Hot Peppers for a New Start

Taking French classes for seven weeks has equipped me to make educated guesses on what’s being said/written. I can carry on an elementary conversation and follow conversations about limited topics. Imagine having only seven weeks of English…

I suppose it’s only natural that I still feel lost and self-conscious when it comes to French. And so I am officially enrolled to start two months of classes next Monday. I’ve decided to attend a different school: The Alliance Francaise. It felt incredibly rewarding to be able to say, honestly, that I am not a complete beginner. Though after the placement exam, I must admit that I could have fooled even myself… I can’t imagine I scored very high though I know, with certainty, that I got a handful of the questions correct which is something I would not have been able to do last May.

For the remainder of my work experience I’ll be part-time. I’ll attend French class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-12 and then go to work.

This past weekend I went to check out the location and didn’t realize it was so close to Saint Sulpice. John and I took advantage of the location and found ourselves not only visiting the Church but also wandering around the neighborhood. We walked by a flower shop and saw that they had great plants. At first we were just commenting how pretty everything was until I saw a plant that seemed to be growing hot peppers. When I realized it was a hot pepper plant I knew I had to buy it and try it out! And so I made John ask the florist a million questions: when do I know the peppers are done, how often do I water it, does it need sun, do I put a stick in the center for extra support, etc. Hopefully, in two months I can talk freely about how I take care of this plant in French!

Check out the pictures from this weekend here: we not only went to Saint Sulpice but also to the Orangerie (to see Monet’s Lilly pads!).

שנה טובה: Happy New Year!

I was a little hesitant about observing the High Holidays alone this year but have been reminded that, as Safam would say, “wherever you go, there’s always someone Jewish!”

I didn’t even think of getting tickets until September! Yes, there are tickets for High Holidays. It may seem like a strange notion that you need to purchase a ticket to pray but it’s true. Just like there are Catholics who only go to Church for Christmas, there are Jews who only go to Temple for the High Holidays. So many that it makes the most sense to have tickets. This not only generates an income for the congregation but must allow the congregation to prepare for the number of people about to flood their sanctuary. Many Temples even have ways to open up and expand their sanctuaries to allow room for more people. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to attend services this year but took it as a sign when Kehilat Gesher not only welcomed me (two weeks after the application deadline) but also gave me a just-graduated-from-college-and-on-a-tight-budget discount.

I was told ahead of time to bring my passport for identification. What I wasn’t forewarned about was that there would be rather hefty security. Now that I’ve attended guarded and unguarded services I have to admit that I’m definitely more at ease when there is no need for security to consist of multiple people standing guard with weapons. I can’t fathom that becoming a norm.

Not only is there always someone Jewish but we all have the same prayers. I was comforted to recognize the same tunes I’ve sung since a kid. With a piano and a small choir the service was both intimate and beautiful, something I thought Charlie would have really appreciated.

In his D’var (sermon) the Rabbi urged the congregation to not only take the next ten days to repent (before Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement) but to think about the person we are right now, about how we are living our lives and to be honest with ourselves about what we have fallen short on. On my way home I couldn’t help but think about these things. Here I am celebrating the High Holidays because I made the conscious decision to, when to be honest it would have been easier to call it day by eating an apple with honey. Here I am exploring another culture and trying to learn another language all while learning new things about myself. What a perfect way to ring in the New Year. I may not be in an academic setting but I am, once again, a student. I am learning about myself and about how I want to live my life. This year will certainly be full of new beginnings.

When I came home there was a beautiful basket filled with fruit, candy and wine from Daphne. I’ve not only had plenty of sweet fruit but, as always, had apples and honey. I hope you have a happy, healthy year 5770. L’shana Tova, may you all be written in the Book of Life.

Did you know Monet's middle name was Oscar? It's true!

My Mom used to give my sisters and I special time, with just her and one of us, to do whatever we wanted while growing up. I remember

begging her to play the diversity game, seeing the “Lollipop” show in New York and wandering around the MET to see every Monet painting

they had.

Come to think of it, I think it’s safe to say I was obsessed with everything Monet. I knew all the trivia. I dressed up as him for Halloween one year (not something I would suggest… everyone thought I was a homeless man.) I could even tell you everything about his paintings. In fact I remember walking around the MET with my mom once, telling her all I knew and pointing out my favorite parts. After awhile we noticed that people were actually following us around, listening to me! Okay so if you ask me now I’m lucky if I remember how many different versions of the Haystacks there are (I believe 24 or 25) but I still love his artwork.

After admitting this, I find it a little embarrassing to say that in all the time I’ve spent in France I have only recently made the trip to Giverny. With the weather getting more unpredictable, John and I decided it would be best to take chance and go to Giverny earlier rather than later. The weather was perfect and even though we overheard someone say that this late in the season we wouldn’t see all of the flowers it was beautiful. We took a tour of his house. Which I have to admit was different than I had expected. Each room was a different color. With the sun beaming off the bright yellow, the dinning room was my favorite. We spent the rest of our time walking through the gardens. I can’t imagine that we saw everything but it felt like the property went on forever. I think I would take up painting too if I had gardens like that!

After seeing everything (I hope) John and I took a tour of the rest of the town. Giverny is cute, but I wonder if much happens after Monet’s house closes for the public in November. While wandering down the main street, John stopped me and we saw these really impressive sand sculptures. You would think they belonged to a park or an exhibit but instead they were in the artist’s front yard with an explanation. The sand contains some clay with helps keep the sculptures sturdy enough to last an impressive two months!

We ended our tour of Giverny at the Church (which was under construction) and cemetery where the Monet’s are buried. Sadly, the cemetery wasn't very well kept up but it was nice to honor Jewish tradition by leaving a stone on his grave stone.

I was sad to leave Giverny but delighted that John liked it enough to suggest going back! After all these years, I suppose I can still say I'm a loyal Monet fan.

I always post a link to our pictures but this time I really suggest you take a look. I spent the whole time in awe of how beautiful was I didn’t even notice John was taking pictures the whole time. They turned out great! (Click here to see our pictures)

Finally... I have a job!

And so part two of my adventures in Paris has officially begun. On Wednesday I called the company I was supposed to start working for and was told to come in on Friday to meet everyone. Little did I know that Friday would be my first full day of work but it worked out well and I’m glad to be employed. I’m glad I thought that might happen and planned accordingly!

The office is in a great location, across the street from the Louvre. It’s definitely different than any office I’ve ever been in because instead of having cubicles there is a large open space with shared desks. I’m still not convinced that’s the most productive way to work but I’m sure it will be a good way to meet my co-workers. Ironically, my first real job outside of the Pharma industry has me working on a project dedicated to conducting market research on Pharmaceutical & Biotech Companies. At least I have some background knowledge to work off of!

After day one I can honestly say that the next few months are going to be quite the experience. I’m excited, though, because it looks like I’ll continue to improve my French after all. At least I hope so considering I don’t know how to change the language on my work computer.

Instead of acclimating myself to Paris, I look forward to gaining a better perspective on what it’s like to function “as a real person” in France.