À l'inverse

This past weekend was one of the best and most memorable weekends ever. And for some reason I’ve decided to tell it to you in reverse. I feel like it will be more effective that way, so just go with it. Let’s start with Sunday. Sunday I had the chance to go with my host parents to visit my favorite 98 year old, Jacques Prince. Even though the sun wasn’t out this time and everyone seemed to be quite fatigued, it still brought me such great pleasure getting to spend time with him. We shared drinks, ate a delicious meal, talked for hours...it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday. And I was introduced to yet another Jacques-ism (jak-izm) that day. He had a friend over who was very critical and took much pleasure in speaking her mind. After Jacques read us the poem he’d written that morning, his friend openly shared her lack of interest or understanding. Later in the evening after she’d left, Jacques told us he was glad she said what she did because that way, if she compliments his work, he’ll know she really means it. I’m pretty sure I was more insulted at her comments than Jacques was, because he chooses to find the positive in any given situation. This man will never cease to amaze me. Anyway, after lunch, Ariane and Yves showed me this antique market that’s held once a month in the parking lot of the neighborhood supermarket. It was really neat and there were a lot of cool things for really cheap. I then decided it was a good idea to stay up until 3 in the morning when I had to wake up at 6 to catch a bus to the South of France…..so that’s where I’ll start my next blog post (if I ever get there).

Antiques Market

But before any of that happened, I had a Saturday. Saturday, I woke up late and enjoyed a delicious brunch with my host parents, which consisted of coffee, apples, orange juice, salad, omelet, bread, and cheese. Our topic of discussion for this meal was precisely this: dirty words in English versus French. I’m certainly learning a lot here in France :) After brunch, Ariane showed me around a really cute part of the city, which is conveniently only about a 15 minute walk from where we live. There were lots of cute shops, thrift stores, boulangeries, cafes, bars, etc. But my favorite part was what I've decided is Paris' best kept secret: Le Comptoir General. The best way to describe this place is that it's a very well hidden venue which houses a bar, art exhibits, a performance space, a thrift store...it's super trendy and super awesome. I'd never experienced anything like it. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and call it hipster central, because it's extremely hidden and impossible to know it's there unless someone you'd been told to do so. And also because everyone in there was a hipster. Take a look, this place is amazing:

I most certainly plan on frequenting this lil gem :)

Aaaaand finally, (or rather firstly) we had Friday. A good friend I know from Arcadia, Greg, is studying abroad in London and was in Paris for the weekend. So we met up at the Louvre, looked at some masterpieces, and caught up on each other's lives. And after, since it was Paris Fashion Week, which was the reason he was in Paris in the first place, we popped in some really expensive designer stores and drooled at all the things we couldn't afford.

Then I had to get ready to go to a concert--a band by the name of Walk The Moon. And for those of you who know me, you'll be able to vouch for me when I say that I am absolutely in love with Walk The Moon. So getting to see them in a small venue in Paris was simply incredible. I went with my friend Hannah, who I met here in Paris. She's from Germany, but we speak mostly in French, which is great practice for me. Also, I should clarify that by French, I mean Franglais. We speak really awesome Franglais. So anyway, it was an absolutely amazing concert. I definitely don't remember the last time I danced like that, and I'm pretty sure I looked like a moron. But frankly, I don't give a damn. 

Alright, now here's where things get crazy awesome.After they finished performing, the lead singer, Nick, announced that people were welcome to meet them in the next room if we wanted. So after I glued my jaw back onto my face, Hannah and I waited in line to meet the band. Turns out it was just Nick and the guitarist, Eli, and as I would have liked to talk to the whole band, I guess I shouldn't be too picky, especially because I'm not finished with my story... :) Anyway, once it was our turn, the first thing I told him was that I was from the US, and Nick said he was so relieved I because everyone else was Parisian and he doesn't speak a word of French. He also said he totally saw me dancing out there in my tiger shirt. (SCORE!) Then introductions were made, and of course hugs were had. So we just began talking about like everything: Philly, previous shows, Paris, studies, all that jazz. So eventually the guy monitoring the whole thing told us we were talking too much and holding up the line, (that bastard), but that if we wait upstairs at the bar, we might be able to catch them again. Nick confirmed and I told him I was holding him to it, so we took our picture, said our "see ya in a minute"s and Hannah and I headed upstairs to grab a drink and wait for the band.

While we were waiting, we ran into some other Americans, one of whom told us she got selfies with Nick. (See provided link for those of you who don't know what selfies are). So due to the fact that A. I'm a girl, B. I'm a Scorpio, and C. I'm in love with Nick, I was like "oh helllll no". (But in all seriousness they were very nice girls and we even exchanged info so we could hang, I was just being dramatic.) Anyway, after the other girls left, Hannah and I were still sipping our beers and the only other people waiting to talk to the band was this group of tween fangirls with autograph books. After the fangirls attacked, Hannah and I got to spend some time talking with Nick and the bassist, Kevin. Hannah was talking in German with Kevin, and Nick and I were talking about I don't even know what. Curry fries, I think. And he complimented me on my necklace! I wear a Hamsa around my neck, which, in Judaism, symbolizes protection, peace, guidance, health, etc. I'm always curious as to others' views on the Hamsa, so I asked him if he recognized it as a symbol of religion or how it was that he related to it, and he told me that to him it means faith and guidance and that he just really loves what it stands for. So like as if I wasn't already in love with him... Then the selfies happened. It was actually really adorable-- he made me take a bunch because he didn't like the way he looked in the photos. He said he's bashful, AW. Oh, and I told him I'd be putting the pictures on Twitter, Instagram, etc. and it would be under the name "swagwaldman" (don't judge), so he'd know where to find them, and he was like "Swagwaldman? So, Dana Waldman?" Dead. After my resurrection, we had to say our goodbyes because they had to check in at their hotel and such, but our wedding is next Saturday, so you're all welcome to come.

Well, this marks the end of this blog post. Stay tuned for my next post where I'll tell you all about my trip to the south of France :)

À bientôt