Vin, Chocolat, and English Conversation, OH MY!!

Bonjour tout le monde! Oh what a crazy last two weeks I have had...very busy, but a good busy. I've been to Paris each of the past two weekends, spent some time with my host family, been running back and forth to St Germain en Laye for my French courses, fallen ill, and haven't had much time to talk with anyone from the States, so don't feel neglected, it's not just YOU!

I'll start with last weekend, since that was more or less where I left off, I think. I started off my Saturday in the 9th arrondissement on a secret mission to collect information for my brother. My mission took me to nearly every park in the neighborhood until I finally found the one (I think) I was looking for. I also walked past various cafés without much luck in finding what I was looking for in a café...however, I did get a good feeling of life in the 9th, so I didn't completely fail my mission, it just remains unfinished for the moment. However, I imagine I will finish it next weekend if I am lucky. Since I knew this mission would take me a little time, I arrived in Paris early enough to see the city awake from its slumber into the buzzing metropolis seen in films. In the afternoon, I met up with a friend to go to the Fête des Vendanges in Montmartre (where one can find the Sacré Coeur and complain about the monstrosity known as the Tour Montparnasse, which sticks out in the skyline like a flag-waving, picture-taking American tourist at the Arc de Triomphe who might as well be wearing a sign saying, "STEAL MY MONEY!"). The Fête des Vendanges is a wine festival that features Montmartre's wine, as well as wines from all regions of France and the rest of the world. We went to the parade, which featured old folk-song singing French men and women and a circus-like act of people climbing on top of each other, making sure to put the little children at the top, so that they get injured the most if something goes wrong and everyone falls. Despite the immense crowd, it was quite an enjoyable experience (or maybe that's just the wine talking...). I ended the day with my friend admiring the Parisian skyline and watching the BEST fireworks display I have ever witnessed. Oh yeah...I almost forgot my favorite part of the day, on the way to Montmartre, when I saw a man walking down the tree-lined median of Boulevard de Clichy (boulevard where one finds the Moulin Rouge surrounded by endless streams of sex shops) who decided he had an absolutely fantastic penis and wanted to show it to the world...still trying to get that one out of my head...For pictures of the Fete, see below...

Sunday I spent at home, relaxing, playing with the kids, and trying to get the disturbing images out of my head. Sunday evening was the inaugural english conversation night in Bazemont with many of the adolescents from the village, which was a grand success. It's neat to be able to share something of my culture/life with the French and try to give back some of what they are giving me...and it's also fun to try and figure out what the heck they are saying. Although it may be perfectly formed English, it's not always decipherable through the thick accents. Anyway, I will be continuing these conversation nights every other Sunday evening (except for 2 in a row last week and this week) after the school vacation which begins next weekend. We'll be staying here for the vacation, but we are going to the "Cirque de Plume", which should be interesting.

I was in Paris again yesterday, this time to attend the Salon du Chocolat with a friend. As you can probably guess, this is an exposition devoted entirely (well, almost entirely...) to chocolate. I say almost entirely because they had a stage where there were various dances from around the world (including a capoeira demonstration!) that had absolutely nothing to do with chocolate. For those of you who don't know, capoeira is a Brazilian dance/martial art...for a demonstration, I will refer you to my brother, who can actually do some of these things without pulling a muscle (unlike me). Anyway, the chocolate was absolutely fantastic and I managed to escape after all the free tastings without a stomachache, which I thought was an accomplishment in itself. They also had different items made out of chocolate: a violin, a flute, clothing that they put on mannequins, etc...pictures will be coming soon...Afterwards, I went with my friend to a neat little bookstore near Notre Dame, where I wandered through the labyrinth of shelves while admiring the beauty of a layout that made absolultely no sense. Tonight I'll be leading another English conversation evening before starting another week full of the "normal stuff." Stay tuned for pictures...

Fete Des Vendanges- Montmartre

An enjoyable weekend...

Well before this weekend it seemed as though nothing too exciting had happened, other than starting classes last week. However, this weekend provided a few opportunities that I really enjoyed. On Friday, I received a call from a friend who lives in the village here to go oout with him and one of his friends, which I of course accepted. It was really nice, we went out in small city of Poissy, which is about 20 minutes from Bazemont. Not only was I able to drink my favorite beer (Paulaner for those of you who want to buy me some for my birthday, christmas, or just because you love me), but I enjoyed some very interesting conversation about the differences between France and the US, particularly in terms of the health care reform. I have been talking to a lot of people lately about the health care reform, since the major US news is also big news over here. People here have a difficult time understanding why Americans are so opposed to the reform, so I try to explain what I know, but they nearly always end up frustrated. And, I can't say that I blame them...Either way, I really enjoyed hanging out with the locals and really feeling like a part of France.

Sunday was the best, and most interesting, day of the weekend because I went to see Laurent's (the dad) show! It was magnificent!! Although it's difficult to describe the show itself, my best effort would say it's a mixture of classical and modern music with comedy. The transitions between the classical and modern music are absolutely incredible, as the group essentially has picked rhythms and melodies from classical music that are used in modern music and smoothly transitions from a piece by Bach to something by Michael Jackson, for example. The group, known officially as "Le Quatuor" basically invented the idea of this type of show, as nothing like it (at least in Europe) existed before the creation of this group. This year, they are celebrating 20 years together!! To put that in perspective, just think of how many popular artists have lasted 20 years...and then think about how many artists remain relevant for that period of time. Not very many...and those that have lasted that long are considered among the greatest artists we have ever known. Every detail of this show is genius at work...I know I'm doing an awful job of describing the show itself, but considering I've never seen anything like it and very few groups like this one exist, it's quite a difficult task. However, here's a link if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2tZm3OiO_E&hl=fr This particular clip is, as the title indicates, an excerpt from the segment they call "The Music Professor" and I think it does a fairly good job of illustrating some of the more appealing parts of the ideas behind this group.

Of course, these types of shows have to take place somewhere, and even the venue was incredible. When they play in Paris, the shows take place at the Théâtre des Variétés, one of many little Parisian venues that has an incredible charm and coziness built into its walls. You can see the theatre on its website: http://www.theatre-des-varietes.fr/ just click on "le théâtre en images" or google it and look at the images. We also had the chance to go backstage, since we knew one of the artists. That was a very neat experience as well. Each performer gets essentially an apartment, complete with sofa, bed, showers, toilets, etc. A person could really live there if they wanted to! Plus, it's kind of neat to see a familiar person's name and photo at the entrance of the apartment with a sign that says (in French of course) "Laurent Vercambre's Dressing Room." I don't know exactly how to explain the place, but it is full of plush reds and warm golds and has the feeling of a living room almost (although it's a huge living room with a bunch of seats). We also were able to see the room that shows all the famous people who have played, acted, etc in the theatre and that was incredibly neat. Next weekend is my weekend with the boys and the weekend after I plan on going back to Paris for some sightseeing and friend-seeing. For now, that's the news from across the pond...I'll post some pictures of the house as soon as I finish taking them.

Recent Happenings and Future Plans

Well I thought it was about time for an update, even if I don't have anything in particular to discuss at length. Things are settling into a nice rhythm now, so I'm very happy about that, it makes the days a little better when I know exactly what is going on. The kids' activities and school are in full-swing. They both play tennis (as I think I hinted in an earlier post), Jorge(9) started hip-hop classes this week (both that and tennis on Mondays) and he also has swimming and guitar on Tuesdays, so the beginning of the week is very busy for him. Eddy isn't doing as many activities, but he has ping pong (they have ping-pong competitions here, it's pretty intense) on Tuesdays and tennis on Fridays, so they both stay fairly busy between activities and homework. I started my french classes today, which was actually mildly disappointing because my teacher is Greek. My host parents were also surprised and told me that if it's not good for me, then we can try to figure something else out. Personally, I think it will be alright because I am fairly sure I will be switching courses soon to a French professor (or at least I hope so!). The courses are always nice though for expanding vocabulary and just reinforcing things I already know. The courses are 3 times a week (Mon, Tues, Thurs) for 2 hours each time. I don't think that will be too overwhelming, although our professor did say today that he expects us to work on homework for 4 hours/week, which I think was about my workload in college...anyway, I like the structure.

I know of a few happenings in the foreseeable future and I'll share those to get up some excitement about blog postings for these events: we have a birthday party (about the 3rd or 4th since I've been here!!) on Saturday at one of the neighbors and those are always fun because it's a good opportunity to use my french and meet people, etc. Sunday we are going to the Dad's show, which opens tomorrow in Paris!! I am really looking forward to going there, first of all because it's in Paris and secondly because I think it will be a unique experience. Anyway, the whole family will be going there...and the next weekend the Mom is in Nantes for the weekend, so I get a weekend with the kids and I am actually really looking forward to that!! (don't choke on your food if you're eating...I know it's surprising) I think it will be a nice opportunity to grow closer with them and just goof around and pretend like I'm a little kid again :) Probably the biggest news in the foreseeable future is my plan to go to Amsterdam with a few Colombians. Although we haven't set a date yet, it sounds like it is going to happen for sure and that will be a lot of fun, especially because we are going to spend a day in Bruges (Belgium), a place I have wanted to visit for awhile now!

I almost forgot about the music festival I attended on Saturday! It took place in Maule, a town just 10 minutes away, which is a fairly small town (6,000 inhabitants), but they did a great job of bringing some interesting acts to the festival. I went with the family on Saturday night and we saw 3 acts, the most interesting of which I think would have to be the African big-band group, which brought a lot of energy and a different vibe. I also met a great couple who live on the outskirts of Paris, with whom I exchanged information and now I have another place to stay in Paris and people to hang out with when I go there, so that's pretty exciting as well! Unfortunately, I was allergic to some sort of grass there or something because I had a little bit of difficulty breathing and therefore sleeping that night, but it was still worth it!

Well that's it for now from this side of the pond...comments, suggestions, and snide remarks are always welcome!

Photos-Eddy & Jorge, Laurent's Birthday, Trip to Countryside

GREAT NEWS!!

I found an English translation of the book I was talking about for any of you who might be interested: http://www.amazon.com/Could-Almost-Eat-Outside-Appreciation/dp/0312203640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253278756&sr=1-1 The title in English is: "We Could Almost Eat Outside: An Appreciation of Life's Little Pleasures...it might be hard to find outside of Amazon, I'm not sure...but I definitely recommend reading the book, you will love it! That's it for now...wanted to share my excitement with everyone!

Just another Wednesday...not

Well I've realized that if I don't write immediately about the little things in France that I have enjoyed, I won't write about them at all. Therefore, I am writing now about last night, which was a quite fun experience. For those of you who don't know, I am the 3rd au pair my family has had. The previous two have both been Colombian, as the family wanted someone from South America, since that is where the kids are from. Anyway, one of previous au pairs' parents are in Paris now visiting their daughter who is also an au pair outside of Paris. So, my host family invited the parents and daughter to dinner last night. 2 immediate observations: (1) I have lost at least half of my Spanish (2) It is incredible to have not one, but 2 different cultural backgrounds in the same room at once and for an extended period of time. My host mother went all out making appetizers and a wonderful dinner and dessert. And although the cuisine was great, that was nothing new. The highlight of the evening was just sitting and talking (in 3 different languages, no less) with my host family and the Colombian parents and daughter. I had a great conversation with the father about the situation in Colombia with the drug trafficking (sp?) and to hear his views on Chavez and the Venezuelan situation, which were surprisingly similar to my views on the situation. It was nice to revisit Colombia a bit, since I had studied it in depth in one of my spanish courses in college and also just to hear the various perspectives. It was also neat to meet someone who is doing the same thing I am doing and who lives near Paris as well, although since there is a big Colombian contingent in Paris, I think they generally do things with one another. Nonetheless, we talked about Prague and I am now set on going there no matter what, so hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later. Anyway, these cultural exchanges are just one great part of living in France and I feel very fortunate to be able to meet and talk with such interesting people. Sorry if this post seems rather disorganized, I wrote it in a hurry and without much thought...that's it for now though!