Howdy Everybody!!
How's everyone doing ?
This letter is called: "Cold, Drunk, Spanish, Revolutionary Pie (in no particular order)".Mmmmmmm. Bon Appétit!
Everything's just peachy over here what with all the strikes, the weather, the approaching holidays, the indefinite university holiday, etc…
Haha, let me break that one down for ya'll so it's not so big of a pill to swallow!
France is at it has always been. We'll say that so as to keep this country normal.
And Jessica, well she is not as Jessica has always been. We'll say that to keep me as abnormal as ever!
When I got to France, when I lived in Tours, for about three weeks all was well. I was doing great in class (if not getting bored in class), I was making friends left and right and then hanging out with those friends all the time, I was truly living in a slice of Heaven taken from a pie called France. Then, near the end of my time in Tours, I was quickly forced to think about mortality, immortality, going to Heaven, living through Hell on earth, new responsibilities, friend's situations across the ocean, and close friend's situations in Tours. Frankly, it was as if that nice slice had never been cut, and someone or something threw the pie in my face instead.
Well, this past week was a douzy (I won't say I had a bad week! I don't like to say that! I have bad moments!)! I've just had an enormous load to think about. Oh, and I think I have figured out who or what keeps throwing pies in my face, making me feel like a clown. Okay, so it's either French bureaucracy, Old Man Winter, or French bureaucracy. DING DING DING! You guessed it ; )
***********Please note right now, that I am gonna spill. I am gonna spew out some ideas, and I just don't want you to think that I hate the French government just yet, or that I want to come home just yet because though I will complain, the situation could be a lot worse, and the reasons for everything that is going on in France right now has justification, and me, I am learning so many things in so many different areas of life—all at once. I honestly can't imagine coming home right now--as is--and not wondering about what is going on in France at the moment; I'm kind of hooked (and kind of scared!). This stuff is monumental, especially the University strikes… ************
Okay Problema nùmero uno:
France had crappy summer weather. It rained and then rained and guess what, rained some more!Thus, France gets no autumn; France gets no pie. We got pretty leaves and ugly dead leaves flooding the sidewalks, and the temperature is frozen winter icicles. And it even snowed Wednesday night! At least that's just the temp. in Lyon. Also people please keep in mind that with cold weather and cold bodies, people get sick and don't stop sniffling until spring. I got a pretty funny, gross story for ya…once when walking in Strasbourg with a friend, we counted how many loogies where spat about on sidewalks. OH MY GOSH. It's disgusting! And Lyon too!! People hawk them everywhere, and it's weird because I have never actually seen someone let one go (ummmm, which is a GOOD thing!!), but they are there nonetheless. Umm, to make that short and sweet--it's been friggin' freezing lately and with SNOW!!!
Problema nùmero dos:
Public transportation strikes. Again, for the second time in a season, France has gone on another massive transportation strike.
Go here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/15/france.strikes/index.html#cnnSTCText
This past Wednesday my academic life was affected (yet again!) by the strikes. I didn't have two classes because my teacher comes in from Paris every Wednesday, and well this week, she didn't come in from Paris. In total, since school has started, we have not had 5 classes, and it's like the 8th week people! You do the math! If that were America, they'd put in a substitute. Not here! Teachers skip class, students skip class, and the administration doesn't know what taking roll means. I don't even know how to say that in French, cuz I've never heard it! Haha. Also, private lives are being affected as well. There was a concert an hour away in Rumilly on Thursday night, a concert from an awesome group named Dobacaracol, and I wanted to go you know! I miss going to live shows, dancing, singing along, being silly, laughing… Well, turns out that my cheap train ride and awesome concert did not happen because the trains are all blocked off because of "les grèves", the strikes. Besides that, even if I had gotten to go, I'd probably still be stuck in a freezing cold train in the middle of the Haute Savoie, hating the French Alps outside my window. And you know, I just can't afford to hate the French Alps at the moment, so it's a good thing I didn't go…my host counselor told me that she would take me this winter to see all the snow-covered peaks, so it's a real good thing that the thought of them still makes me happy ; ) On a different note, but pertaining to the same band…I have a friend who did go see them in concert in Metz, on a seemingly easy trip, on an hour long train ride (a train ride he had a return ticket for!), and he got stranded in the city all by his lonesome for two nights because the SNCF (France's RR) let him know that he wouldn't be going anywhere. He had to get a hotel, he had to worry like crazy, and thus he had to sprout some grey hairs. CRAZY CRAZY. So until the public transportation worker's retirement plans are worth retiring for, France will return back to serfdom, and we'll all be working on farms, milking our own goats, and eating our own stout goat cheese. As for me, I prefer Neufchâtel, Beaufort, or Compté, all "cow" cheeses, so I would really like to see those trains up and working. But I mean, who needs school and/or transportation when you can earn by day a good night's sleep? The agricultural life seems all to appealing to me right now among these crazy days.
Oh, and if you really must know, I have a gag reflex to goat cheese, I can't stand the smell or taste of it, unless it's really mixed in something deliciously palatable. Six years ago, on the plane ride home with me from France, I accidentally left some goat cheese in my purse, and when I opened it up in the comfort of my parent's home, I almost puked…and I still almost do.
Problema nùmero tres:
Right now in France 41 universities (and counting!) out of 85 are blocked, including mine. School is out of session. The reason: for about two weeks, French students have been rallying against a law proposed by Valérie Pécresse, the Minister for Higher Education, which concerns French universities freedoms and responsibilities, also known as the law on the autonomy of universities. Basically, here's the gist: students don't want the law to pass because the law will put universities in charge of themselves, instead of the government, "l'État", in charge of the universities. It distresses the students and university workers because if this law passes, the tuition will rise, the university staff will shrink, a student's self-representation will diminish, and external people will be given bigger roles in the decision making process. A university's budget will be its own business.
For those of you who can read French—do it.
If you can't, go here and read this; it was the best "en anglais" site I could find, and it's outdated.
So here is my story: I only have classes on Wednesday and Thursday, you see, and so Wednesday when I went to class, not much in the strike genre was going on. I went to class, a few students were handing out flyers, and that was it. The flyers were invites to go rally in Lyon in Place Bellecour on Wed. and Thurs. afternoon. It didn't seem like a big deal really, and it was a short day because I didn't have my first two classes because of the train strikes (i.e. the Parisian teacher). Well then, Thursday comes around, I get to school, and 15 trillion students are in every courtyard they could find at my university. Loudspeakers, blow horns, hot mics, "revolutionary" booklets, scarves, hats, sweaters, gloves, red noses and ears, and goose bumps all around. It was frightening. I got scared quick. I trust they mean no harm, and they just want to, you know, "fight for their right", but it was scary seeing that many people (youth at that!) in an enclosed space with loud voices and fists in the air. I have never seen anything like it. I wasn't even sure why I was at school at that point, it really seemed like every student who would be or should be in class was outside in the frozen air, chanting heavily and blocking up passageways. I got through just in time to see my teacher's red backpack climbing up the stairs, so I followed. We get in class, and hear nothing but the bothersome multitude for an entire hour, and then thirty minutes before class ended, a group of students patrolling the hallways opened our door, and told us that we had to leave. STUDENTS! Students came in, and told us and the TEACHER that we had to leave! It was unprecedented, unique, cumbersome. Never have I EVER seen anything like that. It was very scary at first; my immediate thought was Columbine, but when one of the students struck up conversation, telling our teacher that he was in his English class (that they wouldn't be having Friday), my pulse calmed. Turns out, administration was locking all the doors, and these students took it upon themselves to kick everyone out. No more class that day starting at 4:30, no class Friday, no class Monday until after noon thirty. That's the verdict, we'll see if it changes. And in an act of true revolt, these same students found as many chairs, bureaus, desks, that they could and lodged them up against doors and windows. (See my pictures attached.)
So, we are blocked out of school, literally and figuratively.
PS. Dear parents and loved ones who worry about me, It wasn't really like Columbine. I was just being honest with my first thought. I was in no harm. None of the punk kids with Mohawks pushed me to the ground and told me to spread 'em. Don't worry, it's not like I have to go back to school or anything ; )
Love,Jess
This is a photo of a sondage of how many students are participating throughout France, note that a big blue dot is on Lyon, which means that as of Nov. 13--three days ago--there were more than 150,000 students participating. Surely that has augmented. It's funny, just by looking at the map it looks like all the mountaineous regions, all of those students are like "Meh, whatever"!
Oh and FYI: Moins=less than Plus=more
These photos were taken at my university today.
These are the chairs and bureaus that the protesting students pushed up against the doors.
Problema nùmero cautro:
Yeah, so this problem doesn't influence me directly, but I am in Lyon, so the topic is right under my nose. Lyon is famous for its Beaujolais Nouveau celebration. Wednesday night at midnight marked this seasons Beaujolais Nouveau opening. Beaujolais is a unique wine that only last a few weeks and has to be drank in that time. While some experts say that there are some sorts of Beaujolais that are good for ten years, most people beg to differ, and the city truly celebrates by drinking and/or selling all of the Beaujolais it can get its hands on. People take off work the next day. People don't go to sleep so that when stores open up on Thursday morning, they can be the first to get their greedy, shivering hands on a bottle, or 50. People survive off Beaujolais for sustenance. The running joke here in the region is that we don't have two rivers, no no, we have three, and the third one is called Beaujolais ; )
To give a little run down of the problema…the Beaujolais vineyards north of Lyon use Gamay grapes, which create a fruity wine, and the wine depends heavily on the temperature. For example, in Bourgogne (Burgundy), just north of the Rhône-Alpes region (Lyon's region), wine is made from Pinot Noir grapes, and it is said that the Gamay grapes are a mutant of Pinor Noir grapes. Because of the temperature and topographical change, the Gamay grapes mutated, forming a sweeter grape. Now, along with the region's temperature is her soil, which is very important too, and when you put that all together, when the Beaujolais has a good year, business is good and busy. It's sold all over the world, and exported overnight almost immediately. Wine producers make a killing. Well, this year was not a good year. The summer was cold, windy and rainy, affecting the chemistry and richness of the soil. So problema una for Beaujolais this year was the weather, problema dos, was transportation. Without all of the 700 trains up and running, Beaujolais can only wish to be so popular this year. The market will surely suffer, and I am sure that within this coming year I will hear about it 248028452 times.
Problema nùmero cinco:
The holidays are coming up. I don't have any American friends here in Lyon…so I'm getting homesick quick. I want some cranberry sauce, some of my momma's stuffing, and some apple pie and/or chocolate pie and/or cherry pie and/or peach cobbler. I want to get stuffed and then loaf on my designated spot of couch with my puppy dog. I want to have movie day on Thanksgiving and Christmas just like we always do. I want to hug and kiss the cooks, help do the extensive load of dishes, and then be hugged and kissed. I want to sit in the living room with my brother and make fun of dad snoring in the lazy-boy. And then I want the leftovers after I take snooze as a peaceful angel. Gah, I'm going to cry.
I think maybe what I will do is follow the lead of my friend Ashlee, another Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar who is in Germany, and get all of my friends ( who are all Asian)…and get all of the Asians together in my apartment, tell them to bring a dish, and then tell them about Thanksgiving while we feast on a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
And then maybe I'll cry.
Boy oh boy, don't ever take anything for granted folks.
So anyway, before this quickly gets any mushier, I'm gonna go now!
Send me some shooga.
With good tidings and cheer and cornucopias and me caroling,
Jess
As I passed by the strikes during the strike parade today in Lyon, I listened in on what some of the other spectators were saying. Here results some of the "best" conversations ever had (and they just say SO much:)
