Our First Strike

Today is a big day for us…it is our first “greve”! This is a strike. If you did not know, France loves strikes. All of the trains are closed today while the workers protest for better retirement plans. This should be interesting because Kat and Mark return this evening from Brussels to spend the last two days of their trip in Paris- or I should say- they will not be returning? It is difficult to say. Last night class let out early so students could make the last Metro (subway) at 8 PM, or as we like to say here in Paris, 20:00. I still struggle with military time. I walked home (about 40 minutes) with 2 of my friends from school. It was actually nice to have the time to chat about “normal” stuff like boys and hopes and dreams and all that because usually we talk about theory and articles because now that we are academics, that is how we roll.

So anyway, the greve: Not all hope is lost if you own a bike or scooter. Paris instituted a free bike system this summer called Velib. How Velib works: you rent a bike (these bikes all look the same and are very unique looking.) The bike is FREE for the first ½ hour you have it. The purpose of the bike is to quickly get you to your destination, i.e., it is not meant for sight seeing. There are Velib stands all over the place in Paris. They are a great “green” solution to getting around the city. I woke early this morning (7 AM) and looked out at the Velib stand below our kitchen window…it was already empty!



Today I do not have class. Luckily my plan for the day only includes writing for my midterms and attending a lecture that is only bout a 30-minute walk from our house. The lecture is really more a debate about an anthology my favorite professor Raj has put together. The debate is titled, “Cultures et Mondialisation: conflicts e tensions.” That is right, that title is French. There will be some debates in English, but this is France after all, and they speak French! The department head for my Masters is presenting on “Belief between Religion and Media: A Key Factor in Globalized Cultural Conflict.”