If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium...

...or in my case, last Sunday. I was looking up train tickets for various trips the night before when I saw a guided bus tour to Bruges, Belgium for a really good price, leaving the next day. I normally plan things well in advance, so I was hesitant. But my friend said, "Just book it! We're in Paris!" That's a common refrain on this trip--whenever anyone hesitates, someone reminds them, "Hey--we're in Paris!" So, since I'm in Paris, it is possible to take a day trip to Belgium, so I did indeed book it.

It was the usual "bus climatisee" with three guides speaking three languages and 50 or more people. My friend and I took bets that we'd be the youngest people on the bus (I lost--we were the youngest). Sometimes I like to plan everything myself (like today--more on that later), but other times it is kind of nice to have stuff taken care of for me. This was one of those trips. We met the bus in downtown Paris, got a guided tour of northern France and southern Belgium (it took about 3 1/2 hours to get there), got a guided tour of the city of Bruges, and then had four hours of free time to wander around the city.

The coolest part about northern France was the World War I history. I can see why they had to build all those trenches--it's pretty darn flat. I took this really neat photo of the Somme battlefields as the sun was coming up, which I might submit for the U of C photo competition. It's kind of hard to see on the blog, but here it is:

Sunrise over the Somme

As we drove through southern Belgium we got an entire history of the country in 10 minutes flat. Pretty much everyone has taken over Belgium at one time or another, until in 1831 they said they'd had enough and declared independence. The king of Belgium married the daughter of the last king of France, and their descendants are still on the throne today. The head of the European Union is in Brussels, because I think the EU felt bad that nothing ever happens in Belgium. There is quite the controversy brewing, because French-speaking Belgium and Dutch-speaking Belgium really don't get along and want to split. We'll see how that turns out.

I knew the moment we crossed the border, because all the signs were Dutch. That language has way too many random vowels. Once we got into town, everyone spoke at least three languages fluently. They spoke English way better than in central Paris, to the benefit of my friend. I still tried to muddle through in French.

It was gorgeous when we arrived--bright blue sky and sunny. The town was built in the late Middle Ages, and all the medieval buildings are in really good condition. Thus, the town has a harmonious look to it. The town is also quite picturesque because it is full of canals--its nickname is the "Venice of the North."

Postcard shot

Our guide

Venice of the North

My friend Sylvia on the left

Horse drawn carriages and swans on the canals add to the fairy-tale atmosphere:

Dutch!

The main square

The clock tower

Included in the tour was a boat ride on the canals. Now, here is where the day started to get really interesting....Remember how lovely it was when we get there? Well, clouds started to roll in as the day progressed, so we decided to do our canal tour early to beat the rain.

Before shot

 We began our lovely boat tour:

I was right behind the driver

 Clouds began to roll in....

More cute little town...

Then, the skies just opened up. It poured and poured, which was not pleasant on our uncovered tourist boat. However, I had a waterproof jacket, so I wasn't too uncomfortable. But then, it became more than just rain--it started to hail. Big huge hail, which hurt! We had to take refuge under one of the picturesque little bridges for almost half an hour.

Yes--that is hail

As soon as it lessened slightly, we high-tailed it back to the dock.

The entire city had been changed to winter. The hail was so thick that it looked like snow. Once people started to crush it, it felt like snow too. 

Remember that before shot?

So we spent our four hours of free time in slush. But by the end of the day it was back to being sunny and beautiful again. Go figure.

We got back around 8:00 in the evening. As we were entering our dorm, a group of our friends were leaving. "Where'd you guys go?" one asked. "Belgium," I said. "You just went to BELGIUM??" asked the friend, incredulously.

Yes, we did indeed go to Belgium in one day.

Prehistoric skulls, cheese, and La Joconde

Last Friday was our final exam for Apes and Human Evolution. In addition to memorizing the behavior and social structure of all the apes, we also had to memorize the genus, species, date of origin, and place found of 20 prehistoric skulls. Let me tell you, all those old skulls look the same. But now I can tell Sivapithecus sivalensis from Aegyptopithecus zeuxis from Australopithecus afarensis (or "Lucy," for those who care). And you thought I was only in Paris to have fun...

It actually didn't end up being that hard. Afterwards was a wine and cheese tasting sponsored by the University. This may not have been the best idea right after our final exam, considering most of my classmates were sleep- and food-deprived. Oh well. I tasted each wine, but I gave the majority away. The best cheese? Tomme de savoie. C'etait delicieux!

That afternoon, since no one had any homework, everyone decided to go to a museum. They tried to convince me to go to the Centre Pompidou, but I didn't have the mental capacity to try to puzzle out all that modern art. So I went to the Louvre instead.

It was my first time this trip, and I forgot how HUGE it is. It just keeps going and going and going....I think most of the museum's appeal comes from the the way they display the art, in that magnificent building. Although whose idea was it to hang the tiny Mona Lisa on a huge wall all by itself?

My favorite is still Winged Victory of Samothrace. I've had a poster of it on my wall since 7th grade.

 The best quotation of the afternoon was from a friend. We were passing a painting with a big crowd in front of it. I looked at the painting, trying to decide what it was. "Oh," I said, "That's Virgin of the Rocks." "Yeah," said my friend, "I know it from Go Fish." She knew all her famous paintings from her "Go Fish Famous Art" game. So as we went through the museum, we kept seeing famous stuff and saying "Oh. I know that from Go Fish." The Mona Lisa? Go Fish. Coronation of Empress Josephine? Go Fish. Venus de Milo? Go Fish. 

Mandatory tourist photo

My all-time favorite sculpture

La Joconde

Me trying to be artsy

I think it's pretty neat that I can take an exam in the morning, have a wine and cheese tasting at noon, and go to the Louvre in the afternoon.

La Vallee des Singes (Monkey Valley)

Friday morning my entire class met downstairs at 6:00 a.m. (yes, you read that right) to go on our excursion to La Vallee des Singes. We had to catch a train for our 2 1/2 hour ride to Poitiers, which is all the way in the middle of the country (the same place where Diane de Poitiers came from, the lady with all the castles!) The Vallee was one hour-long bumpy bus ride from there.

I had never ridden the TGV before (it was on strike when I was supposed to ride it in seventh grade), so that was pretty exciting. We were going so fast the pressure made my ears hurt when we went  through tunnels.

The high-speed train

Half asleep early in the morning

But it was well worth the trip! The Vallee is more of a sanctuary for monkeys than a zoo. There are no fences, so the monkeys can run free. Luckily they have the apes on their own islands. I wouldn't want to be walking among loose gorillas, thank you very much. The funniest monkeys were the capuchins--they were quite mischievous. At one point a keeper had to bawl one out, saying, "Chico! Qu'est-ce que tu fait, la?!" One got his paws on my camera, and I had to yank it away. Another jumped on my friend's messenger bag.

We had to write an essay about one of the apes, so I spent a long time talking (in French!) to the gibbon keeper. Gibbons are my new favorite type of ape. Did you know that they are monogamous?

Let the monkey photos commence...

Baby gorilla nursing

My favorite--the gibbons! This is Charlotte and her son, Tokay

The group watching the chimps

Professor Tuttle kind of looks like a gangster

A gelada--a really rare type of monkey that lives in the mountains and eats grass

Me with lemurs. See? No fences!

Monkey feeding time

In addition to all the cool animal stuff, I had a great time with my group. I think we have finally gelled as a class and with our professor, so our group has a really good dynamic. We kept pretending we were a gorilla troupe, with Professor Tuttle as our silverback leader. One of the two boys in our class was supposed to be the blackback gorilla who kept trying to hold a coup and steal power. The silliness continued during the chimp feeding. While we were watching, Professor Tuttle crouched down and pretended to be a chimp. The real chimp saw him, got really mad, and started throwing clods of dirt at us!

I guess Professor Tuttle doesn't read signs...

Aw, what a cute group! Complete with gorillas in the background...

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant in the village of Romagne. It was all really well-made "country" food, with terrine de campanile for starters, duck for meal, and apple tart for dessert. The chef had a homemade liqueur made out of blackthorn berries that we all tried. One of my friends wanted to buy a bottle to give to her mom, since she wanted something local rather than fancy. She was expecting to pay through the nose, but the chef gave it to her for free! I helped her mail it off today.

After looking at apes some more in the afternoon, we hopped on the train home.

On the train back

Showing off our Vallee des Singes stamps

 All in all it was a very fun day!

Moi avec un gorille

The Way

Saturday night I was invited to church with our Polish friends. They are Catholic, but this was no ordinary mass. They belong to a subset of Catholicism called the "Neocatechumenal Way," or sometimes just "The Way." Now I had been to a meeting with my babysitter back home in Chicago, but I don't remember the details. At my Catholic job in college I had heard the Way ridiculed and called heretical, so I wanted to go again when I was more conscious of things.


This meeting was incredible. They get the name "Neocatechumenal" because they believe in continuing adult education after baptism. So everyone is in "communities" of around 30 people that meet together and study the Bible, and everyone is supposed to pray and read the Bible daily. Last Saturday night about 4 communities all met together.

The mass was very different from a normal one. First of all, the seats were in a circle around the altar, which was ringed with fresh flowers. (Edyta gave me one after the service, and it's currently on my desk.) Before the service started they introduced all the visitors, so I had to stand up and wave. You'd never have that at a regular mass.

One of the most important differences was the music--none of that bad 60s crap. Since the movement started in Spain, the songs have a Spanish air to them. They are mostly accompanied by single or mutliple guitars, with great chords (I could even sing alto!) It reminded me very much of Taize music, with that same meditative feeling.  I really liked it.
 
Each of the readings was introduced by someone who explained what that passage meant to them, before a second person came up and actually read the text. Then, after the readings, there was a children's sermon, with all the kids sitting in the front row. Lots of kids actually talked, which was pretty cute. And because it was in kiddie-French, I could understand it. In reality I could understand about 65% percent of the whole thing, which I was pretty excited about.

But then after the readings came the heretical part: the "Echoes." People got to stand up and say a few words about what the readings meant in their life, and where they had seen God that week. What people said was very moving. And then my "bisou" tally went up exponentially during the passing of the peace.

After the homily, communion wasn't wafers like normal, but a big piece of pita bread. Instead of going up to the front, the altar servers came to our seats and broke off pieces for us. Then, once everyone had a piece, the whole congregation ate together. Afterwards the altar servers came around with the wine and everyone drank from a common cup.

It was a gorgeous blend of all the best parts of the mass, combined with the Protestant feeling of community.

I think regular Catholics are leery of this group because authority is not centered in the hands of the priest. People read the Bible themselves and pray together, all independent of an organized Mass. And people can share what the readings mean to them either in introducing the texts or during the "Echoes" afterward. This takes away authority from the priest, whose job it is to interpret the Scripture in the homily. Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair to normal Catholics, but I know that some of the hard-core ones I know back home are afraid of the Way. I can see why.

The craziest part was at the end. During the closing hymn, everyone went into a circle around the altar and danced! Everyone--old people, young people, tiny kids. It was so cool, because even though I was a visitor and could barely speak the language, I was included. I felt part of a much larger family.

The whole thing was a fantastic experience.

Then Sunday afternoon the family invited me to their home for lunch. I hadn't had home-cooked food for forever, so it was delicious!  I got to see photos of their safari in Africa this past August. And all of their daughters hung onto my every word for the entire visit. I guess I am "cool" because I'm only a little bit older than they are. They wanted me to stay and watch a movie, but I had to get home to prepare for my last week of this quarter (tons of work!) But they lent me some DVDs to watch during my free time, so hopefully I'll be able to take a break from exam-studying and paper-writing to enjoy them.

Les Invalides

After spending Saturday morning writing a paper, I decided to spend the afternoon at Les Invalides, which includes both the Musee de L'Armee and Napoleon's tomb. I have to say, Napoleon's tomb is extremely creepy. All of his generals are buried with him, and the walls are ringed with words from the Napoleonic code. It's like a shrine to a saint. The WWI and WWII sections of the Army Museum were cool, though. And the quote over Napoleon's tomb was really touching.

"I wish for my ashes to lie on the bank of the Seine, in the middle of the French people I have loved so much"

The tomb

WWII propaganda poster, saying "Trust in German soldiers!," with graffiti saying, "And what next?"

Le Restaurant Vagenende

Every Thursday night my French class has a mandatory outing to practice speaking French in a more natural setting. We've been split into groups of four, led by an "assistant"--a native French student or 20-something. My assistant is named Albane, and she has a degree in costume-making and is currently studying theory of theatre. She is very cute and very French.

Yesterday evening my whole French class (only about 12 people), along with two assistants and our teacher,  went to a fancy French restaurant. It was the culmination of a week of studying about food. Le Restaurant Vagenende is in St. Germain des Pres, the same ritzy neighborhood that my mom and I stayed in three weeks ago.The restaurant was built in the 20s, so it has a pretty cool inside.

Now--I enjoy eating food, but it is not really something I seek out. I don't come to France just to eat. Thus, I don't really spend my money on food. And I certainly would not have paid the prices that this restaurant charged (luckily the program paid for this meal!)

But I have to admit--there is something to be said for real fancy French food! I ordered a soupe gratinee a l'oignon for "entree." I was expecting a little bowl of soup, not a HUGE bowl filled with bread and cheese AND soup.  Then for "plat" I had "fricasse poulet" avec quelque chose. It wasn't that great because it had weird dark meat chicken, which I don't like too much. But the white meat parts were good.

But the dessert was beyond words. Adjectives fail me. It was "Isles Flottant," which means "floating islands." All it was was fluffy egg whites floating on English cream with caramel on top. C'etait DELICIEUX. It was like eating really tasty cotton candy.

So the meal was very tasty. The problem is, since it was a real French meal, it went on and on and on. I kept hinting to my French teacher that I had to leave my dorm at 6:00 a.m. then next morning for my excursion (more on that later!), but she wouldn't let me leave! Thus, I didn't get home until 11:30, so I got only 5 hours of sleep last night. Those darn French...

LaSalle in Paris

One of my main goals was to find a church home in Paris. I wanted to get involved with real Parisians, rather than only hanging out with UChicago students. I was expecting to be one of the few church-goers, but to my surprise several UChicago people asked me if I was going to church and if they could come. So we got a little church-buddy group going.

Church buddies

 Man, has my wish for a church been answered!! The American Church in Paris is a fantastic bunch of people. My mom and I went there the Sunday she was here and we liked it, so I decided to come back myself. Since neither of us speak good enough French to understand an entire sermon, we just Google-d English-speaking churches. ACP was one of the first hits, and now I'm hooked.


Not only have I been there the last couple Sundays, but I also went to a Bible study on Tuesday night and a "Theology on Tap" meeting last night, where we discussed deep theological questions over drinks. My church buddies didn't come to these outside events, although I'm sure I can convince them to come to upcoming ones.

The church draws a unique type of young adult. 20-somethings who are willing to spend an extended period of time in a foreign country have to have a certain amount of guts and personality. That makes the discussions far different than those I've had the United States. Also, the church draws people from all over the world--the only common factor is that we all speak English. At the Bible study on Tuesday, about 1/3 were African, 1/3 were American, and 1/3 were from France and other European countries. Thus everyone has unique a perspective, because everyone grew up in a different type of household. At the Theology on Tap meeting last night, we got into a long discussion of Nigerian voodoo and how people in Africa view spirits, and how that affects their views toward God.  The meeting had no formal structure; there were just various questions people had submitted printed on slips of paper, and we could pick which ones we wanted to talk about. I was amazed at how everyone always pulls out the same core tensions of Christianity, no matter what part of the world they are from--how can a good God let bad things happen, what about the righteous pagans, how should we interpret the Bible, and so on.

As for Tuesday night, I was a little worried about coming home by myself after Bible study, since I'm used to living in Hyde Park where you don't go out alone after 10:00 at night. My college counselor from high school used to advise us to find some "big-and-uglies" to take us home after dark. So Tuesday night, my "big-and-uglies" were a guy from Gabon and a guy from Germany. The German guy actually lives at Cite like me, although in a different dorm, and the guy from Gabon lives in an apartment nearby. In reality it is pretty safe in my neighborhood, but we were all going the same direction anyway. Mr. Gabon made us get off at a metro stop where we had to walk really far to get home, but it was so much fun talking with the two of them. Actually, it ended up being one of the best moments I've had since I've been here.

After Theology on Tap last night, six of us decided to walk all the way from near the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame to get cheaper food. That's a really long way, for those of you who don't know Paris. But this city is amazing to walk in at night--I feel like there is nowhere else like it. We walked along the Seine and passed many of the major highlights of Paris--the Eiffel Tour, the Grand Palais, the Louvre, Notre Dame. The night was lit up by the flashing Grand Palais combined with the sparkling Eiffel Tower, along with fireworks from Montmartre. That evening walk is also one of my favorite moments in Paris.

Grand Palais

Place de la Concorde

Despite all the great things I've seen in this beautiful city, it's my interactions with people that have been the most meaningful. Sure, ACP isn't LaSalle, but it has the same essence. It reminds me that even though people come from all over the world, we are all sisters and brothers in Christ.

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones

 Bones--everything my biology class is about. Officially titled "Apes and Human Evolution," much of the class is spent looking at old, moldy fossils and ape skeletons. I just wrote a paper comparing gibbon skeletons to human ones.

My professor is a gentleman by the name of Russ Tuttle, and if you are anyone in the anthropology world, you know him. He taught the scientist that found Lucy, for example. And you know those footprints they found in Tanzania that are millions of years old, showing bipedalism (the Laetoli track)? He did all the work, while Mary Leakey handled the media. At one point, I was reading a scientific paper by him for homework while he was sitting behind me in the same room--it felt a little surreal. Anyway, this man knows his stuff. And being in a class of 10 people, we can't hide.

He's got a pretty weird sense of humor. For example, he showed a top-down view of an ape and human torso, with the head removed so you could see the skeleton. He labeled one "Monkey," and the other "Carmelite Nun, circa 1850" (a reference to the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites, in case you didn't know).

Every Friday is an excursion to somewhere related to our class. This Friday we went to the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle--the Museum of Natural History. Far from being just a Parisian version of the Field Museum, it contains the second oldest zoo in the world, started by Napoleon. So we spent the morning observing orungatan behavior.

Professor Tuttle is in red

I guess Napoleon was scared of apes

Then we moved on to the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy--a huge hall full of skeletons. I have never seen so many bones in my life. It was also full of screaming Parisian elementary students, who had to be constantly reminded "Ne touche pas!"

Then we moved to the Grande Gallerie de l'Evolution, where I was tickled to see a diorama of animals that looked exactly like a model of Noah's Ark.

The whole excursion was done by noon. After eating lunch in the park outside, my entire class (all 10 of us) walked over to the Isle Saint Louis for Berthillon ice cream.

Regina was trying to look like a pig

The other group was acting normally

Moi avec Berthillon

 Then, one member of the group said, "I'm going to the Catacombs this afternoon, if anyone wants to come."

Now, I had been planning to go to the Catacombs by myself, but now I'm glad I went with five other people. I would have been too freaked out. In around 1795, Paris decided to move the bodies from several cemeteries deep underground and reverently pile up the bones and label them with quotations about death. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but when they say bones, they mean it. There were miles and miles of underground tunnels, all lined with neatly piled bones and skulls. The creepiest part was the winding staircase 60 meters down, and then a long seemingly-never-ending walk before the bones began. It was a little frightening to think about how much earth was above our heads.

The opening to the bones read "Arrete--c'est ici l'empire de la mort" (Stop--here is the empire of death). Indeed, walking those tunnels made all of us contemplate our own mortality.

So I went from bones of all shapes and sizes in the morning to miles of human bones in the afternoon.