November 29 - December 8, 2009
A year and a half ago, as I wandered the streets of Paris alone, I never could've imagined that I would be back so soon. And that I would return under these types of circumstances, arriving on a plane from Argentina!
It was a whirlwind trip that was pretty nonstop. Friends of Ezequiel's came to Paris from Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Belgium to see him and to celebrate this huge moment in his life. His father came from Buenos Aires to be there for the presentation too.
We stayed with friends for the most post and our time was full of visits with his friends; coffees, dinners, parties. Many of these were friends that Ezequiel hadn't seen in over a year and they had lots of catching up to do, in spanish! It was great practice for me and emotionally strenuous as well.
So far in my own life, I can say that learning a language is one of the most humbling experiences I have known. How important is communication? How much more important is it to not just communicate, but to share ideas, and to feel that your words convey some of the color of your personality? And how important are all these things in the context of knowing, and trying to fit in with, the life of the person you're building a relationship with?
I'm proud of myself because I did make it through the week and a half in Paris. I kept my energy and spirits up (for the most part!) and tried to participate whenever I could. When I couldn't take part, I just stayed engaged and tried to look interested. What I lack in ability I am determined to make up for with effort! Otherwise I just try to put on my makeup real nice so at least I can be the aesthetically pleasing rock in the corner of the room..
Luckily I was able to spend time with a couple of my own friends from my world there, too. My friend Sarah's parents moved to Paris 7 years ago to pursue interests such as cooking, horse betting, and painting. She decided to spend Thanksgiving with them when she found out that I would also be there during that time. It was lovely to be able to talk about life with someone that I have history with. And I spent an evening having dinner with her and her parents too that was very stimulating. It ended with her father giving me the third degree about my thoughts about the nature of my relationship with Ezequiel.
He prefaced the course of questionning by announcing: "I'm going to ask you a potentially offensive question". Did he! I tried to receive gracefully a litany of questions designed similarly to those I receive on occasion from my grandmother. Straight to the point! I gave what I thought to be truthful and thorough answers. In some ways, this was the first time I had really given thought to these types of questions and it was a good exercise in reflection for me too. At the end Sarah's father concluded: "Well. You are either completed deluded and in deep denial, or this is the best relationship of your life!". Phew! OR........UH OH. ???? Sarah says I'm now initiated into the Massey clan :)
Ezequiel's thesis presentation went really well and finished in 2 and a half hours instead of the 4 or 5 hours predicted by others who'd gone down that road. It was great and I enjoyed watching the characters on Eze's "jury". They truly looked and acted like various versions of a stereotypical joke about what economists are like. Eze's professor, Jerome, went with his questionning last. During the presentation he spent his time hunched over alternating between staring at his watch, scribbling madly in his notebook, and messing with his already bird-nested hair. I found him endlessly entertaining!
Eze and his father, Hector Barbenza, just before the presentation. That smile is because the waiting is over!
The title screen of Eze's thesis presentation.
"Macroeconomic Volatility and Inequality in Latin America. The Informal Sector and Brain Drain Channels"
Eze and his Jury of Economic Madmen. The man to his right is Jerome.
Me and my lovely friend Sarah, all the way from DC!
Cold noses in Montmartre, Paris' famous bohemian neighborhood.
A gray Paris is still a beautiful Paris.
Street art in Paris: "vous etes ici" - "you are here"
A particularly beautiful gray sky over a train station in the city.
