One less French word to learn: Mademoiselle

"Mademoiselle" has gone the same way as the words "email" or "weekend"... it has officially been banned from official use in the French language. The feminist groups, Osez le Feminisme and Les Chiennes de Garde, in their movement "Mademoiselle, la case en trop!" claimed that distinguishing women as a Mademoiselle (equivalent of Miss) or Madame (equivalent of Mrs.) is blatant sexism. Like in English, this is not done for the men... before you are a "Monsieur", you are not a "Mondamoiseau." The suffix means "virgin"... which may not apply to many Mademoiselles nowadays. Especially with the increasing numbers of single mothers, divorced women, or couples who prefer to be in a PACS (civil union).

I think it will be difficult to call a young girl madame, so I am sure mademoiselle, like weekend, will still be unofficially used.

They start them young in France.

In other related news, "Dr" is still not an acceptable/official title like it is in the US. All those years of grad school for nothing!

Occupying Frankfurt

This weekend I am visiting Megan in Frankfurt, Germany (her company sent her here for the month of February). There are a few things to visit and sightsee around the city... but mostly we've been hanging out at bars/beergardens/applewineries (apparently apfelwein is popular in Frankfurt).

Here is us trying to fit in with the other Frankfurters:

Megan and I occupy Frankfurt.  That is my angry face.

We spent the evening in Sachsenhausen area of Frankfurt, a small area with many bars and restaurants. It was quite lively in comparison to other parts of the city. After visiting 2 other bars, we finally settled at Klapper 33. The bar was full of soccer-loving Frankfurters singing classic German songs (sounded like classic rock songs... think about a German Bon Jovi). It is also Carneval weekend, so many people were dressed in costume. I think in general Germans are always lively and in good spirits, but also incredibly nice. We met many Germans just because they were trying to get us to sing along with them. We couldn't sing any of the German songs, but we did sing along with the Proclaimers and Blink 182. 

Tomorrow we will try to go to the carneval parade. Hopefully I will have some pictures from that, but in the meantime, here are more pictures of other signs I've seen around Frankfurt that I found amusing.

Cigarette vending machine.

Dinosaur... rawr!

This lady killer was the trashcan in the restroom.

The paper towels (from the Paper Jack) has advertisements on it.

A building I can only assume is full of Chinese Stuff.

Yeah... Germans do not go there for the wings either.

Graffiti in front of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral.

What to do when it's cold in Paris?

Admittedly, Paris is not the coldest place you could be... but it's the coldest place I have ever lived!  Although many people love coming to Paris during the warmer seasons, it is still an interesting place during the cold season... with the extra perk that it is less touristy.

The first obvious answer for cold-weather activities is visiting one of over two hundred museums in Paris.  And of course, you don't feel so bad being cooped up inside.  But if you are not an art-afficionado, or you have a short attention span, you could only spend a limited amount of time in these museums.  So I've decided to list a couple of alternative cold-weather activities.

1.  Socializing or people watching in a café or brasserie.  
This is a quintessential Parisian activity, and is even more rewarding when it's cold.  When the weather outside is frightful, the outside terraces of Paris are covered with temporary walls, or warmed by powerful heaters, or equipped with blankets for customers to use, or any combination of the three.  You can order a warm drink or a drink to make you warm.  My friend Marie went for the latter option and ordered a "pint" of wine (carafe de vin rouge, contains 50 cl).

Marie enjoying a "pint" of red wine at a café on rue Mouffetard

2.  Drink mint tea at the Grande Mosquée de Paris

Another warm haven can be found in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.  There is a restaurant there, but there is also a little tea terrace.  For 2 euros, you can enjoy the a delicious sweet mint tea in the company of little finches (I think) who like to hang inside the warm terrace and try to steal sips of your tea.

Little birds enjoying the warmth of the Grand Mosquée and some spilt tea.

Little Eddy and me enjoying the warmth of the Grand Mosquée and our mint teas.

3.  Walk around the arcades
In the 1800's, arcades, or passageways covered with glass and iron detailing, were the fashionable architecture style to house shops, markets, and boutiques.  Many of these arcades still exist today, renovated and updated of course.  Not only does it stay relatively warm because of the covering, it is also pedestrian-only.  You can find shops selling anything from clothing to toys to antiques as well as cafés and bars which will gladly serve you hot wine (vin chaud).

Inside an arcade

Entrance to the Passage Verdeau

Some of arcades include Passage Verdeau, Passage du Panoramas, Passage Jouffroy, and Passage du Grand Cerf.  You can find many passages just walking around the Grand Boulevards area.

4.  Read a book at Shakespeare and Company
Shakespeare and Co. is probably the most popular English-book store in Paris, and it is right across from the Notre Dame.  It contains both new and used books, which are stacked on tables, shelves, and floors.  But, it is famous for it's communal system where many of the workers volunteer there or work in exchange for shelter, which can be found upstairs as small cots in-between shelves of books.  Upstairs you can also find a piano for anyone to play and a typewriter for no-one to play (the sign says only serious writers!)  There is also the Sylvia Beach Memorial Library with a collection of books not for sale.  Sylvia Beach is the original founder of Shakespeare and Company, but the current bookstore was opened by George Whitman in 1951, who just passed away this year.

Megan reading in the Sylvia Beach Library at Shakespeare and Company

5.  Take shelter under a tree

Yeah, this guy is pretty badass

6.  Ignore the cold weather and play sports with the locals
I am pretty sure that real Parisians never get cold, based on what they will wear in comparison to what I am wearing.

May le Saint-Valentin be with you!

Those who know me know that I typically dislike Valentine's Day and the general attempt to force romanticism in each others' face... this concept of wuv confuses and infuriates me! However, given that I am in the city of love, I thought I would make an exception this year and celebrate it with le boyfriend.  Lucky for us, Quick is selling limited edition burgers to celebrate the release of Star Wars 3D.  What better way to celebrate this special day with a couple of special (edition) burgers?

The Jedi Burger and the Dark Burger sold at Quick, no light-sabers included :(.  Taken from the Quick website.

I chose Le Dark Burger, a double cheese burger dripping with peppered sauce on a red-tinted bun speckled with pepper.  In fact, the amount of pepper sauce in it was a bit overwhelming (in quantity more than flavor).  Maybe that just shows that I am not completely taken by the dark side.  I also got les cheesy étoiles, which were deep-fried cheese thingies shaped into stars.

Le Jedi Burger (left) and le Dark Burger (right) with le cheesy etoile... another cheesy Star Wars-themed food item available at Quick.

Le boyfriend went with Le Jedi Burger, which is supposed be mustard-themed... but honestly, in a country where we find such good and strong-flavored mustard, this burger was not that flavorful.  Maybe it's because I had the overpowering Dark Burger first.  And once you go Dark Burger...

Le Jedi Burger and le Dark Burger with le boyfriend at Quick.

In the end, the burgers were fun but mediocre in taste.  I generally prefer le Big Mac to any Quick burger; French burgers just can't compete with American ones.

The two burgers are available in most Quicks in France until March 1st.  That's when they roll out the big guns: Le Vador Burger.  This burger on black buns will be available from March 2nd - March 5th.  Bad timing for me... I will be in the US enjoying normal colored burgers.

Le Vador Burger... come to the dark side!  Source: 7sur7

Elections are in the air...

NYTimes piece on how the National Front (extreme right party) is gaining support:

With Focus on Economy, National Front Makes Gains in Northern France - NYTimes.com

Les Français sont racists? Ou tout simplement Elle?

I sometimes joke around with my French friends about them being racist.  This originally stemmed from the fact that they call all Asian people Chinese.  I was first introduced to this concept during my first couple of months living in Paris when I was having a conversation with a 70-something year-old French woman.  She told me, and I think completely seriously:

"Don't be offended if someone calls you Chinese (chinois), it's not that they think you are actually Chinese, it's just because all the Asians look the same."

 Oh of course!  No need to be offended by that!  Although, I really can't complain since I failed the "All Look Same" Quiz.  But I also joke that they do not distinguish between different Asian foods.  As in:

Me:  What do you want to eat tonight?
Le French Boyfriend:  Let's go for Chinese food.
Me:  What kind of Chinese?
Le French Boyfriend: Thai. 

This one might be more of an exaggeration.  It's more that many "Chinese Restaurants" here contain Chinese and Vietnamese and Thai, etc... which is actually common in many countries.  So my boyfriend complains that it's actually the Asians fault for confusing them by intentionally mixing all the foods together onto one menu.  He also claims that "chinois" (Chinese) is easier to say than "asiatiques" (Asian), which is why they use chinois to describe Asians.

In the end, I don't really believe the French to be more racist than Americans.  I just think some of what they say may be construed as racism to an (Asian) American because we (Americans in general) are more inclined to be politically correct.  Racism implies a hatred for a race or an actual belief in the inferiority of another race.  Calling all Asians Chinese is just a bit politically insensitive.

Enter the French Elle Magazine.

They have recently gotten in a lot of trouble for being not only politically insensitive, but actually racist in their article about the trend of "black-geoisie."  As explained in this Jezebel.com article, in an online article, Elle implies that black people have become more chic in fashion instead of thug, thanks in part to being educated by white people.  (Read the article for more details).

Of course a group of concerned French citizens wrote a response in an open letter in Le Monde, calling out Valérie Toranian and other editors at Elle to venture outside of their "glass offices" and see the "real black style."  And while they're at it, they should also hire some black editors if they are going to write about it.

The editors of Elle have immediately responded to these messages with fervent apologies, and invited people like the collectif anti-négrophobie to their "glass offices."  At least this debacle has gained more publicity for both parties involved.

Due to the proximity of Africa to France, and the many past French conquests there, there are a number of black people in France.  It's hard to gauge the exact number of different ethnic groups in France officially, since it is illegal to ask for demographic details (unlike the US where they ask with the option of "choose not to answer").  Here, I find that all Parisians, no matter what ethnic group, dress equally chic, and more so than any, say, American tourists.