Chapter 4: In the beginning...

Well, I finally made it.

my last few days in the US were wonderful. On Sunday night, we had a party for myself and my little sister who turned 16. It was really nice and it was a great send off. Then I got on the train for about 12 hours or so and then arrived in NYC for a few days. It was great to see all of my SLC friends one last time before I left for the whole year. Then Wednesday was the big day.  Got there and through security just in time. No sooner had I approached my gate then they started calling out the boarding. Then, after watching date night, an episode of How I Met Your Mother, and the beginnings of both The Ghostwriter and Wolfman, I arrived at Charles de Gaulle at 7:30 in the morning, Paris time.

and what a first few days it's been.

I arrived to my room and immediately released my luggage upon it.

It's about twice the size of my last room and the view from my window over looks a garden out back!

After I got unpacked, sort of, I walked around the 14th district where I live. It's really nice. Quiet, but it's close to places that aren't so quiet(aka the Latin quarter!) I found a boulangerie and bought this really awesome sandwich. it had ham, sundried tomatoes, and I think dates or some kind or sweet raisin-esque type thing. It was really quite good so with baguette in hand, I strolled lazily along the Parisian streets.  Walking along the streets of Paris is different than any other city because there are always beautiful things or people to notice and appreciate. It truly is a city of beauty.

Now, before I tell an interesting anecdote, some relevant background information is needed.

relevant interlude
One of the things I read about in my French culture guide, French or Foe is something that the author calls "the look." It's when you're walking down the street and you catch the eye of a beautiful member of what ever sex you're attracted to and you have that 3 second fiery romance as you pass by each other. I read about it, and sure enough, women here often return a gaze, and when they do it is like nothing else. And I still have a memory of each girl that I've shared this moment with. It's all in the eyes. However, with great power comes great responsibility...

when last we left our hero...
I was walking back to my room from where ever it was I had decided to turn around on my walk, when I passed by, what I guess was a school. I couldn't' tell what kind of school it was, but there were some attractive girls standing around so I decided to practice "the look." as I passed by a group of these students, I flashed them a glance, then kept walking. The entire group went quiet and stared at me. I walked on, super proud of myself that I had stunned an entire group of girls into silence. suddenly I hear cries of "HEY SEXY! SEXY!" Now I'm feeling pretty proud of myself, naturally,  but I played it cool and kept on walking. Then I hear the clicking of heels behind me. I turn around and I've been cornered by three french girls. they start talking to me and asking me if I had a girl friend and how old I was. "I'm 20 I said" and then, in a stern tone, I asked them how old they were. there was a pause. "oh..18, Yeah. 18 we're 18" "Vraiment?" aka: Bullshit. My guess was they were 17 at the oldest and possibly in middle school at the youngest. nonetheless, I was plesant with them and eventually went on my way, feeling incredibly flattered. but let this be a lesson for you all : Have fun, but be careful where you use the look.

On a better note, later that evening in my dorm there was a group of appropriately aged girls standing around, and I stunned them into silence as well. Victory is mine.

well, enough of that.

On Saturday I got lost for my first time. I was walking to try to find Reid Hall, the building where I'll be taking my Sarah Lawrence classes. I google-mapped it and everything before I left, but since I don't have a printer, I was going by my memory of the computer screen, and after a certain point, I couldn't remember which way to turn. I must have walked around Ried Hall at least two or three times before I finally found it. It's a nice building and while I was there I had one of my first French victories. I spoke to the Sarah Lawrence people there entirely in French! Like for a long time, and it was an actual conversation! Those summer classes really paid off.

Later that night I went out with my friend Katherine and her friends Lucy and Matt and we went to a couple of cool clubs, ate some great food, and met some locals! Fun times.

Saturday was my sight seeing day. I took the train to Notre Dame and went inside there for a while. I think Notre Dame is my favorite Parisian place. even though it's a huge tourist attraction, it somehow maintains it's mystique and reverence. When i'm at Notre Dame, I'm beyond being in a church, I'm in a holy place. A church is simply a reminder of a organized structure that has been imposing its will on others with violence and  misimformation. Notre Dame, however, is a place of god. When I'm there I forget about the holy wars, the crazy zealots, and the corrupt system. I just know that that building was created so that people could all come together to share what they perceived at the time to be god's love. And perhaps because it's open to the public, the building itself has maintained an certain aura of openness. Even though it is a catholic church, there just seems to be a space for others there as well. While I was there, I went to the shrine of Saint George. Not being well versed in Saintly lore, I don't know what Saint George is the patron saint of, but because of the story of the dragon I have always associated him with courage. so while I was inside this great hall of worship, at a place dedicated for courage, I prayed. I'm not even sure who I was praying to. Perhaps I was praying to myself, that I could rise up against the dragons and other demons that have haunted me over the years and finally slay them. After my prayer, I payed an offering and lit a candle, a symbol of the light I needed. I hope to make some kind of routine out of this, my own little spiritual time. and what place is better to do this than Notre Dame?

I walked around the hall a few more times, taking pictures of the stained glass with my camera (link to photo album at the end!) and then I walked out into the bright sunlight.

And I mean bright. Right before I left the US, I broke the awesome pair of Faux-Banns I bought at the beach on the cheap, and had yet to replace them. Luckily, Notre Dame is a touristy area so there were beaucoup de magazins where I could buy des lunettes du soleil. Blue Faux Banns! Awesome! now for the rest of my walk.

I start off on the south bank of the river headed went toward the other main monuments, and I walked by all of the old book vendors and art sellers on the shore. I definitely want to go back and browse some more when I have a better sense of my budget and expenses.

From there I walked all the way to the place du concord, then up l'avenue de Champs Elysees to l'Arc de Triomphe. It must have been some special day because under the Arc, there were a bunch of important looking people and a large band playing the french national anthem. Perhaps an ambassador visiting? It was just a very cool thing to hear.

But I walked on. I walked down one of the streets of the Étoile (the large traffic circle the goes around the Arch and shoots in many different directions. On a map it looks like a large star, so they call it the Étoile, the french word for star) back south towards the river. once I got to the avenue of president Herbert Hoover (yes, they have streets named after OUR presidents.) I turned right onto it towards the Trocadero, building with a huge plateau and water feature in front of the Eiffel Tower. la Tour Eiffel is always impressing. I still have yet to go up inside it, but I will at some point.

But after walking all of that way, I was incredibly tired. I found the nearest train station, zipped back home, changed clothes for dinner, went to a lovely restaurant, had one of the finest meals I've ever tasted, then went back and went to bed...

almost

on my way back from dinner, I ran into a bunch of people from California that are staying in my dorm. They were all about to go out for the night, so I joined them. We went out to this pretty cool bar called The Panic Room. the main reason I had a good time, or rather that I learned from the experience, was that I got to how bar interaction, and meeting and talking to people there works. Little ol' nice guy, home-schooled, southern boy me hasn't set foot into an actual bar in his life. But now, suddenly there's no drinking age and the sky's the limit! I was a bit of a wall flower that night however, I feel like I learned something, which is all anyone can ask for. One of my dragons this year is shyness. Now I am simply gaining the armor and swords with which to defeat it.

And that brings us to Sunday, which has been an incredibly lazy day. With the exception of the fact that I found a practice room! the piano is kinda sucky, but it's better than nothing and I discovered my own Dr. John style blues lick today! I'm definitely getting better at this whole blues thing. There's a blues club near by, perhaps I could make a go at playing there sometime?


Photos of my escapades can be found here or just look on my facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=511683139#!/album.php?aid=280554&id=511683139


next week marks the beginning of orientation and the gathering together of all the SLC  Paris students!

abreebareeebareeebareebareeeba that's all folks!

See you next week.