Today started off
good, turned bad, then had a happy ending. I guess it's safe to say that at
this point of the trip this should be expected 😂.
What I really should say is that your day will be filled with so many
unexpected experiences, some good and some bad. Some preventable and some not.
What I suggest is to always make the best of it and not allow it to ruin your
entire day, your week, or your thoughts about the city.
Today I slept in and
headed to the city to enjoy a diner we found yesterday that serves pancakes and
waffles. Although we've been encouraged to always try new things on this trip,
I believe every now and again having something that reminds you of home is
needed. Unfortunately, the diner was open but no one wanted to serve us. The
staff was downstairs doing only God knows what while we stood upstairs waiting
to be served. One person from our group even went to the staircase and spoke to
one of the staff members who acknowledged her but still never came to serve us.
After about 20 minutes we left and found a crape stand and ate there. By is
time it was time to travel across the city to meet Dr. V and the rest of our
group.
Someway we got
turned around and lost and needed instructions. I pulled out my phone and
translated how to say " Hello, I'm looking for the Saint Paul's
stop." Now I don't know French fluently, but as a vocal music major I had
to sing in it for four years. I know how to pronounce things and make it sound
correct so I stood off to the side and practiced this phrase for about 2
minutes. According to the teachers Parisians will help you if you attempt to
speak the language so I was determined to try. I approached the help desk, smiled,
and said the phrase and the attendant without hesitation started giving me
directions, but in French. He was speaking so fast and pointing to this map,
circling things, and pointing...I didn't have the heart to say I didn't
understand. I must have said this phrase too convincingly because he didn't
realize I wasn't following him until he handled me the map with his directions
on it and seen my phone with the translated phase still on the screen. He then
gave me instructions in English. 
We made it to our
destination, had lunch with Dr. V, then experienced something unexpected. We
discovered that the French planned to conduct a protest. This caused an issue
for my partner and I because we planned to do research in that area. We went
searching for a skate shop when we turned the corner and seen an area that was
filled with police and swat teams with guns out. The street we needed had been
blocked off, stores were closing, the glass had been removed from the bus stop’s
advertising. This area had an eerie silence and I knew that we needed to get
out of it quickly. We started speed walking to the train station only to find
it closed due to the protest. We decided to head in another direction using
"Maps2Go" which is an app that allows you to use a map of an area
offline. While speed walking we passed two ladies who were speaking English. I
asked them where they were from and both said Utah. I told them that I too was
an American and advised them to leave the area. They thanked me and stared
speed walking as well.
We found a working
train station and got on a train. We were headed to another part of town when
the gentleman next to me started patting his pockets. He immediately started
cursing and screaming about how someone had pick pocketed him. Basically, from
the time he swiped to get into the station to the time he got on the train he
had been pick pocketed. By this time, I was upset and needed to get to an area
I felt I could let my guard down. We decided to end research and just went back
to the school. My nerves were bad, I was in a bad mood, and I just wanted to go
home. I ended up falling asleep and woke to messages from students stating they
wanted to go see the Eiffel Tower. Although I was still shaken by the day's
events I went. Seeing the tower light up at night made me forget some of the
day's events. It caused me to remember that I was in Paris, and yes it's
dangerous, but all cities are dangerous. You have to take the good with the bad
and just be careful and aware of your surroundings. Tomorrow is a new day and
with that the chance to have a great experience. 