Getting my bearings

Have I only been here for 3 days? I feel like I'm already a Parisian, although it's probably quite obvious to real Parisians that I'm a total newbie. I still get excited when French people ask me for directions :) Yesterday was kind of exhausting - we had our placement test early in the morning at the Catho and then went on a "Bateau Mouche" boat tour on the Seine. It was great to finally see the Catho campus, which takes up a city block and, like all Parisian universities, high schools and elementary schools is enclosed from the sidewalk by a wall. It's almost easy to miss the entrance, and once you get inside there is a green courtyard with picnic benches and the doors to a few different classroom buildings. While we were waiting, Connie and I got coffee at a cafe nearby. I noticed that 1) if you sit at the bar instead of a table, the drinks are literally half the price and 2) there is no such thing as a mocha in France. There's coffee, coffee with milk, and hot chocolate. I explained what a mocha was to the bartender and he managed to make a very good one! I'll have to train the people when I find a regular spot! The ten of us picked up our finalized class schedules and were interviewed by a faculty member to verify our French levels. I was obviously a little intimidated and the woman who was interviewing me literally asked me my name and nationality before deciding that I was in too high of a level and needed to be moved down. I was so confused and she was speaking very quickly at this point, so I'm sure I sounded like an idiot. Before I knew it she had dragged me into the secretary's office and was telling her that I was not that good at French (I was believing it at this point too!). But when the secretary started talking to me I had regained my composure and was able to sound pretty intelligent - to which the interviewer reacted by saying, "Wow, you must have been just really stressed before, you don't sound that bad now." So they didn't move me, but I think it took a good two hours and a sandwich to make my heart rate slow to normal... We shall see how class goes on Tuesday... After our boat tour (very standard and touristy but it was a BEAUTIFUL day), Connie, Tenny and I walked along the Seine and bought posters from the vendors who have permanent stalls there. They sell a lot of 19th century lithographs and maps, which are very pricey but I decided to splurge and get one as a souvenir because it was a lithograph of French desserts :P After shopping for home goods and lugging them all home on the Metro (again, I would have perished along the way without CrossFit), the three of us decided to get the cheapest meal we could and go to another crepe place a block from our apartment. Tenny and I had checked out a place called "Fizz" the night before and were still reeling from the absolute amazingness of it, so we decided to try another place. It wasn't chi-chi like Fizz (think flat screen TVs playing music videos and mauve wallpaper and suede chairs) but it was a stone-walled family-run place that was very homey and still delicious. Today was a free day of exploring for the three of us, and we got to check out different neighborhoods and sights including Notre Dame, the Pantheon and the Louvre. We investigated rue Mouffetard, which is a tiny cobblestone street filled with the biggest assortment of inexpensive foods we've seen so far. It's only a few blocks from our place so I will definitely be going often. We got gelato at a shop that serves it on a cone in the shape of a rose (they scoop small chunks of gelato and smooth them on as petals so it looks like a two-tone flower when you pick your flavors. SO GOOD. In an attempt not to blow our budget for dinner, we picked up a bottle of cabernet sauvignon, a baguette, some brie, and made a salad with sliced deli chicken and homemade salad dressing (grainy mustard, EVOO and a splash of wine). It was FANTASTIC and we all ate for under 14 euros. Definitely going to repeat this often, both to offset the enormous meals and enormous bills of eating out. One interesting fact is that French cafes and restaurants have lunch specials that give you a full 3-course meal (often with a drink) at a much lower price than dinner. Traditionally lunch is the largest meal of the day (opposite from the U.S.) so I'm going to try to spend my money on lunches instead because I can get more for my money and be stuffed at 1pm instead of 9pm :)