I decided to begin posting on this blog, when I'd feel I'm actually in Paris. I did for the first time this weekend...
I have been already out many times before, since I arrived here for my scholarship in mid September, yet it hasn't been yet rooted in my head that I'm indeed in PARIS. Yes, well it was quite a weird experience. After all it had passed more than one month since I'm in this town of "art and romance" as some people believe so.
Anyways, On Friday night I had a rendez-vous with my international group and the school's English teacher for a "spectacle" (performance) of modern dance and theatre in Centre Beaubourg. For those who don't know, it's Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou (National Centre for Arts and Culture of Georges Pompidou). Info about it on wikipedia.
This English teacher she doesn't teach us, yet she's very much into modern dance and she prepared for us a session of few performances to see in Paris.
This one was very interesting, I may say - as we still don't have much of this kind of performances in Poland and also in Egypt.
"Gustavia" was a show by two middle aged women, one French Mathilde Monnier and the other one a Spanish La Ribot. To read more about it click here.
As I was saying, when I was walking for my appointment with the rest of the group, I felt actually that I'm in Paris. These lights in the streets, people walking in everyway, others pausing for a moment to meet or to contemplate the lit fountain on Saint Sebastian's square. Yes, I was in Paris then.
It happened again yesterday night. We were all invited first to dinner party at a French friend's place that Marta and I met in Łódź last year. It was around 20 minutes on foot from our appartment in the 15th district of Paris. We knew only one person and the rest were new for us. But it was nice to get to know them. Normal parisian students :) A few of them were on Erasmus scholarship last year in Poland. Some in Łódź, others in Lublin and other cities.
Later on at night only Kasia, Eva and I we went to another party for a new flat of friends of friends we have never seen in our lives :)
It was a 120 square meteres appartment in the 3rd arrondisement (district) of Paris - a very posh area I may say. Four people share this place, it was really nicely finished, lots of stuccos on the walls and the ceiling, enormous mirrors, huge balconies, palace-like chandeliers and so on.. Amazing place. The theme of the night's party was colour. No black, grey or any of that kind. Kasia and Eva weren't too much colourful and so weren't friends of Eva who brought us there. Only I was wearing a rose dress, green tights, blue jacket and red shoes :)
The owner of the place opened the door in kind of a colourful towel, flipflops and this thing around his neck and arms that pharaohs used to wear. So he really looked like a pharaoh :) Anyways, he looked at everyone and said to the guys: "You guys came not in colour and brought with you people who wore colours for al of you"- and showed at me..
This point is important, because I have noticed that French people wear very classical clothes. It's like they use a poor palette of colours for dresses. Black, grey, brown, beige and white.
Also classical fashion clothes, like nothing more crazy not to be seen as different than others.
Ok, so back to the party. These people who afford to live in places like these, like the owner are for instance people from quite rich families, who have some chateau's in the countryside, these guys finished for example Law on Sorbonne University and got good jobs in La Defense because of their family's connections.
There was maybe 150 people in the appartment last night. Some were dancing in one room, others smoking on the balcony, others talking in another room, others dancing in yet another room with different music, lots of people in the kitchen (as usual at parties). Some were totally colourful, yet some not at all. Their ages varied from 22 to 35 maybe. Many people started talking to me because of my hair. I even got to know a guy who worked in L'Oreal Paris and looked like he'd see Elvis Presley live infront of him, when he saw me and my hair. Quite intereting encounter.
At around 2 am Policemen came. Music had to be put off, people had to leave because it was starting to be overload of them in one place and the neighbours couldn't get some good sleep.
Overall, it has been an interesting night. I met maybe around 200 people yesterday :) French people have this weird system of saying hi to others, even if they meet them for the first time in their life and even don't intend to talk to you anymore in their lives, but they approach you and kiss you on both cheeks. Hehe, quite stunning experience after you get a kiss from the fiftieth person on tha same night...
With this thought I'll leave for today.
Soundtrack for today will be very much different than the theme of crazy parties. A rather quiet everyday routine life of each one of us. Credits to Hilali for the vid.
