already april

And I started the month so well with daily blogging posts. I suppose there was good reason for the deterioration of my effort as the month progressed, but the good news is that things are no longer falling apart. Surprising to find that although one part of my foundation completely crumbled away, there is a more solid base underneath which will always be there, at least for as long as I exist.

Last week, put off translation due to surprise (not-really, because I knew she was coming, I just forgot) visit from good friend E. She needed to go to the Embassy of Ghana in the 16th to apply for a tourist visa to prepare for her second voyage to Africa. Reminded me that I ought to consider Africa as a travel destination while I'm in Europe, not that I'm short of this type of thing. We metro'ed to the 16th, on the other side of Paris, then walked to the Eiffel Tower and along La Seine, all the way to Notre Dame. There was fantastic weather to be had by all which invovled me getting sunburnt. We found some dejeuner a emporter and picnicked in the cute garden behind Notre Dame.

E is fun to be with in Paris because she has a fresh way of looking at things which I'm either used to or have grown used to ignoring since I sometimes live in my own little 1m wide bubble. For example, I've ceased making most any generalizations about Parisians or the French or their respective cultures. Perhaps this means I'm really at "home" here, perhaps this means I've adopted said customs and can no longer distinguish myself. E made fun of the way I added a "quoi" to the end of many French sentences and we discussed the habit of "faisant la bise". I do miss hugs, but my reaction upon meeting someone or greeting friends is to kiss them on both cheeks. So here is my formal apology to anyone Stateside who I come across this summer and accidentally greet in this manner.

We headed south from Notre Dame to wander into the 5th, witnessing yet another demonstration near La Sorbonne University (shrug, no big deal I say), and found our way into my favorite Jardin de Luxuembourg where we proceeded to sit for four, maybe five hours. I broke in my new journal (finally splurged on a sleek Moleskin, without lines), E shared her KinderBueno stash with me and we discussed my current read "The Feminine Mystique". E will be back in two weeks before her flight to Ghana and I'm looking forward to more park bumming, perhaps at vertical Parc de Buttes Chaumont.

So translation got postponed to Friday and Saturday...which then got postponed to late Sunday night and I'll have to get the rest of it done tomorrow. It really is too darn nice out to stay inside in front of the computer screen. I find a bit of random dancing and wiggling to be helpful while translating for hours at a time. As well as wearin slippers.

What did I do this weekend then if I didn't translate? Good question. Perfected cooking fried rice (even with chicken! and it's spicy!) on the hot plate, watched more Six Feet Under, moved things from living/kitchen room to bedroom in preparation for new roommate B who will help save my spot in Paris for next fall, went to the Opera Bastille with G to see Macbeth sung in Italian by Russian singers, subtitled in French which was later discussed with G in Spanish. All of these things are a hundred times more pleasurable than translating about the difference between mathematical and philosophical probabilities and their respective histories hence my procrastination.

Bref, en fin de compte, I don't remember the last time I felt so grounded and generally happy (despite translation woes). It's certainly nice to find my own two feet again.