I am not doing a good job of adjusting to being back in the states. We went to Paris for Easter break. We spent the week traipsing from museum to museum and I did my usual church hunting. I managed to see the major ones I missed the other times - Saint Eustache, Saint Sulpice, Saint Germain des Pres, and others. I walking in on a service at a Polish church and made my escape when everyone knelt. (Hey, at least I didn't get myself locked into one this time. That was Prague.) I finally saw the epic organ at Saint Eustache. I saw bone relics, candle wax stained walls, one of the few intact rood screens left in France, and oh so many other great things. I did not make it to any of the cemeteries but I did see tombstones at the Musee de Moyen Age. I was in Middle Ages heaven! Unicorn tapestries, original sculptures and stained glass from various cathedrals, daily objects, devotional items, and illuminated manuscripts.The third time at the Louvre and I am still nowhere near done getting through that place. I meant to find the Nike of Samothrace and the Code of Hammurabi, but ran out of steam. But man, there are so many Medieval objects there too. We went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw a super Gustav Dore show and a Vincent van Gogh/Antonin Artaud exhibit. Sooooo many Art Nouveau items there too. Then there were the photography exhibits. One was just utter crap. This guy thought he was going to be the next David Bowie in the glam era. He was just a legend in his own mind. At lease hubby and I were not the only ones chuckling. Then there were some amazing ones. A few were commentary on contemporary issues. One was this phenomenal body of work. The man and the documentation do not specify his alternative process other than the fact that it involves brushing the light sensitive medium onto papers. So many ideas for work.
We went to parks galore - everything was in bloom. I love when I travel abroad and see that much of what I grow is grown in Europe. I can't stand seeing the same garbage in every garden here - Stella d'Oro daylilies, Russian sage, blah, blah, blah. I was super excited to see a preponderance of irises just like the purple ones I have. The same beards, coloring, and lack of ruffles. And many other things. All the bulbs were in bloom - just the daffodils and hyacinths were past. The Luxembourg Gardens, Jardin des Plantes (with a peek at the just re-opened zoo and some wallabies), the medicinal gardens at the Musee de Moyen Age, and their version of the High Line. This was so nice. More enclosed and intimate and runs past all these amazing 1800's apartment buildings. Yes, we tried to peek into apartments. How could we not?
We made it to the catacombs. Tip: get in line at 9.00 am for the 10.00 am opening or you will be in line for over 3 hours. We had the best apple pastry I have ever had in my life. Flakey, light, warm. Then the excitement. Over six million people are down there. This is not the result of killings and dumpings. This was done methodically and with reverence for the dead. The burial grounds they came from are noted with stone plaques. There is a rustic chapel down there. They say it is a 45 minute visit. Only if you don't care where you are. We took an hour and forty-five minutes. And that could have been extended if we weren't getting hungry.
Then we spent Easter day with family. That is a large part of the problem we are having in adjusting. It is one thing to visit a place and get an idea of what life is like by observing and reading locals stuff. But going to someone's house and talking to the people who live there - of multiple generations - is eye-opening. I met a host of cousins I had never met before. My mom's cousin was as hospitable as ever. He drove us around the towns, told us stuff. And he does not speak English. Hubby said I did very well with my French. I vow to do better. Much better. We learned a great deal over the course of the day, from Biagio, his two adult kids, and their kids.
One example: no one took out a cell phone at the table during dinner or dessert. No one. The five kids there were teenagers up through nineteen years old. We had also noticed a lack of cell phones out at tables in restaurants over the course of the week. Biagio bemoans the growing lack of respect in France. If he came here, he would be disgusted. The children and parents seemed to get along differently. I have had no patience for the cell phone crap in school at all this past week. I have mentioned the lack of respect to almost every class. I did get through to one person. He called me over on Friday to apologize for his behavior this week.
In the museums, we saw people of all types - old, young, artsy, frumpy - taking in the art. No whining children who hated being in a place of culture. One very young kid was working on a beautiful sketch. People took their time adoring, studying, reading, sketching.... People were in the museums and clearly loved and appreciated what they were looking at, not looking to check off another item from their "bucket list." I was told there is a respect for the history. I had a hunch, but this time it was confirmed.
And here I am trying to get my students to appreciate what we teachers are passing on to them, trying to drive to and from work without being terrorized by some frustrated middle aged man in a testosterone-fueled gas guzzling vehicle who thinks I should be driving over 65 in the right lane because it's his right as an American to speed and ride my butt. But why is this even necessary? Why don't people respect each other? When a car overtakes my dad while driving in Italy, there was no malicious intent. It was just "I want to go faster, so I will pass you." No aggression, no anger. Why can't a kid (and the parent for that matter) understand that when we are in a classroom together, that is time for us to pay 100% attention to each other, not some wireless device?
I'm done ranting. I'll just keep dreaming of a better life filled with courtesy and respect. Someday, I will find it. But not here, sadly.
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