Paris: Day 28 & 29

Happy 100th post to me!

Whoop Whoop!

My mom always taught me that every mess can be cleaned up and every situation made anew. This kept running through my head as I just cleaned up half of my dinner that was ever so carefully spilled on the counter. Mind you, I'm super broke at this point in my trip and food is getting rationed, ha.

Today wasn't such a great day, I didn't do much and spent most of it sulking (wanting to be home) and sleeping (so I didn't have to think about being home).

We talked about the stereotypes that other countries are perceived to have in class. As you can imagine, the United States isn't so loved.

We were asked to write down what we thought others would say about our country, and, I, for the most part was pretty accurate.

The first adjective was obese.

Fair enough.

Next was sports.

Oh, the irony.

I suggested that maybe they meant we liked to watch sports a lot.

Emotional came next.

That one, I didn't predict. But, understandable.

Concern with business.

Then, as expected, debt. We love to run up debt to keep buying things. Direct quote (translated from French, of course).

Ethnocentric.

Saw that coming, too. Especially when we were discussing the other represented countries and I didn't know what to say about half of them except what their average climate was.

We like war.

Embarassing.

At least they said we were very nice.

I couldn't help, but feel down about it. And afterwards, I went to Musee D'Orsay, anticipating a free entry, but was denied for not having a passport. A first so far. Students who are in the European union and are under 26 get in free to all public museums and with a heavy discount to private ones. This was my first problem. Before, I have only needed a student ID and an ID showing my age.

Since I didn't have the cash to spare, I had to opt out. Being tight on money severely limits things you can do anywhere. In Paris there are plenty of parks and of course the river to enjoy, all for free. I wasn't in the mood though. There was no pulling me out of this rut. I should have gone running, but instead I stayed at home.

I know, wasted time in Paris.

I made up for it by cramming in a lot of it yesterday.

First the museum des arts et metiers. Basically a museum for technology. It was neat, basically just a bunch of old communication and media devices. Glad I didn't pay for it to be honest.

Afterwards was Rodin (the sculptor). Now this, I would have paid for (but still happy it was free). I love Rodin's work. He is probably my favorite sculptor, so this museum was high on my must do list. I have yet to furrow my brow to reflect or understand emotion evicted from art here in Paris as much as I did there. He is so amazing. His ability to express emotion and body language is second to none. Plus his sculptures (most famous being "The Thinker") were outside in beautiful gardens on a wonderfully beautiful and sunny day. Another famous one of his, "The Kiss," and of course one of my favorites, too, was inside a house where many of the models were for the bigger structures. I could go on forever talking about how amazing each piece was, but I won't bore you. They did, however, dedicate to his and Monet's friendship.

They each owned pieces of the other's work that sort of reflected the other in the respective mediums. In life, we have relationships like these. Beautiful friendships or romantic relationships that are so great, their benefits are recognized by all. I have several friendships that I cherish because I know they aren't beneficial to just us, but that they extend beyond us, creating happiness and good things for a lot of people.

My roommate in Orlando is probably the epitome of that. While we were skyping tonight, she mentioned that we were soul mates in a friendship way. And I think that is completely true. We are two souls who complete each other. Who discover and explore the world in different ways, but blend together in a beautiful masterpiece. We are always looking to tag team and help others out and go on our own adventures. She is one of my greatest inspirations. And my friendship with her is the guide for how I would want a relationship and marriage to be. Isn't that what they are anyway? Extended friendships.

After Rodin I explored the Marmotten Monet Museum. A lot of impressionistic work, my favorite time period, and of course, a lot of Monet. I loved going straight from Rodin to Monet and seeing bits of Rodin in his work or his life. I wonder if I ever had a museum who all would make it in? I didn't like having to pay for it, but because I love impressionism, I guess it was worth the 5 euros.

Last was Musee Quai Branley. Basically Art meets Anthropology. A really neat museum in and of itself, but not really "my type." The gardens themselves were beautiful and made the trip out there worth it.