Museums and Mausoleums

 Bonjour!  It's time again for an update from Paris!

On the first Sunday of every month, the museums of Paris are open free to the public.  I went with some frineds of mine to the Louvre.  We saw some of the same stuff that I saw on my first trip there, but we saw some new stuff as well.  Pictures follow.  In particular, I was pleased to see that they had an Ancient Egyptian section that was distinct from the Medieval Egyptian section (which I didn't enjoy as much).

Guarding the valuables

Weights and Measures

I get this really odd idea of an ancient Egyptian Parent-Teacher Aid store.

This particular sulpture was really cool

Actual weapons that look a lot like the ones you see in fantasy movies.

A model of the original building that stood at the location of the Louvre.

I had my first test in my math class two weeks ago.  I did not leave feeling very confident, for the test was not at all what I expected.  In most of my math classes in the United States, the test material has been closelty related to the topics we talked about in the classrolm and what the instructor lectured about.  We students were expected to have a deep understanding about the subject matter and be able to work with its details carefully and accurately.  The test we had in my class here seemed very broad by comparison.  Most of the questions were of not even of a type that I recognized, though they seemed like they wouldn't be difficult if I could figure out a good approach.  My study methods that have worked so far failed me this time. I think that for the next section of the class, which will take place over the next six weeks, I'm going to have to spend more time reading references on the periphery of our subject matter in order to gain a broader experience and be more prepared for the next and final test.  We had our first class since the test on Monday, but the instructor didn't return the papers.  I'm not sure whether he will or not.

On the week of my test, I only had one other class.  Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely terrible, including rain and snow.  Attempting to stay warm while walking anywhere was an excercise in futility.  That is, until Saturday.  On Saturday, it was warm and not too wet.  The day was great, so Shelley and I walked the 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) to see the Panthéon!  Before we even got there, though, we had a fun surprise in a street we encountered:

I didn't even know that Paris had a street named after one of my favorite Reformers!  It shouldn't surprise me, I suppose, since John Calvin was French and it seems every street in the city is named after someone famous.  There's a Rue Albert Einstein near the university, for example.

A view down Rue Jean Calvin

A little while after encountering this most excellent and unexpected pleasure, we saw the top of the Panthéon peeking over the tops of the buildings

We got closer.  The building is quite impressive.

It's currently under renovations that will take many years to finish.  The building was originally constructed as a church to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of the City of Paris.  It was later turned into a secular mausoleum.  It holds the remains of many of the great men and women of France, such as Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie.

The Place du Panthéon

The Eiffel Tower from the steps of the Panthéon

I have to sign off for now, expect another update in a day or so on my activities since visiting the Panthéon.

A bientôt!

Star Wars, Wine, Cheese, and Film Festivals

Bonjour!

Well, it's time for another update.  I've been spending a lot of time studying for my test, so I'm afraid I haven't been able to get out as much recently as before.  However, the weather continues to be cold and cloudy, so I don't feel like I'm missing too much by waiting for a later date to see some of the sights.

I have done some interesting things, though.  On Wednesday I went to a fun exhibit on Star Wars toys.  I am part of a Facebook group for exchange students at the University of Paris, and one of the students, Lotte, posted that she wanted to go to this and if there was a big enough "geek" to enjoy it with her.  Naturally, that meant me.  The exhibit was quite interesting, though a little small.  Some of the toys were from the original release of the movies, and they had some of the wax sculptures that the mold was made from and original photos used for packaging.  Unfortunately I didn't see any "Revenge of the Jedi" posters.

The student that I went with is from the Netherlands.  IT was interesting seeing the difference in our interested with respect to the toys.  I was more interested in the stuff from the original trilogy, because that was what I was brought up with, and by the time the prequel trilogy came out, I think I was too old to enjoy it as much as others.  Lotte, on the other hand, is younger than I am, and was more interested in the prequel movies.  Her favorite Star Wars film is actually Episode I.  I managed not to snark at that and we had a pleasant time.

She shared some interesting European perspectives with me.  She's a history student, and at one point she asked me at what point I though the United States started influencing Europe more than Europe influenced the United States.  This question surprised me, as I hadn't thought that the US was currently that culturally influential in Europe.  Lotte said that even though many Europeans don't like to admit it, they copy the United States in a lot of aspects.  The largest one that she mentioned was the creation of the European Union!  I suppose that before, I had noticed that the EU was similar to the US, but Lotte suggested that if it wasn't for the United States, the EU would never hasve existed.  I would not have expected a statement like this, but I'm sure that she's right.  Getting back to the question of when such a transition occurred, I could only think about when Europe sopped being a large influence on the United States, as I don't know aenough about European history to draw any conclusions there.  I suggested that the US started becoming "independent" of Europe after the Civil War.  After that war, the US was more solidified and had more of a sense of national identity.  Lotte said she estimated the transition time at around World War I, mostly because, as she put it, "We [Europe] got saved."  It was surprising to hear that from the mouth of a European, but there it is.

Thursday night I went to a small party organised by the babysitting/English tutoring company that my friend Shelley from Arkansas works for.  They had wine and cheese, which was fun, though they didn't ahve any labels indicating what type each cheese was, so I don't think I've been educated much in that department.  There were some interesting people there.  I met one Spanish student who is currently working on a film festival that's going to be held here in Paris at the end of March.  It looks like fun, and I'm going to try to go to it.  She also invited me to a sort of preparation party the organizers are having in a couple weeks, so I'm planning on going to that as well.

A few weeks ago I posted a craigslist ad offering math tutoring services (in English).  I finally got someone who actually seems like they're going to hire me.  We had our first meeting today.  There are actually two students that I'll be working with, doing both general tutoring and preparation for a particular exam they will be taking in May.  I'm so blessed to have contacted them, since if everything goes as planned, the tutoring will essentially pay my rent for a few months.  This will ease some financial tightness that I've been experiencing for a few weeks. God is good.

This Sunday, Shelley's friend who is studying in the North of France is coming down for a weekend.  As it's the first Sunday of the month, all the museums are free, so we'll be heading to the Louvre.  This will be my second trip there and their first.  It should be a lot of fun.  Hopefully I'll be able to take some more pictures and post them.

As always, let me know if there's something specific you would like to hear about.

A bientot!