Wednesday, 21st of June 2017
After Musee d’Orsay it was time to head back to the apartment to meet with
Eléonore for Fete de la Musique. I thought we were just going to walk thestreets to hear all the musicians play, but we did a lot more than that. We
walked to a bus station to take a bus to Clichy which is not Paris, but just
outside. She said that most of her friends were having kids and had moved from
Paris to Clichy because it’s cheaper. We went to the apartment of Élodie and
Mattiue and their little son. More friends were there as well, Stephan, and
Mattieu’s sister, and two more girls whose names I have forgotten.
This was my first time doing an authentic
French greeting. So I thought it was more like kissing the air as you move your
head from one side of the persons head to the other, but no! You actually touch
cheeks while making the kissing sound with your lips, and then do the same on
the other side. I have to say, I was very awkward at first, but with six people
in the room to greet, by the last person, it didn’t feel weird at all. I was
also surprised they would greet a friend of a friend this way, so I felt very
warmly welcomed to be there.
We sat down and snacked on orange
juice and chips. Everybody was talking and laughing, and I was happy to just be
there. I could only catch a few words in each sentence being said, and most the
time missed the overall meaning. I did speak a little bit with Stephan and once
with the group, just because they asked a little bit about me. It’s so funny
though, when I tell people here I’m from Utah. Everybody gives you a weird
look, and I think they’re all wondering if you’re Mormon. When I told this
group I was from Utah, somebody said, “Utah! All we know about Utah is the
Olympics were there, and Mormons.” Then everybody laughed like it was great
joke. I was surprised nobody followed it up by asking if I was Mormon, because
I seem to get that question a lot.
It is funny to hear people’s
perceptions of Mormons. Before meeting me, Eleonore thought that Mormons were
like the Amish, and that we wore pioneer dresses. She also thought that we were
not allowed to marry non-Mormons, and that we had special diets where we are
mostly vegan. I’m not sure if she got that misconception from me though, since
I don’t normally eat meat. Although I have on this trip, and it has been
delicious.
There is a park across the street
from Elodie’s apartment where we walked to see a concert. Stephan was very
excited, and telling us this was a very good band, they were famous, and he’s
seen them 4 times. We waited in line to have our bags checked, and passed the
military men with guns again. I have to say I did worry a little bit about
being on the streets during Fete de la Musique, because of terrorists, but at
the same time I feel like I have to live my life. I can’t not do things out of
fear, and if I die early, then it was God’s plan. Granted I’m not going to
tempt fate by jumping out of a plane, everything within reason.
So we hear this band, and they’re
ok, but not great. Everyone is dripping with sweat where they stand, and its
smelly bodies all around. Eleonore and I had not had dinner yet, and there was
a little crêperie in the park so I had my first crepe. It was not that good. I
got it plain with sugar and bananas, and it was a little undercooked because
they were in such a hurry. There was a huge line and they were already like
five orders behind. So I decided I would get a crepe next time I went back to
Monmartre because I had seen a lot of cute crêperies when I walked there the
night before.
During the concert another of their
friends met up with us. Her name was Maha, and she is a gynecologist. We had a
great time talking about babies and pregnancy, and schools and literature.
It felt so strange to be doing this.
First, I have never been to a concert before. I just never had the desire to be
in a crowd of people for music. Secondly, I was actually being social. Who knew
that this was possible, and not even in my native language. I feel like if I
can talk to people in my broken French, then talking to people in English when
I get home is going to be 100 times easier. Who knows, maybe I won’t be as
introverted when I return home.
After the concert ended we took the
metro home, but walked through the streets listening to people still playing
for the Fete on the way. I was just following Eleonore, so not my fault, but we
totally walked through I guess what you would consider Paris’ red light
district, even though there is not legal prostitution, but oh my, sex shops
galore, and these black guys all along the parkway offering us drugs. There was
this Christian group singing what sounded like African tribal music about Jesus
pretty close to the Moulin Rouge, which seemed odd.
The best part, and the best music,
was this guy singing from a balcony inside an apartment building. I love that
anybody can participate, because then you get to see gems like this guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment