Market Day: 4 mars 2015

Two long blocks from my apartment, at Blvd. Charonne, it’s market day today, so I got up ready to go after a shower. But hélas, still no hot or even warm water! Drawing upon my Peace Corps experience*, I heated up some water on the stove, poured it into the bathroom sink, and washed with it, and then emailed the housekeeper who said she will stop by later to check it out.

The market stalls spread along a very wide median strip on the Boulevard. I am so excited at the sight of fresh produce, flowers, saucisse, fromage, that I stop at the second stall and buy some endive. I hear a voice behind me, “Beh, you should go to that one over there, voyez la où il y a la queue?” I turn and see the owner of the Pizza y Fichi restaurant (where I had a delicious dinner last night). She is smiling and says “Bonjour, I am the person from the resto last night. “ We shake hands and I ask her how she is, and we chat a bit as we walk through the market.  Dis donc! I just ran into someone I know in Paris! It’s a great feeling of possibility- I could grow some roots here! C’est génial!

I buy some fresh vegetables and fruit, a baguette bio, which means organic, and two croissants, non-bio, and stop lastly at a cheese stand operated by an older couple, bundled up in layers to stay warm, with aprons on over everything else. The woman cheerily greets me and asks what I would like. I request a thin slice of Roquefort, and she says, alors, she will let her husband do that. He grins and says to us, “Even now, with Women’s Day approaching…” International Women’s Day is still a big deal here, evidemment, and it will be celebrated on March 8^th. 

After getting home and unloading my market treasures, I pack up my laptop and head to la Nation, where I can catch metro #1 directly to the Carrousel du Louvre where I have scheduled a OnetoOne session. Quite a dramatic setting, in the “basement” of the Louvre, right next to one of the smaller pyramides. I enter and am directed upstairs where there seems to be a short line of people waiting to talk to a clerk. There are many pairs or small groups of geniuses standing around, ignoring customers-very different from my home Apple store in Shadyside. I approach two men and tell them that I am there for an atelier. As luck would have it, one of them was my tutor, Cristophe, and he immédiatement welcomed me and took me over to a counter with stools where the OnetoOnes take place. He was most helpful and I learned some helpful techie words in French such as telecharger=to download, sauvegarder=to save, etc, plus, bien sûr, some actual content regarding iPhoto!

Being deux pas from le Louvre, I had to stop in.  Probably a good day to visit, Wednesday. I went through security a little after 1 pm, and experienced no wait whatsoever. I stopped at the small café before entering the larger lobby where you buy your ticket, and had a tasty ham and cheese sandwich with a coca light. 

Then I was ready to hike the Louvre.  I took some photos, included here, of some art and of the crowds.

It was a lovely way to spend my first full day in Paris. Allez, merci de m’avoir lue!

NB: Every place I lived in  Côte d’Ivoire had running water (maybe not exactly in Soubré) and hot water! On occasion, I visited remote villages where there was no running water and my hosts would heat up bath water over a fire. Those stories are for another blog!

Arrival: 3 mars 2015

We landed 30 minutes (around 7:45) early on a sunny Paris morning. Lots of walking to get to the passport contrôle, but luckily the line was short. I was surprised that we had not been given any papers on the plane to fill out for customs before our arrival, and now, that the customs agent (or immigration agent) didn’t ask for any information-not where I’d be staying, for how long, etc. It’s a very open border! At first I thought, now, we all go pick up our luggage and then, there would be another gate to pass through, for customs, but non. I got my bags quite quickly and headed to the exit which again to my surprise, was truly an exit. On the other side of the door, there were lots of people, mainly people of African heritage, awaiting friends and relatives. Then I passed through a group of drivers holding signs with names on them. I looked carefully for “Touré,” hoping that maybe one was there for me…beh non.

The line for taxis moved quickly. As luck would have it, my cab driver was a gentleman named Robert, from Cameroun, who has been living in France for 18 years. He is married to a French woman and they have two little girls, 4 and 7 years old. We had a lovely conversation about his life and the life of immigrants in general in France during our 45 minute trip into Paris. I told Robert about my research: an ethnographic study of a diverse school in Paris to learn about the education of immigrant children, particularly kids from West Africa, whether they are first, second, or third generation immigrants. This encouraged him to share his insights:

·      In general, immigrants are not treated well here, according to Robert.

·      Things have gotten worse since the attacks in January. People do not trust anyone who is not French. It was already bad: here he is, finding a job after his university education was impossible, so he drives a cab. He explained that this was not due to lack of experience or meeting job requirements. If a Frenchman with fewer qualifications applied for the same position, he got the offer.

·      Robert cannot get French citizenship even though he’s married to a French woman and their children are French. There are way too many hoops to jump through.

·      He plans to return to Cameroun in five years or so for good. He just feels so much more at home there, every time he visits.

I took this as a good omen for the research I’ll be doing over the next three months. Robert also offered some advice for me: tell my prospective interview participants that the interview will last 30 minutes. Comme ça, they will be more enthusiastic to begin and when the time stretches closer to an hour or more, they will be happy to continue. He also suggested that I study lycées and universités. I explained that I really have to limit my focus, but perhaps I would observe in a lycée as well.