Well this has been an interesting week. We finally wrapped up our orientation period today and we are starting Sarah Lawrence classes next week. I finally settled on a politics class on Immigration in France. Reasons being, A: with experiences with the art history teacher on our tours, although i'm sure she's a wonderful teacher and person, I just wasn't really digging the art history thing. Her specialty wasn't on a period I'm particularly interested in and it seemed like a lot of sitting in a dark room with a projector looking at slides, which isn't something I'm looking for. However, this immigration class seems to fit for several reasons. A: Immigration is a very pertinant issue in both France and USA, so I feel like I should be well educated in that subject. B: the way the class is set up, I think that it will incorporate well with the philosophy and literature courses I've taken at SLC already and, hopefully, frame those ideas and theories in a practical context. First class is tomorrow! Will report on that class next week.
However, during this orientation period we have been having french classes. Our teacher is very french, and very awesome. She gave an example on how to use articles while at the same time telling us the best way to make a good fish soup. It was incredible. On Wednesday she took us to a french open air market, which are everywhere, and had us look around and watch french people in action. It was interesting to watch her interact with the vendors. I don't know if this because i'm american of just because I have amisconstrued sense of manners, but if i'm at an open air market like that, I don't like to talk to the vendors because it seems that I'm just being rude to talk to them when i'm not actually going to buy anything. however, Mme Bendelien would talk to the vendors and taste things and then go on her way. the vendors didn't seem to have a problem with that! In fact, they all really like her at the markets that she goes to.
Cultural lessons aside, this market was awesome! There was one like it in Provence too (Pictures soon! there are some up from my Provence trip now, but there are more coming!) and they are just really cool places. Sights, smells, sounds, tastes. There are things from all over France. Produce is really cheap there too. you can buy a good amount of fresh peaches for perhaps a little over a euro, and the ones I had were AMAZING. You know, that perfect consistency where it's not too soft when you hold it, but then when you bite into it the juices just explode in your mouth? Amazing.
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This past Saturday was a really cool experience. We went to the Grand Opèra Garnier to see three ballets by Roland Petit. First of all, the Opèra Garnier is one of my favorite buildings in Paris. It's an architectural master piece and it's so gorgeous. We had gone on a tour the day before and had some of the things explianed to us, however, this tour was probably one of my most unpleasant experiences of my trip so far.
Well, I should preface this by saying that I am extremely grateful because we got an ALL ACCESS TOUR. The parts that were focused on the building were super cool because we got to see all the parts that most tourists don't get to see. You know the lake below the opera house, where the phantom is supposed to live? Saw it. We also got to see the old fly system (I took pictures, Teri) and we also got to go on the stage!! Really cool!
However, those things took up about 2 and a half hours MAX. We were there for at least 4 hours. The other parts of it were spent in dark ugly rooms in the opera library listening to a guy show us drawings from the ballets that this person had done in the past.
Ok, I also realize that this was really cool because we were looking at ORIGINAL sketches from the choreographer for the ballets we were seeing the next day. However, my primary interest was the building and all 17 of us were crammed into a tiny little room with no seating for at least an hour with this person. It was just not a good mix. Then we went to listen to a guy who I think is some cultural official for dance, I don't really remember, and he basically gave us a lecture. At that point in the day I had basically given up. He was speaking in french so quickly and so softly his voice just sounded like a gentle hum in my ear. I honestly barely remember a thing. It was just a bad execution of a really cool idea.
BUT
the Ballet the next day made up completly for the day before. The first piece was called Le Rendez-Vous and it was quite strange. It was very charactureish and I got a sense of Commedia delle arte (sorry if I horribly misspelled that) from it. It was very architypical. The second piece was called Le Loup or The Wolf. the story was that a man cheats on his wife with a gypsy and in order so that his wife won't find out, the gypsies make a wolf and turn him into a man and he goes back to the first man's wife as a ruse so he can go off and make sexy time with his gypsy mistress. However, with their time together, the wolf man and the wife fall in live, despite him being a wolf creature. But then all the humans become rather upset and chase them through the forest and eventually corner the girl and the wolf man. As they are about to kill the wolf she jumps into the way of the spear and is killed along side her love. Very beautiful and really well done, but it both of the first dances pale in comparison to L'homme et Mort
this piece translates to Man and Death. There are only two people in this ballet. The first section is a long, difficult solo pieces with the man dancing. There was a sense of longing, and despair in his movements. then a woman enters and they do a very sensous duet. then the woman prepares a noose and leaves. The man hangs himself and then there is an amazing scene change and then we see him walking off with the woman. The whole piece was done to Bach music and it just beautifully works together. Absolutely wonderful.
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Mentioning food earlier reminds me of another change that's been going on. I'm cooking for myself a lot more. Mainly our of necessity, but it's fun! It's fun to try new things. Like, for instance, I made hoppin' johns (a very nice beans and rice dish) with tomatoes mixed in with the beans the other day and it was quite lovely. I'm exploring all the ways I can combine tabouleh, lettuce, and other leftovers I happen to have. Fight now, after cooking a small dinner for myself (at 11 at night, oh how European I am!) I have a huge tupperware of pasta left over that I'll have to do something with...hmmm the mind begins to turn. Also I have a bag of potatoes that is just sitting in my closet waiting to be used for something.
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Something I've noticed living here is that I love walking here. It's possibly the best walking city because no matter where you go there is always something interesting. For example, and this is an extreme example but if i hadn't been walking I never would have seen it, one day I was walking back to the big train station from the Opèra and I basically stumbled upon a string orchestra playing in the middle of this plaza. They were't phenomenal, but they were really good, and you could tell that they were having a really great time playing for everyone. Earlier in that same plaza, when I was walking to the Opèra, we walked what seemed to be a gathering of deaf people who all spoke sign language. It was like a sign language party. It was really interesting to be surrounded by a language withing a language, both of which were foreign to me.
Walking also helps my navigation skills. I've developed a really good sense of the streets because I've walked a good deal of them by now. There are still tons more left to explore, but I've fairly throughly explored my main territories. I also can read a map very well now.
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Well everyone, getting late again. I'm not sure why I save these entries until the wee hours of the morning, but it's pushing 2 here and I have class tomorrow. So bon soirée to you all and I will see you next week!
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