I’m sitting in the cafeteria (actually, the so-called “cyber-cafe” portion) of the Alliance Francaise in Paris, having the goal in mind of seeing how much I can write in two and one-half hours. I apologize for the recent absence of posts to anyone who is missing them. Primarily that’s been because I’ve been focusing on trying to improve my French, and to do that I have to study and also […]
As you can see, it is turning fall in Paris. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Above and below, Parc Montsouris, located a short walk from our apartment. Strange art in Paris: A contrast of old and new (the new Les Halles commercial center and St. Eustache church: The Samaritaine department store: The very tip of the Ile de la Cité: A narrow alley leading to Boulevard St. Germain: […]
My son Andrew has had an ongoing problem with his stomach, so on Thursday we took him in the afternoon to see the doctor. The doctor ordered an analysis that required us to take a sample to a medical lab, so on Friday morning I found myself standing in a long line waiting to drop off the sample and pay for the service. I had the paper that the doctor […]
I realize that I am about a week (or is it more) behind in my posts, and the reason for that is that I’m starting to get a little worn down. I know this won’t draw much sympathy given the context, but it is difficult and wearing to deal constantly with foreignness, even if the foreignness is a foreignness you have a great affection for. Class is four hours a […]
From Paris, the recent “controversy” over Barack Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” remark looks just plain stupid, as does, frankly, the hand-wringing over the co-called Sarah Palin “phenomenon.” As for the former, you can only view the statement one of two ways — either Barack Obama innocently used an expression he’s used before (as has John McCain), or he used it intentionally as a reference to Palin’s statement at the […]
In France, that is … a poll published today by Le Figaro indicates that if the U.S. Presidential election were held today in France, Obama would win … by 80% to 8%! The article notes that a similar poll in Great Britain shows Obama ahead 49% to 12% (the rest were in pubs and unavailable for comment), and that polls in India and Kenya show Obama with leads of 9% […]
So you might ask. So I might answer like this. Up at 6:15. Suzie puts the coffee on and we wait until we hear that lovely sound of the last bit of water in the reservoir being coughed into the grounds. Lie in bed awhile reading the French paper from yesterday. Finally the coffee kicks in and we try to get Will out of bed. As will be the subject […]
Yesterday I had the afternoon completely free, and it was a perfect fall day, clear and bright, so I decided to take a walk around Paris. Sometimes I think my readers (viewers?) prefer pictures to words, so here are a few, with some limited commentary. First, a couple of political pictures: The Assemblee Nationale, the U.S. Embassy (sadly behind rows of concrete barriers and police), and the Elysee Palace, home […]
We were able to watch John McCain’s acceptance speech a day after he gave it, courtesy of the l’Assemblee Nationale and the Senat, which have a TV channel something like C-SPAN, and which broadcast the speech in its entirety (overdubbed, of course, by a translation in French). It was a bit difficult to listen to, because I found myself trying to do multiple things all at once — listen in […]
It pains me to think that our time in Paris is already one-third gone. It seems to have flown by, even though (as the highly-educated, classy, consistent readers of this blog know) we have done a lot. Here are a few reflections on the surprises so far. The most pleasant surprise is an entirely personal one. Before this trip, I had more than a little fear that the great amount […]