Day 7

Good Evening! It is our seventh day away from home. We have been eating more and more meals in our apartment (restaurant food loses some of its charm after day 4), and I am exhausted! As I speak, Laura is lying across the room from me, sleeping peacefully. While we are sleepy, we are finally starting to feel the rhythm of Paris. The metro is starting to look friendlier (minus the two attempted pick-pockets), we have discovered where to get pastries, and managed to find conditioner (much harder than one might assume). This morning, Laura and I were mistaken for Parisians by a traveler who wanted to know how to get to the opera. The best piece, WE ACTUALLY KNEW WHERE IT WAS! We were quite excited.
Today, we met with a woman from CCIF, a center that deals with "Islamophobia." We talked about the problems many Muslims, women in particular, face in France. For wearing the hijab in school, a girl may be kicked out. She commented on how it does not make much sense to liberate women from what you perceive to be an oppressive piece of tissue by denying them an education. The CCIF, helps Muslims who are faced with "Islamophobia" to recognize their rights, and seek legal action for discrimination.
Later this afternoon, we went to the Arab World Institute. They had some very interesting artifacts, among which were included ancient mosaic high heels, hand-crafted cut glass, camel saddles, and a cloak with matching "pants" to protect the wearer from christians and infidels. (We had a chuckle at that one.) Perhaps the most beautiful, however, was the calligraphy. Islamic texts do not allow pictures of people as they are seen as moving towards idolatry. Dr. Mallery explained to me that this may be one of the reasons that they put so much beauty into their writing.
Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Brussels, and while we are sad to be leaving Paris without seeing....EVERYTHING, we are excited to learn the rhythm of a new city. (and no, I'm not at all excited about the chocolate)

Katy