back to Paris routine

Returned to the Paris routine today. School, test, note-taking, sandwiches on the go for lunch, etc. Same routine but totally different Paris. The city has completely transformed since I've been gone. I used to look out my balcony and see the gardens, but now all I can see is treetops (not too bad). It's also hot in Paris. Well, not quite hot yet, but very warm...almost 80 degrees today. I discovered that my gym doesn't really have air conditioning, or at least they don't think it's hot enough to turn it on. The only good part about this was that for the first time in my stay, almost everyone in the gym was sweating, even just a little bit. Some people were actually sweating profusely, something I have very rarely seen.

Tonight the fam and I ate dinner outside on the terrace. Despite its incredible length (nearly two hours...finishing at 11:20 when I realized I needed to start working or something like that), the meal was great. It's nice to be back with the Beguins. Earlier this evening M. Beguin knocked on my door (super awkward since I was in a towel and couldn't really express this to him). However I answered anyways and he was standing there with the baby just to say hi. It was super adorable. The whole crowd was there for dinner, except for Jean who was off with his girlfriend, and we had company. The baby cried a lot during the meal, and it was amusing to watch Marie and Julien talkabout/take care of him. I haven't been around new parents that much in family contexts, but it's very amusing to observe them. They are like big kids with a baby, especially Julien, who whines and complains lots about him. Not in a bad way, just in the complaining way that seems typical of the young French. I wish I understood his comments well enough to translate them, but he's super difficult to understand as he mumbles and talks super fast. He's super argumentative and loves to debate and share his opinions. Tonight the conversation went to politics, of course, and then Julien and Mme. Beguin got into a debate about religion. She said she's not a believer (that's a direct translation...I'm not sure what the nuances of it are and if she simply is not religious) but she thinks people should raise their children with a church for the ritual, social experience, opportunity, etc. Julien, from what I could grasp, was not at all in agreement and totally opposed to the church. I zoned out of the conversation after a few minutes, as did the rest of the table. The guest, a friend of Mme. Beguin, kept conversation going with me and M. Beguin and was very interesting to talk to (she's traveled all over the world and has lots to say in general). She told me that her and Mme. Beguin met through the parents association at the high school down the street, and apparently Mme. Beguin was the PTO prez for several years. She informed me however, that there are two parent associations at the schools: one for politically left parents and one for the right (Mme. Beguin was prez of the right-wing association). I asked her why the association was divided like that, and she didn't really know herself...all she said was that everything is political in Paris. Seeing as all I have heard about since I got home has been the elections, it kind of makes sense.