Reporters sans Frontières

     The weather went from mild back to dreadfully cold this week, which resulted in a general drop in activity and spirits. As it turns out, the grey days of February are pretty much as grey in Paris as anywhere else, but after having been shamefully lazy all week, I've gotten it all out of my system and am looking forward to a busy coming week. However, before I drifted into my haze, there were a couple of things I've done since my last post that I felt are worth going back to.
     The first is a photographic exposition I saw last Sunday at the Petit Palais entitled Reporters sans Frontières. It was a show of work from two photographers--Pierre Boulat and his daughter Alexandra. I expected it to be quite dry but the exposition actually made a huge impression on me. I found it especially effective that it was staged so that the viewer could compare the work of the father--who took mostly black and white photographs mid-century of historic figures and events and was a prominent photographer for Life magazine--and the daughter--whose smaller body of work was no less moving with color photographs of more modern political and cultural conflicts, many set in the middle east. Alexandra's photographs were more emotionally striking, as can be seen by the photo most used in the promotional material for the exposition and set behind the title on the website here: http://petitpalais.paris.fr/en/expositions/reporters-sans-frontieres
     My favorite were Pierre's, whose work serves as evidence of a bygone era. My favorite of his by far (for obvious reasons) was a story he did on West Point for Life in 1957 entitled "Beast Barracks." It, like many of his other works, show the perspective of a Frenchman on Americana culture, which I found fascinating and very charming. I have included my two favorite of these pictures below. Also, here is a interesting video, though it is narrated in French, that shows the difference between the two bodies of work: http://vimeo.com/14997444

Pierre Boulat. Cadets of West Point ‘Beast Barracks’. USA. Dancing lesson. May , 1957

© Pierre Boulat / COSMOS

Pierre Boulat. Cadets of West Point ‘Beast Barracks’. USA. First day. May , 1957

"Tu as un mois pour perdre ton double mento.""Yes sir!"

© Pierre Boulat / COSMOS

Not by way of Paris, but hooray for this!

Pere Lachaise

     I will be trying to make up for all the lost time by posting things/pictures from the last month.  For right now, though, I'll go ahead and share some pictures of what I did today.
     Since its a Friday and I don't have classes, I started my day by meeting my friend Emily at the Louvre.  For one of our classes entitled "Issues in Aesthetics," we were supposed to view the "salle de Rembrandt" to better understand a text we read in class on his work. Specifically, his Bethsabee:

     Afterwards we got a coffee at the Louvre Starbucks--my first time trying it in France--that, at around 6 US dollars was a good deal more expensive then I remember my cafe mochas being at home!  I then had to hurry back to the IES center to view a film for my cinema class.  When the film was finished I took the metro to meet another friend, Kristen, at the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise.

     It had been sunny and nice all day, perhaps the nicest weather so far in Paris.  At the cemetery, considered the largest "green space" and oldest park in the city, the trees were actually green and for the first time, I caught the smell of vegetation and of earth.  The cemetery is, of course, the famed one in Paris where many historic people are buried like Chopin, Balzac, and most famously, Jim Morrison and Oscar de Wilde.  We were able to see Jim Morrison's grave, but then found a bench to sit down and have a snack.  By the time we were finished employees were coming to herd everyone out, so we'll have to go back to kiss the often-visited grave of Oscar Wilde (the same one featured in the Paris Je T'aime short.)  I've included some pictures from the day and the rest have been added to my flickr page at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/58415884@N04/sets/

le 30e jour

     Tomorrow marks one month since my plane touched down at Charles de Gaul.  It hardly seems that I have been away from home for that long when it feels that I’ve just begun to really settle in.  In fact, I’ve been so exhausted that I’ve found myself sleeping in far too often then I would like--I shouldn’t be sleeping in PARIS!  Its high time that I do better and hopefully this blog will motivate me to take more photos, go more places and write more, as well as keep everyone updated.  

     My impression, so far, is that it is the little things--"les petits riens" create the biggest difference between Paris and home.  They are also often the best part of the day. It is my intention to share these-whether they be small novelties of the French culture, style, pictures, or things I learn--to give a more thorough semblance of what my day-to-day is like here.  Here’s hoping I can keep it somewhat engaging and not too tedious!

     à bientôt!