As I write this last Eurotrip e-mail, I am returning to New York. I
had a hard time deciding where to end my trip because there are so
many places in Europe that I still want to see. But ultimately, I
decided to come back to Dublin. For one thing, the flights are significantly
cheaper to NYC from here. But for another, I thought it would
be appropriate to end where I started- both a long and short two
months ago for me.
I got in late on Sunday night and felt the urge to go out
because it had been a long day of transporting here and
there. When I checked into my hostel and overheard a few people say
they were going out for a drink so I said, "I know I don't know you,
but can I come?" They said absolutely, so we went to a great pub, had
overpriced Guinnesses, and listened to traditional Irish music. I was
so euphoric that I decided to come back to Dublin, and I couldn't wipe
the smile off my face the whole night.
I spent the next day walking around, visiting the shops, and just taking
everything in. Later, I met up with my Mass Potato! For those
of you have actually been reading these incredibly long entries, you
might recall Steve (aka the Irish Red Sox fan that I met at the airport
on my third day in Europe). We went out for dinner at a cute little pub,
walked around the city, and had an absolute blast. We laughed for hours
about the silliest things, took lots of silly pictures throughout the city, made
friends with a few other people, and talked about what a small world
it was and how lucky we were to have become friends over a silly
conversation on an airport queue.
My last night in Dublin- and of this trip- could not have been more
perfect or fun. It summed up everything the past two months have meant
to me. It's been about making new friends, being open to adventure,
laughing a lot, savoring each moment, and enjoying the random places,
people, and things that shape who we are becoming. I thought it would be
appropriate to ask Steve for advice again since he gave me one of my very
first pieces of advice back in June. This time, he said "Follow your heart."
And really, what better advice could you get? Yes, it's important to:
keep up the travels, live life to the full, work hard, let love find
you, keep a smile on your face, be a good person, eat crunchy peanut
butter, love a lot of people, try everything at least once, vive la
vida loca!, trust your gut, not take life too seriously, let life make
you free, let freedom be your guide, cultivate love, live with no
regrets, not eat yellow snow, know that everything works out in the
end, be thankful for what you have, never assume, take time to
pretend, recognize that the journey is the reward, remember the past,
live in the present, and dream for the future.
...But what do any of these things mean if, at the end of the day, you
aren't following your heart? After hearing such amazing advice from
people all over Europe, I realized that only we know how to live our
best lives. The best advice comes from within, from the heart. All of
the answers we could possibly wish for lie within us, and it is merely
a matter of time, faith, and ambition before we live our way into the
right ones.
When I think back to my three favorite places on this trip- Ios,
Dublin, Valencia- I am in awe of a few things. For one, my favorite
places had nothing to do with the beauty of the places themselves
(though they were all beautiful in their own way). They had to do with
the people I met there. I can say with complete honesty and clarity
that the relationships I've made on this journey have been my ultimate
source of joy and the best possible reward. The other thing that
surprised me is, of these three places, I was not planning on going to
two of them. And of the third- Dublin- I really didn't expect to like
it all that much. But life is constantly surprising us, and I learned
that if we don't give the things that are new to us a chance, we risk
being completely unentertained, unsurprised, and uninspired.
We've all heard the saying: "The best things in life come when you
least expect it." But WHY? Why does this happen? The best explanation
I can come up with is that these pleasant surprises are there as an
occasional reminder of how malleable we are. We can't ever know
ourselves fully because every moment, we are changing. The point is
not to think you know yourself so well that you can predict how you'll
react to what has yet to happen. Without a doubt, we will surprise
ourselves just as much- if not more than- we will surprise others. But
what would life be if it wasn't all a big surprise? It would be
empty...we would be empty. And personally? I look forward to shocking
(in a good way) myself and others for years to come.
I've also learned that we must be patient with ourselves. Not everyday
is a good day. Some days are just awful! On this trip, I've felt
cranky, sick, fatigued, angry, frustrated. But those
moments were fleeting, and they were a very small price to pay for the
joy of travel and feeling, at the end of the day, that you are doing
what you want to do and living the life you've dreamed up for
yourself.
I've often asked myself, "What did I do to deserve such a privileged
life? What makes me any different than the guy who sits on the corner
begging for money, or the woman who works three jobs just to feed her
children?" People tell me it's the result of hard work and ambition.
But is the woman with three jobs not working hard? Is the bum's desire
to live even if it means he has to beg...is that not ambitious enough?
The simple truth is that, at the very basic level, nothing separates
one human being from anyone else. At the end of the day, we are all
human...no more, no less than any other human. In general (though
there are always a few exceptions to rules), we all deserve happiness,
comfort, stability, love. How we differ is in how we seek out these
things. The only hope I have for myself is that I can look back 50
years from now, say that I found these things, and that I did my best
to help others find them as well.
I've learned that each moment is a decision. With each breath, we lose
a little piece of who we were in exchange for a little piece of who we
will be.
One quite challenging, but ever-present lesson I learned on this
journey is that sometimes you have to let people go, with an
understanding that every relationship has its time and place. The
people that are meant to stay in our lives will. But, we also have to
make the effort when it is warranted if we want to keep them around.
Though I've met lots of people on this trip, I'll probably only stay
in regular contact with a few. While this makes me sad, it's part of
life. People come, people go. All we can do is feel fuller for having
known them, however brief that time may have been.
We not only have to let go of others- we have to let go of our own
expectations, too. Without it being blatantly apparent, expectations
can really hinder personal growth, and the anxiety that comes along
with failed expectations just sucks the fun out of life. As a very
wise friend of mine once told me, "Let go, Let God." It simply means
that we have to trust deeply in whatever we are living for and learn
to be OK with surrendering control. After all, the only thing we can
truly control in the world is how we respond to the things that
involuntarily happen to us.
As I end this final e-mail, I have to share a moment I had on the
plane ride from Paris to Dublin. When I left Paris at 9:40 pm, it was
completely dark outside. But as I got closer to Dublin, the sky
actually got progressively brighter for a few hours because of the
time difference. When I finally arrived in Dublin, though, it was dark
again. As I watched the sun sink below the horizon, I realized that it
very much symbolized who I've been during this trip. I was in constant
pursuit of the sun, searching for adventure, fun, wisdom, and answers.
But no matter how fast you run towards the light, darkness eventually
comes. And when it does, the light must come from within. To shine a
light on a thing certainly brightens it up and allows you to see it
with more clarity. But to watch a thing be lit from within? That is
when we truly see the beauty of it.
As I head back to New York, I cannot help but think about how strange
it is that I will not be returning to Hamilton this fall. I suppose in
a way, I thought this trip would help me move on...to get over the
college lifestyle and the things that I've just loved about my time on
The Hill. I thought this trip would give me all the answers on how to
prepare for the next chapter of my life. But, what I came to
understand along the way is that life doesn't wait for you to be ready
for the next chapter. Life just keeps moving, and the only thing you
can do is let it move you, too.
What I have taken from this trip is a lot of great memories, wonderful
new friends, and a higher level of tolerance and patience- with
others, but more importantly, with myself. Though there is a healthy
fear of everything new that is to come, I am as ready for the next
chapter of my life as I ever will be.
And answers? Yeah, I found a few of those, too.
For those who have read these emails and traveled with me, thank you
for taking the time to care enough and for being present as I went on
this journey. I cannot express how happy it makes me to have you in my
life.
Love Life always and always,
Melissa
Final Trip Stats:
Days: 52
Roommates: 137
Flights: 9
Train rides: I don't even want to think about how many.
Life Lesson: "Look out for number one- no one else will." - Bouncer Boy
Jukebox: "After All" - Jonathan Clay
"...and after all, I don't regret a thing
I want to thank you, for showing me this life."
Random Thoughts:
- My head is constantly racing with thoughts about the most random
things. I wonder what everyone sitting on this bus is thinking? I bet
if we put all our thoughts together, it would make a really cool
coffee table book...
- People are always saying that you should travel without fear. I
think that travel is most valuable when you DO have fear...
Quotable:
"Right now, 99% of the people on this planet are struggling with this
very question: "Why are we here?" Many think they've found the answer
in religion or materialism. Others despair and spend their lives and
money trying to grasp the meaning of it all. A few let the question go
unanswered and live for the moment, regardless of the results or
consequences. But it is the brave who admit that the only possible
answer to this question is simply, "I don't know."
-Brida
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Paris: C'est Tres Chic!
Bonjour mes amours!
Ok, so I was in Paris for about 4 days, and it's no lie- the city is
as beautiful and romantic as people say it is. After a long day of
travel, I arrived at my hostel around midnight rather flawlessly,
which is a bit of a surprise since travel days tend to...eh...require
more patience than other days. The place I was staying at was so
gorgeous, but unfortunately I was
too tired to appreciate it that night as I passed out immediately.
The next day, I walked for about 8 hours and saw many beautiful
things- the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Jardines des Tuileries,
the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, and lots of other cool stuff on side
streets along the way. When I was near the Eiffel Tower, I asked a
random girl to take a picture for me and we winded up bonding over the
fact that we were both wearing similar white dresses (see? Fashion:
helping people make friends one dress at a time). It soon turned into
a mini photo shoot and we had a short convo before parting ways. Then,
when I was on line to go up the Eiffel Tower about 40 minutes later,
her and the guy she was with winded up on line right behind me! So, we
talked and saw the sights from the top over the next few hours. Turns
out she's from Oklahoma and was couch surfing (couchsurfing.com...if
you get the chance, give it a look- it is a pretty cool
website/concept). The guy winded up giving me simple, but good life
advice: "Cultivate love." And Natalie told me to "Remember the past,
live in the present, and dream for the future."
...I think this may be one of the best pieces of advice I've gotten on
this trip. So often, I think we have it backwards. We tend to live in
our past, dream in the present, and think that we understand what will
happen in the future before it actually does! But Natalie was right.
If we forget the past, then how are we to know who we are and where we
came from? If we aren't present in the present, then are we ever truly
experiencing life? And, if we can't dream for the future, do we really
have a reason to go on living? The real challenge lies in hoping for
the best, but expecting that things won't always work out the way you
planned. After all, it rarely does...but in my opinion, that is what
makes life so exciting.
The next day, I saw some other major sites, such as the Notre Dame and
the Louvre (Mona Lisa, woot woot!). The Notre Dame was absolutely
PACKED with tourists, all of them snapping pictures of the church from
every possible angle. With all due respect to the church, I thought
the buildings and trees aroudn it were much more picturesque. As
everyone was snapping pictures towards me, I was facing the other
direction, taking photos of just about everything else.
The Louvre was another interesting experience. There is a constant
crowd of about 70 people surrounding the Mona Lisa, furiously taking
pictures of the shockingly tiny and relatively unremarkable painting.
I, on the other hand, found it more amusing to take photos of everyone
else taking photos. I don't know what it was about seeing people from so many
backgrounds and places there for the same reason, but it made me feel
a certain human connection, which was pretty cool. I realized over the
course of the day that sometimes we are so busy looking at the things
we think we should see. But as a result, we often fail to see the
beauty in the surrounding details. If we could just take the minute to
turn around and take it in from a different angle, we just might find
a perspective that is genuinely our own rather than one which has been
re-captured time and time again on some postcard.
That night, one of my Autralian roommates Bron and I had a few pints
and explored the neighborhood. She's hysterical, so I was laughing
pretty much the entire time. The next day, her and I met up with a
British girl named Cotrina and went to an enormous flea market with
over 2,500 vendors! I found this awesome old copy of ELLE magazine
from the 1950s in French. Needless to say, it made my day and I can't
wait to hang it up when I get home =). Overall, we had a really great
time and I was sad to see Cotrina leave when she had to catch a night
train back to London. I'm not sure what it is about me making friends
with Aussies and Brits, but I can't wait to go home and put my
newfound vocab and mannerisms to use. "All I want do is see my mates,
wear my sunnies, put some food on the barbie, and hopefully there will
not be any mozzies!" hahaha. Ummm....I apoplogize in advance to all of
my friends who see me on a regular basis, because I can assure you I
will be annoying the hell out of you with my fake Ozzie-British
accent.
That night, me, Bron, and another new Australian friend decided to
have a picnic by the Eiffel Tower at night. We had delicious fresh
bread, a selection of great cheeses, and great red wine. We also winded
up hanging with a dozen or so French dudes- half of which didn't speak
English....kind of sketchy, but ultimately fun. We finished off our
night by walking along the Siene, crashing a Parisian birthday party,
and laughing all the way home at 4 a.m....a perfect end to a great
time in Paris.
On the last day, Bron and I went to see the Sacre Coeur- which was
beautiful- as well as the Centre Pompidou. I finally understand why I
find many museums boring....because it's Modern-ish art I LOoOoOve!
Kandinsky, Warhol, Klimt, Dufy, Matisse...all so amazing. One of my
favorite pieces is Andre Derain's Waterloo Bridge- it just makes my
heart smile (Gooooooogle it, you know you want to!). As we walked up
to the main galleries, the first thing we see is a restaurant called
Georges. Now, this seems totally insignificant and pointless, but
here's the story behind it...
Four years ago, when I was like 17 years old, I met this really nice
guy on the plane to visit my aunt in Georgia. Although his family was
from Atlanta, he was living in Paris "just because". I thought this
was the coolest thing at the time, and expressed my deep desire to
visit Paris one day. He proceeded to write down an entire list of
places to see, eat at, party in, etc. I randomly came across that slip
of paper as I was cleaning out my room before I left for Europe, and
Georges was on his list! Of course I couldn't eat there because a meal
was worth more than 3 days of accomodation for me, but it was soooo
cool to see that tiny little portion of my life come full circle. I
thought of that really nice guy I met ont he plane so long ago and
realized how QUICKLY life changes. Back then, I was getting ready for
my first year at Hamilton, unsure of what I would major in, if I would
study abroad, and whether I would fit in. Now, four years later, all
of the things that were questions to me back then have since become
realities and are now good memories. And there I was, in Paris,
standing in front of the place that was once only a name on a piece of
paper that some guy wrote down for me. Amazing.
The one thing I noticed during my time at Pompidou was that some of
the paintings were frameless, while others were encased in a shadow
box and a select few were even roped off. I sat in many rooms watching
the paintings that people gravitated towards. I thought to myself,
"What makes one painting worthy of a frame, a shadow box, or a rope
around it more than any of the others? If art is allegedly subjective,
then how can we discretely assign quality to it like that?" It's an
odd thing, you know. As humans, we find ways of distinguishing the
good from the bad, the worthy from the unworthy. But who gets to make
those decisions? Who gets to choose what is popular and what isn't? At
the end of the day, a painting is just a painting. To one person, it
could be the ugliest piece of art he or she has ever seen. Another
might see the entire world in it.
I realized that the mere existence of galleries and museums is, in and
of itself, a form of assigning quality to something that we truly
can't place value on. If it's in the museum, it's gotta be "good"
enough to be there, right? But my favorite pictures were the ones that
people sold on side streets for 10 Euros. Even in the Pompidou, my
favorites tended to hang in hidden hallways on the way to the popular
pieces; the one's that most people just glanced at momentarily on
their way to something 'better'. It kind of reminds me of a story that
my good buddy Eric Kuhn shared with me back in London. This famous
violinist, whom people normally pay undreds of dollars to hear,
decided to park himself at a train station for a day and see how many
people actually stopped to listen. During his 43 minutes there, 1,097
people passed him. Guess how many actually stopped? ONE. Of all those
people, only one took the time to stop.
(for more on this story, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html)
In his typical concert hall, people would be listening intently to
every note, every beat, every movement. But when taken out of that
context, nobody cared...everyone was too rushed to stop and notice the
music. In the same way, people tend to pay more attention to the
paintings that are made to be a big deal. But while we are busy
looking at what someone else is telling us to like, we completely miss
how astounding everything else is. And as W.H. Davies said, " What is
this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?"
I guess the main lesson here isn't that we have to love every painting
or listen for 30 minutes to every street musician. The point is that
if we don't take the time to remove ourselves from our own bubbles and
experience the world around us more deeply, we might miss out on some
really great stuff.
I hope this e-mail finds all of you well, enjoying the summer days as
they dwindle down and slowly melt into the early fall.
Love life,
Melissa
Paris Observations:
1.) People are so impatient here! They push the button for the subway
doors to open before the train even comes to a full stop!
2.) Unlike the NYC subway, the Paris metro has relatively no
advertisements on it.
3.)...Regardless, there are still solicitors on all the trains playing
music or singing for money.
4.) When I tell Australians or Europeans that I am traveling alone,
they tell me that it's brave or that they are proud of me. If I tell
Americans that I'm alone, they say, "That's sad," or, "That's
terrifying."
...Just interesting to think about why these responses are often quite
different.
5.) The Louvre is so big, there are two Metro stops for it!
6.) Parisian men are much more forward if there is something in
between them and a girl, such as a gate or window. It's kind of like
my puppy- if she is right next to another dog, she will be a total
tease. But if she is at a far enough distance, she just barks and
barks and barks...
7.) If you speak to Parisians in French first, they'll answer you in
English. But if you talk to them in English first, they will sometimes
pretend they don't understand you.
8.) As cool as Paris is, New York City is cooler. Not even a question
in my mind. But it's all subjective, right? ;-)
Trip Stats:
Days: 48
Roommates: 92
Life Lesson: "No matter what you go through in life, don't ever ever
give up on your dreams."
Jukebox: "Light In Your Eyes" - Sheryl Crow
"Something is happening- everything's different, but everything is fine
This is the good stuff- yesterday's only what you leave behind"
Random Thought:
If we are constantly traveling, always moving in some way, shape, or
form...aren't we all tourists?
...and on a less intelligent note, why does the nail on my ring finger
grow so much faster than all of the others?
Quotables:
"Knowledge without transformation is not wisdom"
" Where we can, we must give things a meaningful shape."
-Life of Pi
Interesting convo:
Upon meeting the sweetest girl from Rio de Janiero at my hostel, I
told her of my intense desire to visit Florianapolis, Brazil and she
said:
Brazilian girl: " Oh there are so many nice bitches there! They are
all very clean bitches...you don't even have to pay and you can spend
all day on them!"
Me: "Ummm....bitches?"
Brazilian girl: " Yea! Just bring an umbrella in case it gets too hot
and go in the water every now and again to cool off!"
Me: " ohhhhh...BEACHES!" hahaha
Ok, so I was in Paris for about 4 days, and it's no lie- the city is
as beautiful and romantic as people say it is. After a long day of
travel, I arrived at my hostel around midnight rather flawlessly,
which is a bit of a surprise since travel days tend to...eh...require
more patience than other days. The place I was staying at was so
gorgeous, but unfortunately I was
too tired to appreciate it that night as I passed out immediately.
The next day, I walked for about 8 hours and saw many beautiful
things- the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Jardines des Tuileries,
the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, and lots of other cool stuff on side
streets along the way. When I was near the Eiffel Tower, I asked a
random girl to take a picture for me and we winded up bonding over the
fact that we were both wearing similar white dresses (see? Fashion:
helping people make friends one dress at a time). It soon turned into
a mini photo shoot and we had a short convo before parting ways. Then,
when I was on line to go up the Eiffel Tower about 40 minutes later,
her and the guy she was with winded up on line right behind me! So, we
talked and saw the sights from the top over the next few hours. Turns
out she's from Oklahoma and was couch surfing (couchsurfing.com...if
you get the chance, give it a look- it is a pretty cool
website/concept). The guy winded up giving me simple, but good life
advice: "Cultivate love." And Natalie told me to "Remember the past,
live in the present, and dream for the future."
...I think this may be one of the best pieces of advice I've gotten on
this trip. So often, I think we have it backwards. We tend to live in
our past, dream in the present, and think that we understand what will
happen in the future before it actually does! But Natalie was right.
If we forget the past, then how are we to know who we are and where we
came from? If we aren't present in the present, then are we ever truly
experiencing life? And, if we can't dream for the future, do we really
have a reason to go on living? The real challenge lies in hoping for
the best, but expecting that things won't always work out the way you
planned. After all, it rarely does...but in my opinion, that is what
makes life so exciting.
The next day, I saw some other major sites, such as the Notre Dame and
the Louvre (Mona Lisa, woot woot!). The Notre Dame was absolutely
PACKED with tourists, all of them snapping pictures of the church from
every possible angle. With all due respect to the church, I thought
the buildings and trees aroudn it were much more picturesque. As
everyone was snapping pictures towards me, I was facing the other
direction, taking photos of just about everything else.
The Louvre was another interesting experience. There is a constant
crowd of about 70 people surrounding the Mona Lisa, furiously taking
pictures of the shockingly tiny and relatively unremarkable painting.
I, on the other hand, found it more amusing to take photos of everyone
else taking photos. I don't know what it was about seeing people from so many
backgrounds and places there for the same reason, but it made me feel
a certain human connection, which was pretty cool. I realized over the
course of the day that sometimes we are so busy looking at the things
we think we should see. But as a result, we often fail to see the
beauty in the surrounding details. If we could just take the minute to
turn around and take it in from a different angle, we just might find
a perspective that is genuinely our own rather than one which has been
re-captured time and time again on some postcard.
That night, one of my Autralian roommates Bron and I had a few pints
and explored the neighborhood. She's hysterical, so I was laughing
pretty much the entire time. The next day, her and I met up with a
British girl named Cotrina and went to an enormous flea market with
over 2,500 vendors! I found this awesome old copy of ELLE magazine
from the 1950s in French. Needless to say, it made my day and I can't
wait to hang it up when I get home =). Overall, we had a really great
time and I was sad to see Cotrina leave when she had to catch a night
train back to London. I'm not sure what it is about me making friends
with Aussies and Brits, but I can't wait to go home and put my
newfound vocab and mannerisms to use. "All I want do is see my mates,
wear my sunnies, put some food on the barbie, and hopefully there will
not be any mozzies!" hahaha. Ummm....I apoplogize in advance to all of
my friends who see me on a regular basis, because I can assure you I
will be annoying the hell out of you with my fake Ozzie-British
accent.
That night, me, Bron, and another new Australian friend decided to
have a picnic by the Eiffel Tower at night. We had delicious fresh
bread, a selection of great cheeses, and great red wine. We also winded
up hanging with a dozen or so French dudes- half of which didn't speak
English....kind of sketchy, but ultimately fun. We finished off our
night by walking along the Siene, crashing a Parisian birthday party,
and laughing all the way home at 4 a.m....a perfect end to a great
time in Paris.
On the last day, Bron and I went to see the Sacre Coeur- which was
beautiful- as well as the Centre Pompidou. I finally understand why I
find many museums boring....because it's Modern-ish art I LOoOoOve!
Kandinsky, Warhol, Klimt, Dufy, Matisse...all so amazing. One of my
favorite pieces is Andre Derain's Waterloo Bridge- it just makes my
heart smile (Gooooooogle it, you know you want to!). As we walked up
to the main galleries, the first thing we see is a restaurant called
Georges. Now, this seems totally insignificant and pointless, but
here's the story behind it...
Four years ago, when I was like 17 years old, I met this really nice
guy on the plane to visit my aunt in Georgia. Although his family was
from Atlanta, he was living in Paris "just because". I thought this
was the coolest thing at the time, and expressed my deep desire to
visit Paris one day. He proceeded to write down an entire list of
places to see, eat at, party in, etc. I randomly came across that slip
of paper as I was cleaning out my room before I left for Europe, and
Georges was on his list! Of course I couldn't eat there because a meal
was worth more than 3 days of accomodation for me, but it was soooo
cool to see that tiny little portion of my life come full circle. I
thought of that really nice guy I met ont he plane so long ago and
realized how QUICKLY life changes. Back then, I was getting ready for
my first year at Hamilton, unsure of what I would major in, if I would
study abroad, and whether I would fit in. Now, four years later, all
of the things that were questions to me back then have since become
realities and are now good memories. And there I was, in Paris,
standing in front of the place that was once only a name on a piece of
paper that some guy wrote down for me. Amazing.
The one thing I noticed during my time at Pompidou was that some of
the paintings were frameless, while others were encased in a shadow
box and a select few were even roped off. I sat in many rooms watching
the paintings that people gravitated towards. I thought to myself,
"What makes one painting worthy of a frame, a shadow box, or a rope
around it more than any of the others? If art is allegedly subjective,
then how can we discretely assign quality to it like that?" It's an
odd thing, you know. As humans, we find ways of distinguishing the
good from the bad, the worthy from the unworthy. But who gets to make
those decisions? Who gets to choose what is popular and what isn't? At
the end of the day, a painting is just a painting. To one person, it
could be the ugliest piece of art he or she has ever seen. Another
might see the entire world in it.
I realized that the mere existence of galleries and museums is, in and
of itself, a form of assigning quality to something that we truly
can't place value on. If it's in the museum, it's gotta be "good"
enough to be there, right? But my favorite pictures were the ones that
people sold on side streets for 10 Euros. Even in the Pompidou, my
favorites tended to hang in hidden hallways on the way to the popular
pieces; the one's that most people just glanced at momentarily on
their way to something 'better'. It kind of reminds me of a story that
my good buddy Eric Kuhn shared with me back in London. This famous
violinist, whom people normally pay undreds of dollars to hear,
decided to park himself at a train station for a day and see how many
people actually stopped to listen. During his 43 minutes there, 1,097
people passed him. Guess how many actually stopped? ONE. Of all those
people, only one took the time to stop.
(for more on this story, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html)
In his typical concert hall, people would be listening intently to
every note, every beat, every movement. But when taken out of that
context, nobody cared...everyone was too rushed to stop and notice the
music. In the same way, people tend to pay more attention to the
paintings that are made to be a big deal. But while we are busy
looking at what someone else is telling us to like, we completely miss
how astounding everything else is. And as W.H. Davies said, " What is
this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?"
I guess the main lesson here isn't that we have to love every painting
or listen for 30 minutes to every street musician. The point is that
if we don't take the time to remove ourselves from our own bubbles and
experience the world around us more deeply, we might miss out on some
really great stuff.
I hope this e-mail finds all of you well, enjoying the summer days as
they dwindle down and slowly melt into the early fall.
Love life,
Melissa
Paris Observations:
1.) People are so impatient here! They push the button for the subway
doors to open before the train even comes to a full stop!
2.) Unlike the NYC subway, the Paris metro has relatively no
advertisements on it.
3.)...Regardless, there are still solicitors on all the trains playing
music or singing for money.
4.) When I tell Australians or Europeans that I am traveling alone,
they tell me that it's brave or that they are proud of me. If I tell
Americans that I'm alone, they say, "That's sad," or, "That's
terrifying."
...Just interesting to think about why these responses are often quite
different.
5.) The Louvre is so big, there are two Metro stops for it!
6.) Parisian men are much more forward if there is something in
between them and a girl, such as a gate or window. It's kind of like
my puppy- if she is right next to another dog, she will be a total
tease. But if she is at a far enough distance, she just barks and
barks and barks...
7.) If you speak to Parisians in French first, they'll answer you in
English. But if you talk to them in English first, they will sometimes
pretend they don't understand you.
8.) As cool as Paris is, New York City is cooler. Not even a question
in my mind. But it's all subjective, right? ;-)
Trip Stats:
Days: 48
Roommates: 92
Life Lesson: "No matter what you go through in life, don't ever ever
give up on your dreams."
Jukebox: "Light In Your Eyes" - Sheryl Crow
"Something is happening- everything's different, but everything is fine
This is the good stuff- yesterday's only what you leave behind"
Random Thought:
If we are constantly traveling, always moving in some way, shape, or
form...aren't we all tourists?
...and on a less intelligent note, why does the nail on my ring finger
grow so much faster than all of the others?
Quotables:
"Knowledge without transformation is not wisdom"
" Where we can, we must give things a meaningful shape."
-Life of Pi
Interesting convo:
Upon meeting the sweetest girl from Rio de Janiero at my hostel, I
told her of my intense desire to visit Florianapolis, Brazil and she
said:
Brazilian girl: " Oh there are so many nice bitches there! They are
all very clean bitches...you don't even have to pay and you can spend
all day on them!"
Me: "Ummm....bitches?"
Brazilian girl: " Yea! Just bring an umbrella in case it gets too hot
and go in the water every now and again to cool off!"
Me: " ohhhhh...BEACHES!" hahaha
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