After a nice, albeit short, three-day stint in Paris I’m
back on the road—or should I say skies—again to meet up with an old high school
friend, Daniel, in Barcelona.
A lot has happened in these past few days. After passing
into a catatonic state Friday night and sleeping for a straight and undisturbed
13 hours I awoke confused and angry that I had slept through my lunch appointment
with Akila at the embassy. Trying to stay on the positive side, I rushed out to
Paris as soon as possible to try and salvage what was left of the day. Headed
out to the Marais again, going to my favorite chocolate shop in Paris and once again to Free P Star to see if
I couldn’t find some cheap second-hand treasure. Wasn’t disappointed at Free P
star, got the CUTEST dress I’ve probably ever owned in my life for only 10
euros which will be a perfect dress for a night out on the town with Daniel.
Since it was also freezing cold and I hadn’t packed a jacket anticipating being
in warmer climates in the Mediterranean, I also bought a cheap sweater for 1
euro which has really come to save me these past few days. Leaving the Marais,
I decided to walk back to my old apartment in Republique just next to Pere
Lachaise (the famous Parisian cemetery). When I lived there I never took any
pictures of my actual street, which is actually quite famous for having a lot
of great bars (Rue Oberkampf), so I wanted something to remember the place by.
My door was the blue one on the street, and the view across the street to a bar/restaraunt
Along the way to my old apartment a man from Morocco named Momon
started to talk with me, which I welcomed because I was looking for an excuse
to practice French. He wanted to go and chat at a café, but I had a strict
itinerary for things I needed to accomplish in Paris and so I suggested he
follow me to Montmartre for some delicious gourmet ice cream overlooking the
city. Had it been someone I was actually interested in, the outing would have
been romantic, but as it was it was still nice to have company since traveling
alone can be re5al quiet at times. Wasn’t too bad either as he actually ended up
buying my ice cream as well (amarena…mmmm). Nevertheless he was very kind and
we spoke about a variety of subjects from our families to religion to hobbies
and food in French for about 3-4 hours while sitting in the sun/rain (Parisian
weather is bi-polar this time of year).
Sacre Coeur, ice cream, conversation...you were creepy, but you were fun MoMon
Coming back to Paris this time I kick myself for going about
language acquisition all wrong last time. I think I was too young and self
conscious to really have the confidence in myself to speak in French. It didn’t
help that I was speaking English all day at the embassy, but even so. I’m very
independent and introverted which can be to my detriment in practicing a
foreign language.
Towards the end of my internship, and again here on this trip
I realize that you just have to put yourself out there. And I really do think
that when you’re trying to pick up french in Paris, it’s a great idea to begin
speaking with other immigrants who are more patient with you as you potentially
stumble over words and conjugations since they too are a second language speaker.
After an awkward goodbye with Momon in which he went from nice to creepy in
0.000007 seconds, I was approached by another foreigner from Mali. I was sitting
in the park across from the embassy waiting for Akila to be done with work when
Ibrahima walked by in his business suit and big smile and started chatting with
me. I was a little bit more nervous this time speaking with a native French speaker,
but for the most part everything went well and we had a nice chat.
I don’t know what it is about men over here in Europe, but
they just go for it man. Within 5 minutes of talking to Ibrahim and Momon both
of them asked me out on a date. Now I’m not getting down on myself about
anything, but I couldn’t get that kind of attention in the states if I tried.
And here they are, chatting it up and straight out offering to take me out. It’s
very flattering, even if I wasn’t particularly interested in either except for
practicing my French.
After Ibrahima left and I met up with Akila we sought
shelter in a snazzy little restaurant in Opera where I—an American, introduced
to Akila—a French woman, French onion soup. French onion soup, or soup d’oignon
is my favorite dish in Paris and is pretty cheap in comparison to other plates.
She ended up loving it, and we spent about an hour just chatting and catching
up on life. Akila was the French intern working with me in the Cultural Affairs
department at the embassy in Fall 2011, and only recently got hired as a
permanent local staff member working over women and gender issues. Super proud
of her, and super jealous of her job. She’s very qualified though, so no surprise
she was first of the interns to get a position with the State Department. Trevy
and Alessandro on the other hand will probably skip that entry level job and go
straight into being ambassadors I expect.
The beautiful Akila being introduced to her own culture
After dinner I went home exhausted to Tram’s place to get to
bed early enough to wake up early for the Saturday market the next morning. At
9am the next morning we set off for Centre Ville in Rueil, a quaint but
beautiful city that was in full bloom from all of the new spring flowers around
the various parcs and town center. We walked through the market, with all of
its beautiful smells and aray of food and wared before heading further out to
visit the summer palace of Josephine. This has been my first time visiting the
suburbs of Paris (minus once with Harley for a football match) and it was
wonderful. The people are so much more real and down to earth, far less
intimidating than some of the stuck-up Parisian insiders. Tram was also a
lovely host, and it was sad to part ways after lunch.
The beautiful Rueil
Coming back into Paris for my last few hours, I mainly
dedicated my time to the Latin Quarter. Since it was a shining beautiful day,
like most people in Paris, I headed off to Jardin du Luxembourg to lay in the
grass and soak up some of that beautiful heat. When it finally started to get a
little colder and most of us were in the shade, I went back to warm up in the
Notre Dame. To mu surprise, Catholic mass was going on so I sat in the pews and
quietly observed that. Following mass there was a organ recital by a local
musician, which hundreds of people also came to enjoy. The music was beautiful,
the view was incredible, and above all it was warm and free. Despite the fact
that you were not supposed to eat in the Notre Dame, I snuck in some of my
chocolate which I stealthily ate while listening to the organ recital to round
out the overall bliss of the evening.
Lounging in the Jardin Du Luxembourg
When that finished, I headed out to Shakespeare and Company
across the street to kill another hour before catching my bus to the airport.
Much less crowded than earlier in the day, I grabbed Pearl S Buck’s ‘The Good
Earth’ and headed upstairs to read on one of the cots. Last time I started the
book, I thought it was quite dull, but this time I fell in love and the hour
passed quickly. Think I’ll have to pick that up again when I get back to the
states.
Which brings me back to here: Paris Orly airport. Managed to
sleep for a few hours in front of starbucks by pushing two chairs together
(actually not that uncomfortable) but still looking forward to a potential
siesta in Barcelona this afternoon after I hook up with Daniel. Thank god for
the Spanish and their naps!
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