Dinners

This week was very busy, with Abe's work on the day care and my presentation of my preschool study to the research team at Inserm. The presentation was stressful, ironically, because the person I am working with (Blandine) kept doing too much of the work. It seems like that should make it easier, but it was difficult to figure out whether she was trying to be helpful or if she was somehow trying to take over the project. Ultimately, I think she was trying to be helpful, and whereas her analytical and statistical skills are really sharp, I was able to contribute significantly to the theoretical and interpretive aspects of the presentation, which helped me feel better about the whole thing. In the end, the presentation was very successful, generating lots of interest among the other members of the team. The group (which never talks about work during lunch) spent the entire lunch hour asking questions about the study and delving more deeply into our findings.

After a week of work, we were happy to have several fun social engagements for the weekend - specifically 2 dinners out. Mark and Nina (Abe's friends from high school) were in Paris for the weekend on their way to Amsterdam for a conference. Friday morning, Abe, Nina, and Mark went to the Musee Carnavalet, where Mark played tour guide and shared his vast knowledge of the French Revolution. Then Mark spent the afternoon at the Bibliotheque Nationale reading some original sources related to his European history rersearch, while Abe and Nina enjoyed a bit more of Paris. That evening, Lily came over to babysit. The kids were happy to see Lily again (it had been a while since we had a babysitter), especially when she told us that any time we want to come to Euro Disneyland, she has free passes for us (she works there on the weekends). Lily is a student at the Sorbonne, which has been closed all week for sit-ins and demonstrations against the CPE (Contract Premier Embauche - a new law that makes the first 2 years of a new job a probationary period without the same safety nets in place that most French employees enjoy). So, I think she was happy to have something productive to do after a week of just waiting for classes to start up again. We went out to a favorite restaurant in the Marais called Le Trois - and had what Abe and I agreed may be the best meal we've eaten yet in Paris. They first served an amuse bouche of a herbed cream on thin toast. Then, Abe had an appetizer of delicious foie gras. We both had for a main course the 7 hour lamb wrapped in pastry that was indescribably tender and flavorful (I guess if you cook something for 7 hours that is bound to have an effect). On the side, I had the potato sampler which had 3 types of mashed potatoes - white, sweet, and purple. Abe had the gnocchi with truffles. Apparently, people differ in the extent to which they can taste truffles - some people are very sensitive to the flavor while to others, it is just another mushroom. This was the first time I had tasted truffles and apparently, I am very susceptible to their magic. It felt like they were sparkling on my tongue, and I keep wondering when I can go back and order them again. I had a dessert of a chocolate souffle with ice cream - which was delicious, but then again, how hard is it to make chocolate souffle and ice cream taste good? Mark and Nina also enjoyed the meal, with the sole complaint that the portion sizes were too small - making Abe and I wonder what our reaction will be when we get back to the states and are once again served huge portions at restaurants. We ended the night with a really beautiful walk to the Ile de la Cite and along the Seine.

Saturday evening we were invited to Marie Aline's house for dinner. Aline is the head researcher at my unit of Inserm and the host of my visit here. She invited us for 7:30 (early, she explained, because of the kids). Beverly and her husband Fritz picked us up in their car, as Aline and Richard live a bit outside of Paris. Beverly and Fritz are Australian - he is retired from his work with the UN, and she works at Inserm. Also there for the dinner were Benedicte and Mark (She works at Inserm, he teaches math in Tours; a few years ago, they did the same thing as us in reverse and lived in Baltimore for a year with their young kids, so I often get advice from Benedicte about how to keep up the language for the kids when we get back and that sort of thing), and Dominique and Pascale(He works at Inserm and she works for the society pages at Le Figaro, Pascale was very sweet and very taken with Ella and Jonah's charms). Aline's husband Richard is very friendly and interesting - he teaches English to bankers, and offered to meet with Abe sometimes between his classes for some French lessons. Aline fed Ella and Jonah with her kids (Keli and Manon - who are about 14 and 11). Manon, the daughter, had offered to play with the kids while the grown-ups ate, but as it turned out, she wasn't feeling well and she went to bed. Keli, the son, who had zero experience with kids generously filled in as the babysitter and entertained Ella and Jonah all night with drawing and clay. The dinner was a lot of fun. The food was delicious (a delicate salad with apples and mache) and a dish that is apparently traditional French, but reminded me of brisket and carrots. There were apperatifs, lots of wine, and a digestif of a Madagascar rum (that apparently is not exported, and Richard gets it only when his nephew comes to visit). The conversation was lively and fun - sometimes a challenge for Abe to follow - but all in all good. It was especially nice to get to know all of the people I work with a little bit better and in a context outside of work.