Paris Weekend

Vendredi, j’ai quitte la Guinee. Il commencait a etre temps ! J’ai tellement eu d’embetement logistiques a l’hotel, que je pense que ca commencais serieusement a affecter ma sante mentale. Entre une clim aleatoire, un degat d’eau a l’etage superieur, des bonnes qui m’enlevait mon materiel de cuisine tous les jours, et un chauffe-eau qui a explose (3 minutes apres ma douche!), j’avoue que je commencais a avoir la poisse…

On Friday, I left Guinee. It was about be time! I had so much logistic troubles at the hotel, I think it was literally driving me crazy ! Between random a/c, water flood from the superior floor, a maid which removed my kitchen tools dayly, and a water-heater which exploded (3 minutes after my shower!), I acknowledge that I was starting to be jinxed...

Jusqu'à la derniere minute, la malchance a colle a ma peau. A l’heure ou j’ecris ce message, je n’ai toujours pas mon bagage, reste a Conakry en raison d’un probleme technique de chargement.

Until the last minute, bad luck stuck to my skin. As I write this message, I still do not have my luggage, which remained in Conakry because of a technical loading problem.

Je suis donc arrivee a Paris le samedi matin, a 6h30 (heure o combien barbare!) Je devais contacter ma tante qui vit en banlieue, mais, timide, j’ai attendu 9h pour la contacter. Mal m’en a pris car a cette heure, tous etaient sortis, ne m’attendant pas ailleurs que la semaine suivante. J’ai donc eu tout loisir de m’installer dans ce petit hotel de Montmartre que j’avais reserve (chambre grande comme un mouchoir de poche, mais quel plaisir d’etre a Paris!) et de me promener a Paris avec S., une amie de longue date dont les vacances coincidaient avec mon passage a Paris. Nous avons descendu les Champs Elyses, paresse au Tuileries, et traverse la place de la Concorde. J’ai meme eu l’occasion de revoir la Tour Eiffel. C’est peut-etre un peu stereotype, mais j’etais bien contente de revoir sa silhouette. J’en ai profite, d’ailleurs, pour acheter un appareil photos… Je vais enfin pouvoir vous regaler !

• Au Jardin des Tuileries avec S et son cousin
• (at the Tuileries Gardens, Hanging out with S and her cousin)

I thus arrived in Paris on Saturday morning, at 6:30AM (O barbarian hour!) I was to contact my aunt who lives in the ‘burbs, but, being my usual shy self, I waited for 9AM to contact her. That was a poor calculation on my part, because at this hour, all had left, not awaiting me until the following week. I thus had the leisure to get installed in this small hotel of Montmartre which I had reserved (a room like a pocket handkerchief, but what pleasure to be in Paris!) and to walk around in Paris with S., an old friend whose holidays coincided with my passage in Paris. We walked down the Champs Elyses, loitered at the Tuileries Gardens, and crossed the Place de la Concorde. I also had the occasion to see the Eiffel Tower again. It may be a stereotype, but I was quite satisfied to see her silhouette again. I also took advantage of being in Paris to buy a camera... I’ll finally be able to treat y’all to some Beaver pics !

Ce qui m’a le plus plu, dans tout cela, c’est de marcher librement dans Paris. Un mois encabane, c’est pas tellement drole. Il va falloir que je trouve des solutions a long terme.

• Vue du Jardin des Tuileries
• View in the Tuileries Gardens

What pleased me the most was to be able to walk freely in Paris. Spending a month locked up in a hotel insn’t too much fun. In the long-term, it will be necessary that I find solutions.

Dimanche matin, j’ai ete reveille par un coup de fil de ma tante qui etait finalement rentree chez elle. Heureusement, mon vol vers l’Afrique du Sud etait en fin de soiree. J’ai donc pris le train de banlieue pour rejoindre ma famille. C’est agreable de se retrouver entre personnes familieres, de retrouver la chaleur de nos intimes, quand on est souvent solitaire en pays etranger. J’ai meme eu l’occasion de rencontrer (et dans certains cas, retrouver) des amis de la famille que je n’avais pas revu depuis bien longtemps.

• Ma tante, juste avant de partir de l'aeroport
• My aunt, just before leaving for the airport

Sunday morning, I was woken up by a phone call from my aunt who was finally back home. Fortunately, my flight towards South Africa was at the end of the evening. So I took the suburban train to join my family. It was good to find myself amongst familiar people, to feel the heat of close friends, when one is usually solitary in foreign countries. I also had the occasion to meet (and in certain cases, to meet again) friends of the family, which I had not seen since quite a long time.

Finalement, mon weekend a ete parfaitement equilibre. Sans compter le bien qu’il a fait a mon equilibre mental.

Finally, my weekend was perfectly balanced. Not counting the good it did for my mental balance..

Me voilà arrivee lundi matin saine et sauve (mais sans bagages) a Johannesburg. Une nouvelle aventure commence…

So here I am on Monday morning, safe and sound, (but without luggage) in Johannesburg. A new adventure starts...

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Mise a jour : Mon bagage est arrive (entier et en un seul morceau) hier a l'hotel!

Update : My luggage arrived yesterday at the hotel (complete and in one piece!)

The Beaver


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