Tranquility

Tranquility is the right word... what a beautiful little hide away in the middle of Paris. This Parisian mosque is so beautiful. It has a fancy restaurant/café with a beautiful terrace and a wonderful, quiet, and peaceful garden, to escape in. I decided to pay it a visit and boy was I happy to. It is absolutely stunning... Even if you're not muslim, I suggest taking an afternoon to visit its gardens. If you need to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city on a beautiful sunny afternoon... Keep this in mind when you come to Paris!

A fig tree :)

Sore feet=shoes off :)
Beautiful tiles!

Freedom Fighters

Boy was I a proud South African descendent last Saturday evening…

I was fortunate to see Mr. Vusi Mahlasela in concert last Saturday with a girl from Montreal who I met in Ireland. What a powerful artist… his spoken word, his captivating vocals, and his enchanting stage presence was such an honour to see in person. Here is a little bit about him taken from his website: www.vusimahlasela.com

Vusi Mahlasela
Guiding Star (Naledi Ya Tsela)- ATO Records- March 6, 2007

One of the hardest things to learn as a musician is when to not only recognize inspiration, but when to trust and follow it. Over a musically and socially consequential career, South African singer-songwriter and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela has successfully followed his muse. That trust in his gift is at the root of his latest album, Guiding Star.

Mahlasela wrote and recorded this album as he toured the globe. Its soul-stirring title is very much a product of the new friends he's met and experiences he's had touring. Bearing the influences of various music and voices from throughout the world, Guding Star features guest appearances from friend (and partial ATO Records label head) Dave Matthews ('Sower of Words'), band leader and Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks ('Tibidi Waka'), Australian didgeridoo star Xavier Rudd ('Chamber of Justice'), singer-songwriter Jem ('Everytime') and longtime friends and touring mates Ladysmith Black Mambazo ('Heaven In My Heart'). Mahlasela also drew on the talents of numerous South African guests, including the legendary 'Black Moses' Ngwenya of the Soul Brothers, the children's choir from the Agnes Chidi School in his home Township, Mamelodi, and the KCC Gospel, among many others.

Mahlasela, an accomplished guitarist, percussionist, composer, arranger, band leader and performer, has bridged generations at home and abroad. His sound is a hybrid of folk, world, blues and soul, one that connects South Africa's Apartheid-scarred past with its promise for a better future. Over the past three years of heavy, world-wide touring and spreading his message, Mahlasela has remained true to his roots.

The bulk of Guiding Star was recorded on a farm in rural South Africa. Like any Vusi Mahlasela album, there are songs that connect him and the people of South Africa with both their past, present, and hopes for a better future: 'Song for Thandi' tells the story of detained freedom fighter Thandi Modise, while the affecting 'Sower of Words'—featuring Dave Matthews—is a lament for the late Black Consciousness poet and writer Ingoapele Madingoane, who wrote the influential poem 'Africa My Beginning, Africa My Ending.'

'There's a part on it where I needed a very strong voice to drive the message across, and Dave was the perfect voice,' Mahlasela says of the latter. 'Dave adds passionate, rich vocals to this song, taking it to a new level.'

Born Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane in 1965 in Lady Selborne, South Africa, Mahlasela became enchanted by music at an early age, building his first guitar out of tin and fishing line. Reared in Mamelodi Township, a vibrant artist community where he still resides, he gravitated toward poetry and songwriting as a teen, eventually joining youth organizations protesting South Africa's separatist, white government.

Reading poems at night vigils, funerals and anti-Apartheid marches triggered a long streak of police harassment. Local police soon began requiring that he keep them abreast of his whereabouts at all times, and his poems and songs were routinely confiscated—forcing him to memorize his work. It was a time when people like him would 'just disappear indefinitely,' he recalls, or, in Mahlasela's case, be held for periods of time. 'Somehow you get some sort of courage. You look at what's happening to your comrades, and you see that their struggle has to be testified—and you don't have to be afraid.'

In 1988, he joined the Congress of South African Writers, developing a new level of confidence as a poet and a writer. He struck up a creative friendship with South African poet Lesego Rampolokeng (who joins Mahlasela and Dave Matthews on 'Sower of Words'), while falling under the spell of artists like Miriam Makeba and Phillip Tabane and the work of Victor Jara— all central influences on Mahlasela's music and lyrics.

Mahlasela never knew his father, finally locating him in 2000, sadly, six months after his death. When he was in his early 20s, his mother collapsed in church, dying the same day, just a year after she'd proudly held his first recording in her hands and wept. He wrote the new song 'River Jordan' for her, and it was with her inspiration and the motivation of leaders like Nelson Mandela that Mahlasela crafter his official debut, 1991's When You Come Back, produced by Lloyd Ross, who returns to the controls for Guiding Star.

After the end of Apartheid, Vusi performed at Mandela's inauguration in 1994, and is now an ambassador to Mandela's 46664 Foundation, a campaign to help raise Global awareness of Aids/ HIV. Mahlasela proudly promotes Mandela's message at all of his performances. Having released a string of albums in South Africa, it wasn't until the debut in 2003 of the documentary film Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, a film that charts South Africans' longtime struggle for racial equality, that Americans first glimpsed and heard Mahlasela. In a rave Los Angeles Times review, noted critic Robert Hilburn wrote: 'Vusi Mahlasela's voice is so pure and commanding; you wonder whether you should have gotten an entire album by him.'

Later that year, Americans did, with The Voice, a collection of the best songs from his catalog, all released for the first time in U.S. via the ATO Records label (co-owned by longtime fan and fellow South African Dave Matthews, who calls Mahlasela 'one of the most important influences of my life.). It was an album so chock full of beauty, soul and struggle that it had a profound effect on American listeners in the wake of 9/11—even though much of the album wasn't sung in English.

And that's a power that Mahlasela doesn't take lightly. A single listen to Guiding Star, is all one needs to be assured that Mahlasela is a gifted performer. And with that gift comes responsibility, says Vusi: 'I know that I have something that is like a borrowed fire from God. And I have to use it in a very positive way.'

He sang songs, he taught us history, and he blessed us with his presence... here is one of the quotes I was able to audio record on my camera:

"Nelson Mandela, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Mr Mahatma Gandhi. These are the grandfathers of humanity who taught us that that there is wisdom in forgiveness. Through the history that we went through you in South Africa you could tell that South Africans are very forgiving people. They taught us that if you learn to forgive, you learn more to release more communist within the innermost of yourself and you become more free. But if you don't forgive, you are your own prisoner, you become like a bitter leaf that can just be squashed or be swept away by the wind anytime. So forgiveness, remember, it's important, and we should all wear it like a crown.

Africa has always been seen as a dark continent. Dark this, Africa corruption…but no, now, this is completely a different story.

We are hosting the World Cup, good for the continent. And this calls for everybody who comes to South Africa to celebrate the great gift of Obuntu with us. This is a time for Africa, a new chapter for Africa. There was always this big debate about when Africa would be given aid, yes, we're talking about aid… we deserve that aid, because Africa has been giving aid all along, this is the time for Africa."

Biographies of a few of the many people who have blessed South Africa with their fight for freedom:

Nelson Mandela- Nobel Peace Prize Winner- 1990.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life's work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation's National Chairperson.

Desmond Tutu- Nobel Peace Prize Winner- 1984.

Bishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. His father was a teacher, and he himself was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. After leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960. The years 1962-66 were devoted to further theological study in England leading up to a Master of Theology. From 1967 to 1972 he taught theology in South Africa before returning to England for three years as the assistant director of a theological institute in London. In 1975 he was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, the first black to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Tutu is an honorary doctor of a number of leading universities in the USA, Britain and Germany.

Desmond Tutu has formulated his objective as "a democratic and just society without racial divisions", and has set forward the following points as minimum demands:

1. equal civil rights for all
2. the abolition of South Africa's passport laws
3. a common system of education
4. the cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the so-called "homelands"

The South African Council of Churches is a contact organization for the churches of South Africa and functions as a national committee for the World Council of Churches. The Boer churches have disassociated themselves from the organization as a result of the unambiguous stand it has made against apartheid. Around 80 percent of its members are black, and they now dominate the leading positions.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mini Biography

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was born on October 2, 1869, into a Hindu Modh family in Porbanadar, Gujarat, India. His father, named Karamchand Gandhi, was the Chief Minister (diwan) of the city of Porbanadar. His mother, named Putlibai, was the fourth wife; the previous three wives died in childbirth. Gandhi was born into the vaishya (business caste). He was 13 years old when married Kasturbai (Ba) Makhanji, through his parents arrangement. They had four sons. Gandhi learned tolerance and non-injury to living beings from an early age. He was abstinent from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity.

Gandhi studied law at the University of Bombay for one year, then at the University College London, from which he graduated in 1891, and was admitted to the bar of England. His reading of "Civil Disobedience" by David Thoreau inspired his devotion to the principle of non-violence. He returned to Bombay and practiced law there for a year, then went to South Africa to work for an Indian firm in Natal. There Gandhi experienced racism: he was thrown off a train while holding a valid first class ticket and pushed to third class. Later he was beaten by a stagecoach driver for refusing to travel on the foot-board to make room for a European passenger. He was barred from many hotels because of his race. In 1894, Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress. They focused on the Indian cause and British discrimination in South Africa. In 1897, Gandhi brought his wife and children to South Africa. He was attacked by a mob of racists, who tried to lynch him. He refused to press charges on any member of the mob. Gandhi became the first non-white lawyer to be admitted to the bar in South Africa.

During the South African War, Gandhi was a stretcher barer. He organized the Indian Ambulance corps of 300 Indian volunteers and hundreds of associates to serve wounded black South Africans. He was decorated for his courage at the Battle of Spion Kop. At that time Gandhi corresponded with Leo Tolstoy and expressed his admiration of the Tolstoyan principles of non-violence. In 1906 Gandhi, for the first time, organized a non-violent resistance against the Transvaal government's registration act. He called upon his fellow Indians to defy the new law in a non-violent manner and suffer the punishment for doing so. He was jailed on many occasions along with thousands of his supporters. Peaceful Indian protests caused a public outcry and forced the South African General J. C. Smuts to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. However, Gandhi supported the British in World War I and encouraged Indians to join the Army to defend the British Empire, in compliance with the full citizenship requirement.

Back in India, Gandhi became active in the struggle for Indian Independence. He spoke at the conventions of the Indian National Congress, becoming one of its leaders. In 1918, Gandhi opposed the increasing tax levied by the British during the devastating famine. He was arrested in Champaran, state Bihar, for organizing civil resistance of tens of thousands of landless farmers and serfs. In jail Gandhi was on a hunger strike in solidarity with the famine stricken farmers. Hundreds of thousands of his supporters gathered around the jail. Gandhi was addressed by the people as Mahatma (Great Soul) and Bapu (Father). He was released. Then he represented the farmers in negotiation with the British administration. His effort worked. The tax collection was suspended and all prisoners were released. He declared that all violence was evil after the Amritsar massacre of 379 civilians by British troops, which traumatized the Indian nation. As the leader of the Indian National Congress party Gandhi launched "Swaraj", a campaign for independence and non-cooperation with the British authorities. He urged Indians to replace British goods with their own fabrics and goods. He was imprisoned from 1922-1924, being released after an appendectomy. During that time a Swaraj party was formed by his anxious opponents; it later dissolved back into the Congress.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1929, the Indian National Congress unfurled it's flag of independence. Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru issued the Declaration of Independence on January 26, 1930. Gandhi planned to achieve stability through the secularization of India, as the only way of uniting Hindus and Muslims in one peaceful nation. The religious divide was growing under the British colonial rule, which prospered from the monopoly on the salt trade. Everyone needed salt. Gandhi wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin: "If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of March I shall proceed with co-workers of the Ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man's standpoint. As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil."

From March 12 to April 6, 1930, Gandhi made the famous Satyagraha ("Satya" - truth, "Agraha" - persuasion), The Salt March to Dandi. He walked on foot to the ocean in protest against the British salt monopoly and salt tax. He led thousands of Indians on a 240 mile (400 km) march from Ashram Ahmetabad to the village of Dandi on the ocean to make their own salt. For 23 days the two-mile long procession was watched by every resident along the journey. On April 6, Gandhi raised a grain of salt and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." Gandhi's plan worked because it appealed to people in every region, class, religion, and ethnicity. The successful campaign led to the reaction of the British government and imprisonment of over 60,000 people for making or selling salt without a tax. The British opened fire on the unarmed crowd and shot hundreds of demonstrators. Gandhi was arrested in his sleep on the night of May 4th, 1930. Eventually the British government, represented by Lord Irwin, signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in March 1931, agreeing to free all political prisoners. Gandhi was invited to London as the leader of the Indian National Congress, but he was disappointed with the British attempts to destroy his influence by dividing him from his followers.

Gandhi campaigned to improve the lives of the untouchables, whom he called Harijans (the children of God). He promoted equitable rights, including the right to vote in the same electorates as other castes. In 1934 Gandhi survived three attempts on his life. In 1936, he briefly resigned from the party, because his popularity was stifling the diversity of membership; ranging from communists and socialists to religious conservatives and pro-business groups. He returned to the head of the party with the Jawaharlal Nehru presidency. At the beginning of the Second World War Gandhi declared that India could not be a party to this war, unless it has independence. His "Quit India" campaign led to mass arrests on an unprecedented scale of struggle. He was arrested in Bombay (Mumbai) and was held for two years. During his captivity his wife passed away and his secretary also died. Gandhi was released in May of 1944, due to a necessary surgery. His campaign led to a release of over 100,000 political prisoners before the end of the war.

India won independence in 1947, followed by the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, and partition of India. Gandhi said, "Before partitioning India, my body will have to be cut into two pieces." About one million people died in the bloody riots until partition was reluctantly asserted by Gandhi as the only way to stop the Civil War. He urged the Congress Party to accept partition, and launched his last "fast-into-death" campaign in Delhi, calling for a stop to all violence. Gandhi also called to give Pakistan the 550,000,000 rupees in honor of the partition agreement. He tried to prevent instability and anger against India.

Gandhi was shot three times in the chest and died while on his way to a prayer meeting, on January 30, 1948. His assassins were convicted and executed a year later. The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were split in portions and sent to all states of India to be scattered in rivers. Part of Gandhi's ashes rest in Raj Ghat, near Delhi, India. Part of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes are at the Lake Shrine in Los Angeles.

Zayed Gamiet- my grandfather.

Zayed was born in Cape Town, where he spent his formative years. A curious and articulate young man, growing up in turbulent times he was influenced by momentous events around the world; the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, and the birth of apartheid in South Africa. At a young age he courted arrest by protesting new laws that introduced racial segregation on the trains in Cape Town.

Under the National Party regime elected in 1948, apartheid became official government policy. As a young lawyer living in Johannesburg, Zayed spent a great deal of time defending his clients’ rights against racist laws introduced by the government. During this time, he did conveyancing and notarial work for Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. Harassment and intimidation of anti-apartheid activists increased and in 1967 with a heavy heart, Zayed and his family left South Africa for Canada.

Admitted to the Canadian bar, Zayed continued defending the underprivileged and disenfranchised. He joined the United Nations Association in Vancouver and was one of the founding members of the South African Action Coalition (SAAC). As part of a worldwide movement to boycott South African products, SAAC was instrumen- tal in getting South African wines banned in British Columbia.

Zayed’s humour (with a wink and a cheeky smile)

Zayed was a regular participant in the yearly peace marches in Vancouver, influencing his children and grandchildren to march with him. He was a member of the Cross Cultural Seniors associa- tion – still active until the end. In 1997 he was awarded the Civic Peace Prize jointly by the City of Vancouver and the United Nations Association for his work in promoting peace.

Zayed was a gentle man, devoted husband and loving father. He had a wry sense of humour, a way with words and was a stickler for proper grammar! He was non judgemental and respected many points of view, but he expected an informed and enlightened debate. He had a phenomenal memory for history and world events and whenever a news story broke, he could always be counted on to give the real background. He was a firm believer in practising one's franchise by voting at every election, always cognizant of the fact that many people in the world are unable to vote.

He loved the simple things in life – spending time in the garden that one of his daughters tended, playing with his grandchildren, making and serving tea on saturdays for his family. He had a charming manner which he showed whenever he met someone, always with a wry quip or a few phrases in French. He will be sorely missed.

People watching at the Sacre Coeur

The Sacre Coeur

A beautiful Parisian monument/tourist attraction.

History:

The Basilique Sacré-Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) is a Roman Catholic church and familiar landmark in Paris, located on the highest point of the city in Montmartre.

History

The site of the 19th-century basilica is traditionally associated with the beheading of the city's patron, Saint Denis, in the 3rd century. According to legend, after he was martyred, Bishop Denis picked up his severed head and carried it several miles to the north, where the suburb of Saint-Denis stands today.

After France's 1870 defeat by the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War and its aftermath, the Commune of 1871, the basilica was planned as a guilt offering and a vote of confidence to cure France's misfortunes.

The church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a cult that gained popularity after 1873, when the first pilgrimage was organized to Paray-le-Monial in Burgundy. It was there that revelations encouraging prayer to Christ's sacred heart had been reported in the 17th century.

The foundation stone of the Basilique Sacré-Coeur was laid in 1875. It was consecrated in 1891, fully completed in 1914, and elevated to the status of a basilica in 1919, after the end of the First World War.

What to See

The Sacré-Coeur was paid for by national subscription, and its iconography is distinctly nationalistic. It has much in common, both historically and architecturally, with the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere in Lyon.

Designed by Paul Abadie in a Romanesque-Byzantine architectural style, the Sacré-Coeur was inspired by St-Front in Perigueux (Dordogne), a multi-domed Romanesque church the architect had recently restored.

The triple-arched portico is surmounted by two bronze equestrian statues of France's national saints, Joan of Arc and King Saint Louis IX, designed by Hippolyte Lefebvre.

Even the great bell, the Savoyarde, has nationalist references: Savoy was annexed to France in 1860. Cast in Annecy in 1895, it is one of the world's heaviest bells at 19 tons.

The Sacré-Coeur Basilica is built of Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne) stone, a frost-resistant travertine that bleaches with age to a gleaming white. The main portal has grand bronze doors with foliage designs.

Inside, the Sacré-Coeur is dim and rather gloomy except for the golden mosaicsglowing from apse. The floor plan is an equal-armed Greek cross, with a large dome (83m high) over the crossing. In the huge choir, 11 tall round arches support a barrel vault.

The bronze altar is based on the one at Cluny Abbey in Burgundy. Since 1885, the Blessed Sacrament has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the Basilica since 1885.

The apse mosaic, designed by Luc-Olivier Merson (1922), is the largest in the world. It depicts Christ in Majesty and The Sacred Heart worshiped by the Virgin Mary, Joan of Arc and St. Michael the Archangel.

A climb to the top of the dome provides an excellent view of Paris - at 271 feet above Montmartre it is the second-highest viewpoint after the Eiffel Tower - and the walk around the inside of the dome alone is worth the climb. The dome is supported by 80 columns, each topped with a different capital.

The crypt contains statues of saints and a relic that some believe to be the verySacred Heart (Sacré-Coeur) of Christ.

At the rear of the grounds is a contemplative garden and fountain.

I decided to visit it this afternoon as I had never before… what a cute little neighbourhood it's surrounded by:

Montmartre is a hill (the butte Montmartre) which is 130 meters high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north ofParis in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district. The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded. Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films. This site is served by metro line 2 stations of Anvers, Pigalle and Blancheand the line 12 stations of Pigalle, Abbesses, Lamarck - Caulaincourt and Jules Joffrin.

I did a little bit of people watching and decided to show you the type of people who were 'hanging out' on the grass in front of the Sacre Coeur.

The tourists... most likely newly weds enjoying their lovely weekend in Paris while drinking France's inexpensive wine from plastic wine glasses

The 2 friends... most likely locals... just hanging out on a Monday evening.

The group of friends... most likely locals as well... playing some music!

The kiddies.. throwing around the soccer ball while who knows where mommy and daddy are!
The lovers. This is Paris.

Thought I'd end on a little PDA!

Vitamin D

What an important one for all of us. It was a lovely sunny weekend here in Paris, I took advantage on Saturday afternoon and went for hunt. Jam goes with cheese like sun goes with beach; therefore- incredibly. Another thing us Vancouverites take for granted is living next to an ocean (or large body of water) and various fresh water lakes and rivers. I am really going to miss going to Spanish Banks with my family for late afternoon bbq's or going swimming in Cultus Lake with Dawn and Chelsea and co., or tubing down the Cowichan River with John and co., or swimming in the Nanaimo River with Nicole and co…. summer in BC is just inexplicable (an ITC). Anyways… I was dying to dip my feet in some cold fresh water and lay on the sand and relax. So… the next best thing that goes with cheese is avocado- this I had (metaphorically speaking). As the next best thing that goes with sun is a nice big piece of green grass to sprawl out on. This I found, and this is what I did.

Hooray for sunny weekends and my Vitamin D fix!

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

I have been thinking about this a lot lately- attitude on life. Why do people spend their lives having a negative perception on life? I just don't get it.

I understand that we are all faced with hardships and experiences that can be quite difficult, but it is so important to not let these get us down and to really take it as a challenge; something that won't get you down and that will only make you stronger and grow as an individual.

My aunt always said that her 'default' is being happy. I Love that.. .and I totally believe it is the same with me. I really try and digest this world and the experiences I am presented with in a positive light.

Where does being negative get you in life anyways? Many of our experiences involve other people (jobs, school, marriage, friendship, family, sports, eating, etc.) and you will enjoy all of these experiences so much more by just being positive.

My mother has always told me to do nice things for others and that you will one day have3 nice things done in return to you. Call this karma or whatever, but I 100% believe this and think it speaks truth.

That's my personality lesson for today- now you my be wondering why I'm writing about it.

After having had some conversations with new and interesting people lately, I have come to realize that many people living in Paris- as opposed to many of the other places in the world I have been fortunate to have visited- are actually quite negative and rude. Once again, I must clarify that this is obviously not everyone and it merely is an observation.

Example #1: Girls look at one another up and down most likely criticizing them to bits- call this jealousy or whatever- but it's rude. I must admit, I think we all (including myself) do this to a certain extent, but it just seems to be overt and condescending here.

Example #2: A young- early 20's year old guy was yelling and screaming at his girlfriend in the metro and started getting a little violent with her. I guess people where just minding their own business, but even older and bigger men were walking by and weren't saying or doing anything. I was disgusted- one for this guys behaviour towards his gf, and two because nobody was doing anything.

Example #3: Linked to the previous- you see older women with luggage or women with strollers trying to get their way around town with public transit and I rarely see people help. If I am close enough, I will step in and ask if they'd like some… like 2 hours ago for example, I helped a woman carry her stroller up a large flight of stairs, she was all alone, it was heavy, imagine if I hadn't asked. Yes maybe someone else would have, but I was a distance behind her on the previous flight of stairs and nobody asked.

Example #4: Let me ask you this, do you get up from your seat for someone who looks like they need it more than you do? I find Canadians in general to be quite well mannered when it comes to this, but not the people riding the metro here.

Example#5: While on the metro you can get a general sense of people's moods. If I were to rate the average mood of people on the metro on a scale from 1-10; 1 being crappier than crap and 10 being super duper fantastically happy, I'd rate the average at 3.7. Yes… pathetic.

Example #6: In small neighbourhoods, on an early Saturday afternoon, while going for a walk you will most likely smile or make sort of greeting towards other pedestrians, but not here.

Maybe I've just taken for granted the fact that I've grown up in a place where people are generally quite kind, but I won't anymore. I just hope that it doesn't rub off on me!!!! I've heard that after a while... people who live here get bad attitudes too! I'm going to try and spread the smile instead of the frown! haha

Sweet Nothing

One of my life's most precious moments is walking along casually on a sunny afternoon and then all of a sudden getting hit by the aroma of a flower growing along the side of a street. This followed by taking an extra thirty seconds out of my busy day to stop, walk over to the culprit and thanking it for the one more sniff I'm about to take. After this... life can resume.

Definitely an ITC (inability to capture).

Travelling vocabulary

When travelling to another country...you tend to pick up certain words that 'must' be added to your vocabulary. One of my favorite words to pick up is the word for 'nice' or 'cool'.

In South Africa they use the word: 'Lekka'

use in a sentence: That biltong from the butcher down the street is lleekkkaaaaa.

In Ireland they use the word: 'Class'

use in a sentence: That game of rugby last night was class.

In Peru they use the word: 'Chevre' (ITC here--- must hear the awesome pronunciation)

use in a sentence: Esa playa está muy chevre.

In France they use the word: 'Géniale'

use in a sentence: Le concert hier soir était géniale.

Those are my faves so far... I'm sure with the other countries I'll visit... I'll pick up the 'important' vocabulary.

A day in the french life of...MOI!

So here I am... one full week into my regular 'Parisian' life. I thought I'd post a wee blog to advise you of what I am getting up to.

So.. I wake up around 7am for work.. sometimes push snooze until about 730... and aim to catch the 8:05 train into Paris. If I don't, I'm still safe if I catch the 8:20 train! I live 8 minutes (two stations) outside of central Paris and live only 1 minute walk from the train station in Clamart- literally across the street. Apartment is good so far... I have decorated my room with some pictures, have somewhere to put my clothes, bought a lamp, and a plant!!!! I can't live somewhere with no life... plus it's providing me with some much needed oxygen (am slowly dying of all the second hand smoke in Paris)! pics coming soon!

So I get off the train with the hoards of people, and make my way into the underground to catch the metro line... I squish myself on the metro for about 6 stops until i get to the station champs elysees. In order to save time, I take another train one stop away so I'm right by my work.

Work: Working at the Canadian Embassy is really cool... it's like being on Canadian soil in Paris. so neat. So I work 9-5 but am more than willing to work past 5 if I have work to complete because I'm just so grateful for this opportunity. I am an administrative assistant and actually do similar work as I did in Vancouver... I process passport applications, call applicants and references (in french! eek! and in english! fiewf!) I am not authorized to process them yet so I am working in a lovely woman's account while she supervises me... the database is different, so it is still a lot of learning too. I am going to be taking a test this Thursday to become eligible to process applications in full... I think the fact that they're investing in me... and if i pass this test, they will extend my one month contract I have now. *fingers crossed* So in the morning I study the course- self guided. And in the afternoon I shadow a colleague so I can become familiar with the work I will be doing. I have a one hour lunch break! first time ever in my life! i love it!!!! so i usually try to bring something, but doesn't happen often, so go up the street to buy a fresh sandwich on baguette...so good :)

After work... I usually take the metro to the stop where I have to catch my train and find somewhere to use the internet. Write some emails, buy dinner or something to make for dinner. I head go home, watch some TV shows my lovely cousin put on my computer and go to bed. When the weather gets a little nicer I look forward to spending more time outside! Bedtimes falls around 11pm most nights.

I have met a couple of people...but am on a mission to make friends now. So some of the people from the hostel were super cool and gave me their phone numbers to hang out (going to watch one guy who is in a heavy metal band play this Thursday night- not my regular cup of tea, but will be good to meet ppl!) And while i was hanging out with a german girl that was here visiting while I was at the hostel, we met a really cool guy on the street and he gave me his number, we were both very pleased that I was his first canadian friend, and him my first parisian friend. hahaha.

hahaha... what else... I have 2 things on the list of things to do: well...3: 1-make friends, 2-join a beginners soccer league, and 3-learn to play the guitar... so that's what my next few weeks look like!

On saturday I hung out with a friend from work's sister who lives here...She is super nice! We walked around Paris with her husband and her 2 kids...she's my age, she invited me to her son's christening on the 29th! I also have some other contacts people have sent my way... so looking forward to meeting friends of friends!

anyways...voila, my life in a nutshell these days.

Didn't buy this one... I'm being selective...but the colours are so french :) it was nice :)

Vasco and Nunez are tourists in Paris for the day

Well... I can't be here in Paris if I don't do what tourists do. So here we are at the Louvre Museum...

Yes, that is the Mona Lisa behind shields of glass. She stares at approximately 6 million visitors a year.

Facts About Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vinci was a genius of the renaissance period. His skills were legendary - painter, architect, engineer, mathematician and philosopher but he is perhaps best known for his paintings especially that of the Mona Lisa. The name of the subject of this wonderful painting was believed to be of Mona Lisa del Gioconda. Mona Lisa was the wife of Francesco di Bartolommeo di Zanobi del Giocondo. Mona Lisa was believed to be 24 years old at the time her portrait was painted. Her enigmatic smile has captured the imagination of people for centuries. Concise Biography & Facts About the artist - Leonardo da Vinci Nationality - Italian Place of Birth - Vinci, Italy Lifespan - April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519 Family - Son of Ser Piero di Antonio and Caterina Educated - Served as an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio Here are some interesting facts about the Mona Lisa

Da Vinci started to work at this painting in 1503 He spent four years on the portrait It is painted on 77 x 53 cm poplar wood He never sold the portrait It has been suggested that the portrait of the Mona Lisa is in fact Leonardo's female version of himself August 22, 1911 - Mona Lisa was stolen but soon recovered In 1956 an acid attempt damaged the lower half of the painting, the restoration took several years

This is the beautiful Winged Victory of Samothrace (my mom's favourite, as well as my own). The product of an unknown sculptor, the Victory is believed to date to approximately 190 BC.... it's an ITC (Inability to capture) So amazing and incredible. For the full article please go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace

But here is small quote:

Despite its significant damage and incompleteness, the Victory is held to be one of the great surviving masterpieces of sculpture from the Hellenistic period, and from the entire Greco-Roman era. The statue shows a mastery of form and movement which has impressed critics and artists since its discovery. It is particularly admired for its naturalism and for the fine rendering of the draped garments. It is considered one of the Louvre's greatest treasures, and since the late 19th century it has been displayed in the most dramatic fashion, at the head of the sweeping Daru staircase. The loss of the head and arms, while regrettable in a sense, is held by many to enhance the statue's depiction of the supernatural.

And of course...the one and only... Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower, one of the most famous monuments of the world, is an iron tower in Paris. It has been built on the Champ de Mars, beside the Seine River. It took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days to build this huge tower, which was completed in 1889. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the same person who built the internal frame of the Statue of Liberty, was the main architect of the tower and it has been named after him only. The tower is beautifully illuminated at night, for which it consumes 7.8 million kWh per year. In order to know some more fun and interesting facts about Eiffel Tower, go through the following lines.

Fun & Interesting Facts About Eiffel Tower

• Eiffel Tower has been named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel.
• Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris.
• The height of Eiffel Tower, including its 24 m (79 ft) antenna, is 324 m.
• The height of Eiffel Tower is equivalent to 81 levels in a conventional building.
• The construction work of Eiffel Tower started on January 26, 1887 and was completed on March 31, 1889.
• Till 1930, Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the whole world.
• The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes, while the entire structure, including non-metal parts, weighs around 10,100 tonnes.
• Fifty engineers and designers produced 5,300 drawings, and over 100 workers built more than 18,000 different parts of the tower in a workshop.
• Eiffel Tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.
• 2,500,000 rivets and 18,038 iron parts make up the Eiffel Tower.
• In 1889, the cost of construction of the Eiffel Tower was around 7,799,401.31 French gold francs.
• The four pillars of the Eiffel Tower stand in a square that measures 125 meters on each side.
• The 1^st floor of Eiffel Tower stands at a height of 57 m, while the 2^nd and 3^rd floor are 115 m and 276 m high, respectively.
• One can visit the different floors of the monument via elevators.
• Strong winds can sway Eiffel Tower slightly. During the storm of 1999, it moved approximately 13 centimeters from its initial position.
• Eiffel Tower hosted the first French radiophonic experiments and also played a crucial role in the inception of French television.
• Eiffel Tower is home to dozens of antennas, of all sorts, including a television mast that is 324 meters high.
• Le Figaro sets up a printing press on the second floor of Eiffel Tower in 1889. Till date, the paper is published on site and visitors who buy it can have their name inscribed on their copy.
• Eiffel Tower is painted every 7 years. It gets covered in 3 shades of brown, with the darkest one at the bottom.
• The 19^th painting of Eiffel Tower is scheduled to begin in autumn 2008
• Approximately 60 tons of paint and a time period of 15 to 18 months is required to paint the Eiffel Tower.
• On a clear day, one can see up to 42 miles away, from the top of Eiffel Tower.
• The base of Eiffel Tower is spread over an area of 100 square meters.
• The Eiffel Tower is open 365 days a year.
• 4 tons of dusters & cleaning cloths, 10,000 doses of cleaning items, 400 liters of detergents and 25,000 bin bags are needed to clean Eiffel Tower.
• Eiffel Tower has two restaurants, on the first and second platforms, named Altitude and Jules Verne.
• Till 2003, over 200 million people had visited the Eiffel Tower, since its inception.
• Eiffel Tower was initially intended to be dismantled and sold as scrap 20 years after its construction, but this never happened.
• The sides of Eiffel Tower, just beneath the first platform, have been affixed with named of 72 prominent French scientists and famous personalities.
• Wheelchair-bound people can visit the Eiffel Tower up to the second level, using the elevator.

And then there's the Arc de Triomphe:

Arc de Triomphe is one of the most representative monuments of Paris as well as the most illustrious symbol of French national history. It is situated at the west end of Champs-Elysées, in the centre of Place de l’Étoile (that was extensively redesigned in 1860s by Baron Haussmann, who increased the number of avenues to twelve). Today the Arc offers museum linked to the history of the monument, as well as panoramatic view from the roof. Looking eastwards, down the Champs Elysées, toward the Louvre, there is the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens, and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Looking the opposite direction - westwards - in the distance is its larger and newer cousin, La Grande Arche de la Défense.

The construction of the monument began in 1806 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte in honour of the French army shortly after his victory at Austerlitz. It was finished just thirty years later, on 30th July 1836 under the reign of Louis Philippe.

The arc is 51 metres high and 45 metres wide and it is the second largest Victory Arc in the world (The larger one is in North Korea).

The astylar design was made by Jean Chalgrin and it is the neoclassical version of Roman architecture. He was taking care of architecture from the beginning to 1811, when he died and was replaced by Joust. After 1814 the construction was stopped and finished just during the years 1833 – 1836 with Blouet being its third and last architect. Besides architects, there were major academic sculptors of France cooperating on the project: Cortot, Rude, Étex, Pradier and Lemaire. There are four main sculptural groups at the base of the Arc. There are: “The Triumph of 1811” (made by Jean-Piere Cortot), “Resistance” and “Peace” (both by Antoine Étex) and “Departure of the Volunteers of ’92”, called also “La Marseillaise” (by Francois Rude).

On the inside walls there are 558 names of French generals listed. Some of them are underlined – those soldiers died in the battle. There is also richly sculptured frieze of soldiers and in the attic above them are 30 shields engraved with the names of famous victories during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.

The Tomb of Unknown Soldier from the World War I is situated beneath the Arc and eternal flame commemorates the dead who were never identified from both world wars.

The famous victory marches past the Arc included the Germans in 1871 and also in 1940, then the French in 1918 and the French together with Allies in 1944 and 1945.

Vasco and Nunez aren't named after the famous Spanish Explorer for no reason....