S.O.S

When I lived in the US I knew exactly how to find a doctor. I would consult the big ole directory given to me from my insurance company and I would basically pick a doctor out of the book. My criteria usually being location, board certified, school and name. If I didn't use the hard copy directory I would use the online directory. And voila I would call the selected doctor and make an appointment. Being here in Paris I have absolutely no idea how to go about finding a doctor and I have no idea how to go about getting my allergy medicine refilled. Now that spring is in the air I know it's just a matter of days before I wake up unable to breathe through my nose. So dear readers, if any of you know how to go about seeing a doctor in this country with excellent socialized health care please hook a sista up. Also, if you know whether or not I actually need a prescription for my allergy medication that would be helpful as well.

And while we're on the topic of trained medical professionals I think my days are crunching on crispy baguettes have caught up with me. As I was enjoying my lunch today I sensed a weird sensation in my mouth. Turns out that a piece of the bonding on my permanent retainer has chipped off and now I have a rough spot on the back of my teeth. It's not an orthodontic emergency at the moment but it does have the potential to worsen and it would be nice to know where to turn prior to things getting completely out of hand.

So consider this post my S.O.S. If you have any valuable information to share please leave it in the comments. My nose and my tongue thank you. Seriously.

And It's Back to Work for Me

After a lovely two week hiatus I head back to work tomorrow for my last six weeks. I cannot believe that my assistantship is coming to an end in six weeks. It seems like yesterday I was fretting over getting accepted to the program and then fretting over all of the administrative stuff. Knowing that I only have six weeks left is really leaving me stress filled and uncertain about my future.

On top of that I have a string of back to back to back visitors starting next Friday. Between now and the end of April there will only be one weekend which I will have sans visitors. As much as I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family members that plan to visit I am also stressing about it. Some visits will overlap and I'll have a lot of juggling to do. Additionally, having visitors usually entails doing touristy things and doing touristy things involves spending money. Oh and I'm just starting to roll up my sleeves and get into a good study routine and I know it will be disrupted with a constant influx of visitors.

Ah, what's a girl to do? I know that in the short term I need to come up with some lesson plans for tomorrow's classes or else I'm screwed.

Chartres: A Day Trip

Today I took a little day trip to Chartres with my friend Chi. My first thought upon seeing the cathedral was: "Wow that thing looks old." My second thought was: "Wow that thing is massive." And lastly, my final thought was: "It could surely use a cleaning." ;)


After exploring the cathedral for a while we decided to have some lunch at a little café across the street. Chi and I both ate onion soup and then shared a chicken sandwich.

Interesting "Wallpaper" in Restaurant

After eating we walked around the quaint medieval town taking in the sites and enjoying the treats. I ate the best macaroons (vanilla and lavender flavors) that I have ever eaten in France and I also had the worst maracroon (violet flavor) that I have ever eaten in France.

Old

Interesting

Quaint

Yummy

We visited the Stained Glass Museum and while it was an interesting site it definitely wasn't worth the 3€ they charged me. That's not to say that the works weren't interesting but they could have hooked a sista up with some more pieces to stimulate her senses.