Paris - Update #1 - I made it!!!!

September 17, 2023 

 

Hi folks - it's official....I have now made it to Paris and have gotten an apartment in the 15th arrondissement...the search for the apartment went well, but trying to get a bank account organized was much harder 😜 But at this point, I have a bank account here in France, know my commute to work, know where to get tasty food, as I have an outdoor market close to my place every Sunday and it is amazing (pictures below), my new cohort is filled with super cool people and I have a bunch of connections with people that work at ASP and ISP, due to all of my moving around in the international circuit...so it has been a good landing here in Paris....

I have not really done much in the way of being a tourist...mostly because it has been super hot, the last two weeks were insane with the heat and humidity and no aircon to be found..and i am busy getting things oriented for school and my life...plus, there are tons of tourists here....which I have been told does not really change during the year ;) but those numbers do get less as the temperatures get colder.....of course, i see the eiffel tower as i am moving around the city and have walked along the seine....but i have not been in any museums as of yet....the parks and gardens have been fun to have picnics in and i have been finding great terraces to have drinks and snacks...as they are everywhere....so overall i think my first month and a half has gone well...i have even had two guests swing through Paris and got to have a meal with them as they were visiting.....please let me know if you are coming this way....i will say my place is not super huge, but there are air b'n'b's around me and a bunch of hotels if that is more your speed....just depends on how long you intend to stay ;) anyway, on with the pictures and stories....vive le france 🌍

This is me on my flight out of philly to paris....it was a relaxing and family & friend-filled summer...plus a bunch of swimming - both at the shore and my mom's new place....it was just what i needed before my new adventure...peace out philly....see you at xmas 😀

crazily enough, the Panamanian consulate is just across the street from my metro stop...i guess i will always focus on things from the other countries i have lived in where i currently live....and the store underneath the consulate is chinese and the folks that run it are from shanghai....small, small world 😉

when i was looking for an apartment i spent a day walking through the two neighborhoods i was most interested in living in....the 15th & 16th arr. ...they are "easy" to get to work from and have lots of things to do and are close to the eiffel tower....i ended up in the 15th which is a great spot...although at times the corner bar can be rather loud....i am going to have to go have a beer or two....

one of the many things i love about this town is trying to spot a piece of art by space invader...he is from paris and his stuff is everywhere....there have been tons of copycats and now he has other folks helping him make the mosaics....but the originals were his....the one on the left is one of his old ones...only half of it now exists....

one of the craziest things about paris is walking around and then suddenly seeing the monuments or museums....its just wild...i caught the Arc de Triomphe right at sunset while walking to the metro...just crazy....many times i look around and it feels just surreal that i live here....

i have walked through some of the gardens as well at this point - this is Luxembourg Garden....but I have to go back, because i have found out from teaching that the original meter was actually carved into one of the walls here out of marble...the original kilogram is actually housed in a museum in the town where my school is located...i will have to go check it out at some point..random things i love to learn....

Merle is also here from Beijing and it has been fun to have a person to meet up with, who does not work at ASP....that way we do not talk shop....this was our first meet-up and our first cheese plate together....the best one so far, as they had 9 different types of cheese on it!!!! french cheese is a food group unto itself 🧀

the decorating of all of the terraces is also its own classification....many of the places do it, and it is lovely to see...this is from the montparnasse part of the city, where there are crepe & galette places everywhere....and when in paris/france...you must have a crepe or galette....you just must!

of course, i also am always happy to see the musee d-orsay...which is actually my favorite museum here...i have not made it inside yet, but i will....soon.....

different types of sculptures are everywhere in this city....i love this one in the marais area of town....

i know folks wanted to see my apartment, so the next few images are of it....it is rather modern and does not look like a quintessential paris apartment - it is just what i wanted...i am on the tenth floor...and actually has a oven, dishwasher!?! and washing machine/dryer?!?! in the open kitchen....

this first shot is my living room & kitchen space.... i have an open kitchen and a very comfy (I hope) pull-out couch....as you can see the space is rather modern, just the way i like things.

in my opinion, the best part about my apartment is the huge balcony - these are rarely found in Paris, unless you have a penthouse or something....mine is the whole length of the apartment....in this view you can see the Montparnasse Tower (one of the biggest buildings in Paris)....it is not very pretty....but maybe in the distance, you can see the dome of the pantheon....

this is view the other direction....looking towards the seine.....so the apartment is facing south....but i can see the sunrise and later in the year, i will be able to see the sunset.....i love it for coffee and dinner on the balcony....so very nice....

here you can see my apartment building and which apartment is mine (red arrow)...i did not want the quintessential french building, with a walk-up or tiny elevator....i was looking for something more modern with a balcony and a view...and i got that 😀

i am also quite happy with the square that is closest to my place - Cambronne - it is a metro stop and has four terrasse places on the corners that come together....this one is my favorite - piou - which means the sounds of a "cluck" or a "kiss"....very tasty and the waiters are terrific.....very friendly and let me practice my french😉

This is my newbie cohort, plus some wonderful folks from HR....they took us wine tasting at the Caves of the Louvre, as one of our fun activities in Paris....it was lovely and the Cave itself was amazing...sante (cheers in french)!!!

It is always overwhelming to be walking along and suddenly be face-to-face with the eiffel tower....i can see it on my walk home from my metro stop and it is very visible during the bus portion of my commute to school....it is mind-blowing that i get to see it...and really, i always have to look & think to myself - wow, I live here.....it's crazy

another shot of the eiffel tower from another angle....this is as you cross one of the many bridges over the seine, but this is the one that has the weird bridge from inception and an excellent view of the eiffel tower...

this is my classroom for 7th grade science - it has a ton of light, but the windows really do not open very much....luckily i have two air conditioners, which help immensely, as the windows face south and we cook in the room when it is sunny...especially in the afternoons....

as you can see, i have both lab stations and moveable tables this time around....the lab is fine and i am starting to know where equipment is located....when i first got here, much of the room was completely empty.... it's getting better slowly, but surely as we start doing labs and working in the room

i have an amazing outdoor sunday market around the corner from my apartment....it has everything you could ever want in the way of fresh food....one of the most impressive stores is the cheese/fromagerie kiosk....they bring the entire cabinet with them....and there is more than one of these in the two blocks of the market....the cheese here has been amazing....and there are sooooo many kinds 🧀

the fresh flowers are also incredible... this was the week i bought sunflowers....the week after dahlias....there are just so many to choose from and they last for much of a week 🌻 there are so many more stands...which i will share every now and again...but these two are my favorites so far....

of course, i needed to include a picture of the eiffel tower, and this is actually what i can see on my walk home from the metro....all lit up and sparkling every hour on the hour at night....so very cool!!!

the shot above is from my balcony on the morning of the first full day of school....i got up early enough to catch the sunrise....thought that was a cool way to start the year....when its morning here, it is quiet...the french like to stay up late and sleep late....so early mornings are quite nice...plus, i have a commute in the mornings of a metro and bus....so i need to give myself time to get to school early enough to start my day....i have been leaving at 3:30pm, right when school ends....which has been wonderful...i have even left my laptop at school several nights during the week...which has been awesome!!!! 

i know....its not me and a beer....but i live in paris and summer and picnics here are all about the rose.....so this is me at a friend's bday picnic, on the lawn of les invalides....drinking rose...sante!!!

so my life in france is moving forward....so far it has gone quite smoothly....i am hoping for my first break in october to go diving in malta and am in the process of putting that trip together...it is so nice to have a trip on the horizon....malta, will be country number 90....so keep those fingers crossed that it happens....also, i will be in the states for xmas...not a long time, but if you are in the Philadelphia area over the holdiays, let me know...and we can try and make a meet up happen....hope all of you are having a great start to your spring/fall....if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out....and if you are headed to paris...please let me know 😎

peace out.....dani

China Take 2 - Leaving for Paris, France

July 22, 2023

Hey there folks - 

it has been a long time since you have heard from me….again….BUT things in China were still crazy this past year with their zero covid policy and things just got strange after they dropped all of the rules….this had happened as i was writing to you all last time….but the craziness continued with no rules as well…..after the rules were dissolved, my school was super busy, packing three years worth of experiences into three months….which was awesome for the kids, but exhausting for everyone involved….

However, i did get some final travels INSIDE of china before leaving and was able to do many of the final things i wanted to do to say “goodbye” to china and all of the amazing things there…from food, to landscape, to history, to culture….china is one of a kind….but i am not sure i will make it back….the last three years have been hard on a few different levels…..as always i will miss certain things and of course the people that i will not see again, but overall, i know my time in china has come to a close….too much weirdness, and a few different reasons about why i should not return…..so, it is on to Paris, France I go!!!! Which i am super excited about!!! I know i will be there for two years, i know i will be there and attend some olympic games next summer and i know lots of folks are interested in coming to visit…..so let me know if you are headed my way and i will try and do my best to meet up and help with anything you want to do while visiting!!!! Vive la France 🇫🇷

But of course I would be remiss if i did not include my pictures from the last 6 months of my stay in china…from chengdu with the pandas, to chongqing - the biggest city in china, to shanghai for chinese new year, to zhnagjiajie - also known as the avatar mountains, to the shaolin temple with students and all of my fun experiences in beijing…..china is like no other country….and i am thankful to have spent time there getting to know all the different aspects of it….i did miss a few key places after six years, but i am not sure i will get the chance to return…..xie xie china….and thanks for an interesting, challenging, life-changing experience…..on with the pictures 😎

This past year I had christmas in Chengdu with the pandas….everywhere we went there were pandas and rabbits - because this is also the year of the rabbit! 🐼🐰 don’t worry, this bus did not move and was located in the center of town….

We went to see the pandas one of the mornings we were in town and got there before the multitudes…it was chilly, but definitely not cold, and there was no snow, which was kind of a bummer, because the pandas love playing in the snow….

Pandas spend much of their day eating…they became endangered because they are very specific with the types of bamboo they eat….there are over 1500 species of bamboo in the world, but pandas will only eat 20 of them….and bamboo is not very nutritious, so they need to eat a lot of it per day….here is one panda who was enjoying breakfast when we arrived…they are in a glass enclosure, but all of the enclosures have outdoor space….

The other activity pandas love is sleeping….and they can sleep anywhere ;) even in the trees….

The baby pandas were so roly-poly and fun to watch…this one kept playing with the basket…

Many of the spaces have platforms for the pandas to climb on and sleep on, like the one above….they also tend to share the outdoor space with other pandas in their families….it is a pretty impressive research facility and they have increased the numbers of pandas in the world considerably….so much so that the panda is no longer considered endangered…..

I was very excited that i got to return to chengdu and see the pandas…they are amazing animals…it was fun trip with friends for the holidays….

This is a picture of the crew i was with for xmas morning…we celebrated with stockings for all and fun glasses and hats…the chinese waitstaff loved it as well, as most chinese do not celebrate christmas…..

After chengdu i then headed with two friends to the city of chongqing….this is one of china’s biggest cities, if not the biggest….there are 30 million people located in the greater chongqing area…it is HUGE….it is also the location where a metro car actually goes through an apartment building….and yes, folks really do live in this building above the metro stop…..

Chongqing has a whole section of town dedicated to graffiti….if you have been to china or know things about china…they are not a place that embraces graffiti, so this was quite surprising and amazing to us…the murals on the buildings above and below, were my favorites on the street where all of this art is located….

The mural above reminds me of all chinese towns and cities i have been in….you can always find chinese folks playing games around a table….whether mahjong or go or a myriad of card games…they can get quite competitive….love this mural…..

Chongqing also has this really amazing building that starts on the water front and goes up the side of a mountain…it was called the Hongyadong Shopping and Eating area…although it rained the whole time we were there….we did have a good time and ate some amazing dan-dan noodles, which the region is known for….slurp!!!! 🍜

Chinese New Year was quite close to Christmas this year, and i still was not able to get a flight out of china to another location….due to crazy prices and a lack of flights leaving china…this would actually plague me even up to and including the flight i took out of china in june….travel to and from china is still not back to normal after all of the zero-covid rules….bleh….so for chinese new year, i headed south to shanghai to catch up with friends and hang in the city i love…..here’s to the year of the rabbit 🐰

Of course there were tons of rabbit decorations and red lanterns and good luck door couplets and fu good luck characters….this huge lantern was on sale, but i did not think i could bring it back with me on the train ;)

And of course there were rabbits everywhere….this one was in yuyuan gardens, which we visited on a walking tour during the day before it got super full in the evening….

This picture is of a man hanging the traditional door couplets for good luck and prosperity in the coming year….these are always red for good luck 🏮

Also, on the first day of the new year…the big shopping district held lion and dragon dances for good luck and prosperity in the coming year….even though it was raining…people really felt the need to have these this year after the craziness of covid in china….

This shot is taken down nanjing lu….the huge shopping street that leads to the bund!

Once back in beijing, i was able to experience a great art installation by teamlab….they had an entire room of bubbles that you could go play in…if it comes to where you are, you really should go check it out and have fun!!!

During the last part of chinese new year, i took my last trip to the wall with some friends…we rented a huge house and spent two nights up there…it was spectacular….unfortunately at this point, the wall was closed due to covid….still….it really did mess up plans…but we had a great time hanging out, cooking, playing games, reading and being in each other’s company…..activities with other folks like these are really what helped me get through the tough covid times in beijing/china over the past three years…..

This was my daily covid testing booth for many, many weeks this past year…at one point we had to be tested daily….and then over night, at the end of december, china dropped the zero-covid policy…it happened so fast with no plan…it was insane…..when i took this picture, it was a few days before the booth just disappeared…crazy!!!

One of the other trips i took in china before i left was to zhnagjiajie….also better know at the location of the avatar mountains…..it was just for a long weekend, but was amazing….

These were some of the multitudes of karsts we saw while visiting…and because it was not a chinese holiday, it was not super crowded…our guide was awesome and also knew where to take us in the park that chinese tourists did not really visit…it was amazing!!!

This was my favorite one…it was in the same area as the karst that was the main inspirational one for the movie…i love that this one looks like stuff is on the top of it!!! 

And of course i tried the local beer….this place, where we had dinner after a busy day walking and exploring, was incredible…the woman who did all of the cooking loved that i wanted to add spicy sauce to everything….she said we were like twins, because she put her homemade sauce on everything…it was delicious 😋

For our second day, we went to tianamen mountain….also known as the gateway to heaven….this is the same area as the avatar mountains…in the shot above, leah and i are standing on a glass bridge….which went around the edge of the mountain….it was super cool…..and you could see all the way down….

This is me at the base of this part of the mountains….you can see the “gateway” behind me….the top of the arch had actually partially fallen about 6 months before and they were in the process of shoring it up….in order to get to the top of this area, we had to take the longest gondola in the world….it was over 20 minutes long to ride it….

I had to include this funny picture….everywhere i end up, i always find some friends to buzz cut my hair…this time around it was first Josh and then it was Heather & Maja…in china there is a place you can literally buy anything and have it shipped to your house, called taobao…heather found this “cone of shame” on taobao that was specifically for cutting hair….definitely made cleaning up a lot faster 😂

One thing china does well is landscaping…the flowers and colors, along with many of the older styled buildings and spaces makes it a beautiful backdrop…my school did this as well….this was the pathway i walked once being dropped off at the front gate…this was our chinese garden…just lovely!!! I will miss the bluebird sky days with this as a backdrop to walk to my classroom….

Before the year ended we took the 8th graders on a trip to visit the shaolin temple for four days….it was an intense time, where our students were tutored in a kung fu routine by students at one of the kung fu schools on the way to the temple….here are some of the students running through their routines….

This was the group of little kids….students can start at the age of 5….there were 12,000 students training at this school….about 10% of the trainees were girls….

This is one of our students with the shaolin masters….he was in the show with them…the shaolin masters & temple is what kung fu panda was designed after…it was cool to see this part of the country and the training center….

We also went to a cultural park, where they put on an evening show….these are always spectacular experiences…this was one of the final scenes and i was seated right where the lights made it look like the boat was going down a tunnel…it was a cool effect….

I got one last trip into shanghai before the end of the year to say goodbye to this awesome city and to a bunch of friends….some of whom have now left to teach in different places and some who have not….this statue above is always one of my favorites and reminds me i am in the french concession…love it….

I also made it to the bund on my last morning to take this picture of this iconic skyline….i really loved my time in shanghai, but of course that was before covid…things have changed and at times were super challenging…but this city remains my favorite of all time….

So much so that i had some new ink done by a teacher in beijing, based on the picture i took above…i loved what he did in his home studio…

I did do a few last things in beijing to say goodbye…one of those was watching the flag raising in tiananmen square at sunrise…this happens every sunrise and sunset and is extremely patriotic for the chinese….this shot above is the night before as the lights were coming on…so we could kind of see the flag in the distance going down for sunset….

The shot above is me holding the 100 RMB note, with the picture of the building i am standing in front of it….it is the Chinese Congress Building where the really big meetings happen once a year….it is called the Great Hall of the People….this was after the sun rose and we were getting ready to head out….

This is the crew that braved the crowd of hundreds of folks to see the red flag behind our heads raise at sunrise…it was a once in a lifetime adventure….but only once ;)

One of the other things i did to celebrate my time in beijing was go to the michelin starred TRB…wow what a meal…the picture of me above is with the FIVE different desserts…it was incredible….

The shot above is one of the last times i crossed the bridge at school…it was the evening of the 8th grade celebration….WAB really does have a beautiful campus…

The other way i celebrated beijing was by going out for a last meal with most of my important crew to my favorite place….Black sesame…we decided to eat in the hutong courtyard and enjoyed every bite of this amazing food….

Black Sesame, my favorite dish is the five spice eggplant…..this meal is one of my all time favorites in the world…my beer is in the shot too…but the dish is more important this time around….bye-bye beijing!!!

So there you have it…my final post from china….quite possibly forever….we’ll see…never say never….this summer i have been hanging in the States with my mom catching up on sleep, swimming in her new compound’s pool and meeting up with family and friends i have been unable to see the past three summers due to the zero-covid policy i had to live by for china….it has been relaxing and rejuvenating….at this point i am now starting to get things organized for paris…i head out in about 2 weeks….yahooooooo 😎

Per normal….i am sorry i have not been in touch from china, but i just could not be motivated to write the post due to not being able to get out of the country…it was really frustrating…but onward and upward ;) i will be looking for an apartment when i get to paris and hope to see some of you visiting france while i am there….my contract is with the American School of Paris and runs for 2 years to start…who knows if i will be there longer, but i am super excited for the olympics in paris next summer and have already procured tickets with friends for some of the events…woot!!! I have also signed up to volunteer…we’ll see what happens…..Vive Le France 🇫🇷

I hope all of you have had a great start to your summer or winter season depending on location….thanks as always for reading what I write and hopefully i will get back to traveling the globe now that i am not dealing with a zero-covid policy….the next trip i am planning for the fall is to morocco…let’s go!!!

Peace out…..dani ⭐️