Week Twenty

This has by far been the craziest week of my exchange. For those who don’t know, very few I’m sure, there was a terrorist attack in Paris. Two men went into an independent satirical newspaper and left after killing 12 people. They did this because the newspaper had printed some derogatory caricatures of Muhammad. The French people took this as an attack on their freedom of speech and press. The country has exploded in an incredible way. There have been in an insane amount of protests and gatherings across the country and the world.

The beginning of my week was mellow and ordinary. Monday and Tuesday I had classes like normal and the nights were mellow. School is back in session though. Monday was my first back. This started what will be the shortest school session of my exchange. This session is only five weeks long. This is because France is split into three zones and to make the vacation spots less crowded. The first two vacations are taken at the same time in all three zones but the last two are split up between the three zones. My zone is the first to take their vacation this year.

Wednesday seemed like a normal day. I had school and then my French lesson then my dance class. On the way home my host mom explained to me what had happened that morning. She had already been to one gathering of the city to protest what had happened. I didn’t really have any idea of what it would become at that point. It was just something bad and sad that had happened. I didn’t realize all the implications it would have on France.

Thursday the attack was all anyone was talking about. While in the library working my group members and I heard a lot of noise coming from outside on the road, everyone in the room crowded over to the windows and we saw a protest going down the street. It was a student protest and there were over 300 students participating. It was the real deal, they were all really into it and there were police escorts and everything. Friday there was another gathering in downtown. This one consisted of over 2,000 people. I didn’t go to this gathering but it still struck me as incredible that so many people had gotten together.

On Friday, I also went back to my first host family’s house to say and pick up some stuff that I had left. It was weird to be back in what had been my house. It’s strange how quickly things have changed but it I think that that house will always feel at least a little bit like home. I was nice to see my old parents and sisters. It’s been strange to be away from them for so long and not see them everyday. I hadn’t really realized how much they have touched my life.

Sunday marked a monumental day in the French history.

There were marches throughout France. I went to the march hosted in my city. I was stunned by the amount of people that had showed up for the event. We got there early and received stickers with “Je suis Charlie” written on them. This has become the slogan of this movement. This is because the newspaper attacked is called Charlie Hebdo. This is the slogan of the movement because people want to show that they are united and support this newspaper.

In my little city of 50,000 people, an estimated 25,000 people came out and walked. That is half of the population of my city. It was an incredible thing to experience. There were an estimated 1.5 million people in Paris. This is something that I believe will mark this period of time for a long while.