Lille

I haven't had a blog since high school, and at that time it was more an alternative to being cool, or smoking cigarettes, than communicating. Today I revamp my career as a blogger, having a genuine desire to share my experiences with those who care about where I am, or what I am doing. This first post covers the quotidian bases: lifestyle, my city, a few intelligent or witty phrases. It lacks the gnitty gritty private details that would perhaps be more interesting.

There are pictures too. See them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/14678278@N02/ If you want a high resolution photo, just ask me to email it to you.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, or give suggestions. If you don't want to be on the e-mail list for updates (about once a month), or if you are not on the list and want to be, email me--ep.simpson@gmail.com. Or if you feel like writing a letter, my address is
407 Robespierre
1 Rue Lavoisier
59370
Mons en Baroeul
France

For those with facebook, there is a link to this website on my account. I plan on adding two sections, one about the culture, and one about my excursions out of Lille. In the next three months I have guided day-trips planned for Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, and London. Cultural subjects include "Waiting," and "Eating."



The University
In french, the campus is called the fac. The fac in Lille III is moche—a little ugly, with imposing faux-cliff facades. It has a reputation for being factory-like, in terms of education, but I've found the students to be genial, and the professors empathetic. Only the english teachers speak english. In general the proffesors are more arrogant, and a little snobby towards the students. Perhaps as retaliation, the students take classes more lightly than those in the states. Fun is made through mockery of the teachers, and safety is found in numbers.

The attitude towards international students is warm and welcoming. My translation teacher, who moved to France from Washington 20 years ago, expressed her appreciation for my acuteness with the language. The students take the same courses together, for the three years of school, but as a foreigner I am able to pick my classes from any department. This semester I'm taking a few classes in english (Shakespeare, British history) partly because I need the credit, and partly to lighten the stress of not understanding my professor. My French classes are translation, art and literature, Latin, a tandem class with a french studnet, and literature and geopolitics.



The Food
Charles Simic titled his poems on popular subjects, and wrote about ideas no one expected. I don't have anything breath-taking to say about the food, and will most likely confirm your suspicions. The food in France is better, but I'm afraid it doesn't live up to its reputation. Two nights ago I was chatting with a French student who says that the American view of France is based on 30 years ago—a much more romantic and propserous time, perhaps even in the States. Back then a baguette cost 5 cents, and you could get a gourmet, full course meal for 10 dollars. The situation has changed; the food still has more butter, more cream, more chocolate, more sugar, than in the States, and so it tastes better. My first night dining in town I ordered escargo, served in argentine butter, and I savored dipping my bread in the sauce as much as swallowing the clam-like creatures. I also ate a pot of mussels, a specialty in the town, and was nothing less than elate at the delicousness.

The Residence
Brimming with internationals, and real frenchies, the nightly gatherings in the residence are diverse in language and culture. Students from Spain, Romania, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Britain all talk in various degrees of broken French—and some are lucky to have been taken under the wing of a French student. The room size leaves on wishing for more, although they supply a mini-fridge and two burners, a kitchen sink, and a vanity sink. The view from my 4th floor room is terrific. I can see the cranes of downtown Lille on the horizon, and I wake up to see a world full of fog. The leaves are changing colors, and the courtyard is well kept. There is a swimming pool nearby, and a supermarket. The bus stop is across the street, and it's a ten minute walk to the metro. It takes about thirty minutes to get to the campus.



Lille
The city of Lille, lively, busy, cheerful, is home to 200,000 inhabitants, and is surrounded by cities of noteable size. Its « Old Town » offers a manifold of shopping options, at aristocratic prices. The ancient town is beautiful for its European architecutures, palaces, and churches. It has two reputable art museums, which I made a point to visit: The Musée de Beaux Arts, and The Piscine, which is French for the swimming pool. It's centered around a Roman bath house, and it's more modern collection of statues and paintings lead to my resolution to visit every Friday, when it is free for students. The open air market, every Sunday at Wazemmes, is an awe inspiring sight. Among the thousands of shoppers, and hundreds of vendors, you can find anything from batteries, to vases, to grilled chicken.



Something about the city's high latitude, and proximity to the ocean means that it's always cloudy, and usually raining. In fact, this dreary region is notorious for it's high number of alcoholics, and alcohol related accidents. On the other hand, the city of Lille has a reputation as friendly, open, and cheerful. Even for the internationals with incoherent French, they will be more than happy to direct anyone to the nearest boulangerie, where you can find fresh baked bread, croissants, or pains aux chocolats. It's an expensive city, and continent for that matter. Books, clothes, and restaurants are more expensive, and considering the exchange rate, I'm paying more at the grocery store as well. It's not impossible to live cheaply, my newest resolve; two kilos of tomatoes at the market costs only two euros, and yes, they always use the metric system.