"Decompressing"

Bonjour tout le monde! I'm am back in the United States of America! It's nice to be home with my family for the holidays. I've already unloaded my suitcases and I'm in the process of shuffling stuff around on my shelves. I'm not sure how to wrap up my entire Paris experience. It was surreal. I survived 4 months in a foreign country and now I'm back, time passed here the same as it passed in Paris. Life is continuing on. I'm sort of in this weird stupor from the contemplation of time. I've suddenly become strangely aware of it, of its speed and its unstoppable continuation. As I'm putting all of the 1,000 photos from the semester into a digital photo album, it's like I'm compartmentalizing all of my experiences but my study abroad was so much more than what I thought was worthy of a photograph from time to time. It has shaped me in ways that I'm sure I haven't even realized yet. I couldn't be happier with my decision to have gone to Paris. I am sooooo grateful for God's protection over me while I was there. I stayed healthy and safe, I survived the all the assignments and made new friends (within SMU, parisians and from other places too). In my last week, I was really at peace with leaving. I didn't feel the need to rush to different monuments or eat certain things which I think is a sign that I paced myself well over the semester. I was present in the moment when I enjoyed each day, each class on-site visit, each walk and adventure. I am content. Paris will always have a special place in my heart and I can't wait for the day when I get to visit again.

My visit to Val-de-Grâce

This week, in a break between my classes, I walked to a church that we learned about it my Architecture class called "Val-de-Grâce". It wasn't far from Reid Hall and the walk there was really cool, I actually discovered a couple of unique shops on the way. That's always the case though when walking in Paris. It has a beautiful exterior with the entrance set off the street so that you enter first through a big iron gate into a cobble stoned courtyard. Today it's a governmental building. At some point during the 18th century the church was converted into a military hospital (I've started to realize how bad I am about internalizing the chronology of historical events... but I feel in Paris it's a necessary trait because they have so much intricate history. Anyway...) It was practically deserted, I WAS the only visitor there. So all of the extremely bored employees were happy to lead me through the aggravatingly nonsensical layout of exhibits they had winding through the building in order to finally get into the church. It was a very cool museum about the red cross and military medicine. I got to see all of these cool vintage army uniforms. As I was confused as to which way to turn... at this point I had reached like 5 dead ends trying to follow the green "Sorti" signs. So after passing the security man a few times, I asked him if I could just get to the church and we ended up talking for about 30 minutes. He was a very nice man from the Congo and had had experiences in Canada and with American's that brought him back to the lifestyle he much-preferred in France. He said with much effort "I would like to tell you the story of this church" and I enthusiastically nodded "Yes! Please do!".

Val-de-Grâce was built in celebration of the nativity of Louis XIV (... pretty much the most famous King of France). Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XII, was unable to produce an heir to the thrown. After 20 years of anxiety, waiting and wondering if she would be able to continue the blood line, she did not lose hope. She gathered the members of her religious community and asked for their continual prayers for her to have a child. Anne of Austria pronounced that if she were to become pregnant she will build a marvelous church in honor of God's providence and for the those who helped support her. After another 3 years of waiting, A BABY CAME and Val-de-Grâce's construction was underway. "That" the security guard said "is a true story of faith." Louis XIV was baptized there and when his father died when he was seven, the construction was put on hold because of lack of finances until Louis XIV himself became King at the age of 13. The nice man took me to the window to show me the evidence of two different styles of architecture that had changed during the time period (very educational :-)) Our discussion carried on about how a majority of people are loosing that faith, but we both acknowledged and agreed that in this world, faith is a possession worth more than anything material, that faith can move mountains. The interior of the church was stunning. And I appreciated it so much more having engaged in that enriching discussion with that nice man.

Are we really still in Paris?-- Adventure to La Defense

The grey misty sky and blustery winds could keep Jason and I inside this Saturday! We were determined to see the business district of Paris, known as La Defense. Not to far of a Metro ride this neighborhood is just west of the Seine (where it swoops northward...). The architecture out there is so clean and modern and so un-french. As we came out of the Metro, Jason and I were surrounded by glass, metal and concrete. The astounding Grande Arche was our main attraction. A super-cube, 20th century interpretation of the Arc de Triomphe directly in line on the "Axe" a few miles back into the city (which also leads straight to the Louvre). We rode in this glass pod almost 100 ft to the upper plane. Jason said he felt like we were in Starwars :-) Next time we're wearin' space suits. We enjoyed looking at the contemporary sculpture scattered around the main La Defense esplanade, we walked through the enormous shopping mall, and we experienced the french version of Home Depot... But the best part of all... was the enormous Marché de Noël right in the middle of it all. As we browsed the various, twinkle-lighted stands, we were bombarded with wonderful scents of crepes, gauffres, and savory grilled meats. Mmmm. We weren't compelled to buy anything (alot of it is very cheesy stuff, they had a lot of knickknacks and products you normally featured on infomercials). But I so loved the feeling of Christmas.

A good read for a Parisian sweet tooth :D

So I finished my third metro-commute-read today, "The Sweet Life in Paris" by David Lebovitz. Its a little autobiographical account of M. Lebovitz's, a dessert chef and connoisseur, adjustment to French life. After his wife passed away he ventured to Paris in search of a new experience... and he acquired many. David has a good sense of humor and a great sarcastic attitude. He likes to complain a lot about les parisiennes... in fact some of the quirks about the french that he mentioned, I probably would never have noticed... but now I'm totally aware of how everyone self-assuredly walks through the metros and on the sidewalks with out any concern of other people's paths. Now I realize how I'm always swerving and weaving through the masses of people. He devotes each chapter to an experience or observation, like his spontaneous job at a fish market, or the garishness of Franprix supermarché. He has great recommendations for specialty shops, cheeses and of course pastries!One chapter was about his favorite cup of hot chocolate- chocolat chaud! It was so cool to be able to seek out the café, Pâtisserie Viennoise, and try a cup after reading about it! (It wasn't the best cup I've every tasted but it was certainly rich and creamy and unique experience). Each chapter includes a recipe (some french, some not) that pertains to the story he told. I can't wait to try to make my own Chocolat Macarons! They're my favorite cookies here. Thanks Granny for sending me this fun read!

(Click on his name for his blog and recipes, Yum Yum Yum YUM!)

Day trip to Château de Versailles

It is only appropriate that I write this post in gold. We were so fortunate to have a gorgeous, mild autumn day at Château de Versailles on friday. Our program director (aka. infinite-well-of-knowledge- of-french-history professor) Isabelle and the funny Italian character Ivo who's the art professor lead us through the tour of the interior of the palace. Here are some photos of the exterior (the gates must have been freshly painted) and the interior below, (the King's Chapel and the extravagant Hall of Mirrors). This was quite a project during Louis the 14th's reign of France. He was called the sun king, so symbols of light and the sun repeated themselves throughout the ornamentation. We learned some things about the King's daily schedule, his hobbies and talents... I think Isabelle is rather fond of him because we didn't hear any notes on how he spent way too much of France's money. After our tour of the palace we had lunch on our own and then re-meet for the special exhibit of artworks and furniture collected and commissioned by Louis XIV himself! It was a very neat addition to our visit... unfortunately photos were not allowed. Afterwards I walked behind the palace with Jason and Noelle through the enormous (and super clean) gardens. I liked all the uniquely shaped topiaries (there were hardly any of the same shape) It was so peaceful as the sun set. The fountains weren't on but I can't complain because I loved the way the sky was reflecting off the calm water of the ponds.

A Wonderful Fall Break

My great buddy Lydia and I embarked on an ambitious voyage to London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Amsterdam during our 10 day fall break last week. What an amazing travel experience it was. I loved each city! We were blessed with great weather despite the UK's reputation for gray skies and ran which made it even better. In London, we picnicked in the beautiful Kensington Park, rode in the huge London Eye ferris wheel for amazing 360 tours of the city, dined with Lydia's british acquaintance in Shepherd's Bush in their cute london abode, visited the awesome collection at the Tate Modern, and rode around on a double decker tour bus. We had one mishap at Luton Airport, where we spentour sunday because we didn't get our passports stamped and were not allowed on the plane ... so we waited 8 hours for the next flight.

But we made it to Dublin safely. This was my first student Hostel experience... not to bad. A fun lively atmosphere with no added frills. But that's all we needed really: a bed to sleep in and a toilet. We took a day excursion on a tour bus to see a bit of the Irish countryside. We had a great irish tour guide named Kevin who had a great sense of humor :) There was no rain, the leaves were all changing and all the funny sheep were out grazing in the fields. The landscape was very beautiful and very diverse. We drank ciderbites at the oldest pub in Ireland that night when we got back. The next morning I visited the Guiness Storehouse --- irelands famous beverage and then were were off to Edinburgh.

I loved this medieval scottish city. We arrived right at sunset and the city which gave the city a great majestic first impression. This hostel was super fun too. They rented VHS so our second night there we watched Braveheart. We took a free walking tour offered which was nice. We learned that Edinburgh was a huge inspiration for JK Rowling when dreaming up Harry Potter. Our last night there we ate at the cafe where she first scribbled her first ideas on a napkin. One of our tour guide labeled Harry Potter fans as "Pot-heads". We took another bus trip out to LochNess. Our driver was great and played lots of bagpipe music and told lots of scottish folklore. Everything was so green. We had breathtaking views during the scenic drive. Edinburgh was a great place to be during near Halloween. We took a ghost tour of the old underground passages of the city. Spooky! The scottish are very superstitious, which makes their history so intriguing.

Our last stop was a quick stay in Amsterdam. Lydia and i visited two great art museums, the Rijksmuseum (the dutch had some amazing artists in the 17th century) and the Van Gogh museum -- I love Van Gogh!! We rode around on the canals and walked through the flower market. It really is a unique city. By the end of the trip we were ready to go back to Paris. I said to Lydia "Man! We've practically traveled by every means of transportation: Plane, Train, bus, boat, Metro..." and she replied "But not by camel!"... maybe someday on our next adventure ;-D

A Weekend in the French Riviera

This is a story of my 5-day group excursion (All 20 of us) to the region of Provence in the South of France. Traveled by train, bus and plane!! Marseilles, Giens, Hyères, St. Tropez, Nice and Antibes! The climate and landscape were absolutely lovely; we spent most of our traveling time looking along the coastline gazing out to the Mediterranean. I LOVED all the colors there. Our trips are so informative because they tie into my class about the inter-war period. The years between 1914 and 1945 were a fascinating time of progress. During the 1920s, a time of prosperity and status, there was a strong influence of the ideals of the glitzy, sunny south of France. We saw some lavish examples of Art Deco design at the Villa Noailles (with a contrasting example of the previous 'Belle Epoque' style of the Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa) and we got to hear some very interesting stories about the extravagance of people like Fauvist painter Fernand Lèger (see photo... this museum was probably my favorite part)

and writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. What I was most intrigued by from hearing these stories was that a majority of these rich and successful people who were constantly surrounded by this so-often-idolized luxury were unhappy, miserable and depressed despite their glamorous possessions and fame. This wealth and extravagance that most people in the world strive for is never fulfilling. These places we visited were beautiful (fanciful in a way) but the isolation and superiority associated with it all made it so unappealing to me. I definitely enjoyed everything that we saw but I was in a funny mood the whole trip. There's so much to take in after traveling and being exposed to new things, I think I'm still processing.

Midterm Time! Wait... the semester's already half-way over!?

While studying abroad they recommend "only" taking 12 hours of class in order to enjoy your traveling experience and immersion in the culture. I'm taking an art history on the origins of Impressionism, a second art history about the Architecture of paris dating from 300AD to the 18th century, a french class devoted to theater (we attend 5 performances in the city and read 4 other classics together) and a "CF"- cultural formations- about the history of relations and influences between france and america between the two world wars. This is PLENTY to keep me busy here. It's a lot more reading and writing than I'm used to, so maybe I'm just less efficient (here I am typing this entry rather than studying). Once I get finished with these mid-terms I need to gear up for the papers and presentations! Yikes! But I'm loving the material. I love having class "on site" at the monuments and museums. AMAZING! Even if my grades don't portray it always, I'm gaining such a unique experience no matter how well I can take an exam.

(I loved our own personal tour from our knowledgeable Architecture professor of the Notre Dame (I had actually never walked around the back side of the church before... Its magnificent!))

Nuit Blanche

Saturday, friends and I got to experience Paris' annual "Nuit Blanche" (which means white night). The event is an all night art fair/party in the city parks, churches and streets. It was so fun! There were awesome art installations everywhere that played with light! Like the hundreds of red umbrellas and gold circles covering the grass of Parc Butte Chamunt below. Artists were also projecting videos on the sides of buildings and in addition many buildings changed the colors of their spot lights. The streets were packed with people at 2 in the morning! I thought this event was such a cool idea. And its success shows how the french people appreciate the arts and enjoyment of cultural events in their city.

BON-ÀPPETIT

I'm a Julia Child wannabe.

Noelle and I took a personal cooking class with classy Rosabelle in her super chic apartment in Montmartre. It was a three course menu, cooked and eaten in 3.5 hours! She called it the cooking marathon, and man, was she efficient! Our meal was a cheese soufflé, then a veal and fennel stew, and last but certainly not least!!: a dark chocolate tart infused with rosemary!! It was all delicious! Now the real test is if I can make it on my own for my family when I return to the States!

Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell

This book has been my Metro-commute-read since I arrived in Paris. I was enthralled with the story of this man and his experiences scrounging for existence in the slums of Paris and then London. He tells his tale of unfortunate circumstances (losing countless job opportunities, pawning all his belongings, moving from lodging to lodging, going days without any food, the list goes on...) and paints wonderful descriptions of the characters he meets in his time as a "plongeur"-parisian hotel dishwasher/"tramp"-english homeless wanderer. In addition, he incorporates the great bizarre stories about these quirky people living in both economically-polarized cities.

George Orwell is such a great writer, in fact, I must admit, he writes so well that for over half the book I was under the impress

George Orwell is such a great writer, in fact, I must admit, he writes so well that for over half the book I was under the impression that the book was non-fiction! Orwell embodied his character as narrator so well that I really thought he was telling real accounts of his life experience. Not such a bright moment on my part, I seem to have overlooked the tinny-tiny label "fiction" in the corner of the coverpage, but all the more credit to Orwell for his literary skills!

Every few pages, the main character is reporting how many francs or pence he has left to make it through the day, and on most days, it is just enough for a meager meal and on a good day, a little tobacco. All of his mental energy was devoted to figuring out how to survive (what to eat and where to sleep). This may seem dramatic, but found my self in an inconvenient circumstance while reading this book that made me ponder and helped me understand the book's themes more deeply. My wallet was taken from me at the Eiffel Tower (as a result of my own negligence) and so I was left without any immediate resources for couple of days- euros. (Of course I had many people who would lend me money, until I could pay them back (I've come to realize that I dread asking people for money ). Ok so it's an extreme comparison, but when you're walking around all day long, and the person you're with says "Phew! I'm so thirsty! I think I'll sit and have a tasty 3 euro CocaLight, how lovely!," and you're forced to say, "Go ahead, but I have no money to enjoy such a comfort," It shows you have much you take for granted the certainty of your next meal. Down and Out in Paris and London is such a humbling book. I get too comfortable, I know all too well what its like to be clean and well fed, so much so that those things seem normal and simple. People should not ignore the pain in poverty because it's real. Orwell reminds us of that.

"I am only saying that they are ordinary human beings, and that if they are worse than other people it is the result and not the cause of their way of life" p. 202

The Magic of DISNEYLAND PARIS.

I had a great time riding rides and slipping into the world of Disney last friday. Each section of the park is themed differently and it's executed so well that you actually feel like you've moved from the western frontier, to the amazon jungle, to a magical little dutch-land, and other fanciful worlds. It's such an amazing, creative place. The first thing we rode was Space Mountain and it was literally out-of-this-world! I've come to realize that I get motion sick on roller coasters but I tried to put on a happy face and stomached everything everyone wanted to ride. It's so much better than Six Flags! It's more about the ambience of the park than total thrill of the rides, which I liked more. One of my favorites was Peter Pan, flying over Never-Never-Land. We were there for 7 hours! To be real about the experience, the group clashed from time to time. (as normal in theme parks, people get on eachothers nerves). BUT! With the magic of Disneyland, we became glad to be there with each-other and cheesy as it is, at the end of the day, we had a big group hug...haha.

A List from Normandy!

This past weekend we had our first group excursion to the region of Normandy! Because I like lists, and you like quick reading (quick...not short), I'm going to summarize this trip with "Highlights" and "Not-so-Lights" of the weekend. Here we go:

Normandy Highlights!

- Landscape= beautiful. We took the train friday morning and countryside is gorgeous. Its rolling hills,  with great cypress trees (I just looked this up, i love them) lining the fields and from time to time there are quaint, old stone, farming villages. 

-Food=scrumptious. Throughout this wonderful, rural Normandy are COWS! Therefore, lots of good butter and cheese! Specifically Camembert, creamy and mild. Yum yum yum. There 

were brown cows, black and white cows, brown and white cows, cream colored cows All kinds. Gotta love'em. They make all that great dairy food that keeps us strong and healthy. There are also lots of apple orchards, so alcoholic cider is a popular item and 

an apple liqueur called calvados which I enjoyed in the form of a tasty chocolate called "Une Vraie Normande". 

- William the Conqueror: Our first day in the city of Caen, we visited an old abbey built in the 11th century (its been renovated many times of course) by this man. He built an abbey for men and one for women in the city of Caen, back in the day, to please the Pope to gain approval of his marriage. Anyway long story short William was a great ruler who 'conquered'

 and ruled over England for a time. A good dude in the history of France's power. In this beautiful abbey,

 there were staircases that were engineered and built without mortar and simple held together by the weight of gravity. Smarties. There was also a very humorous and frightening wax sculpture of him, for which they referenced Charles Heston's face, and for which Dior designed his costume. LoL... wow. All for good ol' Willy. Also attributed to William the Conqueror, in the city Bayeux, was a 203 foot long, intricately embroidered tapestry. It was made to recount the story of how he came to power and his triumph over the english. It's amazing how this tapestry has survived 1,000 years!!! That's some seamstressing skill. 

-A long walk on the beach. We visited Omaha Beach which is now quite beautiful after having recovered from the atrocities of D-day. Most of us took off our shoes. It felt good to let our feet squish in the sand after all the sidewalks. 

Normandy...not-so-lights....

This trip helped me grasp the impact of the utter destruction of WWII. So while the things on this list provided enlightenment (they could be considered 'educational' highlights), my overall response was not a positive one. 

-The Peace Memorial: This museum was extremely well done. The visitors walk through the chronological progression of WWII beginning in preliminary causes and finishing with the impact. There were definitely some creepy Nazi images and some startling memories from the Holocaust. There was even a section containing saved letter from soldiers to their families. Overall the memorial evoked a feeling of sorrow. War is a terrible thing. 

 

-The Cemeteries: We stopped at the American-french cemetery near Omaha beach

  (very beautifully done).  However, the overall feel of patriotism they tried to create didn't really help me overcome the feeling of loss. It was so striking to see all the thousands of graves of the soldiers. We also visited a german cemetery on french soil... which I found odd. The atmosphere of this cemetery was very different, very somber. The germans were not permitted to have white gravestones like the allies, they had to be darkly colored. 

-Le Point Du Hoc: The french kept this battle site as it was so that generations today can see the damage done by militant battle. Even the original barbwire had been left. We were also able to go inside the german bunkers. 

-Le Havre: This was a sad industrial port town. It was a gray, rainy sunday when we visited and the town was practically abandoned.  We drove over a really sweet bridge on our way in, but the entire time we were staring out the bus windows at factories and smoke stacks. Le Havre was about 85% destroyed by WWII and the reconstruction had to be executed quickly in order to rehouse all the citizens left homeless. To re-plan the city, they hired an architect that was very fond of concrete...yuck. So I guess not every city in France is romantically beautiful. (Maybe it had been before it was destroyed by the violence of war, I think that was the point in taking us there to see it?) We did visit an Impressionism museum there that had a lot of Boudin (Monets, friend, teacher and inspiration) paintings which was kind of a Le Havre 'highlight'.

So Folks, that's my weekend in Normandy in a nutshell. One can take a lot in in a three day weekend trip! 

Jazzy yeah.

Also last thursday, Noelle and I went to a Jazz club to see a musician of whom she is a fan- Mark Turner. There's a big jazz scene here in Paris! I'm not sure of the history behind why it became so popular here, but I'm thinking about looking into it. The venue we went to was a small bar with as many seats stuffed in there as possible. Noelle and I were in the first row because we got there early, so it was practically like we were on stage with the musicians. The way these guys connected with each-other while playing was really cool. I love watching musicians become entranced by their playing. They look a little ridiculous, the bass player constantly mumbling "bah. Bahbah. datdatdat. bahdat." and at one point, the drummer practically embraced the his entire symbol while playing it with his hands and the saxophonist did these funny little squats while he jammed. The music its self is not really of my taste, (I like things more like Louis Armstrong, but this was way more avant-garde) but the intimacy of the atmosphere was an exciting and interesting sensory experience. 

À la piscine française!

Last thursday I took an adventure to the Clichy (the neighborhood where I'm living, just outside the paris city limit) public swimming pool! It felt great to stretch out my muscles and work out my joints in the water again. I went around noon on a thursday. You'd think I'd have the place to myself right? NOT! It was so crowded! The french must be little fishies, like myself, because 1) it was very crowded in the middle of the day, and 2) there are secret, (actually not so secret to the parisians...obviously they live here) municipal pools in each small neighborhood! (...that means over 20 pools) Who would have thought they're'd be so many indoor pools in such a city! It was a cool cultural experience for me to observe. Having to navigate through the new locker-room/pre-shower maze to actually get into the pool area, and then having to figure out the rotation system they use to dodge around everyone else in the water gave me a cool look into this authentic, french leisure activity.