Volunteering, Lectures and the Eiffel Tower!

Our third day in Paris was one to be remembered. We went to the American Cathedral at 9 am to help at their soup kitchen. Ghandi said "the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others". Volunteering at the soup kitchen was a way to understand the French culture on a deeper level and to get to experience a different part of French society. The way that the soup kitchen is set up is very special and like nothing I have seen in the United States. The guests who come in are all in need in some way. After being seated they are served a gourmet meal from appetizer to desert and coffee. This service gives them nutritious food but more importantly it is an important morale booster. Dressed in their finest you can see the joy in their faces. Although they speak little English and we speak little French somehow we were able to communicate and connect in a fascinating way that was very moving. We left the soup kitchen and headed back to the PAA. Walking down the Champs-E'lysses we found ourselves outside the Louis Vuitton flag ship store. We were all jumping out of our skin to get inside the store. Then to see how expensive everything was and comparing it to the soup kitchen was extremely emotional. Customers at LV were carrying out multiple bags filled with at least 100,000 dollars worth of merchandise and the people leaving the soup kitchen were carrying one small backpack of everything they owned.

Back at the PAA we attended a lecture by Philip Fimmano from Trend Union. Mr. Fimmano works for Li Edelkoort one of the top trend forecasters in the world. It's unbelievable how they compile all this information from traveling and following world events, and are able to predict what will be the major trends in fashion and other industries.

After an amazing lecture by Fimmano we meet with Ana Burk from Rick Owens. It was exciting to meet her and talk about the upcoming menswear fashion show. Luckily all eight students will be able to work backstage at the Rick Owens show on June 23^rd, the first day of the menswear fashion show period. Ana has had ten years of fashion show experience and she was very professional. It was a great experience to be able to talk to someone who is working in the industry.

At about 7 pm our schedule ended for the day so we headed to the Eiffel Tower! Seeing the Eiffel Tower made being in Paris feel so official. Pictures do not do that beautiful piece of architect justice. We were lucky enough to see it before and after the sunset. When the tower lit up and sparked for the first time we all froze and stared at the spectacular sight of the flashing lights illuminating the massive structure. We walked around the Seine River and discovered the overpass where Princess Diana had her fatal car accident. As we stopped to stare at this historical location we noticed there was writing all over the concrete overpass. The writing was of words of peace and love written in many different languages. Reading the many sentences of hope we reflected on the tragedy. We were reminded how this event impacted the international community and how we may be from different parts of the world but we all share common triumphs and loses too.

~ Barbara Wrenn; 6/17/11