I Live In A Compound

Started from the bottom now I'm here. But Actually. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from my homestay and yet our first hours have been spectacular in every way. My host dad is a short man who introduced himself to my roommate, Laura, and I while wearing a motorbike helmet and a golf shirt.We followed after him in a taxi and shortly arrived at an alley full of homes. We got out of the taxi with our bags and our host dad put Laura's giant suitcase on the back of his motorbike and we followed him down the alley. We stopped in front of a huge gate that blocking the view of the house. The gates opened to reveal a massive house/mansion/structure and a backyard of considerable size as well. The backyard is full of tall bamboo and palm trees, a pond, four fish tanks, a rooster, 3 guard dogs, 4 small dogs, several motorbikes, a few regular bikes, at least two guest homes, an outdoor table made out of slabs of rock, and the river directly behind everything. Dang. I still haven't been to all of the rooms inside the house so it's unclear how big it really is. There is a kangaroo fur from Australia on the wall and a thermostat pinned to a deer leg from Holland in the living room. There is also an Australian water filter. He says there is too much zinc and iron in the Mekong Delta water so he filters everything. This means that it is safe for us to drink as well, we hope. It's hard to know which food warnings to take seriously because we have been breaking half of the rules since we got here. Oops. There is also a hammock, which seems to be staple item here in Vietnam. Some cafes only have hammocks, no chairs. Eventually we learned that there are also 4 hamsters, more fish and at least 10 people living here. Every time we asked, our host dad mentioned more and more family members who share his home. He introduced us to his daughter, nephew and mother. His daughter is very quiet and shy. She watches Disney channel in English with Vietnamese subtitles. We found out that the Vietnamese count your birth as your first birthday. Therefore our host dad insisted his daughter was 14 while she indignantly insisted that she was 15. His nephew is kind of jumpy and addicted to video games. His mother is incredible. At the age of 85, she is less than five feet tall. She greeted us saying "Bonjour." As a young adult she studied in France and still remembers a bit of the language so we have had some communication in French. No English. She loves my hair and doesn't understand how it is how it is. She isn't the first person to express the same sentiments and touch my twists with wonder. Her hair is thinning and she is shriveled and very skinny. It seems as though she's lost a weight and now has an excess of skin. However, she is fully functional and doesn't seem to be sick or anything. She does everything with a kind smile, cooking, eating, cleaning, and playing with her favorite dog, Jerry the chihuahua. She walks without help and is extremely flexible. To be real, all of the elderly women we have met have been very active, fit, flexible, healthy and mobile. It must be the fact that they keep moving and working throughout life. They all eat with at least one foot off of the floor to stay flexible. This is true for the older women and everyone in the rural village, however I don't see the flexibility of the younger generation who live in the city. There was a man inside the house who helped us with our luggage and set up our room. There was also a woman who followed us from our hotel to the house and helped to cook. They weren't introduced and still haven't said one word to us. We assumed that they were the help for the longest time until we asked for clarification. They are actually more family members. They may not have been introduced to us because they are related on our host mom's side of the family. Either way it was weird. Our host mom is not here yet. She is coming home tomorrow from a business meeting in Hanoi. I'm excited for her to come because she is taking Laura and I to her niece's wedding on Sunday!!! We're so excited and can't believe we got placed with such an awesome family. We wanted to take the long drive to the each this weekend but a wedding is a much better option. Laura and I share a room on the second floor. We have a spiral staircase outside our door that leads straight to the entrance gates. Convenient. There is also a wrap around deck with a view of the river and the backyard. In the evening we could see the guard dogs that get let out at 10 pm. We will not be breaking curfew. They were barking something fierce during the night and I do not want to be the subject of their aggression. Our host dad is learning English. He does very well but needs help with pronunciation. He is very clearly the head of the house. Right when we got outside he got our schedule together and told us we had one hour to shower while he went to the market to get dinner supplies. Once he got back we helped cook. We made beef with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, vermicelli noodles, and coconut water sauce. Delicious. We also had shrimp chips with salt, pepper and lime. So good. He had us taste boiled turtle eggs. That was sad. Aren't most turtles endangered? Apparently it is customary to have beer with dinner. He worked his way up from orange juice to wine to beer when asking us what we were allowed to drink. Every time we raised our glass he raised his and said either cheers or yo (bottoms up). His nephew, who ate quickly and returned to his PSP (Personal PlayStation) only had half a glass of Heineken because he says a full glass will knock him unconscious. Lol. After dinner we left everything on the table because a cleaning lady will come early in the morning to take care of it. Our host dad has family in France, Canada, San Jose, and Ohio but he has never been out West. He teaches geography at Can Tho University and was proud to know that Washington-Laura's home-was in the Northwest, Rhode Island is in the East and Obama is from Kenya. He remembered a whole lot from the letters we sent to our homestay families. He used these facts as starting points for conversation. He was especially interested in our pets. He says his mom lost 6 of her 9 siblings in the war and huge amount of Vietnamese people moved to America after the war. That is why his family is so spread out. Our evening was great and it felt so nice to finally feel settled again. I am looking forward to getting a massage tomorrow, meeting my host mom and hopefully going shopping for a wedding outfit.

Transitional Limbo

The next 36 hours were an exhausted blur. We left Hoa An in the morning and headed for a hotel in Can Tho City. We stayed in the hotel for one night and then moved in with our host families the next day. The Asia Hotel was beautiful.Unfortunately, my roommate, Laura, was sick so I spent my free time walking around Can Tho. Suddenly being in a loud city full of motorbikes and noise was a jarring change from the quiet forest life I had become accustomed for the previous four days. The classy hotel was the polar opposite of our shared dorm/mosquito infested bathroom situation. We also had our first class sessions in Vietnam at Can Tho University.

We went to the floating market at 5:30 am and saw boat life at it's finest. The market services those who want to stay on their boats while replenishing their stock. It is also for tourists who want condensed milk with super concentrated coffee or fresh fruit. Our boat guide gave us some very interesting info about Vietnamese culture and she even sang "You Don't Know You're Beautiful" by One Direction. We learned that women get married at 18 or 23 depending on whether they go to college. Every one in university must take an army class in their first year and wear a green jumpsuit uniform for the course. If you fail a certain entrance exam for college, you are forced to enter the army. The homes on the river are halfway on solid ground, halfway above the water. Fish boats have water in the bottom so that they can deliver and sell the fish live. A bamboo stick on each boat has one of each item the boat has to sell. If the boat is for sell, coconut leaves are tied to the stick. The market is from 5 am to 2 pm everyday.

That afternoon, we waited around for our host families. I was feeling extremely nervous/anxious/tired/displaced. All of my worries turned out to be unnecessary as my host family turned out to be incredible.

Nine. Two. Five. One. Three. ~ K'Day

I had one of the best birthdays of my life this year and I shared it with another student, Matt, who was turning 21 on the same day. It started off with a field trip to an organic farm. We loaded up on a small bus, practically sitting on top of each other with a few University students with us as well. They sang Happy Birthday to Matt and I on the bus and shortly after, we arrived at the river. We boarded wooden boats that sit low on the water. Mine had several leaks but we did not sink. The boat ride was very short. We arrived at the home and farm of a middle aged couple. We spent the morning harvesting morning glory and washing leafy greens. It didn't take long for most of us to go barefoot. The soil felt so good on our toes. Then we had a big, delicious lunch of tofu, chicken, rice, watermelon, and more. We headed back to the farm and prepared compost by layering soil with hay. There were huge grubs and beetles in the soil. Next we took completed compost and planted new beds of morning glory. My favorite part was playing with our feet in the mud. Also, my friend gave me a much needed birthday massage. We all wanted to stay for the entire day but that was all the work the woman had for us. The boat ride on the way back was even sketchier than the first. We were noticeably sinking and one of the guys was trying to stop the water from flooding in the boat first with his oar and then with his foot. While we were waiting for the groups behind us, we saw a man ride past with a crocodile head tied to a cooler on the back of his bike. One of the students from the university went and bought the head for us. We used it to scare the next groups. We walked back to the college but Meron, Lauren and I stopped to get a coconut first. Kalu, who had the best English of the university students, came with us. We also got freshly pressed sugarcane juice/water. It is actually the best thing that I. It was our last night at the College of Rural Development so we had a farewell/birthday feast with a lot of the university students. The meal was delicious of course and they even had a birthday cake for Matt and I. It was a white cake with chocolate and strawberry sauce and fruit on top. I just realized that I forgot to make a wish when I blew out the candles. Oh well. We had a talent show that evening. I performed a shortened version of "Cheetah Sisters" with 7 of my friends. I also performed a shortened combo of Wolosodon and Somonodon (West African dance) to a random song I had found on spotify five minutes before. The Vietnamese students performed the chicken dance again and "Gangnam Style" and one of the students did an engaging magic trick, making a red napkin disappear. Once again, Matt and I were sung too, however this time it was in Vietnamese. The university students presented us both with lucky coin talismans and a bracelet. I was overwhelmed by their kindness, especially since I hadn't even met the student who presented it to me. We had an after-party that lasted until a little after 12. It was a great night, but also bittersweet as I had already become attached to our home there.

What Did September 23-24

We cooked our dinner on our second night. We made crepes, pancakes and lettuce wraps. I learned later that this is popular, traditional meal but people don't have it often because it takes so long to prepare. First, we ground rice, water and turmeric together into a batter and chopped green onions for the batter. Next, we moved from the canteen into kitchen stocked with small clay fire pots. We put a layer of oil on metal pans using a brush made out of some sort of branch.Then, we scoop a dollop of batter onto the pan and swirl it around to make a thin layer. The pan is very hot at this point and I slightly burned my fingers. Next, we placed the pan on the stove and put bean sprouts, carrots, tofu  few other things inside. Once the crepe was cooked, we had to fold it while it was still over the fire. I don't know how the cooks do it because the smoke from the fire was overwhelming and stung my eyes. We also made tiny pancakes with the batter, coconut sauce and beans-these were my favorite. To top it off we had wraps with three different leafy greens, mint, the contents of the crepe and a special sweet sauce.

We talked with some university students after dinner. They are friendly, funny and extremely hospitable and giving. They are all studying English but most are at a beginner's level. They invited us to hang out in the dorms that evening. We asked where they lived and they pointed ambiguously at the forest. We couldn't find the right path around the forest so instead we walked towards the sound of music playing in the opposite direction. We walked for quite a while in the dark and crossed the street and the river when we thought the music was sounding closer. Still following the music, we walked through a random corridor with rooms on either side. It turned out to be a student dorm. Looking back, it was extremely rude/sketchy/imperialist/etc to just walk into a home on a whim without invitation/knocking/any prior knowledge of who lived there. Anyway, the students there spoke almost no English but were able to communicate that the music we heard was coming from far away, despite how loud it was and how far we had already walked. Sound must travel differently out here. It is a good thing that we didn't keep walking in the same direction because we found out the next day that the rice fields were exactly where we were about to walk through. We deliberated outside the dorm and decided to stay there. The students were really excited to meet us and they presented us with coconut candies. They were disgusting but the gesture was extremely kind considering the way we barged in. A few gestures later, they got the message that we wanted music. Somebody brought in speakers and a laptop and we danced. Naturally I was the life of the party. Their favorite song was "Gangnum Style." They also love "You Belong With Me"-Taylor Swift, "Set Fire to the Rain"-Adele, "Thriller," "The Chicken Dance," and "Call Me Maybe." They didn't recognize the Beyonce song I played. They took pictures and videos the whole time and there were two boys who could really dance well. They loved it when I flipped my hair. Once we were too hot and too sweaty, we decided to go home and back to bed. It was only 10 o'clock or so. Time doesn't exist here. We wake up around 7 am and it is pitch black by dinner time (6 pm) at the latest. We start our nights out around 7 pm and are in bed well before midnight save for the last night. The days feel incredibly long and we are able to fit several activities into each one.

The next day, we learned about the Women's Association, a group that has meetings and raises money for healthcare and loans for women who want to farm. It was nice to hear that the communities care about empowering women. We visited two households of female farmers and they both had received helped from the Women's Association to get started. The visit was really awkward though. The women had not been briefed about our visit and the University students kept answering questions for the women and the women kept asking us to compare their tiny homes to the homes we have back in the states. One of the women was scared to talk us because we were too beautiful. After the visit we played soccer in the dirt/mud with the University students. I've really lost my touch. I did help out defensively a few times though. I was all too happy to transfer over to the volleyball courts. I'm pretty good and it was a lot of fun. That night we hung out in the canteen with more University students. We had a bunch of fresh fruit and drinks and they taught us a traditional dance. The dance was basically walking around while moving our arms up and down in an alternating manner with our palms open. We taught them a traditional American dance, the hokey pokey.

this boy could move

Some Structural Logistical Info

Classes are informal. I generally have my shoes off and we can lounge in whatever position is most comfortable. Sessions are two hours with a break halfway through. Some weeks have four classes, others have one or to. We have reading assignments, 6 short essays and a research paper. Everyone is in a country committee and a student committee. I'm in the Morocco group and the Thank You Committee. We refer to our teachers by their first names and they ask for our honest opinions about what they say. We have three teachers: Paddy, Virginie, and Eddie. Paddy is from Ireland and takes a more conceptual, big-picture view of climate change. Virginie is from France and she is the youngest of the teachers. She specializes in disaster risk reduction, looking specifically into how people are affected based on their gender. Eddie is from Berkeley and teaches the history course. He's got an endearingly nervous/excited/jumpy personality and assigns long but interesting readings. He is half Chinese and I am grateful for his inclusion of racial perspectives in his courses. He is my adviser for my research project studying how class disparities determine awareness, access, accessibility, and affordability to resources and sustainable practices. I am most interested in looking into access to clean water within different classes. Having international teachers and a couple international students reinforces the comparative nature of the program.

It's empowering, humbling and terrifying to think about the fact that we are a part of a small group of people who are actually trying to do something about climate change. Back in California we visited several of the key organizations that are trying to make a difference. Because there is such a small following, all of the adults are taking us students very seriously and are offering us future internships and job opportunities. Our opinions and thoughts are all considered carefully and it is clear that they expect us to be a part of this movement well after the program is over. I am constantly fluctuating between overflowing with hope and excitement or having absolutely no hope at all. There is so much to be done and so many people-largely/only in America-that are trying to shut progress down. At the same time, I am inspired by those who have already done so much in their communities. In the end the determining factor is how much faith I'm currently feeling towards the good of humankind. Generally it's not much.

Jumbled Stream of Consciousness Thoughts on Vietnam

I don't have the time or patience to organize this. Sorry.

From the airplane window, rural forests of rice and scattered homes quickly transitioned into colorful city buildings cramped on top of and next to each other. We are welcomed by cloudy skies, heat and humidity when we leave the airport. The patterns of purples, reds and oranges on the seats and window curtains in out bus give the vehicle an inviting and lively vibe. Immediately, we drive one hour out of Ho Chi Minh City for lunch. It did not take long to get out of the city and into a rural region. Buses and cars were very clearly the minority on the streets. Motorbikes packed with up to four riders, puppies and even a refrigerator, rode around us the whole time. Street vendors were everywhere. The streets were paved in some parts and just muddy in others. Most of the pavement was crumbling and broken. Once out of the city, rice fields, cows with beautiful burnt siena coats, chickens, geese and ducks were dispersed amongst several rivers full of light brown water and small boats. Homes, colorful coffins and electric towers reach out of the swamp land surrounding the highway.

 The restaurant has an open feel as there is a roof but no walls in a series of gazebos with gardens and ponds flowing in between the eating spaces. We learned quickly that food served in Vietnam is typically faily style and each person uses chop sticks or a fork and spoon and a tiny bowl. The meals take much longer as the "family-sized" plates are rather small as well. Everyone receives a sample-sized portion and then waits five to ten minutes for the plate to be replenished. (I've found that I eat less this way as the process is much slower and my stomach has the time to tell me if I'm full or not. You also don't want to scarf your plate down because then you'll be waiting too long the next one.) Rice, chicken, duck, tiny shrimp, fried tofu, morning glory, shallots and bok choy are common dishes. As someone who is sensitive to dairy, it has been great that there hasn't been any except for the cheese we had with breakfast on the first day. Dessert, my favorite part, is generally fresh fruit-watermelon, mango, papaya, unripe guava-not the best, star fruit, and rambutan-sweet, jelly, good. All of the fruits are much more flavorful and delicious than what we have in the states.

The Can Tho University College of Rural Development is located 40 km outside of Can Tho-one of the largest cities in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Our dormitory is directly on top of a swamp full of catfish and other creatures. The small campus has the highway and a river on one side and the rainforest on the other side. The earthy smells, sounds of birds chirping and critters talking constantly remind us where we are. Other than the ferns and eucalyptus, the plant life was completely unfamiliar on the forest walk. The slippery trail was wide enough for two people to walk side by side on. Our exploration was interrupted by the relentless leeches that yearned to feed on our blood. I found two on my ankles and at least 12 more climbing up my shoes ni the short 30 minutes we spent in the forest. I think I had the most although I may not have been getting rid of them properly. I may have had some repeat offenders. Thankfully none of them were on me long enough to latch on. I did find one on my sock about 8 hours after our hike though. Gross. Some of my classmates were not so blessed. There were plenty of engorged leeches and spurts of blood on the ground where we emerged from the forest. 

We are all helplessly terrible at speaking the language. I can say hello, thank you very much, cheers, and the number two with confidence. However gesturing has come somewhat in handy. I was walking around with some friends to the new impressive campus the school is building on the other side of the forest. We said hello to a man standing outside the school. He pointed at something up above and down the path while making a circular shape with his hands. He then pointed to his ankle and made the number three with his fingers. Although the signals were undecipherable to us and he had a huge grin the entire time, we seemed to know that it was a warning. Sure enough, a few minutes later, one of my friends pointed out a giant hornets nest in one of the taller trees. We promptly turned around and walked back, passing a ripped up skull of some animal along the way.

There are eight of us in each dorm. The mosquito net on my bunk bed creates a comforting, canopy-like effect that makes me feel safe and juvenile in a good way, especially with the Mickey Mouse sheets on my mattress. The bathrooms are nothing to write home about. The small stalls have a shower head right next to the toilet which makes for an awkward space negotiation come bathing time. Also, all the bugs that keep trying to get into our dorm settle for hanging out in the bathroom. And yes I do have mosquito bites all over my butt as a result -_-

Four walls per building/room is really not a thing here. Indoor versus outdoor is entirely deconstructed. Most spaces have an open feel, letting in cool air whenever it is present. For instance, the canteen has one wall, shielding us from the kitchen, the rest is open space. We were served bread, cheese and jam for breakfast on our first morning. All of the Vietnamese patrons (and the gluten-intolerant student in our group) were served noodles with bean sprouts, vegetables and meat or tofu. Upon our request, we have been served noodles in the morning as well and they are delicious.

We have wifi here and will have it everywhere in Vietnam. However, I am keeping my connection at a minimum. I left my computer at home and will be hand writing all of my papers. I have my iphone but wifi does not seem to connect to it very well.

I realized that I know almost nothing about Vietnam. My only preexisting knowledge was of the war (referred to as the American War here). It is all too clear how terrible of a time an American soldier would have had fighting in the forests here. They are slippery, damp, and unlike anything we have in the states. This thought struck me when our group realized simultaneously that the leeches of the forest were out to get us. There are also pythons. I am eager to ask my homestay family what they think of the war. I am meeting them on Friday.

Pounding rain, amplified by the ceiling material, woke me up at 5 am. I went immediately back to sleep but the rain didn't stop for hours I was told. It comes back on and off throughout the day, everyday. It is always cloudy. I haven't seen the sun in 5 days. Back in Providence, lack of sunshine usually makes me sad but out here not so much. I guess I'm too busy having a great time.

I haven't talked much about academics. It's crazy to think of what we are doing as college. We mostly have field trips and there are only two actual class meetings each week. We all are passionate about we are learning and engaged in what we are doing. We are using climate change as a lens to view and address social issues around the world as they relate to environmental problems. I am pleased with how the courses have opened up my mind to the scope of issue. It is so helpful to be able to see and do the things we learned about in lecture the previous day. It is going to be hard returning to Brown. I think school should be like this all the time. The teacher/student relationship is incredibly blurred. Here in Hoa An, the teachers are rooming with us in the dorms and hanging out with us at night. Also the smallest age gap in between the students and teachers in only 2 years. Strange. I often forget that they are our teachers and not our contemporaries. 

I've been eating a lot of tofu. Even when given a meat option. Most of the reasoning is the fact that the tofu is so exceptionally good here. It is always seasoned and fried and sometimes stuffed as well. Also, since starting the program, I've felt myself wanting to downsize the amount of meat I consume. There's the health benefits and what not but on top of that we have been learning about what it takes to raise an animal for food production and the American system is exceedingly wasteful and disgusting. Also, from a conservation standpoint the amount of water saved from producing vegetables rather than meat is huge. I'm not a vegetarian, at least not yet.

Yesterday I met a student named Phuonj (pronounced foon). It made my day.

credit: Forest Jarvis

SIT IHP Orientation

For the last two weeks I've been in Berkeley studying climate change as it relates to the politics of food, water and energy. The program is through the School for International Training's International Honors Program. There are 26 students, 3 teachers and 1 traveling fellow (basically our babysitter/#support). We are continuing our studies in Vietnam, Morocco, and Bolivia over the next three months. While in California we've had 4 class sessions, several guest lectures and outstanding field visits. My favorites included a trip to the geothermal power plant in the Napa Valley and the visit to Global Exchange in San Francisco. We have a group of 20 girls and 6 guys and they're all really great. Being in California was nice because I was able to learn about potential work that I could do after during the summer and after college. It was very confusing to be studying abroad, at home. It felt as though I was still building up to the real program. However it was nice to be constantly reminded of how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place.

America's Cup race. credit: Forest Jarvis

UC Berkeley

Drake's Bay Oyster Farm

Lecture in Drake's Estero on why Drake's Bay Oyster Farm should be closed. 

Had freezing but fun time swimming at Point Reyes

Gizdich Ranch

Geothermal Power Plant in Napa Valley. My favorite site visit!

Paris 8/25-8/31

We arrived in Paris too early to meet our couchsurfing host, unprepared for the rain, and yearning to return to our beloved bus. Immediately after exiting the metro, we took asylum in front of an apartment building. We changed into warmer wear and planned out our next two hours. We ended up walking to a laundromat nearby the apartment's location and eating breakfast there. We had spaghetti noodles with pesto sauce and corn. I ate out of a corn can and Alexx ate out of a bread bag. It was a little low. The laundromat turned out to be a cool place to kick it. After breakfast, I watched Toy Story until it was time to meet our host. We feared that we had been scammed because our host had not given us the code to her building or her apartment number. It took us a while to make it inside but it was not a scam! Our host was an interesting character though. She was a very gracious, enthusiastic, self-professed nerd who even cooked us a tuna tart and rabbit with potatoes. We spent the entire day inside due to the rain and our need to acclimate to Paris. We rested and I watched some more movies. Our host slipped and fell after taking a shower and broke her wrist so she was in and out of the hospital and clinic all day.

The next morning, we got up and took pictures outside of the Louvre.

"it's so small."

We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries and were turned off by the multitude of rats and the apparent small size of the Eiffel Tower. I expected it to look more impressive from a distance.

We kept walking quite a ways and finally discovered PEANUT BUTTER at the blessed Carrefour Express corner shop. We continued on to La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, my favorite church of the trip. 
There is also a view of the city from the hill that it sits on. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, however, the portions were small.











We walked another considerable distance to the Arc de Triomphe and then to the Eiffel Tower-more rats here. 

















Tuesday was reserved for Versailles. The palace was as big and overdone and full of gold as they say. I completely understand why the French were not too pleased with the consumption there. The garden would take days to properly go through so we did not even attempt it. We opted to twerk on the statues and play candy crush in one of the sitting rooms instead.

The next day was Alexx's last day. We scoped out the Louvre but the line was too long and Alexx did not have much time. We went to the Musee d'Orsay instead and I am so glad that we did! It turned out to possibly be my favorite Art Museum of all time. The museum is housed inside a gorgeous high-ceilinged former railway station. Sculptures line the middle aisle while mostly paintings line the hallways. The greatest hits from my art history course seemed to be there. I saw pieces from Degas, Renoir, Manet, Monet, VAn Gogh and so many others. Alexx left me there while I continued to walk around the museum. I got a bit lonely after she left so I decided to walk around and see all of the sights I had missed for the rest of the day. I walked to the Opera, the Bastille, Notre Dame-celebrating 850 years, the Pantheon and most importantly Hotel Le Meurice, the penthouse that Beyonce shot the album cover of 4 and, according to Jay-Z's song Glory, the place where their daughter Blue Ivy was conceived. TMI. Sorry. I went inside the lobby, casually asked for a map of Paris and took this photo.

5 stars y'all

I spent the entirety of the next day with Tim, a friend from Brown. We filled each other in on summer's and talked beside the Canal.














That evening, I met up with Dolapo, a fellow Jackie Robinson Scholar. It was student night at an Irish bar near the Bastille so we went out and I met the other students in her study abroad program. The highlight of the night was when the DJ played Naughty Girl into Single Ladies. Dolapo and I went in of course. That turned out to be my last song as I had to leave before the Metro closed.










The next day I packed my bags and went to the Louvre. Tickets are free for young adults on Friday night so I took advantage of that. The museum is much too large and I don't understand why France gets to have so many important works from all over the world. I guess it's nice that you can see so much history in one place but at the same time it's a reflection of an unequal distribution of power. The Mona Lisa was underwhelming. It is pretty small and just not an interesting piece of work. #oops. The Nintendo 3DS audio guides were kinda cool though. When I got back to the apartment, my host invited me to come meet her at her friend's birthday party as she had forgotten to leave the key for me. The birthday party was lame and randomly enough, I met a strange guy from Modesto. The next morning I made my way to the massive Paris airport and hiked the long distance to check in. Eleven and a half hours later I was home!

Reflecting on the trip as a whole I was blessed to have a really great time. I saw three new countries and was able to make memories with a good friend of mine. I was initially skeptical of how I would enjoy Paris but the more time I spent there, the more I liked it. Fortunately, the Parisians I met happened to defy the stereotypes of the rude elitists that you hear of. I have no doubt that they exist but I did not have to deal with them. Everything, especially the food, is much too expensive. However, I do appreciate the multitude and popularity of public parks, the slower pace of life, and the pastries. I was just informed that Paris 2.0 is happening for one night only on my program's journey from Morocco to Bolivia. We shall see if the positive experiences continue!

Liminal Space 8/24

Our transition from Marseille to Paris consisted of 15 hours on a bus. Despite my trepidation, the trip was considerably pleasant. A mystical bond forms between man and machine and also between passengers for that length of time. In the first hours I alternated between reading, watching the scenery, and dozing off, all while listening to an awesome playlist of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Anthony Hamilton, Beyonce, Paul Simon, and others. When evening came, I slept for almost 8 hours and soon after, we arrived. By that time I was reluctant to disembark and reenter the regular world, especially because I was unsure about how I felt about being in Paris. These feelings were reinforced upon exiting the metro station due to the rain -_-

Sidenote: Blasted Nutella

In an effort to save money, Alexx and I made our own food, with sandwiches as our most popular meal. We quickly learned that peanut butter is a rarity in Europe and apparently nonexistent in Spain, so we resorted to nutella. You may not know (or believe in such things) but I have a sensitivity to dairy. Basically if I am consistently consuming dairy products, I become congested and lose my voice after about a week or so. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that nutella contained dairy so by the time we reached Marseille my nose and throat started acting up and I finally read the ingredients and subsequently halted my consumption. It was a sad day.

Marseilles 8/21-8/23

sleepy foons

Marseille was my favorite leg of the trip. After a short flight and train ride, we arrived downtown and walked up to the home of our airbnb host, Morgane. She is currently training to be an ayurvedic masseuse.

Her flat has plants crammed into every possible space, including in the bathroom. She has photos of Tunisia all over the place and a shrine in the living room. Hindi decorations adorn her walls and the toilet walls are full of postcards and photos. Also this chair is extremely comfortable and creates a swaddling effect.

That evening, Morgane was gracious enough to guide us to Notre Dame, a cathedral on top of hill, overlooking all of Marseille. We were able to get our bearings and converse with Morgane over wine and bread with a homemade olive tapanade spread.

The next day, I slept in and then went to Plage du Prophète with Alexx. We swam and read all afternoon and spoke with a guy from Marseilles and a guy from Algeria. The Algerian didn't speak English so we were forced to practice our French. Practicing was fun until homeboy didn't get the hint that we were uninterested. Once back at home, we rested and read some more. Alexx was working on her pre-departure readings for study abroad and I was up to the last Harry Potter book by then. 

For our last day, we hiked for about an hour to Calanque du Sugiton, a beautiful collection of cliffs, trees, and grotto-like spaces.

 It reminded me of some of the beaches I'd visited on the Amalfi Coast of Southern Italy. The rocks were perfect for climbing and jumping off of and the water was varying degrees of cool temperatures. Once again we read, talked and swam all day, both of us in our preferred elements. 

We decided we couldn't leave Marseille without glimpsing the downtown area so we took a short stroll around the city. In short we were unimpressed and thankful that we spent our daylight hours swimming.

This beach getaway was a welcome intermission of our exploration of European cities. I was also pleased with the rare inclusion of African characters on their sculptures.