Skip to main content

Paris Today

My cat, Marcel, on the ledge of a window in our "Passage."
It is once again starting to feel like spring in Paris, the best time to be here. People are much more weather-centric than in NYC, and if it is a nice day, people are nice. I wave to the butcher as I walk to the grocery store. He is really too expensive and I rarely get anything there, but he is friendly and I wave. The waiters in the pizza place are getting started for the lunch service. I stop for a moment and say hello. Marguerite from the green grocer is working furiously on the display of saucissons; I wave as I pass.

It has been a little touch-and-go here. The election in Paris scared a lot of people but especially me. I am a not-quite-legal-yet-now-just-a-tourist immigrant American married to a here-legally-through-the-EU-but-for-how-long German man. We are in the process of buying a Townhouse here in Paris. With Marine Le Pen on the horizon all that might have been taken away from us. If she had her way, she would have pulled France out of the EU (nullifying Helmut's legal standing for being here) and I would have been immediately suspect and been on the radar for deportation. She was also against gay marriage. PACS (the equivalent of civil unions in the US) do not give the immigration rights that marriage does. I have been trying to get Helmut to obtain his French citizenship to make this a little easier. He balked, thinking it was not necessary. He checked into it and started the process, but immediately stopped when he found out it takes about 2 years. We continue to fight the battles for me to be legal here. More on that later.

My life here gets easier all the time. I speak relatively decent French now. I am at the stage where my mistakes are charming but understandable and I have a "charming accent." I was surprised to find that the French find English to be a "beautiful language." Efficient, yes, but beautiful? Well, how nice. I watch French TV sometimes but understand little. Dinner parties are much easier. We have met another neighbour, Kim, who speaks only French with me (although her English is perfect). It helps.

It would be, I guess, easy to just melt into the society here, but a certain orange-haired tyrant keeps pulling me to read the American news. My heart hurts as I see standard ways of behaviour being pushed aside for contempt toward the people on the opposite side of the political aisle.

My heart goes out to everyone and I will vote (and have voted) in every election I can. As I read Facebook tirades, though, I have to caution everyone to be civil and, as Michelle Obama said, "take the high road." When someone calls you a snowflake, ignore it. Don't let Republicans get under your skin. THEY will have to be the ones who take 45 to task and clean house; democrats do not have the power. Wouldn't it be nice to be the element of change? I take a cue from my Italian friends. When Berlusconi was in power, the left was furious and lambasted the right constantly. This only dug the right into their position and got him re-elected. This is what will happen in the US if we are not careful.

Enjoy spring; it is a short season.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taxis

Taxis in our two great cities work quite differently. In NYC, you raise your hand and a magic yellow chariot stops and you get in. You tell your driver where you want to you and he has to take you there. You pay with either a credit card or cash and the chariot disappears. If you are coming in via bus, train or plane, you wait courteously on a taxi line and get into the next taxi when it is your turn. In Paris, it is another thing entirely. You can hail one on the street, but the chances are not very good, since taxis are supposed to wait at a taxi stand. This system, while saving gas, does not have the convenience factor built-in to the NYC system. It also is stacked against those who don't know the city very well. At some taxi stands, I have never seen any cars at all. You probably think that this seems minor but there are some glitches here. Paris is a bit more flexible on process. One time Helmut and I were coming in late via train and we were in the taxi line. After about ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shaving the Yak*

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am planning to make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas here in Paris. Very American, chocolatey, how can I go wrong? "And," I think, "I have always made everything from scratch, so I will have no problems getting my ingredients." I even think I have put in some safeguards and bought some items in NYC, just to be sure. Baking soda? Check. Baking powder? check. The oven is celsius, but armed with a browser and Google, I'm good to go, right?Here are the ingredients: flour (all purpose), baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, egg yolk milk vanilla extract, chocolate chips. My first inkling that things may not be as easy was the chocolate chips. I was planning on buying them, but Helmut told me the chips can easily be found in Paris ("of course they are.") and he was right. BUT... they are tiny. If I used these, they would melt, and would turn the cookie into a chocolate cook...
Post a Comment
Read more

Early summer

My  friend Joey graduated from Columbia this year. I could have gone to the ceremony, but instead, I am flying her to Paris for three weeks. She majored in architectural history, studied French for 2 years and has never been to Europe. I know! Could not have been a more obvious choice.  Joey is staying at the apartment of a friend of mine here, who is elsewhere on her own vacation. Joey is here alone to start and the boys (her husband Ben and their 10-year old son, Owen) will follow in about a week. I have a few things planned, but mostly time together. Joey and I stay in touch but we both miss our time together. When she was in school, we would have lunch every Thursday and mull over the issues of the day. This time in Paris is a joyous time for me; time to reconnect and to get closer. It has a touch of sadness as well. When this time is over, when will we be able to do this again? No, not for now. Now we will revel in the time we have.  Of course we have to see some of ...
Post a Comment
Read more