missing links

Sorry for the long absence. Things got very hectic around here and i've been putting off the blog. I'm writing from the train on my way from Nice to Florence; so I apologize for any spelling or format errors

Let's see, I think I left off on March 23. My roomates friends were in town that week. I know I started to feel a little sick (a sore throat and cough) so I stayed in a few nights that week.

Sunday - great day. I went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Grand Palais with justin and his friends. It was the first time anyone had put together an exhibit on just his portraits. It was so interesting - I learned a lot about him and the pop art movement in the 70s and 80s. We spent hours in the exhibit and went home, ordered pizza, and watched a movie called "Factory Girl" about Warhol and the lifestyle of him anf his friends. It was a Warhol-filled day, but I loved it.

On Wednesday, I hung out in a café for a few hours doing homework and making a powerpoint for my french class (more on that below)

On Thursday, we went to a club called Neo where we were a group of 15 and there were only about 60 people in the whole place. But it was so much fun because a bunch of famous djs were there and it was like we had a private concert. Earlier that night I went to "Casino Night" at CEA (my program). We played fake 'roulette' and blackjack with French students. I spoke a lot of French and it was pretty funny. Not many people showed up (at least CEA students) and the staff was really appreciative that me and some of my friends came. I met some other people at an italian restaurant afterwards that was delicious. Its right near my apartment too. So thursday night was really fun.

Friday: my Foie Gras presentation!
Background: in my French class, each student has to give an oral presentation about anything that relates to France: a tourist site, an artist, a city, anything. I did mine on foie gras.

After trying to go to one store 3 times (it was closed each time), I finally found a shop that specialized in south western french foods. I bought foie gras (duck, entier) to bring into class. I made a powerpoint presentation explaining the history of foie gras, how is made, its place in French business and culture, and its controversy. it went really well - I had my classmates eat the foie gras before I explained the whole process. Basically, ducks and geese and force-fed corn and kept in cages for 3 to 4 weeks so their livers get really fat. Then they are killed. But lots of people get upset about the force feeding, where they stick a tube down the bird's throat and pump food into their stomaches 3 times a day for a few weeks. I showed a You Tube video of the process, haha. I still like foie gras - there are a lot worse things that animals are subjected to. Interestingly, the practice of gavage (force-feeding) was kept alive by the Jews because they needed the liver fat for cooking at it was neither milk nor meat so it was kosher!

Friday - after class, I went to an exhibit in Paris by David LaChapelle. He is a more modern pop artist who was reallly interesting. He does celebrity portraits like Warhol but also recreates old paintings with life size dioramas. Some of his work was pretty explicit and shocking but it was all really cool. I ate dinner at my colgate friends house that night (spaghetti, cheap and easy). We were leaving for strasbourg the next day and were NOT going to miss another trip so I went home early, packed, and went to sleep. At this point, my cough and sore throat, and now stuffiness, had worsened so I was pretty tired.