True dat.

Via Kim Katrin Milan's FB page:

Post by Kim Katrin Milan.

Versailles

Today I visited le Château de Versailles with the other people in my program. It was an outing that the program had arranged before we arrived in France. We took a train from Paris to Versaille, walked to the château, then went exploring in it for a couple of hours. We were supposed to visit le Jardin de Versailles too, but I'll tell you how that went in a second.

The château is enormous and beautiful and historic and so on. Sorry, I really can't describe it any differently than I'm sure tons of people already have. It is definitely a sight to see. Le Château de Versailles is known primarily as Louis XIV's (the Sun King, the absolute monarch) castle, and looking around I just kept thinking, Wow, the royal court and family must have really lived it up here. And they must've had a lot of money and time on their hands. See the photos for yourself. As to be expected, the place was full of tourists from all over the world. Judging from the languages I was able to make out, there were visitors from France, Spain, Portugal, Korea, China, and the US. I'm sure there were many others though.

Now, about the garden. We got our tickets to enter (you need one ticket to enter the castle and a separate one for the garden), and E and H went in ahead of me while I went in search of a restroom. When I came back they met me at the entrance, and we all left the castle grounds to find something to eat. We opted for a restaurant called Le Lyautey, and I ordered lasagna with a green salad and pineapple juice. I don't know why the reviews are so lackluster for this place; everything I ate was delicious. No doubt all food tastes better when you're starving, but for real, I was surprised by how delicious it all was. And the portions! That's one of the things I've come to appreciate most about
France. When you order food, you get just enough. The purpose of eating is to be satisfied, not to stuff yourself silly.

The only picture I got to take while in the gardens

After finishing our meals we returned to the garden and I kid you not, we were there all of five minutes when it started raining. Now that didn't bother me much, but apparently E and H were allergic to wind and water, because they insisted on walking back to the station to return to Paris. And I didn't want to have to go back alone, so I left with them. I was so frustrated and disappointed, though I tried not to show it. I paid for château AND gardens, we all did! Not going through le Jardin de Versailles meant not only missing an opportunity to experience more beauty and history, but it also meant wasted money. And sure I have time to go back to Versaille to see the gardens, but the point is that I don't like wasting money. I don't Ma don't got it like that! And what do you know, by the time we pulled away from the train station, it had stopped raining. Quel dommage.

But! With bad always comes good, immediately or eventually. When I got back to the apartment my host mom R-M was cleaning and going through the hundreds of random things she has, and she kept giving me stuff. She gave me a pair of earrings, some rare ceramic thing made in France, and a carved elephant figurine. When she was done she said, "Sometime while you're here you need to tell me what kinds of things you like, so I can tell you where to get them. Or I could just give them to you, you know I have so much stuff here, it's no big thing." I was surprised, confused, and thankful all at the same time. Haha.

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos

The "How Stuff Works" Museum (Friday)

Also known as le Musée des arts et métiers. (FYI no one actually calls it the "how stuff works" museum. That's just how I've chosen to describe it.)

For my afternoon class yesterday we did a guided tour/scavenger hunt in this museum.  E went on Thursday and didn't really like it, so I thought I might be bored. But I actually really enjoyed Arts et Métiers! It's attached to a church because the museum used to be a monastery. At some point they decided to use part of the building as an institute to train future engineers and scientists, and now the entire building functions as a museum and technical institute (the church is no longer a functioning church but serves as part of the museum). Inside there's a huge collection of all these different contraptions (most of which invented, developed, or improved upon by French people, of course) that served as models for all kinds of things we use today. Clocks, calculators, weights and measures, musical instruments, transportation, globes, thermometers, methods of communication, cameras and video cameras, food packaging, even the Statue of Liberty! If you are an engineer, chemist, physicist, are are just interested in how things work, this is the museum to go to when you come to Paris. I don't even like math or science and I found what I learned to be fascinating.

Also, a note about the group I was with. My fellow students in this afternoon class are all au pairs who've been here since September and return to their respective countries in July. They come from the US, Canada, Germany, Poland, Indonesia, and Australia. They're all girls my age and they seem nice. One in particular that I got along with well is a tall, kind, half-Togolese German girl (let's call her Ria). I asked her why she decided to come to Paris as an au pair, and she said that this is part of a gap year she's taking to help her figure out what she wants to do next. She said that taking gap years is actually pretty common among German secondary school graduates like herself.

After the museum I was starving because I hadn't had time to grab lunch between my morning and afternoon classes. So I headed "home" and happened upon a pizza place called Tablapizza. I was nervous at first when I walked in because I hadn't eaten at a restaurant by myself before. What to say? How to carry myself? Won't it be awkward by myself? Won't it be too expensive anyway? You could say I'd been avoiding it. But I ended up having a great dining experience. The food was great, the staff was pleasant, the restaurant was nearly empty with upbeat music, and I had a great view of Place de Clichy (aka my hood). And I call it a pizza place, but what they serve is certainly not anything like your ordinary American pizza. I ordered a carré normand, which is a square pizza-like dish with ham, onions, potato, cheese and some other stuff. It was delicious, but a little too heavy for my liking. I would definitely recommend it, though. I also had cheesecake in a jar and a bottle of Orangina. I left Tablapizza more than satisfied!To tell the truth it's the most I've eaten in one sitting since I got here.





Bread and Butter [Paris] photos

Two Gardens, a Museum, and a Mosque (pt.2 - Thursday)

Thursday

Today it was back to the regular morning class schedule. H and myself ate lunch at Cojean as usual, then headed to le Jardin des Plantes. Our respective instructors had recommended this botanical garden and the nearby La Grand Mosquée de Paris to us yesterday, so we figured why not? We walked through le Jardin des Plantes first, and were surpised to find how spacious, calm, and beautifully groomed it was. With lots of paths, seating, and shade, it's the perfect place to go for a walk or run, read a book, spend time talking with a friend or lover, or just sit and reflect on life. There are also numerous facilities there, including la Ménagerie (a small zoo), and le Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.

We took our time perusing the garden, and then we went across the street to visit La Grande Mosquée de Paris. Well, we didn't actually go through the mosque but we sat in its cafe for a while. The first floor of the mosque has an outdoor cafe and an indoor restaurant, with a room to buy pastries in between. Neither of us were hungry, so we both opted for a cup of thé à la menthe in the cafe. It was absolutely perfect! I'd never had it before so I had nothing to judge it by, but it was so much more delicious than I'd expected. Surprisingly sweet, and the mint not too strong. Perfect, as far as I'm concerned.



H decided to go home from there, but I still wanted to do something. My "host mothers" (I've come to consider M like another host mom), and the two instructors I've met at school have all insisted that the best way to get to know Paris and have great experiences in it is to just se balader.That is, to walk, go for a stroll, or wander. So I headed to Place de la Bastille and did just that. I saw la colonne de Juillet and l'Opéra Bastille of  course, but then I wandered a bit and didn't find anything interesting. However, I turned down a rue Saint-Antoine and happened upon one of the most beautiful things in the world─a bookstore! This particular little yet well-stocked bookstore is called Librairie La Belle Lurette. I only went through one half of it because I came across its section of Asian literature and that was it for me, haha. But seriously, I was very impressed by the variety of written treasures that they had to offer! Before leaving I bought a copy of Une langue venue d'ailleurs by Akira Mizubayashi. It's about his experience figuring out his identity though reconciling his love for French language/culture with his attachment to his native Japanese.

So  I guess my host moms and instructors were right. I tend to prefer having a plan, a schedule, structure, control, order, a reason. BUT! It turns out wandering can be rewarding too.

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos

Two Gardens, a Museum, and a Mosque (pt.1 - Wednesday)

As of yesterday I've been in Paris for a week! And I'm taking it day by day. Of course I still have moments where I feel unsure or out of place, but then I just remind myself, "You're here, and you're doing it already." That I am.

Wednesday

The last two hours of class yesterday consisted of  a cultural excursion to le Jardin du Musée Rodin. The garden is full of various beautiful plants and flowers of course, but it also holds numerous important and well-known sculptures made by Rodin. I was vaguely aware of the artist before, but until yesterday I hadn't realized how much of a master of detail he was. His interpretations of the human form are so realistic! And his depiction of people in various states of torment, anguish, loss, desperation, and shame are incredibly moving. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the garden. My favorite sculpture was Porte de l'Enfer (The Door to Hell). 

Our group toured the entire garden and then we sat in its cafe for some hot chocolate and conversation. Then we all went our separate ways since the day's class period was over. After eating lunch with E and H at Cojean, I returned to le Centre Pompidou with E since it'd been closed the day before. First we visited an exhibition dedicated to the works Henri Cartier-Bresson spanning from the 1920s to the 1970s. He had so many hats during his lifetime that I'd prefer not to reduce him to a simple label, but for the most part he was a photographer. He traveled all over the world capturing the essence of life in various places and his work includes themes such as poverty, leisure, political engagement, economic crisis, cultural traditions/rituals, and world events seen from ordinary people's perspective. I couldn't pick a favorite photo or drawing because the entire exhibit was magnificent.

Next stop was the other major exhibition, dedicated to the works Martial Raysse from the 1960s to the present.  Like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Raysse did a little bit of everything. But while his specialties were sculpture and painting, while Cartier-Bresson dealt mostly with photography, drawing, and film. Another difference I noticed is that while most of Cartier-Bresson's work is in black-and-white, Raysse's work is FULL of color. It pops, and it is also more interactive and weird (in a delightful way). I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition as well. The piece that I appreciated the most was a painting entitled Diane des terrains Vagues (Diana of the Wastelands).

After leaving that exhibition we started to go through the actual museum (le Centre Pompidou also contains Le Musée national d’art moderne/MNAM). But we underestimated how massive it was. By then we'd already been in the building for three hours, we were all art'd out, and we both had other things to do, so we left without seeing all of it. I certainly wouldn't mind going back to see the rest though. Not only are there many odd, striking, moving, and thought-provoking pieces in le Centre Pompidou, but the view of the rest of the city from the top is fantastic!

Overall, a day well spent getting exposed to various forms of art. What I've always loved about art is that you can find a way to appreciate it even if you don't "get it" or haven't studied it.

Click here for part 2!

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos

Making my rounds (Monday and Tuesday)

Nothing much to report about yesterday and today, but here goes.

Yesterday
At school the class from Friday was split up according to each student's level, so yesterday was my first day in my assigned class. There are two other students besides myself: one of the students in my internship program (let's call him E), and a young lawyer from Brazil who's lived in Paris for six months. Our instructor's name is V. V is a little intense and the grammatical material we're going over is challenging, but overall I really like the course! I'm constantly learning new things, my fellow students are pleasant, and V has a great sense of humor.

After class yesterday E and I stopped at the usual spot for lunch before heading to Jardin du Luxembourg. It's the second largest public park in Paris, it was created and gradually modified by various monarch's. Today, the Palais du Luxembourg is where the French Senate meets. We walked around about half of the park before leaving.

E had something to do so we parted ways. But I really wanted to go somewhere else. So I went to le Quartier Chinois (or as we would call it, "Chinatown"). At least that's where I meant to go. Le Quartier Chinois is on the southeastern edge of the city which is an area that I'm not familiar with. Plus, it's not a huge tourist attraction so while it is marked on maps there aren't any signs to tell you the way once you get near it. So after getting off the metro in that part of town I went the wrong way at first, which wasn't so bad because I happened upon the national library (la Bibliothèque nationale de France) along the way. But I was eventually able to re-route myself and get to le Quartier Chinois. It's a lot smaller and more diverse than you'd expect. I'd say the busiest and most concentrated part of it is Avenue de Choisy, though as an outsider I didn't find much in terms of entertainment or sights to see. There is a mall, but I didn't go in. I was also exhausted and frustrated after such a long detour, so I just found a place to get bubble tea, got some, and headed back "home". I'm not sure that I'll go back over there, but I certainly don't regret going.

Today
After class, me, E, and the other student in our internship program (let's call her H) headed to Centre Georges Pompideau. But alas! We got there and found out that it's closed on Tuesdays. So we walked by la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, which was nearby, and then visited the "love locks" bridge. I've found that there are at least two bridges along the Seine where people (tourists) leave padlocks, but the one behind Notre Dame is the most heavily decorated. People from all over the world leave signed locks here, either as a symbol of eternal love or in memory of a loved one. It was nice to look at.

It was raining by the time we got to the bridge and we didn't have anything else we wanted to do, so E went his way while me and H went ours. But we passed Notre Dame again on the way and I got the nagging feeling that I should go in. So despite the outrageously long line, I did. It's dark and beautiful and gothic and spacious and holy inside. Though I feel bad for the people who actually pray and worship there, because unfortunately it's also crawling with tourists. It's hard for me to describe how the cathedral is laid or what's in it because it was dark, I'd never been in a cathedral before, and there were a number of catholic images that I didn't quite understand. But I will say that walking around in it is definitely an experience that you mustn't miss. I walked around the sanctuary twice. Afterward I thought I'd get in line to go up into the towers, but then I thought better of it since I still had homework, reading and writing to do today.

Ahh, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not exactly a tourist.

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos

Finding Solace on a Sunday

Let me be very transparent with you. Last night I returned to the apartment with sore feet, feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, alone, and a little sad. Everything is in French. Don't know what to say to people anymore. What if there's no one to talk to when I really need to discuss my feelings? I don't know if culture shock is setting in or if I just spent too much time outside among too many people yesterday. Either way, I've been feeling a little insecure.

So today I decided to go to church. The American Church in Paris, to be precise. I've decided to push myself to do one new thing/go to one new place everyday this summer, and ACP was it today. Plus I figured that if I can't get rid of the insecurity and discomfort I feel being in this strangewonderfuloverwhelming place, at least I can take some time to find comfort through my faith. And hearing English spoken, that part's important too. The American Church in Paris is a Protestant church whose body has existed for over 200 years this year, and it has existed at its current location for over 80 years.

I took a bus and went to ACP's 13h30 Contemporary Service. And it was really nice! There are literally all kinds of people there, different ages, ethnicities, nationalities, you name it. Some are English-speakres but I noticed that others are not, so I wonder what about ACP attracts them. I'm sure each member of the congregation has his or her own reasons. Everybody there was just so kind! I thought it was especially cute how during the time where they welcome visitors, everyone greats each other with "Peace of Christ" (or was it "Peace of God?"). Senior pastor Scott Herr preached a message based on 1 Peter 2:1-10 and John 14:1-14 entitled "Like Living Stones". His message was about not being so self-confident and self-reliant that we keep ourselves from following God's way. He also talked about how Jesus's love is radical, and how as Christians we are called to witness to others and build bridges with other communities. Going to ACP today was the respite that I needed.

I might take more pictures the next time I go. Since it was my first time going today, I didn't want to disrespect the house of the Lord by treating it like just another tourist attraction. Also, I couldn't ignore the fact we were finished by 2:45pm. That is definitely not what I'm used to. Back home, Black Christians know: if you go to service on a Sunday and it ends in less than 2 hours, then you didn't go to a black church. Haha.

I'm feeling more encouraged now. Going to ACP today helped me to really feel that God is everywhere. Now I'll probably just spend the rest of my day in the apartment writing and looking up places I'd like to visit while in in this city. I know that it might seem that I'm wasting an opportunity to explore Paris on this beautiful sunny day, but I need time to decompress. Give me a break, it's only my fourth full day!

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos