Springtime in Paris

Apologies again for being so lax with this blog.

Spring is finally here in Paris. Sunday t reached 26 degrees and I, apparently like everyone else in Paris, decided it was time to get some much needed. Vitamin D by soon that great Paris pastime, picnicking.

Picnicking is possibly my favorite part of living in Paris. The city has some great parks, and the food culture (aka cafe and bistrot culture) already has a great people watching/al fresco aspect to it at all times of the year. Combine these two and throw in some great weather (and a bottle of rosé) and it's a perfect storm of distraction from your slowly accumulating pile of dissertations and revisions you need to do before the end of the semester.

Needless to say, life in Paris is pretty alright, if you ignore the schoolwork. In a week I fly off to Dublin to meet Liping. And in a few weeks even more friends will be coming to visit. All these good things have made me all the more aware that I only have three more months in Paris, arguably the last time I may live in Paris, and so I've been trying to make the most of it.

Mainly this takes the form of eating as many charcuterie plates as possible and long walks from Sciences Po up to the Right Bank, but that's more than alright with me.

Reflections on Seeing Les Miserables in the home of Les Miserables

Les Miserables, the movie, was released on Christmas Day in the United States and similarly soon after in the UK. However, it was only released in France on February 13. Since I was fortunate enough to be home for the holidays, I went to see it with some friends and thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was, a movie adaption of the beloved, iconic Broadway musical.

However, since it was released here in France, I decided to see it again with an American friend and her French boyfriend. She spent her holidays in Ireland and returned to Paris before it was released in the UK and Ireland so missed her chance on seeing it.

However seeing it in France, in Paris, it became glaringly obvious not made for modern French audiences the movie/musical adaption of the original novel is. Some observations:

1) So very religious: I don't understand how I never truly realized how often God, the Lord, Grace, mercy, etc. are mentioned, invoked, prayed to, otherwise involved, etc. in the script. Not that I personally have a problem with this. But France has had a difficult and complicated relationship with religion, especially the Catholic Church, since the time of Hugo, and it's very rare to hear the word God or Jesus in conversation. Unlike in English, where we say "oh my god," and say Jesus as an expression of frustration, surprise, etc. Metropolitan French does not. Quebecois French, which was until 40 years ago was still highly influenced by the Church is well known for its use religious terms as a way of swearing (tabernac, ostie, calisse, etc.). So to be in a French audience listening to every other lyrics having a heavy religious connotation really struck me.

2) So very bourgeois: In the musical we are supposed to want Cosette and Marius to get together and live happily forever after, or at least be happy for them at the end. But if you think about the circumstances of the story line it's essentially a moralistic tale for the bourgeoisie. Here, a rich, bourgeois (possibly aristocratic) student who plays at starting a revolution with his student friends almost gets killed in said rebellion and then instead of continuing the cause apparently settles down with a pretty wife and the largess provided by his rich grandfather. Morale of the story, don't rebel against the status quo, you might just get killed and instead be happy and stay bourgeois.

3) So very un-French: Les Mis is essentially a pastiche of what Brits and Americans like to think of when they think of France, or at least of Paris. There are nuggets of truth but then when you watch (or re-watch, in my case) Sasha Baron Cohen's portrayal of Thenardier, and it's almost offensive. Not that I was offended, clearly. But I did feel a bit awkward that some people in the audience probably were.

Not that this takes away from my enjoyment of the show or the movie, but it did make me think more about how important where you are actually is. My relationship with Paris continues to evolve.

Back in Town

So, I made it back to Paris after a much needed break in New York, seeing friends and family, but mainly just overeating.

I have to say that this time around, I'm feeling more positive about the task that lays before me. It may be because I have an idea now of what I need to do to make it through both grad school and Paris for 4+ months, or perhaps it's because I already know that I'll be escaping Paris for interludes outside France on a regular basis, thanks to visits from friends and trips to London with my fellow dual degree students.

But more importantly, as I said--or perhaps I am imagining me having said this already (I am on the Metro as I type this, the joys of mobile technology are without bounds)--but I have come to terms with Paris. As silly as it sounds, I only realized quite late into last semester that I could not judge Paris on the same scale as New York, or even London. There is no comparison and not should there be. As obvious as a realization that may sounds it's allowed me to finally regain that feeling of awe that I used to get when I walked around Paris during those days in junior year.

More on classes later, for now I have to see a butcher about a chicken for tomorrow night's dinner.