A couple of truths I think

I am finally starting my UNESCO internship today. I don't know what to expect really, but I have a good idea of what to expect from the three classes I'm taking and should be able to juggle things alright this semester. Hopefully I didn't speak too soon!

There aren't many truths in life. Or maybe there are, and you discover and forget them continually. Well I just wanted to record one or two that I've had in the back of my head lately.

One is that there are always bad consequences when you live your day-to-day thinking you deserve something. Whether it is the belief that you deserve more than someone else because you worked harder or simply that you deserve anything, it seems to me like it only leads to bad things. You can argue that work has value and that you should be paid what you are worth, but I say we should drop the whole idea and consider things from a different perspective.

That other, better approach would be that we are only grateful for whatever we receive for what we do or who we are. This seems to always lead to good things--a positive outlook on the future, fewer regrets about the past, more meaningful moments at the present.

I saw a 50-55 year old white (probably French) woman begging in the metro yesterday. She was crying and asked repeatedly for a sandwich or something to eat. It was the first time I had seen a beggar actually crying. It is also rare to see white women of that age begging. I didn't have time to react, but if I had been a little more bold I could have caught her before she got out of the metro. I regret it.

Which leads me to a second truth of which I am still trying to convince myself is that you don't need to invent problems for yourself if you don't have any. I think a lot of the mental/social conditions that are prevalent in the rich, developed countries among ordinary citizens are the result of this act. It's just hard to reconcile your contentedness when you're constantly exposed to troubles in other parts of the world.

Well anyway, I am grateful for not having too many troubles. And I wish others had fewer. I hope I didn't speak too soon!

When it rains in the winter...

....at least you have something else to complain about besides the cold!

It's 5pm here in Paris on likely the nastiest day I've seen in a while. It's rainy and cold. I went to a class earlier that I won't likely take, but I wanted to check it out nevertheless. It is entitled "Current Issues in International Relations" and it is taught by Steve McGriffen, a British historian with Socialist political leanings. I took a liking to him right away, because he asked us critical questions, pushed us to back up our thoughts, unapologetically stated his opinions and exhorted us to disagree with him. Out of all the professors at my school, I think he may be the best suited to be my thesis advisor but I'm not sure. I asked him if he'd be up for it, explaining that I might want to take a feminist approach to analyze female migration from poor to rich countries, and whether they have improved education and literacy after they left their home country. "That sounds absolutely fascinating," he said, and continued with a grin: "you know I happen to be an enthusiastic feminist."

My before dinner plans are to organize and put away last semester's notes, prepare my new binders, and dance around, stretch and do yoga for an hour or so. I can't stand being cooped up, but after my accidental more than an hour walk after work yesterday in the freezing cold, I really have no desire to go for a walk......

It smells like curry in here

So I spent last week in Granville, a small coastal town in Normandy, with Germain at the 10-bedroom, three story, century-old house that belongs to his family and is currently only resided in by his great aunt (who is second cousins with Christian Dior!) What I find so charming about the town is that every time we've been there since two and half years ago, the same server who reminds me of Mrs. Teapot from Beauty and the Beast is working at our favorite restaurant, the same crazy guy with the very Frenchy mustache is getting us drunk on free samples of Apple Brandy (Calvados), pommeau (apple-based sweet apéritif) and cider at 9:30 am at the Saturday open air market...Germain and I still die of dust allergies while staying at the house, we can still bring back with us the best Normandy cheeses, Camembert, Pont L'Eveque and Livarot - and one of France's penultimate creamy rich desserts 'Teurgoule' (rice pudding with crème made with whole milk).

As much as I enjoy a change of scenery and get bored with routine, I can certainly appreciate the consistency of my visits to this charming, old-fashioned French town.

I am off of school for another week (classes start up Feb 9). I haven't been back to my dorm room in...two weeks? But I think it's about time, because Germain is starting to get annoyed with all my clothes drawn out everywhere. However, I have found a way to prolong my hanging around his place. While in the old house in Granville, I was looking at all the old books on the bookshelves and surprisingly came across Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I was almost done reading her biography when I came across it, and Germain let me 'borrow' it from the house. I think he's secretly just as excited to taste my attempts at her recipes as I am to cook!!

That must be why it smells like curry in here. I feel pretty overwhelmed by most of her recipes, so last night I decided to start simple and attempt a Curry sauce recipe. Next time, I won't salt it and will serve it with different vegetables (the tomatoes were far too acidic). Nevertheless, it tasted great with chicken! Not very French, but hey, I'm working on it!

I start my internship at UNESCO on Feb 16. I'm really excited about it and am looking forward to having a busy schedule again. I just hope I'll have time to cook...