Things I wish I could remember...

The occasion of Vero's imminent trip to Paris has inspired me to think back to the time I worked as an English teacher in Paris. The photo is of Rue St. Andre des Arts. I lived about 15 seconds away from what the picture displays. At the time, the lovely space invader had yet to, ahem, invade.

Thing is, I realize that there are a number of things I can't remember about my time in Paris. Google is hopeless when you're trying to find out about "that language school that would serve English folks copious amounts of alcohol and take them out for 2 hour long free lunches of Sushi or French cuisine as long as they spoke English to executives who were looking to jumpstart their language acquisition." A girl named Mariah, who worked in film and had a lovely party one night at her apartment right near the Arc de Triomphe , was the organizer of these wonderful lunch affairs. I found a postcard from her whilst cleaning this evening...wonder what she's up to. I also wonder what Mr. Maurice, who at the time was the acting sous-prefet of Paris as well as being one of my students, is doing these days. The man had the nicest office I've ever seen in my life. I got to help him with English terms and concepts that would be helpful at cocktail parties. In exchange, he'd translate the jokes in Le Canard Enchaine for me.

Fun fun fun--but not as fun as the day I decided to bow down to every craving I had for pastry. I think I had about 12 patisserie treats over a 24-hour period. Then again, what started out as the best idea in the world, ended in a fit of indigestion that wasn't equalled until a particularly bad day in Ethiopia, six years later.

I don't normally get so nostalgic, so, if you've indeed read this, thanks for obliging me...