(no subject)
Fire on the Streets
Tonight I saw a clip on a French news channel of a clip from CBS evening news - a graphic showing a map of France almost completely on fire. It cut back to the French anchor, whose face said something along the lines of "Yeah, fuck you too. We can handle it."
Going into the 12th (? they started on Oct 27) night of rioting, I'm not completely sure how the French government is going to handle this. The US news reports depicting the streets of Paris as being completely unruly aren't accurate - but they do almost hit home on what's going on in the lower income suburbs just outside of the city (imagine a big US city and turn its white flight inside out, add roughly 40-50 years of extreme tension surrounding immigrant populations, and you've got the situation in Paris right now). This shit is, quite frankly, insane. Towards 5000 cars have been burned, the arson has spread to mostly public property (nursery schools, churchs, synagogues, etc), and last night gunshots came into play for the first time. Half of the people involved are minors. Up to 40% of the North African immigrant population in some of Paris' northern suburbs is unemployed. People are pissed. Real, real pissed. And, judging by prime minister Villepin's interview with French news that was on TV tonight, no one has any real idea of how to stop it. Aside from firm but nondescript assurance of ending the problem by means that are "firm and just" as soon as possible, and vague promises of looking at just why these tensions have been boiling for this long without official adknowledgement, not much seems to be in the works.
So, in short, France is a lot crazier than America might have thought. Batshit crazy even.
I'm wondering: 1) if anyone in America cares
2) if so, when the movie "Cache," which came out here last month, and pretty much sums up the problem as it is, will be released in some special packaging, maybe to the US
Leaving on a Jet Plane...
Is a lame song. But, I am going to Prague on Wednesday morning, and I'm a goin' on a jet plane. Should be fun. Traces of communism. Who doesn't love that?
Four Days of Dry Spell
After last weekend, a good chunk of people in our little study abroad group made a decision: we could probably spend less money and be not quite so American fatassey if we didn't go out drinking for awhile. It was a good idea. I want it back. I've almost decided that it won't much matter that I don't turn 21 and legal drinker until 7 months after I get back home, because this whole going out to bars thing has gotten old pretty fast. Granted, everyone is speaking French and there's no Parisian equivalent to Linda's, but I doubt that I'll be too heartbroken if I don't find myself being nudged around and having small amounts of beer and cocktail slopped my way again for awhile.
Anyway, the official dry spell, which was set at two weeks for about five people, ended at four days for almost all of us. But, we did get to make one more trip to the dive bar that we started at - it's still a dive. The dog is still a sweetheart.
I think I might go to Rome
Weekend after next. That's not very interesting, but I think I might.
French grammar
"I have a question for you. On a scale of one to ten - 1 being that you love French grammar so much that you could take it for 12 to 15 hours a day, and 10 being that your hate for it is so strong that you might, in the next two hours, throw your chair across the room and leave in a rage to never come back - how tired of you of grammar class?" - Elizabeth.
My answer was a 6. That I can finish it without really caring, skip to travel without even a vague sense of guilt, fall asleep and space out every day.
Then we did subjunctive phrase examples and took a conjugation text. My answer has upgraded to a 7.
Tonight I saw a clip on a French news channel of a clip from CBS evening news - a graphic showing a map of France almost completely on fire. It cut back to the French anchor, whose face said something along the lines of "Yeah, fuck you too. We can handle it."
Going into the 12th (? they started on Oct 27) night of rioting, I'm not completely sure how the French government is going to handle this. The US news reports depicting the streets of Paris as being completely unruly aren't accurate - but they do almost hit home on what's going on in the lower income suburbs just outside of the city (imagine a big US city and turn its white flight inside out, add roughly 40-50 years of extreme tension surrounding immigrant populations, and you've got the situation in Paris right now). This shit is, quite frankly, insane. Towards 5000 cars have been burned, the arson has spread to mostly public property (nursery schools, churchs, synagogues, etc), and last night gunshots came into play for the first time. Half of the people involved are minors. Up to 40% of the North African immigrant population in some of Paris' northern suburbs is unemployed. People are pissed. Real, real pissed. And, judging by prime minister Villepin's interview with French news that was on TV tonight, no one has any real idea of how to stop it. Aside from firm but nondescript assurance of ending the problem by means that are "firm and just" as soon as possible, and vague promises of looking at just why these tensions have been boiling for this long without official adknowledgement, not much seems to be in the works.
So, in short, France is a lot crazier than America might have thought. Batshit crazy even.
I'm wondering: 1) if anyone in America cares
2) if so, when the movie "Cache," which came out here last month, and pretty much sums up the problem as it is, will be released in some special packaging, maybe to the US
Leaving on a Jet Plane...
Is a lame song. But, I am going to Prague on Wednesday morning, and I'm a goin' on a jet plane. Should be fun. Traces of communism. Who doesn't love that?
Four Days of Dry Spell
After last weekend, a good chunk of people in our little study abroad group made a decision: we could probably spend less money and be not quite so American fatassey if we didn't go out drinking for awhile. It was a good idea. I want it back. I've almost decided that it won't much matter that I don't turn 21 and legal drinker until 7 months after I get back home, because this whole going out to bars thing has gotten old pretty fast. Granted, everyone is speaking French and there's no Parisian equivalent to Linda's, but I doubt that I'll be too heartbroken if I don't find myself being nudged around and having small amounts of beer and cocktail slopped my way again for awhile.
Anyway, the official dry spell, which was set at two weeks for about five people, ended at four days for almost all of us. But, we did get to make one more trip to the dive bar that we started at - it's still a dive. The dog is still a sweetheart.
I think I might go to Rome
Weekend after next. That's not very interesting, but I think I might.
French grammar
"I have a question for you. On a scale of one to ten - 1 being that you love French grammar so much that you could take it for 12 to 15 hours a day, and 10 being that your hate for it is so strong that you might, in the next two hours, throw your chair across the room and leave in a rage to never come back - how tired of you of grammar class?" - Elizabeth.
My answer was a 6. That I can finish it without really caring, skip to travel without even a vague sense of guilt, fall asleep and space out every day.
Then we did subjunctive phrase examples and took a conjugation text. My answer has upgraded to a 7.