The caring gap

In the united states, my favorite teachers and professors always said their drive to continue teaching came from their students. They, the educators, formed personal connections with their students and found themselves inspired by them. This passion is what kept them going through the daily grind year after year. Here, it's not like that...at all. First of all, at either middle school, high school, or college level, a teacher would never DREAM of sharing any kind of personal connection with their students. Office hours simply do not exist. Teachers do not give their email addresses to students. They do not fraternize in the hallways.
From the beginnings of primary school, a strict hierarchical code is established between educator and pupil. The teacher is ALWAYS right, and his/her methods are judgement are NEVER to be questioned by the student. I recently noticed something I found unusual in the demeanor of my colleagues. Not only did they dislike the students, they seem to resent them. As one colleague quipped, "well, they think they know everything. They are SO arrogant! Of course they're going to fail their exams". I was quick to point out to her that at 18, in the western world at least, EVERYBODY thinks they know everything. Additionally, I was shocked that it's not the administrations' goal to have the students perform well on the exam. Some students are studying for the BAC PRO, kind of like a professional SAT that is administered at the end of highschool. Others are at the post-BAC level, and they are studying for a test called the BTS, which is a professional qualification in hotel work and cuisine. Now, when I took any form of exam at school, especially the AP exams in high school, my teachers felt they had a responsibility to make sure we performed well. Now, I am certain part of that drive was motivated by the fact that students' scores directly affected the amount of federal funding the school would receive in coming years. Nevertheless, my high school teachers actually seemed to care that we did well on the exam. Not so here. The attitude is very much, "well, its not my problem if you fail the test". So, what I want to know is, what gets these people out of bed in the morning? What makes them come to work? The power trip? Some of them really, seriously, seem to hate their students and detest their job. It makes for slightly awkward and unpleasant work in some classes, for not only do I feel they hate the students, they don't seem to care about the assistantship work I'm doing. Oh, and moreover, another odd thing is that there are NO native speakers (aside from me, I guess) who teach English at the school. What this means is that the English lessons are littered with grammatical and phonetic mistakes. Yet, I am powerless to correct my colleagues. This goes back to the hierarchical system here. I am between the status of a student and a teacher. Therefore, I simply cannot correct my superior, even if she is giving her students a future of horrible English structure. It's insane out here!

It's beginning to look a lot like...Noël

Paris is all aglow for the holiday season. There are lights EVERYWHERE. A Christmas tree festoons the traffic circle at Place D'Italie; the mall there is all lit up, and there is a Christmas tree right in front of Notre Dame. Carousels are being put up and lit at night, and the seasonal ferris wheel in the Tuileries garden is standing in full glory. I love all this! One can't help feel but festive when Paris truly becomes the City of Lights. Soon the ice rink in front of Hôtel de Ville will be set up! Paris around Christmas is a charming and delightful time, as I am swiftly learning.

The Great Mystery of Boulevard Saint-Germain

The story I am about to recount happened several weeks ago, but I have not had proper time to put it down into writing. However, I feel this tale is both cautionary and a gift to the reading public. Most of all, it is a quintessential "only in Paris" occurrence.

First of all, there are free public toilets scattering Paris (full disclosure, the image I have used here is not my own, sorry readers. But thank you, Google!). These are small, slightly futuristic space-pod looking grey stalls. Between each use, there is an automatic cleaning cycle that supposedly washes the entire premesis, although my olfactory sense would tell me otherwise. These toilets, although not the most aesthetically appealing optimally comfortable, are LIFE SAVERS. Restaurant and hotel propriaters here DO NOT take kindly to strangers sauntering in and asking to use their restroom without using any of their services. I've even heard that in McDonalds in the city they have started locking the restrooms via a keypad and giving each customer a code so that only the paying can relieve themselves. SERIOUSLY. So, yes, I do often use the public toilets. And I have never really had a problem, aside from holding my nose and trying not to breathe the entire time I'm using one, but alas, this is a common fate in public facilities.

Several weeks ago I was on my way to a film in the Latin Quarter, right of Boulevard Saint Michel. It was about 9:30 at night, and shops were closing. It was still too early to enter the cinema before the show, and as I had spotted a public toilet, I decided to just use that. This particular outpost was at the crossroads of Boulevard Saint Michel and Boulevard Saint Germain, a very busy thoroughfare, and quite crowded, even on weeknights. One more thing I should note about public toilets is that one presses a button to open and close the door, and once it is closed, it is locked. Well, I approached the toilet, and turned the corner, ready to press the button to open the door. Except, lo and behold, for my eyes and the rest of Paris to see, the door was wide open and there was an old dude sitting on the toilet and pooping. Although he hadn't taken the care to close the door, he had neatly hung up his backpack and jacket. This dude didn't even flinch or look up when I walked past.

Well, in the end I decided that I could wait until my movie began to use the facilities at the theater.

Obligatory Eiffel Tower photo

Canal Saint Martin

Yesterday I scouted out the Canal Saint Martin, where I'd never been before but heard much about. It's a small canal in the 10th that flows into the Seine, initially established by Napoleon to provide potable drinking water to the Parisians. It's a charming slice of heaven, even in the fall with overcast skies, as it was yesterday. You feel less like you're in a metropolis and more in a small provincial town. Also included in this post are some pretty buildings I saw along the way and some intriguing street art. I've heard that the Canal area gets very busy in spring and summer, and I can see why. It's an ideal spot for an al fresco lunch or a few glasses of wine with a loved one. Check it out!

Les Jardins du Palais Royal

The Palais Royal is a beautiful, majestic building in the first arrondissement, right accross from the Louvre. True to it's name, it used to be a palace. Now it holds the Council of State and other important government offices. The only area (as far as I understand) that's open to the public are the palace's famous gardens. Given that it's a gorgeous day today, without a cloud in the sky, I decided to pay them a visit. Part of the palais (and connected Comedie Francaise) is under renovation, which slightly diminishes from the splendor. But it is still a beautiful hidden idyll amidst the hustle and bustle of Paris.

Le Chateau d'Écouen

This past thursday, a friend and I got together with the goal of visiting the Chateau de Chantilly, ancestral home of the Condé family, and home to what is purportedly one of the best art collections outside of the Louvre. As it turned out, the Chateau's website had totally misled us into thinking we could take the RER (regional rail) there. In fact, we'd have to take one of the "grands lignes" and it would cost quite a pretty euro. So we decided to scrap the trip to Chantilly and save it for another day. Instead, my friend suggested the Chateau d'Écouen, which is reachable by regional rail. It turns out, the Chateau is the national museum of the Renaissance! So I was excited to go! We had both packed a lunch, and we headed out there. First, to get to the chateau from the train station, we had to walk through a forest. It was beautiful seeing all the leaves change, surrounding us with slightly different shades of green, yellow, orange and red. We got to the chateau. It was a gorgeous building--with a moat! However, it was closed until 2 (presumably for the workers' lunchbreak). So we took a seat and ate our own lunch. We took a stroll around the town. It was very quaint and charming but DEAD. Not a soul was out and about--and mind you, this wasn't during a Sunday. So we went back to the chateau and went inside. Both of us found the collections a bit odd. For having the prestigious name of national museum of the renaissance, the chateau had surprisingly little in it's collections. Also very few painting whatsoever. There were a few tapestries, some half-destroyed frescos, some jewelry (that was cool), and a LOT of ceramics. Honestly I was more impressed by the exterior of the chateau and it's picturesque surroundings than by the museum's collections. Another thing both of us found odd was, for a chateau, there were no displays of private apartments--bedrooms, living rooms,etc. That was disappointing. One of my favorite aspects of visiting an old home is to actually see how people used to live! Anyway, here are some photos of the chateau and some highlights of the collections. By all means I'm still very happy that I went!

ANIMAL at Les Arts Décoratifs

There's a very small show on at les arts Décoratifs called ANIMAL. it traces not only images of animals through decorative arts and fashion, but also the use of various animal skins and materials. I had seen it last year, but there was an utterly different variety of objects on display this year, and it was quite a treat! I saw two other shows at les arts Décoratifs today, in addition to perusing the permanent collection, and this was easily my favorite. Why? First and foremost I am a die-hard animal lover (although that doesn't stop me from eating them or wearing their skins :-(....something I feel slightly guilty about, but the pleasure I partake of in meat and fashion outweighs this guilt. Sort of), and second of all because the range of utilization in fashion and accessories on display is exquisite. Here are some pictures I snapped, showing: ladies' fans from the 19th century crafted from shell, ladies shoes in silk and boots in leather from the same period, small decorative figurines, advertisements, and lastly, stuffed animals. I was pleased to see several familiar characters appear in this last category, some of which you will surely recognize!