And so the grève continues...

Though I don't really have to suffer the way that others do through the grève, I'm surrounded by it all the time. Everyone's wondering what's going to happen. I don't know if I explained it properly before, so here's my understanding: Sarkozy and his people would like to implement several reforms at the university level. According to him, France is "way behind" in scientific publications and research overall:

-At the level of professors, he wants to reward professors who publish a lot and "punish" professors who don't publish enough-- with more classes. Essentially he plans on dividing up professors into research and teaching categories.
-He wants to both give universities more financial independence and concentrate more of the decision making power in the hands of the presidents of the universities and select administrators.
-He wants to get rid of the one year paid apprenticeship for people studying to be teachers and replace it with classroom time and a shorter, unpaid period of practical learning.

Anyways, as a result, professors are en grève (on strike) indefinitely, which means that a lot of Brown students abroad have begun to be concerned about receiving credit. I've been lucky enough to take classes at a science university that doesn't really follow the grève in practice (though they are technically in support of it...) and have professors at Paris 8: Saint Denis give cours alternatifs, which means we basically sit around and talk about whatever, which is just as educational for me as real classes, and often more interesting.

One of my profs is a hardcore Freudian-- I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually believe in all of it, but he does take pleasure in psychoanalyzing things. For example, I learned the other day that a lot of homosexuals project their feelings into other behaviors and feelings. That is to say, megalomaniacs are homosexuals, erotomaniacs are homosexuals, people who think everyone loves them are homosexuals, and people who think that no one likes them are homosexuals (Sarkozy?).

Outside of class, some notable things have happened. They fixed the fountain at Place Pigalle, so now it's a lot lighter and prettier at night, and the prostitutes kind of glow. I got a new phone to save money so now I can text a lot more. And I discovered that if you make eye contact with anyone between the Moulin Rouge and Place de Clichy, they harrass you like crazy-- one lady kept calling me her friend and grabbed my arm, so I had to pick up my pace to let her know I wasn't interested.

And I almost forgot-- I've begun tutoring! I'm teaching English to a sweet 9-year-old girl named Sandra. I taught her the continents in English on Monday and had her draw them. She kept complaining that she wasn't a good artist, and I told her I was a horrible artist and she suggested we form an association of bad artists. She also eats inordinate amounts of chocolate-- she literally had a chocolate sandwich on her way home from school, after having chocolate for lunch.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to the arrival of Stephen, Robert, my brother, and Meghan in just a little over a week!

Bien cordialement,
Max