What Have I been Waiting For???

It's senseless really, but somehow I've let 2 months elapse before visiting the Louvre. I went tonight with the German assistant at my school, Bettina, and her friend.


First things first, we directed ourselves to Mona Lisa. But whoaaa! I wasn't expecting to see this.

Meet Nike of Samothrace. She's more beautiful up close. I love, LOVE this sculpture. I had forgotten about it :-)

It was nighttime at the museum which kind of created a cool atmosphere. I don't know how King Louis XIV could be dissatisfied enough to move off to Versailles. Here's a picture into the courtyard while admiring Venus de Milo in the reflection.

I got all curious about what she would look like with her arms attached, since she's so famous armless. Turns out she was holding an apple while trying to keep her dress from coming off (unsuccesfully).

So then after we'd checked off all the MOST famous things, we meandered and happened upon the Apollo Gallery. Very cool.

So I'm beginning to realize that one of my most valuable classes in high school was AP art history. Really. I don't know that all of the art concepts Mrs. Hornbeck taught clicked back then, but I gained some familiarity with famous pieces and learned of some of the movements. But to take my art education one step further, it makes all the difference in the world to see these pieces in person. Just like seeing all of Monet, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh... side by side at le Musee D'Orsay finally clarified impressionism for me, seeing Picasso's procession of works on Les Femmes D'Algiers helped to elucidate his art style for me tonight. I'm not such a fan of the subject matter seeing as how it's about a harlem, but take a look.

This was Les Femmes D'Algiers by Delacroix which served as Picasso's model.

I just thought it was amazing how he could take a realistic painting and break it down into shapes like that and make you see things in a different light.

So then when we exited at the close of the museum, we were greeted with the reflection of lights against the recently rained on pavement outside. Paris!


Let's Go Les Bleus! Let's Go!
Or as the French say it, "Allez les bleus!" Wednesday night I tagged along with some friends to a religious meeting of the French people - a soccer match with Les Bleus at the Stade de France. Uruguay was the contender for the evening. Despite a lack of any goals being scored, it was super exciting to experience a professional sporting event in France.

That's soccer down on that field - not football!

I'd like to jot down a few differences in the French way of celebrating sports vs. America's version.

#1 The introductory song that riles up that patriotic spark is a bit more bloodthirsty and angry - La Marseillaise. I must I admit I prefer the feeling and tone in the Star Spangled Banner. They don't sing the Marseillaise while holding their heart or focusing on a flag - this was learned from asking after the fact since we were a little late to the game. Rather, I'm imagining fists beating in the air. HOWEVER, whoever designed the French flag had a flare for beauty - not suprising. The French flag when it waves (which it did throughout the whole stadium of fans) makes up for the uninspiring national anthem. Even Monet thought so I guess.


#3 There are a few sporting event employees that might as well just stay put in the US should they ever desire to find a job in France. That goes for the "Get your peanuts here" man, all fake-bake cheerleaders, aspiring mascots, marching bandeers, baton twirlers and ribbon chasers, and even fans in search of showing the world your half-time game skills while raking in a little money or pro-bono tickets.

#4 Silence. That's right. Not only is the marching band music unrequested, but the sports announcer (who also happens to be absent) doesn't even get to choose those timely musical soundbytes. . I guess no one in France wants to know who let the dogs out.

#5 Beer. Better wet your whistle before heading to the game. I didn't even see wine!

Pretty much it's strictly business - you're there for soccer and soccer only. Good thing the players are unbelievably amazing.

Window Licking
The direct translation for window shopping in French is "window licking" - "lèche vitrines." I'm really anticipating the holiday window displays but already I've been pretty taken in by some. The street where my babysitting family lives is Rue de Courcelles - AKA couture children. Walking home Wednesday I thought this little store was magical.


Pens, Pens Everywhere but Not a Color Appropriate
My fellow assistants and I have had a few chuckles about the French and their particularity in ink color and tidy pages. It actually gets a little frustrating when you are telling a student how to fix their sentence from "I have 15 years old" to "I am 15 years old" and they take 5 minutes to dig through their pen case that they all put at the front of their desk, which is LOADED with utensils, but those utensils never seem to be the one they need. Or when they have to find that whiteout when really you would be just fine with them striking a line through their sentence and writing above it. I've taken it upon myself (when feeling a little impatient) to make the correction myself with my own pen right before their eyes to speed up the process. I keep watching for grimaces or protests. So far I've evaded them.

What really made me laugh though was when I went to the prefecture (some gov't office) yesterday to get my carte de sejour (visa) and the employee helping me didn't have a pen anywhere on his desk. So I offered him mine. He tested it on my envelope, discovered it was blue (evidently not the correct color) and went off for 3 minutes in search of the correct color, whatever that was: green, red, black...