So, only 14 days remain, and I still have so much to do! Today, I got one thing that wasn't necessarily on my list but was still very interesting out of the way...I went on an "excursion" of sorts with my International Relations "Islam in France" class to the 18e Arrondisement, in the Northern part of Paris, right near Montmartre. The area has a very concentrated immigrant population, and has since the beginning of the 20th century; however, the make-up has changed. While when the trains were being built in the early 1900s, the immigrants were mainly from Belgium, Germany, Italy, etc, now they are primarily Muslim peoples from North Africa and that area. It was interesting to see the vast difference between this arrondisement and the more central areas of Paris -- from the market stalls, to the people walking about, to the buildings, everything was much more gritty and cheaper (and to be honest, not a great area to be walking in alone...luckily we were a group of 13).
I got some great pictures, and we got to stop at the Mairie de Paris' Institute des Cultures Islamiques, which had a little exhibit on the history of French attitudes towards Muslim immigrants through propaganda and photography. It was a gloomy day but towards noon the sun cleared, and I spent the rest of the day at the library, lucky me! But on my walk home I got to walk through the Champ de Mars which is always a treat, and enjoyed a nice view of gymnasts posing in a pyramid in front of the Eiffel Tower. I will miss the bizarre sights like these that have made my experience here quite spontaneous...
more pix in an album to the right!
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