Just An Average Day in Paris

*Jane in Paris*

I'm sorry, everyone that I haven't posted in awhile. Last Wednesday my life kicked into gear here in Paris because my Fulbright orientation started then. Let me say a little bit about that first. The Franco-American Fulbright Commission has an office in the 16th district of Paris (=really nice), near the Trocadero metro and the Eiffel Tower. It's fun to go there, because the atmosphere is so different from that of Republique. The orientation was Wed-Fri, and although there were many boring moments that usually consisted of some speech being made or some information being given that satisfied the whole "diplomat" aspect of the grant, it was mostly very enjoyable. The other Fulbrighters were all very nice, and it turns out the majority of them live in my district (the 11th), but none live as close to Republique as I do. Most of the students are humanities people, but there are a few scientists as well. Half are just out of undergrad, and half are doctoral candidates like me. I've already seen several of them again since the orientation, so I anticipate getting to know some of them quite well. It was strange to be in these orientation sessions with all of these brilliant people - I have to admit I was trying to be a little more precise with what I said that I usually am. These moments made me feel very privileged.

On Friday Nick left for Vienna, and my friend Betsy Jobes dropped in for a brief visit. Most of you don't know Betsy, but she is the oldest friend I have that I still keep in touch with - we met in the 8th grade. We did a lot of shopping (not a lot of buying), walking around fun parts of the city, and eating at nice restaurants. Every time I see Betsy she also catches me up on the latest news out of St. Joseph, because she still has family there, whereas I don't. Oh, high school, you were strange...

I decided that on Monday my life in Paris would really start, that is, I would start my research. Nine months seems like a lot of time, but the thing about archival research is that there will always be something else out there on your topic.

What I'd like to do for the rest of this post is to recount the past two days of my life, to give my readers a sense of what a normal day is like for me here.

Tuesday
8:30-10:30 am Attend a seminar on dramaturgy in opera at the Sorbonne lead by Mme. Raphaelle Legrand, who is my gracious contact at the university. I could understand her very well! My French ears seem to have turned on Friday morning, when I went on a multiple-hour tour of the Bibiliotheque Nationale Mitterand site, all in French. After the seminar I arrange a later meeting with Mme. Legrand
10:30 am Ride back to the Pl. de la Republique to buy some items at the pharmacy. This takes awhile because I am looking for the cheap stuff, but it takes me awhile to figure out that in a Parisian pharmacy, there is no cheap stuff.
11:30-1:00 Lunch time - Coke Lite, Camembert cheese, salami, baguette that is beginning to go stale, an apple, some chocolate.
1:30-3:45 Visit stores that sell musical scores in what seems to be the/a music shop district of Paris. I pass, with wide eyes, entire shops devoted to string basses. I buy a copy of Pelleas et Melisande by Debussy - for me this is a real milestone because I love this opera, and it is incredibly important in my research. I also buy a book of piano music because I can't help myself.
4:15-5:45 Doctor's appointment back in the 11th district. I have to get all of my prescriptions written by a doctor licensed in France. Despite my love of French, I choose an English-speaking doctor who is from Sweden or Denmark. Lately I have noticed how confused I become when I set out to do something unfamiliar and someone misdirects me. Case in point: I locate a placard with the doctor office's info on it, and am in the middle of typing in the door code when someone tells me "the door is already open." So now I am only focused on the doors that are already open. But this building is rather odd, because it is a standard apartment/office building with a business school wrapped around it. I can only get to the business school through these open doors, but no one has any idea where the doctor's office is. I call the doctor twice, and finally realize that the door is made out of glass, disguised as a window, and is indeed not "already open." I finally make it up to the office, 25 min. late, but the doctor lets me in anyway
-interlude on French health care-
Basic health care here is a lot simpler. In this case, the doctor does everything in his office except making appointments. I sit down across from him at a desk and he types my information into his computer. No forms to fill out in the waiting room! If he needed to examine me, that is in a different part of the same room. When the visit is finished, I pay him and he has a little cash box at his desk - 30 Euros, and this is the full price with no insurance coverage.
I walk back to the metro, but the business students have taken up the entire sidewalk and they're all smoking and not moving out of the way. But at least I found the doctor's office.
Then I eat dinner - couscous with mushrooms, carrot, and sausage, milk, some cheese.
7:00-10:00 I take the metro to the far South Side of Paris, just past the peripherique (highway that encircles Paris). I am looking for a climbing/workout gym called Antrebloc. Inside I pay the fee for a one-time entry, change into my shoes in the locker room, and then I find myself in the midst of about 100 other climbers, who are all awesome. I do what I can, and things improve when I realize that there is free chalk. I'm not sure if I want to join this place: pluses are the free chalk, the flexible hours, the flexible membership options, the fact that there is bouldering and top rope climbing; cons are that the holds are very dirty which makes it hard to hold on to them, and the immense crowd of people. Because it's been awhile since I have done any climbing, the skin on my hands starts to really burn, and I leave. At the metro station on the way back a man asks me for my impressions on a magazine cover he is working on.

Wednesday
I get up later, at 10:00, because yesterday really wore me out. In the morning I go the the grocery store, Shopi, where I can buy any food and drink I need, including wine. Then I go to an internet cafe where I print out a document that I have to present at the Bibliotheque Nationale (BN)
1:30-5:00 I leave for the BN Richelieu site, where the music department is located. I take the metro to Bourse, where there are a lot of very old buildings. I find the library and apply for my researcher's card, which is surprisingly easy. I get it right away. The thing about the French, I find, is that if you follow their directions exactly, and then go one step further, the actual completion of the process is a breeze. It's all about collecting the required documents. Before I know it I am at the music department, in another building nearby, but I am completely unprepared for research. I thought the most I would be able to accomplish today would be applying for the card. But of course I have to go in. I spend awhile ogling the card catalogue, and then I ask to see my first source, a pamphlet on the greatness of French music by a lesser-known composer named Jean Hure. I request the item, return to my assigned desk, and then it is brought to my shortly. I have been waiting for two years to read this thing, and on the one hand seeing it materialize before me after such anticipation is wonderful, but on the other, the actual process of reading the document, turning its pages, taking notes, is a mundane researcher's task. I then spend awhile playing through the piano music that I bought yesterday in one of the piano studios.
5:00 I leave, return to Republique, and spend awhile in the store Camaieux, which kind of reminds me of the Gap, except that the clothes are a combination of trendy and cheap, as opposed to just cheap (sorry Gap, we've been on the outs for years).
7:00 Return to my apartment, where I do things like eat dinner, take a shower, talk to Nick on Skype, watch Project Runway.

So now you know what it's like to be me in Paris. For your pleasure, I submit the following photographs:

The newest and main BN site - it consists of a vast wooden deck, with parts of the site underground surrounding a forestish garden, with 14 story buildings above ground at the corners. These views are from one of the towers.

The Site Mitterand follows- much older and less awesome, but it contains many awesome musical documents

Then here is me in front of the Paris Opera, Garnier site, taken during my day with Betsy.

Lastly, here is a huge demonstration that took place at Republique on Saturday. A sensible place for a protest, because the statue after which the area is named is literally supposed to represent the French Republic. About 20,000 demonstrators marching peacefully in resistance to unfair restrictions placed against French people of non European decent. Demonstrations are so common in France, that I thought the demonstrators must get bored, but these protesters were pretty enthusiastic (in a peaceful way). Really cool thing to see.