So, I have to do a documentary on myself for a media class I’m taking. This means, of course, that it’ll be focused on my training because I am utterly and irrevocably mired in parkour.
I’ll be filming myself training over the next few weeks. Going to be addressing a ton of mental block and general fear issues, analyzing technique (aka tearing it apart, heh), addressing all my weaknesses and document the mental and physical progression. I’m coming out of a down period in training right now, so it’ll definitely be interesting for me to watch and hopefully for you all too.
Keep a look out for some snippets that’ll be coming out in the next few weeks! 'Till then, happy training!!!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
It's My Parkour Birthday!!!!
Today, October 6th, 2008 is my first birthday within the parkour universe. One year ago, I was feeling very nervous, very anxious and very excited because I was on my way to see David Belle and officially begin my training. I don't think I could have picked a better day to start training if I tried! The sun was shining, the weather was unusually warm for October, and to top it off, David Belle was there. I had never been to a jam before, much less a training day and demo for the New Yorker Festival. Over 50 people showed up to participate. I was the only woman and I felt really, really alone. I tried my best, though, did what I could, and it was a fantastic 2 days.
The famous photo... I won’t lie, I cringe every time I see that footage from the New Yorker video, but with more distance, I’m surprised I wasn’t more intimidated considering that I had guys literally flying over my head, hurling themselves over vault boxes that I was struggling to simply lift myself onto top of. There were three professional camera people filming, an audience which included more able-bodied traceurs, reporters and over one hundred spectators (many of whom were little girls), and on top of all that, David (or “the guru,” as Dino jokingly calls him) was pacing around, watching everyone. Despite all of that, I nonchalantly tuned everything out and concentrated on my body and what I was doing. In addition, I pretty much got a personal training session with both David and Dino for a few minutes, which felt really special. Dino later told me that he and David had talked the night before and knew how hard it was for me to come out and do this when I had never trained before. Any other struggle that I was going through was neutralized by that comment because I didn’t feel alone anymore.
Me and David
Dino from PK One in Germany and my brother Paul
Two months after the New Yorker Event, I left the country for the first time (with the exception of Canada). I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at peace than when I was in Thailand. I did a tiny bit of rural training there, but I was really feeling the cultural differences in the food! I lost 10 pounds off my already small frame, so training was minimal. When I think of Thailand, I feel 2 things, the first is hunger and the second is nostalgia. It was a really touristy trip, so I plan on living there for a while in the near future.
Sawatdee Kha!
I started having the Ladies’ Jams in Central Park in early February, shortly before Stephane Vigroux, Dan Edwardes and Chris Keighley of Parkour Generations came over with Julie Angel for a day of training. Good training and great conversations were had, and I’m very happy I missed class for it!
In May I found myself on a 14 hour bus ride to Columbus, Ohio for a 4 day long event with Parkour Horizons and Parkour Generations. I met Kazuma, Forrest and Johann Vigroux for the first time, and caught up with Stephane, Dan and Julie, along with the Ohio guys, Tyson, Jereme, Levi and a bunch of other American traceurs. It was a really hard few days, but I got some good training in and made awesome friends!
Dan, Stephane, Forrest, Kazuma and Johann with some of the ladies
From late June to early August, I lived in Paris while studying French and training parkour. A little trip to Lisses was a serious highlight, as well as the mental strength that comes from training alone, but then also the brother and sisterhood that comes from training with others.
After that, a measly 5 days was spent in London, mostly sick, but I did get the chance to take 2 classes with PK Gen, which was pretty incredible.
So...it's been a hell of a year. I attempted to give myself the best possible start in parkour, and I think that did a pretty good job: Thailand, France, London, David Belle, Stephane and Johann Vigroux, Kazuma, Dan Edwardes, Forrest...the list goes on. I've made incredible friends and deeply thank everyone who helped make this year what it was.
One year ago, I was showing my parents and brothers Speed Air Man and the UF3 Documentary on Stephane. One year later, I've met them and have been to those places. When Steph came to New York in February, he spoke to us about all the investment you have to give of yourself to really be good in Parkour. The older I get in this discipline, the more I understand that, and the more I want to give of myself. I want to get to a good level and be able to transmit all the knowledge I've been given back to those who want to learn. All of that is for the future, though. As for right now, what's next? Too soon to tell, but one thing I'm sure of is this: I'm going to keep training.
Train hard, train safe, train with conviction and passion, in the right spirit and always for the right reasons.
Thanks so much to everyone I've met over the past year. Lots more training and adventures to be had and many more people to meet. 'Till then, keep training and respect!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
RAAAHR!!!
Haven't forgotten about this thing, promise...
Got some gymnastics rings in today, so that will provide endless hours of fun and torture.
Trained with my brother the other day for the first time in a long while. Did variations of money movement through the yard and around the front of the house, so that was interesting for the neighbors to see. I found myself yelling at him in french a fair bit, which was fun. I tend to bust his chops because he is a bit of a weekend-warrior, but he does make a good effort. Gotta give him that.
Some interesting and exciting things are in the works for the near future, so I'll update accordingly.
'Till then, happy training!!
Got some gymnastics rings in today, so that will provide endless hours of fun and torture.
Trained with my brother the other day for the first time in a long while. Did variations of money movement through the yard and around the front of the house, so that was interesting for the neighbors to see. I found myself yelling at him in french a fair bit, which was fun. I tend to bust his chops because he is a bit of a weekend-warrior, but he does make a good effort. Gotta give him that.
Some interesting and exciting things are in the works for the near future, so I'll update accordingly.
'Till then, happy training!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Trip Reflection...
After a solid week of decompression back home, I find myself remembering my intentions for this trip. It began simply enough, only 2 goals: learn a bit more French and train. Did I accomplish those 2 things? Yes, but it is the in-between stuff that made it all the more enjoyable…
I didn’t realize that I would end up spending the entire month of July training in Paris totally alone. It was really, really difficult to train in a new environment, trying to find good spots in a foreign country where I don’t really speak the language, all while utilizing my time efficiently, which is a major weakness for me.
No one that I was studying with knew of parkour, so many people in my program were very interested in me and my training, but they weren’t coming from a positive place. We have all had experiences with this type of person, “that looks easy, blah blah blah.” When I had no other traceurs or traceuses to relate to, though, that negative mentality really broke me down. I was really frustrated and angry, even though I knew it didn’t matter, all that mattered was my training. One big mental break that I had was just not caring what anyone thought anymore. Stop explaining yourself and just train. Everything happens just when it needs to, in the order it needs to.
Much thanks, love and respect to the traceurs of Lisses and all the traceurs and traceuses in London, especially Dan, Forest, Julie, Annty, Brian and Alli. A longer trip is in the works for next summer, but as for right now? I have some work to do…..
Happy training, everyone!
I didn’t realize that I would end up spending the entire month of July training in Paris totally alone. It was really, really difficult to train in a new environment, trying to find good spots in a foreign country where I don’t really speak the language, all while utilizing my time efficiently, which is a major weakness for me.
No one that I was studying with knew of parkour, so many people in my program were very interested in me and my training, but they weren’t coming from a positive place. We have all had experiences with this type of person, “that looks easy, blah blah blah.” When I had no other traceurs or traceuses to relate to, though, that negative mentality really broke me down. I was really frustrated and angry, even though I knew it didn’t matter, all that mattered was my training. One big mental break that I had was just not caring what anyone thought anymore. Stop explaining yourself and just train. Everything happens just when it needs to, in the order it needs to.
Much thanks, love and respect to the traceurs of Lisses and all the traceurs and traceuses in London, especially Dan, Forest, Julie, Annty, Brian and Alli. A longer trip is in the works for next summer, but as for right now? I have some work to do…..
Happy training, everyone!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Thursday July 31st
After a very chilled out day of writing postcards, reflecting, and being sick, I went to the Indoor Class that Forest teaches. Special bonus was that Julie was there, so it was really nice to see 2 familiar faces after nearly 6 weeks of interacting with complete strangers. We began with a nice little "warm-up" which, in typical Forest-style, made me feel as if I were going to vomit. It was wonderful, haha! It began simple enough, just monkey walk 4 steps forward then 4 steps back. Because of the simplicity of it, though, I knew horrible things were coming....
Monkey walk 4 steps forward then back then stand. Next came what Forest just referred to as #2: crouch down, put your left hand in front of you pointing straight, right hand 90 degrees and a few inches away from the left hand. Jump, keeping your hands planted and swinging your legs toward your right hand, land, then jump back to the starting position and stand (shoddy description, but you probably know what I mean...). Then repeat from the opposite direction, and switch the hand placement, right is straight, left is 90. Stand, then monkey walk, #2 on each side but with a side monkey added to it, then stand. Then, monkey walking, #2 with side monkeys, and 10 praying monkeys (get into downward dog and put your forearms to the ground, then straighten back up again) and stand. Next, money walk, #2 with side monkeys, praying monkeys then 10 diving monkeys (do a praying monkey but keep the forearms down, bring your body down into plank, pop onto the hands and push up into the cobra, then reverse it all and end up in downward dog) and stand. Then (finally!!) repeat the whole thing with creeping monkeys added to the end (left hand a bit further forward and right a bit further back than normal monkey walking, when you go forward, have the right knee meet the outside of the right elbow, lower down so the left arm is in push up position. Move forward again, left knee meets the outside of the left elbow, right arm in push up position, same in the reverse. This was the last addition to the monkey work circuit, but then came the repetition! I don't know how much we repeated it, but it was a good amount. Forest's goal was to see us sweat...safe to say we were sweating. A lot.
Next, we sat legs forward, back straight, arms extended up and held it for 1 minute. I should probably point out that it wasn't 1 minute in real time, it was 1 minute in Forest time, which is in fact much longer than 1 actual minute. Then we switched the arms to the sides, parallel with our shoulders and held it. The important thing was that this was a group effort, because if 1 person dropped their arms or their back wasn't straight then everyone had to hold it longer.
We then moved on to some really good partner exercises and circuits. We separated into 4 groups for the 4 stations. The first one was pushups: 1 person bends slightly at the hips with a straight back, their partner has their hands on the ground and puts their feet on the person's thighs and does 10 pushups. Then we reversed roles and kept going until Forrest told us to switch. I probably did 40 pushups, so that's about 4 turns per person depending on how fast you were going. The next station was balance. There were 2 rubber balance things (flat on the bottom, rounded on top, probably has a name, but whatever) parallel to each other. We stood balancing on the balls of the feet, facing each other, arms in front of us with our palms against our partner's palms. Then we did squats while pushing each other's hands back and forth. The next station was a little circuit which I found to be particularly difficult as I am only now getting into my technical training. There was a tic tac over a gymnastics horse off a wall, then side monkey over a balance beam, go under the beam, then reverse vault over another horse, back under the beam and vault over another horse. The last station was just 3 consecutive side monkeys over vault boxes that were about 3.5 ft tall, and while you were in line waiting to go, to had to do a wall sit.
After that, we moved on to the warm down which consisted of some ab work and stretching. It really was a wonderful training session that I won't soon forget. Met some awesome people, got to see Forest and Julie again, and got to witness the spirit of the parkour community in London. It was very playful, but really really hard work. Much thanks and respect to everyone who was there, especially Alli Shelton who was my partner and Forrest for teaching a wonderful class!
Monkey walk 4 steps forward then back then stand. Next came what Forest just referred to as #2: crouch down, put your left hand in front of you pointing straight, right hand 90 degrees and a few inches away from the left hand. Jump, keeping your hands planted and swinging your legs toward your right hand, land, then jump back to the starting position and stand (shoddy description, but you probably know what I mean...). Then repeat from the opposite direction, and switch the hand placement, right is straight, left is 90. Stand, then monkey walk, #2 on each side but with a side monkey added to it, then stand. Then, monkey walking, #2 with side monkeys, and 10 praying monkeys (get into downward dog and put your forearms to the ground, then straighten back up again) and stand. Next, money walk, #2 with side monkeys, praying monkeys then 10 diving monkeys (do a praying monkey but keep the forearms down, bring your body down into plank, pop onto the hands and push up into the cobra, then reverse it all and end up in downward dog) and stand. Then (finally!!) repeat the whole thing with creeping monkeys added to the end (left hand a bit further forward and right a bit further back than normal monkey walking, when you go forward, have the right knee meet the outside of the right elbow, lower down so the left arm is in push up position. Move forward again, left knee meets the outside of the left elbow, right arm in push up position, same in the reverse. This was the last addition to the monkey work circuit, but then came the repetition! I don't know how much we repeated it, but it was a good amount. Forest's goal was to see us sweat...safe to say we were sweating. A lot.
Next, we sat legs forward, back straight, arms extended up and held it for 1 minute. I should probably point out that it wasn't 1 minute in real time, it was 1 minute in Forest time, which is in fact much longer than 1 actual minute. Then we switched the arms to the sides, parallel with our shoulders and held it. The important thing was that this was a group effort, because if 1 person dropped their arms or their back wasn't straight then everyone had to hold it longer.
We then moved on to some really good partner exercises and circuits. We separated into 4 groups for the 4 stations. The first one was pushups: 1 person bends slightly at the hips with a straight back, their partner has their hands on the ground and puts their feet on the person's thighs and does 10 pushups. Then we reversed roles and kept going until Forrest told us to switch. I probably did 40 pushups, so that's about 4 turns per person depending on how fast you were going. The next station was balance. There were 2 rubber balance things (flat on the bottom, rounded on top, probably has a name, but whatever) parallel to each other. We stood balancing on the balls of the feet, facing each other, arms in front of us with our palms against our partner's palms. Then we did squats while pushing each other's hands back and forth. The next station was a little circuit which I found to be particularly difficult as I am only now getting into my technical training. There was a tic tac over a gymnastics horse off a wall, then side monkey over a balance beam, go under the beam, then reverse vault over another horse, back under the beam and vault over another horse. The last station was just 3 consecutive side monkeys over vault boxes that were about 3.5 ft tall, and while you were in line waiting to go, to had to do a wall sit.
After that, we moved on to the warm down which consisted of some ab work and stretching. It really was a wonderful training session that I won't soon forget. Met some awesome people, got to see Forest and Julie again, and got to witness the spirit of the parkour community in London. It was very playful, but really really hard work. Much thanks and respect to everyone who was there, especially Alli Shelton who was my partner and Forrest for teaching a wonderful class!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tuesday July 28th
Last day in Paris!! Went to class for 2 hours in the morning and got my little diploma (go me!). My prof is really cool, I'll miss her. She is super sarcastic, talks really fast and makes fun of us all the time. Her choice nicknames for me were Miss Spiderman and Mademoiselle Yamakasi, ha! Did a bit of shopping today, went out to an utterly french dinner with my friends (bread, french onion soup, roasted chicken, then shared crepes suzette, creme brulee and chocolate cake). We went to a jazz club later that night, it was a pretty perfect evening. I packed 'till about 2:30 in the morning, then went to sleep. Had to be outside at 7:15 to catch my taxi to the train station. I think I am getting good at saying good-bye and leaving places in general. Wasn't too hard for me, but that doesn't mean that I won't miss them or Paris. Just sort of something that needs to happen, I guess.
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Wednesday July 29th
Got to the train station really early, which I was really happy about. I almost had a break down when I realized that none of the elevators were working and the escalator going up was broken. Fuck. It is probably important to note that I have 1 huge suitcase and 1 medium suitcase which weigh upwards of 150 lbs, plus a laptop bag, a tote bag filled with toiletries and a purse filled with notebooks and other such nonsense. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why the hell do I have so much stuff?! I didn't know what I would need before the trip, so I'll just chalk this up as a learning experience, albeit a very annoying one. Grr!
I just stared at the steps for about 5 minutes then started up. I had to throw the medium bag behind me, up 3 steps, then drag the huge suitcase up 2 steps, then throw the medium one again, then drag again. I am really stubborn and refused to make 2 trips, plus I just feel very paranoid that someone is going to take off with my bag as soon as I take my eyes/hands off of it (even though they are too heavy for anyone to run with). I got up the first section of stairs and was in PAIN. It was bad. I probably should have warmed up first, haha. 3 separate guys offered to help me carry my bags up the second flight, but I refused because I was pissed off and wanted the satisfaction of doing it myself.
Train ride was uneventful, I was very excited to see that no one was in the seat next to me, so I got to move to the window. Small victory, I choose to believe that it had something to do with dragging all that stuff up the stairs.
Got to London, took a taxi to the hotel, checked in and immediately took a shower and a nap. I woke up really hungry, so I walked to this huge mall about 15 minutes away and tried to find food and an adapter. I failed at the former, and ended up going to a McDonald's on the way back, I did get the adapter, though. Came back and was feeling really rotten, a cold has been brewing for the past week and now it is in full force! Took another nap, then re-packed my stuff as I got tired last night and just started throwing stuff in.
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Wednesday July 29th
Got to the train station really early, which I was really happy about. I almost had a break down when I realized that none of the elevators were working and the escalator going up was broken. Fuck. It is probably important to note that I have 1 huge suitcase and 1 medium suitcase which weigh upwards of 150 lbs, plus a laptop bag, a tote bag filled with toiletries and a purse filled with notebooks and other such nonsense. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why the hell do I have so much stuff?! I didn't know what I would need before the trip, so I'll just chalk this up as a learning experience, albeit a very annoying one. Grr!
I just stared at the steps for about 5 minutes then started up. I had to throw the medium bag behind me, up 3 steps, then drag the huge suitcase up 2 steps, then throw the medium one again, then drag again. I am really stubborn and refused to make 2 trips, plus I just feel very paranoid that someone is going to take off with my bag as soon as I take my eyes/hands off of it (even though they are too heavy for anyone to run with). I got up the first section of stairs and was in PAIN. It was bad. I probably should have warmed up first, haha. 3 separate guys offered to help me carry my bags up the second flight, but I refused because I was pissed off and wanted the satisfaction of doing it myself.
Train ride was uneventful, I was very excited to see that no one was in the seat next to me, so I got to move to the window. Small victory, I choose to believe that it had something to do with dragging all that stuff up the stairs.
Got to London, took a taxi to the hotel, checked in and immediately took a shower and a nap. I woke up really hungry, so I walked to this huge mall about 15 minutes away and tried to find food and an adapter. I failed at the former, and ended up going to a McDonald's on the way back, I did get the adapter, though. Came back and was feeling really rotten, a cold has been brewing for the past week and now it is in full force! Took another nap, then re-packed my stuff as I got tired last night and just started throwing stuff in.
Monday July 28th
I cut my oral comprehension workshop today so that I could head out on a solo expedition to try and find the Cinema Museum (tried and failed once before). I came up from the metro and was right near a stadium. My immediate reaction was, "Wow, great spot for parkour..." but as I was on a mission to find the museum and was wearing tight jeans, a shirt that was somewhat low-cut and no sports bra, I decided to keep looking for my museum instead of playing.
I spotted a little park that was on the side of the stadium and was following a sign for the museum when I saw someone in the distance do a pop vault over a wall and then a cat to the wall in front of it. Immediately peaked my attention because I haven't seen ANYONE doing any parkour-type exercise in Paris. It was definitely parkour, it had to be! So as I got a bit closer I saw another guy do the same thing, then another, then another. I thought, "I have hit the jackpot, I ran into some random traceurs training a circuit! I have to talk to them, I don't care how bad my french is!!"
So I walked over to a bench to watch them for a bit planning on talking to them when they took a break as I didn't want to interrupt their training. As I walk over there was a guy standing on a little wall sort of looking at me looking at them, so I smiled as I walked by, he returned the smile, whatevs. I got to my bench, started sipping my water and watched about 6 traceurs go through their circuit. It was really nice to see, they were doing tic tacs off of a tree to a little concrete wall about 5 feet away, then going to the next tree and repeating down the row of 4 or 5 times. There were a few concrete ping pong tables that they got over, 2 of them double konged it, one guy did a side sumi off, some of them just hopped up and then off. It looked like they had all been working for a while and were really tired!
I was watching them for about 2 minutes when something started to click...as they got closer to where I was sitting, I looked over at the guy who smiled at me as I walked past and realized that it was Chau and the guy leading the circuit was Laurent. How random is that?!
So when they went on their water break, I went over and introduced myself. They were asking about New York, the people that train there, how I train, etc. I told them a bit about my trip thus far and training alone in Paris. It was then that I found out that they train every weekday at that place. GRRR! Oh well, though. Training alone has been a huge confidence booster, and I still have 5 days with PK Gen to look forward to, so there is no shortage of experienced teaching in my near future. :o)
Laurent said they were very tired from about 2 solid hours of training, but they were going to play a little bit if I wanted to join them. I looked down at my jeans and shirt and knew it was going to suck training in them (especially without a sports bra, aaaagh!!!) but hey, I won't let my clothes stop me.
Laurent, 2 of the traceurs from the circuit, 1 little boy (about 6 years old, it was adorable), an older gentleman and I did demi-tours on one of the concrete ping pong tables for a half hour or so. I have major fear when it comes to them, so that was really hard for me. The table came up to just above my hips, we did one from the right to the left in a constant line. I was using one foot on the table in the beginning, trying to get my confidence up by moving it more and more towards the edge as I continued. Going from the left to the right was sooo hard, definitely my weak side. I was getting really frustrated because I had made obvious progression going from the left to the right but was still having the same problems with the left, so I went to the other side of the table and drilled them from the left with 1 foot on the table. Got better, closer to a proper demi-tour. The guys finished up, but I continued with my demi-tours. One of the traceurs that was training demi-tours with me was apart of Majestic Force, this 21 year old guy Tony (could be a weird french spelling for that), I think he said he had been training for about 2.5 years. He came over and helped me build up to a demi-tour from the right. It took a while, but I got it! Not perfect yet, but it's a start. :o) Super cool guy, merci beaucoup, Tony!!!
They suggested that I come train with them, but I only had 1 more day in Paris and I needed to do some major running around. Next time I'm in France, though!!! As for right now? I'm off to London.......
I spotted a little park that was on the side of the stadium and was following a sign for the museum when I saw someone in the distance do a pop vault over a wall and then a cat to the wall in front of it. Immediately peaked my attention because I haven't seen ANYONE doing any parkour-type exercise in Paris. It was definitely parkour, it had to be! So as I got a bit closer I saw another guy do the same thing, then another, then another. I thought, "I have hit the jackpot, I ran into some random traceurs training a circuit! I have to talk to them, I don't care how bad my french is!!"
So I walked over to a bench to watch them for a bit planning on talking to them when they took a break as I didn't want to interrupt their training. As I walk over there was a guy standing on a little wall sort of looking at me looking at them, so I smiled as I walked by, he returned the smile, whatevs. I got to my bench, started sipping my water and watched about 6 traceurs go through their circuit. It was really nice to see, they were doing tic tacs off of a tree to a little concrete wall about 5 feet away, then going to the next tree and repeating down the row of 4 or 5 times. There were a few concrete ping pong tables that they got over, 2 of them double konged it, one guy did a side sumi off, some of them just hopped up and then off. It looked like they had all been working for a while and were really tired!
I was watching them for about 2 minutes when something started to click...as they got closer to where I was sitting, I looked over at the guy who smiled at me as I walked past and realized that it was Chau and the guy leading the circuit was Laurent. How random is that?!
So when they went on their water break, I went over and introduced myself. They were asking about New York, the people that train there, how I train, etc. I told them a bit about my trip thus far and training alone in Paris. It was then that I found out that they train every weekday at that place. GRRR! Oh well, though. Training alone has been a huge confidence booster, and I still have 5 days with PK Gen to look forward to, so there is no shortage of experienced teaching in my near future. :o)
Laurent said they were very tired from about 2 solid hours of training, but they were going to play a little bit if I wanted to join them. I looked down at my jeans and shirt and knew it was going to suck training in them (especially without a sports bra, aaaagh!!!) but hey, I won't let my clothes stop me.
Laurent, 2 of the traceurs from the circuit, 1 little boy (about 6 years old, it was adorable), an older gentleman and I did demi-tours on one of the concrete ping pong tables for a half hour or so. I have major fear when it comes to them, so that was really hard for me. The table came up to just above my hips, we did one from the right to the left in a constant line. I was using one foot on the table in the beginning, trying to get my confidence up by moving it more and more towards the edge as I continued. Going from the left to the right was sooo hard, definitely my weak side. I was getting really frustrated because I had made obvious progression going from the left to the right but was still having the same problems with the left, so I went to the other side of the table and drilled them from the left with 1 foot on the table. Got better, closer to a proper demi-tour. The guys finished up, but I continued with my demi-tours. One of the traceurs that was training demi-tours with me was apart of Majestic Force, this 21 year old guy Tony (could be a weird french spelling for that), I think he said he had been training for about 2.5 years. He came over and helped me build up to a demi-tour from the right. It took a while, but I got it! Not perfect yet, but it's a start. :o) Super cool guy, merci beaucoup, Tony!!!
They suggested that I come train with them, but I only had 1 more day in Paris and I needed to do some major running around. Next time I'm in France, though!!! As for right now? I'm off to London.......
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Lisses/Evry- Sunday, July 13th
Started the day with minimal fuss on the metro and got to the Evry in one piece, despite the warnings about how horrible Lisses and Evry are crime-wise. I was expecting the straight up ghetto but was really pleasantly surprised. It is actually quite beautiful and the people were friendly. Northern Evry is pretty bad, meaning shootings everyday, but where we were seemed very safe. I did have trouble finding TK17 at the train station, but managed to spot him literally right before he and some wicked cool traceurs from Holland were about to book it.
The day was a combination of training and sightseeing, we hit up the man power gap first, which was amazing. It is really f'ing big...I don't know how one looks at that and even thinks it is possible, but I suppose when you build up your training gently and progress slowly anything is possible. Made me feel really good to look at the jump and know that it has been done. Really inspiring.
Then we dropped by some other famous little stops from UF3 and the Yamakasi vids. Warmed up and did a little training at the church, but I decided to take it easy, absorb the area and get to know where everything is for when I come back later in the week alone. TK had also arranged a little training session later in the day with a bunch of local traceurs, how exciting is that?!
After a quick stop at a pizza place next to the Formule 1, we headed to the Dame. Amazing. I wanted to stay there all day. So so so much fun. While walking through the park that the Dame is in, we passed the playground from UF3 where Steph was doing dive rolls through the fish and pistols on the little spring horse. We also passed the rail where the famous "6 by 5" conversation took place. I didn't realize that they were in the same park as the Dame, so that was pretty cool. Speaking of cool, we also ran into David Belle's mother walking her dog. Felt really random, but made total and complete sense at the same time, haha! She had met TK before, so some friendly bonjour's were exchanged and I petted the pup. I love dogs sooo much! I think it was some sort of golden retriever, he was medium sized with the silkiest coat. A lot of the dogs in France actually look like scotties, really short legs, short tails, but with silkier coats and beagle-esk faces and a wider snout. Fun facts, just thought you should know....
Anyway, I digress. After spending a minute taking in and basking in the shear size of the Dame, the beauty of the surrounding park, beauty of the lake and beauty of the day, we went around the fence and approached it. The water goes right up to the edge, so the fence is only on 1 side and there are trees surrounding it the other sides. You just have to traverse along the fence and not fall into the lake, which is really easy to do. There is a staircase on the back which leads up to the little blue triangle, but there is a door which prevents you from actually getting to the triangle, unfortunately. I forgot to get a picture of it, but I'll try to remember if I am able to go back!!
After some general exploring, I started playing around and finding little routes. I went up the hammer first, there are 2 big footholds at the bottom, and then the rest is just rock on a slight incline. So grippy! Really nice to work on. Got to the top of the hammer, which is about 8 feet high, then climbed down and started qm'ing up the left side.
The side was about a foot wide with little grooves going across it every few feet. Not particularly difficult until it suddenly gets pretty much vertical for the second half, heh. I went up halfway, got to the little sheltered platform and took in the view, then went on top of the shelter and climbed across to the angled canal thing. There is 1 handhold at the top, then 1 at the first angle, from there to the bottom, though, you are sort of on your own. After what seemed like 5 minutes but was probably actually 45 minutes, we had to go meet the locals for a conditioning session. So sad to leave, but I did make it back later in the day!
Started to rain a bit and got really gray on the walk over. TK, the Holland traceurs and I met up with the locals at the famous sheltered area from UF3. After a quick handshake and "bonjour," we immediately started training. The difference between the Lisses traceurs and American traceurs was apparent immediately (READ: I'm not, not, not, not, not saying that as an insult!! I love American traceurs/euses, I am one!!). There was no talking and no introductions, we just started training. It really made me get over the social aspect of parkour and really focus on what I was doing, which is what it is all about. It made me immediately recognize why I was there. When we started I just thought, "Okay, I am here to train, and now is the time to train. Let's go."
We started with forward qm, then hopped onto a wall which had about a 7 or 8 foot drop on the side, was about 4 inches wide and slick with rain, qm'ed across (slowly) and reached the adjoining wall. We traversed along the wall on a ledge 2 inches deep, grabbing on to the bits of stucco for balance. It was really really difficult to do! My fingertips were killing me!! A lot of us kept falling off the wall and had to start over again and again, but that just made it all the more satisfying to finish. After that, we did some push up variations and a 3.5 minute wall sit.
We then moved on to a long road along side the famous school with pink walls. There were 6 huge lampposts on the road that the fellas monkey climbed up. I tried, but unfortunately don't have the strength in my shoulders to do it yet, so I qm'ed down the road backwards instead. Then we did lunges back down the road and moved on to the staircase.
The guys did cat leaps from the railing to the wall, then did a hanging traverse to the end, dropped down and then repeated. The cat was pretty big, so I did a hanging traverse back and forth along the staircase. Also got a chance to talk to a local traceuse who was chilling, just filming for the day, so that was pretty cool.
After that, we qm'ed around the entire school, back to the staircase, which took a looooong time. The ground wasn't quite gravel, but wasn't quite concrete...it was in between. Very difficult to work on, my hands were killing me! More mental than anything else, though. Just have to shut the pain out and finish. Great feeling when we came back to the staircase, though. Very satisfying!
We moved on to a basketball court where the guys drilled muscle ups, but I had to say goodbye as it was getting late, I had a train to catch, some more sightseeing to do and I haven't gotten my muscle up yet! I promised to come back in 1 year to the day and be able to do 11 muscle ups, the cat leap, get to the top of the Dame and speak more french. Looks like it is going to be a busy, busy year........
Me, TK and the Holland guys went to the castle, the forest and the areas from accroiches toi after that. Heard a funny story about how shocked and sad David was when TK told him that the song from accroiches toi is really really vulgar and offensive in English. He very obviously didn't know that and just kept saying with this sad/worried look on his face, "...Noooo!....Nooooooooo!" The guy who made the video happened to be there, so David ran over to him started yelling at him in french. Ha!
It is amazing how all these epic training spots are soooo close together, and it is really amazing how the local traceurs talk about David. They speak with such a heavy sense of respect and admiration. Not to say that he isn't respected and admired in the States or elsewhere in the world, I guess that since they live there and train in those areas every day, they really understand how much time it must have taken to build up to his level. There is also a sense of mysticism and almost legend in the way they talk about him.
After that, we went back to the Dame where the guys sat on a bench, which allowed me to go and play on and pay respect to the Dame alone. It was really, really amazing. It was really spiritual to stand and look out at the lake with the trees and all this beauty around and know that so many amazing, talented and dedicated people who began to pave the way for us had seen the same thing. They had trained on the same obstacle, struggled with the many of the things that I am struggling with now. When I am training, I tend to feel very alone at times, but I didn't feel alone in that moment. I felt like they were alongside me, everything made sense, all my questions were answered and I knew what I needed to do. I felt like I had a place and a purpose in parkour.
I was sort of conflicted as to whether or not I should even go to Lisses and Evry. I felt like I wasn't good enough yet and that I really wanted to be able to represent and really bring it. I realized when I got there that none of that really mattered. Why would I deprive myself incredible training in incredible areas? There is something for everyone to do, no matter the skill set. Some people look at the man power gap and think that they won't be able to do that, so why bother training at all, but the spirit of parkour really is to just train for you, don't train for one obstacle or for one jump. During the course of this trip, I keep thinking, "Be strong alone so that you can be useful to others." That mentality was really apparent in the traceurs that I met from Lisses and Evry. The spirit is so alive there. People know what parkour is and they seem to enjoy watching us train and respect it. Little kids even joined us while TK and I were training by the church. They were doing little pop vaults and trying to land silently, and they knew that it was parkour. So cool!
One thing that kept repeating in my head during the course of the day is that all of the movement in parkour has been developed and honed by men, and I feel like we have yet to see the potential for women in this discipline. For men, there are very apparent levels of skill and very obvious individual styles that have been developed: David Belle, the Vigroux brothers, Forrest, Dan Edwardes, Blane, Chris Keighley, Tyson Cecka, Levi Meeuwenberg....the women are all sort of lumped together because we have much more work to do by developing the way we need to move and overcome obstacles, in addition to all the strength and technical training. The traceuses of London and the UK are building an incredible community which I'll be able to further comment on in a few weeks, but being a traceuse training in America comes with an extremely isolated feeling. We are not only separated from the origins of parkour geographically, but spiritually as well. There is a path that has been laid out by those who have come before us, but we need to find our own way, take what we can from them and really trace our own path, both as women and as individual traceuses. Being in Lisses and Evry helped me further understand the spirit, dedication and work that parkour requires. There was no dilution, no mistranslation, no restriction that comes with seeing a 3 minute video on youtube.
I have 2 more weeks left in Paris, and I hope to hook up with the traceurs of Lisses and Evry again. I am definitely going back to Lisses this Saturday, and then hopefully 3 more times before I leave for London. Soooo much more work to be done before I get home, so much to learn, so many people to meet and so much awesome training to be had! As excited as I am, I am even more excited to get back to Jersey and share all the love and knowledge that I have acquired thus far. Honestly, If the trip were to end tomorrow, I would be completely satisfied, but, as I said, there is much more to come!!!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Normandy Pics
Memorial Museum of Caen
View of Omaha Beach from the water (at the request of Uncle Al who fought in the war)
American Cemetery
Bus
View of Omaha Beach from the water (at the request of Uncle Al who fought in the war)
American Cemetery
Bus
Week II
Tuesday- July 7th
I am unable to recall anything spectacular about this day...
Wednesday- July 8th
Class, nap, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower with the people that are in my program. It was okay..haha. I am really disappointed because the program director wouldn't let me go up the steps, so I think I am going to go back another night and try and qm up the steps without getting in trouble. It is something I have really wanted to do since I got here, and even though the stairs only go up to the first level, I really want to say that I qm'ed up the Eiffel Tower. I guess I'll put that on my to-do list....
After the Eiffel Tower, I was feeling really antsy and restless, especially because the Tower is utterly climbable and there was a dense population of rails while queuing up for the elevator (I was discretely doing little vaults when the security guards weren't watching). I started doing some monkey work in the courtyard while waiting for a few friends to arrive. One girl that I was with said that while I was doing the monkey movement, it was the first time she had seen a huge smile on my face that day. Eiffel Tower? Eh.. Parkour? Oui! Tres tres tres magnifique.
Thursday- July 9th
Had my first phonetics workshop today. I was really scared because the prof is really eccentric and if you don't make the right sound she schmushes your cheeks together so that you do. I think "schmushes" is a technical term, hehe.
The class ended up being okay, she only schmushed my face once, so I consider that a small victory. The best bit is that the classroom is off the main campus, so when you enter the courtyard of this building it is kind of a sweet little training area (pictures to come!!!). I was messing around on it before class, then during the break and a bit after class. Definitely going to have a proper session there next week. Very excited.
Did laundry in my sink because the crazy french washing machines kept eating my coins. Had to take the bungee cord off my backpack and rig a clothing line between my door and the hinge of my closet, so that was interesting.
Friday- July 10th
Class and then a nap.The sun goes down around 10:30, 11pm, and I don't feel like I should be sleeping until it is dark, so the days have been long, plus I have to wake up early every day, hence all the naps. I am pretty excited about this weekend. Going to Lisses and Evry to meet up with TK17, who is going to show me around a bit. Training with Seb Goudot next week, which I am really nervous and excited for!!
Not too much happening right now..just recovering from the mass amounts of wall runs and muscle ups from a hanging cat yesterday. Go me, I finally got my cat to muscle up!!! They are still bit labored, but certainly more swift than before. I am definitely more willing to play and try new things because I know I don't have that much time here, so I really need to make use of it. I should come to France more often....
I am unable to recall anything spectacular about this day...
Wednesday- July 8th
Class, nap, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower with the people that are in my program. It was okay..haha. I am really disappointed because the program director wouldn't let me go up the steps, so I think I am going to go back another night and try and qm up the steps without getting in trouble. It is something I have really wanted to do since I got here, and even though the stairs only go up to the first level, I really want to say that I qm'ed up the Eiffel Tower. I guess I'll put that on my to-do list....
After the Eiffel Tower, I was feeling really antsy and restless, especially because the Tower is utterly climbable and there was a dense population of rails while queuing up for the elevator (I was discretely doing little vaults when the security guards weren't watching). I started doing some monkey work in the courtyard while waiting for a few friends to arrive. One girl that I was with said that while I was doing the monkey movement, it was the first time she had seen a huge smile on my face that day. Eiffel Tower? Eh.. Parkour? Oui! Tres tres tres magnifique.
Thursday- July 9th
Had my first phonetics workshop today. I was really scared because the prof is really eccentric and if you don't make the right sound she schmushes your cheeks together so that you do. I think "schmushes" is a technical term, hehe.
The class ended up being okay, she only schmushed my face once, so I consider that a small victory. The best bit is that the classroom is off the main campus, so when you enter the courtyard of this building it is kind of a sweet little training area (pictures to come!!!). I was messing around on it before class, then during the break and a bit after class. Definitely going to have a proper session there next week. Very excited.
Did laundry in my sink because the crazy french washing machines kept eating my coins. Had to take the bungee cord off my backpack and rig a clothing line between my door and the hinge of my closet, so that was interesting.
Friday- July 10th
Class and then a nap.The sun goes down around 10:30, 11pm, and I don't feel like I should be sleeping until it is dark, so the days have been long, plus I have to wake up early every day, hence all the naps. I am pretty excited about this weekend. Going to Lisses and Evry to meet up with TK17, who is going to show me around a bit. Training with Seb Goudot next week, which I am really nervous and excited for!!
Not too much happening right now..just recovering from the mass amounts of wall runs and muscle ups from a hanging cat yesterday. Go me, I finally got my cat to muscle up!!! They are still bit labored, but certainly more swift than before. I am definitely more willing to play and try new things because I know I don't have that much time here, so I really need to make use of it. I should come to France more often....
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday- July 7th
Had class today and then had a disgusting pizza at the cafeteria. I was feeling pretty down because I am in Paris alone. I keep telling myself, "be strong alone so that you can be useful to others." No time to mope and be homesick! I only have 3 more weeks here so I got out and trained. Went to a big park that is across the street from the university, but nothing really peaked my pk vision...just level grass, so I decided to go on campus and find a secluded little place.
I stumbled across a nice little area after not too long. There was about 4 feet between a building and a 3.5 ft high concrete wall which had grass on the other side that was level with the top. I traversed along the side of the building, up onto the concrete windowsills then did a small cat onto the concrete wall, qm'ed along the top of that, then hopped to the building again, traversed again, then did a little monkey from the building over the wall. Finally getting my monkeys! So happy. I then drilled monkeys, reverse and pop vaults and a tic tac to cat from the little wall to an adjacent wall, about 5.5 feet tall.
This french guy came up to me while I was getting my tic tac. When I get my foot on the wall I tend to kick out, so at first I was just practicing getting my energy to go up and not out. He asked me what I was doing and said it was sad to watch because I was trying to get over the wall but kept giving up. I explained that I wasn't trying to get over the wall, I want to do this: then I did the tic tac to cat (almost) perfectly! It certainly felt passable. I was soooo happy. See? Just have to let go and do it. So I talked to him for a few minutes about training and parkour while I had a water break and he said he heard people saying that I am crazy, haha! Awesome.
Got a solid hour and a half in, so I am really happy for that. The whole reason why I am in Paris for the month is parkour. Sure, I am taking french classes, but I am taking the classes so that I can better communicate with the french speaking people that do parkour! Funny how things work out like that....
So yeah, 3 more weeks in Paris. I'm heading over to Lisses/Evry this weekend to meet up with TK17 for the day and then again next weekend to train with Seb Goudot for a day. Very, very, very, very exciting!!!! Little nervous, but everything will be so much better than okay. Just have to let go and train. I'm then heading over to London on the 30th for as long as I can. I'll probably only end up staying a week or two because I am burning through money mad quick over here. :o( But hey, any time in London will be time well spent.
As excited as I am to be on this trip, I am even more excited to get home and bring it all back! To all my New Jersey/New York training buddies, I miss you!!!! Can't wait to see you again!
...........................................................................................................................................................................
BOOO, pk man hands!
Haha, just kidding! Gotta love 'em.
I stumbled across a nice little area after not too long. There was about 4 feet between a building and a 3.5 ft high concrete wall which had grass on the other side that was level with the top. I traversed along the side of the building, up onto the concrete windowsills then did a small cat onto the concrete wall, qm'ed along the top of that, then hopped to the building again, traversed again, then did a little monkey from the building over the wall. Finally getting my monkeys! So happy. I then drilled monkeys, reverse and pop vaults and a tic tac to cat from the little wall to an adjacent wall, about 5.5 feet tall.
This french guy came up to me while I was getting my tic tac. When I get my foot on the wall I tend to kick out, so at first I was just practicing getting my energy to go up and not out. He asked me what I was doing and said it was sad to watch because I was trying to get over the wall but kept giving up. I explained that I wasn't trying to get over the wall, I want to do this: then I did the tic tac to cat (almost) perfectly! It certainly felt passable. I was soooo happy. See? Just have to let go and do it. So I talked to him for a few minutes about training and parkour while I had a water break and he said he heard people saying that I am crazy, haha! Awesome.
Got a solid hour and a half in, so I am really happy for that. The whole reason why I am in Paris for the month is parkour. Sure, I am taking french classes, but I am taking the classes so that I can better communicate with the french speaking people that do parkour! Funny how things work out like that....
So yeah, 3 more weeks in Paris. I'm heading over to Lisses/Evry this weekend to meet up with TK17 for the day and then again next weekend to train with Seb Goudot for a day. Very, very, very, very exciting!!!! Little nervous, but everything will be so much better than okay. Just have to let go and train. I'm then heading over to London on the 30th for as long as I can. I'll probably only end up staying a week or two because I am burning through money mad quick over here. :o( But hey, any time in London will be time well spent.
As excited as I am to be on this trip, I am even more excited to get home and bring it all back! To all my New Jersey/New York training buddies, I miss you!!!! Can't wait to see you again!
...........................................................................................................................................................................
BOOO, pk man hands!
Haha, just kidding! Gotta love 'em.
Paris- Week 1
Saturday- June 28th
Had to fly from LGA to Philly, which was pretty weird because the flight was only an hour and 20 minutes, but it was on a Buddy Holly plane...8 rows, 4 seats across and it had propellors. Kind of scary...
The overnight flight from Philly to Paris wasn't that bad, but there were 2 sick little kids sitting next to me. Egh. The plane was delayed 45 minutes, but I slept the entire time and through takeoff, so waking up already in the air was pretty weird. I watched American Gangster, it was okay. Russell Crowe reminds me of Eddie Vedder, so that was nice. Had some really bad pasta...yeah, pretty much it....
Sunday- June 29th
Arrived in Paris very jet lagged at around 9:30. Took forever to get my bags and meet all the other people from the program I am in. Felt kind of weird not knowing anyone, but I just really wanted to get to the dorms and unpack. In retrospect, I was probably very bitchy, but oh well. I blame it on the jet lag. I didn't really feel like I was in France, for some reason. I guess expectations are really high because Paris is so iconic. I did see a sign for Evry on the way into Paris, which was really exciting to me. I turned to whoever was sitting next to me all excited, but then I remembered that no one did parkour and I got really sad because I had no one to share the moment with. :o( I am very much missing my parkour buddies already!!! Stumbled upon a little playground, nothing too impressive, but I was restless from the flight and wanted to mess around a bit. Just did some rolls, monkey walking and side monkeys on the grass, then worked some balance, vaults and precision on the playground structure. The kids started following me around trying to do the same little circuit, which was adorable. This little boy called his father over and kept pointing at me, which was pretty funny. Not much else happened that day except for unpacking, paying $20 US dollars for what was essentially an open face grilled cheese sandwich (Read: jet lag leads to poor decision making capabilities...) and me alone trying to find a grocery store and ending up walking along a highway towards a tunnel. Not fun.
Monday- June 30th
Had an orientation for school and took the Metro for the first time. Not too impressed with Paris thus far, it is essentially New York but with french people, different architecture and lots of cheese. Had an egg and potato crepe at a creperie near school, which was pretty good and reasonably priced, not like my $20 cheese sandwich adventure....c'est la vie...
A bunch of us went to Luxembourg Park to walk around and chill. Warmed up my muscles and joints and did some qm work on a set of stairs and worked on balance for a while. Couldn't get too into it because we had a bus tour of the city, which ended up being kind of boring. Saw all the stores that would be downright dangerous for me to go into with a credit card, stores that you have to dress up to even get into. Bah, I'm poor in Paris but really want some couture!!! Went home and talked to my family and some friends. I am pretty homesick. So weird not being with any traceurs/euses. I miss them.
Tuesday- July 1st
Took my placement exam and bombed because I was in a horrible mood. Had a really disgusting lasagna in the cafeteria. Then we went to the Catacombs. Got some cool pictures, but I didn't like being there, too eerie. I felt disrespectful being there and sad that these unknown people's bones became a tourist attraction.
Wednesday- July 2nd
Had my first class, it was okay. My french teacher is kind of crazy, but I guess that is just how they are. My friend's teacher's name is Stephane Vigouroux, but I read it wrong and freaked out for a second thinking it was Stephane, haha. After class, this guy wanted to chinese food, we walked around for 2 hours looking for a place because we all thought he was looking for a specific place, but it turns out that he wasn't and was just leading us to nowhere.Too tired and hungry to question, plus my parkour vision kept going off and I was mad distracted. Every time I stopped to play, though, they left me. :o( Ended up eating melted cheese and basil on a piece of bread and a brownie at this organic food place. That set me back about 15 dollars. It wasn't worth it.
Went to the Eiffel Tower that night, messed around a little bit on the way there. Just random traversing and climbing. Tower was beautiful all lit up. Decided not to go up because it was late and the line was too long. I really want to qm up the steps to the first floor. If there aren't too many people when I go, I may be able to........
Thursday- July 3rd
I didn't sleep at all last night. Sick from dehydration. Had a fever, was delirious and confused. I had to leave class about an hour and a half in and miss my first phonetics workshop in the afternoon because I had to go back to my dorm and sleep. Went to the Bastille and had hot chocolate later that night when I was feeling better. It was literally melted chocolate. Soooo good. I felt a lot better after that, heh. Have to remember not to let myself get dehydrated again. Not fun. Oh well, lesson learned...I find myself saying that at least twice a day.....
Friday- July 4th
Went to Monmartre after class and saw the Sacre Couer. There are a a ton of steps leading to it, so I frog hopped up them, which was fun. Once I got to the lawn, these french guys started yelling, "Go, go go go go!!" as I was hopping, which was pretty funny and helped encourage me to finish the last 2 stair cases in one go. Went to a cafe and had roasted chicken with sauteed onions, french fries and salad. 14 euros...kind of expensive, but it was delicious and my first and only meal of the day...or at least that's how I justify it......
Saturday- July 5th
Left for Normandie for the Weekend. Went to the WWII museum there, it was really intense. They have a new 9/11 exhibit and had a crushed police car on display as soon as you walked into the museum. I really wasn't expecting it and I got really upset. No one else lives near New York so they didn't really get it, if you know what I mean. Anyway...just filled me with bad memories. We went to the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. It was an emotionally exhausting day. The people that are in my group are really something else. They climbed down into the craters left by explosions at Pointe du Hoc and were taking pictures with their thumbs up and smiling like they are in front of the Magic Kingdom. Assholes. I went HST that day and don't regret it at all. Hunter isn't around to put the swine in their place so I figure I should give my best effort in his honor.
We went to this apple place after that and got some cookies and jam, then got some really good pizza. It smelled like New York Pizza, tasted similar, so that made me happy. Good end to a bad day.
Sunday- July 6th
Went to Mont St. Michel, the 2nd most visited landmark aside from the Eiffel Tower. It is a 1300 year old medieval church that they built a small town around, so at one point there was a town blacksmith and whatnot. It was really really cool! I was walking around and was kind of saddened that it became postcard stands and gift shops, but I guess that is the way things go. Went to a cookie factory after that, but didn't get to see any cookies being made. :o( The cookies were obviously incredible. I bought a bag for my family, but I am unable to guarantee that the entire bag will make it back to the States.....
Had to fly from LGA to Philly, which was pretty weird because the flight was only an hour and 20 minutes, but it was on a Buddy Holly plane...8 rows, 4 seats across and it had propellors. Kind of scary...
The overnight flight from Philly to Paris wasn't that bad, but there were 2 sick little kids sitting next to me. Egh. The plane was delayed 45 minutes, but I slept the entire time and through takeoff, so waking up already in the air was pretty weird. I watched American Gangster, it was okay. Russell Crowe reminds me of Eddie Vedder, so that was nice. Had some really bad pasta...yeah, pretty much it....
Sunday- June 29th
Arrived in Paris very jet lagged at around 9:30. Took forever to get my bags and meet all the other people from the program I am in. Felt kind of weird not knowing anyone, but I just really wanted to get to the dorms and unpack. In retrospect, I was probably very bitchy, but oh well. I blame it on the jet lag. I didn't really feel like I was in France, for some reason. I guess expectations are really high because Paris is so iconic. I did see a sign for Evry on the way into Paris, which was really exciting to me. I turned to whoever was sitting next to me all excited, but then I remembered that no one did parkour and I got really sad because I had no one to share the moment with. :o( I am very much missing my parkour buddies already!!! Stumbled upon a little playground, nothing too impressive, but I was restless from the flight and wanted to mess around a bit. Just did some rolls, monkey walking and side monkeys on the grass, then worked some balance, vaults and precision on the playground structure. The kids started following me around trying to do the same little circuit, which was adorable. This little boy called his father over and kept pointing at me, which was pretty funny. Not much else happened that day except for unpacking, paying $20 US dollars for what was essentially an open face grilled cheese sandwich (Read: jet lag leads to poor decision making capabilities...) and me alone trying to find a grocery store and ending up walking along a highway towards a tunnel. Not fun.
Monday- June 30th
Had an orientation for school and took the Metro for the first time. Not too impressed with Paris thus far, it is essentially New York but with french people, different architecture and lots of cheese. Had an egg and potato crepe at a creperie near school, which was pretty good and reasonably priced, not like my $20 cheese sandwich adventure....c'est la vie...
A bunch of us went to Luxembourg Park to walk around and chill. Warmed up my muscles and joints and did some qm work on a set of stairs and worked on balance for a while. Couldn't get too into it because we had a bus tour of the city, which ended up being kind of boring. Saw all the stores that would be downright dangerous for me to go into with a credit card, stores that you have to dress up to even get into. Bah, I'm poor in Paris but really want some couture!!! Went home and talked to my family and some friends. I am pretty homesick. So weird not being with any traceurs/euses. I miss them.
Tuesday- July 1st
Took my placement exam and bombed because I was in a horrible mood. Had a really disgusting lasagna in the cafeteria. Then we went to the Catacombs. Got some cool pictures, but I didn't like being there, too eerie. I felt disrespectful being there and sad that these unknown people's bones became a tourist attraction.
Wednesday- July 2nd
Had my first class, it was okay. My french teacher is kind of crazy, but I guess that is just how they are. My friend's teacher's name is Stephane Vigouroux, but I read it wrong and freaked out for a second thinking it was Stephane, haha. After class, this guy wanted to chinese food, we walked around for 2 hours looking for a place because we all thought he was looking for a specific place, but it turns out that he wasn't and was just leading us to nowhere.Too tired and hungry to question, plus my parkour vision kept going off and I was mad distracted. Every time I stopped to play, though, they left me. :o( Ended up eating melted cheese and basil on a piece of bread and a brownie at this organic food place. That set me back about 15 dollars. It wasn't worth it.
Went to the Eiffel Tower that night, messed around a little bit on the way there. Just random traversing and climbing. Tower was beautiful all lit up. Decided not to go up because it was late and the line was too long. I really want to qm up the steps to the first floor. If there aren't too many people when I go, I may be able to........
Thursday- July 3rd
I didn't sleep at all last night. Sick from dehydration. Had a fever, was delirious and confused. I had to leave class about an hour and a half in and miss my first phonetics workshop in the afternoon because I had to go back to my dorm and sleep. Went to the Bastille and had hot chocolate later that night when I was feeling better. It was literally melted chocolate. Soooo good. I felt a lot better after that, heh. Have to remember not to let myself get dehydrated again. Not fun. Oh well, lesson learned...I find myself saying that at least twice a day.....
Friday- July 4th
Went to Monmartre after class and saw the Sacre Couer. There are a a ton of steps leading to it, so I frog hopped up them, which was fun. Once I got to the lawn, these french guys started yelling, "Go, go go go go!!" as I was hopping, which was pretty funny and helped encourage me to finish the last 2 stair cases in one go. Went to a cafe and had roasted chicken with sauteed onions, french fries and salad. 14 euros...kind of expensive, but it was delicious and my first and only meal of the day...or at least that's how I justify it......
Saturday- July 5th
Left for Normandie for the Weekend. Went to the WWII museum there, it was really intense. They have a new 9/11 exhibit and had a crushed police car on display as soon as you walked into the museum. I really wasn't expecting it and I got really upset. No one else lives near New York so they didn't really get it, if you know what I mean. Anyway...just filled me with bad memories. We went to the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. It was an emotionally exhausting day. The people that are in my group are really something else. They climbed down into the craters left by explosions at Pointe du Hoc and were taking pictures with their thumbs up and smiling like they are in front of the Magic Kingdom. Assholes. I went HST that day and don't regret it at all. Hunter isn't around to put the swine in their place so I figure I should give my best effort in his honor.
We went to this apple place after that and got some cookies and jam, then got some really good pizza. It smelled like New York Pizza, tasted similar, so that made me happy. Good end to a bad day.
Sunday- July 6th
Went to Mont St. Michel, the 2nd most visited landmark aside from the Eiffel Tower. It is a 1300 year old medieval church that they built a small town around, so at one point there was a town blacksmith and whatnot. It was really really cool! I was walking around and was kind of saddened that it became postcard stands and gift shops, but I guess that is the way things go. Went to a cookie factory after that, but didn't get to see any cookies being made. :o( The cookies were obviously incredible. I bought a bag for my family, but I am unable to guarantee that the entire bag will make it back to the States.....
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