Segment 17- Jesse in Paris
Classes resume tomorrow and I am happy to report that my final weekend of “break” (France has a lot of breaks…) was very active! After months of my only form of exercise being walking, the weather has beckoned me out to profit from the sunshine and I am starting to tread the kilometers and even today, got to play some pick up basketball with an eclectic group (the game ending in an awesome 4v4 against a group from the Tunisian dorm). It was really fun to flex, well, mostly my trash-talking skills, but also my feet and face are sore enough now that I earned some sort of reputation (I got whacked in the face toward the end, to be clear); my box-out skillz were the talk of the court.
During my week of break, I got to spend my time off with my dad who was here visiting from Kansas! The first three nights, he bravely spent in my dorm room, before we both went to an AirBnB in a trendy neighborhood, where we could just pop outside and access several fabulous bakeries. Dad is a different kind of traveler: he mostly wants to spend time with you and experience your life where you are, more so than having an agenda of things to see, places to go and foods to try, etc. I understand this about him, but it doesn’t always stop me as a host from feeling like I have to make sure everything is meeting expectations, or especially when I don't have a good answer every time someone asks me what is on the itinerary for the week. But we accomplished Dad’s goals, and mine, too. We ate lots of good foods and had some fun pastries (that is still mostly my thing, but Dad indulged me). We went to see a castle/palace. We went to the Paris Mennonite Center and had lunch with the Sensenig family that Hesston Mennonite Church is supporting. We went to the Louvre Museum. We had dinner with Fabienne and Guillaume and their boys, Victor and Charles. We got selfies in front of the Eiffel tower. And we had lots of meaningful conversations. I did not take videos to make a video blog of the experience, as I have so often done, but we took lots of pictures and stored up the memories in our hearts.
It was really special for me to introduce Dad to my French family, and very generous of them to have us for a big dinner at the end of a very busy week. But it was such a delight! Fabienne outdid herself preparing the meal and the table and looking as chic as can be. The food was unbelievable and included a lemon tarte that was the best lemon tarte I have ever had. I don’t like lemon tarte, but between the lemons that she and Guillaume had brought from the South of France and the perfect balance of bitterness and sugar, I would have happily taken a second slice (if I had not already filled up on all the other wonderful delicacies before us). Victor and Charles were both very engaged with Dad in English, and I was very impressed! Guillaume had chosen wonderful wines to accompany the meal and we had an absolute blast! It was so special for me for my two families to come together.
We had a wonderful lunch with Peter, Christy and their kids at the Paris Mennonite Center. It was wonderful to see Dad come out of his shell, understanding well his role connecting this wonderful family with the church congregation supporting them. We had wonderful conversation, fabulous salad and sandwiches, and it is always fun to be around those kids as well- they are very patient, thoughtful and considerate. After the meal, we went on a walk through the Bois de Vincennes to the Château de Vincennes- another really old castle (Capetian, even!) that is just on the outside of Paris.
We took a day trip to the Château de Chantilly on the day that was supposed to be the fairest weather… it ended up being overcast the whole day, just not quite as cold. But the Château was still just as charming as could be. This was one of the things I planned to do with Dad that was also really a bit for me. It had been on my Paris wishlist ever since my teacher mentioned it during one of my online classes last year in Kansas. It was very beautiful and impressive, and it was not just a “castle,” but really also a palace on the inside. I am sure the grounds will be more beautiful a month from now, but one cannot wait for spring for everything. We both were exhausted by this trip though, Dad falling asleep on the train back to Paris and me falling asleep for nearly an hour after we got back to the AirBnB.
A highlight for me was being able to go downstairs in the mornings and pick a couple of pastries for breakfast. The ease of this was complicated by the six flights of stairs to get back up to the apartment, but I guess we had to earn such early indulgence. I also enjoyed the morning that Dad was willing to go down the stairs and pick something out. He always chose well! We had a couple of the world’s best éclairs and this crazy caramel filled brioche that is not at all traditional, but was crazy! Maybe I wouldn’t have it for breakfast again, but it was great with coffee!
I should mention a little more about Dad’s stay at the dorm. I was able to request for them to bring an extra bed to my room for three nights, and I didn‘t think too much of it, since Shaked had come, we had done the same thing and had no problems. I forgot that my dad snores. Not only does he snore, but the first night, when he went to bed for the first time after 18 hours of traveling and a full day in Paris, it sounded like Fabienne and Guillaume’s 9-year-old English bulldog, Hopper, was hibernating in my room. I used earplugs, but even still- the vibrations of that sound were serious. Thankfully thereafter, it was never again quite that egregious…
I have to write a huge shout out to Dad, for coming all this way by himself, facing a lot of unknowns and being so generous with me along the way- treating me to meals, meeting and hanging out with some of my friends, listening while I blabbed on and on about life in Paris/boy problems/you name it (as one does with family after being away 6 months), eating lots of pastries and racking up a staggering 20,000 steps pretty much every single day. For an old dude from Kansas? He didn’t do too bad at all. I am so thankful that he was willing to invest in my life and our relationship in this way.
Kendra also gets an MVP shout out, because she was supposed to be on this trip with Dad, but because of how my breaks lined up and plans that she already had, she was not able to come. But she supported hardcore from the background and it means a lot, too, that she was willing not to come.
Now it is back to the same old grind of French class, practice and teaching. But I have some little things I am looking forward to on the horizon: visits from cousins and friends, music projects and of course enjoying the impending spring (Hallelujah! The sun makes SUCH a big difference!).
More adventures and pastries to come,
Marie in Paris
