Coucou –
Hi guys! Sorry for the little hiatus, but I’m back! Oral
defense is done, but now I actually have to write my dissertation – 3 pages
down, 27 more to go! This weekend hasn’t been too exciting because I’ve been
locking myself in my room to write (or at least try to).
Luckily though, Friday night, my friend Laura and I went to
the Comédie-Française to see Phèdre, by Racine, who my seat neighbor described
as the French Shakespeare. Admittedly I spent most of the performance not quite
knowing what was going on (I knew someone had died but not really, there was a
crazy lady, then my favorite character died a gruesome death – that sums it up,
right?), but I really enjoying going none the less. The best part though – our tickets
were only 5 euros! For all the shows in the main theater (Salle Richelieu), the
company has 65 limited visibility seats available for sale an hour before the
show begins, which sell for 5 euros at the little ticket office (“petit bureau”)
on the side of the theater. And when they say limited visibility, they mean it.
My seat was on the 1st balcony all the way to the edge right by the
stage, so I could only actually see half the stage. I didn’t learn that there
was a desk on the stage until after the show when Laura told me (she was
sitting on the other side of the theater, one floor up). It was still really
fun to go all dressed up and enjoy a night of French culture. Plus Pierre Niney (who was in the film "20 ans d'ecart") was in the show which made it more exciting because he's really impressive (and awkward).
(pictures once blogspot let's me upload them)
I’m sharing this story though because for me it’s a reminder
of the accessibility of French culture. Sure, in the States it’s pretty easy to
find shows to see, but tickets are expensive - even the discount tickets on
Broadway are more expensive (my sister and I once saw Bring it on: the Musical and we paid $15 for standing room only
tickets). If you wait until the last minute in Paris, you can find some pretty
good prices. And it’s not just for theater. The first Sunday of every month,
all of the public museums (some of the monuments too) are free to everyone.
Granted, that sometimes means long lines and crowds, but still, it’s cheap. And
for students studying in the European Union, many of these museums are free on
a daily basis with proper identification. Since I’m on a long-stay student
visa, I can just show a copy of my visa and profit from this rule (you can only
legally stay in France without a visa for 3 months). But even if I wasn’t a
student here, if you’re under 26, most places will still give you a reduced
fare. So far I’ve gotten into Musée d’Orsay, Musée du Louvre and Musée Rodin
all for free.
A lot of these laws stem from France’s attempt to encourage
youth to learn about art and culture starting at a young age, which I find
really interesting. If you think about the Pompidou Center, which is the modern
art museum, there’s a library inside the museum to encourage students to
combine education and culture. I wrote an exam paper on this earlier this
semester, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much I was learning
and profiting from it.
I still have a month left here, and I’m hoping to profit
from this cultural emphasis even more in my time here. It’s scary to think that
I’ve been here for almost four months when sometimes it doesn’t even feel like
it. I’m excited to go home eventually, but at the same time I’m already getting
a little sad that I have to leave this city so soon. There’s so much left to
do, and I’m hoping that this month I’ll be able to accomplish a lot (work and travel
wise). So far I’ve got trips to London, Cannes (film festival anyone?) and Nice
scheduled, but we’ll see what else happens along the way.
And for all of those who have been keeping up with this
blog, merci beaucoup. A tout!
Bises, Dana
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