I have written about my first moments in Paris, thought about what the stone on the buildings feel like on my palm, planned return trips to that city of light and warmth, viewed the same old movies depicting Paris and even started a savings so that I may, again, experience new streets and old relics. I’m so obsessed. I do get this way when I return home from anywhere, even after Buffalo. Paris is no different from other cities that leave me with the feeling that I belong there but, it’s also so magical and as long as I don’t visit too often I’m sure it will never let me down.

Destiny’s Green Pen at The Eiffel Tower!

This week I veered from my reding list because I found a book at my library by a French author, Colette. I would have chosen her earlier, instead of “Paris To the Moon” (a wonderful book that I’m nearly half done with) but I didn’t know of her existence until I visited the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Colette was a famous entertainer and writer but was not exactly a role model for young girls of the time. She was accused of seducing her stepson and she neglected her only child but she was also a real person that, in my opinion, tried to navigate her way through life on the right path. Unfortunately, she seemed to be eternally adolescent, frustrated with the life that society offered women at that time. I can relate to her in many ways (not the perverse or neglectful ways).

Pere Lechaise Cemetary, Colette

Colette, in “The Vagabond” tells about the grief one woman feels at finally being fed up with her husbands affairs and she decides it would be better to be lonely than to be alone in the marriage. Her character, who is said to have much in common with Colette herself, says to herself “to stay would mean to hear people say that she is one who has everything to make her happy” (29). As if to say that a wife does not need freedom to make her own choices. Colette was married three times and had romances with several women, as well, so, whether she was lonely, like her character, is unknown. However, she did seem to keep her independence, which was very important to her. Her character speaks of the strength women have;

“”You can be certain that long patience, and griefs jealousy hidden have tempered and sharpened and toughened this woman till everyone cries “She’s made of steel!” No, she is merely made of “of woman”-and that is enough.””(32)

Esplanade des Invalides-A place for everyone

I have hardly found any information for my research although deep inside me is the answer, I know. I’ve always known. I was the sibling that couldn’t seem to keep up with the rest, partly because of my responsibilities to my disabled sibling. I’m not complaining (Sometimes I do though. And I go on and on. I’m no saint!). I appreciate my situation now. I think Paris takes care of their people differently than we do. It seems to me that they make a place for everyone, which would be nice but, I think there is little choice, compared to the choices we have in the U.S.. While in Paris I looked for signs for children like school and play signs and especially disabled accommodations. There seemed to be wheelchair access into nearly every building (sometimes around the side of a building) but the signs were very small and I don’t think there were many restrooms that could be accessed by the disabled or elderly since most were in basements that were reached by a narrow winding staircase. Of course, if you were to leave the establishment and head toward a major street you would likely find sidewalk pottys. I didn’t see anyone that had a developmental disability so, what could one assume but that it is no place for anyone that is ‘out of the ordinary’. I’m jumping to conclusions, I know, and I plan on finding out more, hopefully proving myself wrong.

Oh look, it’s adorable little armor for children……!Found at Invalidies-Napoleon’s Tomb

For certain, my book this week, is a romance but, it is a romance of a city and of a lifestyle as well as a romance of the heart. As I read, I googled the names of places the character describes that involve her daily life. Some of the places are there, like the Bois de Boulogne, a park in the 16th arrondissement where she takes her dog to run. Other places, like the cafe concert, Empyree Clichy, where she performed, does not exist, at least, not anymore. Eventually she describes the beauty she finds while on her train travels all around France (174-215). The novel saves it’s reputation of being another ‘Harlequin Romance’ by having a feminist turn down the life of luxury to save her independence. This is also different from most romances in that, it touches on the subject of lesbianism. I enjoyed the read but, not necessarily to the end.

Rai

I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, the romantic city that was the setting for many Saturday movies when I was growing up. So when I started to consider a trip seriously I made lists of places I’d visit, things I’d do, food I’d eat and the list was long. I worried about getting lost, spending too much money (I didn’t want to seem rude and ask how much an item costs – like one author advised me against [4]), missing an experience from my long list, offending someone, missing my flight home and of course I worried about communicating in French. But, all this was worth chancing to get to feel Paris, not just read about it or see it on the screen. Two of the young daughters had to work and couldn’t come with me. And another was not quite ready for the trip. So Taj, 21, who had studied French, was the lucky one.
We were instructed by loved ones to text when the plane landed so, when we couldn’t get our phones to work we got anxious and started snapping at each other. Here we were in Paris but, you couldn’t tell. The inside of the airport wasn’t built hundreds of years ago. It looked modern. And the Verizon voice on my cell was all too familiar. As I tried to follow the directions the rep just kept assuring me that they would be able to solve the problem. It took about two hours and Taj and I bickered the whole time. We even fought about calling the shuttle service. The anxiety ended when we got into our shuttle and made our way to the city. We began to relax, listening to American pop on the radio.

Our last day.

I was surprised that the buildings (maybe low-income housing) were real run down. Some had broken windows with curtains blowing out the window. I saw only only one mill. When landing I spotted many crop fields. Then boom! Paris was in front of us. Like a wall between the now and the past.
The buildings are cream colored stone with an occasional spot of color. Always a lot of detail in the stonework. Seemingly, an entry into Heaven with its calming quality. Our shuttle driver zipped around intersection circles through several arrondissements, dropping other visitors at their hotels. It rained but, the rain was falling on arches and palaces and boutiques! It just made the city that much more romantic. As the driver dropped us one block from Le Louvre I knew we were going to have a good time. Taj was unpacking when I opened the window in our room and my breath was taken away by the roof lines and courtyard that may have not changed since its construction hundreds of years ago. The sun came out and birds began to chirp. Disney would pay big bucks for footage of that moment. Then they’d ruin it by adding a squeaky voice.

The relaxed feeling built during our stay, for both Taj and I. We hit several museums, Le Louvre, being the most surprising for me. I crowded, aggressively, to see the Mona Lisa and took a picture, feeling I had accomplished something. Then I left the room and looked around…… Awwwww. Wow! The castle itself is magical. It’s so beautiful and the great halls and endless marble stairways are real. I touched the same walls and floors that royalty of the 12th century touched!

There’s a mote in the back of Le Louvre.

Destinys Green Pen at the side of Le Louvre.

Napoleon?

Just one of the hallways in this old castle!

Some of the doors are large.

All week we went to museums during the day. We ate creeps in the parks. There are plenty of places for children to play in Paris. They even have a trampoline park. I noticed several parents teaching their kids to ride bikes under the trees of the park and along the sidewalks of tiny streets. I hear birds everywhere. Sometimes we ate at cafes. Then we napped or shopped for souvenirs. We chatted and laughed like we did when Taj was a four year old and I was her best friend. I know Shakespeare and Company was her favorite place in Paris. She was so deleted to linger in an unpopular small space of the bookstore where there were few people. It was really crowded. A quaint, old worn out shop and we left with a book in a cloth bag. We were on a ‘bookstore high’ (81).

At night we’d walk around the Latin Quarter or Montmartre and stop for snacks and drinks in different clubs. We were like locals visiting friends after a day of work, our work being sightseeing. Nearly everyone smokes there. It can be shoulder to shoulder at cafes and clubs and it hardly matters who’s puffing on the cig. The smoke is in your face, your mouth, your lungs. I smoked, Taj did too. Well, we did until it made since not to make ourselves sick. We took the metro from Arr to Arr. It was so fast and easy to figure out, apparently. I need glasses. Good thing we had Aaron and Tristan to show us around. Taj and I are well known for our lack of direction. Although I have to say that the grid of Paris is possible to get use to once you realize that the center of arrondissements are where the center of the intersection circles are. And they all have a monument. This makes it easy to remember where you are. Then there are so many streets jetting off from there. It did not matter whether we were lost though. Every turn gave us cafes and shops and people that spoke French.
Quite often there was someone playing music on the street or in the metro tunnels. I made sixteen recordings of people playing guitars, flutes, violins, trumpets and so many other instruments. I bought myself one souvenir, a crank music box that plays Le Vie En Rose. I like to be able to control the tempo with the crank.
There is so much more to tell. I’ll tell more next week. I hope you like the photos.
See you all soon.
Rai

As if to be writing a postcard, I spent the week reading “Wish You Were Here”. This is a beautiful book that shows the reader around the different Arrondissements of Paris. Arrondissements are formally named neighborhoods in Paris. I read several of these sections before coming to Paris and have since reread the others and reviewed the arrondissements that mean something to me.

Aaron took Taj and I to see Le Tavern du Cluny to hear live Gypsy Jazz. Aww so beautiful.

I am getting familiar to Arrondissements one, two, five and six. The author of this book tells about the the ‘pockets of calm’ that can be found amid all the buzzing activity (15). This seemed natural to me that certain areas would be quieter than others but it really surprised me to hear the birds sing in the trees in front of the Eiffel Tower as if, and in reality, they own the treed area. I have found Paris to be completely developed but that there are still areas that belong to nature, preserved. When I stepped in to my room here I went to the window to see the view. I opened the windowed doors and peered out past the wrought iron railing and experienced my first ‘spot of time’. My window faces the center of the building and my view is of rooftops and a very small courtyard below. The walls are beige and the roofs light gray. The occasional red flower living in the window boxes are the only noticeable color. There is no sound of traffic unless there is reason for a police call close by. The soundscape here at my window is very different from the rest of Paris. It is the sound of birds chirping and the hotel staff chatting. There is a drone which I have identified as maybe a heating or air furnace. I can’t express the calming strength this spot has over me. How, with the population (over 2 million), is it possible to have this type of soundscape?

This is the view from my room

It may sound like I’d never leave my I room but of course I did. I am gawking at every turn of a block. Just before leaving home I began realizing that after I cover all of the wonders of Paris I would feel let down, that the wonder was no longer there, that I’d seen all there was to see. Like when you spend too long at Disneyland and the magic disappears. This city has so much to offer in the way of new experience that it will not happen. It is so refreshing to know that there is somewhere in world that can capture my attention infinitely. This may be due to the vast and varied visitors the city.
This area is about 6000 years old. A Celtic tribe settled here to fish along the Seine and called this lle de la Cite. About 300 years later the Romans took over and changed the name to Lutetia. After about 200 hundred years the name was changed to Paris (after the local tribe). Paris was eventually invaded by Childeric the Frank in 464. 300 years later Vikings invaded and took their turn pillaging in the 9th century. It wasn’t until the 12th century that Paris began to take shape with the Notre Dame cathedral being built, establishing a center of religious and government life (16, 17).
With so many stories about how Paris was first established I couldn’t possibly cover them all so I’ll tell about a most beautiful place, the Place de l’ Opera. I think think the people of Paris wanted it. I always thought of Napoleon as a ‘bigger than life’ type of person, giving France its reputation for the continued lavish lifestyles of the rich and noble but then I learned about the building of Place de l’ Opera. It was built during the fall of Napoleon and during the Franco-Prussian war. To make matters more difficult there was a subterranean lake beneath it (made famous by the “Phantom of the Opera” play). There were other difficulties but nothing that stopped the building. Velvet, marble and gold were gathered for the building and cherubs and nymphs were carved. The grand staircase was completed in time for the inauguration in 1875. I think this enormous effort speaks to the wishes of the people of Paris. Apparently, Napoleon wasn’t the only one that liked things to be grand.

One other tidbit I learned about this opera house is that in1993 there is a man called Opera Honey who needed a place to keep his beehive until he could take it to his home in the country so he put it on the Opera house rooftop. A week later he discovered that it was overflowing with honey. Now they sell Opera Honey in the gift shop (139).

I hope to see this place sometime this week.
Rai
Measom, Christopher. Paris: Wish You Were Here. New York, NY: Welcome, 2008. Print.

Leavenworth, Wa.

Hi Everyone!,

This week I was going to read and write about the history of France. It’s not even possible! There is so much history to discover here so I want to tell you about early poetry and music in France.
The French language has been known to be romantic since at least the year 1000 when, for the first time in Europe, poems and songs were written in the vernacular rather than in Latin. The lyrics were written about and to celebrate the wealth and power of kings, barons, princes and their women. These songs were meant to be read aloud or sung for as entertainment. Duke William IX’s poetry may have been influenced by Arabic and Hebrew love poetry and in turn provided a model for poetic forms that became popular (336). The poets of this time were called troubadours and what made their verse troubadour was the idea of Cortesia or courtesy which was the refinement of people that lived at court. Their attempts to achieve an ideal of virtue also made these lyrics troubadour (337). The theme of Troubadour lyrics were about equality between lovers and sometimes they preached that love was the source of virtue while others bragged about sexual conquests. These lyrics were all about the power of women since, at that time, there were many powerful females in southern France. Many were lords who owned property, had vassals (someone who received protection and land from a lord in return for loyalty and service) led battles, decided disputes and entered into and broke political alliances as their advantage dictated. Both men and women liked troubadour lyrics which praised the power that women had and also eroticized it. The language in southern France was called Occitan. The lyrics spread to northern France, Italy, England and Germany where Occitan was a foreign language then similar poetry began to appear in other vernacular languages. Eventually the lyrics began to focus on war, later called epics. Some focused on romances. These romances reached their peak of popularity in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Lancelot, by Chretien de Troyes was about the hero being in love with Queen Guinevere, the wife of his lord, King Arthur, and would do anything for her (338).

I got ahold of the president of a worldwide organization that promotes adapted physical activity. She has suggested that I contact the Special Olympics of Washington for information which I’ll look into. I am hopeful that she can put me in contact with more people that I can include in my survey. I sent out a bunch of letters, copies of surveys and return envelopes to schools in Paris this week. I hope to contact the schools while in Paris and get an invite to a few. I think it would be the highlight of my research to converse with real French people even though I can only speak with a translation book in hand.
I spent the weekend in Leavenworth, which is a town that is made to look like a town in Germany. I wonder if the residents of this town are friendlier than the real town that it is made to look like. The economy of the town is dependent on the pleasure of it’s visitors so maybe the reason that the people here are so pleasant and helpful is a bit false. Not that I’m complaining. The sky blue. This is a beautiful environment with smells of waffle cones baking, the sound of bratwurst sizzling and birds and people chattering.
Napoleon is buried in Paris and I plan on visiting his tomb. His father was a noble from Corsican and owned land but in 1795, at the age of 26, Napoleon was a penniless artillery officer (621). By 1799 he had become the leader of France (623). Once Napoleon gained full power his rule was more that of a military dictator (624). His great energy assisted him in overseeing many facets of the countries daily operations from politics and art to architecture and science (625). On land Napoleons armies remained invincible but England still ruled the sea (629). By 1812, under Napoleons rule, France controlled more territory than any other European ruler had since the Roman Empire. His downfall was the same as Aldof Hitler’s. He was fighting on two fronts (632). In October of 1813 Napoleon’s army was defeated at the Battle of Nations by Russian, Austrian, Prussian and Swedish armies (633). By 1815 he had regained power but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He lived out his days in the remote island of Saint Helen off the coast of West Africa (634).
The next time I write will be from Paris. I hope you all stay safe like your mother is watching. See you soon.

Above is a drawing of my home.

Uggggggg.  Today I learned that it is way too easy to delete my weekly assignment while typing on google docs! So here is my second paper. Hmmm, what did I say in the first paper? Well, I can’t forget the feeling I got after our last class. Free. I felt free like never before and it began with our circle singing. What a powerful thing to meditate together. No research was too big for me, no city too complex to navigate.

This week I read about different parameters of research. I also spent a lot of time getting addresses of high schools in Paris. I am working with an Evergreen employee to clean up the letter that goes with my survey. I read up on the Likert scale for my survey and also read the Rick Steves Paris 2015 book, which is long but really captivating and took a lot of time. I am feeling like this is the second week of any quarter-like a boulder is about to roll over me! Well, just knowing that this feeling is a pattern is comforting. I just have to keep working hard and hope for the best.

My first priority this week is my survey. I read a great article by Urie Bronfenbrenner called Ecology of the family as a Context for Human Development: Research Perspectives. I learned
about paradigms for investigating the impact of someone’s environment. Keeping the research questions simple is best for the beginning of any research. More sophisticated surveys can be included in additional researches. For my research I am using a mesosystem model. This will provide me with results that show whether my surveyees feel that they have the amount of agency they deserve (B 723). Another aspect of research that I’ve considered is the level of explicitness and complexity. A social address model will be perfect in that I will be able to find out whether or not Paris provides the youth with enough help to this population (B 724). These youth that have siblings with intellectual disabilities will hopefully be willing to fill out my survey if its simple.

The Rick Steves book was helpful in social ways. There are lists of common phrases used by travelers in Paris and included is the pronunciations. Wi-Fi is pronounced wee-fee (S 24). This book covers everything. When using an escalator it is polite to stay to the right in order for people to pass on the the left if they choose to (S 515). Another bit of advice is to speak quietly like the French do in public so as not to appear as a rude American. There are a few differences in the way they write the numbers 1, 4 and 7 but nothing big. They use a comma instead of a period to separate thousands. When counting with your fingers you begin with the thumb instead of the first finger. If you begin with the first finger when trying to order food you’ll end up with two of something (S 727). Parisian hoteliers frown on people taking food to their rooms because of the extra cleaning needed, the extra garbage and the smells. It wasn’t so many years ago that food was not allowed in American hotel rooms. One would have to sneak it in and then take the extra trash out or receive a bill for the extra garbage (S 397). In France, it is frequent for older women to give parenting advice to young parents with children. I would like this to customary is America (S 488). Picnic lunches are a great idea but I will watch for signs to stay off the grass in some places. Also, not all of the cafes provide a fork or knife unless you ask for them (S 442). Steves recommends that you carry tissue because public toilets are frequently unstocked. The weirdest thing I read about was how there are toilets on the sidewalks of Paris encased in nothing more than a booth! I can remember my father telling about how he could see over the top when standing inside of one and he was only 5′ 6″. I am surprised that they are still there. I think this is a good idea. It probably keeps the alleys clean and may cut down on crime. A few toilets cost money or have an attendant that would appreciate a small tip (S 25). These differences don’t seem like an inconvenience but maybe when I’m faced with so many new ways I will feel different.

I am so anxious to get to Paris and in the environment that I have been studying; the smells, the sounds, the feel of the structures and the sights of the people. For now I’ll just have to consider that all this studying about Paris is the equivalent of a first trip to the city. According to Rick Steves the second trip is the best!

Bronfenbrenner, U. (n.d.). Ecology Of The Family As A Context For Human Development: Research Perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 723-742.
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I made this into a page instead of a post.  Oopp Here it is anyway.

In the second half of the eighteenth century city dwellers began to travel to the country to restore health to their bodies and souls (130 de Botton). Wordsworth believed that regular travel through nature was a necessary antidote to the evils of the city (136 de Botton). Wordsworth thought that one should be able to render their feelings more sane, pure and permanent, or more consonant to Nature (145 de Botton).

de Botton explains that animals are our humans’ contemporaries in that both eat, sleep and breathe and that we are on this planet that is chiefly made of rocks and vapours and silence (147 de Botton). I agree with him but had never considered the importance of a more equal life with animals since we are both a small percentage of the world.

Wordsworth said that we may see in nature certain scenes that will stay with us throughout our lives and offer us, every time they enter our consciousness, both a contrast to and relief from present difficulties. He termed such experiences in nature ‘spots of time’. (151 de Botton) de Botton experiences that ‘spot of time’ when sitting near and field and a stream with trees nearby. His time was interrupted by thoughts of work (152 de Botton). I guess I should be expecting some times throughout my days in Paris where I will live inside myself for long enough to worry about how my brother is doing without me. I’ll try to just accept this behavior of my and not be disappointed in losing a few moments in Paris.

Sublime has been used since the eighteenth century to describe the way one feels while in the presence of something of nature that is awe-inspiring, indescribable. Compared to the sublime, ‘man seems merely dust postponed: the sublime as an encounter-pleasurable; intoxicating, even-with human weakness in the face of the strength, age and size of the universe’ (159, 164 de Botton). de Botton asked ‘Why seek out this feeling of smallness-delight in it even?’ (165 de Botton).

I think this is because we so that we don’t feel so much responsibility in life. When one can see that they are not so large compared too much of the world then one can accept the fact that they are not capable of saving everyone and everything from harm. In fact when met with the sublime there is a reminder that humans are supposed to make mistakes. de Botton states it more clearly than I when he speaks of sublime landscapes;

to touch on the crux of their appeal, they allow us to conceive of a familiar inadequacy
in a new and more helpful way. Sublime places repeat in grand terms a lesson that
ordinary life typically introduces viciously: that the universe is mightier than we are,
that we are frail and temporary and have no alternative but to accept limitations on our
will; that we must bow to necessities greater than ourselves (167 de Botton).

de Botton says that there isn’t a need to feel anxiety toward facing something that is so much powerful than us. ‘What defines our will can provoke anger and resentment, but it may also arouse awe and respect’ (165 de Botton).

Richard Sennett spoke of Baudelaire’s opinion that the solitude of city dwellers is not sublime: ‘it seems to enhance the ordinary business of life’ (127 Sennett). Baudelaire didn’t always have this opinion but he learned from, Constantin Guys, friend and painter, that there is no need for any aspect of life to become dull. Life in Paris had become dull for Baudelaire. The Parisians of his day seemed bored by themselves as much as by one another (121 Sennett).

I think, even in an exciting city, we can find ourselves feeling bored with the many tourist sites especially if there have been numerous stops at any one type of site. For instance visits to many Gothic style churches could leave us without a way to distinguish one from another. This, in turn, could cause us to not care about seeing other sites. This may not be so bad though. It would give us a chance to see the regular aspects of life in the city of our inquiries and this would be a more realistic study of our cities.

Whether I am in a museum or visiting a school, I will be mindful of the pitfall of not noticing regular life. I will be sure to look for ordinary people performing everyday tasks. This is what I want to remember when I am back home in Washington.

Rai

Kay Kaufman Shelemay addresses sounds, settings and significances in The Art of Travel and I can’t help but think about what these words will mean to me after traveling to Paris.

In Paris, with the help of Shelemay, I see my setting as the front desk of my hotel and the hotel neighborhood.  I am trying to imagine what sounds I will hear.  According to Shelemay, a setting encompasses multiple contexts-“a city, a concert hall, a park, a home-in which music is conceived, created, transmitted, performed and remembered”.  She states that “most communities today are complex environments that include both distinctive local elements and music traditions from elsewhere”.  As Shelemay says, “since music is more than just sound, we take into account the broad sweep of history and the events of social life”.  Given her description of setting I have to re-think my Paris setting.  At this point I can only speculate about the sounds that are heard around and near my hotel and wonder about their origin.

Alain de Botton found that a setting is not always a house, neighborhood or city.  It can sometimes be a mode of transportation like a train or a plane.  People used to get a feeling of belonging (de Botton refers to this as fellow-feeling) from being part of a community but nowadays we acquire this feeling from wandering, traveling.  “Journeys are the midwives of thought.”  Travel causes one to have thoughts that are not usual.  He says, “The furniture insists that we cannot change because it does not; the domestic setting keeps us tethered to the person we are in ordinary life.”  When we travel we can allow ourselves to reach beyond our familiar habits.

We know highlife is a sound in Accra, Ghana made from the music that was brought to the country by sailors from other countries.  These sea chanteys and folk songs didn’t just spread through Accra, but all of Ghana.  Perhaps the exoticism of music from a community far away is part of the reason that Ghanaian music has incorporated such a wide variety of sounds from other cultures.  de Botton says; “What we find exotic abroad may be what we hunger for in vain at home.”   I imagine that being on the Gold Coast would have been an unusual opportunity to nearly experience travel to foreign countries.

Maybe, the most common sound heard in Ghana is the language of Twi.  This is the language of the Akan peoples who constitute about half of Ghana.  Music in Ghana is used as a language to relay a message or to tell a story.  The lyrics of some songs change to tell different stories although, non-vocal music also tells a story.

Drums and their music are shared by different Ghanaian ethnic groups.   The best known shared drum, the atumpan, is associated with the Akan people.  These large, goblet-shaped drums are used by chiefs and for state occasions.  They have a single drumhead attached by wire to a flexible round frame made of bamboo and secured to the body of the drum by laces tied to protruding tuning pegs.  Even though these drums are probably made from local materials I wouldn’t classify them as idiophones because they are a drum and probably has a stretched membrane.

The atumpan drum is actually made as a set of two drums but played by one person.  The significance of these male and female drums sets is said to reflect the interdependence of men and women in Akan society.

Highlife, for a time, fell out of style in Ghana but is still popular and important for engagements, weddings, and christenings at nightclubs, and on the radio.  This music is so important to Ghana that it is supported by the military.  The sound of highlife comes from Accra being part of The Gold Coast.  The culturally diverse setting brought together a wide array of musical traditions from Their Gold Coast, Europe and the New World.

There are many celebrations in Ghana in which the music is central to its meaning.  There are celebrations for the successful harvest of the Ga people who survived the famine of the area of Nigeria.  Songs tell the story of their migration and harvest.  There are other social issues that are expressed through their music, as well.  Funerals in Ghana are elaborate and celebrated by most of Ghana.  These funerals are supported by associations and are viewed by the public.

It seems that the people of Ghana have taken sounds they’ve heard from around the world and used them to their liking.  I hope that I can feel like I am part of Paris and yet when I return home be able to use what I have experienced in my own environment.  de Botton make me consider what I will do after Paris.  He said; “Travel twists our curiosity according to a superficial geographical logic, as superficial as if a university course were to prescribe books according to their size rather than subject matter.”  This cracks me up.

From Rai

Research Questions and Methods:

A list of my spring quarter readings:

Paris Was Ours, by Penelope Rowlands

Paris Wish You Were Here, Measom & Shaner

Rick Steves Paris 2015

The Alchemy of Murder, Carol McCleary

Above Paris, Pierre Salinger & Robert Cameron

Paris To The Moon, Adam Gopnik

The Making of the West, Hunt-Martin-Rosenwein-Smith 599-636