En Route #5
Running in the Rain
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With summer officially gone and Fall here to stay, it seems fitting that the threat of rain has become a fixture of our daily weather. Four weeks into the semester and the seasons have completely flipped, reminding me that not only do I need to refresh my sweater collection, but I also have a dangerously low supply of fuzzy socks. Obviously this had to be fixed immediately for quality of life purposes, which is how I justified placing an Amazon.fr order at 2am on a weeknight.
Despite the slightly gloomy weather urging me to stay in bed, this week I was running around more than ever. With Senior Thesis research kicking into high gear pre-Midterms, it became clear that internet sleuthing, however masterful, could only get me so far. In this modern age, in order to get the information you need, going old school is sometimes the best way to find it.
Before the internet became the most popular source of information, and subsequently disinformation, legend has it people would actually have to leave their homes and enter an establishment of some sort in which knowledge was housed. It turns out, you really can’t beat going right to the source. I, being an old soul at heart, found this revival of research positively refreshing. At least that’s what I told myself on the 40 minute metro ride there.
After being blasted with enough wind and rain to recreate a scene from Oliver Twist, I arrived at the Musée Cernuschi, home of the second biggest Asian art collection in Paris. I took my time touring the exquisite mansion, formerly home to the museum’s founder. I was able to take a lot of pictures and even got to chat with one very kind lady who told me about the museum’s library available to the public by appointment. Score!
After saying my goodbyes and promising to reach out to the librarian for an appointment, I took a short metro ride across the river to the American Library in Paris. My reasons were twofold. A) to pick up my library card that I signed up for at Orientation and B) to actually check out some books that will help with my research. I think one of the biggest advantages to being a student in Paris is the sheer abundance of resources we have access to and since my topic of research is rather niche to begin with, I had to get creative.
I hunkered down in the basement, rifling through all manner of dusty tomes, and read frantically for a couple hours before my stomach’s growling scared the wits out of some poor boy in the stacks. My journey home took a slightly perilous turn as my phone battery had been drained to 5% from my copious amount of picture taking and I had to pray the bus was going to get me where I needed to go. I was deposited near my apartment with 2% left and thanked my lucky stars as I scurried home. Suffice to say that the second item in my Amazon order was a portable battery. As the weather gets more and more fierce, the last thing you want to be worrying about is how you’re going to get back home.