Bienvenue à Cannes !

It’s time I finally introduce you all to the lovely city of Cannes! The city is made up of several ports on the coast of the Mediterranean near the Italian border. The Italian influence is very clear, in the food, the architecture, and the attitude.  For a girl who splits her time between Vermont and Ohio, I feel as though I’m living in paradise. My school is just across the road from the beach and my homestay in the heart of the city. Every morning I have a language course from 9am to noon and twice a week I have a seminar from 1:30pm to 5pm.

 

There are many distinct contrast between Cannes and Paris. Not only is Paris much more traditionally “French”, but the general population there is younger and the atmosphere is busy and not exactly friendly. The simplest analogy I can use to describe the cities and the difference between them is that if Paris is New York City, than Cannes is Florida. The people here are generally older (many come here to retire) and have a surplus of money and time to spend the day walking their small dogs or dining in cafés. For now, there are not many tourists, although at the time of the film festival the city quadruples in size!

This is the generous breakfast spread my roommate and I receive every morning at our homestay: half a baguette, jam, butter, cereal, milk, fruit, and coffee or tea

I’m still not sure how I feel about Lewis’ Culture Model or the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavioral Effectiveness (GLOBE) study and other research that tries to find universal norms for a country. Despite experiencing first hand all of these differences within France, I'm surprised to find myself believing more that such universal norms do exist. Lewis and the other cross-culture experts have found trends that are far deeper than the food or architecture, to find commonalities in the mentality, values, and attitudes of the people. I think for France, a major reason these commonalities exist is the the high degree of centralization of government, especially with regards to the education system. In my opinion, examples of a French norm would be the great value on their freedoms, such as freedom of the press/speech, and the importance of developing a strong collective rather than focusing on individual attention. If anyone has a question or would like me to explain further about these examples, the role of the school system, or anything I've mentioned, feel free to comment below!

À bientôt,

Kara

Bonjour de Cannes!

Two weeks ago, my J-term in Paris ended and I boarded a train for Cannes to start my spring semester. So far I have not experienced any serious homesicknesses and had wanted to leave France, but I will say that the day when all of my friends left to return to their families and their beds while I was to remain abroad for five more months was a very, very difficult and emotional one. The time in Paris felt like a blink. We did, saw, ate, and visited SO much in such a short amount of time (thanks in large part to the architecture class which was essentially a three hour walking tour of the historic churches, houses, and buildings of Paris).

For this post, I'll give some final thoughts on Paris and then later next week I'll introduce you to my new home on coast of the Mediterranean! After spending a month in Paris, here are some of my favorite activities  and what I would recommend to anyone visiting the city:

-Tour the Château de Versailles: This mini kingdom exudes the grandeur and excessiveness of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. Within minutes of walking through the chapel, ballrooms, and private bedrooms, it's easy to understand the revolutionary sentiment the boiling up among the thousands of commoners that were starving and cold. This place carries immense historical importance from the 18th century as well as more recently in the 20th century with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. I would add the recommendation of going in the spring or summer when the gardens are in their full beauty. Below is a picture of my roommate and I in the Hal of Mirrors and on the left is Marie Antoinette's bed.

-Descend into the Catacombs: Certainly not for the faint of heart, but certainly a major part of French history and a must-see. There are the bones of eleven million people all purposefully placed in a design from the 17th and 18th century. The bones came from graveyards that had reached their capacity (some literally overflowing) so the oldest bodies that had already decomposed were moved here to make room for new graves. Below, the entrance reads "Stop. It is here the empire of the dead."

-Sacré-Coeur:This is my favorite church in Paris. Not only is it beautiful on the inside, but the view from in front is breath taking. Even though it's on the outskirts of the city and sits high on top of a hill, it's certainly worth the climb. Montmartre is the neighborhood below it full of small streets without cars so it's a great place for finding food, art, and shopping without as many tourists as in the heart of the city.

-Eat the street food: Some of the best food I had in Paris was grab-and-go type food for less than 8 euro. On nearly every block there is a "patisserie" or "boulangerie" and in addition to breads and pastries, these places offer pre-made sandwiches that are very flavorful and filling. Some of these are pressed and heated and are what they call "paninis." Many small restaurants have what looks like a drive-thru window where you can grab a panini, café, and of course a crêpe! The clear favorite among my group was the classic crêpe with Nutella, but my personal preference was for the savory crêpes filled with cheese and veggies. I loved this type of food and all of these places are fast, cheap, and open very late.

-Go up the Eiffel Tower: No picture of "la Tour Eiffel" can compare to standing right under it in person. The entire structure seems to have a glow to it and its size is just massive! I would really suggest going up during the day for an amazing 360 view of Paris and also returning at night to see the entire structure sparkle every hour. This was the most beautiful five minutes in Paris.

There are many great things to do in Paris that I did not mention above, so please comment if you'd like to know more. As for some other important information to know if you are visiting the city:
-Do be on guard for pick-pocketers. They are well-trained.
-Don't smile at passing strangers. In the States it's common to smile in a friendly acknowledgment, but in France this is interpreted as too personal and may make the other person uncomfortable or may bring you unwelcome attention.
-Do greet every store owner with "Bonjour" when you enter and say "Au revoir"when you leave.
-Do try to use some French. Making a little effort to use French when meeting someone or ordering food is appreciated (though it may not seem like it at times).

There's so much more to say about Paris than I could ever write! Feel free to add any comments or questions and I'd be happy to respond.

À bientôt,
Kara

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