Yoga + 2 Islands and Me = Chillllin

Yesterday was open house / free session at this yoga center in the 10th arrondissement which I’m going to call a lesser nice neighborhood, although it was near this really pretty, old, Gothic church (L’Eglise Saint-Laurent).

Yoga in French is very interesting. Since it was a free trial class there were probably at least 35 people there which made the spacing rather tight.  For the first hour, a woman just talked to us about meditation, healthy eating, relaxing, and how all these things are essential for blah blah blah…

Then we started our class…With the combination of me having done yoga before, being able to look around and watch people, and knowing French I was able to do everything.  Although, it was not as relaxing as I wanted it to be since I had to simultaneously do three different things just to perform 1 position correctly.

BUT the best thing that came of it was I met 2 girls whom were really cool.  One is from England and the other the Cook Islands!! It took me awhile to remember where those were – northeast of New Zealand in between Fiji and Tahiti (French Polynesia).  These girls met because their boyfriends are friends and A— – the 24 Brit – has been here since June and K— – the 25 Cook Islander – has been here about as long as me…These girls are super chill and K— is a musician, as well as, both their boyfriends…

After yoga, we went to Chinatown to get some Asian food – A—speaks Chinese because she lived there for 3 years teaching English / working at a rock climbing / outdoor adventure place – I had never been to Chinatown and it was alright…the food was good, but I’m not sure I would take the trek all the way back there since it’s on the other side of Paris…

Then they invited me back to their apartments for some wine and hanging out – of course I obliged and I hung out with them for the rest of the night playing cards, drinking wine, and listening to some jams…It was a really fun, chill time – my style.

They are really funny, almost opposite girls – A— is a talk-a-holic, totally spits whatever she is thinking out of her mouth to anyone around who will listen…lol…she was talking about how it has been hard to make friends in Paris and she thinks its a lonely city and rah, rah, rah (as Cook Islanders say) and that this is the quietest she’s ever been in her life – holy shit I wouldn’t want to be around her anywhere else then lol – but she means well

K— is total island…surfer girl, doesn’t give a shit what other people think, kind of tom-boy, yet has strikingly attractive features, super chill and a lot quieter…i like her a lot and I think we’d get along really well…she also has the island hospitality mentality – very welcoming, inclusive, gives you the best of what she has even if it leaves her with nothing…cool, cool chick

Pretty sure the 3 of us will have some adventures around here if they both stay in town for awhile ;)

    

Crepe Catastrophe

**WARNING!: Graphic descriptions not suitable for those with weak stomachs, those who have just eaten, those who enjoy eating, and those who do not want their stomachs to turn à ce moment**

So Alma has a small ear infection..I’m not quite sure how it is affecting her (she seems pretty normal to me) and it was caught in the early stages so ce n’est pas grave – no fever, no abnormal crying, slightly lethargic - and the mom has been giving her antibiotics so it should go away in the next few days…

Now I’m am not sure why, so I’m going to blame it on her being ‘sick’ lol but today we had crepes for snack because I was craving them and I had just bought this new jam which is supposed to be super gourmet from this well-known store in Paris – Fauchon – and I wanted to try it out…I sampled it in the store and I decided to get the new flavor: Apricots, Plums, and Cinnamon….mmmm

We had just finished eating and Alma was finishing her last bites when she started with the gag reflex…now this isn’t a completely random thing because she has been known to over-stuff her mouth and end up spitting whatever is in there out into her hand which is always pleasing to play “Identify the Parts of Your Meal in Your Hand”…but this time she wasn’t exactly spitting it out but just doing the dry heave…I was getting worried that she might start choking so I’m standing there trying to remember how the F you give a child the Heimlich while also trying to figure out if I should take her into the bathroom or just let her keep standing there…

After about the fourth tease I grabbed a plate nearby and just held it in front of her because I knew she would eventually end up puking…and of course as soon as the plate was there giving the green light – BOTH crepes come creeping out onto the plate…yummm…what I thought was just going to be just a mouthful turned into a long train of chocolate, chunky dough, almost fully chewed bananas amidst a gummy web of saliva….and then of course it was back to playing with Amos.

I, however, was left wanting my crepes to join hers on the plate after that lovely gastronomical offering…I think if I had gotten anything more than a tinge of that ambrosial barf odor I would’ve lost it…

My new jam was excellent though :)

Replicating Nostalgia

I’ve found my own Wild Things!! These guys are in Le Jardin des Tuileries which is a long stretch of lawn in between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde (where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed) which marks the beginning of the Champs-Elysees. 

There are various pieces of artwork scattered throughout the walkway/garden including this exhibit surrounding one of the fountains.

These totem-like statues were made by Ugo Rondinone and each face represents a month of the year.  He wanted to show the month’s personalities in a surreal way like that of child’s dreams – Sp anyone?

I LOVE how these straddle between being somewhat creepy and disturbing , but at the same time touch that cute button in your nerves that triggers a smile…there is a hint of Tim Burton in Rondinone’s style…Of course my fav is November (Feb a close 2nd and Oct 3rd).

This is the best I can do until I get to see the real W.T. WHICH, WHICH I found out is being released here mid-Dec!!!! oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!  I will be first in line, understanding the film or not :)

Sunday Funday

Last Sunday I went back to the American Church in Paris because the mom wanted me to see if there were any postings about an American baseball team/league for Guillame. So I went to the 1:30 service which is the Contemporary one – Queen, I think you would’ve liked it. There was a lot of singing with contemporary music and a more laid back atmosphere with the preacher/pastor lady not in the pulpit but standing in the aisle in front of the pews…Apparently the 9:00am service is the most traditional offering communion once or twice a month, then the 11:00am is the mostly the same without the bread/wine and then the 1:30 draws the youngest and most relaxed crowd.  The sermons are all the same but the vibes are different.

I doubt I’ll ever make it to the 9:00am but I think I prefer the 11:00am service, although I did meet some people my age from this service so….

After every service there is a small reception and there I met these two sisters form Finland.  One was just visiting in Paris as well as the South of France where their family/parents live and the other just finished studying Art History here in Paris and is currently looking for a job.  They were both very nice, very blonde, and very tall lol.  And I’ve only met one other Finn besides these two girls, but I’ve decided that these are good people.  They are super nice and seem pretty laid back (Margs – they were from Helsinki, so I told them about Lauri – sp?). The girls said that even though Finland has a fairly small populace, their people are everywhere.  Mostly because they are so far north, they have non-stop days of light and in the other cold season, darkness.  So if I ever go to Finland – it will definitely be during the summer.  After talking to these girls awhile, I declined a lunch invitation and moved on to the ad posting board.

There I meet, Armando from San Jose.  Armando, of Mexican descent, is a short, skinny, dark-skinned kid that was looking for the American Library. I wanted to help and didn’t really have any pressing matters to attend to so I told him I would help him find it because there were more ads posted there and since I might as well see if I can make some extra moolah on the side I said why not.

Well we found the Library and it is closed on Sundays, eh whatever.

Armando is currently staying in a hostel – has been for about a month. He was previously living in Rome, working at a hostel and then decided to go ‘woofing’ for a couple months in the countryside. For those of you poor souls who are not in-the-know ;) “woof-ing” means working on an organic farm.  Basically you can go stay on an organic farm and in exchange for your physical labor, the owners provide you with room and board.  I think it would be a really cool experience.  So now Armando is in Paris, wants to find steady work, learn the language, and is also starting to run low on cash so he was looking for some odd-jobs to hold him over.

He told me he was going to meet this man who needed help translating some documents into English. He asked if I wanted to come along in case the translating was over his head. Hell yea I’ll come! I get to go to a part of the city I’ve never been, meet a real French person, and see how this whole operation works.

We meet Laurent. Laurent is a 35-yr old surgeon who just got back from doing field work in Africa.  He also spent 13 months being isolated in Antarctica with about 10 other people doing research.  Laurent is flying to Berlin to attend a global conference on the research he has been conducting in Africa.  It was really interesting to me because he was basically arguing the ethics of doctors using universal treatment for a mass population or if treatment/care should be given on an person-by-person basis.  Basically – does the individual matter?

So Armando and I helped Laurent go through his PowerPoint presentation and fix all his errors in English – the subject matter may have been slightly over Armando’s head, so I am glad that I was there. I thought it was really interesting.  Then at the end, Laurent paid Armando 50 Euros for helping him out, 20 of which Armando gave me! Yay! So all in all it was a good day…

Oh and also while we were at the cafe working, I ended up drinking TWO cafe noisettes, which is basically an espresso with a hint of cream…its strong stuff…but they were free and the 2nd one was more to make Laurent feel better about keeping us there for so long…But anyway when we were leaving I was saying goodbye to our waiter who was standing at the entrance and he said “Au revoir, Petite Noisette”…It took me a sec to figure out what he had said but when I did I laughed and had a huge smile on my face! :D…it was so cute!

SO STOKED!

This is a good article and I’m getting super super super anxious for the release!! :)

Hmmm…L’amour?

So I am not writing this in vain but here’s une petite histoire…

I was leaving the house, and as I opened the door I happened to glance upwards and make eye contact with this guy walking on the other side of the street. He smiled, so I smiled, and we both went on our merry ways.  Nothing weird or anything really but I did think afterwards that not a lot of people smile at you in this city when you see them, so that was nice of him.

So I am on my way to Guillame’s school to pick him up and take him to his afternoon drawing class.  I am also rolling up (literally) with a bag of laundry that the mom wanted me to take to the Laundromat which was next door to the art building. 

So I am almost to the school (which is about a 12 minute walk from the house) and I hear this somewhat faint yell. At first I did not pay attention like any other homebred city girl, but since I can only pretend to be true blood, my country roots and curiosity got the best of me and I turned around.  To my surprise I see the dude from when I left hastily approaching me while trying to hide the fact that he is also sucking wind. 

Now this man is older – clearly 35+ from his receding and thinning hairline – looks to have Persian/Middle-eastern heritage with the dark hair, dark eyes, darker skin…not too tall – around my height, maybe slightly taller…not intimidating in the least…and from the evidence of his gasps, somewhat husky - doesn’t do much physical activity. Not exactly my knight in shining armor.

So I turn around and see him hurrying towards me, I’m thinking ok what did I drop and how far ago did I drop it? But he isn’t carrying anything. Hmmm…no time for any other explanations I have to put my invisible interpretation headphones on because he has finally caught up to me. He catches his breath while I stare blankly. Then he starts rattling off as I watch his tongue speed through the tracks of his mouth at 100mph….Something about he is an artist/drawer…this is some of his work – in which he hands me this:

Ok. This is kind of strange but thanks? As I am picking up on about every 30th word that comes spinning out of this train wreck…He is giving me this to color in…because he wants me to have it…this is what i should use to color it in…like this…blah blah…

All I can think of while he’s speaking is: Why is he giving me this? How long has he been following me / did he go out of his way just to give me this? Is he trying to hit on me in a very unorthodox way?What kind of crappy artwork is this? I hope he is not expecting any money from me. Am I reallllly ever going to color this in? If I do, what would I do with it after that? I wish I knew what he was saying. Is this like some sort of project like they have in dive restaurants where the patron’s kids color in the picture and they make a huge collage on the wall by the door, only I should leave this outside the front door (since he obviously knows what building I live in) so he can add it to his collection of rape victims? Lol. :/

I have no idea what facial expression was on my face during this mostly one-sided convo, but I tried to remain interested and like I knew what he was saying. Finally when he stops, I am sure to thank him and wish him a good day and hope that he leaves.  He does and I am left wondering what the hell just happened.

So I am looking at the piece of paper, stumped, and then turn it over.

How nice. Paul 0620382118.

Creeper.

Next Job: Funeral Parlor

Ok so my ‘mom’ is a bit neurotic but in a kind, harmless, she-means-well way.  Today she told me that she used to work in a funeral parlor. Ok? She seems to have had many different occupations in her life because she has also worked in a library and on an archeological dig  – all of which are fitting and pretty cool. 

So I do not know how we started talking about funeral parlors, but anyway she said that about 5 years ago it was extremely hot in Paris. It was August and a lot of shops, families, businesses were closed because it is when people leave town for holidays – ok fine I can see that.  But then she throws this out – That summer a lot of people died. Um ok. What?? Doctor, Doctor…Neurosis? Clearly.

I questioned her statement of people just croaking from the heat. She said yes because a lot of old people were by themselves, no one was around to take care of them, places were closed, etc, etc. Ok whatever. So people were dying in mass quantities that summer.

Needless-to-say business was good for the funeral parlors. Sick yes, but true. :) She said she was working nights and days and people were coming by (avec ou sans the dead I’m not sure – I decided it be best not to go there in fears of ruining our afternoon cafe).

But then she said something very profound to me, which seems to be always the way with genius v. insanity – straddling the line leaning more towards the latter and then out of nowhere shit becomes way too clear.  We had been speaking earlier of work ethic because she just had a tiff with the phone repair shop man. So she said you have to work hard in a funeral home – there is no choice. At first, I was thinking why is that different from any other job – but then it all started to meld. There is not much time so you have to be prepared and speedy. But also you have to be conscious and attentive of the person’s family.  There is hardly any room for mistakes with an immense amount of unspoken pressure because basically you are indirectly hot-potatoing people’s emotions and pain as they go through humanity’s hardest pathos.

So of course you can go through half-assing preparing the dead but it seems as if there are far worse consequences in this particular setting. So she said for all the people out there who are lazy and don’t work hard, would they treat their job the same if they were in a funeral home working on someone whom they knew. Well damn. That’s a new way of looking at things.

Moral of the Story: Whatever you are doing, whatever your career/work/activity/energy you are putting forth – Act like you are in charge of burying someone you love and then think about if you are working as hard in your current situation as you would be in that situation. Probably not, but if you are, at least the dead will be smiling upon you…

Chevy Chase

So i had this flashback tonight while I was sitting at the dinner table by myself – of course everyone else was done and had moved on to other things, yet i was still munching on some grapes –

The image from one of my favorite movie series (Emma, you will appreciate this): National Lampoon’s European Vacation.  While the family is on the airplane they each dream about different things – the Griswold daughter, Audrey, starts dreaming about being the soul member of a Louis XIV-style feast in which she can’t handle. The food keeps coming and coming and she doesn’t have time to eat it all – just watch it for yourself……..Audrey's Dream 

So needless to say as I was sitting there gorged, yet still masticating some grapes with GD pepins my thoughts migrate to this image and how I felt like I had just blown up eating sickening delicious French gastronomy – included on the menu was: Potatoes, Rack of Lamb, Bread, and a Fruit Tray of grapes, clementines, and a new fruit, Kaki (which I found out is a persimmon – I’ve heard of it but never eaten it)

What an AWESOME movie.

“McDo”

I found this article fitting since I ate at Mickey D’s today for lunch with the fam…That makes twice in the past week (even though the first time I just had some fries) and I hardly ever eat fast food anymore. 

Here ye! Here ye! I will only give myself 15 times at McDo my whole time here and that includes drunk food…

Anyway, so the big news for the fickle French is McDonald’s is building a restaurant in the underground “mall”, if you will, of the Louvre.  Oh la, la…Quel désastre!

Haha now I am slightly torn between being a flag-waver and wanting to adopt the French way of being outraged yet passive…but it is comical that people are aghast because they now think that Mona Lisa will wear the perfume of a deep-fryer AND that if Ronald walks through the doors it will inevitably lead to the entire degradation of the museum’s artistic, cultural, and historical preservation ambiance….Um what?

It is interesting though that the stats indicate the French consume the most McD’s out of Europeans – to which I can attest since about 1/3 of the population was in line with us at lunch today vying for that succulent Big Mac or for the herbivores out there salad and bag of fruit?…

2 more things real quick: they did have computers inside where you could pre-order (kind of like Sheetz TGO) and then go pay/get your food so you could somewhat avoid the lines – which seems like a cool system to have AND you can either get their normal fries or they sell seasoned potato wedges that are pretty tasty – I think my 3rd visit will be to check out the McFlurry flavs because I remember Ireland had siiiiick choices for those :)

Things I learned Saturday Night

Germans call cell phones – “Handy’s” and they think that it is common knowledge in other countries that people know to what they are referring

Germans think that Americans have no substance behind them…they are all surface-level airheads – a lot of other Europe countries probably agree

Desperados – a beer with tequila mixed in it = disgusting, don’t buy or drink

No matter how nice you are trying to be – don’t let anyone borrow your cell phone…even if a guy is asking you so he can call a taxi for his drunk ‘friend’ who cannot stand up – because they will inevitably walk off with it and leave you feeling very stupid

Celebrate the small victories while you can because you never know how long they will last (ref to: finally getting my cell phone activated and working only to have it stolen 10 hours later)

Germans have one year after high school as a mandatory military service year and then they can go to college. So if you ever meet a German who is in your grade but 1-2 yrs older than you, don’t judge, that is why.

Late night McDonald’s is just as delicious in Paris as it is in the States.

British accents are quite comforting.

I miss Irish accents.