Republic.
A train stop off the line 8, my line. I get off here sometimes to use the internet. The next big stop after that in Bastille, usually the one I get off but not the closest one to my apt. I like walking down the rue, Rue Faubourg St. Antoine. St Antoine is the saint of lost things. He helped me get my back pack back in Munich. He still has my bag. Actually British Airways does, but you know what I mean.
I miss burritos.
I have been eating a lot of greek sandwiches and doner kabobs. There are tasty, but probably not very healthy for me. Which is why I cook as much as I can.
What can I say? I have been in Europe for 2 months now and its left me neutral to any sort of orientation. The US of A is somewhat of a memory, a place I tell people I'm from and images saved on a hard drive in my brain. But I really can't remember what it is like to be there. Except for the other day when my friend was talking about the trains in SF. For a moment I was rushed back to those hilly streets and my sleepy beach town neighborhood. I could smell the salt in the air and feel the suns reflection off the ocean water. It was nice.
In the fashion that I was mentally transported back to SF for a moment, I want to bring you here. But it is hard to do because the picture is so big, you might need a back up hard drive, 260gigs at least.
Paris has its own heart beat. It is loud and unpredictable. If a doctor listened to it, he would tell it to stay over night for tests.
Lets start underground. The metro is where I spend most of my day, getting around town, underground. The halls to get from train to train are long, usually very crowded, (this one is empty) and look like this:
Refer to Image one above...
The air is stale and damp with sweat and electricity. The train comes and you lift the latch, get on and find a corner to perch at. I usually play a lot of tetris on my cell phone as I go. But every so often the train goes about ground (always when it crosses the Seine) For a minute, you travel over water with a view of Notre Dame, eastern Paris, and maybe the Eiffel Tower on a clear day. To get where I need to go, I usually take 3 trains. It is convenient, but not super fast and wears the energy out of you. I hopped my first turnstale the other day. It illegal, but everyone does it.
You get out of the metro, and there is...Paris. There is really no other way to say it.
The girls are pretty. The Africans are very black. The buildings are old. The trees are big, full grown and beautiful. ( I can't wait until the leaves turn orange and red, It will be amazing) All the trash trucks are green, and the pick up most of the trash. The streets are pretty clean except for the dog poop which can sneak up on you from between the cobble stones.
There are little parks or fountains every 3 blocks and around every corner is something that makes you say, "Wow! Look at that."
Everyone here is fit. All that walking around and going up and down stairs keeps everyone pretty slim and energetic. It is hard to become lazy here. You have to go out at some point in the day.
I love my room and my place, but I don't like being in it all day. It looks like this.
Image 2...
As I walk the streets, I am constantly running into some sort of monument or church or food market.
Each arrondisment has its own character too. Mine, the 11th, is funky. A lot of bars, clubs, and somewhat ritzy stores. The area is called the Bastille. I like living there. It is lively enough to keep you entertained, but not touristy.
Speaking of tourist, Americans sound so stupid on the train sometimes. "What train is this?" Says some Texan. "Boy these French are confusing, sure as hell don't make sense to me. Lets go to McDonald's." (that is where I am right now so i can't complain about that but....) I like to speak bad english in a french accent to them and help them find their way. But sometimes I will walk into a place and say something in french and they will respond in english. The French can just tell sometimes.
There are motos everywhere...cool little scooters that zoom around the streets. And all kids of people drive them. Young men, old men, business men, older ladies, and my favorite, the oh-so-HOT chicks who ride their vespas or what not. Oooooo they melt my skin they are so cute.
The stores and everything isn't much different than anywhere else. France has pretty much all the same stuff. it is just...French.
Important side note: My brother turned 16 on the 21st. I didn't get a chance to call him but I did write him an email. I miss that guy and I'm so excited for him. He is getting older. He is learning about life, growing into his own skin. I really want him to visit. I'd love to go traveling with him. I feel we bond when we go on trips together and it has been a lot time since we've been on one. SO if you see him or can get in contact with him, wish him a happy b-day. He's a driver now, so watch out for your roads...and your daughters.
I am still kinda confused where I should go to school. But where ever I end up, i will have a good time and make the best of it. They make it such a high priority here to pick a school but it is fucking hard when there are so many to choose from and no telling what they are like.
I start work (if i get my papers in order) in october. I really have been procrastinating too much. i need to get my life in order here but when you're disoriented, its a little hard to do. It is so much easier to party with your friends than party at the social security office. I always come out the other end though, so I just need to kick my ass into gear a little. Feel free to comment on this. I'm sharing with you a weakness of mine.
Political note, then I am out. There are a lot of smart politic folk here (students I mean you know a lot...kinda like Greg. My roommate Jack is like Greg, but liberal, it makes me laugh) This is Jack. (In the white shirt)
Image 3...
I have never been in a city of such equality. It is their socialist mentality but a there isn't the same racial tension here as there is in the States. They try and see all citizens as French. Interracial couples are so common here, its hard to believe that they are uncommon anywhere. I like that. I like how they don't care what you look like, they (the French) just care what you do or how you act. Don't get me wrong, it is no utopia for the minority, because minorities still exist. The city is just more mixed and the young generations, who are a major of the population, are happy with this.
Ok, I gotta go, running out of battery. Wish me luck. This is a space invader (the one by my apt.)
Image 4...
My address, you gotta e-mail me for that
Call me, write me, send me money. What ever.
This is me. Alexander
A train stop off the line 8, my line. I get off here sometimes to use the internet. The next big stop after that in Bastille, usually the one I get off but not the closest one to my apt. I like walking down the rue, Rue Faubourg St. Antoine. St Antoine is the saint of lost things. He helped me get my back pack back in Munich. He still has my bag. Actually British Airways does, but you know what I mean.
I miss burritos.
I have been eating a lot of greek sandwiches and doner kabobs. There are tasty, but probably not very healthy for me. Which is why I cook as much as I can.
What can I say? I have been in Europe for 2 months now and its left me neutral to any sort of orientation. The US of A is somewhat of a memory, a place I tell people I'm from and images saved on a hard drive in my brain. But I really can't remember what it is like to be there. Except for the other day when my friend was talking about the trains in SF. For a moment I was rushed back to those hilly streets and my sleepy beach town neighborhood. I could smell the salt in the air and feel the suns reflection off the ocean water. It was nice.
In the fashion that I was mentally transported back to SF for a moment, I want to bring you here. But it is hard to do because the picture is so big, you might need a back up hard drive, 260gigs at least.
Paris has its own heart beat. It is loud and unpredictable. If a doctor listened to it, he would tell it to stay over night for tests.
Lets start underground. The metro is where I spend most of my day, getting around town, underground. The halls to get from train to train are long, usually very crowded, (this one is empty) and look like this:
Refer to Image one above...
The air is stale and damp with sweat and electricity. The train comes and you lift the latch, get on and find a corner to perch at. I usually play a lot of tetris on my cell phone as I go. But every so often the train goes about ground (always when it crosses the Seine) For a minute, you travel over water with a view of Notre Dame, eastern Paris, and maybe the Eiffel Tower on a clear day. To get where I need to go, I usually take 3 trains. It is convenient, but not super fast and wears the energy out of you. I hopped my first turnstale the other day. It illegal, but everyone does it.
You get out of the metro, and there is...Paris. There is really no other way to say it.
The girls are pretty. The Africans are very black. The buildings are old. The trees are big, full grown and beautiful. ( I can't wait until the leaves turn orange and red, It will be amazing) All the trash trucks are green, and the pick up most of the trash. The streets are pretty clean except for the dog poop which can sneak up on you from between the cobble stones.
There are little parks or fountains every 3 blocks and around every corner is something that makes you say, "Wow! Look at that."
Everyone here is fit. All that walking around and going up and down stairs keeps everyone pretty slim and energetic. It is hard to become lazy here. You have to go out at some point in the day.
I love my room and my place, but I don't like being in it all day. It looks like this.
Image 2...
As I walk the streets, I am constantly running into some sort of monument or church or food market.
Each arrondisment has its own character too. Mine, the 11th, is funky. A lot of bars, clubs, and somewhat ritzy stores. The area is called the Bastille. I like living there. It is lively enough to keep you entertained, but not touristy.
Speaking of tourist, Americans sound so stupid on the train sometimes. "What train is this?" Says some Texan. "Boy these French are confusing, sure as hell don't make sense to me. Lets go to McDonald's." (that is where I am right now so i can't complain about that but....) I like to speak bad english in a french accent to them and help them find their way. But sometimes I will walk into a place and say something in french and they will respond in english. The French can just tell sometimes.
There are motos everywhere...cool little scooters that zoom around the streets. And all kids of people drive them. Young men, old men, business men, older ladies, and my favorite, the oh-so-HOT chicks who ride their vespas or what not. Oooooo they melt my skin they are so cute.
The stores and everything isn't much different than anywhere else. France has pretty much all the same stuff. it is just...French.
Important side note: My brother turned 16 on the 21st. I didn't get a chance to call him but I did write him an email. I miss that guy and I'm so excited for him. He is getting older. He is learning about life, growing into his own skin. I really want him to visit. I'd love to go traveling with him. I feel we bond when we go on trips together and it has been a lot time since we've been on one. SO if you see him or can get in contact with him, wish him a happy b-day. He's a driver now, so watch out for your roads...and your daughters.
I am still kinda confused where I should go to school. But where ever I end up, i will have a good time and make the best of it. They make it such a high priority here to pick a school but it is fucking hard when there are so many to choose from and no telling what they are like.
I start work (if i get my papers in order) in october. I really have been procrastinating too much. i need to get my life in order here but when you're disoriented, its a little hard to do. It is so much easier to party with your friends than party at the social security office. I always come out the other end though, so I just need to kick my ass into gear a little. Feel free to comment on this. I'm sharing with you a weakness of mine.
Political note, then I am out. There are a lot of smart politic folk here (students I mean you know a lot...kinda like Greg. My roommate Jack is like Greg, but liberal, it makes me laugh) This is Jack. (In the white shirt)
Image 3...
I have never been in a city of such equality. It is their socialist mentality but a there isn't the same racial tension here as there is in the States. They try and see all citizens as French. Interracial couples are so common here, its hard to believe that they are uncommon anywhere. I like that. I like how they don't care what you look like, they (the French) just care what you do or how you act. Don't get me wrong, it is no utopia for the minority, because minorities still exist. The city is just more mixed and the young generations, who are a major of the population, are happy with this.
Ok, I gotta go, running out of battery. Wish me luck. This is a space invader (the one by my apt.)
Image 4...
My address, you gotta e-mail me for that
Call me, write me, send me money. What ever.
This is me. Alexander
posted by Alexander at 7:55 AM
1 comments
