Jour 7 - The Piano

Words du jour: pates (pasta), cheveux (hair), belle (beautiful)

Iris with Friendship Flower

Ceren presented Iris with a flower as we concluded our lunch. ‘For friendship?’, I asked. Ceren nodded. Iris looks good holding a flower. She also looks good wearing my sweater!

Books from the Heap

We took a stroll through the affluent neighborhood of Montmarte and found a heap of books that someone had dumped on the sidewalk, apparently to be claimed by strangers instead of thrown into the trash. Ceren and I curiously sifted through the pile and selected a few to take with us. Ceren held one up so I could read the title and then told me what it meant. Translated it read, ‘F*cking Americans’. A man walked by, and I asked, “Est-ce que vous parlez anglais? (Do you speak English?)" “A little”, he replied. I took the book from Ceren and held it up. “What does this say?”, I continued. He quietly replied, ‘It says F*cking Americans’. “I’m an American”, I said. “I know”, he quietly replied again.

The man was coming back from lunch to re-open his photo gallery door a few meters away. Ceren asked if I wanted to go in, and I replied affirmatively. There were about 20 photos on the otherwise bare walls surrounding an empty room the size of a small apartment. We began to leave feeling empty handed when suddenly a piano began to play. For a few minutes, we were mesmerized. Here’s the video clip: The Piano

I took a TGV (speed train) to Stuttgart in the evening. Sitting opposite me was a confident young woman from Switzerland named Naget. (Her name is Arabic in origin.) She was returning from an audition in Paris where they needed a French woman to fill the roll. I got the sense that Naget is one of those people who can do absolutely anything they set their mind upon in life. I also got the sense she might be hard on herself. I hope to hear from her someday.

Sabine

I finally got so see Sabine, who picked me up at the Stuttgart train station. We did a little grocery shopping and then headed to her place as she pointed out a castle along the way. She asked if I could give a presentation to here 12th grade students in her English class tomorrow. I said "you bet!"

Première Expérience de la France

Jour 7 – The Piano

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