Spring in Rouen and my new haircut

Marché Saint-Marc

One of my favorite things about France (or Europe in general) is the abundance of markets. I feel like one can find anything at these gatherings. There is everything from fresh fruit to used watches to bedding that one can purchase. Each market is pretty similar to the other however the market that I went to this morning was different than any of the others.
The age of the market attendees was the first thing I noticed. I went at ten in the morning. Considering that people (university students) don't even start their night until 12, the market was empty of the young crowd. Instead it was filled with mainly older couples and retirees. Older scarf-wearing women with their rolling grocery sacs and men with their khaki trench coats, hats, and bifocals were making their way through the market.
This market looked like a couple antique stores had been expelled from their premises. There were stalls upon stalls of old china, paintings, clocks, jewelry, and in general treasures from yesteryear. One could look through piles of BD's from the 70's or at records of American artists with French titles. Many times as I was rifling through bins, I found items that still had their prices in Francs. Considering that France stopped using the Franc a decade ago, I got the feeling that many of these items had been on display for a while.
Although there were stalls with a "nouvelle collection," as a whole, the market felt like it was like a Salvation Army. Where someone's old junk becomes another's "treasure." I walked away with purchases that I think probably came from the bottom of some Frenchman's closet. And someday it will become junk that came from the bottom of some American woman's closet.

D'accord Dakar

So our third and final Francophone country that we studied in was Senegal. It is the most Western country of Africa, it's capital Dakar being the farthest west. We went for a week to take classes on Senegalese customs, values and language as well as traveling and seeing as much as we could in 8 days. Needless to say, it was quite a full schedule.
I stayed in a host family with my friend Thahitun that was not far from the Baobab Center, the headquarters of ACI. This is where we had our classes and served as a center point for everything that we did. Our house was about a 15 minute walk from the center.
Coming into this trip after spending a summer in Malawi, I didn't realize the expectations I had unconsciously made. I expected it to be more modern and more western than what my idea of "Africa" was. For the most part I was right but there were some things that threw me for a loop. For instance, there were horses and buggies everywhere. I figure it is a sign that the country is more prosperous because people can afford horses but it was such a weird contrast between the large government buildings and the sickly skinny horse pulling a make-shift buggy. Was not expecting that.
Another thing that struck me was when I walked past a Muslim man praying on the sidewalk next to his stall. I am a religious studies major but I had never, in person, seen any part of Muslim worship. Since Senegal is 95% Muslim, I was exposed to many different aspects of Muslim life. First semester Freshman year was all coming back to me. It was really an interesting experience.

FIVE weeks?!?!

This semester is almost over, you can sense it in the air.

There is evidence of it everywhere. A sheet tacked up on the wall recording return flight information in the office. People are searching for summer jobs. Arranging rides to Charles de Gaulle, sharing traveling plans, and getting depressed about leaving have become a common part of conversation.
We still have a month, yes. However knowing the way that time flies here we know that worrying about leaving a month ahead of time is not that much of a stretch. It is kind of sad that we have to leave Rouen and France when the weather and everything is so nice. When we came the weather was so dreary and cold. Now, when it is perfect strolling sans manteau weather, we have to leave. I am trying hard not to think about how sad it will be. Just focusing on the here and now and enjoying the time that I have left.

Just a new addition to the collection

It is funny how soon you begin to feel that a place is home. On Saturday I strolled with my host brother through town. He is actually a student doing an internship in Rouen, not any actual relation to my host family (it's just easier to say host brother rather than all of that.) He had not been to downtown Rouen yet so we had a nice afternoon walk though the shops and squares of Rouen. I was leading him through streets, giving a mini tour when he asked me how I knew so much about Rouen.
"Well, I have lived here for 2 1/2 months, I should hope I know it."
I got to thinking about how familiar Rouen has become for me. I know the bus/metro system like the back of my hand. I have my favorite haunts... aka shoe stores and cafés. I run into people when I am walking through town. It has quickly become home to me. The cobblestone is now normal. Seeing the spires of the cathedral is a orienting tool, not just a tourist attraction.
I was communicating this same thing to my friend Clara and she said, "it has become a second home. Or actually, a third for me. Home, Canton and Rouen." That got me to thinking. How many places do I think of as home? Many times I have asked myself "where is my hometown?" but this is a different question altogether. After moving several times and traveling a lot, I have racked up quite a bit of places that have been homes to me. There are the normal obvious places, San Diego, Princeton, Pataskala, Bremerton, Canton, and Watertown. But also, there are the places like Mzuzu and Rouen in which I have come to call or think of as home.
Perhaps "home" is the wrong word. However I think that for me, home has been relative. Home is where my family has been. Now, in Rouen, I have been surrounded by people who quickly became a part of my family. Thus, Rouen, like many other places, has joined my collection of homes.

The Dangers of French Cuisine...

As my friend Thahitun said the other day, "I managed to avoid the Freshman fifteen but I didn't expect the French fifteen."
On Friday we had a soirée for my director's birthday at his apartment. It was a great time. We had gotten galettes for lunch at our favorite creperie and then went to his apartment for champagne and pastries from a nearby shop that is literally dessert heaven on earth. Full and happy, the mood was very laid back and cheerful. This pleasant atmosphere hit a slight bump when we discovered that there was a scale in the bathroom. After everyone had weighed themselves and done the math, no one wanted another piece of cake.
We have been having such a wonderful time trying and enjoying all the French cooking we have been exposed to that it is apparently obvious in kilograms as well. Although we are still enjoying the cuisine we had a rude awakening. I pulled out my running shoes that have been in the back of the closet for sometime. I used them the very first weekend I was here but they haven't been taken out since.
So now that I have conquered a lot of my food goals (steak tartare, escargot, numerous cheeses, etc.) my next is to get back into a good routine. This has felt like an eternal vacation but I need to stop eating like it, haha.

This weekend's henna extravaganza

Nothing better than Spring in Paris... except when you have seasonal allergies.

One of the greatest parts of my program is that we get to spend a week in Paris. We stay at a group hostel called FIAP that is in the 14th arrondisement. Although it may not be the most central location, we had a metro nearby and were not a far walk from the Quartier Latin or Boulevard Saint Germain.
The weather during that week was absolutely beautiful. It was 60 degrees almost every day without any clouds. The flowers were blooming and the trees budding which was just lovely. However with the flowers also comes Hay fever and the necessity to carry around toilet paper rolls in one's Frada (fake prada). This just generally meant that I was not enjoying the museums as much as I normally would. I would just look for rooms with benches and camp out there for about ten minutes before moving onto the next. Despite my allergies, our "Paris week" was great.
Our schedule had a lot of wiggle room for exploring. In the morning we frequented museums but in the afternoons, we were set free into Paris to do what we wanted. We needed to complete at least 3 "promenades" that my director, Roy Caldwell, had designated. There were the traditional walks like the Champs Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe or the Boulevard Saint Michel with the Luxembourg gardens or other less traditional like the Canal Saint Martin. I took a couple different promenades because the weather was beautiful and I didn't like being cooped up in museums when the sun was shining.
One of my favorite nights was when the group went to Montmartre for dinner and music. We went to a restaurant about two minutes from Sacre Coeur. I had escargot, which it turns out is totally worth the hype, and a fun dinner with our group. From our dinner we went to Le Lapin Agile which was a famous hangout for artists in the twenties like Picasso. It was a great atmosphere because the performers sang songs that everyone knew (except us obviously) so the audience sang along and interacted. It was a fun night.
It is after nights like the one I had in Montmartre that I have to take a step back and think about how lucky I am. I have gotten to do so many amazing things in the last couple months. This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am just very thankful that I was able to do it. Going home and back to school in Canton is going to be quite a difference.