Barbara visited Paris today! Barbara is 
one of my French penpals to whom I’ve been writing since late 2001 (after an inspiration from my 8th grade French teacher to actually put the language to practical use). I’m not sure it’s entirely practical to spend years and years writing to someone you’ve never met, but when I was lucky enough to be selected for the
January Scholars in France 2008 program, I let her know and, in January of last year, we met for the first time when her family took a day trip to Paris for the occasion.
Time has flown, and over a year and a half has past since our first meeting. Today, Barbara took advantage of a two-week vacation from her university to spend a day in Paris with me. We met up with her sister and a friend in Gare de l’Est and headed over to Les Halles (a mall, in Paris?!) where we did a fair bit of window shopping through shoe, accessory, and home decorating stores. (I’ve developed a love for the latter.)
Barbara’s twin sister Salomé and her friend split for lunch, so Barbara and I headed to the Fifth so I could introduce her to the rue Mouffetard, a young, trendy, inexpensive place to eat French food. Funny as it is for both of us, it seems I may know Paris now better than my French penpal! Either way, after a lovely lunch and
some more window shopping in boutiques, we dove head first into some hard-core window shopping... on the Champs Elysées (where else?). We chatted and caught up. It felt surreal to find myself walking through the most famous streets of Paris with a girl who I’ve watched grow up through photos over the years (and who’s done the same with me), a girl whose life I’ve been sharing through letters for years, yet at the same time a person I hardly know. Quite a funny (and fun) experience!
To conclude the day, we met back with Salomé and her friend at a Bob l’Éponge exposition at the Pavillon de l’Eau... yes, that’s a Sponge Bob Square Pants expo. There were lots of reproductions of famous works of art featuring Sponge Bob as well as exhibits on water consumption, conservation, and so on as the site, Pavillon de l’Eau, is some sort of a water research and/or conservation facility according to Barbara. Also, it did not occur to me until reading an exerpt about the history of Sponge Bob (in French) that referenced his full name in English that Sponge Bob Square Pants is another title lost in translation, like those of so many films and such. In French, his full name is just Bob l’Éponge, as «Bob l’Éponge au pantalon carré» is a bit of a mouthful. But Sponge Bob without the Square Pants is like a carrotcake without the cream cheese icing! These poor French children are missing out. I was distinctly happy at that moment to come from the country who exports its pop culture so as not to miss out on all those cute wordplays and fun titles. I was certain to let my friends know his full name. The day was came to a close as I had to go to yoga and Barbara and Salomé needed to return to the Gare de l’Est to catch the train home, but we bid each other farewell both in French and American style in hopes that this time it won’t be too long to we meet again: another reason it’s nice to live in Paris!
one of my French penpals to whom I’ve been writing since late 2001 (after an inspiration from my 8th grade French teacher to actually put the language to practical use). I’m not sure it’s entirely practical to spend years and years writing to someone you’ve never met, but when I was lucky enough to be selected for the
January Scholars in France 2008 program, I let her know and, in January of last year, we met for the first time when her family took a day trip to Paris for the occasion.Time has flown, and over a year and a half has past since our first meeting. Today, Barbara took advantage of a two-week vacation from her university to spend a day in Paris with me. We met up with her sister and a friend in Gare de l’Est and headed over to Les Halles (a mall, in Paris?!) where we did a fair bit of window shopping through shoe, accessory, and home decorating stores. (I’ve developed a love for the latter.)
Barbara’s twin sister Salomé and her friend split for lunch, so Barbara and I headed to the Fifth so I could introduce her to the rue Mouffetard, a young, trendy, inexpensive place to eat French food. Funny as it is for both of us, it seems I may know Paris now better than my French penpal! Either way, after a lovely lunch and
some more window shopping in boutiques, we dove head first into some hard-core window shopping... on the Champs Elysées (where else?). We chatted and caught up. It felt surreal to find myself walking through the most famous streets of Paris with a girl who I’ve watched grow up through photos over the years (and who’s done the same with me), a girl whose life I’ve been sharing through letters for years, yet at the same time a person I hardly know. Quite a funny (and fun) experience!
To conclude the day, we met back with Salomé and her friend at a Bob l’Éponge exposition at the Pavillon de l’Eau... yes, that’s a Sponge Bob Square Pants expo. There were lots of reproductions of famous works of art featuring Sponge Bob as well as exhibits on water consumption, conservation, and so on as the site, Pavillon de l’Eau, is some sort of a water research and/or conservation facility according to Barbara. Also, it did not occur to me until reading an exerpt about the history of Sponge Bob (in French) that referenced his full name in English that Sponge Bob Square Pants is another title lost in translation, like those of so many films and such. In French, his full name is just Bob l’Éponge, as «Bob l’Éponge au pantalon carré» is a bit of a mouthful. But Sponge Bob without the Square Pants is like a carrotcake without the cream cheese icing! These poor French children are missing out. I was distinctly happy at that moment to come from the country who exports its pop culture so as not to miss out on all those cute wordplays and fun titles. I was certain to let my friends know his full name. The day was came to a close as I had to go to yoga and Barbara and Salomé needed to return to the Gare de l’Est to catch the train home, but we bid each other farewell both in French and American style in hopes that this time it won’t be too long to we meet again: another reason it’s nice to live in Paris!
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