At my school, Institut de Touraine, I am one of the few students who reside far away from campus, so much so that I have to get a month’s Student Pass with FilBleu for commuting every day on the city’s tram network. The curvy-edged, metallic-silver machine that slid smoothly across the city’s green lawns is one of the reasons I am having no problems with staying far from school! I am impressed with the technology that has been invested in this vehicle; the automated door system, the precise time of arrival of each scheduled train and the barricaded yet transparent driver area with cockpit-like equipment. If anything, this is a sign of how advanced the French public system is. As an ambitious young pan-African scholar, experiencing such exemplary standards for the greater good of the public is truly an eye-opener and an inspiring testimony I hope to contribute in bringing to my own continent. I could not resist the edge to pull out my phone and record a ride’s length of video footage for my own archives. For those who will wonder why I was impressed with the train system in my host city beyond expected levels, my response is that the train is a microcosm reflection of the sustained, broad-based development that European powerhouses like France have enjoyed for long, the Middle-east and Asian Tigers have started to start and the African and South Americans can only dream for at present. I am reminded of my duty to learn of this trip as much as my brain can take to begin gathering the pieces for the surmountable task I have ahead to contribute to the betterment of Africa. However, my image of France has not been all glittering gold….
Integrating into the French day-to-day
In my first blog, I mentioned my experience with the London security officer in light of the wave of terrorist threats that is spreading in Europe. While I am equally condemning the behavior of the culprits and praising of the nations’ security protocol, it is quite saddening to know that the terror situation in Europe stirs a lot of media and global attention when worse cases of a similar nature plaguing Africa and other parts of the developing world do not generate anything close. A good befitting example is the recent suicide bombings in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a l that killed 49 people and injured 78 more; I do not see a lot of people around me talking about that. The detrimental effect, I fear, is that it will let some evil go unnoticed, resulting in a global imbalance of accountability and the fading of windows to address the root causes of these shared challenges. What makes this realization forceful on this trip is that it is helping me to see the rich diversity of the French community. I have seen how the diversity of this country is one of its most beautiful traits about it, and my confidence is boosted seeing the love that the people from all walks of life have for the human quest for happiness. I am impressed by the young Tunisian and Lebanese gentlemen at the WazWox restaurant and local kabab respectively who have exchanged with me their life stories. I am surprised with how they are well educated in technical fields yet work in the fast-food industry; a faint indication of the few job opportunities in the country and a vivid shared human experience that, like many other people, their life is not `always predictable. Personally, the striking conversations I have had so far with strangers like these men is how I can judge how my French is improving. There has been an incident when a local commented how good my french is, even my accent! The feeling of bliss on my face was clearly obvious at this unsolicited compliment.
So here I sign off this blog from the land of millions of cigarets stubs on the pavements, of late evening nights that are more pulsating than their preceding ones, of reggae-inspired happiness and the stylish norm of men who carry stringed purses across their shoulders.