Vesna’s voyages

My Park in Williamsburg: From one drug dealer to this

So here I am back in France. Had a whirlwind last 24 hours of saying hi and bye to NYC friends. I got to see some of my old favourite haunts like the sangria places on Park Slope and quality shopping at Beacon’s Closet et al. Then discovered that my little dodgy park on grand avenue off Bedford Ave. had become a mecca for families and couples replete with a new garden walk, benches and newly planted grass to sit and look out at Manhattan just accross the East river. Ah and my spot on a rolling cemented plot along the barbed wire fence was still as intact as ever and I reminisced about watching the fireworks one fourth of July through this concrete cage. Wow! what a really nice relaxing trip walking around the city this time around. Also hit up a sports bar and saw a live international band called Eli-Che who were just as interested in their guests (me) as in their eclectic blend of latin and american music. And sat at a table and chatted between sets and even during. It’s funny how a huge city can become cozy and familiar in a tap of a foot.

After a two day repreve in the city I hopped back on the plane, this time on a $330 flight with Air Berlin. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? I didn’t realize that speaking the language of the airline was a pre-requisite. But I learned more German on that six-hour flight to Dusseldorf than I probably ever will. Even though I again and again said that I didn’t understand, the flight attendant continued serving me soley in her mother tongue, I guess that three-quarters on my mom’s side is to blame. Anyway, I didn’t say Auf wiedersehen for the last time until the end of the second flight and I had arrived in Nice, my destination. A Chinese girl came and picked me up along with an Indian boy. When we emerged to the blistering beach sun blaring down on our already tired and sweaty bodies, he stated repeatedly that he could not handle staying in this place. Even in Indian standards, I guess it’s hot here.

So we took a bus to the dorm room which is kind of in town and about a five minute walk from the Mediterranean. Lucky for me, if only I was a beach person. I went shopping and used my achingly bad French and the clerk tried out her even worse English on me. Oh, Europe I missed you! Well, not completely, this country both makes me cringe and thrilled. I guess it will be a matter of trying a little harder to see the positive side of things. At least so far the madame of the dormitory has called me a beautiful little Slovenian. On to my living conditions: The room I live in is really tiny, I think perhaps the smallest I’ve ever had except in Syracuse where I also had the benefits of a common room. Here it is just a long gloomy corridor of rooms with one shared room of urinals and a large room with a sink (the kitchen?). It’s fine, nothing luxurious, but at least it will get me outside more often to explore what this place has to offer…I have four days until school starts.