La vie Quotidienne

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Today I bought a frying pan. And yesterday I did my laundry. It's funny how the tiniest things here become a big deal, like buying laundry detergent. I went into my local Fontprix market and found the cleaning supply corner, because here there are corners, not aisles, and faced the wall of what appeared to be laundry detergent. I spotted bottles of what was obviously detergent, as there were images of children in bright colors with grass stains and food stains disappearing from the clothes, but those bottle cost about 10 Euros a piece, and that's a bit much for my student budget. The powders were cheaper, but I don't like powders because sometimes they don't rinse well and make it look like you have a horrible case of dandruff. So then I was left looking at prices, and picked up the cheapest bottle. As I was about to leave the corner, I realized that this bottle had a picture of an infant on it and said "peau sensible" (sensitive skin), so it was probably a fabric softener. Back to the aisle, where I surveyed prices but then I realized that I had no idea what was fabric softener and what was detergent and was left reading labels from bottle to bottle to try and teach myself this vocabulary. Eventually i just asked a man who was in the corner with me, in terrible broken, exhausted French "Excuse me sir, I am new here and don't speak much french. Is this soap for to make clean the clothes, or to make things ..umm.. (here I gestured at my sweater in an approximation of softness)?" He responded in french my exhausted mind could not comprehend "I want for soap for make clean the clothes, not expensive", and he gruffly placed a bottle of cheap detergent in my hands "Thank you much sir." He happened to be behind me in the check out line later and proceeded to tell me very slowly and with much gesturing that I only need to use a little bit because it is concentrated. I've always believed that help is there for those in need. Especially if you ask. Luckily there was another helpful gentleman at the laundromat, though figuring out the machines proved to be much easier than buying the detergent. I am still glad he was there to help though, and we chatted a bit about where to find things in this neighborhood that regular people can afford.

I am living in the 16th arrondisement of Paris, a very chic, rich and safe neighborhood. Just down the street is Rue de Passy, a big shopping street full of those designer stores that you know rent must be outrageous yet they still keep it very empty inside, as though to say "we don't even need to show people our goods for them to buy them, because they are just that expensive and if you need to see them you obviously aren't rich enough to afford them." Everyone you see on the street is either very wealthy or works for the very wealthy, there are many other nannies like myself wandering around this district. Though I'm not really a nanny, really just a babysitter, but hey, I'm not complaining. An apartment for 5 hours of work a week is fine by me! Let's me afford little luxuries, like food and laundry.

Speaking of food, there is a marvelous outdoor market every Sunday right by the Bastille metro stop. Many times bigger than the Thursday market in Chico, this one has everything! Fruit and vegetables of course, very fresh and cheap, as well as meats, cheeses, gourmet items like olive oils and vinegars, honey, little bakery stands with tartines and bread, clothes, sewing supplies, scarves, purses, you name it. I bought food and a frying pan today there today. On the left side, everything is a bit more organized and gourmet, on the right side it is cheaper and much more chaotic with vendors barking out prices and people pushing around each other to get to the peaches or garlic or what have you. I much prefer the right side. After market today I visited the Louvre, as all national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. I really enjoyed just wandering around, letting my attention be caught by different things, as I knew going in that there was no way I was going to be able to even try and see everything. I really love the "Winged Victory" standing over the stairs leading up to the 2nd level, presiding over the roman statues below. Quite powerful. I hope to have time to get to know this museum a bit during my year here. In the mean time, I am going to continue to practice my French and try to learn at least the basic vocabulary for everyday things, like detergent.

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Photos

Chambre de Bonne
My tiny, sunny room.