Skylar says,
We are in Paris. we are going to leave to Senegal today. we have some pet flowers. Sylvia says they aren't pets but I think they are. We give them mint seltzer water. There is a subway track that goes by our hotel. It is a double-decker subway.
Sylia says:
Skylar thinks it's a double decker subway but it's actually - what's that called? - RER
Skylar says about moving to Senegal:
I don't know what Senegal is. I felt like the United States was my border line but now I don't want to leave France.
Sylvia Says:
When I first leaved the United States, I knew there were little shops in Paris. (Pointing out the window.) I see it! It's double decker!
Marc Says:
Yesterday, after walking around Versailles, we were talking about our plans for the next day and I was SHOCKED to realize that tomorrow was the big day - we were actually going to get to Senegal! It seems that emotionally, I was expected that we would be heading back to Greenfield after our fun little Paris vacation.
Emotion and intellect are so very disconnected sometimes.
And so, this morning, I went for a run along the Seine. There is a rather long island in the middle of the Seine, the I'ile-Saint-Denis, that is about a 1/2 mile from our hotel. You can run across the bridge to the island then there are bike paths, dirt paths, and some areas where you need to run on the road, and run for about 3 miles along the river. At the north-west end of the long cresent, there is a large municipal park with dirt paths, a number of fun playgrounds, and several other runners.
As I ran back to the hotel, I thought how nice it would be to show the kids and Julienne the fun things I'd seen. Having bicycles would really help us see the city - luckily, we have our bikes in Senegal!
And so, the next time I post, we will be in the city of our new home. Exciting and nervous. I dreamed of Senegal last night and it was rather pleasant. Meaninglessness of dreams aside, it is still nice to have a pleasant, if fictitious memory.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
A Day a Versailles
We were in Versailles back in early August but just now got around to posting it. A fun day though strangely not a very cultural experience because everyone around us were tourists. Still, we had a lot of fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD6o5XNlJfs&feature=em-upload_owner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD6o5XNlJfs&feature=em-upload_owner
Friday, August 2, 2013
Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkSRDrBX0Bc
We enjoyed the day at a "children's garden" and made a video about it. Enjoy!
We enjoyed the day at a "children's garden" and made a video about it. Enjoy!
Lunch in Paris
Skylar's advice about pastries - don't have more then one every other day.
Sad they were all gone.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Toilets, children, and Doctors
Marc here:
They won't have toilets like this in Senegal.
You stand in line for a long time. The door is closed and the green light says, "Ready" (French, English and Italian script) You push the button, the curved door gracefully slides open, you enter, and it gracefully slides closed. After you're done, you push the flush button and nothing happens. You push it again and a franch voice comes on. You push it a third time, decides it's broke and feel sorry for the poor schmuck who is coming in after you.
You open the door, exit, and expect the next person to walk in after you. They don't. Instead, they wait as the door gracefully and automatically slides back closed. A sweet French voice starts talking into a now empty public restroom. Then, you realize what she is saying. "If there is anyone in here, you had better get out right now because I'm gonna' spray this whole damn place down." Which she does, along with finally flushing.
Then, the light turns green and you realize why the line was so slow. While it might suck to wait if you really need to go, it sure is nice to get into a clean public bathroom.
Children:
We understand what parents are saying to their children better then when two adults are talking. We understand children even better when they talk to other children. Like today, walking back from the train, two children were running along the pedistrien walk area that connected the station with the neighbor hood the hotel is in. They got to the end of the walkway and sat on the large stones that keep cars out. The boy announces, "J'ai froid." "J'ai chaud," the girl announced. We tended to agree with her because the temp went above 35C today. "Froid," he insisted. "No, chaud," she retorted. "Froid." "Chaud."
"Chaud," the mom interject, then added other things that included, "Vit," and several other things. At lease we understood what the kids were talking about!
Doctors:
While in line at one of the public, robotic, clean toilets, we struck up a conversation with lady Dr. from Paragua who spoke good english and was on her way to 3 month in the Central African Republic to work with Dr. Without Borders.
Julienne asked her what she expected to treat. She said she didn't really know but that after her time in S. Sudan, everyone on her team had gotten Malaria except her. "Bed netting and lots of spray," she said. "I didn't do the profolactics because they didn't agree with me but I guess I was lucky."
We told her we were on our way to Senegal but that probably our experience were going to be very different, especially since we were going as a job and she was going as a volunteer. An interesting question came in my mind from listening to so many Planet Money podcasts and after reading the book, Death Aide, which argued for direct foreign investment and against governmental level aide. If one was to put a volunteer Dr. Without Borders on a moral spectrum along with teachers at posh internatinoal schools, where would we each fall?
They won't have toilets like this in Senegal.
You stand in line for a long time. The door is closed and the green light says, "Ready" (French, English and Italian script) You push the button, the curved door gracefully slides open, you enter, and it gracefully slides closed. After you're done, you push the flush button and nothing happens. You push it again and a franch voice comes on. You push it a third time, decides it's broke and feel sorry for the poor schmuck who is coming in after you.
You open the door, exit, and expect the next person to walk in after you. They don't. Instead, they wait as the door gracefully and automatically slides back closed. A sweet French voice starts talking into a now empty public restroom. Then, you realize what she is saying. "If there is anyone in here, you had better get out right now because I'm gonna' spray this whole damn place down." Which she does, along with finally flushing.
Then, the light turns green and you realize why the line was so slow. While it might suck to wait if you really need to go, it sure is nice to get into a clean public bathroom.
Children:
We understand what parents are saying to their children better then when two adults are talking. We understand children even better when they talk to other children. Like today, walking back from the train, two children were running along the pedistrien walk area that connected the station with the neighbor hood the hotel is in. They got to the end of the walkway and sat on the large stones that keep cars out. The boy announces, "J'ai froid." "J'ai chaud," the girl announced. We tended to agree with her because the temp went above 35C today. "Froid," he insisted. "No, chaud," she retorted. "Froid." "Chaud."
"Chaud," the mom interject, then added other things that included, "Vit," and several other things. At lease we understood what the kids were talking about!
Doctors:
While in line at one of the public, robotic, clean toilets, we struck up a conversation with lady Dr. from Paragua who spoke good english and was on her way to 3 month in the Central African Republic to work with Dr. Without Borders.
Julienne asked her what she expected to treat. She said she didn't really know but that after her time in S. Sudan, everyone on her team had gotten Malaria except her. "Bed netting and lots of spray," she said. "I didn't do the profolactics because they didn't agree with me but I guess I was lucky."
We told her we were on our way to Senegal but that probably our experience were going to be very different, especially since we were going as a job and she was going as a volunteer. An interesting question came in my mind from listening to so many Planet Money podcasts and after reading the book, Death Aide, which argued for direct foreign investment and against governmental level aide. If one was to put a volunteer Dr. Without Borders on a moral spectrum along with teachers at posh internatinoal schools, where would we each fall?
Reflections on cultural differences
Marc Here:
Julienne and I have been talking (I mean, of course we've been talking. Isn't that what happily married couples like to do?) and we both agree that our going to France before we go to Senegal was a good idea. For a while we weren't sure. We mostly decided to stop in Paris when we noticed that some of the flights out of Boston went through Paris on the way to Dakar. "Heck," we thought. "Why not stop?"
Now, we're starting to think it was a good idea. Of the two of us, I feel that the transition to another culture will be harder for me. Julienne has lived in another country for an extended time while I have only traveled to Paris for our second honeymoon. Also, I have distinct memories of going through culture shock - after spending a summer up at the Unirondack summer camp! Feeling shock from that simple experience, I feel, sets a low bar for me to be more shaken by so many differences at once..
So, how will things be different? On the spectrum of ethnicities, language, culture and economics, I feel that France is a good middle ground to Senegal. While the language and cultures are different from Massachusetts, the economic profile and ethnic profile are pretty similar to it. Also, language is strangely not so different. People we talk to here in Paris are very nice. They will often humor us in French for a bit until they really want to make sure we are understanding them, then they switch to french.
In Quebec, where Julienne and I traveled last summer (thanks Dad and Margaret for watching the kids!) we found that if we simply started a conversation with "Hello," the other person would invariably be able to speak in English. Here, we are finding the same. So, in that way, while language is a weakness for us, Paris is also a half way place where we hear lots of French spoken and written, we don't really need to use it to get what we want.
And so, we expect Senegal to be on the other end of the spectrum. My European ethnicity will switch from a majority to minority. My language will go from majority to minority but still useful to useless out on the street. The culture I expect to be a mix because of both the US's and Senegal's past colonial status. That, and we have heard universally that the people of Senegal are very nice.
Then again, we have heard about the people of Paris being snobby but we have had exactly none of that. Even today as we went to get on the train, the conductor was very nice. The train said something like, "Mar de Martin" and we wanted the train to go to "Postrine." He said, "Postrine? This way," and pointed to the train. When we stepped on and read that the sign definitely did not say, "Postrine," we stepped off and tried saying something in French. He very politely bowed to us and said in English, "Please, trust me. This train does indeed go to Postrine." He was right, and nice even as we were questioning him over an incorrect LCD display.
So culturally, I'm sure we'll make mistakes but hopefully if we're humble and with the nice locals, it will work out. As for economics, that will be a big difference. A running buddy has been to the Gambia a number of times. The Gambia is an ex-British colony that is surrounded by Senegal. We were talking about running in Senegal and he said, "It will probably be much like my experience. When I would go for a run in The Gambia, almost immediately I would be followed by like 15 kids, running in bare feet, not wanting anything but simply to run for the love of running. It would invariably happen and I grew to look forward to it. You'll never be at a loss for a running buddy in Senegal."
A sweet story but also a simple touchstone. We will go from average wealth to high wealth. Not filty rich, but certainly upper class. We will be paying our house keeper as much in a month as we making in about a day and a half. AND we are paying her very good wages. I'm sure we'll write more about that.
Back to the kids - there wouldn't be that many children free to go for a run in the US. Why, I'm not exactly sure but I suspect that fewer students stay in school and thus, it's more acceptable to be running around during the day. Also, Jared Diamond has talked of spending time in Papua New Guinea and there, 10-12 year old boys were allowed to travel with him for weeks at a time with little or no preparation or warning to the parents. This will be a cultural difference that again we shall learn about.
So, to conclude, we are planning to go to a children-focused park. A bit of a theme park, like one called "Fairy Land" in San Fransico. I know mostly what to expect for the ethnicity of the people around us, the language that will be spoken, the culture and economics of the people we meet. What will it be like in another different country? We shall see.
Julienne and I have been talking (I mean, of course we've been talking. Isn't that what happily married couples like to do?) and we both agree that our going to France before we go to Senegal was a good idea. For a while we weren't sure. We mostly decided to stop in Paris when we noticed that some of the flights out of Boston went through Paris on the way to Dakar. "Heck," we thought. "Why not stop?"
Now, we're starting to think it was a good idea. Of the two of us, I feel that the transition to another culture will be harder for me. Julienne has lived in another country for an extended time while I have only traveled to Paris for our second honeymoon. Also, I have distinct memories of going through culture shock - after spending a summer up at the Unirondack summer camp! Feeling shock from that simple experience, I feel, sets a low bar for me to be more shaken by so many differences at once..
So, how will things be different? On the spectrum of ethnicities, language, culture and economics, I feel that France is a good middle ground to Senegal. While the language and cultures are different from Massachusetts, the economic profile and ethnic profile are pretty similar to it. Also, language is strangely not so different. People we talk to here in Paris are very nice. They will often humor us in French for a bit until they really want to make sure we are understanding them, then they switch to french.
In Quebec, where Julienne and I traveled last summer (thanks Dad and Margaret for watching the kids!) we found that if we simply started a conversation with "Hello," the other person would invariably be able to speak in English. Here, we are finding the same. So, in that way, while language is a weakness for us, Paris is also a half way place where we hear lots of French spoken and written, we don't really need to use it to get what we want.
And so, we expect Senegal to be on the other end of the spectrum. My European ethnicity will switch from a majority to minority. My language will go from majority to minority but still useful to useless out on the street. The culture I expect to be a mix because of both the US's and Senegal's past colonial status. That, and we have heard universally that the people of Senegal are very nice.
Then again, we have heard about the people of Paris being snobby but we have had exactly none of that. Even today as we went to get on the train, the conductor was very nice. The train said something like, "Mar de Martin" and we wanted the train to go to "Postrine." He said, "Postrine? This way," and pointed to the train. When we stepped on and read that the sign definitely did not say, "Postrine," we stepped off and tried saying something in French. He very politely bowed to us and said in English, "Please, trust me. This train does indeed go to Postrine." He was right, and nice even as we were questioning him over an incorrect LCD display.
So culturally, I'm sure we'll make mistakes but hopefully if we're humble and with the nice locals, it will work out. As for economics, that will be a big difference. A running buddy has been to the Gambia a number of times. The Gambia is an ex-British colony that is surrounded by Senegal. We were talking about running in Senegal and he said, "It will probably be much like my experience. When I would go for a run in The Gambia, almost immediately I would be followed by like 15 kids, running in bare feet, not wanting anything but simply to run for the love of running. It would invariably happen and I grew to look forward to it. You'll never be at a loss for a running buddy in Senegal."
A sweet story but also a simple touchstone. We will go from average wealth to high wealth. Not filty rich, but certainly upper class. We will be paying our house keeper as much in a month as we making in about a day and a half. AND we are paying her very good wages. I'm sure we'll write more about that.
Back to the kids - there wouldn't be that many children free to go for a run in the US. Why, I'm not exactly sure but I suspect that fewer students stay in school and thus, it's more acceptable to be running around during the day. Also, Jared Diamond has talked of spending time in Papua New Guinea and there, 10-12 year old boys were allowed to travel with him for weeks at a time with little or no preparation or warning to the parents. This will be a cultural difference that again we shall learn about.
So, to conclude, we are planning to go to a children-focused park. A bit of a theme park, like one called "Fairy Land" in San Fransico. I know mostly what to expect for the ethnicity of the people around us, the language that will be spoken, the culture and economics of the people we meet. What will it be like in another different country? We shall see.
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