Looking around in Le Quartier Latin (Sunday)

Lately I've been feeling the itch to sing again (I haven't done so since the Grammys), so I did some research and found this club in le Quartier Latin that has jam sessions three days a week. The place is called Le Caveau des Oubliettes and its open mic/jam sessions are as follows: Sunday is blues, Wednesday is soul, and Thursday is funk. I'm thinking about going on Wednesday. After church I headed to that neighborhood so I'd know the way to get there later this week. It wasn't hard to find at all, and funny enough when I arrived there was actually a photo shoot going on out front.

Before leaving I ate lunch at a quaint little crêperie across the street, and then went to check out Shakespeare and Company which was nearby. Sheakespeare & Co. is a famous independent English-language bookstore, with a renown and character similar to that of its sister shop, City Lights in San Francisco. I got lost looking for it at first, so I was really excited when I finally found it. But I was shocked to see how many people were there! You had to wait in line just to get in. A lot of people were just there to look around and take pictures (even though cameras are prohibited), rather than to buy written treasures. And it was obvious that quite a few of them hadn't mastered the art of being aware of their surroundings and getting the heck out of other people's way. Suffice it to say that it was too crowded to be enjoyable, so I just paid my 6 euros for the first interesting-looking book I could find (a used copy of Jack Kerouac's On the Road) and left. It's a shame, because I was looking forward to spending at least an hour there looking through everything they had. I guess that's what happens when a bookstore becomes a tourist attraction; it's not so much of a refuge anymore.


 But I have to admit I should've known better than to go to that area on a Sunday anyway. The weekend is when tourists really come out to play!

 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - JUNE
 
 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - MAY

Père-Lachaise, C&A, and Aki (Saturday)

I spent my Saturday in a cemetery.

It would've been a waste to stay in all day, but I didn't want to be bothered by a bunch of people. So I figured le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise would do. I went there with a list of graves that I wanted to see, and let me tell you. Looking for specific graves in this cemetary is the scavenger hunt to rival all scavenger hunts. Being the largest cemetary in the city, I'd assumed that it would have maps available for its visitors. Nope. At each of its five entrances there are  large maps marked with the locations of the most-visted graves, but that's about it. It looked to me that if you want your own map to carry around with you, you have to get it yourself before you come. So that was a little inconvenient. I got lost and went in a circle a couple of times looking for the graves on my list. But on the bright side it was a beatiful day, and getting lost gave me plenty of opportunities  to admire the greenery and stumble upon some really creative tombstones.

Rather than to find every famous person's grave, my strategy was to locate the graves of people I had a connection with in some way. My list was as follows, in order that I found them:

• Eugène Delacroix (The man who painted La Liberté guidant le peuple, which I not only saw at the Louvre but was also the inspiration for one of my favorite songs in high school, Coldplay's "Viva La Vida")
• Honoré de Balzac (Haven't yet had the pleasure of reading his work. But some years ago I was greatly moved by Dai Sijie's novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, in which two teenagers  in China rebel against Communist re-education by reading banned literature by authors including Balzac.)
•  Frédéric Chopin (In junior year in high school I played Chopin's Nocturne as an alto sax solo and got top marks at the district and state levels of the Michigan solo and ensemble festival.)
• James Morrison (Don't really know who he is or why he's so famous. But apparently you can't go to Père-Lachaise and not visit his grave, so I did.)
• Édith Piaf (She was one of the first French singers whose music I was introduced to in high school.)
• Oscar Wilde (I read The Picture of Dorian Gray for AP English during senior year, and it was one of the most exhilarating literary works I've ever read. Plus, I felt a strange connection to the main character since our initials are the same.)
• Jean de Brunhoff (The man who wrote Babar, a favorite book/TV show of mine when I was a kid.)

I was able to find all of these graves within a span of 4-ish hours of wandering. At first the idea of spending my afternoon in a cemetery seemed kinda creepy. And it did feel weird and solemn when I first got there, walking along columns and columns of graves and wondering who all these people were and what they meant to the folks they left behind. But I got over that after the first hour. Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is green, enormous, quiet, and not overrun with tourists. And paying respects to all those people who've had indirect effects on my life was an honor. I left the cemetery feeling strangely inspired and refreshed.

From there I went shopping, reluctantly. Two of the tops I brought with me are no longer wearable, so I went to see if I could find some new ones. But truth is, I hate shopping. Not only does it take up too much time, but it frustrates me and makes me sad. I don't know how some women do it every week. I only buy clothes about twice a year, and usually it's because Ma makes me. But I digress. Having looked up online where to find grande tailles in advance, I made my way from Cimetière du Père-Lachaise to a C&A store on Rue de Rivoli. I found one shirt that fit and wasn't too plain looking, but I didn't end up buying it. I just really didn't feel like spending money on clothes, and I didn't want to settle for something just because it fit.

Before going "home' I returned to Rue Sainte-Anne to try the other Japanese restaurant I'd been interesting in going to, Aki. I ordered katsu curry and karaage. The karaage wasn't so great (absolutely nothing compared to the one at Johnny's Ramen on Bell Road in Hikone). But the katsu curry was excellent. The only real downside to Aki is that the staff isn't all that friendly. It's not that they're mean or rude, but it seems like the staff is just really focused on their work and getting everyone in and out as quickly as possible. No time to talk or be cordial, I guess.


Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - JUNE
 
 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - MAY

Barbecue, Black Coal, and Montparnasse (Friday)

Today was the last day at La Métisse for three of my co-workers, so we had a barbecue during the lunch break to celebrate! At least I think that was the reason. It could also be that my boss was just in the mood to have a barbecue on the newly-cleaned patio, and the send-off thing was just a bonus. I didn't feel the need to ask, so I'm not sure. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves while eating and taking, and our one-hour lunch break lasted for two hours. And my boss bought everything; we just had to cook it and set the table. Free food and an extended lunch break? Absolutely no complaints from this chick!

After work I headed to Gaumont Parnasse to see the Chinese crime thriller/drama, Black Coal (or Black Coal, Thin Ice). I first saw a trailer for it when I went to see L'île de Giovanni a few weeks ago, and I heard that it'd won best film and best actor at the Berlin Film Festival. So I'd been eagerly waiting for it to come out since. But I got to the theater an hour early, so I walked around to see what the surrounding restaurants had to offer.

You ever have those times when you're really hungry, but don't feel like eating? That was me this evening. I was walking around like I know I need to eat, and I am starving, but I just don't feel like it. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but eh well. I kept walking to keep my mind off my hunger, but that didn't work so well since there were restaurants everywhere. If you're in the mood to eat out but can't decide what you want, go to Montparnasse. Never have I seen so many restaurants in one area! And never have I seen so many crêperies in one place! Granted I only went down three streets (Rue du Départ, Rue d'Odessa, Rue du Montparnasse), but Lord have mercy they were everywhere. Too bad I wasn't in the mood for crêpes.

Eventually enough time passed for me to go back to the theater to see Black Coal. Set in 2004, it's about a troubled ex-cop who helps solve a case of multiple murders and disembodiment that he'd started investigating back in 1999. A mysterious woman is connected to all three murders, and while pursuing the case said cop becomes infatuated with her.

I left the movie theater and was originally going to head straight "home" to eat dinner and turn in for the night. I was just about to go down the stairs to the metro, when I stopped. Something told me to keep walking around instead of leaving right way. So I did. I went up Boulevard du Montparnasse one way and passed by Le Coupole, with its live Lousiana-style jazz band parading around the restaurant and its female staff dressed as flappers and dancing. I came back down the other way and passed by Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Then I kept walking, and all of a sudden a bunch of police on motorcyles appeared, blowing their whistles as their blue lights were flashing. Nothing was happening, so I didn't know what all the hullabaloo was about. But then I turned around to look back in the direction I'd come from, and rather than cars I saw a wave of rollerbladers. Hundreds of them! Just rolling down the boulevard, no big deal. They all seemed to be in a jovial mood, waving and smiling at people on the sidewalks who were staring and taking pictures of them. It was such a fun and unexpected sight to see! Staff member shirts identified the group as Pari Roller. Every Friday night you just sign up, pay to participate, show up at the meeting time and place, and you can rollerblade around Paris with hundreds of others. I haven't skated in years and I'm a 21-year-old old lady who doesn't like to stay out too late at night, so I probably wouldn't try this. But it looked like tons of fun, so if you're in Paris on a Friday night I encourage you to try it!


And to think, I would've missed all this if I hadn't followed my intuition.

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - JUNE
 
 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - MAY

A Lesson from Dinner

"Careers rarely follow a straight path, if ever. What's more, there are no real failures. Set backs, disappointments, interruptions, they don't matter. What's important is that you know where you want to go, you take advantage of opportunity when it comes, you're passionate about what you do, and you're not afraid to take risks."

− R-M, my host mom (translated and paraphrased, of course)

Dinner with my Host Family, again!

Tonight R-M's nephew and great-nephew from Normandie are staying over, so R-M made dinner to welcome them. I was invited to join them, and there's no way I would've turned that down!






I'm surprised how much better I was able to understand what everyone was saying and keep up with the conversation compared to last time. But that might just be due to the fact that R-M talked most of the time, and I've gotten used to listening to her speak everyday. Tomorrow her great-nephew is taking a really important competitive exam to get into Sciences Po (hence why they're here), so she quizzed him a lot with practice questions and tips to prepare him for the interview portion. The kid seems a little soft-spoken, but he's also quite intelligent and thoughtful. I wish him luck!

I also had the privilege of learning what R-M's impressions are about hosting a foreign student. She talked about the agency that arranges everything, the different rules that the host family and the foreign student are supposed to follow, her motivations for doing it and what she gains from it, and so on. She also mentioned that all the students she's hosted have been girls, and they came from all over (Brazil, Korea, China, the US). She couldn't really put her finger on what motivates her to keep hosting, but I gathered that it's cultural exchange and personal enrichment more than anything. It was fascinating to hear her point of view on this, since I've often wondered what the advantages are for French people to do what she's doing (other than the money that supplements their income, of
course).

Oh yeah, and the food was great. I couldn't tell you the exact names of what I ate, but know that I have no complaints, haha! A much more casual spread than last time, but I enjoyed it just as much.






 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - JUNE
 
 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - MAY

What I Miss about The States

Hugs. Especially as a greeting.

While I've learned to faire la bise to my co-workers and my boss upon arriving at/leaving work, I still don't like it. I haven't even let Ma kiss me since elementary school, so you can imagine how uncomfortable it is for me to greet people here in France. I'd much rather receive a sincere bear hug than have someone's mouth that close to my face.


Smiling and/or talking to people in public without it being taken the wrong way.

This may seem contradictory to what I wrote the other day, but I actually do really like being able to smile at people I come across when out and about. Smiling at people you don't know is very useful, especially for folks like me who aren't big talkers. It eases tensions and levels the playing field when you're in awkward situations. It's also a wonderful icebreaker. But it's just not something French people (I mean Parisians) seem to do all that often. It's like you're supposed to walk around pretending that no one else is there. No direct eye contact, no facial expressions, and definitely no words. And that makes me feel kinda lonely sometimes.

Day Off at the Canal

Didn't do much today. Today was another public holiday (Pentecost Monday), which meant I didn't have to go to work! Praise God for three-day weekends!

During the afternoon I met up with H again to visit la Place de la République and walk along le canal Saint-Martin. The area around the canal isn't exactly spotless, and the water in the canal is a murky green. But there's so much else there that makes up for that. There's a ton of really tall trees, graffiti and street art on the surrounding buildings, multiple bridges you can climb up to get some great views, and people just sitting along the water hanging out. A boat even passed through while we were there! The canal is a little dirty and run-down, yet peaceful and slightly romantic all at once. We both loved it. So if you'd like to visit a part of Paris that's alive and picturesque but not too well-known, le canal Saint-Martin is it.

Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - JUNE
 
 Bread and Butter [Paris] photos - MAY