I won't lie. Sometimes I forget this blog exists. Lucky for me, I have friends (thank you, Dan O'Connor) who remind me that I do have one and that I should and really do want to write on it.
So we're down to the final 4 weeks. When I say it out loud as "a month", it seems like longer than it is, but 4 weeks is really no time at all. This week is so busy and crammed full of work, events, etc., that I probably won't even remember that it happened once I get to next Monday.
I've just returned from London, where I went to see the new "Harry Potter" film. Much to my dismay, however, it turns out that the whole excited fans waiting outside for tickets and general Harry Potter hype is only an American thing. We were the only ones in the theatre until about 10 minutes before the movie started, and we were there at about 9:00am on Saturday morning. Needless to say, it kind of decreased the excitement, but I'm glad I got to go to see the movie there. London is very, very amazing and it was a real shame we only had a weekend. There is far too much to do and to see. But now I've returned to Paris to enjoy my last weeks here, and I'm genuinely very happy. I've gotten to squeeze in some touristy things lately, like climbing the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, which is said to have (and I agree) the best view of Paris. I've also been to the huge and wildly popular Monet exhibit at the Grand Palais - I got in line with my friends at 8:30am to wait with about a hundred other people, that's how popular this thing is. But it really was worth it. The collection is outstanding, and you just feel at peace when you're walking through the exhibition, which is, I should add, about 3 floors full of paintings. Coming up is a trip to Normandy with my class, and then I'm just about done...
What can I say at this point? I was telling my dear mom that I don't think I'll really know until I get home what the impact has been. I suppose it's not really worth thinking about now, I may as well enjoy my time here and worry about my quarter-life-crisis that comes of it later.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Infrequent, But Important
As I'm sure you loyal readers can tell, I've been busy. Too busy, in fact, to update this blog as much as I'd like. Luckily, I have lots to say to catch you up on what's been going on in good ol' Paris...
Let's start with the job update. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up is the first thing I'll say. As I previously explained, I'm stage managing (which has really become more like an assistant to the director) two plays that are going on tour consecutively; it's the same 4 actors in both shows, same director, same playwright. When I arrived in Palaiseau, the dreadfully far suburb where rehearsals take place, I met the actors.
1. Luc - French, tall, long hair with a pony-tail and beard in preparation for his other current project, "The Three Musketeers", smoker, age 29, and incredibly kind. He also plays the guitar for the songs in the first play. He's pretty good, and when he's just fooling around, he tends to play "Faith" by George Michael. I like this man.
2. Dimitri - Half-French/half-American, shorter, age 31, not chubby but certainly not toned, redhead, recessed chin, wants to be goofy but I find him rather awkward actually, very nice and polite, didn't find it at all interesting that his aunt lives in Connecticut... I thought maybe we could bond. We didn't. I like him though, despite his socially uncomfortable attitude towards me. I'll grow on him.
3. Sophie - From somewhere in the UK, age 35 but looks about 18, married, attended the very famous and very important French acting school Jacques le Coq, SO NICE, SO FUNNY, swears like a sailor, very talented actress, weighs probably about 90 pounds but eats enough food for 10 sumo wrestlers. I love her.
4. Livia - Turkish, age 24, bodacious - huge boobs, big hips, AMAZING dancer, very sweet, a little too aware of how sexy she is, also attended Jacques le Coq, great speaking voices, eats homemade gnocchi for lunch a lot and I always want a bite, engaging, fantastic stage presence.
And then there's me. 21 year old (well, in 25 minutes Paris time, I'll be 21) American who thought she wouldn't be as much of a fish out of water as she is.... See, the thing is, these 4 people and the director, Andrew, all go way back. So you see, it's a very tight knit circle that I'm trying to squeeze myself into. I think perhaps I was a little awkward at the beginning of the week, but I've come out of my shell a bit and we all get along quite well. Rehearsals usually begin with an intensive warm-up, so I do a lot of watching at first. As things heat up throughout the day, I find myself doing both stage manager jobs - writing down blocking, following the script, checking schedules - as well as assistant jobs - getting the director tea or water if he's thirsty, etc. All of this has been a great learning experience so far, as cliche as it sounds, and I can't say that I could have imagined nicer people to be working with. And apparently, Andrew likes my writing style because he's asked me to write a rehearsal blog for their website. At the end of every day, I submit what he's called a "rehearsal diary" to be put online for what I'm told is a lot of followers. Seems like blogging is my calling. Too bad that's not an available major at college.
In other news, I'm ill and did not go to work today, nor am I going to tomorrow. But tomorrow is also my birthday, so I'm more okay with that. It doesn't quite feel like my birthday yet. Something tells me it won't until I get back to the States, where it actually makes a difference that I'm 21 and am legal to drink. All y'all back home - get ready to go out for a cocktail when I get off the plane!
Closing thought: I come home in 38 days. Let the anxiety attack begin.
Let's start with the job update. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up is the first thing I'll say. As I previously explained, I'm stage managing (which has really become more like an assistant to the director) two plays that are going on tour consecutively; it's the same 4 actors in both shows, same director, same playwright. When I arrived in Palaiseau, the dreadfully far suburb where rehearsals take place, I met the actors.
1. Luc - French, tall, long hair with a pony-tail and beard in preparation for his other current project, "The Three Musketeers", smoker, age 29, and incredibly kind. He also plays the guitar for the songs in the first play. He's pretty good, and when he's just fooling around, he tends to play "Faith" by George Michael. I like this man.
2. Dimitri - Half-French/half-American, shorter, age 31, not chubby but certainly not toned, redhead, recessed chin, wants to be goofy but I find him rather awkward actually, very nice and polite, didn't find it at all interesting that his aunt lives in Connecticut... I thought maybe we could bond. We didn't. I like him though, despite his socially uncomfortable attitude towards me. I'll grow on him.
3. Sophie - From somewhere in the UK, age 35 but looks about 18, married, attended the very famous and very important French acting school Jacques le Coq, SO NICE, SO FUNNY, swears like a sailor, very talented actress, weighs probably about 90 pounds but eats enough food for 10 sumo wrestlers. I love her.
4. Livia - Turkish, age 24, bodacious - huge boobs, big hips, AMAZING dancer, very sweet, a little too aware of how sexy she is, also attended Jacques le Coq, great speaking voices, eats homemade gnocchi for lunch a lot and I always want a bite, engaging, fantastic stage presence.
And then there's me. 21 year old (well, in 25 minutes Paris time, I'll be 21) American who thought she wouldn't be as much of a fish out of water as she is.... See, the thing is, these 4 people and the director, Andrew, all go way back. So you see, it's a very tight knit circle that I'm trying to squeeze myself into. I think perhaps I was a little awkward at the beginning of the week, but I've come out of my shell a bit and we all get along quite well. Rehearsals usually begin with an intensive warm-up, so I do a lot of watching at first. As things heat up throughout the day, I find myself doing both stage manager jobs - writing down blocking, following the script, checking schedules - as well as assistant jobs - getting the director tea or water if he's thirsty, etc. All of this has been a great learning experience so far, as cliche as it sounds, and I can't say that I could have imagined nicer people to be working with. And apparently, Andrew likes my writing style because he's asked me to write a rehearsal blog for their website. At the end of every day, I submit what he's called a "rehearsal diary" to be put online for what I'm told is a lot of followers. Seems like blogging is my calling. Too bad that's not an available major at college.
In other news, I'm ill and did not go to work today, nor am I going to tomorrow. But tomorrow is also my birthday, so I'm more okay with that. It doesn't quite feel like my birthday yet. Something tells me it won't until I get back to the States, where it actually makes a difference that I'm 21 and am legal to drink. All y'all back home - get ready to go out for a cocktail when I get off the plane!
Closing thought: I come home in 38 days. Let the anxiety attack begin.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Overdue
I finally found a moment to get some photos up in hurr. I dedicate this entry to Zak Engel, who has pushed for pictures from day one. Viva La Blackberry Camera. Enjoy!
Sunrise at the Eiffel Tower
Paris on strike
The products here are a bit different...
...for example, sometimes they serve wine in baby bottles.
So creepy fun, the Catacombes.
Every church has made me cry.
My adorable friends at a bookstore!
Loire Valley - it was kinda like going to Nirvana.
They don't hate all things American.
Murakami 1
Murakami 2
Murakami 3 - outside
Well, I just really loved going to Belgium.
More to come at a later date. For now, Happy Halloween!
Sunrise at the Eiffel Tower
Paris on strike
The products here are a bit different...
...for example, sometimes they serve wine in baby bottles.
So creepy fun, the Catacombes.
Every church has made me cry.
My adorable friends at a bookstore!
Loire Valley - it was kinda like going to Nirvana.
They don't hate all things American.
Murakami 1
Murakami 2
Murakami 3 - outside
Well, I just really loved going to Belgium.
More to come at a later date. For now, Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Chilling Art and Chilly Weather
It's almost 11am and I am still in bed. Could it be because I don't have work today? Possibly. Could it be because I'm just tired? Possibly. Is the most probable option that I've been having nightmares every night for about a week, thereby waking up every few hours, resulting in no good night's sleep ever? Bingo. Last night was clearly a win.
Two extremely disturbing, yet interesting art exhibits attended. Allow me:
1. The museum that is attached to the Eglise Val de Grace. I went there with my friends for class, and nobody else was there. I mean, it was a ghost town. The building that the church is located in is apparently equal parts school, church, and museum. This was news to me. Because we were the only people in the building, the gentlemen who worked there followed us around eventually pointed us in the direction of their museum once we were finished looking at their church. Lucky us.
Well, let's see... The museum used to be a hospital that was primarily used during WWII. Interesting enough? But the way it was set-up was utterly unsettling, because everything was made to look just a little too much like it used to. For example, there was a fake mortuary with actual petrified human heads underneath sheets on beds. The beds were suspended by these gold bars, and when we walked in, there just so happened to be a super creepy employee there... in costume, wearing scrubs. The rest of the museum has exact replicas of what happened to people's faces during the war, (for example, if a man got half his cheek blown out), and the kind of reconstructive surgery they'd do to fix it. It was all very morbid and sad, but the art show I went to last night might top that...
2. Sophie Calle at the Palais de Tokyo. Long story short, Sophie is a young artist and throughout her life, her mother kept asking her why she wasn't ever the subject in her daughter's artwork. This upset her mother deeply, I gathered. So when her mother got sick and subsequently died, Sophie decided to film her mother's death. Her mom, still conscious and not quite done yet, understood that her daughter was finally putting her in her art, leading to the moment before she died, when her final word to her child was "Finally."
So, the footage of her mother's death is at this exhibit, and it's pretty much as charming as it sounds. She enters into rigor mortis at one point, which is apparent when the nurse takes her pulse on both her neck and her wrist. Other parts of the museum included a few photos from Sophie's trip to the North Pole, a journey she took after her mom passed away because it was somewhere that her mother always wanted to go, but never did.
So, it's been a charming few days. I'm leaving for Brussels tomorrow morning. If I hear one more person say "Oh, Brussels is nice, but Bruges is really where you should go", I'll cry. I wanted to go to Bruges all along, but it's hard to convince large groups to go there, apparently. I'm still looking forward to the trip. Maybe we'll even have enough time to take a day trip to Bruges, who knows. Otherwise, I've been trying to research in hopes that our literal 48 hours spent there isn't a total bust. At least we always know there's good chocolate. And beer. Cheers!
Two extremely disturbing, yet interesting art exhibits attended. Allow me:
1. The museum that is attached to the Eglise Val de Grace. I went there with my friends for class, and nobody else was there. I mean, it was a ghost town. The building that the church is located in is apparently equal parts school, church, and museum. This was news to me. Because we were the only people in the building, the gentlemen who worked there followed us around eventually pointed us in the direction of their museum once we were finished looking at their church. Lucky us.
Well, let's see... The museum used to be a hospital that was primarily used during WWII. Interesting enough? But the way it was set-up was utterly unsettling, because everything was made to look just a little too much like it used to. For example, there was a fake mortuary with actual petrified human heads underneath sheets on beds. The beds were suspended by these gold bars, and when we walked in, there just so happened to be a super creepy employee there... in costume, wearing scrubs. The rest of the museum has exact replicas of what happened to people's faces during the war, (for example, if a man got half his cheek blown out), and the kind of reconstructive surgery they'd do to fix it. It was all very morbid and sad, but the art show I went to last night might top that...
2. Sophie Calle at the Palais de Tokyo. Long story short, Sophie is a young artist and throughout her life, her mother kept asking her why she wasn't ever the subject in her daughter's artwork. This upset her mother deeply, I gathered. So when her mother got sick and subsequently died, Sophie decided to film her mother's death. Her mom, still conscious and not quite done yet, understood that her daughter was finally putting her in her art, leading to the moment before she died, when her final word to her child was "Finally."
So, the footage of her mother's death is at this exhibit, and it's pretty much as charming as it sounds. She enters into rigor mortis at one point, which is apparent when the nurse takes her pulse on both her neck and her wrist. Other parts of the museum included a few photos from Sophie's trip to the North Pole, a journey she took after her mom passed away because it was somewhere that her mother always wanted to go, but never did.
So, it's been a charming few days. I'm leaving for Brussels tomorrow morning. If I hear one more person say "Oh, Brussels is nice, but Bruges is really where you should go", I'll cry. I wanted to go to Bruges all along, but it's hard to convince large groups to go there, apparently. I'm still looking forward to the trip. Maybe we'll even have enough time to take a day trip to Bruges, who knows. Otherwise, I've been trying to research in hopes that our literal 48 hours spent there isn't a total bust. At least we always know there's good chocolate. And beer. Cheers!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Days Go By
I think it's safe to say that Paris has skipped fall and we've just arrived at winter. It's just about Lake Forest, IL cold here, and that's really saying something. Time to buy a coat.
Despite the frosty weather, this weekend proved to be exciting and fun. Yesterday, Jillian and I journeyed to Versailles, a place she has already visited twice, but was entirely new to me. For both of us, however, the current Murakami exhibit inside the grand chateau was a new experience. Starting in September and running until December, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, perhaps best known in the United States for his album artwork for Kanye West's CD "Graduation", has an absolutely incredible exhibit on display in several rooms on the second floor of the Versailles estate, as well as one sculpture in the garden outside. There were about 16 pieces in total, and I can't wait to finally be able to upload photos (again, my apologies). In Murakami's words, his artwork for the famous mansion is supposed to make us, the audience, Alice and he, the Cheshire Cat, allowing him to show us the magic and mystery of Versailles, or Wonderland. Each sculpture is colorful, creative, and complete visual overstimulation. They are also incredibly modern, which serves as both a juxtaposition to Versailles itself, but they also support the elaborate and ornate decorative aspect of the interior decoration in the rooms in which the sculptures stand. There was even one sculpture that was co-created by musical singer/producer Pharrell Williams; the sculpture, titled "The Simple Things", was a a large, ovular monster-head with an open mouth, showing fangs and a colorful tongue-throat area. Atop the monster's tongue sat a pink tray which held crystal-encrusted models of the following: a cupcake, a Heinz ketchup bottle, a Pepsi, a Johnson & Johnson shampoo bottle, a bag of Dorito's, a Nike sneaker, and a condom. Perhaps y'all should use Google for images. It was a true spectacle.
In other news, work is still continuing to challenge and excite me. As weird it is, October is almost over and soon I'll be making the hour and 20 minute commute to Palaiseau (a small city-suburb outside Paris) to attend play rehearsal every day. I'm overjoyed...
Paris still hates work; on Wednesday, my class and I couldn't get into a church for a field trip because the strike is still going on and nobody showed up for work that day. Surprise, surprise.
Next weekend, I leave for Brussels. To add to the recent excitement of trips and visits, I've just found out that my dear friends who are studying in Scotland, Florence, and Prague will be coming for 4 days in November for my birthday. I get jazzed every time I think about it.
I saw "The Social Network" and am now obsessed. G'head and see that soon if you haven't already, please.
The smell of winter and dead leaves is making me homesick, but I think that's only because Lake Forest has the most beautiful fall season I've ever seen.
So, Happy Sunday, people at home. It's the best day of the week.
Despite the frosty weather, this weekend proved to be exciting and fun. Yesterday, Jillian and I journeyed to Versailles, a place she has already visited twice, but was entirely new to me. For both of us, however, the current Murakami exhibit inside the grand chateau was a new experience. Starting in September and running until December, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, perhaps best known in the United States for his album artwork for Kanye West's CD "Graduation", has an absolutely incredible exhibit on display in several rooms on the second floor of the Versailles estate, as well as one sculpture in the garden outside. There were about 16 pieces in total, and I can't wait to finally be able to upload photos (again, my apologies). In Murakami's words, his artwork for the famous mansion is supposed to make us, the audience, Alice and he, the Cheshire Cat, allowing him to show us the magic and mystery of Versailles, or Wonderland. Each sculpture is colorful, creative, and complete visual overstimulation. They are also incredibly modern, which serves as both a juxtaposition to Versailles itself, but they also support the elaborate and ornate decorative aspect of the interior decoration in the rooms in which the sculptures stand. There was even one sculpture that was co-created by musical singer/producer Pharrell Williams; the sculpture, titled "The Simple Things", was a a large, ovular monster-head with an open mouth, showing fangs and a colorful tongue-throat area. Atop the monster's tongue sat a pink tray which held crystal-encrusted models of the following: a cupcake, a Heinz ketchup bottle, a Pepsi, a Johnson & Johnson shampoo bottle, a bag of Dorito's, a Nike sneaker, and a condom. Perhaps y'all should use Google for images. It was a true spectacle.
In other news, work is still continuing to challenge and excite me. As weird it is, October is almost over and soon I'll be making the hour and 20 minute commute to Palaiseau (a small city-suburb outside Paris) to attend play rehearsal every day. I'm overjoyed...
Paris still hates work; on Wednesday, my class and I couldn't get into a church for a field trip because the strike is still going on and nobody showed up for work that day. Surprise, surprise.
Next weekend, I leave for Brussels. To add to the recent excitement of trips and visits, I've just found out that my dear friends who are studying in Scotland, Florence, and Prague will be coming for 4 days in November for my birthday. I get jazzed every time I think about it.
I saw "The Social Network" and am now obsessed. G'head and see that soon if you haven't already, please.
The smell of winter and dead leaves is making me homesick, but I think that's only because Lake Forest has the most beautiful fall season I've ever seen.
So, Happy Sunday, people at home. It's the best day of the week.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Excitement Heard Round the World
Another magnificently beautiful fall day in Paris. Seriously, if you ever travel to France, make sure to come during this time. The smell of fallen leaves and baking bread alone is enough to make you want to stay outside forever.
Who is ready for excellent news? My friends and I have just booked a weekend to London in November for the opening of the seventh "Harry Potter" movie. I know, I know, maybe not as exciting for you. But for someone who shamelessly lived and breathed (and still does when certain occasions like this arise) Harry Potter for a good ten years while the books were current, this is unlike any excitement I've had. What is more is that some of my friends from home will also be there for the very same reason. Furthermore on that note, these same friends will be journeying to Paris the weekend before my birthday to celebrate. It's times likes these when you realize how lucky you are to be on such a small continent. Europeans have got it made when you have friends spread out. For now, though, my next big thing is Brussels - one weekend from the 23rd-25th. Part of me was afraid I wouldn't make the effort to travel much outside of Paris once I got here, but it's easy, (usually) cheap, and such fun.
In other news, things are good. Paris and I have sort of made up. Once my week of extreme distaste and hatred for this population of people passed, I remembered to keep my feelings in perspective and not dwell on the fact that France can be rough, (as if I couldn't have expected that?). There are so many great things coming up, which also makes me take note of how quickly the time is flying. No use pouting now.
Work has continued to be an interesting and fulfilling experience. On Thursday, Andrew and I are going around Paris to film different outdoor spots; the footage will be used as the projection on the back wall of the set for the upcoming show. I like his hands-on attitude, and I feel blessed to be so welcome into their community. This is when being an "art" person creates guilt though. My other friends here are interning at offices, where they spend most of their time licking envelopes and doing what normal interns do. The advantage of having a passion for something that requires filming footage of a child's playground or a graffitied subway tunnel versus sending email blast after email blast makes it hard to discuss work with the others in my program, since all I seem to hear after describing work is "You bitch." I didn't choose it, though. It really chose me.
Who is ready for excellent news? My friends and I have just booked a weekend to London in November for the opening of the seventh "Harry Potter" movie. I know, I know, maybe not as exciting for you. But for someone who shamelessly lived and breathed (and still does when certain occasions like this arise) Harry Potter for a good ten years while the books were current, this is unlike any excitement I've had. What is more is that some of my friends from home will also be there for the very same reason. Furthermore on that note, these same friends will be journeying to Paris the weekend before my birthday to celebrate. It's times likes these when you realize how lucky you are to be on such a small continent. Europeans have got it made when you have friends spread out. For now, though, my next big thing is Brussels - one weekend from the 23rd-25th. Part of me was afraid I wouldn't make the effort to travel much outside of Paris once I got here, but it's easy, (usually) cheap, and such fun.
In other news, things are good. Paris and I have sort of made up. Once my week of extreme distaste and hatred for this population of people passed, I remembered to keep my feelings in perspective and not dwell on the fact that France can be rough, (as if I couldn't have expected that?). There are so many great things coming up, which also makes me take note of how quickly the time is flying. No use pouting now.
Work has continued to be an interesting and fulfilling experience. On Thursday, Andrew and I are going around Paris to film different outdoor spots; the footage will be used as the projection on the back wall of the set for the upcoming show. I like his hands-on attitude, and I feel blessed to be so welcome into their community. This is when being an "art" person creates guilt though. My other friends here are interning at offices, where they spend most of their time licking envelopes and doing what normal interns do. The advantage of having a passion for something that requires filming footage of a child's playground or a graffitied subway tunnel versus sending email blast after email blast makes it hard to discuss work with the others in my program, since all I seem to hear after describing work is "You bitch." I didn't choose it, though. It really chose me.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
October 10th already. What do you know about that.
To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to say this morning. Since I wasn't asked to go to work for the rest of last week after Monday, I did what any normal person would do. A few museums, personal walking tours, and eventually waiting for my friends to get out of work. I do have work this week though, which means I can finally feel productive again. That's the thing about this program. Yes, you work hard and it's frankly more emotionally and physically taxing than it is academic, but what happens when we go back to school? I won't have written an actual essay since May and my homework won't only consist of French grammar and mini-questionnaires about the sites/museums we've been to in order to ensure Maria that we were listening during her lecture.
I'm going to make this entry a short one, because although I could have things to rattle about, sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead. One thing that I have been meaning to post here, however, is a list I've been keeping of American film titles that were poorly or funnily translated into French. So far it's only a few:
1. Youth in Revolt - Be Bad!
2. Grown-Ups - Friends for Always
3. Going to the Distance - Too Far For You
4. Despicable Me - Me, Beastly and Mean
5. Step Up 3D - Sexy Dance 3
Happy Sunday, everyone.
To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to say this morning. Since I wasn't asked to go to work for the rest of last week after Monday, I did what any normal person would do. A few museums, personal walking tours, and eventually waiting for my friends to get out of work. I do have work this week though, which means I can finally feel productive again. That's the thing about this program. Yes, you work hard and it's frankly more emotionally and physically taxing than it is academic, but what happens when we go back to school? I won't have written an actual essay since May and my homework won't only consist of French grammar and mini-questionnaires about the sites/museums we've been to in order to ensure Maria that we were listening during her lecture.
I'm going to make this entry a short one, because although I could have things to rattle about, sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead. One thing that I have been meaning to post here, however, is a list I've been keeping of American film titles that were poorly or funnily translated into French. So far it's only a few:
1. Youth in Revolt - Be Bad!
2. Grown-Ups - Friends for Always
3. Going to the Distance - Too Far For You
4. Despicable Me - Me, Beastly and Mean
5. Step Up 3D - Sexy Dance 3
Happy Sunday, everyone.
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