Sort of like Kafka / Pants Like a Genie's

So: the deal is, there was a very severe health issue with a family member, and while it isn't resolved, it is looking much more positive than it was a few days ago. I'll keep the fist-shaking at the heavens to a minimum and just report on a few things Parisian:

1. Today I got my Sorbonne ID card. As part of the UC program, we're set up as official exchange students at the Sorbonne, without having to deal with inconveniences like actually needing to go to classes. It's mostly for the visa, although it does allow us to attend lectures and seminars and so on, which is neat. To get into the Sorbonne, you have to get past a guard in a snappy blue uniform, then once inside, you have to try to find where you're going. The building is right out of Kafka; floors and stairs intersect like an Escher painting, there are courtyards with whole sections of the building cleverly hidden behind nondescript unmarked doors, and every bureaucrat you talk to sends you somewhere else. The surprising thing is that so many brilliant people have been educated at the Sorbonne since 1253 - I'm not sure how they found their classes.
2. I mentioned earlier that I had little to say on French women's fashion, because its subtlety defied my powers of description. Well. I was reminded yesterday of a very unsubtle phenomenon that I think I can describe rather easily: chicks here are wearing crazy genie pants. Like, things Aladdin would wear while snake charming on a flying carpet. They're not everywhere, but I've spotted enough well-appointed women about town in crazy genie pants to be sure it's a trend. Coming soon to a continent near you!

I've had a chance to hang out with people a little more in the last few days, which has gone a long way toward cheering me up. I'm too much a social whore to be left to my own devices for more than a day or so, so it's been nice seeing people.

I also had my first official tiny cup of coffee at a café. It was so tiny, you guys!