Monday, April 13th

I thought I would shed some light on what it is like to live in Paris.

Today, most of the stores were closed and we had no class, but on Good Friday I had class, and on Easter many stores were open. Monday is just the special day off.

Instead of my usual granola and peanut butter, here I eat corn flakes and toast with jam for breakfast. Maybe caramel flavored tea. Unusually high sugar level for me. I take the metro to class in the Latin Quarter, at the Alliance Francaise. There is a whole social etiquette on the train. People glance at each other, no smile, as sort of a who are you, but not actual recognition. The glance is always just a moment, just run your eyes over the whole train to see who is there. The stations are usually not announced, but the stops on the line are listed like in Chicago. I transfer once, or I walk from that station. My French class is four hours long, and I am the only American usually. I am not sure if I wrote about this, but there are Chinese, Japanese, German, English, Venezuelan, and Finnish students. Not everyone speaks English, so French is our unifying language. The other day, I was working in a group and realized that we were using four different dictionaries. During the break, my Chinese friend gives me newspapers and I explain the articles to my Japanese friend. After class, I might meet up with some friends, and get lunch, usually at this little health food store with vegan take-away things across the street. Some days there is a market down the road from my school. In the evening, I have dinner with my French family, where there is always a baguette, some cold vegetable dish to start, and the hot vegetable dish, then fruit and cheese for dessert.

On Saturday I went to the Orangerie, near the Garden of Tuileries, to see some of Monet's water lily paintings. There were two large, oval rooms, and the walls were covered with the paintings. You are surrounded by color. It was beautiful. I sat there, just staring; they are of the same pond at different times of day, attempts at capturing light and movement.

I sit in the park often. There is a gorgeous one near my apartment, with flowers, trees, lawns and ponds. It is designed to have different "rooms" with different flower arrangements. There is a rose garden, and a vegetable garden where the local kids help. On the weekends and in the late afternoon, the garden is full of children playing, student groups meeting, and people reading on benches or under trees. I go there to read often, or just to walk.