Catacombs, Kilts, and Franglais

On Friday I went to the catacombs with a group from my school. Basically the catacombs are a super famous "ossuary" (bone resting place...sorry for the awkward definition) underground in the 14th arrondisement of Paris. It's actually only about a 10 minute walk from my school. I guess I didn't really think about what the catacombs would actually be when I decided to go there. It turned out to be really creepy, but interesting at the same time.

After you get your tickets you go down a tiny stone spiral staircase for what seems like forever. I have no issues whatsoever with dizziness or tight spaces, but this part was pretty uncomfortable (my mom would definitely want to skip this one). When the staircase finally ends you are 20 meters underground (lower than the metro or the sewer). It's super dark and you aren't allowed to use flash, so my pictures aren't very good. 

First you just see a little bit of history on the site, creepy jail cell bars, and some random cool stuff.

This kind of looked like a sandcastle, but made out of rock.

Then you pass through a door labeled "Arretez, c'est ici l'empire de la mort" (roughly translated to "stop, you're entering the empire of the dead"...creepy) and enter the actually ossuary.

At first it was super creepy, but I got more confortable as I went through. It's about an hour long walk underground, most of which consists of simply bones, very low ceilings, and occasional French quotes on stone signs.

There was also water dripping from the ceiling and making puddles on the ground. Kind of gross...The bones just went on and on. It was crazy to think how many people were buried here. 

I've never been anywhere like this. It was pretty bizarre but also kind of peaceful. 

On Friday night I went out with some friends to a Scottish pub. It was nice to be around people that all speak English for a change. There was a big rugby match on tv between England and Wales. I don't know a single thing about rugby (except that they stunt a little bit ha ha), but I got some explanations from some of the crazy kilt-wearing fans. It was definitely an interesting experience. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the kilts...sorry. I wanted to go out last night to watch the Superbowl (it was shown at the Scottish pub and another Canadian bar), but it started at midnight our time, so I didn't think that was the best choice considering I have a bit of a cold and also have class Monday morning at 9am. 

Here comes a bit of a tangent: 

Something I've noticed a lot since being here is a thing called franglais. It's a combination of  the word for French (francais) and English (anglais). It comes in a couple different forms. There are words that are exactly the same word in English (for example le week-end) and then others that are used a bit differently in French (like trash which they use as an adjective for something violent or gory...if I understand correctly). Saying certain phrases or words in English is also very common, a kind of slang. The thing that's frustrating though is that when you say the English words with an American accent they don't understand you. The past couple days I've found myself putting on my best French accent to say things like "brownie," "facebook," or "happy hour". I find it really funny when French people correct my pronunciation of English words. I definitely think we should take after the French and start doing this with French words in English. There are some things that just don't exist in English (like the pronoun on) that would be amazingly useful. Ha ha maybe I'll try to start a trend when I get back to the US.

Also, some translations need some help...one mediocre example. I'll try to remember to take pictures of all of them I see.