Joyeuses Pacques!

Happy Easter all! (it's technically Easter Monday here already, but I wrote this post earlier today by hand while sitting in front of Notre Dame and people/tourist watching) I missed the big mass at Notre Dame, but there are plenty of people lingering and there's a giant screen next to the cathedral. There were also free hug people, but I think they got chased away by the police.

So. Easter in Paris - kids dressed in their best spring clothes (even though it's still cold enough for a peacoat), a full house this morning at church, and colored eggs at the Bastille market. To be honest, other than that it seems like a pretty typical Sunday in Paris.

I'm not actually surprised though. In French, there's a term, laïcité, which can only be roughly translated to the separation of Church and State in the public sphere. The closest word in English is secularism, and even that's not quite accurate. With laïcité, in 1905 a law was enacted to separate the two entities, and in the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, one of the key descriptions of France as a nation is laïque. Needless to say, there aren't any big Easter sales, or signs in front of stores celebrating the holiday around Paris. There are Easter chocolates and of course Easter egg hunts, but other than that most of the celebrations remain inside the church.

Although this idea of laïcité has been around since the French Revolution, there are still certain inconsistencies/holes with the concept. The big one to come to mind is that tomorrow/today is Easter Monday, and it's a holiday (at least for Paris). I have a day off, and so do most of my friends. Ascension is also a holiday in May. For a country claiming to be laïque, why are the spring holidays religious?

This question of laicite is particularly interesting to me because I'm interning at a Catholic children's rights organization - I wonder if the organization is looked at differently because it is religious. For my research paper this semester, I'm planning on tackling this subject. Despite having a four day weekend, I chose to stay in Paris because I wanted to see the city during a major holiday (and I was sick again but that's not as important).

So I write this post with a question for you all. In the past few years, there have been several debates, conflicts and controversies related to laïcité, particularly with the wearing of religious symbols (most recently, a woman lost her licensing at the Creche Baby Loup because she wore a veil while working). My question is, what defines the public sphere? Not just in France, but all over the world. Does it change from country to country?

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject - comment here, email, FB, whatever works (besides phone unless you're in France). Thanks guys!

Dana    

Confidence (For You I Will)

Mes cheries,

So these past couple of days I’ve been trying to think about a new blog topic, and it’s been strangely difficult. Sure, I’ve been busy, but nothing seemed important enough to post on the internet. But then today I realized that I’ve had nothing to write about because everything that was once so foreign and different to me has become somewhat normal. Sometimes I actually feel like a French “native” (that’s what my mom calls them), just with a limited vocabulary and a foreign accent.  

Take today. My mom essentially sent me on a scavenger hunt to pick up a book from her friend’s coworker at an office 30 minutes away from my own, and I ended up getting caught in rush hour traffic on line 1 (word of advice: don’t do that.). When before I probably would’ve “shoved” some people for some personal space, I just found my little space and listened to my iPod as the woman next to me blatantly picked her nose and another woman’s chest was pushing onto my arm and I couldn’t move. 

After bearing through this cramped metro ride, I went and finally got my hair cut. I had been really nervous about getting my hair cut by someone who doesn’t speak English, mostly in fear of not being able to fully explain how I want my hair to look, but then today I realized I didn’t even know what I wanted for my hair, besides it being shorter. As my classmate accurately described it, I just had to bite the bullet and get my hair cut in French. I’m happy to say that my hairdresser, Marie, was super accommodating of my limited knowledge of hairdressing terms and that I like the cut. All it really took was some confidence in my ability to speak French and it worked out well. 

While these aren’t particularly exciting things, these are things that I have to do. I’m not on vacation, and daily tasks don’t just go away once you go abroad. I’m reaching a point where I know where to go and what I’m doing. Paris is really becoming a second (or third, after W&M) home for me. 

And while this is awesome and a huge step for me, I then realize that in two months from now, my program will be over, my brother will be in the country, and I’ll be back to being an American tourist obnoxiously speaking English all the time (well let’s be honest I never really lost that last title to start). Two months seem like a while from now, but at the same time, these past two months just flew by. On the bright side, that means two more months until I see my friends and family again. Skype is great and all, but I can’t wait to see these people in person, because these are the people who have gotten me through my rough days and celebrated my little victories with me. 

So to those people I’ve Skyped with, thank you for everything. For those I haven’t talked to yet, I still have two months here! We’ll chat soon.

Dana

P.S. please say someone got the Teddy Geiger title reference? I thought it was oddly needed…

Stop and smell the roses...or the baguettes, I guess

Fun fact about me: I walk really fast. I don’t mean to, but it just kind of happens. 

So why is this important? For me, it’s a representation of a fast paced life. I was born in a city and I spend a good amount of time with people who work in the city. I’m used to crowded metros, people power walking through the streets, and impatient drivers. I walk around slow people, I hate being late, and I can’t stand drivers who can’t actually drive. Even my meals are fast, because I always seem to have something to do (or at least I think I do). This has been my life, and I’ve been pretty happy with it. I get everywhere I need to be, and I have plenty of time in the day.

But then I got to Paris.

Obviously yes, Paris is a city, and a large one at that. The metros still get crowded during rush hour, people still power walk to get to places, and there’s lots of honking, but at the same time, it’s different. I get an hour for lunch at work, where everyone sits around a table, enjoying their meal and the company. People on the island take their time walking down the street, pausing to look at every window display or menu. Meetings and reservations start later than scheduled. It is, without a doubt, a new culture for me, and I don’t know how to handle it. 

Since being here, two entirely different people have mentioned the phrase “joie de vivre” to me. The first was to encourage me to make the best of my time here, and the second because it was some of the only French he knew. But what does that even mean? Literally, it’s the joy to live, or the joy of living. Figuratively, and probably the more accurate translation, it’s enjoying every moment, stopping and smelling the roses every once in a while. I might be a product of a fast paced culture, but I’m in Paris. When else will I spend five months in the city of light? When will I be immersed in a culture like this again?

I came to Paris to study abroad, but my lessons learned here aren’t just about France. While it’s very unlikely I’ll start walking slower, maybe I’ll learn to take life a little slower and finally understand what “joie de vivre” really is.

Halfway there

Hi all!

Today marks an important day for me – not only have I been at my internship for a full week now, but I have been abroad for exactly 8 weeks now (56 days). It’s surprising to realize how long it’s been since I’ve been on American ground, but it’s even more surprising for me that I’m not even ready to go home yet. There are definitely things that I miss (I went with my program tonight to go see a movie, like in a theater with popcorn and everything, so that was a reminder of home), but there are still so many things I want to discover. I still haven’t been to London yet, or even the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris (in my defense, it snowed yesterday). I’m excited to see what the next half of my time here will bring.

Before I start on my internship, I’d like to make a side note – it’s only been a week and a half since I blogged. That’s not that long. My friends Laura and Mari on the other hand have not blogged since mid-February, so I’m doing pretty well (L and M you guys are awesome and this is just a plug for your blog! Read it here: fillesfrancaises.blogspot.com).   

Publicities aside, things have been good! My internship kicked off to a good start, and I already have a project to work on every day, which keeps me pretty busy. Plus BICE is on the tail end of sending a bunch of letters out to prospective donors, so someone has to sort through all the returned mail (guess who!). I’ve come to realize that with my past and current internships, heavy lifting tends to be a trend. I carry programs at football games, I carried sacks of flour and sugar at the bakery, and now I carry sacks of envelopes around the office. Who would’ve thought hundreds of envelopes could be so heavy?

The organization I’m working at itself is really interesting too. It’s a non-profit, but it serves as a network of organizations, connecting organizations across the globe to work together on large projects.  The office I’m in is mostly communications and donations, which is really interesting to see on a daily basis. Check it out here: www.bice.org (fun fact I translated some of the news stories! Just ask me for the titles if you're curious)

Because I’m now working during the week, my free time has been pretty limited. Apparently this the week of éclairs, so I’m hoping to go bakery hunting again to celebrate. Besides that, I’m travelling again this weekend and I’m headed to Brussels, Belgium with a friend! I’m really excited to see another country and take advantage of the proximity.

One last thing before I post this and head to bed. I’ve learned that crazy weather is a thing in Europe too. Last week was absolutely gorgeous, and it felt like springtime – on Saturday I went on a 2 hour walk on Boulevard Saint Germain with a blazer as a coat and it was just perfect. Then yesterday it snowed (10 centimeters I believe? For a city where it rarely snows, this is more snow than I would get at school). When in DC if you get the slightest bit of snow, everything is closed and cancelled. But when it snows in Paris, you still have to go to work and people are still walking through the streets. The Mid-Atlantic American in me is not very happy by this new cultural expectation, but I’ll survive. 

That’s it for now, but I’m sure I’ll have more things to write about soon!

Dana

Euro Traveller

Bonsoir tout le monde!

After a week of travelling, I am back in Paris! It’s definitely weird to end a vacation and not actually go home (like back to the States). Instead I’m back in my little room on the island, enjoying a lazy Sunday (aka I’m actually sick after travelling and am too tired to do anything exciting). I did go to the market by Bastille again (after having to run across the semi marathon in Paris today twice) and I got a kilo of clementines for a euro, along with one and a half kilos of oranges and apples for 1,50 euros. After a week of vacation, I’m going to attempt to be healthy in Paris. Wish me luck! 

Today I wanted to write about travelling on a budget. This past week I have been in Ireland (mostly Dublin) and Scotland (mostly Edinburgh). While it’s definitely easy to eat out every night while on vacation, all the meals and snacks can add up pretty quickly. Since we’re human, and we need to eat, my friends and I found other ways to save money while travelling.

1. Stay in a hostel. When you’re travelling with friends and you’re young, this is a logical choice. Not only are hostels considerably cheaper than hotels, but there’s more of a sense of community. In Dublin, my friends and I stayed in a private room (still cheaper than a hotel), but always met people at breakfast in the mornings, or in the kitchen/common room. In Edinburgh, my friend and I stayed in an 8 bed room, and met some other Americans who were also studying abroad. Before the trip, for some reason I thought hostels were only for students or youth. But in Dublin I definitely saw some adults staying there and in Edinburgh the minimum age at our hostel was 18. So, if you don’t mind bunk beds and college students, hostels can still be great as adults! 

2. Take advantage of the coupons and brochures at the front desk of wherever you’re staying. Sometimes there are some free tickets/discounts for places you maybe wouldn’t have thought of going to. For me, in both cities we took advantage of the free walking tours the hostels advertised. Not only were they a great way to see all the big sites in these historic cities, but they were also a way to familiarize ourselves with the area if we wanted to wander around on our own. In Edinburgh, I even found a coupon for free admission to the Museum of Childhood. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go, but it was good to know about anyways!  

3. Cook your own food. If you’re planning on staying in a hostel, you can probably find one with kitchen access. Especially if you’re with friends, you can save some money and just cook for yourselves. One night in Dublin, instead of going out to eat, my friends and I made stir fry – between the four of us, we each only paid about 3-4 euros for the meal. And if you can’t cook, you can still find cheap street food that's pretty good.

4. Bring a small suitcase with you. On vacation for a week? Sure it’s tempting to bring a large suitcase to fit all your clothes, but that also means you’ll have extra space that you might want to fill with souvenirs/things you can buy elsewhere. Only buy the essential souvenirs (which sadly for me, are a lot of things), and avoid the temptation to buy clothes and accessories just because they’re from a different country. Especially in Europe, you can probably find a British store in Paris, and etc. 

5. Watch out for tourist traps/think rationally. When you’re in a new city, you want to see as much as you can. However, a lot of the popular sites will charge expensive admission fees. Ask yourself: will you remember what you’re going to see inside the museum/exhibit? How much time do you have at the museum? Is it worth it? Admission to Edinburgh Castle is 14,50 pounds, with no student rate. It was less than an hour before closing when we got to the castle, and even though the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny are housed there, I passed on the visit and instead just took pictures of the exterior. 

I think that’s it for my advice on travelling. Now onto my Paris updates. As previously explained, my study abroad program consists of two parts; the preparation session and the internship. Two Fridays ago, I took my second exam, signifying the end of the preparatory session. Tomorrow is the start of the twelve week internship for most of the students in my program. Due to a misunderstanding, I don’t actually start my internship until Wednesday, so I’m still technically on vacation (which is great because I don’t really have a voice at the moment…). I’m excited for my internship to start because I’m going to be working with numbers again, but I’m also very nervous and anxious. With the classes, I was always around Americans, who for the most part were native English speakers. With my internship, I’ll be working with native French speakers. Sometimes there are words that I don’t know how to explain in French, and I’m sure there are words that they don’t understand in English. I’m just hoping there are no major misunderstandings due to the language barrier. Once I start the internship I’ll let you all know how it’s going!

Until next time!

Dana