How are you doing today? Did you enjoy springing forward? I have always preferred falling back because the thought of losing an hour of the day just kills me but that lost hour also means spring is on the way and we have those long summer nights to look forward to! Oddly enough, France does not spring forward until March 29th so I still have a few more weeks before it is my turn, but that just means we have less of a time difference between us!
Tonight, I am going to give you a glimpse into French culture. Mom, Dad, don't be mad, I literally could not go to school today. Here is why:
Now I'm sure you've all heard about the French and their strikes, also known as "une grève." Surely I had before I came to France, and I pictured some French people standing by the side of the road with homemade signs like I sometimes saw in Santa Cruz. Well clearly I was a little naive. The grève currently going on at my French university has redefined the word "strike" for me. We are currently in week 6 of 12 and I have had each of my two classes once. Every Tuesday and Thursday for the past month and a half I have gone to the Mirail, each time telling myself that it is a new day and maybe things will be resolved. And everytime I have walked onto a campus filled with signs announcing the next "manifestation," students handing out fliers with information about the grève, and an empty classroom.
I am not exactly sure what the strike is about. I know that for a few years now the French government has been talking about reforming the French education system and now Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, is actually trying to do something. Sarkozy wanted to require more hours for professors and researchers at French universities and that is what initially sparked the strike, but now I'm not sure what he's done that has gotten the students so riled up. I read in a newspaper article that over half of the universities in France are still on strike.
It is disappointing that I am not getting the French university experience but I must say, I am still learning alot about French culture! This truly is a phenomenon and I find it extremely interesting. Imagine something like this happening in the US. Obvious it is quite different because we're so much bigger than France, but imagine half of all the universities in our country going on strike. It is unbelievable.
I thought this poster was really clever. One of Sarkozy's campain slogans while he was running for presidency was "travailler plus pour gagner plus" which translates to "work more to earn more." I think a lot of French people did not like this slogan because it is more of a capitalistic, American way of thinking so this poster is playing off of his famous quote. It says "luttons plus pour gagner plus" which means "fight more to earn more." This is exactly what they're doing, it doesn't look like the students or professors at my university are ready to give in anytime soon and so they will continue to fight and stand up for what they believe until the French government is ready to concede.
Now I don't want you to think I'm not doing any work. I still have three classes at the Dickinson Center which have been keeping me busy. Also, Madame Davidson, our professor at the Dickinson Center told us that in order to still receive credit for these classes that we never go to we need to able to show that we've done something so we will have a writing assignment due every week in lieu of having class.
That's it for tonight, I hope you've learned something.
Bonne nuit,
Molly
It's sad that the Mirail is closed and I hope they resolve their dispute so you can experience French University. I love you!
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