Turkish Toilets

I went to Turkey last year with my mom and sister, but I never encountered a Turkish toilet.  But last night, I went to a bar in Montmartre, and there it was!  After a couple of beers, one naturally has to go to the bathroom (I have proudly taught my French roommates the common phrase “break the seal”).  So I went into the bathroom, and there was a tile floor with two raised porcelain footprints and a hole in the ground.  And an empty role of toilet paper.  So I walked back out and sat at the table, and my friend asked “Back already?”  I explained that there wasn't any toilet paper and that I was a bit overwhelmed by the squat toilet.  And it’d be especially hard for someone clumsy who doesn't balance very well.  I’m sure my camping friends or people who have been to more exotic places aren't particularly surprised, but I wasn't expecting it in a bar.  Anyway, long story short, I used it successfully!  Supposedly in Asia they have these types of toilets on the trains, and I imagine that would be very challenging. 

Prostitutes

Transvestite prostitutes.  It was beautiful in Paris the other day!  I knew I had to get outside and take advantage of it, so I pulled out my map of Paris and found a couple of parks that I still hadn’t seen yet.  I told Sabine’s boyfriend that I wanted to go to Bois du Boulogne, and he just said “Why?”  I was a little startled by the question, but I said that it looks like a really nice park – there’s a lake in the center, and it’s big, and it’d be great for a bike ride.  I had even looked it up online and found that there were boat rentals for rowing on the lake, bike rentals and some Velib stations as well.  And it’s in a really nice neighborhood in Paris.  He responded “That’s where the hookers are.” And I was confused because I had never heard that, so I thought that there might be a translation error. 

Anyway, I had already sent a text to some friends asking if they wanted to bike around there, and my friend Alette said yes, but she had class until 5.  So we made a plan to meet there around 5:30 and explore the area.  It was creepy.  It stays light here until 7pm, but the part we first biked through was full of bare dead-looking trees and men walking through the woods.  It felt like we were in a bad movie, so we looked at my map to see how to get to the lake and biked a little faster.  We then found ourselves on a dirt path biking past three Spanish-speaking men dressed like women (and in short skirts) hanging around.  And there were a couple of cars paused on the road through the park near the dirt pathways.  But eventually we found the lake!  And it was very pretty! And there were people running and biking around, including women!  

When I told other French friends I went to the park, they all told me that everyone knows the park has transvestite prostitutes.  And the other one I wanted to visit (Bois de Vincennes) is known for having prostitutes.  They were quite surprised I chose to bike around at night…the timing wasn’t intentional though! And it looked nice on the map…

Aix-les-Bains

I made it to the mountains!  My roommate Johan invited me to his house in Aix-les-Bains, a small city in south-eastern France on a lake surrounded by mountains.  It was really beautiful and great to see a new area of France!

We drove to Chamonix one day to go to the top of the mountain and see Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe.  Unfortunately, we got there and the person selling the tickets said the view was not very good that day.  We had even checked the weather before leaving!  Also, the ticket cost 50 euro to go to the top.  So we ended up going halfway up (for 15 euro) and had a nice view of lots of mountains and the village of Chamonix.  It was also freezing cold, so we didn’t last that long.  We were the only people hanging out at this stop (besides some skiers who left pretty quickly). 

The next day we went to his brother’s house for his niece’s 4^th birthday.  It was a lot of fun to be surrounded by kids, and his family was so welcoming.  I felt a little awkward meeting the kids because I wasn’t sure whether I should faire la bise or not…and so I did with some of them, but they were only expecting a cheek kiss, not two…it all worked out in the end – I think I won them over with my pillow fighting skills.

We also went skiing!  I really wanted to go this winter, so it was great to be just a short drive away from the mountains.  It was sunny and decently warm the day that we went, and the views were amazing.  I made it down the mountain without falling…but going up was a different story.  They had the t-bars where you sort of rest your legs while standing on your skis and then you’re pulled up the mountain.  But there are little bumps and other people’s tracks…anyway, I lost my balance and went on a snow bank, and despite my valiant efforts at recovering and getting back on track, I fell.  I proceeded to block the path before I could scramble to the side and grab my ski.  And then several kids sailed by and said “Are you okay?” and “Did you fall?”  What does it look like??  Luckily, Johan heard my yelp and got off the tire-fesses, and we skied down half the mountain.

I also went to a raclette party, and the food was delicious!  Potatoes and cheese…who doesn’t like that combination??

Here’s the link for pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26879303@N03/

Besancon

Last week I went to Besancon to give a presentation.  I was pretty nervous to give a speech in French in front of a bunch of people on a topic in which I’m supposed to be an expert, but it went pretty well, and it was a “good experience.”  The reactions were interesting.  I was told that my talk was provocative, and there were definitely people who didn’t agree with what I was saying.  Unfortunately, I think I came across as an American saying the French need to change and work later, whereas I meant to highlight the fact that there aren’t enough opportunities for older people who want to work later, and it would be beneficial for everyone if there were.  Anyway, my talk created a good debate / discussion, and the professor who invited me seemed happy with it.

I also spent an extra day there so I could explore the city!  The professor scheduled a bunch of lunches / dinners / activities, which at first I wasn’t looking forward to (I thought it’d be constant work talk), but it turned out to be really fun.  I went to the Museum of Time (there’s a booming clock industry), and saw the Citadelle, an old military fort that now houses a zoo and several other interesting museums.  Sadly, most of the animals were inside and trying to stay warm.  I also walked along the Doubs river for a while, and it was good to be out of the city and surrounded by nature for a bit.  Besancon is a small, pedestrian town, and I felt like I got to know it pretty well after only a couple of days.  The people I spent time with were very friendly and welcoming, and I’m glad I took advantage of the opportunity to visit a new part of France.  

I added some more pictures to Flickr…and there are a bunch of random ones from the past couple of months.  My snow pictures weren’t as cool as I thought (and Nemo looked way better).  Anyway, some other exciting recent events: my mom visited for a while, Camille came back from Belgium for a weekend, I went to the French Senate and Jill Biden spoke to us at my mid-year orientation.  Fun times!

The Ugly Sweater Party That Wasn’t

Last weekend, I went to a French ugly sweater party in an ugly sweater and discovered that most people were not actually wearing ugly sweaters.  I’m not sure if I've ever even been to one in the U.S., but I know they’re pretty popular around Christmas time, and people go all out.  I wasn't in a super ugly sweater (I found an awesome one at a thrift shop, but it cost 20 euro) and ended up wearing a tacky, sequin, candy cane striped shirt that I got for 3 euro at a market.  My Norwegian friend came decked out in a horrible red reindeer sweater and was definitely in the running for the prize.  Anyway, I found it really amazing when the French explained that their sweaters were ugly because “it’s an ugly color” (it was beige), “it has a lot of pills and is a little big” (it was black and you couldn't notice them), or “it has a hole.”   My friend and I were laughing about the fact that we actually liked some of the ugly sweaters.  But that’s okay; I've always known that I’m not very fashionable.  The party was a lot of fun though, and there was more than enough vin chaud to go around!

Snow!

It snowed in Paris last night!  It was beautiful.  Actually, they were huge flakes that were very wet and didn't stick on the ground, but I was still happy.  I went out at 10pm in my pajamas and took some pictures (which I'll upload later).

The other day I went out to lunch at a creperie in my neighborhood, and there were only two other groups there - one father with his three young kids and one couple.  The food was very good!  At some point, one of the boys (probably 8ish) cried out and yelled at his brother.  And the dad said stop yelling; we're in a restaurant.  And the boy protested basically saying but he hit me!  And the father said it's not appropriate to yell in a restaurant...you need to leave right now and go outside.  So the kid took his jacket, left and stood outside for a while.  The dad didn't raise his voice at all, but he reinforced that his son's behavior would not be tolerated (even though the other kid did hit him).  I don't think that would have happened in the U.S. 

Totally unrelated, but here's a cute video of a slow loris eating a rice ball.  I unsubscribed from an annoying site, and after I was done they said I was unsubscribed and included this link as an apology.  At first I was annoyed to be distracted with a link, but I was happy I clicked on it. He looks so innocent and sweet and adorable.  I want one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18-xvIjH8T4&feature=youtu.be

Champagne

I figured the title accurately covered most of this post.   Okay, not the first part, I didn't have champagne on the Ferris wheel…but it sounds like a good idea.

La grande roue!   I went to Place de la Concorde with some friends to ride the Ferris wheel in late December.  It wasn’t a very long ride, but it was still quite exciting.   And it was pretty because we went at night when all the Christmas markets were open on the Champs Elysees. 

The markets were fun to see, although I only bought an ornament (and a crepe or two) from them.   There were also lots of rides for kids, such as giant slides, trampolines, and carousels, but I had had my fill with the Ferris wheel though.   There was also a show where Santa happened to fly over the Champs Elysees around the same time each night!  I was a bit surprised because I would have thought he would've been pretty overwhelmed with all his work in December.

I went back home for Christmas, and it was wonderful to spend a lot of time with friends and family!  The vacation went by too quickly though (as it always does).  I came back to Paris on the 28^th, and my brother was already there with his wife, Kate, and two friends (Sharif and Kate).  They had all planned a vacation in Paris earlier in the year, and I was happy I could come back to spend more time with them.

We went to Reims to see the city and go to a champagne tasting (you know I wouldn't miss that).  We went on a Sunday, so it was a bit quiet, but luckily a champagne house was open.  We ended up buying 6 bottles.  We wanted to have a good New Year’s Eve!  We found a café that was open and had lunch in the city, and Kate ordered unlimited soup for lunch.  I didn't really know places do unlimited soup, but that was cool.  Sadly, she didn't take advantage of it.   And we also saw the church in Reims, which is very impressive and beautiful.  I don’t think the pictures do a good enough job of capturing it!

For New Year’s Eve, I walked around the Champs Elysees in the early evening to see all the action…but there wasn't any.  I was a few hours too early.  There were just tons of tourists and police setting up fences for the evening because supposedly the area gets pretty crazy at night.   Then I went over to my brother’s apartment with 20 euros worth of cheese, two baguettes, a bottle of wine, and champagne.  And they supplemented with 4 more baguettes, several more bottles of wine and champagne.  It was a good night!  We also went out to get crepes around 11pm, and they were delicious, of course.   Happy New Year!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26879303@N03/