french muslim women.

Nowhere is the divide between natives and immigrants more in the media eye than France. Riots and the ban on headscarves in schools have been major headlines over the past year or two. Which makes this article on French Muslim women activists on NPR of special interest.

paris in the district: simone de beuvoir

I don’t usually get all in a twitter over a lecture, but in this case I must make an exception. Usually once a year, I make up my mind that this is going to be The Year–the year that I read Beauvoir’s Second Sex. I am a Francophile. I am a Feminist. What’s stopping me?

I don’t really know. But when the opportunity presents itself to pick up a copy, I usually turn instead to the novels or lighter non-fiction stacks. Philosophy and feminism without a professor holding my hand and tugging me along through the rough patches seems a wee bit intimidating.

Which brings me back to the reason I am a-twitter: An upcoming lectureat the Embassy of France titled “Simone de Beauvoir’s Existential Feminism” by Hazel Rowley. The title not enough to entice you? Well, there’s more.

will wonders (or smoking) never cease

 

When in Paris this past August, the aspect of the culture that most fascinated my boyfriend is that of the cafe. Along the sidewalks, tiny tables large enough to hold a coffee mug and an ashtray are surrounded by chairs upon chairs, all looking out to the sidewalk, the street, the city. To be in Paris is to watch Paris and watching Paris is best done with a cigarette in one hand and un cafe in the other. Just ask Hemingway or Sartre or Bouvoir.

Or better yet, ask them what they think of the smoking ban that will go into effect on January 1. In a year that has had the world speculating about the downfall of French culture, this seems a bit like adding insult to injury. This ban most recently prompted The International Herald Tribune to run an article titled: “Will the smoking ban in France mean the end of cafe society?” Do we really want to imagine a Paris that isn’t passing the days watching itself from a cafe table?

Nevertheless, the ban is supported by a majority of the French people and it perhaps demonstrates a France looking for a more modern, cleaner image. But that doesn’t keep me from longing to buy a pack of cigarettes and duck into my local coffee shop and drink and smoke to the end of an era… but wait, we have a smoking ban, too…

of interest

• This op-ed flew under my radar last week: Postpartum Impression. An interesting look at health care in France after childbirth. It’s worth reading if only because how often do you hear someone say, “The French bureaucracy isn’t so bad either.”
• Posted today on ParisDailyPhoto: 

“Advertisers love Paris, but Paris doesn’t like them… Today, the Paris council decided to reduce by 1/3 the amount of advertising space in the city. This will impact not only the space in general but also the size of posters. Thus the 1,000+ 4 x 3 meters (13 x 10 feet) billboards will soon be banned and so will the 6,000 smaller ones that are on display in the windows of shopkeepers and cafés. It will also be forbidden to advertise within 50 meters (164 feet) of a school, on the embankment, in Montmartre, etc. Needless to say that this measure is pretty controversial…”

• The Kitch[e]n is offering a new look for an old French tradition–Bûche de Noël (Yule log) softie:

“Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert served during Christmas holidays. It is usually decorated like a log in the forest and ready for the fire. They are usually made from sponge cake and frosted with chocolate buttercream and decorated with sugar, meringue, and marzipan to resemble snow, tree bark, fresh berries, and forest mushrooms.” (The link also includes recipe recommendations for the more ambitious kitchen folks.)

• Another brick crumbles from the wall of the great French tradition that is Not Working. According to the Wall Street Journal, “France is moving a step closer to allowing shopping on Sundays, with Parliament within the week expected to take up a measure that would permit all furniture stores to stay open on the country’s traditional day of rest.”

bise x 3

This map is making its way around the blogs. And it’s simply too brilliant to not share.

My first time in Paris, I stayed with a family of five–mom, dad, three daughters. About two of them could speak some English. The father was not one of them. He didn’t speak to me for the entirety of my stay under his roof until he had safely returned me to my American French class. As I was bidding father and daughter goodbye, he drew upon his old English lessons to give me a lesson in cheek-kissing. ”Here we do three times,” he tells me holding up the corresponding number of fingers. And I smile my understanding and appreciation for this cultural lesson.

And now I pass this cultural lesson on to others: Behold, a map for anyone who has ever wondered what the appropriate number of cheek kisses might be…