A Little Eccentric

Read down..."Et continue...et continue..."

Hy blog about my family actually published out of order and is belowthis one even though it is newer. Blogger has been acting up lately, I hope I can get is straightened out. Au revoir.

Bon-joo everyone! Things have been nuts here in France. My family just visited me for a week and it was absolutely wonderful. One of the best weeks of my life!!! Once I get my pics in order and am not so sad, (I am on the train back to Tours and am still a wee bit emotionally fragile) I will tell the tale of the Boxes in France.
But for now, I will fill you in on the strike situation. If you have been watching the news (like Jessie) a lot has been going on. Those riots in Paris are directly connected to the strike in Tours. It is actually starting to hit International news. All the students across France are similarly striking and rioting over this labor law that I explained in my last blog. I have currently been out of school for 2 and a half weeks with no real end in sight.
Things were crazy while we were in Paris. The students blocked the streets and got violent with the police on more than one occasion. As my family walked around Place Concorde and the Tuileries area, we saw tons of police preparing for the daily riots. We also happened to walk right into the middle of a massive protest around the Louvre. There were hundreds if not a thousand students in the old square surrounding the Glass Pyramid. They had signs, banners, face paint; the whole nine yards. It was kind of cool to see; except they made it a huge pain to get around and only reminded me of my situation in Tours.
Tchykita sent me an e-mail saying that the same is still going on in Tours. Students have been swarming the streets and have even caused the buses to quit running. Last week, the universities in France completely caved to the students. The presidents of the Universities issued formal requests of the government to have a “dialogue” about the situation to appease the students. The government agreed, and things looked as if they might quiet down, but then the government changed its mind and the riots broke out anew. I have to say, I am proud of the government for holding its ground. It is bizarre here in Tours. It feels like everyone is surprised at how long this is going on. The movement here is losing its steam and everyone seems eager to get back to routine. However, now its a matter of principle between the students and the gorvernment and neither side wants to back down.
However, right now, I’m not entirely sure what to do. I have four more scheduled weeks of classes, 2 weeks of Spring Break, and then 2 weeks of Finals. However, I cannot make-up 3 or 4 weeks of classes in the time before break, and I don’t think the university will completely open anytime soon. Even though the Universite has caved to the students, the only real leverage the students have over the government is rioting and closing the schools. So until progress is made or the students get bored, things will probably remain the same. I am getting in contact with the UW people to see what I can do about credits. I really don’t want to come home with no credits for a whole semester, especially since it’s all out of my control. However, they can’t just give me 15 hours for sitting on my butt in Tours, either. Quel un experience, n’est pas? If you have any ideas, let me know and I’ll pass them along to the study abroad office.

posted by Molly Jo @ 7:55 AM