Je (pense que je) suis allée à UNESCO…?

This morning, my French class went to UNESCO, learned a little bit about what the organization does and spoke with one of the heads of the finance department.  As rousing as the discussion was, my need for sleep seemed to take over…and even though I was sitting directly in front of this large, captivating German man, my eyelids became heavy and I found myself nodding off.  You know, the kind where your head starts to bob, and your mouth hangs open uncontrollably.  The kind that’s bad enough when you’re sitting in the back corner of a classroom, but is extraordinarily shameful when it happens and you’re sitting 5 feet away from the person who is speaking.  My sincerest apologies, you dear, dear German man, for falling asleep during your discussion; it was not you that put me to sleep, but rather my apparently my sleeping habits, which leave much to be desired by my tired body.

Anyways, what I got out of it…well, not much to be completely honest.  But I did get to see the large meeting room, filled with hundreds of comfy swivel chairs and fancy gadgets to indicate to the translators what language the speaker will be speaking.

After the trip, I went back home and allowed my body to take a much-needed nap.  I slept for a bit, met up with the members of my group to work on our sociology study, and then met up with Melanie, Chrissy & Simone to grab a drink at an outdoor café just down the street.  Chrissy and I were drooling over the gigantic, strawberry-filled beverages being consumed by our table neighbors.  We asked our less-than-friendly waiter what it was, and he told us it was a strawberry mojito (drool continues).  We asked how much it was, and he told us it was only 10 euro.  As our eyes grew wide, we wiped the drool off of our faces and continued to look at the happy hour drink specials, which were half the price.  One day (when mes poches are overflowing with euros), I shall return to that bar for my dear, sweet mojito fraise.

We had a great chat and enjoyed the glorious Parisian spring evening, after which I returned to my apartment to await my visitors. Alissa and Kelly, who visited a couple of months ago, have been stranded in Italy for the past several days, with no way of getting back to London.  They asked if they could stay with me for a couple of days while they figured out which trains were still running (because of course in addition to the volcanic ash and overwhelming number of people taking trains this week, French train companies decided it was the perfect time to strike, making train travel even more difficult).

They finally arrived around 11, frazzled and exhausted from spending hours upon hours in trains and train stations.  We chatted for a bit, they showered, and then they fell fast asleep on our big, red couch.

And here I am, about to fall asleep myself…