This twenty-year-old is ready to conquer the world. Sort of.
Let me conquer the City of Lights first.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Killing in France Seen as 'Wake-Up Call'


Okay, the following is a (long) article from the Washington Post. This murder made the French news a couple of days ago, but I think it's just now hitting the US papers. I do not believe that I am in any danger here, but things like this serve as a reminder that I'm "not in Kansas, anymore".

Being Jewish hasn't been an issue yet. I've met a lot of people, among them Arabs, and I sometimes wonder how they'd react if they knew I was Jewish, but, well... Also, at the beginning, I took off my Star of David necklace, and only wore the ring I bought in Jerusalem this summer with a Hebrew inscription on it (Remember the past, live in the present, and believe in the future), so at least I'd feel like I was defying the "rules" a little bit. Well, last weekend I hung out with Ben and Orli, who are both Jewish and Ben was wearing a gold Star of David necklace. He's French, so I figure if he's doing it, I'm okay to do the same. I opted to start wearing my Chamsa necklace (pictured on the left), which, just like my ring, is something that unless you were Jewish or had knowledge about the faith, wouldn't mean anything to you. Something like a secret handshake, if you will.

The only thing that's been hard is finding meat. I don't eat pig. The French do. A lot. At my Franprix (like a Giant or a Stop and Shop) deli, they don't even carry turkey. So that's on my list of things to find!

So, last night, I was walking to Franprix after just having sent an email about the murder to my friends back home. I was deep in thought about being Jewish and being in Paris... when I saw a man walking with his son, who was wearing a kippah (headcovering) - not the kind you would picture - it was kind of like a hat, with a woven design. It was Friday night, so I got really excited and wished them a Shabbat Shalom. The man did a double take, probably didn't know what to make of me since I was carry a workbag and obviously not on my way to the synagogue, and returned my salutation.

(Here in Europe, you're either Orthodox or your not anything. Conservative or Reform Judaism don't exist. So, it appears weird to a European that I would be wishing someone a Shabbat Shalom if I wasn't planning on observing it.)

I don't think I can put into words how that made feel. To know that I was still able to find someone here to wish a Good Shabbos made me feel right at home, and at peace.

Anyway, that's my Jewish update.



Anti-Semitism Blamed in Kidnapping, Torture of 23-Year-Old Salesman
By Molly Moore

Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 25, 2006; Page A10

PARIS, Feb. 24 -- One day last month, a young woman entered the Paris mobile phone shop where Ilan Halimi worked. She had no interest in a new phone, according to Paris police. She wanted to flirt with the 23-year-old salesman. She left the shop with Halimi's cell phone number, and soon after, the two arranged a date.

Last week, French police found Halimi -- the son of Jewish Moroccan immigrants -- near a railroad track in a southern Parisian suburb. His naked body was covered with cigarette burns and he was handcuffed. He died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

French police initially described the brutal kidnapping and killing as a crime-for-cash perpetrated by a gang calling itself "The Barbarians." It routinely used young women to lure unsuspecting victims.

But in ensuing days, family members, Jewish organizations and a French magistrate labeled the killing a hate crime, directed against Halimi because of his religion. Many have cited the torture and reports that the gang's suspected leader was later arrested in a Muslim neighborhood in Ivory Coast, in West Africa.

In a country that experienced a surge in anti-Semitic attacks, most of them blamed on Muslims, in the first years of the current Palestinian uprising against Israel, top politicians have rallied to publicly condemn the crime. Dozens of national leaders, including President Jacques Chirac, crowded into a memorial service for Halimi at a Paris synagogue Thursday night.

"The truth is that these hoodlums first of all acted for villainous and sordid reasons -- money," Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told French legislators this week. "But they had the belief, and I quote, that 'Jews have money,' " he said, referring to police interrogations of two people accused of involvement in the kidnapping.

The crime has incited outrage among Jews across France. Many fear that animosities simmering below the surface of a divided French society could easily reignite. There are about 6 million Muslims in France and 600,000 Jews.

"Ilan's death may be an isolated action, but it is also a wake-up call," said Sarah Aizenman, a representative of the French Union of Jewish Students. She said anti-Semitic crime has declined in France in recent months but threatens to rise again.

"The engine wasn't anti-Semitism, but the fuel certainly was," said Michel Wieviorka, author of the recent book "The Anti-Semitic Temptation: The Hatred of Jews in Today's France."
"It was based on the idea that the Jews are wealthy, and that if the boy doesn't pay, the community will," Wieviorka said.

Ruth Halimi, the victim's mother, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, "If Ilan hadn't been Jewish he wouldn't have been murdered."

She said she last saw her son alive on Friday, Jan. 20, as he was leaving for a date with the woman who had come into his shop. "On Saturday night, he called and said he had been kidnapped and asked us to check our e-mail," Halimi said. A message there included a photograph of Ilan, blindfolded and with a gun pointed at his head. The text read, "450,000 euros or call the funeral home," she said. That sum is equal to about $540,000.

Over the next three weeks, the kidnappers negotiated with Ilan's family members. Halimi told Haaretz that on instructions from the police, the family stopped answering telephone calls and text messages from the kidnappers in order to force them to use e-mail that might be tracked to Internet cafes from which they transmitted messages. The ransom demand eventually dropped to 5,000 euros, or about $6,000, French newspapers have reported. It is unclear what ultimately prompted the kidnappers to dump their dying captive.

The suspected gang leader, Youssouf Fofana, 26, fled France and was arrested Wednesday in Ivory Coast. Police have detained 16 other people for questioning in connection with the case.

The members of the group have a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, French police said. But most appear to be residents of the same low-income housing project in the suburb of Bagneux, southwest of Paris.

A rash of arson incidents and clashes with police erupted across the Paris suburbs last fall, spreading to virtually every town in France. Much of France's immigrant populations and their children live in suburban housing built by the government.

With high unemployment and crime and substandard living conditions, the youth populating the suburbs have become increasingly angry. Although last fall's violence had no overt religious overtones, many of the rebellious youth were Muslims.

French officials and Jewish leaders have been hesitant to allege that the killing was solely an act of anti-Semitism. "The question is, what kind of anti-Semitism are we talking about?" said Michel Serfaty, a rabbi at the synagogue in the Paris suburb of Ris-Orangis and an activist promoting Jewish-Muslim dialogue.

"It's a combination of gangsterism, villainy and old cliches where Jews mean money," Serfaty said. "It's young people of all origins in the suburbs expressing their resentment: 'The Jews are rich and they don't share it with us. They're smart and we don't have jobs. They dominate the world and we have no power.' "

Emmanuel Weintraub, an official of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, said the case reflects deeper troubles in French society. "There's something striking about this gang," he said. "It's a pretty big cross section of our multiethnic society. It's the story of a group of friends who went too far. It shows a far-reaching phenomenon of social decay."

Researcher Marie Valla contributed to this report


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Friday, February 24, 2006

no more notre-dame

The view from the Metro stop I take to school (pictured to the right) is no more. No, Notre-Dame has not collapsed or been destroyed or anything like that. Simply, I've switched my French Grammar Course from Intermediare 1 to Superieur 3 (Intermediate to Advanced), and now my class is in a different location.

I'm sad though, to leave this majestic view, which I had gotten used to welcoming me to my class...

Thursday, February 23, 2006

1664


Remember that time I ordered a beer at McDonalds? (Okay, okay, so I did it at when I was fifteen at the Champs-Elysees McDonalds, but it was just as fun this time!)


Other things of note about French McDonalds:

  • THERE'S A BOUNCER
  • people order two or three meals at a time and stay for hours
  • the maxi (extra size) menu is the size of a medium meal at home
  • the service is worse, but the taste of the food is better
  • free wireless
this list will be continued as I remember stuff....

Monday, February 20, 2006

hi!

Hey Littles,

(I have a minute and a half before mcdonalds - and my internet - closes for night, so don't be offended that this is short!!)

How is everything?? I've been getting all the Zeta emails and they make me SO HAPPY! It sounds like you guys did a great job with recruitment! And you guys have so much cool stuff planned!!!!

I also saw that you guys signed up to Bigs!!! I am so excited for you... make sure you guys pick some cool littles that know how to have a good time (it's a prerequisite for being a Monkey!!)

I miss you guys and Zeta and College Park so much, even though I am having a lot of fun here. I can't wait to hear all about your semesters!!

zlam,

Julie

hey

Hi Lana,

I miss you a lot, too, but I'm glad that you are having fun and playing with Deena. Putting on plays is lots of fun... I think I have a box of old costumes and dress up clothes - ask mom, I think it might be in the attic - and it can help you come up with some new stories.

I heard it was really cold in Boston. I hate the cold!! Here, it's not that bad, but it is really rainy. When I wake up in the morning, it is really nice outside, the sun is shining and it's not so cold. But then... when I leave my class, it is rainy and dark and cold. Hopefully, the weather will be nicer soon.

So what else is new with you? Do you have big plans for this vacation?

McDonalds is closing so I have to go, but know that I love you and miss you VERY MUCH.

Hugs,

Julie

Thursday, February 16, 2006

french and food, funny how they go together!

Salut!

School started this week and can officially call myself a Sorbonne student. I am now on a hunt for a Sorbonne sweatershirt to wear so I can display my school spirit (too bad I have a Maryland one in pretty much every color). Anyway, eventually I'm going to be taking 4 different classes: French Grammar, French Phonetics, Paris and the Economic and Social Geography of France. BUT Phonetiqcs doesn't until March 6 and the other two don't start until February 23rd.

So right now I just have my one grammar class that meets everyday for 2 hours. Let me tell you, it's weird not to have powerpoint slides to copy (even if i am often unsuccessful), to actually be required to participate instead of being lectured to, and to study something non-business related. The grammar class is really indepth. For example, today we discussed five different verbs to describe the action of talking (to talk, to say, to discuss, to dispute, to chat) and learned 10 different phrases for each (to talk to someone, to talk with someone, to talk about something, to talk on the subject of, to talk without thinking, to speak well, to speak a language, to speak loudly). It's a little overwhelming and a little mundane at the same time, but really, that's how you learn a language, right?

The other thing that I often think about is how Russian and English are languages that I speak and write without thinking. When I hear them in passing I don't have to think about their meaning - I just know what is being said. I really don't know if I'll ever be able to reach that level of fluency. Really, the only way to do it is to move to France permanetly, but to somewhere where English is not well known as it is in Paris.

Okay, the other adventure of the week is that I've begun attempting to cook. I've almost mastered pasta and fish nuggets and now I've moved onto scrambled eggs which I made today. I obviously took pictures. The point of telling you all this is not to bore you, but to ask for EASY, QUICK, CHEAP, EDIBLE recipes from all of you. I know a lot of you live on your own or at least have some experience cooking for yourself. Please, please, please send me any and all recipes (but please be specific because I really am a dumbass in the kitchen).

Anyway, I have two more minutes on the computer. :( HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! (On the 14th, I went out to a bar called "FUBAR" which apparently stands for "fucked up beyond all recognition" (those who were on birthright with me, remember when we went to Fubar in Eilat???))

I love you all and miss you more than you could ever know. I finally put some pictures up in my room so now I get to see all your lovely faces everyday!!

Peace,

Julie

Sunday, February 12, 2006

The 3 guidebooks I carry make it hard to explain that I'm not really a tourist...

Hi all!

This week has been as full of culture and intelligent activity as I could have hoped for...

Wednesday I walked around a little bit and saw the outside of Centre Georges Pompidou (France's National Modern Art Museum - it was built between 1971-1977 and also has a huge public library inside), the fountains by the Centre (they are also modern, reminded me of Mardi Gras - there's free moving art in the water), and then made my way to the Louvre.

Fifteen euros later, I'm now the proud owner of a student year pass to the Museum. For those of you that have read Da Vinci Code, you'll understand the signficance of me taking a picture by where the pyramid coming down meets the pyramid coming up. Also, I made sure to visit La Jaconde (that's how you say Mona Lisa in French). When I was last at the Louvre, Mona Lisa had her own room, which was small and white and filled with tourists. This time, she was in a spacious room surrounded by similar paintings. She has her own wall in the middle of the room and this change of location does her much better justice.

Thursday, I walked around Les Halles, which is an area of little shops that reminded me of Harvard Square (maybe Georgetown, but more pedestrian). France stores are only allowed to have sales two times a year, in the winter and in the summer, (they aren't even allowed to use the word SOLDES (sale) at any other time), so now is the time to buy, buy, buy.

I headed to Versailles on Friday. But I didn't actually tour the castle. We went an saw the Royal Jewel Collection of the Saxon Empire. It wasn't as bad as it sounds and we did walk around for a few minutes outside. I've already been to Versailles, so I'm in no rush to get back, plus, it's much more amazing after spring, when everything is in bloom.

Friday night I went out to a nice dinner - red wine and everything. The waiter was really cute and when we were leaving I left my number for him on the paper placemate. Lol. When in Paris... The rest of the night was the usual - Latin Quarter craziness. Let's just say the night ended with a midget mistaking me for a talk black woman and trying to spit at me. :)

Saturday night was more of the same. We tried to go to a Jazz Club, but that didn't work out so it was off to the Highlander, a Scottish Pub that I've been frequenting. We stayed there until four when some poor bloke who had been buying me drinks got a little too drunk and started being a little too touchy-feeling. Anyway, we headed to a cafe for drunk politics, another beer and breakfast as we awaited the opening of the metro. There we met two Arabs, one from Algeria and the other from Tunisie and later two Irishmen joined us. Ah, Paris. (One of the Arabs talked about how "the Jew has the Money. America doesn't not have the power, the Jews has the Power". The other one got my number. And do you guys know HOW hard it was to keep my mouth shut??)

Today, I had a walking tour of the two Islands of Paris: Il de la Cite and Il Saint Germain, and visited Notre Dame de Paris. I won't bore you with details, but it really is majestic and beautiful. I loved all the detail on the front of the outside. There are sculptures everywhere to educate the masses and children who couldn't read.

And now I'm at McDonalds on the internet because I'm addicted.

Tomorrow, I start my language classes a la Sorbonne. I got the 12 to 2 time slot, which is pretty hot. What's not as hot is that it's probably going to take me 45 min and two metro-line switches to get to class. There are three levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Within each of those, there are 15 additional sublevels. I placed into Intermediate 1, which is the highest of the Intermediates. I'm going to try it out for three days, and then maybe/hopefully/unfortunately try to switch to the lowest Advanced (to ensure I get credit, and hey, let's be honest, it sounds cooler). It's funny, though, because everyone has been trying to show off the French skills, and I placed higher than all those goons.

Anyway, as always, hope everything is going great with everyone. Congrats to Zetas on recruitment!! Write e-mails!! Stay in touch!! I miss you all!! Keep me updated!!!!!!!!

Ciao (ya ya, it's italian, but they say it here in France, too!),

Julie

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

post script

I watched the superbowl on sunday night with a couple of my new friends in a local canadian bar called the moose. (it started at midnight.) the boys left during halftime and the girls stayed. talk about bad calls, though!

life's a rollercoaster, man

Salut,

So most of you are still asleep but it's already the afternoon here in Paris. I know you are expecting to finally get a culturally-rich e-mail from me, but really that would be no fun (it'll have to wait!).

Apparently, I had a little too much fun this weekend because Monday night I started really sick. (There's something going around my program group - and the guy that got me sicks feels really bad). It was when I started to feel near-death on Tuesday that I decided that I needed to see a doctor. Here in France, they still make housecalls and since I could only stand for a couple minutes without fear of fainting, I decided that was the way to go. The doctor gave me my medicine, but I needed to go to the pharmacie to get it. Well, I felt so sick I couldn't even get dressed for another for hours. Now, a day and a whole bunch of drugs later, I'm feeling much better. [Insights/Side notes/interesting facts: housecall doctors are called "SOS Medecins" and carry around a little black purse. Paris's medical system is socially leaning, so the medicine is really cheap. Pharmacies give you the medicine right away and the pharmacists are trained like doctors - they can prescribe medecine.]

Anyway, today I'm hoping to start my Paris sight-seeing. This weekend people are going to crazy places like London, Amsterdam, and Italy, but since I plan on going later in the semester (and because I feel like it's really expensive to do stuff last minute), I'm going to try to convince people to explore some other region of France with me.

Hopefully, next time I write, I'll have some crazy story about getting lost in the Louvre or in the Catacombs (crazy underground tunnels where they used to bury people). I've realized that I need to get my hands on a guide-book so that I can actually figure out the history and details of what I'm visiting...

Stay in touch,

Julie

PS for those of you getting LCap's e-mails, she mentioned Skype as a way to talk to people. It's definitely the way to go. www.skype.com. You download it and then you can talk for free through the computer (but you will need a set of headphones with a microphone - macs have the mic built in).

Sunday, February 05, 2006

no way to top this...

Hi all,

I'm writing to you from a McDonalds by the Opera House. One of my new friends, Whitney, and I spent three hours "seeing the sights" (trying to find a McDonalds that has free wireless internet!). T

This weekend has been completely crazy... (By the way, what I forgot to mention in my last e-mail was HOW I met Michael Stipe... we went to this bar called Highlander by the Seine, where my roommate new the bartender and it turns out that they were holding the Christian Dior after party there. REM played at the fashion show and was there for the party.)

Anyway, Thursday night we went bar hopping... first to a bar called Frog Prince where we met a huge group of frenchies who we spent the rest of the night hanging out with and then back to the Highlander. The only thing of note about Thursday is that we saw a girl fight in the metro that was so scary and crazy.

Friday night, I went to Club Mix with my roommate, Anna, and our friend, Bridget. Anna had met this guy who got us in for free and we sat in the VIP section. It was everything you'd imagine a european club to be - drugs, techno, crazy outfits, glowsticks, topless girls dancing on stage...

Last night was maybe the most fun night for me. I live right by the Bastille and there's a fun bar area there. I went out with three people from my program, John, Jeff and Sarah. At the first bar we went to, I made friends with the bartender who asked for my number and gave me free drinks all night. When that bar closed we went to another bar and then afterwards went to cafe for some more drinking.

Funny thing about Paris is that I guess it hasn't realized that it's a major city - the metro closes at 12 only to re-open at 6. so you can either take a cab home or just stay out until it opens. So we tried the second method.

I have been meeting people from all over the world, and my phone number might as well be posted on a billboard because I give it to every person I meet. In the cafe, we met a Christian Lebanese guy with whom we talked drunk politics for two hours. He got my number and is taking me to dinner some time this week (if I don't chicken out or decide he's too old).

Classes don't start until Febraury 13th so I'm debating whether to travel somewhere this week... we'll see...

My battery is about to run out, but I hope everything is going well wherever you may be. Write me and keep me updated!

biya,

Julie

PS I uploaded my pics : http://community.webshots.com/user/julieabroad

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Bonjour!

Hi all,

Today is my second day in Paris! Orientation is about to start so this is going to be quick and not so funny. I don't have internet though, and I haven't been able to bum it off my neighbors (and that's DEFINITELY not funny). My roommate is crazy in a good way, as soon as I got in, she started talking about how much fun she had last weekend going out until 7am! Obviously, last night she dragged me out (well, not dragged, but I was a little jetlagged). We went to a couple bars and some girls she had met. One of them was really really cool so hopefully we'll become friends (i'm a loser). Another one is from Penn State and the last one is from Orange County and is friends with Laguna Beach people. Crazy. Anyway, we met the lead singer of REM last night and had a lot of fun. Gotta run. Stay in touch!!!

Julie

ps no cell phone yet
ps miss you all!