(141): A Few Things I've Noticed

(141) is today: Thursday, 27 May 2010.

I figured it only appropriate I write a sort of concluding entry about Paris just before I leave. Next entry will take us back to Greece, moving forward from there (gotta' love nonlinear storytelling). Anyway, as per the entry title, here's the list:

--When you're waiting for a Paris metro train, the one going the opposite direction always arrives before yours (sometimes more than once).

--As my host family astutely pointed out, I bring bad weather with me wherever I go. From 7+ days of snow in Paris this semester to cloudy weather in Austria and Germany to a sun-shower yesterday, I am 'Monsieur le Mauvais Temps.' Bodes very well for the British Isles...!

--Paris takes a long time to get to spring, but when it hits that note... it is pitch-perfect. Sunset at 9:30 is all I have to say about that.

--I'm glad I can say that I did it, but honestly, taking classes at the University of Paris was not a very fulfilling experience. I didn't learn as much as I normally do in Vassar (or even Reid Hall) classes and because I took the senior-level classes, the professors just talked about what they wanted to... I didn't even get a good feel for the teaching philosophy over here. I think I'd have been better off taking all Reid Hall classes and saving 300-levels (the real reason I signed up at Paris VII) for Vassar.

--Apparently my French has gotten better; the guy at the sandwich place yesterday asked where I was from. Already a good sign. I answered, "Etats-Unis." He replied, "Vous parlez tres bien."

--I'm pretty good at the whole travel planning thing.

--Paris is expensive, plain and simple.

--When I have a lot of free time in one place, I tend to stay up and sleep in late. This is compared to vacations, where I usually get up early enough to seize the day.

--I've thought a bit recently about what I'll miss about Paris. Believe it or not, I can't think of anything specific. "Specific" is the operative word there. Hemingway famously called Paris "a moveable feast" and-- before I slide into cliché-- I want to note that I find "feast" the operative word there. Maybe it's moveable, too-- I'll know that once I start moving. But even now, it is a feast. And the best part of a feast isn't the main course or the really good side dish your friend brought that they make better than anybody else. Best part's the ensemble: the experience of coming in, having it all in front of you-- experiencing each great part in its turn, sure... but the final (perhaps defining) part of a feast is that it leaves you with a dazed yet elevated state of accomplishment and satisfied nostalgia. Gratitude as well-- perhaps to the cooks-- but more to the experience itself for having happened.