Charlie Hebdo

I wanted to write a series of short blog posts about the sort of things I've been doing, but I should probably begin with the biggest event that happened while I was gone. First off, many apologies for taking so long to get to this. I have a new "plan" to increase my productivity, which has been working rather well. But I will get to that in another post.

This is painted onto the Institut du Monde Arabe (the Institute of the Arab World), which I'm sure has feared backlash attacks due to these terrorists. 

This is right near the Centre Georges Pompidou

For those of you reading this blog, I should begin by saying that I was on the other side of the planet when Charlie Hebdo was attacked by terrorists who killed several of their prominent cartoonists. I was in San Francisco with friends, and that trip was interesting, but for drastically different reasons. In any case, echoes of the Paris attacks could be felt even all the way in California, and when I returned to Paris a week later, the city was covered in "Je suis Charlie" banners (two of which are pictured above). 

First off, I am not Charlie. And since that statement needs qualification, I will explain. I don't like Charlie Hebdo. It had crossed my path a few times before the attack, but all I knew was that people considered it a French "South Park" (different medium, of course). From what I understood, it was a weekly magazine that aimed to insult everyone. It pictured Mohammed, sure, but also poked fun at the Pope, politicians, and everyone. When I read it, I found a few of the cartoons funny, but it was mostly fart jokes and other vulgar images. I never really "got" that "typical" French humor I suppose. 

As someone who barely read and didn't like Charlie Hebdo, I'm not going to say that I am Charlie. That would be silly! Do I agree with what these terrorists did? Of course not. I don't believe that anyone should be murdered for doing their job; I believe that people have the right to write whatever they want without fearing for their lives; I believe that if you aren't happy with something that has been published, there are other ways to make your concerns known, rather than murdering the people responsible. 

So, I'm for freedom of the press, or liberté d'expression as everyone defends here. But, I also find that the problem is deeply seeded in the way the French government treats its immigrant population—especially in Paris. The French system, no matter how much they claim it is a meritocracy, democratic, and secular, is still essentially an aristocracy. That's why there is no "diversity" at the ENS; it's why the majority of the people in government jobs are there because they went to the same school, passed the same tests, and are generally from the same socioeconomic background. It's also the reason why most of the Arab population seems to be confined to the suburbs. And while I wasn't thrilled when I was stuck in Aulnay-sous-Bois and someone stole my phone out of my hand, I realize that his situation was the result of a highly archaic and racist French system. Perhaps there was no way out. 

The French reaction to the attacks have been exactly wrong. I won't go into it, but here is one example. Apparently a child in an elementary school in the south, when discussing it in class, said that the terrorists were right to kill the cartoonists. They apparently let the police deal with it. How can a country be so hypocritical, proclaiming their right to free speech in Paris but stifling it from anyone who doesn't share the same beliefs as them? In the end, the attack raised a lot of questions that will probably not disappear anytime soon. If nothing else, it made the world largely aware of these political and racial issues that are very prevalent in France, and perhaps now people will be able to recognize it. Perhaps they will even take down the "Au nègre joyeux" sign from the Rue Mouffetard (since it is quite clearly racist). Or perhaps nothing will change and this will be forgotten. The modern day attention span is eerily short, after all. Only time will tell. 

Reasons I'm exhausted

I just got back to Paris! And so begins another chapter of my blog, for which I decided an appropriate topic would be: reasons I'm tired right now. I'll write another post later on my trip to Trier (which actually happened at the end of November) and what I did over the break.

1) I was sick before I left, sick in Iceland (where I swam in two outdoor thermal pools, which probably aggravated the cold), and sick when I got home to Buffalo. Then, with the jet lag, I was not getting enough sleep.

2) When I got back to Buffalo, I would wake up extremely early (around 5am, because of the time difference) and then work until noon, clocking in about 5 good hours or so!

3) My mother was making cookies—lots of them. So I helped quite a bit, as well as worked while she and her partner, Beth, were making them some nights. I would stay up much later than I should have, given the jet lag.

4) I got sick again, probably because of the weather and lack of sleep. I even had to miss Christmas Eve dinner, since we didn't want me to give my grandpa my cold. Thankfully, I discovered Afrin, the world's greatest miracle drug!!

5) I went to Baltimore, and DC (to see Lucie Arnaz in Pippin) and it was a lovely weekend, but I had to wake up at 5am to catch my flight back to Buffalo. My cousin Abby then promptly picked me up from the airport and took me back to my mom's house where we both made cookies for about 12 hours straight.

6) I did an insane amount of work on two applications, a conference presentation for April, an article that will result from that, my dissertation, and more.

7) I went to NYC for NYE, where I stayed up late doing Italian karaoke (and kicking butt at it, if I do say so myself!). Gotta defend my title: Karaoke Star of Urbino.

8) I went to San Francisco for 9 days, where I was waking up at sunrise every morning to get the most out of the trip. My friend Win and I completed the city pass and all its activities in two days flat! And had a 6 mile hike in the woods! We deserve some sort of award.

9) I was back in Princeton for two days, so not long enough to get over the CA jet lag.

10) I flew back to Paris, also through Iceland, and got no sleep.

11) Immediately upon returning, I went to a conference at the BnF. Today (my second day back), I went to an exposition at an art gallery and the jeudi de l'OuLiPo). Now it is 10:30 and I am feeling beat.

So, that's it. How I spent my last five weeks and why I am drained. But fear not, faithful readers (yes, I'm talking to you Uncle Jeffrey!), I will make sure to write more soon about my work, the Charlie Hebdo terrorist strike, a lovely medieval German town, my plan for my dissertation, and more.

Addendum to why it's difficult writing a dissertation in the French university system

While there are numerous problems with the American university system (the cost, the way funds are handled, the adjunct situation, the grade inflation, the capitalistic nature being applied to education, various other politics, etc.), at least the buildings aren't falling apart. The ENS isn't horrible compared to some of the other Parisian or French universities in general (Paris 8, for instance, was just a dump—part of the reason I called it the Paris community college five years ago, but that was mostly due to the quality of education you seemed to receive there), but it is still not great. The place is dirty, first of all. They don't heat it enough, yet students spend all their time in the library even when cold. I once worked there four 5 hours wearing my coat because it was so cold. The bathrooms aren't as bad as Paris 8, but aren't that great either. In the library, they're even coed and rarely have soap or paper towels. The computers they offer for student use are outdated, slow, and rarely work. The Internet isn't much better, and is difficult to connect to the first time. There is a maximum number of books you can take out of the library (about 20), and often you'll take a book out and then receive an email explaining that you need to return it since they shouldn't have let you borrow it in the first place (I'm sorry, but how on earth does that happen?). In any case, it seems I'm not just complaining here because I'm used to a rich American university (though, that is certainly part of it), nor because I have been in France too long and am learning their ways (the French complain a lot—but nowhere near as often as I complain about the French and their complaining!). Rather, it's because I don't find these working conditions very conducive to finishing a dissertation in a timely manner. And it turns out, neither do the French students themselves.

Here is a blog I found where French students post pictures of their horrible working conditions. None of the ENS as far as I can see, but feel free to browse and see exactly what I'm dealing with. (Also, note that I'm writing this post from a very clean house in the suburbs of Buffalo, so I do have some sort of distance!)

http://universiteenruines.tumblr.com/

Stromae

I celebrated Thanksgiving in the most awesome of ways! I got myself a Lebanese sandwich (Halloumi cheese), Berthillon ice cream, and then I went to see Stromae!!

My friend Silvia was supposed to come with me to see him. She was due in from Trier (a small medieval town in Germany, near the border, where she's doing a postdoc) at 5, but then got stranded in Saarbrücken because the train to Paris was cancelled! It was very unfortunate...the later train would have gotten her in too late. So, instead of missing it, she decided not to come to Paris at all. I'll be going to Trier tomorrow morning. Mélanie joined me at the concert instead. And boy was it amazing!

A bit of background: Stromae is a Belgian singer whose name is obviously a pseudonym. It comes from the French slang language known as the "Verlan" (the word "envers" or "backwards" pronounced backwards). By that logic, Stromae is what word backwards? C'mon, you can get the right answer! That's right! Maestro!

Stromae hit the top of the charts with his "Alors on danse" (then we dance) which has become famous even in the US. It sounds like any other club song, with the strong beat and loud bass. But, the words are all painfully ironic, about how life is hard and all we do all day every day is totally useless, so we go out and dance to forget. Most of his songs are about one problematic aspect of everyday life, or social commentary, but put to a positive-sounding beat! They make you want to dance, except they're about: the fact that no one sleeps anymore, the futility of love, missing parents, suicide, sickness, etc. The New York Times wrote an article about him last year (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/arts/15iht-stromae15.html?_r=1&), in which they claimed he captured the disillusionment of an entire generation of Europeans. Judging from the attendance and participation at his concert, I'd say he is doing quite well for himself. There's even a rumor that he wants to retire.

Anyway, I spent Thanksgiving very thankful for Stromae and his catchy tunes and their contrasting ironic lyrics, and not quite as thankful for faulty European railway systems which prevented Silvia from getting here. But, I'll see her tomorrow at a big "Thanksgiving" dinner she's been planning with her friends in Germany!

Below I've added some of my (not very good) pictures from the concert, as well of three of my favorite Stromae music videos. Enjoy!!

Picasso Museum

Here are some pictures from the newly renovated and reopened Picasso museum which is a short walk from chez moi in the Marais! The day after my birthday, after Jess and I got breakfast and she left, I walked north, picked up a Berthillon on the way, and met my new friend Yao to see this new museum! Afterwards, we took a little stroll through the Marais. It was a lovely post-birthday day!

A picture he painted of the Sacré Cœur! Do you recognize it? 

I can't remember what this was. Might have been a guitar. He painted a lot of guitars that don't look like guitars!

This seems to be one of his kiss paintings. 

A nude. If he painted me like that, I'd be a bit angry. 

This is someone reading. If he painted me like this, I'd be okay with it. 

This is supposed to be a woman reading. Except she's clearly not looking at the book. 

A GOAT!!

The museum was beautiful!

The view was pretty nice too

There's Sacré Cœur, in case you didn't recognize it from Picasso's painting 

This might have been another kiss? 

Birthday in Paris

These next few posts are going to be a bit out of order. First, I'd like to talk about my birthday in Paris! This was my first time having a birthday outside of the US, and I have to say, it wasn't any different at all! All I did was spend my day being told absolutely nothing about what we were doing that night (it was a surprise organized by Jess and Mélanie) and then had a lovely evening surrounded by good friends (some old, some new) eating fondue and raclette.

The language of the evening was English, since Mélanie was the only French person. It might as well have been French, though, since Macs, Jess, and Jena all speak French fluently. For dessert, Andréa joined us as well, and so she, Mélanie and I started a French side of the conversation. It was too weird speaking to Andréa in English! Her English (like her French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish) is wonderful, of course. I just realized I had never spoken to her in English!

I even got presents! Mélanie got me northern French cookies which all have part of a sentence written on them and you can mix and match to write full sentences! Very Oulipian, and very appropriate, as was the accompanying book about the literary scene in Paris. And Jess got me traditional African jewelry, which is lovely and matches one of my new sweaters and the turquoise shoes I bought in Berlin perfectly!

After the fondue party (which, by the way, was at an amazing place Jess and I found a few weeks ago when the Beninese place was unfortunately closed. The waitress there is Italian and she gave us free wine when I spoke to her in Italian the last time. This time she just wished me happy birthday), Jess and I went to The Moose (the Canadian bar) where I proudly announced to the bartender that it was my birthday! At that point, the two people next to us announced that they were buying us drinks! Then, we all continued to celebrate my birthday well into the night because, after all, it was still my birthday in the US! Anyway, the next morning, Jess and I had a long talk about constrained literature and the mathematical aspects of Georges Perec's La vie mode d'emploi (Life a User's Manual, translated by David Bellos, of course!). So, clearly we didn't have too much to drink!

I didn't take too many pictures, but here is the "scandalous" chocolate fondue I had for dessert!

Paris celebrates Christmas before Thanksgiving!

Good thing Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here, because otherwise all the Christmas lights would be a little too early. Just for fun, I figured I'd show you some pictures I've taken.

By the way, some of these pictures were taken as early as November 11th!