Favorite people of the week: Sara and Celeste, who brought me Dr. Pepper from an African market in La Corneuve, a suburb somewhere north of Paris. SIX WHOLE CANS– I don’t even know what I am going to do with myself! It tastes like everything good in the world, sun and flowers and cherries and bubbles and deliciousness and absolute pure delight.

Favorite conversation from Prague, had between Shoshana and I as we realized we had climbed a mountain but descended on the wrong side and were trapped, meaning we were going to have to climb back up and descend the other side.

Blair: We might as well turn around now before that guard kicks us out...

Shoshana: No, let’s keep going– maybe we won’t get in trouble.

Blair: He’s in full GERMAN military regalia, he’s carrying a rifle, and we’re trespassing on the German embassy’s property– I’m thinking we’re going to be in trouble.

Shoshana: Point taken. But still... I mean... getting yelled at is better than having to climb this mountain again, right? Do you know any German?

Blair: Yeah, ich liebe dicht.

Shoshana: What does that mean?

Blair: I love you.

Significant pause.

Blair, in an effort to redeem herself: WAIT! I know more! Ich bin ein Berliner!

Shoshana: What does that mean?

Blair: ‘I’m from Berlin.’

Shoshana, trying to be optimistic: See? This is good! This is useful stuff! Come on, anything else?

Blair, discouraged: Ehh, strudel?

Shoshana: Ok, let’s stick with the first two... But see, this is good. You just tell him that we are from Berlin and have to go to the embassy, and if he still seems skeptical, tell him we love him.


The first round of the French presidential elections was yesterday. Since I am assuming they aren’t getting THAT much coverage in the US, I’ll explain:

In France (and pretty much everywhere in the world EXCEPT the US), there are too many parties and too many candidates for anyone to EVER achieve a majority in the elections. Thus they have a sort-of primary, only it’s NOT a primary, because in the first round elections, everyone is running for president, and they all belong to different parties– it just so happens that there are 13 or 14 parties that are big enough to support a presidential candidate, some of which are well known (Sarko, Royal, Buffet, Le Pen) and some of which are not (Bove, for example). I asked Madame how she keeps track of all of them and she said "Oh, there are always too many to worry about– one of them this year is from the South and speaks with such a crazy accent I can barely understand him!" "But Madame," I replied, "you understand me!" "I know, cherie, but he speaks so badly..."

So yesterday was the first round– a formality really, since everyone knew Sarkozy and Royal would win, and they did, with 31% and 25% respectively. Two more weeks till the real election, but everyone is waiting on tenterhooks, even me and my ex-pat friends, because there hasn’t been an election this close here since... I don’t know. It’s the French equivalent of Bush/Gore– or Bush/Kerry, I guess... Nobody knows. I’m thinking Sarko is going to win, and despite the fact that I am not as well-informed as I probably OUGHT to be, I am kind of disappointed by that. Most of my French friends and the other students at the University are for Royal– I’ve heard Sarko called a liar, thief, pervert, and pedophile among other things, by students on Royal’s side. I don’t think [most of] that is true, but nevertheless... may the best man (or woman, as the case may be) win...
~B

P.S. In France, I forgot to mention earlier when it would have been more appropriate, the Easter bunny does not bring Easter eggs. No, he doesn’t exist here, which probably does a lot to explain how he makes it through the whole US in just the one night. But since the eggs don’t just hide themselves, they have to have something, right? Yeah– they have a bell. A giant bell (la cloche de Paques) that rings on Easter morning and brings the eggs. The theory is that when the bell rings, the eggs are "called" and fall into their hiding places where you can then go find them and eat whatever is inside.