Lettres de Paris

Ok, so that’s a little over-dramatic, but I am about to leave behind a whole life in Paris forever. I might come back someday, but it won’t ever be quite the way it is now. I think it’s finally sinking in that I’m leaving in two days—I just reserved my airport shuttle for Friday. I’m excited to see my family (you guys have your welcome instructions, right? banners and champagne?), but I’m also sad to close this particular chapter in my life. It’s been a weird, difficult, and ultimately wonderful one. I think I like the person I’ve become this year. I know I’ll never be quite the same.

Now I just have to jump the last few hurdles—one last paper to write, an entire year’s worth of stuff to pack up, and a few more (hopefully not too tearful) goodbyes to make. And in spite of our often complicated relationship, I’d just like to say: Thanks, Paris. Thanks for everything.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and I can’t begin to think where the time has gone. It’s certainly been a wild ride! It seems so long ago that I arrived here, freaked out and not sure how everything was going to go. Now, I may not love Paris, but I’ve certainly grown comfortable here, and I’ll be sad to leave. Here’s hoping for many more happy picnics with these lovely ladies, even if we can’t always make it to the Bois de Boulogne!

(We were rather amused when we realized that our desserts had an interplanetary theme.)

Anyway, I’m off to write my mountains of papers, eat a few last pastries, and try to enjoy my final two weeks à Paris.

Just a quick update: I cannot believe how fast this vacation is going! I had a wonderful time in Oxford in spite of a rather nasty cold (which I’m just now getting over). Highlights included seeing my friend Margaret for the first time in almost a year, being summarily adopted by her grandparents, and touring the Bodleian Library. There was a really cool exhibit on medieval romance, and they had everything from the earliest known manuscript of Le Chanson de Rolandto modern-day manifestations of the form, including the original typescript of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and a page from Tolkien’s manuscript of The Two Towers! And Dublin has been absolutely marvelous. Yesterday I spent two hours at the Writers’ Museum, went to a lecture on James Joyce and modernism, toured the National Gallery, and had dinner in a pub with some pretty excellent live music. Today was mainly devoted to wandering around and browsing in bookstores, and now I’m getting ready to go see a play at the Gate Theatre. And tomorrow, of course, I’m off to Galway!

And after a very long bus ride involving a 2 AM ferry from Calais to Dover, I am happily settled into a Starbucks in London, watching the sunlight spread through the streets outside Victoria Station. This trip will be the longest I’ve left Paris since I arrived in August—nearly two weeks total! I’m very much looking forward to spending time with friends whom I haven’t seen since I left Smith and to a general change of pace. I must say, though, it feels VERY strange to be speaking English to strangers in public! I keep having to stop myself from composing my thoughts in French. But as I told Lydia, I imagine that it will be quite hard to go back to French, as well. Not only am I spending this entire break in England and Ireland, I have a LOT of studying to do for my Irish language exam when I get back. I’m not about to let that keep me from enjoying my time off, though!

Hi everyone!

For those who don’t know, I’ve finally more or less worked out my plans for the summer. I’ll be going home June 1st, which means I get to go to my sister’s graduation (yay!). Then, on July 18th, I’m heading off to Ireland to spend 4 weeks in the Connemara Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking region) improving my Irish. Tá mé ag súil go mór leis! (I’m really looking forward to it.) This is the program I’m doing, if anyone is curious: http://www.nuigalway.ie/international-summer-school/irish_language.html

So I’ll be in Carraroe until August 17th. After that, I’ll most likely head directly back to New England and hopefully find a friend or two to take me in until it’s time for Glee Club to return to Smith for pre-Convocation rehearsals.

The time has been slipping away rather quickly lately due to the demands of planning my summer and applying for grants, but I’m so pleased that I get to go home AND work on something that’s very important to me. I’ve also been working on a Fulbright application, but I’m a bit stalled on that now and trying not to worry too much about the big-picture future.

For those of you who may be wondering why I’m working so hard on Irish, or what it sounds like, or what exactly I’m interested in, here’s a sample of the work of one of my favorite poets, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. The video features her reading her poem Athair (Father) set over illustrative footage with the English translation appearing as text. Please do watch it; it’s a lovely video!

Yesterday I visited the Musée Cluny, which is the National Museum of the Middle Ages. It’s housed in a beautiful 15th century building and located next to some Gallo-Roman ruins from the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D.

I got to see some beautiful 14th-century (and even earlier) manuscripts:

Along with some lovely vitraux, or stained glass windows:

And, best of all, I FINALLY got to see the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries which I’ve known about since we studied the Middle Ages in elementary school!

After that marvellous adventure, I closed off the afternoon with tea and a scone at Sugarplum, had a Skype date with the family, and took myself to the movies after dinner. All in all, a pretty good day!