Paris Paris in the Seventies
Back when the scent of Gaulois cigarettes permeated the train stations, back when park guardians barked at those who dared to sit on the grass, were the seventies really the ‘good old days’?
Paris in the 70’s - Student Diary
While cleaning out the storage space, I fell upon this Student Diary, Paris 1976, so from time to time I’ll post entries for those who are interested in what it was like being a student in Paris in the 70s.
(these Diary posts will continue depending upon readers interest level - so please leave a comment if you’d like to read more)
“October 19, 1976
Impressions of Paris?
It is a city of love. I had no conception of the word but Paris is already teaching me about love.
The first thing I discovered is that I have brought too many …
Date: January 10th, 2007 |
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Living in Paris in the Seventies
At first glance, not much has changed. Students still wear bell-bottomed jeans. They sit in cafes and smoke cigarettes, but more likely nowadays they’ll have a cellular phone in their hand rather than a cigarette. Last I looked, the Shakespeare bookstore was still tucked in its corner overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame, but some things have changed.
Date: March 16th, 2005 |
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The Best Thing to Do in Paris (What the Guide Books Will Never Tell You!)
It was true in the seventies and remains true today, especially for students in Paris or for any visitors planning on staying longer the a few days: Find a friend.
Date: June 8th, 2005 |
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Learning to Speak French at the Sorbonne
It was the Fall of ‘76. Paris had just experienced one of its worst heat waves (a forerunner of the 2003 August heat wave) People stepped into the fountains to cool off.
By October, the weather had turned cooler when I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport. I was shuffled into a taxi with three other fresh red-cheeked corn-fed American girls. Some came from the mid-West, some from Texas and the Carolinas and some from the rust-belt. Most of us were naive about cities in general.
The taxi driver shooed us out of the cab, allez, allez like a gaggle of geese into our new home for the school year, La Maison des Etudiantes on Boulevard Raspail.
The heavy iron doors led to a courtyard, and anyone entering the threshold of the women’s dorm would have to pass the gauntlet of the concierge, a husband and wife team that kept a good eye on the comings and goings of its residents. The front gate locked at 12:30 - so if you planned on staying out later than that, you had to find your own place to sleep for the night.
Each of the American students was paired up with a French roommate so that theoretically we would be forced to practice speaking French, unless of course, like in my case, your roommate wanted to practice her English. Catherine came from the Bordeaux region. She also spoke Spanish - because her Mother was Spanish and she was studying Arabic and Hebrew - a brilliant linguist.
This, of course, wasn’t going to help me speaking French. But five hours a day at the Cours de Langue et Civilisation Francaises would take care of that. There are many French language courses in Paris, but if you’re looking for the rigorous ‘boot camp’ method, the Sorbonne’s program is the way to go.
Date: May 4th, 2005 |
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Spiritual Sister Cities
Many cities have been compared to Paris - Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Beirut, Lebanon- are the first that come to mind. Do you think that Paris is a spiritual city and if so, does it have spiritual sister cities?
As of yet, no one has had any comments about Paris being a ’spiritual’ city. Maybe it isn’t - at all. But then - there was the Cinematheque.
Date: March 20th, 2005 |
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