Here in Paris we are experiencing nothing less than “Le Grand Froid.” Every banner (these electronic billboard things they put on street corners that tell you the time, temperature and the like) is displaying grave warnings to “restez pas immobile” along with a “hypothermia alert.” Due to a cold front moving down from Siberia, it’s dropped below freezing here! I don’t mean to mock Parisians, for I have certainly been doing my fair share of moaning and groaning and holing up in my apartment. I think I’m losing the Boston in me. Upon re-reading what I just wrote, I think that yes, I do mean to mock Parisians for their response to the cold is a little, if not very much so, ridiculous. I think instead that I should just include myself in this mocking for I can’t in good conscience pretend that I myself have been baring Le Grand Froid with anymore elegance than them ...does this make me french??
On another note, it has started snowing here! Meaning, it’s snowed twice and we had almost half an inch on the ground this morning. The whole city looks breathtakingly romantic. Additionally, I have been encountering, on a daily basis since le grand froid struck, a copious amount of fur. I have never, in my life, seen so many old ladies in fur. You find them popping out of every building, riding the bus with me, taking up every sidewalk (waddling through with an increased circumference of minimum 6 inches on all sides) — these mink-covered creatures are omnipresent, always hovering nearby in their warmth and luxury. I am both entranced and insanely jealous. The best part is the hats. Big fur hats. I’ve seen white, black, brown, blue, red, teal, burgundy, orange fur hats! Cap style, beret style, floppy I-don’t-care-I’ll-wear-my-fur-how-I-want stye, soviet-Russia style, amelia earhart style - anything. It’s le grand froid and the runway show is on, open to everyone from babies to grandmothers (who seem to compose the majority of participants). While there may be only one grand froid a year in Paris, if that, these Parisians will not be taken unprepared.
I am doing well, serious lack of fur notwithstanding. It’s the third week of classes and things are moving along like always, routines are established, tutoring and nannying like always. I’m off to Bordeaux this weekend with some lovely ladies for a wine-filled extravaganza, and hopefully a little escape from the cold (even though its only 3 hours south...).
On a funny note, my water heater seems to have stopped working. Isn’t that hilarious? Well, I’ve decided to take on the strategy of not-dealing with it, and I’ll let you know how that plays out. (Side note - I’m realllly hoping this one works itself out, and have resorted to heavily, and regularly, cursing the grand froid for all of my life’s problems, this one included.) On a positive note, this broken water heater has provided me with some interesting observations. Mostly what I’ve noticed so far is that I can go longer without a shower than I realized. Always learning things about myself, I am! The actual funny part is that last night I was cold, feeling grimy and fed up with it. So, I bet you’re thinking I got up, called my landlord and demanded answers? Guess again! Having just seen Eat, Pray, Love, in which Julia Roberts is told by a charmingly rude Italian landlady that she has to fill up her bath with hot water from the stove, I got an idea. Bet you guessed it now — I decided to try to fill up my bath tub by boiling water on the stove!
Long story short, we should all be very thankful for the romans (weren’t they the ones who invented plumbing?) It took me about an hour or more to get the water to half a foot high, at which point I got annoyed and just got in the bath, exhausted. It was pretty nice at first, since I hadn’t bathed in a while, but I soon learned that sitting in a little puddle of hot water leads, very quickly, to a personal “grand froid.” And so I had my 5 minute bath.
Just thought that you all out there might benefit from knowing that I a) am overcoming every and all obstacles to bathe regularly, b) am taking my conflict resolution studies to heart and nurturing my creativity here in good ol’ Paree.
I’m going to try to upload some pictures of le grand froid (although there’s no snow in them, sadly) but the Morocco pictures refused to upload so I’m not sure how these ones will go. Hope all is well on the home front! Ciao amigos, and remember - ne restez pas immobile!
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