we've had quite a bit of action here in paris in the last several weeks. i am continuing to practice my french and take classes at the alliance francaise. sometimes frustrating, sometimes liberating, but i'm getting stronger with the language every day. yesterday i was mumbling to myself and realized i was mumbling in french! it's really starting to sink in. i've even received some nice compliments from people i'm meeting that my french is pretty good for only having studied for six weeks or so. that's always encouraging. but then of course, i run into people who, the moment i open my mouth and they hear an english accent and my poor grammar, tell me it would just be easier for both of us if we speak english.
kathryn, natalie and i have moved from the tiny 300 square foot one bedroom apartment in the 10th to an 900 square foot three level (two bedroom!) house in the 19th. the neighborhood is nothing to look at and a little rough (think venice, california in the 80's) but the house is very nice, open and airy and has a courtyard that tyrone and lenny like to explore. it almost feels like we are in the country when in the house. we are all very happy here. we have a contract for the summer but hope that the owner (who we all like very much) will be away longer. her name is assia and she is a travel writer.
i am continuing to look for work, which is quite a task here, especially in the field of architecture and design. kathryn has graciously translated my resume into french, so i am more confident in sending it out. i am also accepting every invitation for social events. i am meeting people in my french class and through meetup.com.
on june 21st all of france celebrates the summer solstice with "fete de la musique". musicians of all kinds set up in every neighborhood and just play all night long. i went with a friend from french class, milly, and her french boyfriend emanuel. we were in the st. michel area and it was crazy! thousands of people milling about the streets, breakdancers, capoeira dancers (the dance/athletic movement from brazil), people selling miscellaneous things and general mayhem. the sun finally set around 11:00 p.m. it was great! (the photo above was shot just a week or so ago of the seine. i was going home from a meetup event and it was about 10:30 p.m.).
paris celebrated bastille day on july 14th with a very (very!) rained-on parade that we watched online. it was thundering, lighting and even hailing. that evening i went to a dinner party at another friend's place (karla, also from the alliance who lives with her french boyfriend axel). there were six of us altogether and i did as best i could with my broken french. they were all very encouraging (and of course when the french say they speak just a little english they are really quite fluent). around 10:00 p.m. we headed out to join the thousands of people around the eiffel tower to watch the fireworks (the rain had finally cleared up). this is the only place in the city where they shoot fireworks, and boy do the french know how to put on a show. we were quite far from the center of the action, and yet it was magnificent! getting home on the metro was a challenge because of the number of people, but all was well. not much different than trying to get out of the parking lot after a concert at the greek theater.
just a few nights ago, i was in bed, kathryn was just getting out of the shower and natalie was downstairs on the computer. all was good in the world. then kathryn and i heard natalie start to squeal. we both ran downstairs, not knowing what was happening to find that tyrone had found a mouse in the house and was playing with it (the mouse would have a different point of view). yelling, arm waving and squealing ensued from all three of us (and a little from the mouse). i had the most experience with tyrone and live creatures that don't belong in the house (as, after all, he is my cat), so i tried to trap the mouse with the broom. but the little vermin was too quick and ran under the stairs to hide. with trepidation we went to sleep that night.
no sign of the mouse for a day or two. then last night almost the same scenario occured. kathryn and i ran downstairs. i grabbed the broom. kathryn moved stuff out of the way. natalie opened the door. with military precision the mouse was swept out of the house, door locked, yay! we were saved! back upstairs, relieved. not ten minutes later, natalie gave out her warning cry yet again! another mouse! we formed our brigade and again, the troops saved the day (and the mouse!). tyrone is now looking for his third catch. we hope he never finds it.
we are all taking advantage of being in paris and the fact that all three of us have dual passports (kathryn: austria, natalie: france, me: hungary) so we can travel very easily. we will be visiting london in a couple of weeks and then off to lithuania mid-august. this intrepid traveler will keep you posted.
