Strikes and Iguanas and Anti-Climactic Vanilla Cooperatives

Sorry for my absence. Things have been sort of busy around here, what, with me actually going to class on a regular basis. Also, as you know, internet connections aren't the best, so I'm happy to be able to post. And now, time for a brief-ish rundown of my past 10 days or so.

I know I promised a blog on the stike that was happening/is happening/will continue to happen on campus. Well, as you know, the French love to strike. To them, the government is always to blame. So, naturally, when the Minister of Education proposed sweeping changes to the national university system, everyone freaked. It is actually kind of a big deal, because this is the first time that the schools have held wide strikes. I think at its height 70 universities were shut down (it's around 50 now). You see, professors are civil servants (and get fairly good benefits), so if they strike the government doesn't care because they don't have to pay them. Unfortunately, now that everyone's jumping on the bandwagon, they can't really ignore it. Way to go strikers!

So, I must confess that I'm not actually sure what they're protesting. I am fairly certain it involves the following: cutting professors' benefits, cutting/altering research funding, changing the way the poor get scholarships. Again, I can't be too sure, but that is what I gather from my professors. Regardless, the strike has come to Reunion. Here's what's happened so far: in the second week of school, class kept being interrupted by polite students that quietly knocked on the door and asked the professor for a few minutes. They explained that there was strike and here's why they were striking. They professor promptly stopped lecturing and sat back, giving these complete strangers the floor. As I said the French love and respect their strikers. The same week, the students started to protest and march around campus one morning. There were a few hundred, so it looked cool. Of course, the sociology major in me was immediately attracted to the French Culture happening, so I followed like a bug to a lightbulb, and resisted the urge to take along a notebook for my records. Our large group ended up in front of the administration building, locking themselves between the builiding and the street. Meanwhile, the crowd blew horns, beat drums, smoked weed, threw some fruit and blocked traffic. It was pretty cool. Then, the leader said they were breaking for lunch and would resume later. So French. They love their tuna and corn sandwiches on baguettes, too.

After that, the campus would be sproadically closed. One day, I woke up to find that students had torn down lampposts and put them in front of the gates so profs couldn't get it. That week the President completely shut down campus for a day. Since then, it's been completely closed one more time and half closed (lampposts blocking cars and students only allowing foot traffic) about three times. It may sound cool, but it's actually sort of annoying. I'm here to get a formal French education. While I am learning a lot about the culture, not being able to go to my French translation, culture, and grammar courses is frustrating. I only have four more months, after all! Still, I'm sure those of you out there who know me are saying, "geez, Chels, quit being such a nerd and enjoy not having class." Don't worry- I do. It just highlights the difference that the French and Americans place on education. Everyday I learn something new, and for the most part, class has resumed as normal.

At first I thought I wasn't going to be able to get credit (if I don't have class I can't have homework and I can't get a grade! Ahh calm down, Chelsea). But now, it's pretty evident that there's only a small group of students that are totally gung-ho about it. This past week they made a paper-mache Sarcozy to BURN (yes, burn-- if students did that with Bush [or Obama], they'd be shot or lynched or dragged behind a truck or something) but I'm not actually sure what became of it. Campus is scheduled to be closed to cars tomorrow (read: the students striking voted to put the lampposts in the road), so who knows if class is actually on. It's impossible to tell which professors are striking, too. Even if they aren't, enough students to hold class might not show up, so class still may not happen. Sigh. Campus may be totally closed on Thursday, though.

On a completely unrelated note, the ENTIRE ISLAND may be on strike this Thursday because of all of the economic changes Sarcozy wants to make to French Overseas Departments (Guadaloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Reunion). You may have heard that there were some pretty serious protests in Guadaloupe in the past two weeks. Basically, Sarcozy appeased the crowds (sort of) by promising them 240 more Euros a month (to civil servants), but he failed to promise the same for the other three overseas departments.. cough cough.. Reunion. Now the mindset is, "well, Guadaloupe got the money, so if we strike, we will too!" So, now, if the University isn't striking, the island will be. My translation professor told us to expect the worse, stock up on food, and if possible, go downtown to watch the protests at the prefecture. Oh so cheerily she offered: "Yes, wear your tennis shoes, and if they start throwing rocks, the riot police will respond with tear gas, and you can just walk down a side street and be out of it!"

France. Love it.

I'll let you know how that goes. In other news, this blog post is getting entirely too long, but I'm perservering because I owe you stories on seeing my first iguana and lame vanilla museums. Last weekend I went to Salazie, which is one of the cirques of the island. It's beyond gorgeous. The cirques are ancient collapsed volcanoes, so once you're in, you're just surrounded by an impenitrible wall of verdant tropical life. Team Anglophone (the Americans and the British) searched for a cascade (waterfall), but failed. Instead, we had a great time trekking around on a trail, stumbling upon adorable Creole homes and gorgeous vistas. I swore that I was going to see a terradactyl fly over the canyon. The plants were so big and we were so far from people that I swore I was in the Mesozoic Period or something. Amazing. So worth it. Anndddd on the way out, we were stopped for a water break and we saw an iguana! He was so cool and orange and striped. I would have liked to have had a conversation with him, perhaps about his opinion on paperback books versus hardcovers. I think he'd have been into it. I refrained from asking, and we hastened to get back to St. Denis and get ready to go to a rave (techno music all night long, yes!!!) and sleep on the beach. Success. Team America (Me, Katie, and Stephanie) dominated that weekend.

This weekend was just a good one. Saturday, Stephanie and I spent the day with our German friends and spoke French the whole time (yes!!!). We were searching for a Vanilla plantation/museum, but it was in the next town over, so this really nice woman took us in her tiny French car. The museum ended up being kind of lame, but I did learn some good things about the plant. For example, did you know that the vanilla plant originated in Mexico? Also, that it doesn't self-pollinate and that it must be done by hand in Reunion? I sure didn't. Yesterday we went to the beach and got supremely sunburned. Good thing I just got an enormous shipment of aloe from my parents (thanks Mom and Dad!). I was so worried I wouldn't have a use for it! Haha. At the beach, I snorkeled for about 45 minutes and saw the most INCREDIBLE sea life, including my favorite fish for the first time ever!! (http://blog.nesthostelsvalencia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/long-fin-angel-fish.jpg). I don't know why I like it so much, but I think they're gorgeous. I saw about ten, and one was about the size of my head! So cool. I obviously didn't take the picture, but y'all get the idea. Thanks, Google Image.

Well, I hope your eyes aren't stinging from reading my short novel. As always, please keep in touch and tell me about what you're doing! If you send me your address, I will send you a postcard or letter. Stay warm in the crazy storm. I'll eat a fresh pineapple and think nostalgically about what winter feels like...

Bisous!