Photodocumentationisme

Alors, I know you're all amazingly interested in knowing about my daily life in more ways than my written accounts, so I thought, why not do a photo journal? Well, actually, I just got a new camera that I'm exceedingly excited about (say that ten times fast)! Anyway, let's start it off with, the most interesting and telling part of my life here in Paris:

MY ROOM!

(Yay!)

Alright, so, first off, my favorite photo in the selection, is the one of my desk.
Mayve you can't see very much very clearly in this reduced sized image, but there are plenty of interesting and telling things on this desk. For example: the full water glass, the empty water bottle (for travel), the endless stacks of books and papers, the picture in the left corner of someone special (hehe), the iTunes open on my computer screen. Yeah. Interesting, right? Maybe not. Ok, moving on then.

My bed:
Sexy right? I was just reading in it, that's why things look a little ruffled. Otherwise they'd be more normal. Notice the sexy lighting, the wall paintings (not my own...my host brother's), and the way it's shoved in a corner (the coldest corner in the house, I swear). I love it.

Next: the dresser!
Yeah, not much. But my entire very sexy wardrobe is in there, so, you know, don't overlook it.

And finally:
The bookshelf I use for miscellaneous items, such as laundry, medications, and whatever. The shirt on the hanger there is drying after being heavily sprayed with Febreeze after being heavily sweated in during my run this morning. Let's not talk about that. But notice all my ties. They are my pride and joy. Really. I love ties. I wish I could wear them more, but I just look out of place if I do. Maybe I will tomorrow though, for no reason. Probably not.

And finally, some pictures of me. Because you know you want to stare into my beautiful eyes. Hehe. Mostly, I just took some really good pictures testing this camera (there are more, but, I thought I should limit myself). And voila:

"C'est quoi, alors?"

"L'écran mystifiant"

Yep. So, that's about it. Now you've seen into the secret, private life that is my personal space. Maybe you saw some dark secret deep in my soul, maybe not....But look, I updated on a Wednesday! For no reason besides procrastinating. Ok, more to come, I hope. Coming soon: the walk to school, the neighborhood, and the Marais! Maybe.

The Everyday, on the other side of the world

So, um, a sort of revolution has happened on Blogger. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but blogger has decided to go over to blogger beta, which in turn means you have to log in with your gmail name, which in turn means...you guessed it! Blogger pages all show up in FRENCH!!! Well, for me anyway. It's interesting, and sort of confusing. I don't know what to do with myself.

So, it's been a good weekend. A good week, I guess. I finished my paper, which is about the biggest accomplishment in about six months for me. It may not sound like much, but considering that I started writing it over three weeks ago and only finished it on Friday, well, let's just say I haven't taken that long to write a paper in ever. Naturally, that accomplishment required a little bit of celebration and a lot-a-bit of reflection on why I am so unproductive. Maybe I should have gone to Oxford, just to have to write something every week. I'm thoroughly convinced that my academism has left. Maybe it's junioritis. You remember that from high school right? The one they never told you about, that came at the most inconvenient time in your h.s. career, and left just in time for senioritis to take it's toll. Yeah, I think I have that. I'm afraid of the quarters ahead.

Anyway, after finishing my paper, I figured it was time to celebrate, to reward myself a little. Everyone else was working on a paper or project or studying for a final or something though, so a night out was not really in the picture. As a result, I spent Friday night relaxing and reading a little bit of David Sedaris, just to get a chance to reflect on my own experiences in Paris. The sad thing is, most of the experiences he describes in Me Talk Pretty One Day are very stark reminders of how banal and quotidien most of the experiences I've been having are. I mean, mine have been interspersed with the occasional crazy night out at The Queen, or the random picnic on the Seine followed the next day by mass at Notre Dame, or watching the fireworks launching behind Sacre Coeur from the base of Montmartre...but still, most of my experience in Paris is about boring things. Avoiding dog shit on my walk from the apartment to the class room, pondering the translation of "Ne mets pas tes mains sur les portes, tu risques de te faire pincer tres fort" as "Keep hands away from door," or hearing the annoyingly high-pitched cry of a passing ambulance, followed immediately by three police cars and their equally high-pitched sirens.

I mean, I guess that's what it comes down to in the end, or am I wrong? I mean, when you really come to love a place, to take it in as a part of you, is it not the minor things that remind you of it. The distinctive scent of the sea that reminds me of Orange County, or the gentle breeze knocking a few brown leaves off of tree-lined boulevards to remind me of Stanford. When a place becomes a part of you, you start to see other places in terms of it. And I have no doubt that when I return, I'll go searching (in earnest, most likely) for the things that remind me of Paris. The Camembert (which is apparently impossible to find in the same quality stateside), the 85 cent baguette (yeah, try finding that at Safeway), the (seriously) familiar scent of dog crap wafting up from the sidewalk (ALERT! Dog poo approaching. Look down!). The day-to-day, the familiar, these are the things I'll remember. I guess that's better.

Which brings me to the distinctly familiar and completely American celebration known as Thanksgiving. French people just don't understand Americans, and I'm pretty sure the confusion goes both ways (myself included). I had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner yesterday (yes, Saturday and NOT Thursday...forgive me oh holy lord of American holidays) with an alumnus of Stanford, his wife, their amazing friends, and a Wellesley student (who was, like myself, randomly invited by the wife, who is of course a Wellesley alumna). That was amazing! Gave me a taste of, I suppose, what Thanksgiving is going to be like once I'm out of college and I or a friend or whoever is preparing the turkey, in the company of numerous friends and gratuitous servings of alcoholic beverages. Essentially, I haven't drinken so much since the summer, but it was paced over an amazing 7-hour celebration, so it was fine. And the food was, well, of course, glorious! Anyway, in the end it made me a little homesick as I realized that I haven't had Thanksgiving at home in over two years, and, well, no stuffing is ever as good as the one your grandma makes. Admit it. I did.

So now I arrive at today, a day spent walking around Paris, counting stores and cars for my "Paris by Numbers" course with Nikki. It was fun, got to see the 19th and 20th, which, while admittedly sketchy compared to the rest of Paris, offer a great deal of low-priced goods and Asian foodstuffs...making them a college student's Paridise! I vow to return at some point. And, I guess I can say I feel accomplished, since I got all of that done, and have begun reading and reflecting on the paper I will eventually (meaning, in like a month or 2) have to turn in for my independent study. After my last experience, it's always good to start early.

Alright, so that's about it. In other news, I've secured an internship working for an architectural research group (I have no idea what that means) next quarter, and my horoscope yesterday told me to go out and buy a new article of clothing (I didn't take it up on its suggestion). Also, Paris is most beautiful when the sun comes out after the rain and a chilling breeze blows through the alleyways.

Anyway, I'm off to bed so I can get up early and go running in the Jardin du Luxembourg, another one of those day-to-day's I'll take home for me (as begin the quest for every possible gravel-covered path I can find on Stanford campus - seriously, gravel is amazing, especially when it soaks up all the rain). I hope everyone else is getting as much excitement from the uninteresting and boring things in their day-to-day routine. And, in conclusion, "Happy Belated Thanksgiving," to quote Ms. Hill.

En ravanche, la vie est belle...

Perhaps you don't understand what that means, but just use babelfish or some other translator, it should get it right on. Or, mostly right on.

Anyway, right now I am blogging instead of working on a paper of which I have written four of "8-10" pages. It's in French, so maybe cut me a little slack? Tomorrow will be my paper writing day. As today was, as Saturday was, as last Wednesday was, as last weekend was...yeah. Call it writer's block. Call it creative difference. I see myself as enjoying Paris, Stanford sees me as getting an education. Blah. I suppose, in the end, it's worth it. Really, I know exactly what the problem with this paper is: it is that I have not had enough time to think about and twiddle at my topic, so now it is far far far too broad and complex to tackle in an 8-10 page version. I suggest, to myself, limiting the debate a little. But I fear it is too late to turn back, seeing as I have already written 4 or 5 pages or so. Whatever.

But why am I talking about a paper when there is so much more that is infinitely more interesting happening in my life?!?!? For example, Chris, Kasey and Jocelyn came to visit this weekend!!! It was so amazing to see them, to recollect days gone by, to find friends who I've known for two years already. Time really flies. It was fun, I hope. Hehe, if you guys are reading this, I hope you enjoyed your time here! Remember how amazing Paris is, and how transformative it has been for me, hehe. The thing that I learned, though, is that I miss old me. I miss the me I was becoming on campus, the me whose development was suddenly interrupted by my shipping myself off to Paris. I suppose it's a good thing, and I know everyone back home will accept the new me just as they accepted the old me (after all, the old me is probably the weirder of the two). It was just interesting to have these external eyes look upon me, and to realize, through their gaze and their observation, that I have changed, just as they have, just as everyone has. It is missing that change that tugs the hardest. But in all honesty, I am most excited to go back and to find everyone in their new states and their new places, and to be young again for a minute, and to bring back to life Californian me. For in reality he's in here somewhere, he's just on standby for a second while Parisian me takes over, if only to not seem out of place.

But yes, the visit was a great time. I think my favorite part was picnicking along the Seine, and having these friends with whom I sort of still noticed the awkward looks, but with whom a part of me didn't care about what Parisians thought (besides, their looks really are looks of envy and not of judgment). And then, Gracimone, my illustrious ex-wife, is now in town. Tonight we saw Borat: [insert exceedingly long subtitle here]. It was, um, interesting. This may irk some people, but I don't think I really liked it, looking back. It was interesting to watch with an audience of Frenchmen, and it was an interesting expose on some of America, mostly parts of it of which I am not proud, like the rodeo man who judges all people with a certain 'look' to be terrorists, and the frat boys (yeah, that suffices). Overall I suppose the point though is to show what is really out there. And I think it's frankly hilarious that some of these people are suing the producers over their portrayal in the film. I mean, that's you, deal with it, you know? Whatever. I still love the U.S.A., but mostly parts of it that were not featured in that film.

All in all, though, it's just not my type of movie. I'm not much in to comedies of all types, and when a film just tries to push the limit of what it can do that's below the belt, well, it doesn't impress me. I see why it's funny and why it's popular, I just don't like it. Not because I'm offended, and not because I don't think this is true - mostly because I don't like that sort of comedy. But, that's just the type of person I am. I like depressing, tear-jearking movies. They're more cathartic for me.

Alright, so, perhaps I should consider working on my paper. I'm going to be up for awhile more anyway, after my 3 hour nap this afternoon. Most important thing I've learned this weekend, however: I LOVE PARIS!!!!! I wouldn't want to have studied anywhere else, in all honesty.

Learning to speak French...in Spain!

Yeah, so, went to Barcelona this weekend. Big trip of the quarter, I suppose (well, big student organized trip of the quarter). Nine of us went, so, you know, quite a big deal. Hehe, it was a ton of fun, I just sort of wish I had had more time and, perhaps, more money. Money for food and museums, especially...both of which were amazing (except for the disappointing-ness of "spicy" sausage and "spicy" potatoes, which were the European definition of spicy...meaning no tat all).

So, as usual, I'm just going to write about what comes to my head. I think the best parts of going to Barcelona was, ironically, the way it helped my language. Let me explain (obviously): as many of you (if not all of you) know, Barcelona is part of the Catalonia region of Spain, which has it's own language - Catalan. And, as per Catalonia's proximity to France, the language is actually pretty close to French, except, like, if you spoke it with a Spanish pronunciation and added a bunch of x's in the place of 'ch'. Anyway, it was sort of fun to read signs and to attempt to sound like I can speak Spanish and/or Catalan, which failed miserably. But, most exciting, was being forced to use English, and to not understand the majority of what was being said and/or done.

You see, in Paris - in France, really - I can understand almost anything, and my language is pretty much at a level where I can handle virtually any situation and provide an answer to almost any question. Unless it's in slang, or l'argot, in which case - well, yeah. But, in Barcelona, there were a great number of tourists. Probably the largest proportion were English speakers, with heavy weight going to the Brits (including English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh), followed closely by French speakers. What was interesting, then, was to see French tourists, and the ways they were thrown into situations in Barcelona. In many cases it became easier to speak French to get an order or a question understood at a restaurant or store, because of all the French tourists. But nonetheless, the most important thing is that it really led me to realize and to understand the everyday - that is, vernacular - quality that defines French. I guess what going to Barcelona and seeing all of the French tourists communicating in their native tongue really did for me was to force me to see that French is more than an academic subject to be studied and practiced vigorously, but that it is a language that a specific group of people in this world feels most comfortable communicating in - that it is a method of communication.

So, Barcelona was amazing. Tons of new memories (always the best part of trips) - "fashion shoots" in the Parc Gaudi and the metro, hiking to our castle-of-a-hostel at the top of the hill, clubs (that are all free and have on entry point) on the top floor of a mall on the site of the old port, the Gaudi Cathedral, etc, etc, and so on...But I think the most important part of this trip was that it took getting out of France, after having been here for so long, to understand how the French language is now more than a subject of study for me, but it is a tool of communication. I'm hoping that means my French skills will get better. We'll see.

Now, I think I'm going to go to bed and try to sleep off this little bit of post-travel illness that I fear is coming on. Ciao!

The problem with Paris is...

So, um, I didn't do anything this weekend. Like, literally. But, it's okay, because, well, I got some homework done. Not the homework I had hoped. But, well, some things. I've done a little research for my paper. I mean, how am I supposed to do work? This city offers far too much. It's times like these I long for a place like the basement of Green or the Law Library where I can just lock myself in the library and forget about how sunny and beautiful it is outside. And about how many museums and amazing buildings and wonderful restaurants and neat cafes there are to explore. Curse you Paris! Hehe.

No, but the real reason I didn't get any work done was just because my will was a little, below normal. One, I think I'm partly sick (it's minor right now, but it might be developing - something is going around all of us Stanfordians). Another reason, though, is that I've had a bit of a debacle to wrestle my way through. I can't really go into detail here, because, well, this is public and I've never been much into broadcasting my life's minor details to anyone who wants to read them. But, suffice it to say I've been doing alot of writing and alot of thinking about that, and it's been good for me. Mind-opening (not eye-opening, MIND-opening). Otherwise I've also done the following: written 11 postcards and letters between yesterday and today (a personal record, and each one of them is extremely unique and, if I do say so, a work of art in its own right); gone to the famed Musee d'Orsay, arguably the most architecturally intriguing museum in Paris (it's an old train station, but I assume you knew that, and the jury's out on whether Orsay or Pompidou are more architecturally, uh, unique); I ran this morning, as per my routine of three runs per week; I showed a couple of friends (Rachel Danford et al) around Paris a little this weekend, mostly on Wednesday, when I took them to the amazing Sacre Coeur; uh, I successfully fashioned a makeshift (read: cheap) dinner for myself tonight after spending 24.50 on dinner and chocolat chaud last night; I wrote a French article on American tourists in Paris on Friday, and transcribed a French interview, both for French class (go figure); and I wrote two one page class summaries of class meetings two and three weeks past. So, in the interest of making myself feel more accomplished, I'd say I had quite a busy and successful weekend! The only things I did not do: get reading done for my PoliSci paper, and get research done for my independent study. Whoops. Oh well, there's tomorrow, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and etc, for that.

Check it: Barcelona next weekend! Who's excited? Wait, uh, hold on, uh, I think that'd be me! Yay! And then after that, Chris, Jocelyn and Kasey come to visit! AHHH!!!! I'm so excited! November is a good month.

Right, well. Happy belated Toussaints (and Halloween), everyone! Look for your letters in a mailbox near you soon.