[07 Oct 19] Normal class day. Things are becoming more routine. I don’t like to lose that feeling of awe every time I walk the streets of this city. I hope the magical feeling of waking to a dream come true stays longer. When I walk the streets of the city I still can’t believe I’m here.
[08 Oct 19] I wish my eyes were a camera, so I could easily take snapshots of everything (and everyone) that I see–without the discomfort of having to raise my phone or camera in front of people. I wish I could store everything I see in a photo or in a video, and keep all these memories forever.
This experience still feels like a dream come true. The things I see now had only been matters of my imagination, as I’ve seen them in countless films, photos, videos. Now I’m right in it.
[09 Oct 19] First exam of the LL.M. program done! Took a snapshot of my desk before starting. We were allowed to refer to our ‘codal’–European Union treaties. Some of my classmates probably had an easier time since half of them are EU citizens. Night out with some of them after the exam!
[10 Oct 19] Our French language professor forbids any English word in class as a policy and discusses everything in French. I feel like drowning, really, like being thrown in the ocean, me gasping for air (words) and catching my breath, with no choice but to (learn to) swim. And swim I will! French class was my only class for the day. The rest of the day stayed at the apartment.
[11 Oct 19] I met up with my frat brod Yael to hang out and explore some parts of the city. I will write another entry on this day!
[12 Oct 19] It was a slow weekend. Stayed most of the time at the apartment, heading out to La Défense for a while. In this photo I took, a young boy looks out to the Grande Arche de La Défense as the metro approaches France’s main financial district. The Grande Arche stands directly opposite the Arc de Triomphe. A giant graffiti that proclaims “We support Hong Kong!” greets commuters at the tunnel.
[13 Oct 19] Almost half of the Sunday parishioners of this Catholic chuch in central Paris are Filipinos. After mass, many would swarm around ambulant vendors selling Filipino food items from chicharon to turon, sometimes even some ulam. This Sunday we went to the Filipino store to have lunch. After lunch I walked across the Seine to the gym.
February 15, 2018. I spent the morning at Agra Fort, or the “red fort” to the west of the Agra, a walled enclave similarly established along the banks of the Yamuna River like the Taj Mahal. Initially built as a military fort, it also later on served as a palace for those who ruled this part of India. It changed hands in as many times as it was occupied by the different groups that tried to govern this part of the subcontinent over the centuries from the Lodi Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire and the Maratha Dynasty, before finally falling into the hands of the British. Today, parts of it is still reserved for the use of the Indian army.
The entire fort is around 34 hectares, and houses dozens of different structures within its 21.4 meters high fortifications. I explored the fort without a tour guide, so most of the information I now know about it came from readings I did after my visit. Nonetheless, my impression of its elaborate architecture at that time is just as amazed as I am still now of its rich history.
At its peak in the late 1600’s, the Mughals ruled from what is modern-day Afghanistan all the way to today’s Bangladesh. Despite being a muslim dynasty with Turk-Mongol and Persian roots, it effectively administered a vast empire of diverse religions (predominantly Hindu), cultures and traditions, through tolerance and alliances.
The Mughals built grand forts, palaces and monuments (such as the Taj Mahal) that rivaled Western architecture and engineering. The Mughal economy also accounted for a fourth of world trade. It was considered India’s last “golden age”.