Amel

I wrote this on a quiet Sunday morning in a cozy Parisian apartment:

I promised to write about this. In English. Making and actually keeping promises is not my strongest point in life, but somehow this worked out perfectly. When it is about writing, I don't make any jokes. Writing, I take very seriously. Yes, I do. Really!

I will write today about a person. One person in particular. I normally don't do this. Like keeping promises. But somehow writing about this person is necessary. It has to be done. I feel it like that.

This is a person who opened the world of singing for me. It is a person who has a cat that responds to 'tu veux manger?' which I personally find the joke of the year. I'm sure, of course, that there are more cats and/or dogs in France who respond to 'tu veux manger', but this person made me see and experience it for the first time and I loved it.

The person, who is a female, has a boyfriend who is one of the best chess-players in France and they make -I cannot say otherwise- the most classic & elegant couple I've ever seen.

She has a Mediterranean, light-some and graceful style, he has a timid but self-conscious French traditional style and it is almost that they are fighting about who has the most classicism inside one another.

She studied English. And she loves to talk English, which makes sense of course. And she talks French too of course. She talks French to her boyfriend and although they know each other for more than eight years, they still use the polite form 'vous' when talking to each other. Just because, as a habit.

She plays guitar, she sings, she dresses and dances with the grace & style of a fifties elegant lady, she worked and works in the Abbey Bookshop.

She is the one who made me feel right at home every time I return to Paris. Within a beat and a second I'm back on the rollercoaster of 'good things' in the city as party's, dinners, music evenings, good talks and wine.

She is also very direct, straightforward, decisive, firm, strong and full of fire. She is determined in succeeding in life. She works hard & structured and is determined to bloody enjoy every second of life in general and especially in Paris. This makes me smile. And it makes me very happy.

She made me see the beauty of Paris many times. She also introduced me into Parisian life with its culture, its inhabitants, its narrow streets and grand boulevards. She shared her love for the city with me.

I look at the mirror in her apartment. I helped carrying it up the 6th floor, back in March, and I am intensely happy that I had a little share in the becoming of this beautiful apartment.

Last night it happened I danced on Klezmer/Jiddisch music in Chez George near the famous St. Sulpice church in Paris. A combined evening with Pop, Rock, Jazz & French chansons of course. With a good Brouilly, my two best friends Amel & Alexandra, a lot of locals and a few funny Ozzie tourists and the package of fun was complete.

Now, I'm back at Amel's apartment feeling a bit melancholic, which resulted in this writing. I cannot help but think I'm the luckiest person in the world right now.

Amel is Paris. Paris is Amel. I cannot image someone more Parisian then Amel. And I love her for that!