Musee de l’Orangerie et Jardin des Tuileries: 8 mai 2015

I highly recommend this museum to any art lover or even to someone who is tepid about art. I visited on one of the many May jours feriés here in France, May 8, 2015 so there were a lot of people waiting to get in. The brief wait (10 mins?) was worth it! The two rooms in which Monet's Nymphéas or Water Lilies are displayed are peaceful for the most part, designed specifically to showcase these incredible paintings. Signs at the entry to the rooms encourage onlookers to remain quiet, and there are comfortable benches in the middle of both rooms where you can sit and contemplate these beautiful works of art.

After stopping there for a while, I headed to the basement of the museum. There are many delightful impressionist works downstairs, with a nice collection of Picasso paintings as well. There is a special exhibit of works of the Italian sculptor Wildt until July 13th this year. I entered thinking I would simply zoom through it on my way to the museum gift shop, and was pleasantly surprised by his sculptures, some of which were quite large, and most of which had some quizzical feature which caused me to do several double-takes.

I spent a lovely couple of hours at the Orangerie, and when I left, I headed behind the museum into the Jardin des Tuileries, and visited the bookstore there. It includes many lovely little offerings, such as a strong collection of children's books in English and in French.

One of my goals when I return home to Pittsburgh is to take more advantage of cultural offerings in my city. We are members of the art museums, including the CMOA and the Warhol, but we should visit more often. I would also love to attend poetry readings but typically they begin late and when you are submersed in your workaday world, it is tough to make the time.  I have truly enjoyed having the time and energy to visit all the museums and parks I have in Paris.

Update on my scholarship: 10 mai 2015

I have interviewed everyone at my Parisian school but 2.5 teachers, and hope to complete those before we leave (obviously). I also want to do a second interview with the principal to ask about some things that have come up. Also have the two wonderful women from the afterschool program in the 18e arrondissement….one is this Wednesday, the other is the last week I am in Paris, followed by lunch with the two of them. Then there are two additional school principals, one recommended by my school’s principal and one by Hélène at the non-profit. I should remember to call them tomorrow to try to schedule them. Both have lots of experience in schools with immigrant children. I’m not a big fan of cold-calling people in Paris, just because adapting to someone’s French over the phone is always somewhat challenging; I prefer cold-emailing when I can monitor my written French. I’ve been getting some practice by calling up restaurants for reservations, and talking to AVIS rent-a-car offices to figure out where to return a car after an upcoming road trip on a Sunday (answer: randomly park it at the train station and give the keys to the SNCF reps!?!).

Most educators I have interviewed express a view that children of immigrant families are French, period. As an American, I understand that to a certain extent (although immigration has become such a political mess in the US, many people would not agree with viewing children of immigrants as Americans if they were not born in the US or formally naturalized). There is a tangible discomfort in France with the idea that immigrants, including children, hold onto other social identities, such as being African, Malian, Senegalese, Ivorian, etc., or Black, or being Muslim.

During a recent conversation with Hélène, the director of the non-profit, I asked her about this and she recounted the story of an Ivorian woman she has known since the woman arrived in Paris as a child some 22 years ago, and started attending the afterschool programs offered at the non-profit organization. At a meeting in the quartier after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, native French residents were stating that immigrants must integrate into the neighborhood and French society. This woman stood up and admonished the crowd, telling them that in the 22 years she has lived here, she has never once been invited into a French home. She asked how such integration is supposed to occur when there is such a distance between native French people and immigrants.

In an upcoming post, I will discuss how the French Minister of Education, herself an immigrant from Morocco, has addressed, since the January attacks, the role that she sees schools playing in this integration of immigrants.