I really wanted to put some pictures in this post but I'm using Ginger's roommate's computer so can't upload them from my camera. Anyway, here is what I hope will be a quick summary of my lovely weekend in Paris:
I arrived Friday after a miraculously punctual train ride. Met Ginger at the metro stop, lots of hugging ensued, then we got coffee and came back to have dinner with her roommates and some awesome Belgian girls who are visiting for Ginger's roommate's birthday.
Saturday, we went to a Senegalese restaurant that we found on the internet and had a great nostalgic Senegalese lunch, (chebujen and yassa, for anyone who's wondering), then we went to this African neighborhood to peruse the Senegalese grocery stores, fish stores, and fabric shops. It was really cool and chaotic and we heard lots of wolof and saw lots of products that reminded us of Senegal.
It started raining so we headed back to the metro and decided it was too early to go home so we went to the Mosquée de Paris. We walked around the inside which was gorgeous, and then visited the mosque's tea room to have turkish coffee and pastries. After that we got some wine and cheese and went back to Ginger's apartment to help get ready for her roommate's birthday party, where we met a bunch of foreign (mostly German) students who study in Paris.
Today, we got up and made coffee, then went to the Marais neighborhood to have the best falafel in Paris. It did actually live up to all the hype, it was probably the best falafel sandwich I've ever eaten. Details for Mom--it had falafel and hummus inside and also white and purple cabbage, tomatoes, grilled eggplant, white sauce, and spicy red sauce on top. Miammmm...
After the falafel we walked to the Cluny museum where I finally got to see the unicorn tapestries, after waiting 5 years to do so since the first time I was in France. So that was pretty great. We even got to go for free since we're under 26 and reside in the European Union. We got coffee then came back to Ginger's neighborhood to walk in the park and peruse a used bookstore, and then came back to relax for the evening. Now there are less than 12 hours until I board my plane to Berlin!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Well, well. There is obviously not much going on around here, I've had nothing to blog about for the last week! Actually, last night I went to a bar in town with some friends to check out karaoke night, which is every Wednesday. Normally, I think karaoke is a hoot--once you get over the initial embarrassment it can be really fun and hilarious. So we had a few beers to warm up, I convinced Sam to sing a duet with me, and we picked an N*sync song (classic, right?) since they didn't have "Party in the USA". An hour later, our song still hadn't come up, but we were forced to sit through a dozen drunken renditions of terrible French songs from the 80s. I mean the crappiest, sappiest songs about being lonely and following your lover wherever he goes, etc. So finally, we got so tired we aked the DJ could he please play our song or delete it from the queue because we needed to leave. It turned out he had already deleted it because this wasn't the democratic karaoke I'm used to but the autocratic kind where the DJ has complete control and puts on the songs he likes, and not the ones the patrons pick. So it looks like Le Moderne lost at least one patron for their karaoke night--that'll show them!
And now, I'm starting to get restless--it's time to hit the road again. I have one more class tomorrow morning, then I'm on a train headed for Paris and it's all north from there! I would normally say that I will be less available internet-wise, but given my current internet situation, I may actually be on the internet more in hostels and at friends' houses than chez moi in Tarbes. So look for updates soon!
And now, I'm starting to get restless--it's time to hit the road again. I have one more class tomorrow morning, then I'm on a train headed for Paris and it's all north from there! I would normally say that I will be less available internet-wise, but given my current internet situation, I may actually be on the internet more in hostels and at friends' houses than chez moi in Tarbes. So look for updates soon!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Fire Drill
-Maire Elementary School; Grosse Pointe, MI, USA; circa 1995-
The fire bell rings. The students all put their pencils/books/etc on their desks and file (quietly) out of the classroom behind their teacher. The classes all meet on the field, away from the building, where the teachers count the children (still in their lines and relatively quiet) to make sure they are all there. When the bell rings to indicate the drill is over, the students all walk (not run!) back to their classrooms where class resumes as normal. This happens at least 8 times a year, the number of drills specified by the state government for all schools in Michigan, the teachers and students all know from the beginning of the year exactly where they are supposed to go in case of a fire drill, it almost always happens with the same amount of order and calm, and the students are all under 11 years old.
-Théophile Gautier High School; Tarbes, France; February 14, 2011, 9:30am-
The fire bell rings. The students start putting their belongings in their bags despite my instructions to leave everything behind except their jackets and leave the room immediately. We finally make it out into the hall, where it is total mayhem. The other teachers have no idea what is going on or where they are supposed to take their students, and the students are all getting lost in the crowd and chatting with students from other classes. Since there is such a large crowd blocking the stairs, one of the other teachers decides we should go out the other way down the stairs. We pass by several classrooms in which the teachers are continuing their classes as normal, undisturbed by the fire drill. The one teacher I ask for directions says he has no idea what is going on or where to go, and decides to take his students back in the classroom. I eventually do the same after seeing the same mayhem in the big courtyard. We resume class as normal. The students are all over the age of 15.
The fire bell rings. The students all put their pencils/books/etc on their desks and file (quietly) out of the classroom behind their teacher. The classes all meet on the field, away from the building, where the teachers count the children (still in their lines and relatively quiet) to make sure they are all there. When the bell rings to indicate the drill is over, the students all walk (not run!) back to their classrooms where class resumes as normal. This happens at least 8 times a year, the number of drills specified by the state government for all schools in Michigan, the teachers and students all know from the beginning of the year exactly where they are supposed to go in case of a fire drill, it almost always happens with the same amount of order and calm, and the students are all under 11 years old.
-Théophile Gautier High School; Tarbes, France; February 14, 2011, 9:30am-
The fire bell rings. The students start putting their belongings in their bags despite my instructions to leave everything behind except their jackets and leave the room immediately. We finally make it out into the hall, where it is total mayhem. The other teachers have no idea what is going on or where they are supposed to take their students, and the students are all getting lost in the crowd and chatting with students from other classes. Since there is such a large crowd blocking the stairs, one of the other teachers decides we should go out the other way down the stairs. We pass by several classrooms in which the teachers are continuing their classes as normal, undisturbed by the fire drill. The one teacher I ask for directions says he has no idea what is going on or where to go, and decides to take his students back in the classroom. I eventually do the same after seeing the same mayhem in the big courtyard. We resume class as normal. The students are all over the age of 15.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Reason #1239871236 why I love France
Did I mention that there is always wine on the table in the teachers' lunch room? And that they drink it every day at lunch? I usually refuse when they offer it to me, saying that I daren't drink wine right before I have class. Their response is usually "Mais ça aide à supporter les élèves!"... translation: "But it will help you put up with the students!"
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
At 22 years of age, I finally "learned" how to ski. I'm definitely glad I did it, although I'm not sure I'll be trying it again anytime soon... anyway, my first ski attempts were part of an awesome weekend in the mountains. One of my friends' grandparents have a house in the Pyrenees, so he invited some of the assistants to come for the weekend.
Friday evening, Hadley and I were picked up at 6pm by two of our friends, Romain and Daniel. We expected to have about a 4-hour drive ahead of us, including picking up Bruno in Toulouse. He told us we should pick up some chains for the tires along the way. We didn't expect to need them but bought them in Toulouse, just in case. That all went smoothly, until we got to the first pass we were supposed to go over: closed, blocked by snow. We turned around, drove 20 minutes back down to the nearest town, and took the other route. As soon as we got up into the mountains, we had to stop to put the chains on the tires. We kept them on the whole way there except when we went through a 6-km tunnel through a mountain to avoid going over it.
We ended up getting to Régis's cabin at around 1am, after a harrowing drive over mountains, in the dark, through snow so thick you couldn's see in front of the car, and all the time with the chains crunching under the car, giving us a little peace of mind. Since we were bringing the food, everyone had been waiting for us to eat, and as soon as we got there we poured ourselves a drink and the boys started making pasta. In fact, they did all of the cooking for the weekend, which was awesome. In fact they shooed us out of the kitchen everytime we offered to lend a hand.
On Saturday, Sam woke up the whole house at 7:45am, we had some coffee and fruit, and were out the door, reaching the ski resort at around 9. We rented skis and bought our passes and then we were off! It was definitely nice to have so many experiences skiers with us--Molly and I were the only beginners and everyone went down (slowly) with us the first time to help us out and take pictures and videos of us falling down.
By the second run, Molly and I felt much better, and managed with much less falling than before, although everytime we hauled ourselves up on our ski poles, our arms threatened to give out a little bit more than the last time.
After lunch (also organized by the boys--ham and cheese on baguettes), Molly and I decided to give it one more shot then head in for hot chocolate, while the others left us to do the hard trails. When the slopes closed at 4:30, we were SO ready to head home for our well-earned hot showers and hot dinner, which was also prepared by the boys. We had tartiflette, which is basically a big dish of potatoes, ham, and crème fraiche which cheese melted on top.
On Sunday, we had breakfast, cleaned up the cabin, and then piled into the cars to go home or head to another ski resort (guess which group I was in). By that time the roads had all been plowed and salted so we got home much faster than we got there. I only had 3 out of my usual 5 classes yesterday which is just as well because I can barely lift my arm to write on the board. Oh yeah, did I mention that my ENTIRE BODY is sore? Good thing I didn't have to do anything besides sit in a car, I could barely twist my arms around to get them into my coat sleeves... Oh well, what do you expect. So I'll leave you with the best pic of the day, which looks like a set-up but I assure you, this actually happened:
Friday evening, Hadley and I were picked up at 6pm by two of our friends, Romain and Daniel. We expected to have about a 4-hour drive ahead of us, including picking up Bruno in Toulouse. He told us we should pick up some chains for the tires along the way. We didn't expect to need them but bought them in Toulouse, just in case. That all went smoothly, until we got to the first pass we were supposed to go over: closed, blocked by snow. We turned around, drove 20 minutes back down to the nearest town, and took the other route. As soon as we got up into the mountains, we had to stop to put the chains on the tires. We kept them on the whole way there except when we went through a 6-km tunnel through a mountain to avoid going over it.
We ended up getting to Régis's cabin at around 1am, after a harrowing drive over mountains, in the dark, through snow so thick you couldn's see in front of the car, and all the time with the chains crunching under the car, giving us a little peace of mind. Since we were bringing the food, everyone had been waiting for us to eat, and as soon as we got there we poured ourselves a drink and the boys started making pasta. In fact, they did all of the cooking for the weekend, which was awesome. In fact they shooed us out of the kitchen everytime we offered to lend a hand.
On Saturday, Sam woke up the whole house at 7:45am, we had some coffee and fruit, and were out the door, reaching the ski resort at around 9. We rented skis and bought our passes and then we were off! It was definitely nice to have so many experiences skiers with us--Molly and I were the only beginners and everyone went down (slowly) with us the first time to help us out and take pictures and videos of us falling down.
By the second run, Molly and I felt much better, and managed with much less falling than before, although everytime we hauled ourselves up on our ski poles, our arms threatened to give out a little bit more than the last time.
After lunch (also organized by the boys--ham and cheese on baguettes), Molly and I decided to give it one more shot then head in for hot chocolate, while the others left us to do the hard trails. When the slopes closed at 4:30, we were SO ready to head home for our well-earned hot showers and hot dinner, which was also prepared by the boys. We had tartiflette, which is basically a big dish of potatoes, ham, and crème fraiche which cheese melted on top.
On Sunday, we had breakfast, cleaned up the cabin, and then piled into the cars to go home or head to another ski resort (guess which group I was in). By that time the roads had all been plowed and salted so we got home much faster than we got there. I only had 3 out of my usual 5 classes yesterday which is just as well because I can barely lift my arm to write on the board. Oh yeah, did I mention that my ENTIRE BODY is sore? Good thing I didn't have to do anything besides sit in a car, I could barely twist my arms around to get them into my coat sleeves... Oh well, what do you expect. So I'll leave you with the best pic of the day, which looks like a set-up but I assure you, this actually happened:
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