Part Deux: My First Visitor

Alright, sorry about the delay. Luckily I finally have the chance to really get this baby finished!

It was a little frustrating having classes while Michael visited, but he was a trooper and went out on his own adventures while I was in class. Although one day I actually brought him to class with me. My international organizations class was still going over the basics, but Michael told me that he really enjoyed the comparison between my classes and his. He, being a recreation and tourism major, has a drastically different field of study and the topic was one he had never covered before. To mark the difference, one of his classes is currently following the tourism trends of East Asians in the Southwest United States... not his most interesting of topics.

For one evening we went out for oysters with friends at the Beer Academy, one of the closest and most delicious places near us. Personally, I'm not much of a shellfish person, but everyone else had an amazing feast. I did order the onion tart, which is one of the best I've had in all of Paris. Other than the food, we also discovered they have an entire portion of the menu dedicated to beers made in monestaries. While I didn't order one our server recommended them for the next time we visit. The portions were huge (as you can see in the photo) and if anyone who comes to visit likes oysters and beer, that will definitely be a place I take them.

The highlight of Michael's visit was most likely our visit to the science museum on the outskirts of Paris. Michael, my friend Matt and myself all went to the exposition called "ZiZi Sexuel," which was basically an exhibit set-up to teach little kids about sex and puberty. Well, the least I can say is that this exhibit would not have been allowed in the States. To my friends and I it was purely funny, but for little kids I can imagine people would think it was a bit graphic. They showed cartoon depictions of some quite intimate moments along with defining some word that are definitely not something a parent likes explaining to their child... like incest or phedophile for example.

None the less, we had lots of fun playing with the interactive parts of the exhibit. For example here I am referencing how this figure and I have a similar set of internal organs. Mind you, this was one of the more tame displays.

There was a very nice description of incest that Michael found quite shocking; luckily they had the descriptions in both French and English so that he could understand.

The exhibit included a faux-bathroom in which one could pratice singing in the shower, a pin-ball game of sorts showing how the sperm reaches the egg, and a game that resembled "Operation" as well. It was the most interesting and bizarre educational exhibit I have ever seen.

Overall, it was amazing to have someone here to visit. It only made me more excited for when others are able to come! It provided good motivation to get out of the apartment and really explore the city. The only trouble for when other visit is to make sure I have all my homework done before they arrive, but my spring break is before my big set of visitors so it's looking good that I'll get it all done. Another bonus, I've gotten a much better idea of where to take people as well for fun and cheap adventures.

I'll leave you all with a fun discovery Michael and I made when we were walking through Les Halles. You'll never guess who we found...

WALDO!