F Train to Paris

In which a Jewish family from Brooklyn moves to Paris, France for two years of work, school, and adventures.

For family and friends who read this blog to find out what we're up to over here in Paris, here's a family update:

J., our oldest son, also known as occasional guest blogger Hankobus, has finally returned from a whirlwind month of travel. He spent a week in Barcelona with his Spanish class, followed almost immediately by five days in Dublin participating in a Model United Nations. I hope he'll take over the keyboard sometime soon to write about his experiences.

R., our second son, had his moment in the spotlight this week, playing a lead role (Fat Sam) in the ISP Middle School production of "Bugsy Malone." Of course, his parents were proud, but several unrelated, completely objective individuals told me they thought he stole the show. We saw his first performance, but the second one took place on the Jewish holiday of Purim, so while R. was onstage, E. and I were listening to Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther) at Adath Shalom.  E. was in costume, dressed as Captain Hook. (We forgot to bring a grogger, and his hook came in handy for making noise.) The shul was crowded,  hot, and of course noisy, all typical for Purim. The megillah was chanted in Hebrew and then translated, chapter by chapter, into French.

Today is Easter Monday, and Ralph and the kids were off from work and school. We had  tried unsuccessfully  to make a last-minute reservation at a bed and breakfast so we could get out of the city for a couple of days, but as the weather has turned gray and rainy, it's probably for the best that we stayed in town. Yesterday, Ralph and I took E. to Fontainebleau--the older boys refused to go--and today the same threesome joined a group of friends for an Easter egg hunt and picnic in the Parc Montsouris. (E. has been a little obsessed with Easter eggs, thanks to songs and art projects in school.) Wouldn't you know it--the Jewish kid tied for the most eggs found. To balance things a little, I brought a batch of hamentashen as my contribution to the picnic.

Happy birthday to my nephew Judah, happy anniversary to Zaidy and Grandma, and happy birthday and refuah shelaimah to Uncle Irwin.

posted by: pariskleinmans at 15:24 | link | comments (3) |

Comments:

#1  28 March 2005 - 20:17

 

...and the hamantashen were great! (I was wondering what they were called.)

I enjoyed visualizing the student performance at ISP. When I taught HS in California, I was an avid fan of the school's twice-a-year performances and realize now that that's yet one more thing I miss about practicing my profession back 'home'.

SciMama

#2  29 March 2005 - 17:06

 

Did you have a good time at Fountainebleau?

Anonymous

#3  29 March 2005 - 21:03

 

We did indeed have a good time at Fontainebleau. We had been there once before, years ago, but it was worth revisiting. It's an amazing, well-preserved amalgam of different historical periods, reflecting the tastes of many kings, queens, and emperors. And E. always has fun as long as we bring along a notebook and pen and let him stop and draw along the way.

pariskleinmans

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