Statue of Liberty in Paris

From "The Statue of Liberty Revisited"
edited by Wilton S. Dillon, 1994, page 155:

On July 4, 1889 the American community in Paris offered the French people a gift of a bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty; it still stands now, on an island in the Seine River, downstream from the Eiffel Tower. In a symbolic sense, this recently restored American gift closes the circle of gift giving that was launched by the French in the 1860's with the gift of Miss Liberty. In a deeper sense, though, the American replica in Paris serves to extend and strenthen the chain of reciprocity between the two peoples that has existed since before the founding of the American Republic and that promises to continue well into the future.

This magnificent exchange of gifts illustrates a declaration delivered by French ambassador Jule J. Jusserand on the occasion of the 1916 ceremony at which Liberty's torch was first lighted with electricity: "Not to a man, not to a nation, the statue was raised. It was raised to an idea - an idea greater than France or the United States: the idea of Liberty."

Another One Bites the Dust...

Yes, that's right.  I have conquered another Parisian fear.  The dreaded coiffeuse (hairdresser).  It is always a little scary to be in a position where you have to find someone new to cut your hair.  Is this person going to send me out the door looking like a new and improved version of me?  Or will I leave wanting to go through the next few months with a paper bag on my head?  The mental image of the latter has had me avoiding Parisian salons since my arrival in July.

But today, I woke up and was just plain annoyed by my hair.  I was tired of the pony tail that was becoming my go-to look.  I was tired of spending forever each morning on drying, straightening, curling, etc...only to have my hair return to its flat, lifeless look the second I stepped out of the door.  I was determined that I would fix the situation, and I would fix it TODAY!

And then reality hit me.  How am I supposed to explain the way I want my hair cut?  What if they ask me a whole bunch of questions?  I heard you have to tip the person who shampoos you and the person who cuts your hair...how much am I supposed to give them?  Do I need an appointment, or can I just walk in?  AHHHHHHHH!!  My questions and subsequent anxiety began to get the best of me. 

So I did what I always do when I am anxious.  I GOOGLE.  Google can solve all problems, right?  I started with googling:  shoulder length hair styles.  I emerged from that search with a picture of a cute cut that I could take with me to the salon.  Next:  tipping in French hair salons.  From that search, I learned that a 5-10 euro tip was appropriate for the person cutting my hair, and a couple euros would be plenty for the shampoo girl.  Finally, I googled:  French phrases for the salon.  Believe it or not, I found a very helpful page with a lot of advice for getting what you want in a French salon. 

Now I was armed and ready.  All I needed was the actual salon.  There are 5 or 6 in my neighborhood that I walk by daily, so I decided those were a good place to start.  The salons all post their prices on the windows, so I meandered by each of them as nonchalantly as possible to check them out.  I did not want to draw attention to myself.

I spent 20 minutes going up and down my street, passing the salons each time.  For the life of me, I could not get up the nerve to go inside.  The salons were all so...um....glitzy.  Shiny.  Glam.  And yes, that sounds exciting, but it is also quite intimidating.  I couldn't bring myself to just open up the door and blurt out my memorized phrases. 

That's when I decided I needed a different type of salon.  One with more of a "Steel Magnolias" feel.  You know?  One where I could develop a personal relationship with the person who cuts my hair.  One where they would remember my name and look happy that I had come back.  Was a place like this possible in Paris?

At that moment, I noticed a small hair salon down a side street.  I was going to just casually walk buy and try to get a glimpse.  As I passed the store, I could tell it was much more my style.  It was nice, but didn't have the intimidation factor of the chain salons on the main drag.  Before I even knew what was happening, I realized I had walked straight to the door and was beginning to open it.  No turning back now!

As soon as I entered the salon, I was greeted very quickly with, "Bonjour Madame!" and then someone took my coat.  I explained to the girl who greeted me (IN FRENCH!!) that I wanted a cut like the one in the picture I brought.  And she UNDERSTOOD me!  She took me right back and started shampooing me.  There were a few questions I didn't understand, so she switched to English (YES YES YES!). 

When she finished, she introduced me to Isabelle, who was going to cut my hair.  Isabelle was WONDERFUL!  We spoke a mixture of French and English...probably more English than French (even though she told me her English wasn't good...not true).  She gave me a great cut and I even remembered to tip both gals.  I have an appointment to go back to see her in 2 months!  VICTORY IS MINE!

A Few Hours in Egypt

Dustin and I had been planning a trip to Egypt this February.  In light of recent events, we decided it would be best not to go.  Instead, we spent a few hours perusing the Ancient Egypt wing of the Louvre.  We figured a little Egypt was better than no Egypt at all!  I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt, so this collection of amazing artwork did not disappoint!  My pictures are not necessarily of famous pieces, just some of my favorites!

This sphinx greets you at the top of a set of stairs as you enter the ancient Egypt wing.  It is circa 2600 BC!

 The cat was a sacred and respected animal in ancient Egypt.  Cats were treated like gods...and if you killed one (even accidentally) you were sentenced to death.

One of the better known pieces of art in the Egyptian wing.

Horus - dates somewhere between 1069-664 BC

 The feet I am next to were originally part of a colossus of a king - the statue was about 8 meters tall!

These are cat mummies...seriously.  Gross.

The Louvre is stunning at night!

We ended our evening at a cute bistro just a few blocks from our apartment (not Egyptian, but quite good!).





Embracing My Parisian Life

My last post ended with me admitting that I need to stop longing for home (as much) and start focusing on living it up here in Paris.  And if I do say so myself, I think I have done a pretty good job over the last two weeks! 

Last week, I had my first galette de rois, literally King Cake, with friends Megan and Sybil.  It is a traditional cake served at this time of year in France (and in other countries around the world) and is to celebrate the Epiphany.  There is a little trinket baked inside.  If you are the lucky one to get the trinket in your slice, you get to wear the crown!  There was a small plastic rose in this cake.  You can read more about la galette des rois here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake

 Also last week, Dustin and I went with our friends Mike and Kelly to a wine bar called Wine by One.  The wine tasting area was circular, and all around the edges of the room were wine vending machines of sorts.  You could choose what size of a taste you wanted, put your card in the wall, and then the wine would dispense into your glass.  Some of the small glasses were as cheap as one euro, but some of the more expensive wines were up to 70 or 80 Euro for a few sips! 

On Saturday, Dustin and I went with our friend Megan to a minor league hockey game.  We got to see the Asnieres Castors (Castors=Beavers) take on the Rouen Dragons.  The outing was sponsored by the American Women's Group of Paris.  It was a small venue, but we had a great time.  The people who worked there were very nice and even declared it "American Night"...complete with a chili dinner.  It didn't exactly taste like chili, but they gave it a good try!

This one is a little dark, but it gives you an idea of what the rink was like.



This week has also been busy.  On top of French class, I have been volunteering at the American Church of Paris for several hours every day.  My volunteer position there has me working on getting a new constituent database up and running.  I also went to my first Parisian Zumba class, which was led by a French speaking Brazilian man.  Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining! 

Just two weeks in to living the Parisian life with a new attitude...and it has been great!  This new Parisian me is more relaxed, less worried about criticism from the French, and optimistic that things are going to continue in a positive direction. 

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home...

You know, Dorothy got it right.  There really is no place like home.  After 5 months in Paris, I got to return to the states for an entire month (hence the reason I have been MIA in the blog world).  It was an amazing trip filled with family, friends, and ENGLISH!  I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it felt to be in the land of the free. 

There was a lot on my to-do list.  People to see, food to eat, things to buy, places to visit.  And I am happy to report that I checked just about everything off of my list! 

We began our time in the states in Northern Kentucky.  I felt like a celebrity as we rode the escalators up to baggage claim, and realized we had a whole fan club waiting for us!  When we got home, Rudy was waiting for us as well.  I was a little worried that she wouldn't remember us.  But as soon as we walked in, she started going crazy!  That evening, Dustin's mom cooked us a great Thanksgiving dinner (since we missed the real Thanksgiving) that we got to enjoy with both sides of our family.

The whole week we spent in Kentucky went very quickly.  To help check an item off of my to-do list, Dana and Corey had Abuelo's cater a family gathering (I wanted to eat the sour cream and cheddar cheese by the spoonful). 

Tiffany with the goodies from Abuelo's

At Corey and Dana's

Brotherly Love

Rudy is not supposed to be on the couch.  But she loves her uncle Jeremy and cousin Brady!

The Boathouse with Kara, Jesica, and Jennie

Dustin, Ken, Matt, Matt

After our week in Kentucky, we spent a week in Indiana.  We did Christmas with my family...and even Rudy got in the Christmas spirit.

I also got to see my Chi O girls (I am devastated that we didn't get a picture!) for a night of pizza and girl talk. Whenever I am back with that group, it is like no time has passed. There is definitely something special about my group of sisters!

Later in the week, Dustin and I went with my dad and sister to an IU game.  I always love visiting Bloomington (even if the Hoosiers decide to lose while I am there).

Me, my dad, and my sister.  The man at the far left in the black and white picture is my grandpa!

During the second half, I got to hold a big head!  And yes, I chose Justin Bieber. 

On another fun night in Indiana, Dustin and I visited with friends at Fox and Hound.  It was so much fun to see everyone!!

My long-distance book club!  But we were missing Jessie :(



Me and Matt

Me and Dr. Love (AKA Jeremy)

BEEJ!

 
On New Year's Eve, we got to hang out with some of our favorite people!  We attended the annual party at the Rodockers.  Much fun was had by all!
 

Dustin had to head back to Paris on January 2nd.  Since I had no real reason to return, I decided to stay in the states for a bit longer.  I got to spend a couple of wonderful days with my sister, and then I flew down to Ft. Myers to spend 9 days with my parents.

It was really hard to get on the plane back to Paris.  Through tears at the Ft. Myers airport, I said "see you later" to my parents.  Even the security guy who checked my passport asked me if I was going to be ok.  I answered though my tears that I was, in fact, going to be ok.  The truth is, even though many days I would rather be home, would rather be with my friends, and would rather be eating Mexician food, I have an amazing opportunity to live a life I never thought possible.  So as this new year begins, my goal is to stop focusing on what I am missing at home, and start focusing on new and exciting experiences.