living in paris

i hadn't updated in sometime. i was recently reminded that i even had this blog. the month before moving to paris last september had been really crazy. i applied for school at ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. didn't get accepted because the spaces were full(i turned my apps in, in march). then received an email in june, 3 months before school started, stating that a student dropped and that i would be able to start as a sophomore. i had planned a vacation to paris late june- early july. from the time i got back from the vacation to the time i actually started school was about 6-7 weeks. i had no time to figure out life. i had just moved in may. then had to sell all of my stuff that i collected over 7 years of living on my own. i moved again in september into my parents house for two weeks. had to work on getting my visa. got it september 8th, then september 10th 2010 i officially moved to paris. the whole time i was working at my salon, trying to fit as many of my clients in as possible, getting my life sorted, figuring out what i needed to bring with me. ended up being jsut some clothes, and art supplies and materials for designing.

the first month living in paris, i was homeless. i stayed in a hostel the first 2 weeks. that was shit. the first few days it was ok because i didnt have school yet. then when i started school, it was a different story. people party too much. i couldn't sleep. i had to get up at 730am while people were getting back to the room at 5am. after staying there, i started looking for a place to stay. i ended up staying in a studio with someone i found off of a roommate search site. it's sort of like match.com for roommates. he was nice. he was never home. his sleeping hours were the same as my sleeping hours. he slept on the mezanine type bed, i slept on the fold out bed. it wasn't weird as it may sound. kind of like being in the hostel, but with a respectful roommate. i only stayed there till i got my permanent apartment in belleville. i got really lucky with this one. a two bedroom apt without a roommate, a huge kitchen, huge bathroom, and huge balcony. and my rent was cheap.

tired of writing for now. i'll continue about more interesting stuff later.

L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne

today i met with the dean of the school. i kind of love him. he's like the french tim gunn. eloquent, charming, simple. i needed to drop off some papers for him, and received my documents stating that i am enrolled in the school. i'm official. first payment made, and i'll be all set. it's now on lock.

stuttgart. paris. school.

i went there last weekend to hang with my cousin. it was alright, but definitely not like paris. it sort of reminded me a bit of copenhagen with less charm. we watched some football(soccer) and ate way too much food. i must have gained 5 pounds in the two days i was there. uff. then back to paris. i've just been trying to get things wrapped up here in paris. filling out my student visa. learning french. meeting with the school. i've gotten a bit done lately. my campus france form is almost finished. i need to go the bank to make a payment to the school.

yesterday was quite a productive day. i had french class all day. went home and put on a cute outfit to meet with the dean of my future fashion school. he was like the french tim gunn. so well put together and eloquent with his words. so much so that i only really understood 60-70% of what he said. i felt so honored to be at l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. I couldn't stop smiling. come to find out, they only accept 75 students per year. out of all the applicants, i got accepted. i saw many stacks of student files on the desk. hundreds even. he told me that i stood out and that i seemed really interesting. he also told me that i'm too advanced to start as a freshman and that i would be bored. that sure made me feel good. this means only 2-3 years of school for me. senior year is a special year where you actually have to apply for. the focus on that year is learning how to work with other people in design. learning specific parts of fashion design of your choice. for me, it's either going to be accessories or pret-a-porter. when we got finished with the interview, i walked out with a huge smile. monsieur broca, you really made my day.

after meeting with the dean, i was so late. i had a date with my amazing old friend miho. we met last year at l'ecole perl. she also is a fashion designer. it was amazing hanging out with her. we talked fashion. we talked in french. we went to see a dj set by pony pony run run to meet up with some other friends and had a bottle of wine after. and then home. what a great day and night. my feet hurt.

ysl

he is amazing! i went to the exhibit today at le petit palais. my oh my was it amazing. he seemed like such a sweet soul, and so creative. he is mainly my inspiration for applying to l'ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. he went there and dropped out. it really worked out for him since christian dior had him take over. there was a part of the exhibit where there was a video of him drawing and audio of an interview that really touched me. pictures of his dog as a puppy, his work desk, and questions being asked to him like, who is your biggest influence? miss chanel. who is your favorite artist? picasso. who is your favorite musician? bach. softly and gently, he answered. i have to admit, when i was at the exhibit, i got a bit sentimental. he's awesome. thanks ysl for being.

quoted from the exhibit,"coco chanel gave women personality, yves saint laurent gave women power".

i'ts been a long time coming.

I know i haven't posted in a year and a half, so here i am. i'm back in Paris. i love it here. initially this was a vacation that i had planned a few weeks ago, but now it's turned into a workng vacay. i'm studying french here for 3 weeks and will be searching for an apartment. yes an apartment. permanently. i received an email a week and a half ago about how i got accepted into l'ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. only one of the most amazing fashion schools ever. alumni include, yves saint laurent, issey miyake, valentino, etc...you think i'm stoked? you betcha. now to figure life out

men

one more thing. i'm about to generalize men and their regards to women like myself(in relationships)

anh: i'm sorry i have a bf
italian man: it's ok i have a girlfriend too.
and they will keep trying.

anh: blah blah blah my bf.
danish man: cool blah blah.
they seem to not be on the prowl.

anh: i'm sorry i have a bf.
icelandic man: i have to use the restroom. *immediately walks away*
has no game and neanderthal tactics.

french man: bonsoir? comment ca va?
anh: ca va bien(in american accent)
french man:oh, you speak french so well blah blah. are you alone?
anh: yes, but i have a bf at home.
french man: *continues to be charming until i walk away*
although witty and charming probably has 3 gfs.

coming home

i figured out a metaphor for impero hotel. polished turd. that's it.
this place is a piece of shit. they tried to charge me extra. took a cold shower. it's 7 and breakfast is not ready yet. i need to catch my flight. fuck this shit. fuck these people. and they are probably taking their time to get breakfast ready because they don't like me. these fucking people piss me off. i'm so happy to be out of that place. i'm usually not hard to please when it comes to hotels. i've stayed in some shitty places, but when the desk people are dicks to me intentionally, its different.

i'm now at the airport. things are going good. i got to the train station 20 minutes before the train left. that is plenty of time. i got to the airport two hours ahead of time. that gave me enough time to get my stamps for tax back, and i ended up with a little extra money in my pocket. yay! i can't wait to get on the plane to sleep. i didn't sleep last night since i stayed up organizing my bags as well as filling out tax forms. i think i may have left my gloves somewhere. i'm not sure. i don't remember seeing them when i was packing. i don't know why i spent so much time packing. everything needs to be washed anyway.