Colocation

By far the worst part about Paris is that the metro stops running by 2am. This makes it really difficult to be a young person without a car and without an unlimited budget for cabs because nightlife stuff doesn't really even begin happening until 12:30 or 1. Thus, the dilemma of weekend nights. Tonight, a DJ (and former member of the Roots) named Questlove was playing at a place called the Cabaret Sauvage, and a friend and I really wanted to go.

Inside the venue. I did not take this picture...

We met up, went in, and sat around during the opener, and then went to see the main event. It was awesome! He played such great music and we both could have stayed all night, but at 1:15 we decided we should probably start heading back so we could catch our respective trains. My friend was taking the RER (basically the equivalent of Chicago's Metra) so I walked her to her station and then continued onto my own a couple blocks away. The venue was in the 19eme, which is on the outskirts of Paris and quite far from where I live. Also to be honest, the neighborhood was not that great. There was a lot of construction and it was not very well lit. I hurried to try and get there as soon as possible because I wasn't sure exactly when the last train would leave. Unfortunately, when I got back into the train station I saw that I had missed the last train by 3 minutes. Aaaarrrhhhh...I was a bit panicked, because I didn't really know what to do. It was too far and unsafe to walk, I don't know the bus routes, and I had no idea where to find the nearest Taxi stand. I walked back out of the subway, and started towards a more well-lit area about 2 blocks away. There were a number of bus stops and luckily I spotted a Taxi stand. Hooray! There was another woman waiting there, about 30ish looking, and she asked if I had a lighter. I said no, and about 7 minutes later a Taxi pulled up. She looked at me standing alone in this sketchy neighborhood and asked if I wanted to split the cab with her. Having no idea when the next cab would come and having literally no other options, I thought it over for a second but eventually said sure and hopped in. She introduced herself as Julia and asked where I was from (my accent definitely needs work, apparently!). I said DC and that I was studying here for the semester. We proceeded to chat a bit with the driver (who scolded me for being alone in that neighborhood late at night, oops) and then we got to her street. She paid her share of the cab and on her way out gave me her business card with her name and number and an invitation if I ever wanted to "buvez un verre." It was so, so refreshing to meet such a kind person. I feel like with all of the instruction I've been getting during orientation about cultural differences and all that, I've kind of forgotten that the French are just...people. There are some mean ones and some nice ones, and although their culture may be a little bit more formal than what I am used to it doesn't mean that I can't be my friendly self and also encounter nice people.

Now, I realize this situation could have gone very poorly and as I know that you're reading this, parents, I promise to be more careful next time and either get to the train on time or at least scout out the nearest Taxi stand beforehand. But meeting Julia was so great (she's a photographer!), and the rest of the way home the Taxi driver proceeded to ask me questions about English (how do you say, "j'habite" in English?) and I had to spell out each word for him as he kept thinking that "live" was spelled l-e-v-e. That accent, man. He also taught me the French word for when two people live together in an apartment and both pay rent - c'est le colocation. Sort of an English cognate, but I had never heard the term before and only really knew how to say "roommate" which isn't exactly correct as Charlotte and I each have our own rooms. Anyways, it was a very enjoyable, helpful lesson, and I tipped him quite a bit. I've been a bit wrapped up in the bubble of Sarah Lawrence and orientation and being alone in a new city and all that lately, and the cab ride tonight reminded me of why it's so great to go out in a city -- so you can meet people who will teach you things.