Excursions

Yesterday morning, Steph and I joined Carmel on a half-day trip to the Jewish Quarter of Paris, located in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of the city. It was about a 20-minute walk away, flanked on either side by the Hotel de Ville and the Bastille (which I have yet to see). It was a hidden treasure, really. I don't think that I would have ever thought to go there without the suggestion of my friends who were interested in going because of their backgrounds. It was a very quiet, clean area with beautiful buildings that reminded me a little bit of old Prague, actually. All the windows had cast-iron balcony gates and colorful flower-boxes. We finally stumbled upon the Museum of Jewish Art and History which located in the most beautiful old stone building with a cobblestone courtyard. It used to be a sort of shopping area with lots of stores owned by Jewish families.

On the left is a picture of the courtyard and a contemporary statue of a soldier that was in the center.

The museum itself was wonderful although the exhibits were placed in a strange order with stairs and rooms in a confusing layout. Some of the exhibits were about the Holocaust but a lot of them were just about Judaism in Europe, presented in a way that I hadn't yet encountered in a museum. What was particularly interesting is that because Judaism isn't particularly prevalent in Paris, the museum provided posters and boards in the displays that explained every last bit of Jewish tradition, things that people in the United States would understand just because we learn about it growing up.

Later in the day, after class, Steph and I decided we were going to stay in and cook dinner. We made a DELICIOUS pasta (props to Steph) with a sauce made of oil, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach, with a side of garlic bread. All topped with white wine WHICH WE BOUGHT. I'm just kidding, not that exciting. Just weird to think that we can't do that in the United States. Some of our friends, other girls from the down the hall in the Wellesley-in-Aix program brought their food and joined us for a grand old time and a 3-hour dinner of conversation and laughing which probably my favorite dinner so far in Paris. A picture of the lovely ladies (minus Claire and myself):

Today, we got to go on a ride on a bateau-mouche, one of the long flat tourist boats that goes up and down the Seine and shows off some of Paris' landmarks. IT. WAS. AMAZING. Not only was it wonderfully cool outside, but the views were absolutely priceless. Among the things we saw were the oldest house in Paris, the smallest house in Paris, the Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Musée d'Orsay. The first picture is from the program director, Professor Lydgate from the Wellesley College French Department. (I'm in the front row of the picture of us in the bateau mouche, wearing a pashmina) The second one of the Eiffel Tower is from the bateau mouche from my camera.

I also realized two things today:

1. I am absolutely terrified of "going out", like clubbing, going to get drinks at a bar, etc. I think I'm more afraid of trying to get along with young French people my age than with old people.

2. Trying to live in a place where I'm not perfectly fluent in a language makes me feel like there is something fundamentally wrong with me that makes it difficult to function.

My French is holding up pretty well. I especially feel the improvement over long dinners when I can feel that I've improved because I find that I'm able to talk about everyday gossip, etc. in a fluid way just like I would in English. My accent isn't too bad. But I think it will be a while before that little rush of nervousness I feel before I open my mouth to say anything dissipates. Before ordering food, asking someone a question...I get a little nervous. All part of the learning process, I guess.

Along the Southern bank of the Seine, there are tons of stands of books. This afternoon, I decided to buy a couple books from one of the book vendors, an old man with white hair and a knit sweater smoking what looked like a hand-rolled cigarette and we had a little conversation and he recommended a romantic book to me, so now I have two reading projects. I guess I might read tonight :)