I've been here for 6 weeks now. I would tell you how much longer I have here, but I don't want to think about it. I'm having an absolutely incredible time and I never want to leave. I feel like I have changed so much in the past month and a half. I've progressed a ton with my French and learned so many things about myself and everything take for granted. I feel like a different person. Oh no...this is turning into a super sappy post ha ha. Sorry! On to exciting things!
Last week sometime (maybe Tuesday?) I went to the Musee d'Orsay again. They're doing some construction and I couldn't find everything I was looking for, but it was still awesome. Still no pictures from Musee d'Orsay (they aren't allowed) Sorry!
After the Musee d'Orsay I met my friend at the Pantheon. According to wikipedia, the Pantheon is a "secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens." First we went down into the crypt to see the tombs. People buried there include Pierre and Marie Curie, Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and Émile Zola.
And of course the building was amazingly beautiful.
I'm completely in awe of this city and all the amazing things in it.
Cool pendulum thing that reminded me of Oxy and Griffith Observatory!
Thursday I went with another friend to the Salon d'Agriculture. It's an annual convention sort of thing at an expostion park in Paris. It's kind of like a state fair in the US but much classier. It's indoors with a bunch of different sections (Regions of France, Food of the World, Fruits and Vegetables, Animals, etc.)
One of the big halls
Want to drive a tractor? (we decided against it...)
Discover where your food comes from
Super weird movie on nutrition for little kids
This tree had tons of handwritten notes on it. It was adorable!
It was so crowded!
I was kind of split on going to this. Most of you probably know that I was vegan before coming to France. As part of my personal philosophy I boycott circuses, zoos, etc. where animals are used as entertainment and kept in cages. I knew that there would be animals in cages at the salon, but I wanted to see what it was like in France and be able to compare and contrast with the US so I ended up going. I feel guilty for giving money to a organization/event that promotes thinking of animals as property and entertainment, but I can't change my decision now.
This display about eating pork was right next to the pigs...
McDonald's had a big display about environmentalism (no comment)...
I guess I'm glad I went and saw what it was like, but I still feel divided. I also feel guilty for not being vegan right now. It was definitely the right decision for right now because it would be next to impossible to do here, but I can't help but feel bad. I should do some more research on the animal rights/veg movement here. Anyway...enough of my rambling.
Sorry for all the emotional stuff in this post. I've just been thinking about everything a lot recently. Anyway I need to get focused a bit for midterms next week! In light of that I'm only setting one sightseeing goal for this week: Grand Palais. It was on my list for last week, but I didn't make it. We'll see if I get there this week.
I also forgot about my quotes. Oh well...here's two for today.
Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~Confucius
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg
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