Checking Out of France

All of a sudden it's my last few hours in France. Wow that happened fast! I've been living in Versailles for almost 7-weeks now and outside the US for 75 days. My conversational French is where I hoped it would be at this point, however, you have been warned; my English has suffered.

My return flight goes from Orly Airport, Paris to JFK, New York on August 5th. With the time in between then and now, I've come up with a little surprise... I'm going to Poland! I'll finally get to see Jan's hometown of Gdansk as well as Warsaw before my flight back to the US. Despite the stories I've heard from Jan, I'm looking forward to seeing a very different part of the EU.

Before departing on this next leg, I wanted to share a few photos. First the post-card ones, because it's undeniable: Paris is a romantic city.

14 Juillet at the Champs de Mars

14th Juillet at the Champs de Mars

The Tuileries on a Sunny Day

L'Opera

Escargot and Bordeaux

Concert at Saint Chapelle Chapel

Full Moon on the Seine

Aron and Matt, Melissa's friends who came to visit from Maine.

On the French Education System:
In the '80's, a survey went out that showed the majority of French youth did not understand what it was like to work in the field they were academically pursuing. As a result, the French education system instituted mandatory 'stages' or internships built into the entire curriculum, from the beginning of high school through college and professional programs. Every young person in France must work with a organization, company or workplace that is registered to accept stagiers. The amount of time and money associated with each stage depends on your level of education but most range between 2-weeks or 1-month, free to minimum wage, with everyone turning over at the end of the month. We saw two waves of stagiers work at the garden. Each time we watched the the full-time gardeners teach skills and cope with different personalities. It reminded me of the mandatory year of service Obama proposed that was quickly shot down in the US. As you can imagine, it is very a controversial system in France as well.  

At first, life in Versailles was defined mostly around our 8-hour work day in the fields. When our boss inquired as to whether we were okay and why we weren't taking more time off, we decided to expand our definition of 'work' to include reviews at the ENSP, trips to museums, and cultural experiences e.g. shopping at Printemps. I guess the goal of our appointment was more cultural than work-related.Here are some of the parts of what makes Versailles such a landmark for the French.

The Chateau Orangerie

The Grande Trianon

The Petit Trianon

The Potager du Roi

The 4th-Year ENSP Studio