Christmas in Paris

Hello all and Happy New Year! This will be the beginning of several posts as I recount my adventures with my sister. So, I will start off the series with my reflections written in my journal as I traveled to Paris to meet Sarah. Direct from my journal:

Le 24 Decembre
Saw 10 swans in between Marennes and Rochefort...always in pairs. Also saw several nests high up in power lines. Looked as if they belonged to eagles. I wonder...do swans nest in trees or on the ground? On my way to Paris to see Sarah! Merry Christmas!
Later...
I don't know how much more of this insufferable techno music I can take. It've lost count of the number of cheap cheesy santas I've seen suspended from rooftops and windows...must be well over 20 by now.
On the train...
There is a super creepy old man sitting across the aisle from me! He keeps staring at me! I thought he got off at Poitiers, but he magically reappeared after I fell asleep. He keeps looking across the aisle out of my window even though he has his own window and since its dark outside, you can't see anything except for reflections meaning that he is staring at my reflection! Ew! I keep catching him staring at me and he straightens up real quick and pretends to look somewhere else every time. I just want to yell at him..."Why do you keep staring at me!?!"

Le 25 Decembre
I've become a most excellent liar. I've already told innumerable lies today, jut to protect my personal safety. I made the mistake of telling the truth this morning at the tour eiffel. The old "do you speak English?" so i can hand you a card with my bosnian refugee story on it. (There are so many of these women and they all have exactly the same story...its just not possible). When approached by these bosnian women, I just pretended that I didn't speak english, and pulled it off pretty well. Then when the guys selling the mini eiffel towers attacked with cries of "pretty lady!" I gave them a cold Parisian "Non, merci." They always target me because I'm too tall to be French. The last straw this morning was a crazy Moroccan guy who accosted me as I attempted to kill time until lunch by reading on a park bench. he started off by asking if he could speak with me while I obviously had no want of company as I was deeply immersed in my book. Well, he started off with the basics. What nationality are you, what is your job in France, etc, etc. Of course I was lying through my teeth. He wanted to know where I was staying...I gave him the other end of town from my hostel. He then asked if I was married and when I responded in the negative, he enthused, "me neither!". Uh oh. He proceeded to show me his passport, his cell phone, his visa, things you should never show to anyone! Anyhoo, I told him I had a boyfriend in La Rochelle. I'm such a liar. He then asked what I was going to be doing later and I said, "je vais disparaitre"..."I'm going to disappear". I've never been so blunt with anyone before. But he didn't get the hint. He wanted me to accompany him to the eiffel tower tower but there was no way in this lifetime or the next that I was going to do that. He then got desperate and told me that so "jolie" and "belle". But to no avail. He finally left me alone to enjoy my book in peace. At the lunch at Ginger's apartment (the youth pastor at the american church of paris), I got along rather well with everyone and thoroughly enjoyed myself. We had a hodge-podge of chili, german bread, romanian cabbage rolls, okra, and australian ham bread...maybe it was mexican...I can't remember. Anyways, i ate far too much but had several good conversations with people from all around the world. There was a mexican woman who spoke english with an australian accent having lived there for years, romanians, new zealanders, a girl from Cameroon...we were a very diverse group. I made good friends with one of the New Zealanders, Roxy. We spent Christmas night by walking the entire length of the champs-elysees (the lights are fantastic! and so are the crowds!) We bought waffles and ate them as we walked to Place de la Concord. From there we took the metro to Haussman where we looked at the decorated shop windows at Printemps and Galleries LaFayette. I am soo going shopping in La Rochelle during the soldes (sales) in January! Anyhoo, had a most satisfactory night, returned to the hostel, made friends with the Canadian woman in my room, and fell into an hour or so long conversation with her. I spoke French for the majority of the conversation until I learned that she could speak English and the we switched over. The old man who stayed in our room was perfectly polite and respectful...except for the fact that he snored like Satan. And then the weird Spanish guy woke up and left at 5 AM, and then my mom called called at 6 AM to say that Sarah's flight had been delayed by 3 hours. So yeah...a most interesting Christmas.