Doing the France Dance with my French Friends

Just like the picture says: -Life Is Beautiful-

I have only been in Paris for five days, and I can honestly say I made one friend. Her name is… Ms. French Phone Operator.

I know what you’re thinking, “Alessandra, why are you blogging about the French phone operator and who are you calling.” Don’t worry I was not calling my dear friend Mr. Sarkozy, but instead was trying to get a hold of my family friend Roxeane who lives in Paris.

I can’t explain how disappointing and frustrating it is to sit in front of a phone and dial a number multiple times, to hear in French that the number is not correct. Even after having tried all forms of the 001+33+[ number], I still received the same result- Ms. French Operator.

Finally, after 1789 tries my call finally went through, and I was so excited to speak to Roxeane. Shortly after our conversation, we met up in San Paul (Jewish Quarter in Paris) and we waited in line for about an hour to get into a small restaurant called L’as Du Fallafel. The food was beyond fantastic. No falafel will ever compare to the one I ate on January 9, 2011. After lunch, we walked around, and stopped inside a jewelry store that had English phrases on the wall. I took plenty of pictures. Then Roxane, her mother Nathalie and I stopped for espresso and cappuccino at La Brasserie de L'isle saint- Louis. La Brasserie de L'isle saint- Louis is a famous cafe that has been around since the 1930's. I was amazed the town (San Paul) had so many vintage stores and authentic restaurants.

Even though it was a hassle figuring out the phone number, I enjoyed spending the day with my friend and her mother. I learned so much about the Jewish Quarter and ate so well. So, to Roxeane and her mother Nathalie, thank you for the wonderful day, and thank you L’as Du Fallafel for making my taste buds so happy.

However, now since I know how to make a telephone call I think I miss my friend…Ms. French phone operator.

The Market Man and Me

Rushing cars, loud salesman, coulped with the allure of what's next had me turning every corner. My eyes rushed at the many colors and attractions, in some way it was like a Circus attempting to entertain while still serving its purpose.

The market had everything from bags to clothes, shoes, trinkets, scarfs, art and food. You heard, "buy buy buy," from the left side to the right and even the pan handlers walking through the center were overly aggresive.

But as I approached one stand I knew they had something just for me. A dark brown leather bag. But as I showed my classmates my new item of the year, a India saleman tapped me twice and said "move move." I thought to myself "well I don't think we were standing too close to his stand, were he can't attract customers."

My classmates saw something and felt something I didn't, he thought I was a pan handler trying to sale them my bag, my bag that I just bought. He thought I was one of the African men pan handeling to my white American classmates. The market man showed me that even though I wear european influenced clothing, speak english and live as a black american, I am of true African decent.

"Some Will Not Take 'No!' For an Answer"

In less than my first week into my trip to Europe I have ran across various unique things, and very interesting people. I fell in love with the architecture of the streets of Paris, but the people, not so much. The culture here definitely differs from the culture back in America, though there are many people who immigrated into France as in America, all the different cultures begin to misunderstand one another causing confusion between customs and blunt rudeness.
We went as a class to the Eiffel Tower, which was a dream come true. The tower was quite a sight to see; in fact we could see all of Paris from the first floor. I always thought the Paris would be a beautiful place, but the view that I saw was far beyond my imagination, it was simply breath-taking. So, as we are departing from the tower, we were swarmed with African Immigrants, who were trying to sell us souvenirs. We could barely walk down the stairs to leave, it was like they were paparazzi and we were celebrities. They were trying to sell us miniature Eiffel Towers and key chains, and would talk to each student in the language which they thought that student would understand, so that they would seal the deal. Well, they most definitely did not do that, instead it came across as quite offensive. Then, when we declined their merchandise, they had the nerve to get upset. Not only did they get an attitude, but they yelled obscenities to us.
The first couple of times I encountered these immigrants trying to make profits from souvenirs, I thought to myself, “ok, here’s some guys who need to make some money,” but after the incident at the Eiffel Tower, I was completely done dealing with them. A few days later, one of my teachers informed me that a European exchange student we knew, told her that it was part of there custom to try to sell, or more so shove, their goods to us, therefore we’d have to buy them. They believe that if they offer someone a gift that the receiver of the gift is to accept it, and then in turn give them the gift of money. So as they were insulting us, they felt that we were insulting them also.
I learned that while there are many beautiful things about visiting another country, there will always be cultural differences that may not have even crossed your mind. So next time someone just won’t stop pushing something on you while in a foreign place, just smile and say “Yes!” and continue to walk away, because ‘‘Some Will Not Take 'No!' For an Answer.’’

Paris at a Glance

When we first arrived to the Paris airport, I was completely lost. I felt like I was a little kid lost in a department store. I have never left the country before and to top it off, the only French word I knew is Bonjour. Things got a lot easier as soon as we got passed the passport check. The workers who were checking made jokes with a few of us and showed us there are people who are helpful and willing to make “lost people” feel welcomed. On a better note, this trip has been a lot of fun so far. I enjoyed traveling to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower. A few of us took a walk to the highest point in the city of Paris and it was the most beautiful thing I have yet to seen. All the city lights just glowing, I was mezmorized. So far, during this trip, I have realized one important thing; be thankful for what you have. French people are not the most welcoming people to be around, especially if you are American. It is so hard to come from a country where you can walk around and just smile and say goodmorning to a complete stranger to now having to keep a straight face and walk past hundreds of people a day. I have met nice people who make jokes because I am from Chicago. Histarically, this is the one city they say they hate. Paris has definitely been a new adventure I'm glad I was able to experience.

The Parisian Way of Life

The only country I’ve been to outside of the United States is Mexico, and that was ten years ago. I love learning about different cultures and the way people live and I was excited to come on this trip and see what the everyday life is like in Paris, France. The sites have been absolutely beautiful! The Notre Dame Cathedral, Palace of Versailles, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, and basically every building in the city is breath taking. The pictures do them no justice. I have learned on this trip that the French are very unlike Americans, which is why we have the perception that they dislike us. While some probably do, they just have a different way of life and don’t understand why Americans act the way they do. There are many cultural differences that divide us and it can be difficult to find sources for our stories as a result of this.

Yesterday a group of us went to The Flea Market at Porte de Clignancourt. The location reminded me a lot of being in Chicago, with building and cars similar to ones you would find in the city. The market was much different from the ones we have at home. Some vendors sold products they made from their home countries, such as jewelry and clothes they had sewed and designed. Others sold knock off shoes, purses, and perfumes. There were a variety of items to pick from, and if one looked hard enough they could find a good deal on a product they were looking for. For our multi-media project my group is doing a story about what French culture is and how a native or immigrant to France would define being French. The language barrier proved to be an obstacle. Many people were excited to hear we were from Chicago and said things like “Viva Obama!” and talked about Michael Jordan. I sometimes find it tough to find people to conduct man-on-the-street interviews in Chicago, and here in Paris it is much more problematic. A few people who spoke English well were not comfortable being recorded. Our translator Coralie came with us to the market and she was a huge help! She was able to translate what they were saying and that is when people had deeper answers and talked about their true feelings. People felt more comfortable speaking their own language and could open up and express themselves. At first, most people had short answers, but as they delved into the interview they opened up more and we got some good interviews. It was interesting to hear the perspectives of French citizens and their perceptions of themselves, along with immigrants and how they felt toward French people.

A Whole New World

January 6,2011

My First Step In Paris

Today we arrived in Paris and the airport was quite different from the ones in the United States. The men that checked our passports were very nice and they joked around with the students a lot. I felt that this was a good welcoming for us to have. The escalators were covered and instead of steps they had just straight walkways. The top of the airport was open and I think this was why the escalators were covered. It reminded me much like hamster cages. All the people in the airport were apart of many different ethnicities. I really enjoyed watching the French communicate to each other at the airport the best out of everyone. I feel that French is such a beautiful language and it is very interesting to listen too. After we people watched and waited for our baggage we left the airport. Once we left the airport, we all go onto a bus that happened to be made by Mercedes! I was so shocked to see that most of the taxi’s and buses were made by luxury car companies. While we were on the bus we got a little tour of France. The tour guide named Antoine was quite informational and I enjoyed learning where everything was at in the city. We passed the Eiffel Tower and it was so nice to see in person. It was beyond beautiful and I could not believe how big it actually was. We went to the Notre Dame and toured it. We got to walk around the Notre Dame and see what the city was like on our own. After we got back on the bus and the tour was over, we checked into our hotel and all of the students could hardly fit into the hotel lobby. It was very small and the elevator was so tiny that only two bags could fit into it. I was amazed by how small hotels are in Paris especially this one. Once everyone got to our rooms we got ready for dinner and had some free time. Then we began our adventure to the place that we were scheduled to have dinner at. We got to ride the Metropolitan and it was quite different from the one that is in Chicago. The seats that were in the station were bright colors and they looked like a bubble. The actual train was quite clean and it seemed to always be packed. The people on the train all seemed interested in us because we were students from the United States. One woman actually picked up on one of my fellow classmate’s Chicago accent. I thought that was very amazing because not many people in other countries can pick up on particular accents from a certain state. We finally made it to dinner, which took quite sometime because we got lost and kept walked up and down the same street. We walked into the restaurant the place seating were quite different from how the United States usually sets their tables. The spoons were beneath the glasses and there were two forks on the left side and two knives on the right side. We got to try a salad that had very large pieces of tomato in it and the French bread was VERY good. For the main course we got to eat beef burgundy and it tasted much stronger in France rather than the United States. While we began to eat, CNN’s Jim Bittermann came to speak to us about how he is a United States’ correspondent and the great things that Paris offers. He answered many questions that students had about their personal projects and future careers. I enjoyed listening to Jim’s adventures and how his everyday life is different from a reporter who would just work in the United States. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got a good night’s sleep so that we could be ready for the next day.

January 7, 2011

Learning More Everyday In The City Of Love

Today when I woke up I headed down to the little lounge in the hotel to meet with Yolanda. There were about six students in the room listening to ideas that Yolanda had about what we should do for our upcoming projects. Every person got to tell what their topic was and what they planned on doing for their final projects. Yolanda gave me a lot of great ideas that helped me prepare for my final projects that had to be completed for this course. After Yolanda helped us organize our ideas and show us how to shoot different shots on our iflips, we went out into the streets of Paris in search for some pictures and videos that we could shoot. I walked around the streets close to the hotel and found out when a minor league soccer game would be held. I plan on attending the soccer game tomorrow and I want to interview fans. I want to see if these fans are similar to American football fans. I think that this will be an interesting topic that will help me with my future career as a sports reporter. After I walked around the streets and found out some information on soccer games and fans, I decided to buy a crepe. I ordered a jambon and fromage crepe because it was the only one on the lunch menu that I recognized from my high school French class. I liked ham and cheese sandwiches so I figured that this would be a good choice to order. It was very good and I could not believe how good the crepes were here compared to America. I didn’t realize that they would be so much different. After I ate my crepe, I decided to catch up on some work for my final projects. I sat in the lounge of the hotel and started some of my final projects. After I did some work, all of the students went to the French Conflict, Refugees and Resolution’s office and learned about what this business does. I really thought that the video that was shown to the students was helpful. After this we went to the Tour of Agence France Presse. It was neat to see how the French Press works. I would love to get the chance to intern for a press office in Paris like this. I felt that I learned a lot of good information from this Press’s briefing. After we left this building, I decided to walk around Paris and site see. I met a lot of nice people and picked up on some French language. It was a lot of fun to go out on my own and meet new people and experience everything Paris has to offer.

January 8,2011

A First Glance At A Queen’s Life

Today I woke up very early and went down to the lounge in the hotel and ate breakfast. French breakfast is quite different from American breakfast. There was a lot of bread served with the meal and I tried some chocolate cereal. It tasted a lot like coco puffs but they were shaped different. After breakfast, all the students went to Versailles. It was unbelievably so beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing the Queen’s bedroom. It was so neat to see how big the bedrooms were back then. The gardens were also very pretty and I could only imagine how much time it takes the gardeners to keep it looking like that. We looked in stores and ate in a café next. After we left Versailles everyone went to the Eiffel Tower. On the journey to the Eiffel Tower, we got to see where Princess Diana died and that really touched me because I have always been really interested in her life. We took a lot of groups pictures and got to ride up to the top of the tower. The view from there was so unreal and I could not get over the fact that people back then made a building that was as tall as the Eiffel Tower was. I met a couple that was from London and it was amazing to actually hear a real English accent. They were so nice and we decided to exchange Facebook information and they planned on coming to Chicago to visit anyway. It will be nice to be able to keep in touch with them and show them around the city of Chicago. I love meeting people from different places and keeping in touch with them. After the Eiffel Tower, we went to the Tour Louvre Museum. It was such a huge museum and I really enjoyed getting the chance to see the Mona Lisa in person. The other art in the museum was very creative and this also amazed me how people a long time ago made these great creations. After we left the museum we got to tour the Fragonard Museum. It smelled like heaven in this building. We got a tour on how many perfumes and colognes are made and we got some free samples. It was a very neat experience and I have never been to anything like it before. After the museum, my roommate and I went to get food. We decided to get cheeseburgers and french fries. It was good to try something American here because it still tasted much different than it does in the States. After this long day, I decided to go back to my room and work on some homework and get some rest for tomorrow’s adventures.

January 9,2010

From Flea Markets To Gravestones

Today I woke up pretty early and went down to the lounge to eat breakfast. I am starting to get tired of the same breakfast everyday but I still ate some cereal. After breakfast, I went to a flea market with a small group of students and Yolanda. It reminded me a lot like the streets of New York City. Many men were selling fake purses and there was a lot of souvenir stands. Many of the men who were selling fake purses were very pushy and did not take no for an answer. The part of Paris that this flea market was in was very different from where our hotel is. It seemed to me that it was more like the ghetto of Paris. We stayed at the flea market for about two hours. After the flea market a group of students and I went to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I got to see Jim Morrison’s (who is a member of the band called The Doors) gravestone. I really enjoyed seeing all the messages that were put on the tree beside his gravestone. I also got to see Oscar Wilde’s grave. Oscar Wilde’s work touched many people and I feel that his gravestone did the same. There were many kisses smeared on the gravestone. My friends and I put lipstick on and kissed the grave as well. It was a really beautiful graveyard and the structure of the whole cemetery was built on a hill. I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed my trip to this graveyard. After the graveyard I got ready and went on a boat ride tour of Paris. It was so pretty to see the city from the river. It was a quick but informational ride and I am glad that I got the chance to experience it. After the boat ride, I went to dinner by the Moulin Rouge with a few friends and Yolanda. I got chicken and potatoes and it was very good to say the least. Food in France is such a better quality than it is in the United States through my eyes. After dinner we walked around this part of the city and we went into gift shops and a McDonald’s. I took a lot of pictures in the McDonald’s because it was so different from the ones in the United States. After all this walking we ended up on the highest point in Paris and the view was outstanding. After this we took a taxi back home since our metro track was out of order and the taxi driver was quite funny. He was very interested that we were Americans and I had a lot of fun talking to him as well. I really enjoyed today’s adventures and I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow.

January 10, 2011

International Reporting At Its Finest

Today when I woke up, I headed downstairs to meet the rest of the students and go to The International Herald Tribune. When we arrived there it looked much like an American newsroom. We got to go a tour of the building and got a lot of questions answered about our future careers. We also got to go into the room where most of the meetings take place. There were a lot of newspapers on the wall that the IHT published that were major events throughout the world. I enjoyed the September 11^th and Obama being elected into office the best. I learned a lot from this tour and was happy that we got the chance to go visit this place. After this tour, I went to lunch with a few of the students and the meal was very good as always. After eating we went shopping at the Galeries Lafayette. I could not get over how many stores were in this one place. The structure of the building was so beautiful too and it was unlike any mall I have ever seen. After browsing through many of the high priced fashion stores we left. We walked around and bought some crepes and scarves from some street vendors. Then we headed back towards our hotel to get some interviews done for our final projects. After talking to a few people and getting the information we needed, we went back to the hotel to work on some homework. It was a very relaxing day and I was happy that it was.

Pleasure of Paris

BONJOUR! I'm about to get real here. Food is my jam, like if I didn't eat elephant servings for every meal I wouldn't have to run 30 miles a week (actually, that's a joke, I run because I enjoy it... not because I think I'm fat, I don't have little girl body issues DON'T WORRY). My friend Eli from back home told me about this falafel restaurant in the Jewish quarter here in Paris I had to check out, so of course I jumped at the opportunity once I had some free time. You guys, Eli was right, this falafel place called L'AS DU FALLAFEL was magique (magical). This sandwich brought out some intense emotions in me. I can't even describe it... it's indescribable. My sour mood instantly turned happy. I ordered the vegetarian special which is what I suggest ordering, it was 5 euros and took less than 30 seconds to make. They ask if you want it spicy, say YES! It's not that spicy, but it brings out some serious flavor. I enjoyed it so much I'm going back for our next free meal tomorrow. I took pictures which you can check out above but don't worry, I'm going to make Alessandra record me eating it because you just have to see the pleasure this falafel brings out in me.

Ladies and gentleman, if you have a free meal please check this place out. It's off the Saint-Paul stop on the 1 line. It will change your life, it did for me.

{video}