How I Spent My Halloween Abroad

My first Halloween abroad was celebrated in an unusual fashion, by attending my friend Farida's jazz singing class. Those of you who have been unfortunate enough to karaoke with me know that this in itself is quite scary. While Farida and her classmates worked to put finishing emotional touches on their blues renditions, I was stuck on the warm-up exercise of pursing my lips together to make the "broken down car" noise. Funny, when I opened my lips to sing, plenty of broken noises were easily produced! Some good laughs (in private) were also enjoyed at the expense of the other students. What killed me most was to hear middle-aged French women sing soul music (in English of course) with lyrics they do not always understand and, thus, to which they did not always lend the right emotion. (But I have to point out that my friend's English is perfect.) I kept wondering how their teacher, a New Yorker with a voice I think belongs in Harlem, found herself in this station. As for my report card, she told me after class that there is hope for every student.

Outside on the streets, I enjoyed some glimpses of Halloween spirit, mostly thanks to the fact that the jazz class was in the 'burbs of Paris. Ghosts were the strong majority. The 10-yr old daughter of my friend was out trick-or-treating. Though I don't know if you can call it that if kids simply knock on doors but do not actually say « Trick or Treat ! » « Smell my feet …give me something good to eat! » is lost on them. These poor kids! Some sources in lab told me that Halloween just came to France a few years ago, by which time they were too old to partake. These deprived adult ! No adult in my lab could be convinced to dress up with me.

My conclusion for the 31st of October in France is that it goes unnoticed. Except for the few haute chocalatiers with Halloween-themed window displays. What a waste of the ample time they have to fete the eve: The entire week around the 31st is a school vacation, and the 1st of November , Toussaint Day, is a national holiday. Still , the seed of Halloween has just been planted, 3 or 4 years ago, courtesy of McDonald's, Hallmark, etc. So with careful care, it could fluorish. Though more likely it will fizzle, as it's already doing, seen as another imposition of American culture. I did my part to continue the imposition by disseminating amongst my friends here the virtual pumpkin carving link, http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.swf, sent to me by my wonderful aunt, and by sharing the Peeps candies mailed to me by some wonderful New York friends. Though if the holiday does take off here, Peeps must be renamed. The word is already used in French slang to mean either a joint of marijuana or a sexual act that has been illegal in some countries.

La Rentrée

Even though La Rentrée* has already come and gone, I am now sending a few pictures of highlights from this summer's travels. Hey, and what do you know?, I made it just in time before the calendar end of summer (the 21st of September, no?)!

I am posted the pictures as a Shutterfly album accessible through this link
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/pictures.jsp

I dont know if this link will work and, if not, I will repost it in good time. Due to the recent and WAY unforeseen crashing of my laptop, in other words the instruction manual for my life, I am a bit at a loss and using random public computers. Please cross your fingers for the recovery of my hard drive! And let this post double as a reminder to you to be smarter than me and back up your data. It is after all La Rentree, time to get one's act together!

*"the return" to work after weeks and weeks of summer vacation

The 4th vs. 14th of July

The theory that patriotism sets in when you leave your country held true for me on this 4th of July. I felt giddy in the days leading up to the USA’s birthday more than I did in America with the media there to beat excitement over my head. Instead I was the media. When I cheerfully wished my boss, a fellow American, a Happy 4th first thing that morning, he admitted to having forgotten the holiday. I have heard how years of ex-patriotism will erode a person’s ties to its nation’s traditions. How sad. My French lab-mates were a more excitable bunch, if slightly clueless. The first reaction of one lab-mate to my Happy 4th wishes was, “Yes, that’s the Thanksgiving.” The graduate student in my group got it right. I spelled out the 4th of July traditions to her: BBQ, fireworks, parades. She was with me: “Parades with pom pom girls?” Some French think American equals cheerleader. Alas, Independence Day parades ARE just where those pom pom girls would pop up.

To ensure the 4th of July did not fizzle out without even a minor spectacle, I organized a small American-themed dinner a couple days later. Truth be told, this meal has been promised almost since I arrived in France. My reminiscing about American dishes at dinners prepared by Italian, Japanese and French friends got me commissioned to put my cutting board where my mouth was. A few months of mild stress and shipments of missing ingredients from New York, thanks to Matt!, went to put together an American meal that wasn’t really Italian, Japanese, French or some other origin at heart. I have been shocked by the lack here of what I consider to be kitchen basics: baking powder, whipping cream and Rice Krispies, to name a few. On the long-awaited American menu was artichoke dip (as a Superbowl favorite, what could be more American?), chili (which, after some heavy-handed convincing, was found not to be Mexican) and cookies (every French person’s quintessential American dessert image). The portions were huge and doggy bags were available, just like in the motherland! I think my guests were satisfied with the outcome, or at least took a night off from picking on American cuisine. And at the end of the meal, we performed a medley of the Star-Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance to my American flag pin-up. The latter of which the French could not believe we are made to say before school each day. In some ways, maybe we have more traditions than them!

The real 4th of July came 10 days late this year. After learning that the 14th of July does not go by Bastille Day here, I do not even know what to call it. National Holiday Day or something. And, as it signifies somehow the uprising of the Revolutionaries rather than independence of France, it cannot go by Independence Day. But what I do know is that, other than its name and significance, it seems a lot like the American counterpart. Fireworks, fried food and weekend getaways. Feeling very Parisian, I skipped out of Paris for the weekend of the 14th. An hour’s train ride north of Paris with some girls from lab (the Italian and the Japanese) and we were in Lille to visit the home of another lab friend and her family.

While the point of the trip was to visit this friend and see Lille and, while we were at it Belgium, noone wants to miss a fireworks display. Feeling very French, as in the salt-of-the-earth and camembert-of-the-farm French, we followed the crowd to the field in Lille. The show there was quick to disarm my prejudices that only the USA can pull off pyrotechniques. The French can do fire too! Needless to say, they had to try to intellectualize it by broadcasting some historical narrative that noone could understand. Below, I tried to capture the action, and the reactions of my friends.




And the walk to the field from the car was transporting. Only for the carts of fried food heralding “La Frite, C’est la Fete!” I found France’s shared appreciation of fair food very reassuring.

Below are a couple better day-time pictures of the friends with whom I shared the National Holiday Day. The day after the festivities, we crossed the border to Brugges, Belgium, “the Venice of the North.” From the start, I kept my eyes open for Hercule Poirot. But in the day’s visit I learned that Audrey Hepburn was born in Brusesels, so I have a new favorite Belgium. Aside from Hercule, Audrey and a handful of others I have yet to learn of, the Belgian may live up to their stereotype in France. Stupid. They take the place of the Polack or dumb blond in the French joke formula. The few waiters and shop attendants we dealt with sure did not help their nation’s case. One waiter was so dull that he had to ask us to define a carafe d’eau when we requested one. To his credit, maybe he was just too Flemish and proud to attempt speaking French. But, bonjour!?, you live in a bilingual country. Still if Belgians are only a pretty face, at least their showing them off in a pretty county. The beauty of Brugges is undisptubale!



And finally a picture of me biting off a piece of classic fair food on that holiday weekend (in Brugges, therefore a REAL Belgian waffle)!

Busy Bee-keeper

According to some trivia source, honey is the only animal product whose manufacturing does not harm or disrupt the animals. That might be true, but what about the bee-keepers? This weekend I got to walk a mile in their high rubber boots. I joined one of the directors in my lab, who is a Saturday apiarist, and his team in their twice annual honey harvest!

We hit the farm about an hour outside of Paris. (It becomes rural very quickly!) There, a few steps had to be fulfilled before heading out to the hives. (1) Getting the hand-held smoker started. Used as the first line of defense, the smoke released around the hives prior to their opening sends the bees into a protective mode. Such loyal servants, their response is to swarm inside around their queen mother. Not to mention their motherload of honey. (2) Gearing ourselves up in the hooded suit. The second and real line of defense. I learned the hard way. I first thought the beekeeping team was joking when they instructed me to put on a pair of rubber gloves. (Suit and gloves, I said, this is too much like spending a Saturday in lab!) (3) Checking your suit and others for holes. (4) Repeat step 3. (5) Repeat steps 3 and 4….


We eased into the day’s work by first tending to the “sick” hive. Due to some contamination, possibly fungus, this honey shack had to be sealed, trapping the dirty inhabitants inside to die of starvation. Poor little guys! Then we soaked the tools in chlorine to avoid passing on the contamination (just like in lab), and moved on. Just as I was tending to the smoker, before I could even notice what buzzed under my suit, I got stung on the arm. Painful, but quick and decisive. Nearly at the same time, another woman got it good on the face. I could almost hear the victory cry buzzed out that enemy lines had been compromised. The two of us victims had to retreat back to the fields where it was safe to take off our armor and pop anti-histamines.

I still underestimated those buggers enough to go back. If early/pre man has been apiculturing since 13,000 years before Christ (Wikipedia), it cannot be that bad. Or, I was thinking at least that, as long as my skin was covered, I was fine. When I felt 2 or 3 hovering directly over each arm, I realized that the seal between my gloves and the suit should have been airtight! And then my retreat to the fields was less calm. Trapped in my suit, the invaders had to die and, most hopefully, before they stung me. Feeling their wings flutter on me was a quick but excruciating hell. The chief bee-keeper was even alarmed at this point, and started slapping squeezing and folding the suit above my arms. Unbelievably his technique worked to kill the invaders. The only sting I got was the first one.

Back at the homefront, we compared battle scars. I was by far the most untouched. The chief beekeeper had a rear-end sting that may now be preventing him from sitting down. And the labmate who I went with, well, see for yourself below. He got one under the eye. Apparently it was a bad day for bee-keepers. One explanation was the bad weather. Just like the Parisians during the May and June grayness, the bees were not out and about and doing their bzzz-ness. Instead they were all home lounging and ready to attack/defend.


Collecting the wood frames of honey from the hives was only the first step in a long process. But, thankfully, the least painful one. Before the frames could be further processed, they were stored in the cold room at the farm for an hour or so while we ate lunch. This served an important function to anesthetize the stubborn bastards who had clung on to their frames. Work then begun to extract the honey from the frames, by scraping off the hard outer wax, and then centrifuging the honey off the frame (again, am I at a bee farm or the BL3 in lab?). Work went fast, in part to avoid allowing the cryopreserved insects to thaw and attack. I was there with my wax scraper to bludgeon any resuscitated bees. (Kind of like killing a fly with a machete, this behavior felt good. But also unfortunately fulfilled the farmers’ stereotype of a violent American.)

The centrifuge to spin-force the honey from the enframed combs.


And here are the unfiltered fruits of our labor, complete with dead bees, pollen and wax. The finished stuff like we buy in jars in the grocery store won’t be ready until after weeks of sedimentation. I could not wait and tapped into this raw stuff, eating it by the finger-full. It felt kind of savage. But then again, so does any type of hunting and food gathering activity these days where man actually puts himself in danger.

Weekend in Normandy

Last weekend I went to the Beaches of Normandy for D-day (June 6) and I am proud to be an American.


A woman who works in my lab, Astrid, lives in Caen, the capital of Normandy (long commute she has to work every day!). Almost since I joined the lab, I have been telling her how I wanted to see the Beaches of Normandy, where Allied troops invaded on June 6, 1944. And that fairly well sums up everything I knew about D-day before this weekend. Thanks to Astrid making my dream a reality, I got a mini-lesson in WWII history and a new-found sense of national pride.


Before making our way to the beaches, Astrid took Saori (the Japanese post-doc also from my lab) and me to the War Museum in Caen, where we familiarized ourselves with the key role the region played in the turning point of WWII. Even before entering, I felt moved by the serene and powerful show of flags. Even Germany’s was represented, so apparently they are not only the Allied flags.


The inscriptions on the wall read “ The pain broke me. The brotherhood lifted me” and “From my injury gushed a river of liberty”.



And along the side of the wall were numerous smaller plaques quoting diplomats from different countries after the war ended. Most read simple messages like “Son, defend the freedom your Father won.” The two plaques from Germany were complicated, practically philosophical proofs on human rights and culpability. I guess it is hard to justify a war that the entire world blames you for. (What would the US say about the War in Iraq?)


Inside, the layout of the museum made you feel like they were descending into the depths of hell, as you spiraled down a ramp where the lighting became increasingly darker until finally you walk through a doorway under the projection of a larger-than-life image of Hitler. I was curious to see how a French museum would present France’s role in the war. Much more emphasis was placed on Resistance heros, like Charles de Gaulle and Jean Moulin, and less on the Vichy government and Nazi collaborators. I have seen elsewhere, like the Holocaust memorial in Paris for example, France depicting itself solely as victim of, not conspiring at all with, the Nazi government. In this museum, you were left to believe that the Vichy government was more passive, more forced into being, a means of survival in a way, in a German-occupied, war-torn France. More research is needed, and I want to know if this is accurate.

After feeling almost a sense of information claustrophobia, I was well ready for the open air of Omaha beach on Sunday. The clearest signs that D-day, or Jour-J (or Day-D, short for Day-Day) was only 4 days away were the men driving 40’s style open-top Jeeps and French flags that we passed on the highway. I am sure that if I had been at the festivities 3 years ago, for the 60th anniversary of D-day, and the first to which the Germans were invited, it would have been much more raucous.

Otherwise, nothing about our trip there or our initial walk on the beach would have given away the upcoming anniversary, and especially the atrocities that occurred there. The beach was gorgeous, the golden sand was soft and covered with pebbles (as well as shells, starfish and dead sea life), sand dunes and cliffs lined the shore. Even some foolish (probably Northern Europeans) were swimming in the frigid water. Astrid explained to us that the beaches, and in fact the whole of Normandy is very marshy. In fact, some of the buildings in the town of Caen lean, like the Tower of Pisa, on soft earth. So the German forces thought the area would be difficult for the Allies to access and were caught off-guard by the attack.




Walking up the hill away from the beach, to the American cemetery, we did run into gnarly vines and overgrowth. I complained about this pesky obstacle, but then felt bad considering under how much better conditions I am visiting the beach. An interesting fact about this American cemetery, maybe like all of them around the globe, is that it is owned by the USA. We actually passed a fence, shown below, where we left France, and entered the USA (no passport required). I asked Astrid if a baby were born IN the cemetery, which nationality would it have. She did not have the answer.


We did not do much talking in the cemetery. It was more beautiful and touching than I expected. There were rows and rows and rows of crosses, and some Stars of David, for almost as far as the eye could see, and beyond that, the sea. Inscribed on the crosses were the name, homestate and date of death of each soldier. Many lost their lives in June or July 1944. But I was surprised to see some dates well after, October or November, and even more surprised to see that some people actually died before June 6, in March 1944 even.


The memorial in the cemetery was also quite beautiful. There were large maps outlining the paths that the United States, Canadian and British divisions took as they invaded the Beaches of Normandy and spread inward. I counted about 10 United States units for every 2 or 3 British or Canadian or French. I know that the number of troops per capita was probably similar, and that Britain had been fighting for long on home turf. Still, I was proud in the war that the USA fought.



On a lighter note, Saori and I were treated to staying in a real home. Astrid lives in the heart of the old quarter of Caen, the one that escaped WWII ruin. In an old home, with exposed stone and creaky floors, almost giving you the sense of being in a castle. Cream sauce is a specialty of Normandy and I incorporated it into each meal. Her kids seemed very interested in an American and a Japanese. Her daughter, age 18, was furiously preparing for the BAC, like the SAT, but more important as it will determine if she is accepted to university. Her son had a concert with his middle school that we attended. In fact, noone in the house really payed much attention to pre-D-day other than us tourists. Life goes on.

Addendum to Dorca's and Dan's Paris Blog

Dorca and Dan say they were excited to check out "la ville des lumieres" back in April, but was I ever excited to receive them! For one, it has been too long since I have seen these good friends (see my Barcelona blog). But, for another, they are travellers more informed on their destination city and its "must-sees" than even good ole' Rick Steves. D&D came armed with a mile-long list of restaus, streets and shops to check out (Lenny Kravitz's L'As du Falaffel cafe being only one of the many highlights). This list, and many of its sites, will now be incorporated into Carina's Tour of Paris, for the benefit of future vistors!

Despite their superb blog about Paris, those jet-setters the Shaymanzars neglected a few details. They say they loved their hotel because of the hoppin' neighborhood and aroma of sewage, which then turned out to be delicious cheese. But, I think what really drew them to this quarter of the 6th arrondissement was the Catalan Cultural Center one block away. Coincidence? I think not. I think they are so entrenched in their Barcelonian ways, that they turn their noses up at us French (and our stinky cheese). They would have dined there on tapas every night if I (and Lenny Kravitz) hadn't pulled them away...

Where their adventurous side came out was in their eagerness to tap into the unusual. The wealth of free Parisian sidewalk toilet stalls is certainly not normal. So we all made a pitstop. Not only was it an educational experience, but social too. We found ourselves discussing the logistics of the toilet's "sanitizing system" with fellow anglophones in line. The picture below is so sweet that I think it should be framed next to their wedding portrait. (As you can see, by the man in the background getting his picture taken, this stall was a popular backdrop.)



I learned something else on their trip: Docra and I are museum compatible with each other, incompatible with Dan. Here you can see Dorca and Dan in the Musee D'Orsay sharing ther iPod to hear the Rick Steve's Audio Guide of the museum. Dan is already ready to move on. Just right after this picture was taken, he got fed up with Dorca and me for going through the museum at the pace of turtles and ditched us. (Maybe that explains why I had to plead with the museum guard to let us run through the that rooms we had missed before closing...)



Besides several cute new restaurants and neighborhoods, D&D introduced me to oyster stands. Sure I had seen them everywhere, was even intrigued, but never dared try them. Maybe it was new-found knowledge of how to use the port-o-potties that made us willing to risk food poisoning. And now you can see clearly that, if they were willing to eat raw seafood from the street, Dorca and Dan were quite open-minded eaters, not at all stuck on eating Catalan.



And, finally, a truly sweet picture, one that really should be framed next to their wedding portrait. Thanks so much for visiting me, and showing me so many new sides of Paris. The City of Lights---and I---miss you!

Lovely Lyon

LYON is the third largest city in France, the capital of the region of Rhone and my first area explored outside of Paris. Matt was the vehicule for getting us to Lyon (figuratively, the high-speed TGV train was the literal vehicule). At the end of May, he visited a collaborator’s lab there, giving him another good excuse (besides yours truly) for a fourth trip to France. In addition, his visit happened to coincide with a 1-day conference on viral drug resistance, a topic that happens to touch on both of our research. Thereby, even giving me another good excuse for a “sejour.” And, what could be romantic in the very picturesque town of Lyon than attending a science meeting together?!

To see all the pictures(que) for yourself, link to http://lyonmay2007.shutterfly.com

I aint LYIN’ when I say I was LOVIN’ LYON. (I blame my pitiful play on words on a deteriorating grasp of the English language…) Matt and I took advantage of being on the outskirts of the city for the conference to visit the charming and proper park of Lyon: Le Parc de la Tete d’Or. Despite its name, I encountered not one head of gold, and I think such a thing would be hard to miss! Especially because we allowed ourselves a nice slow meander through the park after our original plans to rent bikes were thwarted. Lyon is well-known for its “Velo’V” rent-a-bike system. The pick-up and drop-off stations would be super accessible, and indeed we saw more Lyonnais on rented city velo’s than their own, if they were only not French-operated. As such, they were convoluted and required special cards and information not available to the standard tourist.*



Matt’s host lab was looking out for us, and put us up in a hotel smack dab in the heart of Lyon. The hotel itself, Hotel Bayard, was a bit of let-down after reading on their website the promise of “period-decorated rooms.” (Matt and I got the 1993 period.) But it was something to be in the heart of Lyon, which is the “Prequ’il” or “almost peninsula.” A slab of land that juts out, dividing the Rhone and Saone rivers. Etymologists may differ but Lyonnais claim that the Rhone is a man, the Saone a woman. You can see the PG-13 rated statue depicting their “meeting” just below.



Lyon has culture up to its red-roof tops and oozing out its traboules. Like Paris and, well, probably every European city, Lyon was founded by the ancient Romans. But, unlike Paris, Lyon has artifacts that have lived to tell about it. The stones in the Lyonnais forum, for example, were not completely ransacked and reincarnated as a city wall to protect from invaders, as happened in Paris. And the city also escaped WWII destruction. As a result, there is a Vieux Lyon district that really IS old.



Just a short walk from our hotel room, across one of the many bridges, and Matt and I could check out the old quarter. In the narrow streets, there are bouchons, literally corkscrews, but really tiny restaurants, a plenty. I have the impression, and I think I am right, that no matter which bouchon you stumbled into, you would end up with a fine meal. Many of the narrow streets themselves are interconnected by these hidden “traboules,” or tunnels between buildings. We never quite ventured into a traboule, mostly because the doors to them are unmarked and we heard you could get lost for the day. A short ride up the very vertical funiculaire car and you ascend to the top of the Fourviere hill, the site of the original Roman settlement, and the forums. As a compliment to the ancient, there are some rather new buildings atop the Fourviere hill: A huge glitzed-out and not unkitschy Basilica and a miniature Eiffel Tower (and they say they do not want to be Parisians!)



The sites were great, the history was great, but who am I kidding??-- Our first priority was the FOOD. As any Lyonnais was quick to point out, their city is the French capital of gastronomy. (Perhaps, in a small way, this is their consolation prize for losing the fight with Paris to be the REAL capital of France.) Our first night we dined at the recommended Comptoir des Marronniers. Actually part of a chain AND on one of the more touristy streets. But, of course, the meal was excellent. Matt had a sublime Mediterranean salad and a very typical dish, cassoulet (in America, it would be called pork and beans). Me, my theme was fluffy: I started with a whipped salmon and egg appetizer and then a mousselet (velvety white fish mousse, much better than it sounds). The restaurant itself was decorated with homages to the region’s culinary accomplishments. For me, their plaque listing the Nobel Prize Chefs took the cake. We sat next to two Lyonnais on official business. They were trying to convince their Japanese guest to some sort of agreement. Of the many doozies they told him was that, if you have only ONE glass of wine with your meal there, you will be regarded as very strange, and possibly on your death bed. ONLY in LYON!

Finally, some other Lyonnais curiosities: The brothers Lumiere who invented the first color film (if I remember correctly) were from Lyon. Supposedly, when they got caught up in some brotherly rivalry, Mr. Kodak scooped their invention and all the money from the patent. Another supposed fact is that Lyon is the origin of murals. True, many buildings had one entire side covered in an elaborate trompe l’oiel scene. Word is that these sides were exposed after really old neighboring buildings had to be leveled. A Lyonnais artist decided murals would be a good way to beautify. Thirdly, besides gastronomy, Lyon may be a capital for miniatures. An entire museum is devoted to miniature houses, restaurants, any scene you can imagine. In other words, every young girls dream!



*An aside: The Velo’V system has been so successful in Lyon that Paris is adapting its own version. I have anxiously been monitoring the progress of the stations, set to open 15 July, one right across from where I live, another right near where I take ballet class. You may wonder why, after my blog about my wonderful new bike, I would need a rented velo. Alas, said wonderful new bike was stolen two days after I posted the blog. So 15 July cannot come soon enough!