Marchons, marchons

Posted on by je parle américain

Sunday, December 16 was a big day in the streets of Paris.
It was the day of …

La Manifestation pour l’Égalité
The March for Equality

© 2012 Agissons pour l'égalité
© 2012 Agissons pour l’égalité

About a month ago, I posted an article here about the current debate in France over marriage equality and other family rights for LGBT persons. The government of President François Hollande had just announced a proposed law that would open civil marriage to same-sex couples, and the reaction was quick and malicious. Less than two weeks after the announcement, the opposition took to the streets in Paris and other French cities and — spouting blatant lies and disgusting innuendo about people like me — made their minority view very much heard. The demonstration in Paris even turned physically violent in the face of counter-protest. It was enough to sadden us and anger us … but it was also enough to motivate us to take to the streets ourselves on Sunday afternoon to make our voices heard. Continue reading Marchons, marchons

Saint-Malo: Traveling Saints, French Pirates, and the Best Crêpes Around

Posted on by je parle américain

Back when I started this blog, I imagined that I’d have an entire series of posts about my travels around France. As often happens with projects like this, I ended up going off in other directions and I never really returned to the theme of sharing my favorites places in France with my readers. Well, oversight rectified …

Welcome to Saint-Malo!

Continue reading Saint-Malo: Traveling Saints, French Pirates, and the Best Crêpes Around

Street Art

Posted on by je parle américain

One of the things I love about Paris is the ubiquitous street art.

“But what is street art?” you might ask.

Well, simply put, it’s visual art in public spaces, usually unsanctioned by local authorities. Typically, the term is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork (like traditional graffiti, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting, video projection, art intervention, sculpture, and street installations) from territorial graffiti, vandalism, and corporate art. I don’t want to get into definitions of what constitutes street art, debate whether street art is really “art” or “vandalism,” or expound on the history of Paris street art and its notable artists. I just want to show you some of my favorites that have caught my eye over the last three years.

As you’ll see, street art can be an expansive mural overlooking a public park … or just a single word in an obscure location; it can be a critically acclaimed work by a world-renowned artist … or just a fleeting notion scribbled with a magic marker. What they all have in common is that they’re intended to communicate something to the spectator: provocative, inspiring, or fanciful. And they’re all ephemeral, too. These works exist at the whim of the authorities — or even the weather — who can “clean them up” at a moment’s notice. So, keep an eye out for these unexpected little art exhibits and enjoy them while they last … they could be gone tomorrow.

You can also check out other volumes in the street art archives.

To open the gallery, simply click on one of the photos below (or on a white space if nothing appears). You will then be able then scroll through all of the photos in a larger format.

“Long live the king”
A play on words: “Defense of the Elephant” v. “Do not post” (“Défense d’afficher”)
“I’m thinking of the day when the horses learned to cry.”
“Love … and so much more (inside)”
“Starting today, connect the flowers of life.”
“Earth … Sky (Heaven)?”
“Look to the sky / the earth”
“Yeah!”
Homage à Marcel Duchamp?
Jérôme Mesnager
Jérôme Mesnager
The famous “Space Invader”
Jérôme Mesnager
“Philosophy is a state of things.”

© 2012 Samuel Michael Bell, all rights reserved

Irish College

Posted on by je parle américain

This post isn’t to announce that I’m quitting Paris to go to school in Dublin. Don’t worry: I won’t be changing the name of the blog anytime soon. Instead, this is about the building right here in Paris where I currently have my French classes.

I’ve been studying French here for a while now, but this is the first semester my classes have been at the Centre Culturel Irlandais (“Irish Cultural Centre”). I was vaguely aware of the Centre’s existence before October, but I never really knew anything about the place.

“Irish Cultural Centre, huh? That’s different,” I thought. “Meh … a cultural center for Irish folks in Paris. They’ve probably got one of those for every cultural group around.”

Since October, though, I’ve learned that the Centre is a lot more interesting than I originally thought. Continue reading Irish College

Three Parisian Thanksgivings

Posted on by je parle américain


My first Thanksgiving as an expat was in 2010.  It was the first time spending this quintessentially American holiday in France, so I really wanted to go all out and impress my French family with a traditional Thanksgiving experience. I even posted a little article from French Wikipedia on Facebook for them, explaining what Thanksgiving was — that it’s about more than just parades, football games, and oven-roasted turkey. Then I ran off to a little American épicerie in the Marais (incidentally called “Thanksgiving”) and loaded up on the traditional fixin’s. Here’s my Facebook status from November 24, 2010, pretty much summing up my grocery list: Continue reading Three Parisian Thanksgivings

It’s time.

Posted on by je parle américain

Photo: At our wedding, July 19, 2010

We just experienced a disturbing weekend here in France. I didn’t see anything negative firsthand but, despite being insulated in my bubble with Michel, I was well aware that forces were mobilizing against us. Both Saturday and Sunday, opponents of marriage equality — ginned up primarily by the Vatican and its conservative allies in France — took to the streets of Paris and several other cities to demonstrate against proposed laws that would grant marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. If enacted, these laws will finally bring France in line with other Western European democracies like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. If defeated, same-sex couples in France will remain second-class citizens in their own country.

To be honest, it’s been difficult to follow the news since Saturday; I even get anxious when Michel brings the subject up or when I see something about it in my Facebook newsfeed. Continue reading It’s time.

“An angel; or, if not, an earthly paragon.”

Posted on by je parle américain

— William Shakespeare, Cymbeline

Being the American expat in France for most of my friends back home brings with it a certain cachet … and certain responsibilities. When someone is planning a Paris vacation, I’m usually the first person my friends think of to ask for advice about restaurants, hotels, and neighborhoods. I love this role; it’s a bit like being an ambassador, or — more appropriately, I suppose — a scout for an advancing foraging party! Sometimes, though, it gets more interesting than simply giving my expert advice about this city; sometimes I actually go on a mission for someone …

Continue reading “An angel; or, if not, an earthly paragon.”

Hooked on Phonics

Posted on by je parle américain

You all know that I’m a perpetual French student; it’s how I justify to the French government my need to stay in their country every year. In fact, I’m now on my fourth semester of French classes here, the third time at the highest level they teach at my school. I truly enjoy both my grammar class and my French culture seminars. There’s just one class that I simply cannot stand:

[fəˈnɛtɪks]

Phonetics class is where I spend 5 hours a week, every other week, sitting in a soundproofed cubicle, wearing headphones, repeating French sentences … over and over and over … and then listening to a recording of my voice saying these things … over and over and over. It’s a quixotic quest to improve what Michel continues to assure me is a charming American accent. (Of course, I have to take that compliment with a grain of salt, since he’s not exactly a unbiased observer.) Phonetics class is, simply put, a torturous experience … but it’s necessary. I recently had an experience that comically demonstrates why.

Friday afternoon, I took my Swedish friend Helena to my new favorite Paris sweetshop, Sugar Daze. We ordered a few cupcakes and some coffee and sat down to chat and catch up with each other. Incidentally, Paris schools were on fall break this week, so the children of Sugar Daze’s owner, Cat, were hanging out in the store as well. At one point, Helena and I started talking about our phonetics classes, I pulled out a page of my phonetics exercises, and I started reading them aloud. That’s when Cat’s adorable, bilingual five(?)-year-old daughter — who apparently had been listening to us — interrupted in a completely serious, inquisitive tone:

“Why are you speaking Spanish?”

<ba-dum-dum>

Classic! I just couldn’t stop laughing!

And voilà, folks: a case in point for why phonetics classes are in – di – spen – sable (pronounced with the proper French accent, stress, and rhythm, please)!

<sigh>

Back to the soundproofed cubicle.

© 2012 Samuel Michael Bell, all rights reserved

Nuit Blanche

Posted on by je parle américain

I’ve been wanting to write about this French expression for a while now, and I finally have the occasion!

Nuit blanche is the French expression for an “all-nighter” — literally “white night.” It refers to a night when you don’t sleep at all, and it could result from any of several reasons — including, importantly for  a student, staying up all night cramming for a test. But for most French, I suspect, a nuit blanche is associated with partying all night long!

<cue Lionel Ritchie>

Since 2002, “La Nuit Blanche” has been used to refer to an annual all-night arts festival in Paris. Every October, the city’s museums, art galleries, and cultural centers open to the public free of charge for an entire night. In fact, the City of Light truly lives up to its nickname by turning itself into an outdoor art gallery with performance spaces and art installations all over the place. The history of La Nuit Blanche is long, but it seems to have been inspired initially by Helsinki’s 1989 “Night of the Arts” and the subsequent wave of such nocturnal arts festivals across Europe. You can click here for some of the history of La Nuit Blanche, and here for a guide to Paris’s most recent festivities on October 6 of this year.

My nuit blanche this week was just a bit different, though …

Continue reading Nuit Blanche

Sugar Daze

Posted on by je parle américain

Two big things happened in my life this week:

I reached the weight loss
goal I’d set for myself earlier this year …

… and I celebrated that fact with the best cupcakes
an American can find in Paris!

Back in July, you see, a blogger friend embarked on an epic a quest to find the best cupcakes in Paris and document the results for the world. Incidentally — perhaps fortunately for me — this all came about when I was also embarking on an epic quest … to lose the 25 pounds I’d packed on since coming to live in France. (Blasted croissants!) I say “fortunately” because I was forced to indulge vicariously in my friend’s cupcake caper … instead of following in her wake and packing on yet another 5 pounds!

Nevertheless, as soon as I reached my weight loss goal on Thursday, I knew exactly how I was going to celebrate. I dug out Nikki email’s announcing the champion of the cupcake competition, and I went in search of my victory prize at Sugar Daze! Continue reading Sugar Daze