Last night I woke up once at about 6:30 which is a good sign that I'm overcoming the jetlag and getting onto french time. I'm doing the very best at changing over than I have ever done before. I was supposed to try and make it to the American Embassy by 9am when it opened but instead I left at 9 and arrived about an hour later. The RER is a good ride. I sat there not smiling- for sure, and not talking or making any eye contact. This seems to be totally uncouth while full on staring is permitted. A black woman diagonally from me sat coughing and sounding like a smoker- like so many french, and I watched her pull a small but thick red book from her large purse. She began to read. The pages were a little dog-eared at the corners and she was only about a half-inch into it. After a few moments the page flipped up and I saw the word "Exode" (Exodus). I was so stoked...I had wondered if it was a Bible but didn't say anything. I just thought to myself: how curious that I would find a sister on my ride into town in such a spiritually starved place. She must have come from farther out than I, at least Torcy- which is the stop after mine.



As I rode I worked at orienting myself. As a child I learned that Right was on one side of the chalkboard from where Mrs. Nabozne stood and Left was to the other side. And to follow that, North was the same as Right and South was the same as Left. New York would then be behind me and Hawaii was straight ahead even though it was so much farther south. This is how I perceived direction and I have always functioned on it. It took me 5 or more years to orient myself in Portland OR and now I have to do it in Paris. Paris is so far inland and I have no landmarks that easily identify direction so I'm working on setting my internal compass according to the red RER line A4. If I ride the metro toward Paris, I'm going West- toward the Pacific Ocean and if I ride it out, I'm headed for Russia. I am so mixed up but today! TODAY- I had a faint glimmer of compass coinciding alignment. It quickly vanished though as I tried to harness it. I'll try again tomorrow.



As I approached Paris and my connecting station I decided I didn't want to have to get my little maps out of my purse so I gutted it- following the crowd like a dumb sheep. I did pause in front of a formal map to locate my next stop and make the correct connection. When I came out the stairs, I was at the right spot and marched myself right up to the American Embassy. The french guards did a thourough search of my bag and removed my little knife, collected it and gave me a card in exchange. This was goose-chase # 3 that the French officials have sent me on in 48 hours. The nice lady promptly send me on #4 so as to keep the momentum of whatever they started. Non, of course she couldn't give me my original birth certificate. I had to pay to get one made and sent to me or I could have a family member send it- BUT, it needed to be authorized specially. What? She handed me a bunch of papers and sent me off to collect my lilly knife from a french guard who wondered when I'd be coming back. Fat chance, buddy!



My next stop was not on the metro but a very brisk, long walk up the Champs d'Elysees. There was an incredible police presence and as I approached what must be a very official building I noted the Russian Flag displayed boldly along side the French flag. Putin is in town talking to Chirac about Iraq and the US. I saw a cartoon in a paper that showed Rumsfeld advising Bush to just declare war on Saddam and "old Europe" and show them that we mean business while Putin and Chirac whisper in the background. These attitudes help me keep my mouth shut as a foreigner in a rocky time. I walked all the way to the great round about and over a couple streets and weaved my way up to my school to register. I payed and filled out the few papers and looked at a schedule. I'll start March 3 at 20hours a week. Its looking good so far. I was able to grab the A4 RER back out to Lognes for a lunch with Karen.


Everything is going to work out. I know that each day has enough worries of its own. Today we worked out two of them. My "authorized" birth certificate wasn't such a big deal and mom has sent it on its way. School is ready and tomorrow I can work at turning this little home into a cozy place.