The class went to the Musée d’Orsay. What an amazing museum – I’ll be spending a lot more time there. They have Manet’s Olympia and Déjeuner and Courbet’s Burial at Ornans and L’origine du monde. Très magnifique!

These lucky elementary-aged children were given a lecture on the Birth of Venus. Consider what this situation would be like in the States.









On my return home from class I had a sexual harrassment incident in the subway station. I was walking with Kathryn and a man passing in the opposite direction brushed his hand against the inside of my thigh, surely by accident. The crowd was moving fast so I only had the time to turn my head and stare him down. He got a piece of that, too.

These sort of occurrences aren't nearly as rare as they are in the States. A few days prior I had a man press himself against me in the subway during rush hour. I passed a homeless man masturbating, fortunately facing the wall, in another subway station. On several different occasions, other girls in the group have been flashed by men, even in public areas in the middle of the afternoon. Apparently sexual dynamics are very different here than they are in the States. They feel that way, too.

Update: The next Saturday, I was standing on board a relatively busy train. I felt something pressing against the outside of my thigh, not thinking much of it until it moved onto my crotch. I gave the man a terrible look, he apologized, and I got off the train. He followed me through the subway station onto the next platform, trying to talk to me the whole way. He eventually left after I started waving my arms about and shouting, clearly agitated and definitely making a scene.

Lunch: A chicken and tomato sandwich from a deli-sort of restaurant in the Passy and Trocadero vicinity.

Dinner: I received sliced, raw artichoke for our appetizer, but Mika and ma mère had avocado. (Howard has since told me that this was most likely an honor. The French don't find avocado particularly exotic.) For the main course we had a dish with meat. Chicken, duck, rabbit, who could guess at this point. I feel rude asking night after night what kind of meat we are served.

Verifiable Observation: Sliced tomatoes are pinker here than they are in the States. They are also a lot more juicy and flavorful.

Song: Mirah - The Struggle