Hello everyone--terribly sorry for going SO long without writing a blogpost. I just couldn't muster up enough...energy? No, not energy, cus I have a lot of energy to write, but...maybe inspiration. I just couldn't muster up enough inspiration to sit down and write a truly interesting blogpost because life in Paris, as great and wonderful and amazing as it is, it's normal life. I haven't really done anything that required a blog entry. Therefore, almost, what, 3 full months have elapsed since my last blog. FINALLY! Finally I can write something for you. Something worthy of my blog and proof that my life is more interesting than you all may think.
It all started today when Yasna and I decided to go to the 13th arrondissement for some Asian cuisine. We've recently become sort of obsessed with the 13th after we went to this awesome amazing spectacular grocery store with Hossein, the coolest guy ever, and everything was like no more than 5 euros. I mean, mangoes which are usually like 2 euro 60 for one piece, were like 4 for 1 euro!! Anyway, fun fact, I used to live there. Yeah, my apartment was RIGHT in the middle of all of this hooplah but I find that I never appreciated what I had until now, when I live somewhat far away from the area, and yet tend to go there at least once a week. Oh...also, to be fair, everything in Paris is closed on Sundays, especially when tomorrow is Easter and EVERYTHING and their mother will be closed, the 13th remains open quand même.
So we decided to go there, and we did. We wanted to go have pho, but then we found this awesome Thai restaurant and Yasna's been craving papaya salad for like 4 weeks since one day we walked past a papaya or something. So we had Thai food, and then we left and it was like, 10:30 when we left the restaurant? Something like that. Time matters here though.
At around 10:45-10:50, we got onto the metro, and I thought "oh good ok, we don't have to worry about missing the metro or anything, there is still plenty of time, even if we have to switch." Because on sundays and any day except for friday and saturday the metro closes at midnight. So, we got on the train and went about two stops, when all of a sudden in between two of the stations the train just stops.
Now, this isn't cause for worry since it always happens due to circulation or what not. Nothing to worry about. But this time, we were sitting in the metro for like 30 minutes and every two minutes the train conductor would address everyone on the train by saying it would take a couple more minutes before he would have any information.
Then in one of the messages he said there was an "accident grave de voyageur" which means...well its pretty self explanatory, right? But he didn't say more.
Then, like 5 minutes later, he got on, told us again about the accident grave, and said the trains would have to stop and they were stopping all of the trains on line 7 and that all of the passengers would have to be evacuated from the train. And of course, my heart was just beating so fast the entire time because I get so nervous during any situation like this.
This man came in and put this dinky winky ladder from the train door to the train floor like by the tracks, and we all had to walk down and walk through the tunnel of the metro to the station behind us. And the entire time there were only two things on my mind
1. What if I step on a rat? What if a rat climbs over my foot? What if a rat bites me? What if I stumble across an entire group of rats?
2. I wonder if the person is dead. I wonder what happened to him/her. I wonder if it was one of those German tourists who missed their stop and had to run to the other side to catch a train. I wonder if we'll see anything.
But once we got to the station, all we saw was about 30 pompiers (EMTs) around someone on a stretcher, but the security on the metro made us keep moving up the stairs so we weren't able to see more. Even though I kept stopping to look but the woman was like, "Mesdames s'il vous plait...." so we kept walking up the stairs.
And then we were like, welllllll shooooot! We definitely wont be able to catch the metro, so what should we do? Go to Chatelet (the center basically) to catch the night bus? Ok sure, why not? So we got onto the bus to take us to Chatelet and it was PACKED, like literally we were sardines! And everyone was just sweating because randomly its just summer here. And OF COURSE we end up standing next to these two Egyptian guys who start talking to Yasna and she's being like nice but you know, trying to avoid talking with them, but then one of them asked for Yasna's number and she was like, "nooo I don't think so." And then the guy was like, "well my friend here loves your friend." And everything was just really awkward and I just wanted to get off the bus because I get super uncomfortable in those sorts of situations.
And even once we got off the bus they got off too and he just kept asking for my number and I kept saying, "non, mais c'est gentille." and slowly inching my way behind Yasna and like pushing her towards them without thinking I was doing that. And finally they gave up and walked away.
BUT he did tell us that the "accident grave" was that this man's shirt got stuck in the metro door and he didn't have time to get on and the train just STARTED and he was just stuck!!!!!!!!!
So then we were just in Chatelet and the night bus wouldn't leave until one o'clock. So we had an hour and we thought we would walk around, sit down somewhere, and pass some time. And we ended up sitting next to this Italian girl (Eva) and an Australian girl (Kristen) who were really nice, and we sat on the stoop with Kristen for like 2 hours until these three men came and AGAIN started talking to us and I was like, really? again? But then one of them was like, "do you want some champagne?" And I was like, "No."
And Yasna and Kristen were just having their own conversation so I was left to talk to them. And they kept asking me if I wanted champagne and I kept saying "no thank you." But then randomly one of them took out this remote control and opened up the gate to the store across the street (because he owned it?) and going inside and getting a bottle of champagne and a bottle of coke (for me since I didn't want champagne? I mean...I just thought I could get out of the situation by saying I didn't want to drink). But they just kept talking and we kept laughing nervously and looking at each other like, "please lets get up right now."
Then we took the night bus home and now it's 4 oclock in the morning and we just got home like 15 minutes ago and for some ODD reason while I'm typing this Yasna is listening to Edgar Allen Poe poems on youtube and sketching. A girl of many interests...
I think I'm going to sleep soon, only I really want to take a shower because I just keep thinking about walking alongside the metro walls and who knows whats happened there? Also, the entire time I was glad that it was Yasna with me and not some random person or someone I wasn't very close with because I think I asked about a million questions afterwards and she answered each of them without getting irritated. So that was nice.
Only now Im still thinking about the poor person getting stuck on the metro and I just feel so bad. Poor guy/girl. I hope he/she's ok.
