guys…. its been so long. i’ve been meaning to post for the last 6 weeks and it just got away from me. during my time at ponderosa i thought of several smaller posts to make, to break up the workload and length of writing about a 5 week experience after it was over, but somehow i never did them. i’m getting this out there right now so posting might feel less daunting.
i’m in paris, i’ve been here for a week and a half. before that i was in berlin for a week. i feel like my countryside life was eons ago. but i still have to write that post, about that beautiful time, where things were suspended and still and quiet. and i have a few things from berlin.
until i do that though, because it’s (clearly) gonna take me a minute to capture it well, i’ll share some quick tidbits of paris. my blog is gonna be out of order but c’est la vie.
i’m visiting my bffl magali who just moved here, away from our home in cambridge where we grew up together, to devote herself to her french roots. i’ve been dipping my toes into the lifestyle this week:
walking so fast we’re nearly running
getting a fresh baguette almost every day
navigating the metro without too much help from google maps
saying oh là là and bah oui and ché pas
un café after lunch
eating dinner at 21.00
i’m surprised by how far knowing the extreme basics of french has gotten me in terms of not having parisians immediately switch to english when they realize you’re not from here. witnessing the entitlement of other americans that say “english?” at people before even a simple bonjour has drove in the fact that french people (for the most part) aren’t rude, they’re just responding to us, the problem.
i honestly haven’t been doing much. trying to be a tourist in every city has gotten old and anyways my goal was never really to see everything in all these places but more to experience life in them. but real quick look at me with these guys tho
on wednesday i walked 11 miles somehow. i wanted to explore the huge park right outside of paris, bois de boulogne, but it was kind of underwhelming and too big and i wished i had a bike. on monday we went to the christmas market in tuileries. it was rainy but so cute and we spent way too much money (for the vibes) and saw the louvre and the eiffel tower from the ferris wheel while eating warm churros. on thursday it snowed, which i later learned was an anomaly for parisians who hadn’t seen a snow that stuck in 7 years. on friday i bought too many things at an insane flea market that had my jaw on the floor countless times. i was in heaven and it was agonizing.
the friday before, my first full day in paris, we were walking around and happened upon a beautiful street dancing duo. we stood and watched them for half an hour. later we went to the jazz bar located underground in a 500 year old space — caveau de la huchette, now unfortunately known as the “la la land bar” because they filmed outside it for 40 seconds and it went viral on tiktok. it was so cool but i can imagine how much cooler it was before tiktok gave it 2-hour lines and made it gen z standing room only. we live in a damn society.
this friday magali had a date and my other friend in paris was busy, so naturally i found out what the lesbian bar was and went to it on my own. that was my second time ever going to a bar alone. i definitely felt awkward being the only person i could see was there without friends or a lover, but luckily for me there was a dj and a few bodies on the dance floor i could join. after i got a beer i think i didn’t talk to anyone for a full hour, just danced and did a 360 scan of the room every other song to see if anyone looked approachable. eventually i met this french girl who worked for the bar booking the djs. she was really cool. she spent 4 years studying feminist policy in south america for a phd until she dropped it to become a lawyer. after our time together i didn’t even get her instagram, which honestly felt refreshing. a true moment in time.
we also got lunch with magali’s french grandmother dominique (“mique”) last week. she’s homophobic and transphobic but i think she forgot i was gay and we were her girls just like old times. i enjoyed my classic french dish of beouf bourguignon and mique said some out of pocket shit about her lesbian step-niece that we laughed off. enriching times all around.
that’s all for now. merci je t’aime xx
VIVA LA FRANCE!!!
ouaiiiiisssssss!!!
I’m laughing and crying. Les photos sont beaux et les mots sont parfait. J’aime Homophobique mique