Crank that Spider Man Saturday 26/27 Janvier 2008

No, No, No…almost in tears as it is now 10 minutes after the time I was supposed to leave the house and I could not find my RER pass. The RER Pass, is a weekly pass for the metro so that you save money and don’t have to buy a new ticket every time you get on a train or bus. I was meeting up with a cousin of a friend at school (SFU, P.A.). I searched the house all over. I new I had put it in my pocket book earlier and suddenly it disappeared. Finally it hit me. Also, in my pocketbook was a book I was reading. Could it have possibly slipped into the pages of the book? I ran back upstairs for the sixth time and flipped through the pages. There it was my life saver to the beginning of a good night.
I got in; club Gibus, for free because I arrived before 1am. The party went from 12 – 6am, for me and my friends at least. When we left people were still on the dance floor. The club was jam packed. Normally when you go to a party, there is a point when everyone sits down due to a certain genre of music. That was not the case. No one ever cleared the floor. The DJ played, hip-hop, R&B, Pop, Reggae-ton, Salsa and plenty of his own special mixes. There was absolutely no techno, which I was happy about.
I noticed the Parisians dance extremely close to each other regardless of the fact their girlfriend or boyfriend may be standing there watching. Dancing is seen as strictly dancing over there. In the states, people tend to get upset if their significant other is dancing with someone else. They do our own dances better than we do. I was impressed. They do the best Crank that Michael Jackson, Crank that Spider man and Crank that Super Man. No one does the Lion King and Scooby Doo out here. It was so funny. One kid pushed back a line of people and starts moon walking and whipped a silver glove out of his pocket. He and his friends started to do the dance from the “Remember the times” video, to the Crank that Michael Jackson beat. With creativity on the dance floor like that, I don’t think I’ll ever leave Paris.
I also met someone who will be touring with the band “The Roots”. I didn’t quite catch his name because it was so loud in there, but he is the best beat boxer I have ever seen perform. Somehow he was able to make the beat with his mouth and sing the song. It was so great. I’ll give him about a year before I see him on MTV.
After the club we all went out to eat crepe’s, which are absolutely delicious. We stayed at the restaurant and talked for a while. They knew I couldn’t speak French, but when I said “merci beacoup”, the guys started making all this noise. I got scared for a second, because I knew I hadn’t said anything wrong. Then one of the guys that spoke good English told me they love the American accent. I thought that was so funny because we love their accent. Well, now that I have friends who are natives of Paris, I am sure to acquire French instead of strictly reading a book to learn it.
So, I got to party for free because I got there before 1 am. I found my RER pass so I wouldn’t have to buy a ticket to get on the train. And I went to a club that was “hopping” the entire night. Got home at… 8 a.m. Yea…..Great Night!

Amour
Alexia-Shashara

Le Mix (Verdi 25 Janvier 2008)

Last Friday- Le Mix
So here we were, the 7 of us, getting ready to try at another Friday of clubbin. We were in hopes that this Friday would be successful. Again, we all dressed up, running through the house like headless chickens making sure we had all the necessities to get there and get in: RER PASS, check…Money, check…ID, check…ready to Party, two checks. “Allons-y” (Let’s go)
We got on the train and there was group of roudy college students who got on as well with jungle juice in huge bottles. For one, they weren’t French with the amount of noise they were making and they weren’t American because of their accents. So who exactly were these people? They started talking to us and announced some of them were from Italy, Ireland and Spain. They were so funny. It seemed as though we all knew each other by how well we got along on the train. We all shared laughs and sang “OLLLLLLAAAAAYYYY OOOLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAYYY OLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAYYY OOOOLLLLAAAAAAAAYYYYY”. After being on the train with them for about 25 minutes it was time to part ways.
Going through the train station to get outside was a conveyor belt with blue streaming lights, which stretched for about the equivalence of two N.Y.C. blocks. We started racing on it which was actually a lot of fun. Ducking and dodging people in a rush to make it to the end before the next person gave us the greatest rush ever. I think the lights gave it the effect we were going a lot faster than we really were aside from the conveyor belt.
Once we arrived near our destination we decided to sit in on a bar to kill some time. All of a sudden we noticed people coming from all directions on roller blades from ages ranging from mid 20’s – 60’s. Imagine your grandpa speed racing down the street on roller blades and doing tricks. Some of these guys were riding backwards and crisscrossing the legs down hills. I felt like I fell into a time warp into the 70’s and it just happened to be disco night.
After the bar, I decided to go home instead of to the club. I needed to save the money to go to the club tomorrow night. I’m not sure how much it is going to cost. So I hopped on a bus back and that was my night. Le Mix looked like it was all techno anyway, which I am not a fan of. I had no regrets passing on that. I was actually a bit relieved. I’m sure the train ride there and the conveyor belt was enough fun for the night.
Amour
Alexia-Shashara

Catching up

Hey, everyone. Thanks for reading my blogs. Check back tomorrow for blogs from last week. There has been so much to do and alot more to tell. I need to catch up.

Talk to you all soon
Alexia-Shashara

Barack strikes again...One mile walk for pizza 22 Janvier 08

Yesterday, for my economics class, the teacher took us to the library. We went to look at the different currencies of money in all of Europe. It's far more complex than the exchange rate between the European countries and the U.S. All of the symbols are measured to the degree of parallel lines. Too bad starring at the money long enough didn't make it a cut out to spend and split between the 7 of us.
After the Library we went back to the station to wait for the train. As I turned I noticed Barack Obama starring at me. I ran over to take a picture of his poised face at the news stand. No, he wasn't really there in the flesh. Barack is the only American figure I have seen here since I have been in Paris. He is absolutely everywhere. I am going to begin to count the ammount of times I see him.
After arriving into Sceaux, we decided to go and find this pizza place that Bridget and Karen passed by one night when they were out running. We took one good look at the map and off we went trucking up the hill that seemed to never end. Then around the corner and up some more hill. At this point we had been walking for at least 10 minutes. Then I happened to look up and to the right. Gorgeous. Looking through the trimmed tree's was a full moon which shined brighter than ever.
(If you look very closeley you'll notice that all the trees are perfectly trimmed.)We continued to walk and finally we reached...Only to find out that the restaurant that smelled like great pizza was a bar. So we continued to walk and found Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, it was only take out. There was no way we'd walked this far to walk back with food in our hands and not our stomachs. We backtracked and went to the chinese food restaurant.
The French are very different when they eat. They don't seem to speak at their dinner tables whereas we laugh and joke and share stories of all sorts. It was obvious that we were not French. They also seem to take up so little space. We tend to slouch or sit with our legs a little spread apart. They sit upright with their hands in the laps and legs pressed together.

The Louvre (out of order): Verdi, 18 Janvier 2008

I breathed in a gasp of air on the approach of The Louvre. The architectural structure of the outside along was breathtaking. I couldn’t wait to go inside to find the mystery of the Mona Lisa, the secrets of the Greek gods, and the hidden treasures and legends of the Egyptians.
Never have I been to a museum that withheld so many different segments. Where does the money come from to support this all? It is all so amazing, absolutely amazing. Since I was a child I was always so mesmerized by the Egyptians and their pyramids. I had an obsession with what the after life would be like. I had a teacher who once explained that you should always look your best because you never know when it is your time. You want to go to God looking your best. Now if you can actually take things with you to Heaven or wherever you go after life, I’m not sure of. Unfortunately there has been no documentation of any being dying and coming back to tell the story.
The Egyptians prized death just as much as life, if not more. Death is eternal whereas life is just a segment of time.
Claire and I, parted from the rest of the group and, went off to see what we fancied most after the Egyptians, The Greek gods. I learned about the different Greek gods and goddesses since I was in 5th grade. It was my English teacher Mrs. Ingalls who started my obsession with Greek art and literature. I was always so excited to get the sheets of the stores of Hermaphrodite or Hercules and so on. How gods and goddesses came to work together and/or toy with the mortal world; or ever how mortals would go to the immortals for help. The statues were great. I was able to immediately know who each one was without even looking at the name. It was like flashcards. I would guess from the stories I remember hearing and then look down at the script below the statue. It’s amazing how much you remember from childhood schooling.
The arrows then lead to the great MONA LISA. My senior year of high school I read Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. I remembered in the book said the MONA LISA was neither he nor she. If you look at it from one angle it has female features and from the opposite angle has male features. I couldn’t quite see the difference, but I will look again the next time I go. I was looking for the puffiness that they were talking about on the right side of its face. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it because the MONA LISA sits at angle in the painting. I would need to go back when there aren’t a million people pushing and shoving.
I plan to go back at least another two times. I plan to be as awed every time I go as I was the first.

A demain

Amour

Alexia-Shashara

Notre Dame

Today, Karen and I attended the International Mass at Notre Dame. I liked it alot. The only thing that was different is that the entire time of mass there are tourists walking around the outskirts of the seats observing the church.

After church I walked over and there was a guy out on the strip roller blading. I must say, he's really good. He was doing all types of tricks around the cones. One time when I was out there he was break dancing on the roller blades. He didn't even fall. That's skill right there.

Then I managed to wonder over the the Shakerperean and Company Bookstore which I absolutely love. I was in there for a really long time. I ended up buying three books. One was a poetry book, the other was a novel and the third was a book for writer's book. I'll tell you the names of them when I finish. I'm holding the bag of books in my hand. The bag reads "Born to be a Livre", which means "Born to be a Book."

The other side of the bag has a quote from Dr. Seuss- "The more that you read, the more things you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

After the bookstore, Karen and I wandered around for 3 more hours and found so much. We ran into all of the nifty side stores. I saw so many things I want to get. I need to go back down that way loaded with euros next time. It was like China Town for Christmas, except there was no bargaining about to happen. There were set prices for everything. Going into these side stores made me feel the culture difference FINALLY. That is what I was looking for since the day I got here, CULTURE. Now I feel a lot better. I was starting to get a little disappointed and frustrated because it started to feel exactly like N.Y.

Right acorss the street from Notre Dame are so many oil paintings, music cd's, drawings, and post cards. Then there was this really big case of stamps cost that cost 40 euros. I want to get it so bad, but 40 euros is about 80 U.S. dollars. I can't wait to go back and buy all those things I saw.

Well until next time...

A demain

Amour,

Alexia Shashara

BARACK! BARACK!

We went to a bar last night and this guy asked us the typical where are you from? He spoke good english. He also knew alot about the states. Then he randomnly asked Bridget and Hannah, "What do you think about Barack Obama?" We all went silent. Then somehow Bush's name came up and he put his hands over his face and said NOOOOOO and smushed his hands against his face. It was so funny.

He thinks Sarkozy, President of France, is crazy. Then he randomnly yells VOTE BARACK! BARACK! BARACK! I hit the floor laughing. He was raising his hands in their air as if it were a civil rights movement. It was classic. So classic we had to get a picture of him.

A demain

Amour

Alexia-Shashara

Where's the party at?

O my goodness. Friday night was absolutely crazy. We had our own pre party of running around like little kids trying to figure out if what we were wearing was party ready. Once we walked out the door and smelled the fresh midnight air, the party search was on. We took 3 trains before we found an area that looked like it was apart of the party scene.

These guys that worked at a bar who weren't so sober, directed us to a club. So we hopped in a two taxis between the 7 of us to get there. I guess they're in a rush out here just as in the city (NYC) because the taxi I was in almost rammed into the back of the taxi the other half of our group was in. So we made it safe in about 10 minutes. We had the bright idea to not wear coats. It felt really warm. I guess that wasn't such a good idea. We were the only ones without coats. Could you have thought of another way to scream tourist?

We met this nice couple on the strip. He spoke French of course, but along with that he spoke English and Spanish which was great. He and his girlfriend were very funny as well. We told them about the original place we were headed to and he said no, don't go there. He told us about a place called O P A. He wipped out a map and with every whistle he made was him telling us to make either a left or a right. I don't recall how many times he whisteled, but off we went. Into the dark and absolute quiet. There was no one around and absolutely nothing but closed stores.

Eventually we came across a woman who walked us part of the way and pointed into about the same direction the guy from the club strip told us to go to. We continued to walk and still didn't see it. Then we ran into a group of guys one of whom looked like he was ready to sweep Bridget off of her feet.YES!!! They spoke English too which was another plus. They guided off to this club. Once we got there French was thrown back and forth between the guards at the door and the guys that had taken us there. Somehow we all managed to get in except the guys that brought us there.

What happened was those same guys were trying to get in earlier but weren't allowedin because they didn't have any females with them. So when they came back with us they were wearing a completely different wardrobe. How is that for a laugh? I was wondering why they were so anxious to help us.

So we went in...there wasn't much dancing there at all. Every one was pretty much just sitting around. Then we went to the second tier and I noticed a naked woman who seemed to be a hostess. All of a sudden the "hostess" stood us and it was a man. AHHHHHH. NO NO NO. He was about mid 40's had on no shirt and these short short short shorts that showed half of his butt cheeks. I was ready to run for my life. He looked like he could have been a professor. It was terrible. He was wearing these outdated prescription glasses and had hair to his shoulder.

Soon enough he came over to us and bent over to talk so we could hear. I felt so bad for Karen. His butt was smack in her face. I'm surprised it didn't make her eyes tear like onions. He asked us what we wanted to drink and we said nothing. His response was, "Then you have to leave (pause) NOW" He sounded like Tarzan it was so funny. That guy literally pushed us out the door.

I swear that guy was Fabbio gone wrong. I would cry if I saw that guy in a commercial saying. "I can't believe it's not butter".

But there's more...So getting back home was the next part. We walked forever and by this point it's about 3 a.m. I was freezing. Remember I had no coat. Every bus driver we asked told us to walk to the next stop and catch a different bus. Imagine that happening 4 times. So we had enough. We looked at a map then found a help booth that by God happened to be open that early in the morning. So the bus we were supposed to take just happened to be there getting ready to pull off. They all hopped in the backdoor excluding me. Yes I was still standing there on the sidewalk. I looked and saw the front door still open so I ran on. My heart never beat so fast.

It was terrible these guys wouldn't leave Bridget, Hannah and I alone. So we came up with alias'. Bridget and Hannah were from England and I was from Spain. I must say we have great accents. They believed us. He kept trying to speak english and french to me and I had a lost look on my face. I repeated " Lo siento, no hablo ingles o francias" Imagine me trying not to laugh in saying all of this. It went great. Finally we got off the bus and they just so happened to get off at the same stop.

We waited for the 2nd bus. When it was time for us to hop on, one guy ran out of nowhere and kissed me on my cheek. It was so gross. He said if he spoke spanish he would marry me right now. I laughed so hard. Only if he knew I knew english better than he did. The other guy grabbed my arm and went for my cheek but when I turned away he bit my other cheek I couldn't believe it.But with little time to slap him I opted to just get on the bus before it pulled off and left me behind only to be stuck with those ingrates.

Then we needed to get on a third bus. We got on and there was no driver but plenty of people. All of a sudden the entire back of the bus ran off. We looked out the window and saw people running from every direction. A fight was about to break out. All of a sudden the police showed up and everyone ran back on the bus including the bus driver. At that point I felt like I was back home and it seemed so natural to me.

By 4:30 a.m. we were finally at our stop. Walking up Marx Dormoy never felt so good. Suddenly the green gate to the house looked gold. Home sweet home!

Until next time

Love
Alexia Shashara

P.S. We passed the original club we were trying to get to on the way home!

Paris Loves ME!!!

One week, and there's so much covered it's too much to write about. I guess this is just one of those situation that you realize it can only be experienced first hand .I honestly want to stay out here forever. Imagine the Eiffel Tower being in your backyard. Yes, we are seconds on the metro away from the Eiffel Tower.

Paris absolutely loves me. I swear. When I wake up in the morning the birds are whisteling my name. "Come out and enjoy the beauty of Paris." Yes, beauty. If you did not know, Paris is the capital of fashion, which I absolutely love. If you know me, you know I wore sweats once first semester. I spent 78 euros on make up alone which is actually almost 200 American dollars. Ladies, if you know what Sephora is, then you know why. But I honestly keep forgetting the currency difference. So maybe I returned it and got my money back. That I will never tell. There are shades here that you won't find online. And ahhhh yes, parfum....not eau de toilette. I hope I spelled that correctly.

No, I've never taken a french course before ever. I speak spanish. But when it came to shopping I knew the right words to say and the people in the store understood me perfectly.

Ladies, I don't know what you've heard about French guys, but they love love love American girls. I myself am Trinidadian, but I pass for American pretty well. Just kick your accent out the window and you'll do just find. Just kidding. Trust me they will love you no matter what you are. My second night on the metro a guy followed me and got off at my stop. He shook my hand and introduced himself and asked where I was from. He saw I was in a hurry so he wanted my number... Well no I didn't give it to him I was filled with shyness and giggles.

However, tonight is Friday...Yes, our first Friday here. Can anyone say club? CLLLLLUUUBBBB! O yes, clubbing with the internationals and locals in the heart of Paris, France.

Well, until next time!!!
Au revoir...
Love,
Alexia-Shashara