Birthday Girl

Today I celebrated my birthday with some close friends and my boyfriend. It was hard trying to catch up with conversation at both ends of the table. But as the person sitting in the middle, I did feel special. They made me feel so loved! I looked around and thought of each one as a member of my New York family. Without their support, life abroad would be pretty meaningless. Good job, good school will get you only so far. You also need laughter and understanding. That's what makes it all bearable and worthwhile. When I look at my life here and think of reasons why I could not relocate yet again, I think of my friends. Not only would it be too difficult to bond with people the same way again - I feel - but also, each one is unique, irreplacable... They make up part of who I am and what I represent to society... I could not leave them.

Paris in Flames

In spirit with the purpose of this blog, I would like to direct your attention to what's going on in the larger Paris metropolitan area. Thousands of people are rioting against the culturally established and institutionalized anti-foreigner belief system. The events were sparked by the accidental death of two immigrants. But the revolt should send a message to those at the top who ignore the new world order, despite benefiting from the cheap labor that come to their countries.

Chirac says his first priority is to establish order and security in the area. Tres bien! Apres, he should think about ways to address this deeply rooted attitude among his people--whatever their origin might be. Didn't we see this before? In WWII, in 1968?

It's easy to dismiss those who were not born in the country, calling them uneducated, unthis, unthat... But it's duplicitous to rely on their labor to run some of the basic services in the country, to admit them to schools, to rent them apartments or sell them goods and then judge them based on 'where they came from.'