Q & A session:

One of the features of the Feedjit is that I am able to see what google searches bring readers to this site.

The most common are 1) job search in France and 2) travel.

I am no expert - but I do have a unique experience in having worked in France and for French entities in the U.S. So I would like to open this up to questions - feel free to ask me anything, if I can help - I'd be glad to. The same goes for questions about travel to France.

The floor is now open...

Ricksha Wallah

I am departing from my usual subject matter as I recently returned from a trip to India and witnessed something that was gut-wrenching.

I had visions before I had left of most of what I was to see there, in terms of living conditions of the average person. What brought me to tears and saddened me beyond belief was the following:

Chaotic, busy, horn-honking, lights, faces, shouts, smells, traffic moving at all speeds with people walking, cyclo-pousses, auto-rickshas, cars, carts, cows - anything that can move was and was darting in and out of each other's way with rapid and loud movements... moving forward in a million directions. You can see the sounds - they are so loud. The noise is as thick and pungent as smog. We were watching it all happen outside of the tunnel-vision view from our own ricksha when all of a sudden, in one single beat, traffic stopped Instead of calm and quiet inertia - this sent horns, people's voices and animals into mania - trying to see what had happened and get it out of the way. The one rule of traffic here is that it never stops.

After a few minutes (but what seemed like an eternity to people who were late getting to an airport for not one but two international flights) things dwindled down and our own cart began moving again... moving forward to allow us a view to see that some type of accident had happened - to watch clients in flourescent orange and deep blue saris getting out of a unmotorized ricksha that had fallen - shouts coming from a man on a moped who had most certainly caused this and wanted no blame or responsibility.

But as all this cleared in my vision, one sight remained - the look of the most deep despair and sadness I have ever seen as the ricksha wallah (ricksha man, or driver) picked up the broken and bent pieces of the wheels of his ricksha - he moved with a slowness that spelled out his pain and utter attempts to not accept what was happening to him; this must be the speed of sadness, of total loss - looking at what fate had just dealt him - this is most certainly his only means of a living, this means a night without pay and who knows if he has the money to pay for the reparations - but the look on his face told us he didnt and this would certainly mean future hunger or worse. No insurance, no cares from the moped driver nor the clients both fleeing the scene as quickly as possible to get to their party or take on the next client. In the chaotic, hurried scene of the streets of Varanasi - everything moved in a slow, desperate, tristesse motion for this one ricksha wallah.

I will never forget his face, nor how quickly and deeply I felt sadness for him and the unjust, unfair situation that happened in a split second.

Hammam and cheese

One of my favorite activities in Paris (and many other cities as well) is to go to a hammam (Turkish-style bath house).

Paris has many hammams - some are co-ed, some are every other day men or women, some are chic, some have been renovated into hip nightclubs (e.g. Les Bain-Douches)... no matter which one you chose the experience is amazing and shows you a different side of Paris - once you step over the doorway you begin starting to see the real city - not just the 10% that you already knew (i.e. Eiffel Tower, baguettes, Notre Dame...).

La Mosquee de Paris - believe it or not, France is home to more than 100 mosques and approximately 6 millions Muslims - that is almost 1/10 of the French continental population. France is a secular country, if not the most secular country in today's world. There will be (much) more on this subject later...

La Mosque de Paris is at the same time a mosque, museum, tea house, restaurant, outdoor cafe, a souk, and a hammam (bain maure). The rules are every other day is either men or women. The secret is out on this fantastic place by the metro Censier Daubenton - and it was renovated and repainted a few years back. When you first walk in you are to choose your formule and the deshabille yourself and walk though the rooms the go from hot to hotter than hell... clothing is optional and when its time for a massage you can sit out in a room that is covered in colorful pillows and sip your mint tea while chatting with friends. You can choose a massage in a private room or out in the main room. It is best to spend a few hours here and really relax - you are experiencing many things French at the same time; 1) a more open attitude towards bodies and insecurities (you will see what I mean if you go 2) residuals of the French Empire and colonialism 3) living proof of a secular states at work and 4) the notion of pleasure for pleasure's sake.

To find the hammam, you want to go in the side where there is a courtyard cafe (on the other side from the museum entrance)on la rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hiliaire - when you walk into the building from the outdoor courtyard you will see a dessert stand/cart on your left - go behind this through the doors and you will then enter the hammam.

http://mosquee-de-paris.net/

Prices/times/details for hammam/restaurant: www.la-mosquee.com


Women: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday - 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
Friday - 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Men: Tuesday - 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm; Sunday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm.


Other notable hammams in Paris:

LES BAINS DU MARAIS, 31-33 rue des Blancs-Manteaux - 75004, T. 01 44 61 02 02.
Women: Mon 11h00-20h00, Tue 11h00-23h00, Wed 10h00-19h00;
Men: Thu 11h00-23h00, Fri 10h00-20h00, Sat 10h00-20h00:
Mixed (swimsuits are mandatory): Wed 19h00-24h00, Sun 11h00-23h00.
Hammam €30, with treatments €60. M Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville. Modern and sparkling with a cafe.

SIX RECOMMENDED HAMMAMS:
http://www.linternaute.com/paris/magazine/diaporama/06/hammams/index.shtml

Article about the Mosquee de Paris - Hammam:
http://www.paris-expat.com/guide/08-04_hammam.html