Ma Vie in France

When I returned home to the US this Christmas, I got a lot of questions about what happened in Paris, and how people are coping.  Since the tragic events in Paris on November 13, I've visited the city twice.   To be quite honest, things seem to have really gone back to normal. There is still heightened security in places, but in the end people needed to resume their daily lives.             So in the spirit of honoring this great city, I'd like to talk in this post about the very important place that Paris holds in France. Paris is an unusual city. Not only because of its rich history, art, and beauty, but because Paris is the capital of everything in France.   Unlike neighboring countries like Germany and Italy where different cities tend to have distinct functions, France is entirely and completely Paris-centric. Paris is the country's financial, cultural, educational, and political center. This is also a clear...

Now almost a month after the Charlie Hebdo attacks here in France, things are settling down.   I personally didn't learn about the attacks until the night of Wednesday, 7th. Two Muslim extremists gunned down cartoonists from the Charlie Hedbo newspaper in Paris. The cartoonists targeted were known for controversial political drawings, some depicting the prophet Mohamed.   In total 12 people died, the most violent shooting France has known for over 50 years. The reaction in France was immediate upon hearing the news. Rallies and vigils were held all over the country and the slogan 'Je suis Charlie' (I am Charlie) was and is still visible everywhere as the public tried to make sense of what happened. The news coverage and commentaries were non-stop. There have been a lot of comparisons with Sept. 11, and I have to say, the feelings the event provoked were similar to what I felt after Sept. 11. Fear, worry, and unfortunately, a fatalism that also tells me there is...

Having just returned from a trip to Paris, I’ve been thinking a lot about the French capital city.  One of the first things I realized when reflecting on Paris is how many memories I have of the city, particularly from my very first trip there. So to take this in a more narrative direction, I’m going to write in this post about my very first encounter with Paris and my memories that touch all five senses. My first trip to Paris was in January 2001 for about 10 days with a small group of students from my high school and our two high school French teachers. At the time I only had 1 semester of French under my belt, and although I could string together sentences, I still hadn’t yet learned past tense, and didn’t know the word for chicken. I remember feelings, like waking up exhausted in the morning from jetlag to get our early morning hotel breakfast (croissants, bread and hot chocolate). The sun comes up later in France, and so it was still dark in the morning until abou...