There is yet another strike... How are you all? I am doing particularly well, besides the fact that there is a strike that will undoubtedly last until tuesday, if not longer. BUT, I should update you on what I did for the rest of my break besides going to Toulon.
After coming back from Toulon I decided that I wanted to rest in Paris and try to see as many "touristy" things as possible. I began reading the book "The Foutainhead" by Ayn Rand and it is a great book. I woke up every day around 9-10am, took a shower, made breakfast and read. Then, I took long walks all over the city. I saw Jardin de Tuileries, the Jardin du Luxembourg, and I climbed the Arc de Triomphe. I went to the Musee Branly, which is right behind the Eiffel Tower and contains artifacts from North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Then I went to the Musee Rodin and saw the sculpture of "The Thinker" or "Le Penseur" in french. I also visited the Centre Pompidou, which is the museum of Modern art here. We spent 2 hours there and only saw one floor. I also got some awesome falafel in the Marais, but I have already raved about that in earlier posts. There were some people staying in Paris for the break along with me, so I also got to hang out with them and check out some cool bars around town. All in all I had a fantastic week which I didn't want to end. Of course as soon as we came back to class there is another greve...
To give you a back story on the strike, Sarkozy came into office preaching drastic reforms for the French economy and society. He's the president of France and will be for the next seven years. He also has a prime minister, Francois Fillon. The prime minister in the past has expressed more power than the president but Sarkozy is different because he seems as though he wants to exercise more power than the prime minister. Anyway, one of his major reforms is that of the "regimes speciaux", which (I am pretty sure) are a different group of fonctionnaires. They are the ones who work the more "pressing" jobs, like running the metro. Right now, they get to retire at 55 years old, instead of later, and they also get some other nice deals after retirement. With Sarkozy's suggested reform, they will retire later and also lose 300 euros a month during retirement, which is a lot if you add it up. Naturally the workers do not want to give it up so they are viciously fighting against the reform, and have threatened to strike until they get their way, because when they strike it can affect the entire french economy if it goes on for long enough.
So..I bet you're wondering how I got to class today? Last time I walked all the way from my house to class, but I ended up walking a weird way which took me about an hour and a half. This time I was a little smarter, plus I had the help of my host "sister's" Razor scooter!! Yep, the mother said that I was allowed to borrow it, so I planned my route and off I went. I left my house around 7:30 this morning even though I didn't have class until 9:30 so that I could give myself extra time in case I got lost. I also wanted to try out the metro just in case, but it wasn't working at all. Some lines were alright, but my line (line 8) is very well unionized and there was one train about every hour, which is so slow!! On normal days they run 1 every 4 minutes during rush hour. I waited in a metro station for 30 minutes to see if I could catch a train, but by then it was already 8:30, so I just continued to scoot to class. It only took me about 40 minutes to an hour, and the weather was not too bad. I saw lots of people roller blading, biking and scooting to class. I also didn't get lost!! Even though I kind of enjoyed riding the scooter to class (no matter how ridiculous I looked) I still want the metro back. I guess this will force me to really explore the 7th arrondissement better because I won't have good access to other parts of town. Anywhoo, that's my short update. Sorry if it is a bit incoherent, I am not in the writing mood right now. talk to you later!
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3 comments:
The strike thing really can shut down a specific area if it goes on long enough. They will probably get there way, or something close to it because the metro is needed. A strike can be a powerful negotiating tool when used with discretion. cool about the razor scooter. Too bad you don't have access to a moped. I would love to get a scooter with a motor on it! I am too lazy to push! In about a month or so we will be picking you up from the airport. Then you will have reverse "homesickness" for France. Then you will be gone again on a Habitat for Humanity adventure. You are one busy person. Stay healthy ma petite fille. xoxoxo
I meant the second sentence of the previous posting to read "They will probably get their way...". Duh. I am picky about spelling and look what I did. Oh well. Not the end of the world!
I love these posts when you talk about your normal days. So much fun to "see" what you're doing in Paris!
I wish I had something exciting to add...the most fun thing I've done in ages was to go to a White Elephant Christmas ornament party. Maybe we should do that as a family!
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