day 16: the long day (in class essay, latin quarter tour)

Date: Tuesday July 15th, 2008

The day was doable, survivable, tolerable. There are much worse things that could happen and the schedule could have been more rigorous so given the general nervous-exhausted state of our group, we pulled through. We started the day with our much anticipated (heh) In Class Essay on three articles that we were to read critically. Then we had class and learned about the Safavids (after reading an article on the Safavid? I feel like I would have been better prepared to criticize the OSM article had I just learned some good background from the Professor instead of Wikipedia...heh). Then we had a meeting with Jim Galvin in which we were slightly more energized. We had to break for lunch and I finally got a rotisserie chicken from the place down the street that I've been eyeing. It was great because I had a fresh baguette (oh how I love fresh bread!) to pair it with, along with the potatoes that it came with. Afterward we had our Sorbonne tour.

It was interesting because we spend so much time there staring at the food and the shining lights from the noisy clubs and right next to it all (literally one alley down) is a great church that I've never been inside of. (Although I've even shwarma outside of it may a time.)




Church of Saint Severin


Notice in the picture on the left that the first level of stained glass is not classical--it looks post-impressionist! How neat!


Church of St. Julien the Poor and the interior

But wait, it's not over yet! We ended the tour with Dominique in the Luxembourg Gardens. A big group of us decided to sit in the garden and review for the Mid Term (and try not to fall asleep). We actually got a good conversation going. I do find that the best way for me to learn history is to review my notes and talk it out with people. When I tell others what I know, it sticks better in my head. When I listen to others explain things to me, I'm also allowed to actively ask questions repeatedly until it sticks. I guess I learn best when I jabber on. Sometimes I really do feel a slave to my genes; Am I really just wired to be a chatterbox?!

In any case after our hour break, we had dinner. The tomato & mozzarella appetizer was awesome but the main dish was unimpressive. The fruit pastry was tasty, but I love pastries in general and not too difficult to please.

And we're not done yet! We got back around 9:30PM and decided to meet at 10:00PM for a review with Professor Herbst. Having these late night review sessions and just being in constant contact with the Professor and his family (as a student, as a friend, as a baby entertainer/sitter!) is truly an invaluable perk to Global Seminars. The small class is great for learning because we rarely get to be in such a close knit environment with professors. Anyway so we reviewed with the professor, then reviewed some more on our own, and slept. Fin. (Really!)

A little pond at the Luxembourg garden, featuring a sweet little pirate ship. (I couldn't get the skull and crossbones on the mast, it was on the other side.)