Castle, Canoes, and Cheese, Oh My!

Indulge me as I say this has been the craziest week of my life. In a good way, might I add.

In the last 7 days, I have visited the Louvre twice, the Eiffel Tower twice, toured the L'Institute Nationale (where the Immortals [the guys with the swords who decide French grammar] work), took a river cruise on the Seine, ate a lot of crudites and bread and cheese, and went to two castles. 

With the overarching summary written, I'll go into a little more detail.

9 hour flight was brutal. However, I got through a lot of Gilmore Girls, so that was good. For the first few days, we stayed in a hostel that was excellent minus the food. We had a trip almost immediately after we got there. We went to Pech Merle, which is a super ancient cave with drawings in it. They were honestly better artists than I was, which is impressive when you considered that charcoal and mud were what they had to work with.

We visited Rocamadour, which is this city/temple/cathedral/castle set into the side of a cliff. It was insane. You walk all the way down this little tiny street towards a castle that literally looms over the historic town. It isn't a small castle, mind you. They had all kinds of shops on the street selling food, swords, and clothes.

The big city we stayed in was called Bordeaux. Their city center was something out of a movie, with tight streets and historic sites woven together like beads in fabric. We walked all day around that city, looking for points of interest, including a very famous reflecting pool in front of a government building. Yes, we took a picture in it.

I didn't realize that my life's experience with canoeing and paddleboarding would come in handy someday. We went the Dordogne river valley to see a medieval war castle called Beynac, which was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. I see now why Disney princesses longed to escape, however: it was small and overlooked a beautiful valley of farmland and small townships, with other castles dotting the opposing hills. When we got there, fog choked the air and you couldn't see 50 feet in front of you, so I thought we were in a very small valley at first. To get to Beynac Castle, you have to climb the hill on the local streets, which is not a short trip. We got to the top and couldn't see anything but fog, so it looked like the castle was just floating in a cloud. It was like an abyss beyond the castle walls, and was honestly a little unsettling. As we explored the castle and the air warmed up, the fog dissipated to reveal the valley and the river. I sat and looked for many minutes. Several of us comedians had a bit going that the Romans were coming to take the castle (which is what happened historically), and we spoke with British accents and pretended to be very dumb guards and foot soldiers, like the ones who guard the singing prince in Monty Python. I felt creative, anyway.

What does that have to do with canoeing, you might ask? Well, I'm glad you did. We went down to beautiful river we saw to canoe it. I hopped in a canoe with one of the other boys, and we set sail towards the chateau. He thought he could steer the canoe, but he was in the front, and if you know anything about canoeing, you know that the person in the back is the only one who can really affect the steering by any measurable amount. Luckily, he wanted to be with a girl anyways, so we switched canoes and I picked up a different passenger who was more than happy to let me steer. I got my laugh in the end though, because at the end of the trip, he apologized and said that he had to steer when he switched, and it was not as easy as it looked. Oh yeah, and I can now say I have swam in the Dordogne. I was the soul member of my group to get fully in the water. Granted, I was wet for the 2 hour bus ride to Sarlat, but I think it was worth it.

Sarlat was probably my favorite place so far. The streets looked exactly like every Disney movie where the princess leaves the castle and goes into town. They were lit very softly, which my lighting-obsessed self was very pleased by. We passed restaurants and small shops, and then, in the middle of the town, was a garden and a plaque. We walked into the fenced area to read the stone, and it was a Holocaust memorial of all the people who were taken from Sarlat or fought against the Nazi occupation.

That memorial made me think. Sarlat had everything they could ever need in the most picturesque town I'd ever beheld, yet they took the time to remember one another. The monument was old, installed shortly after their liberation, which meant that they took the time to account for everyone in the entire town and find out who was missing. They made inquiries to confirm deaths because they cared for each other. They knew the town wasn't the same without the baker, or the butcher, or the cabinet maker, and they wanted to ensure that anyone who visited knew that those people used to be a part of the scene. I thought that was pretty cool.

My host family is very posh. We have a maid who does the cleaning and the laundry. They have a country house in south France. The mother grew up with the Obamas and knows them personally. She asked to see my schedule, and as I was going through it, she said, "Oh, [husband]'s aunt owns that! Tell us when you go and we can get you in the private area." She was talking about another castle we are visiting. Crazy. I find out new things about them every day.

I like the group I am with. They have interesting personalities but are fun nonetheless. We played Minecraft last night since it was too late to go out, which was very fun. For those keeping track, it took me 23 minutes to have full iron armor. I've played the mines a couple of times over the years.

Anyways, I had better get going. I have to do some assignment or another.

Bye!

-Will

(I heard that the photos were broken last time, so here's some more)

As It Turns Out, We Were in Paris

Bonjour tout le monde!

I write to you in French because I am in France.

If you are new to this email, welcome! You can reply directly to these. I send them so that you can see what I'm doing with my life. That way, when we meet again, you don't have to say, "what have you been up to?" and we can talk about something actually interesting.

Ladies and mentlegen, I present to you (in the following written format), Paris! Here is what I have noticed so far about this city: they follow rules well, it doesn't feel nearly as large as it is, they blend new and old incredibly smoothly, and they have a lot of bread. The buildings all have to fit in with one another so that everything feels like it belongs in the neighborhood it sits in.

I have noticed a few smaller things as well. They don't use electronic billboards like we do in the States; instead, they have paper rollers that roll between posters. It is interesting. In fact, advertising as a whole just feels different. It blends into the background and isn't as 'in your face' as it is at home. It is absolutely nothing like New York City, which is good, because I hate New York City and would die if I had to live there.

Their metro subway is embarrassingly good. It goes all over the city and is actually built for daily use, unlike our trains. The signs are not confusing. They tell you exactly where you need to go and where things are and the maps are straightforward. I like it quite a lot. I would never own a car here, even if I had a driver and several million dollars to spend on one.

We had some time between our events on the first day, so we just wandered away from the hostel and looked for something interesting. We came to a nice park, so we went in. I thought, "Wow, this looks just like a movie scene." Then I thought again, "No, this looks like a very specific movie scene that I've seen before." I realized that the park looked just like the one from the French film Cleo from 5 to 7. I saw a familiar-looking fence and followed it to find the same waterfall they used in the movie. Montsouris Park, everyone. Who knew? My schoolmates were less impressed, probably because they haven't seen the movie. They probably thought I was making it up.

To the people who said Paris was very dirty: you were lying to me. I haven't the aforementioned piles of trash and gross surfaces you spoke so lowly of. Everything here has felt pretty clean, far cleaner than most American cities I've been to. It also doesn't smell like smoke and the air is fresh.

The buildings are much, much shorter than American skyscrapers. There are very specific height limits, so most of the buildings are only 5 or 6 stories instead of the hundreds that I am used to. Most of them are also this whitish tan color, so it doesn't feel as depressing as I'm used to.

We stopped by the Louvre yesterday because we were bored and had nothing else to do. That place is unfathomably huge. We didn't go inside, we just walked around the courts and looked at the walls and statues. Those walls are giant and the details are innumerable. I cannot imagine the amount of time it took to build that place. It was used as a palace, a fortress, then a museum, and I see why. Having played Star Wars Battlefront II, I know there is absolutely no way to get inside those doors if it is full of defenders. Speaking of war, we saw several Green Berets with assault rifles waiting around near the Concord. Not sure what that was about.

The French seem to care every bit as much to preserve their heritage as they do to push forward and innovate. As long as it is designed to fit the overall aesthetic of the city, it gets added. For example, at the Concord, there is a giant obelisk that was a gift from Egypt, detailing the life and death of Ramses II. The French decided, "Hey, alright, this is a nifty monument, let's put it up. Oh, and let's build some living space around it because, well, we've got nothing else to do." I mean, the monument literally had instructions on how to erect it carved into the stone, so they figured they could put their Egyptian IKEA piece in the middle of their metropolis.

I also did a Seine river boat ride. Yes, I saw the Eiffel Tower. Yes, I took a picture of it. It was very nice. I didn't expect it to have so much fine work involved. Apparently it gets repainted every several years. Didn't know that either.

I also went to Notre Dame, but I haven't been inside yet. For those wondering, it has reopened for tours. We will do one later in the month.

Tomorrow, we go to Bordeaux to see Peche Merle, one of the oldest public cave paintings displays in the world. I am excited to see the French countryside. It looked very pretty on our flight in. Speaking of, I have now seen the UK. We flew over the south tip of Ireland (and Greenland) and I think I will be moving there. 

The French are not rude, they just don't care. I like it. I don't like having to make small talk and everyone just minds their own business here. People speak very quietly, which makes things especially difficult when you are trying to grasp the words they are saying so that you can respond without looking stupid. I suck at listening in French. I can usually get my point across while speaking, but I can't understand anything they say back to me. I'm sure I'll get better. Usually they smile and say it again in English, then I'll answer in French, then they switch back to French. They are fairly forgiving. Most people give me a chance to try to speak French and stay in the language, but anytime there is a line they just switch to English and I do too. They prioritize efficiency. 

Nobody is in each other's way here. It is admirable, really. Everyone knows to move for one another at the train station, cars stop when appropriate, and people generally aren't jerks for no reason. They just do what makes sense. I can't quite explain it, but it feels different in America. It is less individualist and less "I am right," and more "we all live together" and "we are right." It is pretty cool. 

Yes, they do get annoyed with us. Honestly I do too. Some people in our group have not figured out that they need to move aside and talk quieter while on the train. I would also consider giving them a frustrated huff.

I think that is all I have time for. I have to go drop off my luggage on the other side of town to store it during our trip south. 

I would love to hear from any of you, especially if you've been here before! Where should I not miss?

-Willosaurus

Here are the pics of the week:

Lorelai is In My Room

Again, I am late. I should be writing an email to another party at this very moment, yet I am actively choosing to procrastinate that one. I'll explain in a few paragraphs from now.

Hello, everyone! I have some very big news: 4 days till I'm on my way to Paris, the big, European beacon of culture and hobsnobbery. I have not yet decided what to wear or what to bring; in fact, I haven't really begun packing. I am waiting for laundry to finish so that I can really get to planning.

If my thoughts seem oddly spacey and not so well put together, I have a simple explanation. I am writing this while watching Gilmore Girls. Episode 13 is a real riveter of T.V. production. Anyways, that's my excuse.

I am very excited for this whole Paris thing. I have never lived anywhere besides Utah Valley, so this will be a whole new adventure. I do not count my time in Ottawa (for good reason), and this city is going to be a lot different. We will be seeing incredible museums, historically important sites, and attempting to understand the French way of life. I am supposed to have sent an email to my host family by now, which I will be doing after this.

My Facebook Marketplace luck has been astronomical this weekend. I got myself a camera with lenses, so expect great pictures from France. I'll put them on here, now that I have something to take pictures of. I'd like to make a lens out of a disposable film camera, but I'm not sure that I'll have time for that before I leave.

I suppose I have something else exciting to tell you all about. The compliments for these emails convinced me that I have a shot in my first essay contest. I am entering the BYU Brimhall essay contest with an essay about Odysseus, racism, and hiking in the dark. I hope it'll do well because I like writing well enough --- and the cash would be a wonderful addition to my coffers. Wish me luck on that, I guess. I'm sure there are some future Jane Austens and George Eliots in my ranks, who I'm sure write excellent competitive essays. I don't care. It's exciting! I've always wanted to but never had the ambition.

Through my work, I was able to meet someone in Paris who works at L'Oreal. If things go well, we may get to take a tour or something with him! One of my boss figures is also intent on finding me a great job, and our Paris contact has something to do with their AI department, among other things. Imagine, for a moment: me, in France, working in AI at L'Oreal. Not only would I have a dream job in a dream location, my skin would look straight out of a dream as well. A girl can dream, can't she? 

I tried to look up that last line so that I could say something witty, like "Angelina Jolie seems to think so," but I couldn't find anything other than a quote from a book called Second Chance Romance, and that a half-quote from Twilight. 

I look forward to fall weather. I am tired of sweating on my 3 minute walk between the visitor lot and the Wilkinson Student Center.

I do not look forward to the fact that the International Studies Program office rules with an iron fist. We have an 11:00 pm curfew while in France, which, although I would be following anyways, I can't help but have disdain for. We also have loads of hoops to jump through every time we want to travel anywhere that isn't in our itinerary, which is stupid. I'm a very cautious individual. I am also technically an adult. I don't feel like I need to be babysat. All of the rules are ones that I would be doing anyway, but it nonetheless annoys me that they exist.

I may write again on Monday, but seeing as it's Saturday today, I'm not sure that's necessary. I'll decide on Monday. I suppose I'm not restricted to weekly emails like I once was. Our dog just escaped, so I have to go deal with that. 

Goodbye,

Will