don't know the language) is pretty much a full time gig. Granted, I do get to sleep in . I feel bad when Davis leaves for school every day at 7:30. : )

The house-girldriendery IS a necessity for us here though. Davis is at school 12 hours a day. This program is uber intense. SOMEONE has to make dinner because it is far to expensive to eat out regularly. The cats aren't up for the job...so I'm the only other option.

That being said, I made some pretty delicious pasta last night. I substituted leek for onion and Davis used his magic touch, adding Italian olive oil and sugar to the finished product.

PENNE WITH SAUSAGE CREAM SAUCE

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves,minced 2/3 cup dry white wine 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced peeled tomatoes, undrained 1 cup heavy cream 4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (flat leaf parsley) 1 teaspoon salt or to taste freshly ground pepper to taste 1 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove sausage and set aside; drain excess grease from skillet. Melt butter and oil in skillet; add onion and sauté until softened and golden in color. Add garlic, cook and stir 1 minute. Add wine to skillet and reduce volume by half, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer 3 minutes. Return cooked sausage to skillet, add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Place cooked Penne in a large serving bowl; pour sauce over pasta; add Parmesan cheese and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

I went to the post office today because I had to get my Visa forms in and it was difficult, to say the least. It is amazing that two people who don't speak the same language can manage to communicate effectively.

The post offices (La Poste) are pretty funny here. They also serve as banks and there's even a cell phone plan that you can get through them. Weird. The employees are nothing like the ones that work for the USPS (angry!), but you can still tell that they work for the government. And it seems to be a universal thing that going to the post office is an annoying chore.

I managed to only spend 3 Euro today, which is amazing. There is this stand that makes pretzel bread sandwiches. I had one with brie, tomato, and basil. Mmmmm. I also had a couple of cigarettes today, which I am feeling guilty about. The post office was stressful and I was mad that my friend stood me up for lunch. : /

Speaking of cigarettes, the smoking here is ridiculous. EVERYONE does it and there are often lines out to the street at the tobacco shops!

Through frequenting our favorite restaurant here and watching Lebanese music videos, Davis and I have decided that we really want to go to Lebanon. Their culture seems like it's a lot of fun. And all the women are beautiful, but they all look the same!

Italy

Last weekend, we opted to not take the 10 hour bus ride to Paris and rented a car to travel east along the coast instead. The first stop was Monaco (maybe a 30 minute drive from Nice), a very beautiful place that I would only return to if I had some money in my pocket that I needed to get rid of. We stopped near the water where people dock their yachts and we visited the holiday fair that was taking place. We ate a Nutella crepe and some fries and took a ride on the Ferris wheel.

Since we didn't have the funds or connections to rent a yacht for the day :) we decided to continue on to Italy. We realized we were hanging out in the "ghetto" neighborhood as we were leaving and the appearance of women in furs increased. Davis stopped on the coast in Ventimiglia and asked the locals where we should go. They recommended two villages: Dulce Acqua and Apricale.

Apricale is an ancient village that consumes an entire hillside. You have to park outside of the village and climb hundreds of cobble stone steps to get to the highest point.

It was eerily quiet and cats were everywhere (Frenchies and Italians LOVE kitties). Residents also had these strange cat gates on their front doors. We stopped to have a drink in one of the bars and there was a picture of a cat on the wall.

The wine was delicious and cheap. Davis, of course, was speaking butchered bits of Italian in no time. We were going to eat in the village's Michelin rated restaurant but decided we were not hungry enough to enjoy it. Apricale is one of the most charming places I have ever visited. We want to take Bieke, John, and Leonard here when they visit.

We drove further into another village that I don't remember the name of. The roads were one lane, super dangerous, and scary. The town was so small but we managed to find a little cheese shop owned by a nice woman (the cheese maker). She sold us half of a huge block of delicious cheese for only 10 euros. There was also a little restaurant that the locals spoke fondly of. Healdsburg fam: this woman was Italy's Gia Passalacqua. Too funny. We didn't eat here either because we still weren't hungry. We stopped at a store to buy some Italian pasta and then headed back towards Nice.

We stopped in Dulce Aqcua to have some (very bad) Italian food. So far Italian food here is nothing compared to the Italian food at Scopa or Diavola in Cali.

Getting used to it all...

There is dog poo all over the sidewalks. People also throw trash on the street. It drives me completely insane. That is my one complaint. Davis mentioned forming a weekend clean up brigade. It's not a bad idea. Maybe they would give us citizenship for our efforts. : )

We went to a Brasserie for my birthday dinner to get some Steak Frites. What did they bring us? An unseasoned hamburger patty. We learned from the waiter that it is actually called something different here (I don't thinks so...). Our waiter was complaining about American food being bad, but I have a feeling Nice is not known for its cuisine. Davis says we have to go to the countryside for good food.

On a postive note, I made my first French dish this week: Chicken with Mustard Marscapone Marsala Sauce. It was actually pretty good! I couldn't find Marsala wine at the market so I substituted Port. Don't mix the noodles with the sauce because the contrasting texture of the plain, buttery noodles is important (extremely creamy sauce). Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-with-mustard-mascarpone-marsala-sauce-recipe/index.html

The wine here is so cheap. You can get good wine for about 3 USD. If we could sustain ourselves on baguettes and wine alone, we'd have quite an affordable life!

Healdsburg family: we spent as much money on dinner at a casual Vietnamese restaurant as you would spend on dinner for two at Scopa. Ridiculous! Also, Davis commented on how cheap Evian is here.

Another thing I noticed this week is how disappointing the fashion is in Nice. I am not impressed. I was expecting to feel like a scrub and I was wrong. Everyone dresses uber casually and they all have those puffy, shiny jackets. People are dressing like it's the dead of winter and I am running around in a tank top. Maybe the ladies are more stylish in the warm weather...

We are having a lot of fun though. We had a great lunch today near the ocean and we are settling in for a long study session until dinner with some of Davis' classmates tonight.

Loving the weather. Loving exploring the city.

Pictures soon. I promise!

First Impression of France

After a long and miserable flight, a stop in London, and tracking down the kitties (who were almost sent to Frankfurt had Davis not arrived a moment sooner) we are finally settled in our new apartment.

We are still adjusting to the time difference. Sometimes I wake up at one in the morning, completely alert and starving. Today we accidently slept in until one in the afternoon. The cats' schedules are even off.

Despite the jet lag, we are enjoying living in a new place. Our apartment is in the middle of the city. A little loud, but the location is worth it. We have already found a couple of good restaurants and a cute little wine shop owned by a nice woman named Grace. So far Davis has been my way of communication because I am just getting into studying the language.

Everyone here is friendly. The bread here makes you feel like you've never tasted good bread before. There is a pharmacy, a florist, a hairdresser, a bakery, and a grocery store on every block. I haven't found a place to get a manicure yet. Not sure if that is popular here. Even though it is the coldest season, the weather is enjoyable and we have been told to expect perfection starting in March. Most businesses play American music and try to charge for water. I noticed that there is a Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a Pizza Hut. People dance on top of tables in bars.

It is expensive to live here. A meal from a Chinese restaurant that would cost $7.00 in the U.S. will run you about $15.00 here. We are going to be cooking and eating at home a lot.

We will be getting back to a schedule soon...Davis starts school this week. I will be spending my time studying French, Statistics, and Managerial Accounting and becoming domesticated (tiny washer w/ no dryer). I have to earn my keep somehow.

We are planning a trip to Paris. Only 25 euros both ways by bus. We are staying with Davis' friends, Valerie and Benoit.