i'm lucero herrera and this is my blog

Okay, not really. I DO like being creative, though! And I was scrolling on Urban Outfitters, as one does, and found this pair of cute shorts. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Disney theme OR the fact that they were sixty whole dollars! This isn’t really an exercise in thriftyness, but a way for me to be really stubborn and make my own pair of cuter shorts. 

I started off with this pair of dark wash jeans from Buffalo Exchange Outlets. It was only a dollar!! I made an initial cut just to get the heavy pant legs out of the way, but made sure to keep a little length to play around with. Most shorts are not the same length in the front as they are in the back, so definitely just make a general cut first with extra length

And then, I cut the sides higher because I wanted short shorts. I was really happy with how the cut came out, because I usually don’t like the way that shorts in store fit. I wanted really loose legs, and a higher hem on the sides so that I would still have extra fabric near the crotch, for lack of better term. It was important to me that they weren’t short all around, because I’ve run into the issue of shorts riding up and giving me a jean wedgie because they were too tight and too short all around. 

… and then I tailored the waist with elastic, bleached them, and ironed on a patch. And of course, forgot to take pictures of those parts! I do think the hem is the most important part though, to be perfectly honest. The wash depends on what you want, the patch is just for decoration, and I only fixed the waist because I read the size wrong and bought a pair of pants that were about six inches too big around my waist. 

Overall, I really like how they turned out! I added a black belt to keep them up. The elastic helps, but isn’t super strong. I also gave them a quick wash, because the bleach smell was really strong. For the tie-dye ish effect, I wet the shorts in my bathtub but didn’t use anything to keep them fully submerged. After drenching the shorts in bleach, I didn’t swirl them around to distribute the bleach better. Whatever areas had the most bleach got lightened more, obviously. 

They fit really nicely, which has been my favorite part! Because as much as I love short shorts, the styles I find in store just don’t fit right. I highly encourage making your own pair with an old pair of jeans or some from the thrift store. You’ll get a style that you like, and for cheap! 

Here’s one more shot, but with my hair because I blowdried it just for this post! 

Lucero

June 26

This was my last day of class. We had our final presentations and the latest copies of our briefing books turned in. Besides a few hiccups during presentation, they all went as I expected. During the presentations, I learned a lot, they were really long, and a little awkward (yes, even mine) – all of which was to be expected.

Later that night, we had one final, group dinner. It was really awesome seeing everyone and being together one last time. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and I loved laughing as I listened to stories of people’s favorite, or least favorite, memories from the month.

I got one last scenic picture overlooking the Seine, because of course I would. Clearly, I like the dress (so much so, I hand washed it and let it hang out my window to air dry). Unfortunately, I had to finish my packing once I got home.

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June 27

I said bye to my host mom as she dropped us off at the airport. We were her first set of students, and I think anybody else who gets her as their host mom will be really lucky.

The trip back home was long, and in my typical fashion, full of shenanigans. My first flight was delayed three hours and American Airlines gave me a 15 Euro food/drink voucher to make up for it, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep before we took off and woke up really disoriented at 30,000 feet, a young man in Chicago overshared his life story and wouldn’t let me eat my cheeseburger in peace, and I almost lost a toenail to my heavy luggage. Overall, I spent 24 hours either in an airport or in the air.

But I’m back in Texas. And for the last time, au revoir!

June 24

Following my long day at Dieppe, I figured the best use of my Saturday was to walk a lot again. That’s a good idea, right? I hadn’t seen the Basilique Saint Denis yet, and I was told it was beautiful. I also had a free ticket to go inside and see the heart of a mummified boy, but in true Lucero spirit, I was halfway to the basilica before realizing I hadn’t taken the ticket with me. And it wasn’t a distance I was willing to backtrack on, it took me around fifty minutes to get there by metro, as it’s actually not in Paris, but a bit north of the city. 

So I sat there on the metro with a baguette in one hand, my phone with tunes in my other hand, and a disappointed look on my face. 

Regardless, it was beautiful and I still got to see most of the inside, just not the mummified heart (which is fine, the concept creeped me out a little anyway). Their rosaries and other religious things were also way less expensive than Notre Dame, so of course I got more. 

While I mapped my route to the basilica, I noticed on Google Maps a little rainbow section that was the designated Pride route, and it was near the Louvre. I quite like the Louvre and wanted to go back and do more shopping in that area and figured, “hey why not go to Pride, too?”

Let me tell you, it was a crowded and wonderful time. I marched with everybody for about thirty minutes or so before I got too claustrophobic to continue. It was just such a joyful time! We danced and screamed and had a grand old time. It was a great first Pride parade for me!

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June 25

A bit of a lazy day, I finally took some time to rest my aching feet (who wears boots to Pride? this dumb girl). I also had to start thinking about dinner! Earlier in the month, our home mom asked my roommate and I if we would make her authentic, Mexican food. We said sure, well knowing that we had no real experience making Mexican food and that we were just good at eating it. 

Nevertheless, in the span of two hours, we cooked up homemade tortillas, taco meat and filling, and cilantro-lime rice. And our home mom loved it!

Au revoir, Lucero

From where I left off, I decided to climb the cliff and get to the castle thing (I think it’s a chateau but I could be wrong) so I just warmed up my hands, got a good grip on the side of the rock facing the ocean and… jk. I walked around the hill until I had a clear path to the top. Apparently, I was on some sort of monuments path.

Again, I didn’t intend to explore, only get some good sun in.

As I get up, I see some cannons and I’m like “heck yeah I like cannons” and I set up my timer (on my canon camera! ha ha!) and get a snapshot of the moment. It’s nice to finally feel like I’ve mastered the art of the self timed, self portrait.

So I continue my climb (I say, as if it requires serious exertion – I’m wearing a long dress and ten dollar ballet flats, clearly I’m in no shape to ascend the face of a cliff or anything) and really trying to enjoy my time as I walk up. It’s very scenic, but the part about taking pictures that I really didn’t see coming was all of the French teenagers making out.

Seriously.

I ran into like five couples on my way up, and I definitely empathize with them. There’s nothing else to do in that town when it’s too cold to swim. I think I saw on their tourism page like, a bowling alley. So I unfortunately got to see lots of young people just, going at it and I think I was more embarrassed than any of them.

I gave myself an hour to climb, and if I didn’t make it I had to head back to the beach so I could make it to the train station with plenty of time. Dudes and dudettes, it took like fifteen minutes. I overestimated how big Dieppe is by a lot, as demonstrated by the fact that I circled it several times in the span of a few hours. But on the bright side, I felt very accomplished in having made it through several of their monuments.

Once I made it to the overlook, of course I utilized a little podium to take a picture. Who would I be if I didn’t?

Also, about the dress.

It was a fun little number I picked up at a market for ten Euros and I thought it was be great to take to the beach. It’s floral! Flowy! Well, people kept looking at me. Like, men and women would just stop and stare. Guys on motorcycles would turn their heads as they drove past. I don’t appreciate rubbernecking, as it implies I’m an accident. It was all very bizarre, because in Paris my existence rarely warrants a second glance (which is good!) but in Dieppe, people would not keep their eyes to themselves. One older gentleman even told me something about my dress being nice. I’m not super sure, I heard “jolie” and “robe” and I was like “ah! he likes the dress!” but my homestay mom and I deduced that since I’m not dark enough for it to be an issue anywhere in France, the cause of all the hubbub was the dress.

After finding a spot in the grass where someone else had already been (therefore, was safe to sit) I sat and admired the view. Dieppe was the kind of setting I needed. It was also a good exercise in adapting and keeping good spirits even when things didn’t go as intended.

Blah blah blah, morals and lessons and stuff. But really, I mean it all.

As I’m watching over the beach, I look and see people in suits dipping their feet in and walking on the sand and it hits me… there’s sand! What the hell? I endured stony territory just to get some salt water on my little toes, and these guys are walking around on nice, soft sand?

Not in my house.

So I decided to climb back down and head to the beach one last time. On my way, I passed by flowers that I think are lavender but I’m no botanist (or even someone vaguely good at identifying flowers)

I’m back at the beach and behold, I have sand! There’s also lots of little wormy things that at first my mind was like “oh no, parasites!” but my sleuthing skills quickly determined that it was probably seagull poop.

Seagulls are terrifying.

I saw some flying, and one glided backwards using the wind. He just, straight up stopped in the air and zoomed backwards without so much as a single check to make sure he wouldn’t hit a friend or something. I don’t trust birds, period. But especially not seagulls!!

Anyway, I left all my things on the rocks and just… ran around on the beach.

There was no rhyme or reason to it, just splashing and stomping and trying not to slip and fall. I might’ve looked a little crazy and it’s probably because it was only 6p and I’d already been up and moving for twelve hours (hey, a girl likes her beauty sleep) but it was fun. And revitalizing! I keep coming back to that idea but it’s true.

[Editor’s note: jk, I don’t have an editor. Anyway the verb tense changes, I’m pretty sure throughout the story. Don’t mind that, I’m not fixing it.]

Finally, I have to get moving because I’m at the farthest part of the beach from where I originally started. There’s still other people roaming about and taking pictures. Dieppe is actually very touristy, as I expected but all of the tourists are French too.

I somehow manage to take the longest way possible to get back to the train station.

Not long enough time wise that I’m worried, but just long enough that the feeling of ease and whimsy was gone. I did get to see the old shops one last time, and I’m sure they were tired of seeing my dumb face for the third time. I’m not exaggerating when I say I saw the town several times over. My phone showed that I did 12 miles at Dieppe, not including my frenzy at the beach.

I took one last look at the tiny town, and entered the station. My way back was far less eventful than when I returned, thankfully.

I think my poor little heart would have given out from the stressors of a second rough trip.

Thanks to the long summer days, leaving at 7p meant I still had plenty of light to admire the view. It also meant that when I got back to Paris at 10, I still had the remnants of a sunset to keep me company on my ride to my homestay.

And THAT, my friends, was eight hours in Dieppe.

I learned lots of things today! Trains are allowed to be late. The people of Dieppe are nosy but kind. Climbing hills isn’t that bad in a dress. The weather is colder in coastal cities. And traveling is always an adventure when you’re the physical incarnation of Amelia Bedelia.

Au revoir, Lucero

June 23

BOY let me tell you, I went to Dieppe today (it’s in Normandy, don’t worry, I had no idea where it was either) and it deserves a whole post of its own because it was quite the adventure. If you’ve ever longed for a drawn out post with around 30 photos from me, this is your time to shine.

Going to the beach was not a last minute decision.

I’ve wanted to use a weekend here to go, and the last weekend before heading home was the only time that worked. And so I set off this week trying to find inexpensive tickets to a place that wasn’t too far, so I’d have the whole day here. My home mom recommended Normandy, which I definitely thought was a city (it’s not, it’s a region – oops!) and so within Normandy, I tried looking for a close city with a swimable beach but the heat from this week legitimately made it hard for me to process information. And so it wasn’t until yesterday that I was finally able to find the closest beach to Paris, which happened to be in Dieppe. 

So I bought my tickets the night before, and had to print them at the station. 

That’s fine, right? Nope.

Well, the train station connects to the metro station and so it was really far to walk and then I had issues with the machine because my card doesn’t have a chip and then the information lady couldn’t help me, neither could the next guy because he was exchanges, and then the first ticket dispenser man couldn’t help because apparently he only prints French tickets and then finally ten minutes before my train was due to leave, the last guy printed my tickets just as I was starting to tear up. 

And then my train was late because of security measures and so I missed my connecting train in Rouen and had to take the next train to Dieppe instead and the guy checking our tickets asked me why I had a ticket for an earlier train and I showed him my other ticket and tried explaining that my previous train was late and he just said “is okay” with a heavy French accent. 

The moral of the story is that the French will always be French, but it helps sometimes to be a cute American. 

Then I finally got to Dieppe at 11a, and the first thing I saw were these boats and some dingy old buildings. I learned later that the train station is in the dumpy part of the town. But I step out, and it’s cold (ha ha ha this is what I get, isn’t it?) and I have my towel and swimsuit with me but it’s only 62F so obviously the beach isn’t going to happen.

 And the first thing I think is, “ah shit I have to spend eight hours here.” 

But I’m determined to get to the beach somehow but only when it warms up. So I start walking around town and it’s really cute, like I would shoot a music video there if I was an up and coming artist on a budget. Maybe a nice Europop track? Who knows. They’ve got banners, old brick buildings, even a little French dude playing the accordion. It’s great, very French. And so I’m walking around, and the sun decided to hide from me after all I said this week and so the wind is really getting to me. 

But I’m really stubborn (in case that was lost on anyone) and so I decide that I will warm up as the day goes on. Never mind the fact that literally every other person I see has on a jacket and scarf. Nope. Don’t care. I see a church, and I’m like “that’s cool, can I go inside?” Nah. Some parts look like they’re under construction and the door’s obstructed, so there’s literally no way to get in. It might open on Sundays, who knows? I didn’t look up anything about the monuments in Dieppe because I only wanted to go to the beach. I even had snacks! And sunscreen. 

I applied SPF 50 sunscreen today. 

Then I realize that it’s not warming up. Moreover, the closer I get to the beach, the colder it gets. Within the town, the buildings block all the wind. And so I suck it up and re-enter a store and buy a black tunic type thing. It has gaudy patches on it (which is a lot, coming from me! All I’m saying is, I probably wouldn’t put an American flag patch on my jean jacket) but hey, it keeps me a little bit warmer. And I’m walking around the town and it’s honestly very pretty and quaint and I like it a lot. 

Finally, I make it to the beach and it’s like 12:30p. Still, the sun is avoiding me and it’s too cold to get into the water, not even to dip my toes in. 

And so I did what anyone would have done, I started throwing stones in. 

Both arms, just hauling rocks into the ocean. I figure, maybe the exertion will warm me up. It didn’t. But I continued on, throwing rocks. I tried to get as many into the water as possible. My arm is so bad that a lot were still hitting the shore. Let me just say, it was very cathartic. I don’t know what I had pent up inside me, but throwing things into the ocean while the sea just swallowed them up and I could feel the salty wind around me was wonderful. 

But I was still cold.

And so I went into one of the beachside shops and ordered a coffee. Well, tried to, anyway. No one really spoke great English. 

But I know how to order a coffee with milk, and that’s what I got. 

It was delightful. I’m not sure what was better, the hot coffee or the glass walls keeping the wind off of me. It was kind of awkward, though. I’m sure they get lots of business when it’s sunny but as I was the only one there, the four dudes working would kind of just peek at me as I drank my coffee. 

Warmed up, and feeling a bit better about Dieppe, I recall seeing some things going on by the pier, port area. There were lots of sailboats and shops up and I wanted to go back and see what they were all about. I’m still not quite sure what was happening, but I think it was a competition. There were posters up of men with their names, faces, and the names of their boats. So it was either some sort of race, or just over the top show-and-tell. And I walked around and people tried to lure me into their tents, but the joke’s on them! 

I don’t speak French!

I did end up buying some postcards because I like postcards. Then I headed back to the town to grab food. I ate at this cute little restaurant that looked more German than French. The people here are definitely less accustomed to speaking English, because when I started to look confused instead of switching over right away as I’m used to in Paris, they just re-explained whatever it is they were saying. Anyway, I had a sandwich and tried to get the restaurant dog to let me pet him, but no dice. 

By now, it’s only 3p and I was feeling really full and shouldn’t have had the whole sandwich. 

What could make me feel better? Going to the sea, that’s what. 

The salt was really good for me. So I went back, and there were more people there, finally. I saw a guy play fetch with his dog, and they moved into the water. I thought to myself that sticking my feet in the water was a great idea. It was still only 65F out, and the heat had brought on some gnarly sore throat, headache combo that I was only just starting to feel better from. And yet, I stuck my feet in. 

It was both a good and bad experience. That part of me that needed to go into the ocean was extremely satisfied. I can see why people go to the beach to think, it’s very calming. And then, my feet were not super happy because it’s a pebbly beach so I stood on a bunch of rocks just to dip my toes and have them get cold. But it was invigorating, so overall a good time.

I stood around and people watched and then I really just tried to take in my surroundings. I saw this castle on a hill and thought to myself, “wow wouldn’t it be nice to see the ocean from up there?” 

So I climbed up! 

And the rest is for part 2. 

June 20

I don’t care how many times you have to read this on my blog, it’s so hot in Paris right now. Sinfully hot! The irony is not lost on me that I’m an American in Paris, currently boiling, not weeks after Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords. Yeah. 

We turned in the first draft of our briefing book today and had time to work on the next assignment, which is an op-ed piece. I used the time productively, and vaguely thought of I what I might write about. It was too hot to think, honestly. I went through this giant document about Dubai Smart Cities which should have awakened the tiny energy enthusiast in me (see: Amsterdam posts) but I couldn’t even focus on the graphs and pictures. They were really prettily done, too.

So instead, I joined some friends, grad students, and my professor for lunch at the “best falafel in the world.” I’m very particular about falafel, and this was great. I’m inclined to agree with their tagline, honestly. It was in a Jewish area that also had really interesting shops, so if I have time I think I’ll go back and look around when I don’t feel like my brain is melting (black backpacks are the worst and I’m dumb.)

And then a few of us split off and spent the afternoon in the Picasso museum! Best. Idea. Ever. Their air condition was so efficient and cold and wonderful that it soothed my overheated soul a little bit. I took my time looking at the pieces, and one of my friends knew a lot so he gave backstory to Picasso’s life. One of the exhibits was on Olga Picasso, his first wife. I don’t have the whole story but he kind of sounds like a jerk? Anyway, that visit was revitalizing and such a good time. 

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June 21

The only kind of heatwave I like is the Martha Reeves & the Vandellas kind, but unfortunately it seems like I get more hot weather for today and tomorrow. I finally nailed down more words in my op-ed piece even though it was like trying to catch a butterfly with an inefficient butterfly net. See what I mean?

My roommate here has been looking for a bag for her mom since we got to Paris, and so in the last couple of days left we’ve set out to find one! Our host mom recommended trying a different market than the closest one to us, but there was no success. It was hot and I just wanted to find the nearest freezer, climb in, and live there forever. But no such luck.

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June 22

Apparently the heatwave is supposed to leave today! After school, my roommate and I tried our closest market again, and she finally found a bag! It was such an exciting time. I’d love to haggle, but that would involve knowing numbers in French and I basically know up to twelve right now. It’s the worst thing, I’ll literally ask them “how much is this?” in French and then need them to translate to English to give me the number. Or throw hand numbers until I get it! That’s what we did today. Thirty = two open hands, flashed three times.

Then I walked around the market too, and found a cute dress and a souvenir or two for my brother (if you haven’t noticed, I don’t elaborate too much on souvenirs because I like surprises). Seeing as it was still quite hot, we stopped by the little Carrefour on our way home and picked up cold-ish drinks. And then, when we tried to get upstairs I was so disoriented and out of it that I placed my keys back in their original pocket and promptly forgot I had done so. The next five minutes were a sluggish search for my keys in different hands, bags, and I eventually checked the ground floor as well to make sure I hadn’t dropped them. I hadn’t. Luckily the heat will soon be gone!

Au revoir, Lucero

June 18 

One of things I didn’t realize about the Arc de Triomph is that you can get to the top. I also didn’t know you’d need to take stairs. It’s fifteen flights, give or take a flight, if case you were wondering. As the temperature has been climbing, I thought it was be a great idea to climb this thing. So I did! 

It was quite a feat, and I was really sweaty. But I’m a smart little American and I always have water with me, so that’s helpful. I learned about the history of the arc, mostly because they had a video playing on one of the indoor floors and it was kinda sorta cool in there. It wasn’t quite air conditioning and more like somebody with palm leaves just going ham. Appreciated, nonetheless.

There, uh, isn’t much else to do up there but take pictures and exercise your sweat glands. So I decided to walk around Champs Elysees. As I write, a small attack occurred today (the 19th!) involving a guy and a police car, to the best of my knowledge. It’s a bit concerning but makes sense because this is a very touristy area. And just a week or two ago, there was a small attack at Notre Dame. It’s all part of the territory, I guess. It’s a reminder to stay alert. 

Luckily, the biggest complaint I had was that I felt a bit too hot and not tan enough for all my trouble. But I walked around, window shopped, and walked up and down the avenue. I was killing time before dinner with my fellow classmates, because I’m not one to miss school sponsored meals. Unfortunately I don’t have photos from that, because it was a fiasco of its own!

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June 19

Monday! Back to class, and more work on our briefing book. Luckily we got to sort a lot of it out in the morning but by the time 1p rolled around, my partner and I still needed to make a lot of changes. A few of the guys wanted to head to a coffee shop that was well rated on Google, and I like to live a little sometimes so I went along, deciding that a change of pace might be nice.

Okay, so the good part is that it’s aesthetic. It’s really pretty and cute and they had some damn good cold drip coffee. There was lots of greenery and flowers and everyone there was so pretty and well dressed. 

The bad part is that it was completely enclosed, and had a single fan pointing away from our tables. It was 92F out, and there was no a/c. I know I complain about the heat a lot and it’s because it’s hot!!! I don’t need highlighter anymore, because I have permanent dew on my skin. I couldn’t form complete sentences because my brain was slowly melting into my skull. Maybe I’m a little dramatic, but that’s what the heat does to me. ;) 

Au revoir, Lucero

June 16 

Today I worked for six hours on a group project. As it was Friday, I got to sleep in and have a lazy morning but otherwise, myself and my partner labored over the first draft of our section of a briefing book. Phew. It’s on food and energy, and we’re basically proposing policy to reduce food waste in the US. It’s hardly the kind of writing I’m used to, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

My roommate and home mom headed out of town on separate trips, so I had the apartment to myself! I went to a local small Carrefour and picked up some cheese and a baguette and had a nice, quiet evening in. It sounds boring but if you don’t know me, I’m very introverted and like to live on the languid side!

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June 17

I set off on an adventure to find a Primark in Paris. Didn’t quite succeed. I found a Primark! Forty five minutes away from me. It wasn’t quite in Paris, but on the outskirts in a shopping center. Have I mentioned it’s hot here? Because it’s hot here, and the mall didn’t have air conditioning. I’m not surprised, I just like to complain. 

After spending the early afternoon shopping around (and picking up souvenirs, because what kind of sister/daughter/roommate/girlfriend would I be otherwise?) I went back home and had an early dinner then left again to the Pompidou Museum! It’s basically full of modern art and right up my alley. Then again, if you’ve peeked at my blog for the past few weeks you’ll learn I also really like museums, like, a lot. Apparently, this is a pretty popular area among young people. I saw couples and friends just sitting around and drinking, which was kind of cute.

I think my favorite art piece, I stumbled upon without meaning to. I found a Dan Flavin! I’ve been to one of his exhibits at the Menil in Houston, and he’s known for being a minimalist artist who created installations with fluorescent lights. I’ve experienced one of the walk-in pieces, and it was so fun to see another of his art installations all the way in Paris. Small world!

What I also really liked about the modern art museum, is that it’s really interactive. I loved seeing Renaissance and Impressionist art at other museums but they’re so stiff and fragile. But the art here was very inviting! I got to listen to recordings, touch some of the glass and mirrors, flip pages, and really feel out the art.

There was this art piece that had started out as a blank roll of film playing endlessly. However, as the tape ran on, it began to accumulate dust and scratches. So now, the projector shows what appears more like static than a blank white screen. It sounds weird and boring at the same time but it was really fun interacting with it. 

The museum also had a hidden view! One of the art installations on the upper floors had an infinite waterfall that overlooked the city of Paris. There are other hot spots to take pictures, but I’d never heard anyone mention the Pompidou. Anyway, it was a really lovely view and going in the evening was perfect! 

Au revoir, Lucero 

June 13

More. Company. Presentations. I don’t hate them, I truly don’t. I just wish I understood more of what went on, honestly. So this morning we had The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) come talk to us about the future of nuclear energy in France. Apparently, France gets up to 80 percent of their energy demands met by nuclear energy. AND the nuclear power plants don’t have to run 24/7 like they do in the US. They can stagger their run times to match demand and also allow time for maintenance and repair. I’d never really considered nuclear energy as a significant source of energy, I guess because I’ve been exposed to a lot of anti-nuclear sentiments post events such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. The presentation today definitely made me reconsider how I felt about nuclear energy, especially if it can be disposed of safely. 

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June 14

This morning we had our first real lecture in a really long time. The past two weeks have been chock full of travel and company visits, and finally we just had time to sit a little and think about grammar and plagiarism. Areas where I’m actually familiar with the content and don’t feel so out of place! 

Then I went to the sewers. Yep. At three, we had a tour of the sewer museum underneath the Seine. It wasn’t as smelly as one would anticipate, but definitely not nice smelling either. It was like the inside of an old bathroom with subpar plumbing, except I was down there for an hour and not just for a minute to do a pee. I was honestly very proud of myself for not gagging, despite the fact we walked on grates over slowly moving sewage. I learned that sewage workers actually are compensated very well, and given tenure-like positions. Therefore, the jobs are highly coveted as they only work six hours a day and the waitlist can be as along as several years. 

I also learned that there are lots of efforts to take care of the Seine. They used to dump their shit in it, and the great sewage system means that the Seine is a lot cleaner than it used to be. They also monitor oxygen levels and are prepared to provide extra so that the fish can thrive. 

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June 15

I was up BRIGHT and early, to head to Dunkirk today! The last of our company visits was Total, an oil and gas company. We took a two hour train ride out to the north of France. When we first arrived, I was skeptical of the tour just because the whole place was one giant, old refinery. 

But it was actually my favorite tour of this whole trip! I was given a big suit to wear, boots, gloves, protective eye gear, and a hard hat to wear. I felt kinda like a kid pretending to be an oil engineer, just because everything fit so big on me. We were divided into three groups, and there were three activities that we rotated about. The first one I did was a scavenger hunt, where we were meant to label different parts of the refinery. The issue is that I’ve literally never been to a refinery before, and so the only label I felt confident about in the midst of terms like “magnetic level indicator” and “junction box” was “thermometer”. After that, we toured the facility and climbed up on top of the different platforms. I’m not scared of heights, I’m just scared of falling.

We broke up for lunch (which was really nice btw, like super fancy) and then the last activity commenced, which I’d heard from others was the best part. I went inside an old distillery/fractionating column!! We had to wear safety gear to go up, lest I fall from the ladder. And then I scooted myself inside the manhole that looked a little too tight. And I was inside! It was very warm but interesting, and I learned that the metal grating we were standing on was purposefully accordioned to maximize surface area for condensation. They were a little funny about photos, but the people of Total took some and I’ll update here with any fun photos as soon as I get them! 

Au revoir, Lucero

June 11

Today, I took it easy and just picked one site to go to in Paris. Amsterdam really wore me out! Still love that place, though. A lot of my friends went to Disneyland Paris, and I’d been on the fence about it for a while. However, I figured I’d save the money and just go do new things in Paris since I’ve actually already been to Disney in Paris. I think I made the right choice, because it was absolutely boiling today and I would’ve been so miserable. 

Anyway, I went and visited the Sacre Coeur Basilica, because I’ve heard it’s beautiful. What I did not expect was for it to be so touristy! It’s kind of in a remote part of the city, in my opinion, but maybe that’s because I was a dumb person and took the stairs up and down, instead of the tram. In any case, it was really quite stunning (photos prohibited inside, sadly) and I love sitting in grand churches. 

That took up most of my late morning. Unfortunately, I’d missed the 11a mass so after looking around inside, I meandered around the area. There were lots of people selling trinkets and cheap things. Back in my day, I only saw knock off handbags and cheesy souvenirs. But now, they sell fidget spinners and selfie sticks! My, how the times have changed. 

I’d been told the area was cute and had nice shops, so I made it a point to go up and down a few streets. I stopped inside a chocolate shop because they had really nice air conditioning and bought about a fifth of a kilo of chocolate. In my defense, that sounds like quite a bit and it really isn’t, especially if you like chocolate. 

I then found myself in the middle of a French flea market and bought a few trinkets as souvenirs. I’m not one for kitschy souvenirs if I can help it, and I have lots of fun digging around anyways. Overall, it was a nice afternoon but quite hot and I admitted defeat and went back to the comfort of my homestay.

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June 12 

More site visits! Just when I thought I knew everything about energy, there are more companies to visit. In the morning, we went to the International Energy Agency to talk to them about energy policy on the international scale. What’s been interesting to me is the developments foreseen between now and 2040. Basically, China and India are growing a lot in terms of population, which means their infrastructure has to as well. However, leaders in clean energy would really prefer if they did so using sustainable and renewable energy sources. But that’s expensive. And so the debate continues, onward and forward!

After lunch, which I found at a cute local place that sold shawarmas pressed like paninis, we headed to Schlumberger. Their site was really pretty and interesting and I appreciated getting to walk around more, rather than sit through presentations. I like exploring and learning from exposure. They have this cool software called CemSTRESS that is used to model, I think cement with a low Young’s Modulus as it undergoes different loads and such. Essentially, it’s an optimization tool which was really interesting to me. 

They were really interesting visits, and it’s always fun to see ways that I could contribute to bettering the world a little through my field (not energy, but computational engineering)

Au revoir! Lucero