Part Deux!

Finally getting around to finishing up my last post, or maybe this is just a new post altogether? 

Anyway, I was greeted by rain, wind, and freezing temperatures at CDG airport on my return from (sunny) Barcelona, and to top it off, the RER B wasn't running at all that night, so after walking through the entire airport to get the train, I joined the herd of people standing outside the terminal in the rain waiting for the buses to take us into Paris.  In usual Parisian style, the whole crowd (maybe 100 people) made a mad rush at the first bus when it arrived, oblivious to the fact that there were 3 buses following it.  This aspect of Parisian culture drives me UP THE WALL, but I guess the good thing is that it ends up pushing me in the opposite direction -- I feel the need to be excessively friendly and patient just to set a good example.

I made it onto a bus eventually, and even though it was supposed to make several stops, the driver ended up kicking us all off at Gare de L'Est (also a very Parisian occurrence, timetables and promised stops be damned).  I hustled it onto the metro and was able to catch the LAST RER A train of the night back to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which was basically a miracle.  (If I had missed the last train from Chatelet, I would've had to get back on the metro to go to Gare Saint-Lazare, and from there I would have taken the night bus back to Saint-Germain, but as it only comes once/hour and takes an hour to get me home, I would not have been a happy camper.  I made it home by around 1:30am and then it was back to the teaching grind the next day!

Here's three (semi-notable?) things that have happened since then:

1) I found a great little yoga studio 10 minutes away from my apartment in St-G and splurged on a 10-class student pass for 150 euro.  (Yes, the STUDENT rate is still over $20/class.)  Thank you date-less UC Davis student ID!  I've missed yoga so much since I left California and it feels amazing to "get back in touch" with my body in that way again.  Also, my ass is out of shape!

2) I made the 1.5 hr trip out to Antre Bloc climbing gym in Villejuif.  I paid 12 euro for a day pass, checked out the place, and did some bouldering.  It's too far a trek to justify getting a membership, but I'm hoping to get a climber partner and go once every week or so.  It's an okay spot, but it's nothing compared to the beautiful Touchstone gyms I've used to back in the bay.  (Not to mention I had 5 different gyms to choose from and free classes for $60/month!)  I'm going to waste no time renewing my membership once I'm back in California this summer!  (Like, I might go on the way back from the airport...)

3) I had my first really scary experience in Paris.  (I'll preface this story by saying that I'm completely fine, nothing to worry about, Mom!)  I was out having dinner and drinks with a couple TAPIF friends at a nice bistrot on Rue des Dames, which is in the 18th arrondissement near Place de Clichy.  (Think the Moulin Rouge/Pigalle, but a super-trendy side street far away from the strip club area.)  I went outside to make a phone call around 9:30pm, and I had just hung up the phone when two guys around my age came up to me out of nowhere.  One of the guys started talking to me, asking me for a cigarette and kind of backing me against the wall.  Then his friend (who looked pretty wasted), grabbed me by the back of my neck and forced my face toward his, trying to kiss me.  After about a second and a half of pure shock, I pushed him off me and told him and his friends to "Fuck off" (in English and French, just to cover my bases).  Then the bartender came outside and the two guys ran off down the street.  The one who'd tried to kiss me ended up knocking over a bunch of tables and rolling down the street a ways. 

The whole experience definitely shook me, because I've never been so forcefully, physically harassed before.  Just as a warning to any women living in Paris who read this -- be wary about walking by yourself around Place de Clichy and the other "sketchy" areas of Paris after dark, even in busy areas.  I've always scoffed at people who warn me about the dangers of Paris, and I tend to walk wherever I want, whenever I want, but this experience has made me realize that maybe a little more caution is in order!



Other than that, I'm sick with another cold (surprised it took a month and a half!), but thankfully I get to sleep in tomorrow morning because of "la greve".  (There is a big teacher's strike happening tomorrow in Paris and one of my schools is closed.)  So I don't have to go to work until 1pm and I'm not at all upset about it!  Then I'll be heading directly to Paris for a 6-11pm serving shift at the Moose.

Cross your fingers I can kick this cold soon!  3 weeks until I'm back in beautiful Barcelona for a week of vacation!  :)  (And only 8 more days of teaching til then!)

Namaste y'all.

xoxo