Bonjour!

As I should have mentioned earlier, I welcome any and all questions and comments! 

I'm in my third week of living in Paris and I have so much to write about, but bare with me because I'm going to write just a little more about "Je Suis Charlie" since I attended the solidarity march last Sunday. 

(Over 3.7 million people marched in France that day.)

The march is something I'll never forget. That day the metro was free so everyone and their cousin was on board. Cars were packed so tightly that people's faces were smushed against the windows. I talked with a young Parisian woman on the train who thanked the group of us for coming to show support as students from the U.S. Naturally, the absence of U.S. leadership at the march did not go unnoticed and was in fact a little embarrassing.

           
 (Many girls and women wore pencils in their hair. The sign in the third picture reads "I am Charlie I am Police I am Muslim I am Jewish. Not even afraid.")

For this trip I have been trying not to compare France to the U.S. and just see this country for what it is as a unique, independent culture. As I mentioned before, I see this as the "crucible" moment for this country, and I can't help but think about how different response would be in U.S. given the same situation. For one, I think that it would the attack would be instantly politicized with blame shooting across both sides and especially at the president who somehow "let this happen." Second, I believe that rather than looking at the larger picture and planning a global march for peace, U.S. leaders would think more insular and react by amping up security and the DoD budget. 

So didn't plan on writing so much about this, so I'll try to wrap it up with what I felt the sentiment of the march was about, what I really liked about it, and what worries me about it. The general feeling I got from the crowd and from listening to the news and the people, is that this was clearly not just a French march for  justice for the Charlie Hebdo attack. This was a global march for peace and for a future where these terrorist attacks do not happen. This is one area (of several) in which I think the marches in Ferguson fell short. They were too polarizing between supporting the victim and supporting the police. So I appreciated that this march had a message that nearly everyone could stand behind, as evident by the wide array of world leaders in attendance. That being said, and as with Ferguson, unfortunately there was no clear "bumper-sticker" message or title for this event that could help carry it on into a movement. What worries me about the march is that this will likely fall into the same pit as the NYC Climate March. It was of such a massive scale with great potential and the best intensions, yet I fear this may pass as the climatic point for an anti-terrorism movement rather than become a great step up the ladder to peace. This is where leadership is key. It's leadership that takes a huge moment, idea, or event and turns it into a true movement or revolution. We need leadership that can simplify, shape, label, organize, and mobilize people in oder to turn this march into a movement. 

À bientôt,

Kara

Bonjour toute le monde!
I am writing to you at the conclusion of my school week here in France. And what a wild and dramatic one it has been! I first want to address what many of you may have seen in the news back home. I won't spend too much time recapping the events (which can be found on any major news outlet) because I want to instead talk about the response from France and my observations.

On the Wednesday of the initial shooting at the Charlie Hebdo news magazine office, my class was walking around the city to study examples medieval architecture. Before we knew of the event, most of us noticed a high number police cars and ambulances driving by but we hadn't been living in the city long enough to conclude what is normal and what isn't. President Hollande immediately labeled the event as a terrorist attack (the first in France in recent memory) and arrived at the site where 12 people were killed. This was a surprising move to me as I thought that in the event of a terrorist attack, a nation's leader would be kept away in a secure location. I think this was, however, a smart leadership move as it showed strength and bravery as well provides a leadership presence to those on the scene with the reassurance that all of France expresses its solidarity and support.

Over the next few days of the manhunt for the shooters, Paris was on its highest security alert. We saw uniformed guards with guns  at metro stations, museums, outside schools, and around major monuments. Restaurants and other businesses had signs in their windows saying "Je Suis Charlie." Illuminated across the top of l'Arc de Triomphe was "Paris est Charlie" and at night when la Tour Eiffel normally sparkles with lights on the hour, it went completely dark in a moment of silence.
The response of the people was overwhelming solidarity as vigils and protests were held in the city.

                        This this how la Tour Eiffel glows every night and sparkles every hour.

News of the event is still pouring in and I should note the the study abroad company I'm with has been keeping us somewhat informed and updated. So these are just my initial observations from the city, and I'll be able to take a better look at this "crucible moment" for Paris as I learn more. In my next post, I'll talk more about my trip and what I've been up to, but I want to add in some pictures now to break up all the reading and give you a little preview of my adventures.

 Bakeries, called Patisseries, are on every street. And yes, they are just as delicious as they look!



                                                This is the famous bookstore that's full of the classics (in English), including all the novel you were assigned to read in high school.

Hello Readers!
Tomorrow I will be leaving Boston to fly across the Atlantic to the city of Paris. For the month of January I'll be living in a hostel and taking classes at Sorbonne IV, a French University. After completing the J-Term in Paris, I'll head to the southern coast of France to start my spring semester in Cannes. This blog will be one outlet for me to document my thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout this adventure.

First off, I should warn you that I am not a writer nor a diary keeper so this online journal is a bit of an experiment and all new to me, but that seems to fall in line with the theme to the whole trip. The travel blogs that I've read (which is admittedly not many), range from being a cut and dry description of the places the author visited and things they ate, to others that detail great epiphanies about the world and people. While I will probably tell you about the latest funky cheese or fancy pastry I've tried, I also hope to have several revelations to describe to you, I think I want the focus of this blog to be leadership.

In France I have the opportunity to witness and have first-hand experience with a different style of leadership. My plan is to use the Lewis model of culture clusters to identify real-world examples of Lewis' theories of the French leadership style. With most of you being fellow leadership students, I hope that you will find this blog helpful as well as interesting.

But before all that, let me first tell you about what I'm doing in France and why. The J-Term is a month long stay in Paris where I'll take a single course on the "History of Architecture in Paris."At the end on January, I'll travel to Cannes for a full semester in which three of my five classes will be language courses. The main objective for studying abroad, besides exposure to a new leadership style, is to become proficient in the French language. One of the reasons I chose this program in Cannes was because it offers a language concentration so that I could work towards my goal. In mid-May there is the world famous, international Cannes Film Festival. The college that I'll be attending provides students with passes to viewings as well as volunteer opportunities at the festival. While this was not a deciding factor in choosing the program, it is a huge, glamorous bonus.

Overall, I am very excited for this opportunity to apply my leadership studies, travel Europe, drink fine wine, and possibly watch a film with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

À bientôt,
Kara