Memory Lane

I'm not the kind of person to talk much about stuff I've done or places I've been. Not unless I'm really feeling it, and tonight I'm feeling it. I stumbled across a handful of photos from a more oblivious/naive/care-free time of my life, and my mind just flooded with memories. And, after all, this is a place for memories. So here goes.

2004 is the year, 18 is the age, semester abroad Paris is the what and where, a point and shoot film camera is the camera. I actually threw out all my prints before we moved out here because I get a bit liberal at throwing stuff away when I move every couple weeks. I have a digital copy of all those prints so why do I need them right? Right? Digital is the way of the world these days. Anyhow, when I was making sure all the cds with the pictures on them worked and there were indeed pictures on them, I picked some that I might use for inspiration to paint. So I have a little itty bitty "Paris" folder in my pictures on this very computer where my bum is planted in front of, above, and a bit to the right. It is filled with the smallest of samplings of my experience. Welcome to memory lane:

This is the Eiffel Tower sparkling. When I was there it would sparkle every hour on the hour. And I don't have any pictures in my itty bitty folder, but since I was there from January-April, it was lit up bright red for Chinese New Year. And I mean red. That was cool.

I'm honestly not sure if this was in Paris. Actually, it was in April, so it wasn't. Final answer: not in Paris.

And I'm pretty sure this was not in Paris, but I don't know where.

This is in Southern France, and that's a neato merry go round if you ask me.

Obviously, I liked the look of the narrow European streets with shutters that people actually use. I remember when I got home that was one of the first things I noticed-- all the silly looking shutters that were too small for the windows and just there for the look of it. And stuck to the side of the house. I'm used to it again. Don't even think about it. Though, I wish we did use shutters-- eliminate the need for room darkening blinds, right? And there's just something fun about a) having your room be dark if you want to sleep in or take a nap and b) waking up, opening your window and pushing your shutters open to welcome the day and fresh air. I loved it.

Southern France. Am I so informative?

Southern France. The side of that cliff thing is full of ochre pigment which is why it's so pretty. We went to an ochre museum of sorts... that was one of my favorite parts of all my travels that semester.

Sacre Coeur. Paris.

Paris.

So Paris. This is no doubt where I got my love for the rain.

Normandy. Surreal, humbling, overwhelming, sacred.

I look back on this experience and the first thing I think about is how unbelievably ignorant I was. I had actually applied to go to London; didn't get in, but Paris had some spots to fill. So I went. Money grew on trees anyhow, right? Right! So off I go... la dee da, I'm 18... hum hum hum... I literally did not look up a single word of French before I went. Nor did I speak one. I remember my Grandma told me to tell people "No parlez vous Francais" if I didn't want to talk to peeps, but it turns out that just means, "No you speak French." So..... yeah. It was an interesting beginning to my trip to say the least. I was supposed to be with an English speaking family based on the fact that I had no French speaking background or interest, frankly, but somebody had a dog and somebody had an allergy and so I wound up with a French speaking dog family.

I will literally NEVER forget the moment I got in my family's car and the dad turned around and spoke to me in French and I just completely froze. However many extremely awkward moments went by until he said in horribly broken English, "My English is no good." Holy cow. It was an adjustment to be sure. And, no, I don't speak French. Unless you want a baguette or "that." Or directions and then you had better just watch where they point! By the end of my time, I could understand some, and answer some yes or no questions and maybe look like I understood just by observing the situation. Like one time a lady in a grocery store asked me to reach an up high item for her. I didn't understand her words, but I acted like I did and got the gist of it. And that's the story of how I got something up high down for a lady in a grocery store in Paris.

Other than my ignorance and naivety, this experience spurs memories of such great times and experiences, great friends, and all the neat things I did and saw and learned about. And this is where memory lane dead ends tonight. Bye.