Grapes, Dog Poo and Mac & Cheese: We love to share!

 

Paris is known for people watching. Wherever you go, you pass small cafes where people sit for hours with doll sized cups of coffee, open journal, and cigarette in hand, their eyes casually noting the day’s events. This week I realized that people watching is not limited to café chairs. Multiple times I have looked up while walking past a lovely old Parisian apartment building only to meet the eyes of some curious lady or older gentleman peering out their window at life bustling by.

In addition to that, Parisians on the go are observant. For example, Pierce LOVES to remove his shoes and try to stealthily drop them from the stroller when I’m not looking. Fortunately, as soon as this happens passersby will come out of the woodwork to let me know my son has lost his “chaussure.” This includes two separate occasions when people stopped their car to yell out the window, “Vous avez perdu une chaussure!” Needless to say, there are eyes everywhere.

I thought about those eyes, this week, when, while crossing the street, my bag of groceries slipped and threw food all over the sidewalk. I thought about those eyes when (on a windy day) I got dust in my eyes and was trying to blindly push the stroller down the street until I realized I had in fact stepped in dog poo! And I thought about those eyes when I tried to enter a local pediatrician’s office only to have roadwork going on RIGHT on the doorstep. The construction workers assured me it was still open, so I carried the stroller up to the door and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to open the door all the while a backhoe was working 12inches from my feet. And I considered those eyes when tragically, I still couldn’t figure out how to get inside and walked dejectedly home.

In each of those moments I thought about the people watchers all around me and thought, “I hope they are getting a laugh out of this! Someone aught to!”

In addition to people peeking out their windows to get another good look at the ridiculous American, this week was full of other adventures. On Tuesday there was an accident where a car hit a motorcyclist DIRECTLY in front of Gideon’s school right as the kids were being let out for lunch. The police were trying to hide the injured body of the motorcyclist and all the parents around me were chittering, “Quel dramatique!” Gideon and Pierce and I escaped the drama with a lovely picnic in the parc. In the evening we adventured downtown to check out the “American store” which sells random (likely expired) gas station snacks at ridiculous prices, but it was fun to see a bottle of ranch and packets of mentos. We then wandered over to my old institute building from when I was in Paris on study abroad. It happens to be right next to the Pompidou center (so of course we walked around there). It was surreal to be back on those streets 10 years later with my own little family. We came home to a back full of grapes hung on our door nob by one of our sweet neighbors. The grapes were incredibly delicious, and the gesture was oh so appreciated.

On Wednesday, Gideon and Pierce and I went to the Musée de l'Homme at Trocadéro. The coolest thing about that museum was its windows. I’m not kidding. It looks out right onto the Eiffel Tower and every window is a postcard! While Gideon was coloring in the kid’s area, I peered out the window right onto  Trocadero where a crew of more than 100 people were actively filming a musical. It was incredible to watch! I looked across the square only to realize that the windows of the building on the other side of the square were packed with curious on-lookers as well. That evening a man came to fix our dishwasher and I had fun talking to him about the pros and cons of living in Paris. He talked about how we all live on top of one another and described how his apartment used to have a trap door allowing him to see right onto his neighbor below!

On Thursdays Gideon has a half hour of tutoring before I pick him up for lunch. This shortened lunch break makes it hard to walk home, eat lunch and walk back in time. So, this Thursday Gideon decided to brave the cafeteria. He had been talking about it for a week, but when the day finally came he panicked and changed his mind. “Actually, I don’t want to stay for lunch.” He told me as we walked to school. “Ok, lets just check and see what they are having for lunch today.” We checked the bulletin and I let him know that they would be serving sugared crepes for dessert! He quickly decided he DID want to stay (I did not forewarn him that they would also be serving a green salad and fish with green beans). When I did pick him up he told me, “Mommy, those silly lunch ladies thought I liked salad!” (implying, “can you believe that?!”)

Anyway, because Gideon was staying for lunch, Benjin and Pierce and I met up for lunch near Benjin’s work. We got a chicken sandwich from a little bakery as well as a spicy African vegetarian wrap which was heavenly! It was so so fun to have a little lunch date and to top it all off Benjin gave me a tour of his work. There I got to peek into all the rooms and see the labs where the magic happens.

Friday night we had planned to check out a big wine festival up by Sacre Coeur, but due to the recent unrest over Israel and Gaza decided to avoid the big crowds and opted for a chill night at home. Which was good because Saturday we whooped it up at our ward’s multicultural celebration. The celebration included a parade where Gideon and I marched in carrying the American flag along with a bunch of other ward members from all over the world. Additionally, there were tables where people shared food and various items from their homeland. And finally, there were some fabulous performances. We had people representing Tahiti, Pakistan, Venezuela, Belgium, Chili, Mexico, Peru, Guadeloupe, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Reunion and of course France. 

As Americans we naturally shared chocolate chip cookies, PB&J’s and mac & cheese. Additionally, we roped the missionaries into dancing cotton eyed joe, which was a hoot. I was surprised by how much everyone got excited about trying mac and cheese. They had all heard about mac and cheese (I guess in movies), but they had never tried it. Fortunately, Benjin had brough back some powder from his recent trip to California. It was so so fun to share! I’ve talked before about it being hard to be different, but it’s also fun to take pride in sharing and celebrating differences!  

This week we had lots of experiences with watching and being watched. The feeling of being watched is typically relegated to horror films, but as weird as it sounds, I have actually come to enjoy it! There is something kind of wonderful about feeling seen (even by total strangers from upper story windows). There can be something comforting about your embarrassing moments providing some entertainment to a random homebound French lady. There is something warming about sharing your culture even if it’s just boxed mac and cheese and a silly line dance. Feeling seen feels good. I think mostly because sharing feels good. From sacks full of grapes to the silliness of tollers trying to ditch their shoes, it feels good to share and connect. Just make sure your neighbor doesn’t have a trap door opening into your apartment… haha.

Lots of love, 

La famille Facer