Hi everybody! It's Laura again.
IFE classes have started, and they're going well so far. The main course right now is about French history as it relates to modern politics and is taught by a professor from Sciences Po. I've also taken 4 trips with the student group.
The first was a tour around the Bastille quartier in the 11e arrondissement, where the IFE building is located. It was very cold, but we learned about the history of the quartier and walked around little back streets, full of historical buildings, architectural studios, and one sad melting snowman decorated in seashells. We also went to the Musée Carnavalet, a museum dedicated to the history of Paris that is housed in a historical mansion in the Marais.
Today we had two more visits. First, we were experianced the the awe-inspiring glitziness of the Hotel de Ville. As our guide took us around, dozens of employees bustled about, moving folding chairs from one room to the next and polishing every nook and cranny until it shined like the top of the Chrysler building.
That's a lot more mopping than I ever had to do for Starbucks.
Then, in the afternoon, we had a visit to the headquarters of the Socialist Party. I was told beforehand that my American understanding of socialism would not apply to the Socialist party here, but I am proud to say that, after my visit, both the American socialist movement and the french social democrats remain equally incomprehensible to me. This is because our socialist guide gave his unnecessarily long, roundabout socialist lecture in the hottest socialist room of the socialist headquarters. Within 5 minutes, everybody was wearing a glazed "I don't speak this language" expression and/or doodling in their notebooks.
This is what I took away from the experience:
1. French socialists like democracy and accept capitalism in the private sphere. They also like to keep old vintage posters of failed Mitterrand campaigns as some sort of a hipster statement.
2.They're really psyched that Hollande is the president, and
3. The main courtyard where they like to take group photos is named after a man who committed suicide at some point in time for some reason. The logic of this was completely incomprehensible to me the first time around, and I refuse to google it.
Also, the socialist party logo makes me nostalgic for my native town of Roseland.
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What, you don't see it? |
If you want to see what the group looks like, there a bunch of pictures on the official IFE facebook page and probably more to come. For some reason, in the William and Mary group photo I'm repping for the Jersey Shore cast with a glowing orange complexion. But I swear it's some weird combination of lighting and photo filter, not a spray tan!
First off, metro tickets: Fairly standard stuff. First of all: Keep your ticket for the duration of your ride, because there are a couple of random stations that require you to pass your ticket through the machine again on your way out. Most don't, but it's good to be ready. But also, don't keep 20 used metro tickets in your pocket, because if you do you'll be stuck there passing every single one through the exit machine like me. Tickets are €1,70 each, or €12,70 for a pack of ten. But next week, I'm moving into the 21st century with my shiny new Passe navigo.
I've been very confused about the "Passe navigo," which is a fairly complicated metro card. I think I have it mostly figured out now, but won't attempt to explain the rules of the system until I've used it a little longer. My monthly card will be active on February 1, but I bought it early because I hear that the lines can be brutal at the beginning of the month.
As a semi-permanent student with a Paris address I am able to purchase a pass by month or by week (or by year, although this only makes sense for full year students). This will not only save some €s, but will also allow me to travel all around the Ile-de-France region without an additional cost on weekends (midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday). This policy is called "dezoning" and applies anywhere within the border of Ile-de-France, provided that you have a monthly or annual pass. So, if it were already February, my trip to Provins would have been free. Train tickets aren't too expensive anyway, but the dezoning is a very nice feature that I'll be sure to take advantage of in the next few months.
I have other fun things to say about patisseries, falafel, and my Saturday trip to the village of Provins, but that will have to wait until next time. Until then, enjoy some pictures of street art in the Marais.
À bientôt,
Laura
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