Je Suis Tellement Bénie!

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Today was an early day to catch the bus to Nemours to see the hominid reconstruction exhibit. You know, it's so hard to actually wake up, but being awake in the morning is so awesome. I love being outside in the morning air, when not a lot of people are out and about. I forgot that I actually used to be a morning person, haha. There were days when I didn't consistently hit the snooze button four times :P

The museum is literally in a forest. So awesome.



But wow. The exhibit was just not at all as I expected. Or, rather, I didn't react at all as I expected. Elisabeth Daynès is a world-renowned (considered by many to be number one in the world) reconstructionist. She takes skeletons and reconstructs bodies from them. Professor Martin (who is curator of biology and anthropology at the Field Museum) knows her personally, and she met us there and gave us a personal tour with her assistant. She took us through the steps of what it takes to make one of these reconstructions. Then, the curator of this Museum (The Prehistorical Museum) gave us a personalized tour of the rest of the museum. As a side note, he only spoke French, and I got to translate for about half of it !! :D

The museum:



Elisabeth Daynès' exhibit:



Anyway, her reconstructions absolutely bring these skeletons to life. Looking at what fragmented bones we have of an ancestral human from 3.5 million years ago and creating something that looks like it really did exist. Absolutely astounding. I was so fascinated. Also, I felt so special being given a personal tour (or, rather, the class) by the artist herself!! We weren't able to take pictures, but I would definitely encourage you to look her stuff up.

In the rest of the museum was very fascinating as well. It focuses on the archeological remains particular to the region south of Paris. Apparently, it's a very rich area. There are so many artifacts, including tools, barges, remains, and animals that it's hard not to be transferred into the past. I know I've never really been all that interested in history, especially anthropology, but seeing this stuff makes it so much more interesting. Also, getting personal guided tours of museums makes so much more sense than wandering them alone :P

We then headed back to the Jardin des Plantes for lunch and another afternoon in the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy. Lunch at La Baleine (The Whale!) was actually better than I expected. Appetizer was onion tartine, entrée was some sort of bird in green cabbage, and dessert was a chocolate (and I mean CHOCOLATE) filled chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. Man, I don't eat very much here (it's all a bit too rich for my taste), but I'm assured it's delicious. I'm just grateful they didn't serve us fish :)

Our meal:

On the way to the Gallery, we found this piece. It's supposed to symbolize dictatorship. Yes.



All the flowers are gone (!! :(  ) But the tree-way is almost more awesome without leaves:




This trip to the Gallery was particularly for our research project, which focuses on the mammalian, and particularly primate, vertebral column patterns and what those indicate about possible ancestral configurations and activities. Our professor is just so awesome. He totally loves what he studies, and he loves teaching others about it. This time, the museum was actually enjoyable. After about an hour and a half of counting vertebrae on who knows how many vertebrates (the snakes! ahhhh!!), we took a fun break with the DINOSAURS!

It's...Little Foot!! (If you get that reference, you probably grew up in the '90s :P )



AHHHHHHH!!!!! :P

On the way back, a few of us stopped at this cafe that is actually a mosque. I'm not quite sure how it works, but it was pretty crowded. You walk in, and they bring you this tea that costs two euros each. That's what we went there for, but the ambiance was very cool as well. I can't get over how many animals are allowed in restaurants. I was also thinking while we were conversing and whatnot about how blessed I am. Not only to have these wonderful tours of things I would never had had the opportunity to see, but also to be surrounded by such smart people!



Yes, our professors are all genius. But the students are, too! I love listening to everyone talk and put in their little bit about what they know best. It's so interesting, and I really can just sit there and listen. I learn so much from my peers. I really do love my school. People aren't afraid to just say what they think and why they think it. My life is so blessed.