Coucou tout le monde!

Hi everyone!

Thanks for visiting my abroad blog! I wanted to keep a small journal to show my family and friends what I'm up to while I'm in Europe. I'm not sure exactly how I want to use it, but I'm thinking of posting mainly photos and occasionally writing short blurbs just about what I've been doing. My goal is to post rather regularly but I'm sure I'll be busy when I'm abroad so I'll do what I can. 

H'okay, so... I recently got my housing assignment for Paris. I'm not sure if you guys know this, but Paris is divided up into 20 arrondissements, which are like neighborhoods. I'm living in the 5th arrondissement, which is in the center of the city. I'm really happy about this because not only is the 5th a very safe arrondissement, but it's also very close to the University of Paris, where I'll be studying, so hopefully I won't have to take the Metro, which is great, cuz it's sketchy and I hate it. The 5th arrondissement is also home to Paris's famous Latin Quarter, which has long been the center of intellectual and cultural life in Paris. Indeed, the Latin Quarter houses the aforementioned University of Paris, which was founded all the way back in the 12th century and the area was named the Latin Quarter because all the courses at the university were taught in Latin (sorry for that rando history lesson, I thought it was interesting... Feel free to skip this part...or zone out...or leave this blog and never read it again cuz now I'm just rambling about nothing are you still reading hi I like puppies...)

ANYWAY, here's a picture I took of the 5th when I was there 4 years ago (damn...was it really that long?)

This is the Church of the Val-de-Grâce. It was finished in 1667. Now there's like a museum inside or some other shit, I don't really know...

So, that's all for now. I think this was pretty boring. Stay tuned for hopefully more exciting, less rambly entries with better pictures and actual stories about France instead of a long-winded post being written the day before I go because I don't want to deal with getting ready.

A note on the name of the blog: la bêtiserie. You won't find it in a French dictionary, cuz it's not a real word. I made it up (mwhahaha). In French, a "bêtise" is a silly joke or prank, a bit of nonsense, or a social blunder. The suffix "erie" usually indicates a place of business or a shop (i.e., la pâtisserie is a pastry shop, la boucherie is a butcher's shop, l'épicerie is a grocery store, etc.) So, when you put them together, la bêtiserie would be a place where they make jokes and pranks and nonsense. Naturally, I am the chef of the bêtiserie (another pun, as in French  "chef" means both a cook and the head or leader of something) because I am constantly coming up with nonsense, doing silly and stupid things, and embarassing myself in public. Don't worry, I'm used to it. Anyway, this blog is "la bêtiserie" because in it, I hope to record all the silly nonsense I do and all the shenanigans I get myself into in France. 

That's all. Peace out.