Outfits and Outings.

I can claim to be many things, but fashionable is not one of them. I know I am not. I recognize it and accept it. I choose to be that way. My jeans aren't skinny, my jacket isn't leather, the vans I'm wearing have holes in them, and my hair is always up. I would rather wear a t-shirt and an under-30$ pair of jeans then anything else in my wardrobe. I own a Kelty bag rather than a Coach purse. For those of you who are fashionable, more power to you. I am not dissing you, but merely giving examples of how I don't fit into the trendy category. So with this in mind, I proceed....

The French (especially the Parisians) put an incredible amount of emphasis on appearance. Men, women, boys, girls, grandparents-- I rarely see anyone on the street who is not well put together. Paris also happens to be one of the fashion capitals of the world- awesome for me, right? I still get pretty uncomfortable going into nice stores and looking around because I can tell that the works don't approve of my attire. But I've decided to take the following attitude: I will never dress like the Parisians. But I can still appreciate the beauty of the clothing they wear. I can appreciate fashion even though I don't choose to wear it. So dress as you will Parisians! I just wish you wouldn't scoff at the way I do.

Onto a different topic: yesterday Nannick took my roommates and me on an outing into the country side. We all piled into her little Peugeot (it feels weird to ride in a car after riding the metro all the time) and headed towards north-east for about 70 kilometers (I wish I could remember the name of the place!). We saw some cool churches, one built right into the side of the mountain, and a castle from the 11th century. To top things off, Nannick packed a picnic which we ate on the edge of the Seine. Life is pretty h-ing great.