In the Archives

Today was somewhat of a boring day, no real exciting experiences. I headed over to ESA Headquarters for my first day in the library/archives. For most of the day I was reading from the ESA Annual Reports. I was able to have dinner with a few ESA employees, who were all very nice and were a small example of the international flavor of ESA (besides myself, 3 Germans, 1 Scot, 1 Dutch, 1 French). I did have to hold back from laughing/cringing when the French girl mentioned that there are Germans everywhere in Paris.

On my way back to my apartment I stopped in some of the shops on Rue Cler to get fixings for my dinner: a jambon and fromage sandwich. It might not sound exciting, but when it's made from all fresh ingredients it's a little better than your usual ham and cheese.

Two things I forgot to mention before. I find it weird that when I am listening to people speak French, I begin to think of things to say in Spanish. I did not quite catch myself yesterday when I was at the restaurant and the waiter asked if my seat was ok, I actually answered "Si" before catching myself and saying "Yes." This is why I did not do well in Russian, I revert back to rudimentary Spanish any time I am confronted with another language.

Also, two ESA employees have asked me, not quite jokingly, if I work for the CIA. The historian told me that when she told her boss about my research interest, he suggested she do a background check on me because only someone from the CIA would come over her to do that research. She nervously laughed, said she did not order a background check, and assured me she trusted me that I was just a student. Then today in the library a random guy asked me what I was doing. When I told him and that I was from the United States, he also nervously laughed and said "Department of State?" Both instances were kind of funny but also kind of weird.

Anywho, I am looking forward to a weekend off for some more sightseeing. Hopefully my next post will include some great photos of interesting places!