The Weekend

Saturday: woke up incredibly early, around 5:30 am to get ready and get to Gare St. Lazare. Took the 14 to Chatelet and then waited foooooreever on an incredibly crowded, yes crowded at 6am, quai for the line four, which usually comes every 2-5 minutes. Jumped on and squeezed in and was at Micefa a bit after 7, and it was still dark outside. Sat next to Nayomee and napped in the bus for about 3 hours, except for a short break at a rest stop to get a sandwich and snacks. We then pulled up to Omaha beach. As soon as I saw the water I realized how much i missed living near the ocean. In san francisco I saw it almost everyday. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the beach was perfect. It was also wonderful to stand near the atlantic/English Channel for the first time. It seemed and felt different from the Pacific, the way there were almsot no waves at all. Everyone ran around and enjoyed the sun and sand, Morgan even waded into the water and got me a perfect shell as a souvenir. Kristoff and Derek had a little race (there are still arguments as to who really won, although the video i took shows pretty clearly that Kristoff was the victor) Yet, it was strangely unsettling, to be having such a lovely time still knowing that right where we stood there had been such a bloody struggle. It seemed impossible, yet, still there was the remnants of some sort of ship, german bunkers, and things that I think, if i remember correctly, were called dragons teeth and were used to hold mines down in the water. Next, we piled back onto the buses and drove a bit down the road to anothe rrest stop to get some food. Steven stayed on the bus and I went into the restaurant to use the bathroom, when on the way out, a little face peeked out at me from behind a car. It was the most adorable black lab i have ever seen! He was tied to the car and very anxious for attention. I called steven and had him come out of the bus just as my new friend jumped into my arms for a little dance. We got to play with the dog for about 20 minutes before getting back on the bus and going to the actual cemetary. First, we went into the new visitors center to meet our tour guide who talked a little bit about the new center and the history of D-Day, including the story of the soldier Spaulding who disembarked late in the battle when the tide was high and threw off all his gear to avoid drowning, then had to struggle to find weapons and was part of the group to first make it to the cliffs (he survived). We then walked amongst the graves for a while before going back into the center to watch a film about a few specific soldiers, including one named Walter something or other (Perres?) from Ceres, California who had been a pilot.

Sunday: slept in a bit because of a headache =( then took 14 to chatelet againa nd walked to metro odéon to meet Nayomee and Kristin. We saw the movie "once" which I had already seen once before (hahaha funny right?) but, it is just soooo cute. Jessie and Jonie, you HAVE to see it! It was out in california in july so it will probably be out on video soon. After that, Steven, Elaine, Susie and her boyfriend Andy who is visiting met up with us at St. Michel to have a grec sandwich. We then hung out by the Seine until it started pooouring rain! So, soaked through to the bone and freezing cold Stevie and I walked back to the good old line 14 and voila, I am home. Hopefully the strik will end soon and things will become regular enough for me to write more detailed posts, until then, you have to be satisfied with a summary of everything!

Synonyms

Synonyms for flutter:
agitate, beat, dance, drift, flit, hover, oscillate, palpitate, pulsate, quiver, ripple, shiver, swing, throb, tremble, wave

the day when i can adequately describe the light of the streetlamps through the autumn leaves fluttering in the wind, against the backdrop of parisien buildings and night sky I will be a happy woman. Exited the metro, rue percier dark and wet with recent rain, it was, for some reason, an incredibly strange sight - the ground was entirely covered with leaves, soaked through and tattered, they literally covered my feet, it was like walking through a low-tide of bright yellow and orange mud, all the time, the wind stirring them up, that rustling sound against the stones, why does it always make me think of certain voices? and the trees, one side of the street, maintained its foliage, and the other, thin branches, looking cold, malnourished and a bit embarrassed, quivered in the cold. It was almost depressing. All that color, mushed up in the gutter. But, even though it is almost finished, it was a wonderful season. favorite moments: walking out of my apartment on a grey sunday, the street all the way down to the golden gates of parc monceau lined with trees on fire. or standing outside Shakespeare and Co. with Nayomee, facing Notre Dame, the leaves flying all around us. . . . *sigh*

Anyway, so yes, this is the first entry and I will try try try to keep this up. Even if it is boring, mundane and yes, I have to admit, censored. So... today.... First, I went to work. Managed to struggle my way through a day in a French lycée. Disorganized as all hell. Had to literally walk around the campus to track down students, a classroom etc. and was, as usual, incredibly unprepared. But the students are really genuinely good guys... it just makes me feel bad that I am inevitably going to suck as a teacher, seeing as I rather stay out late etc than make lesson plans that will actually help them improve their english. After that, I came home and had late lunch chez moi, then met Melissa, Taylor and Susie at the Shywawa, then off to Keisha's place near Censier for Lucia's 21st birthday. Keisha lives in the same neighborhood as Elaine, it is absolutely adorable, in a perfectly Paris sort of way. Spent a lovely evening with everyone, then voila, here I am. Going to force myself to go to sleep now... another loooong day at work tomorrow. . . .