I am actually getting work done here!

I realized it's been a while since I wrote about my real work, since I'm not being paid to sit around and play all the time, hahaha. Well, my work is pretty cool sometimes, so it can feel like I'm getting paid to rock out :-)

Anyway, right now I'm laying the groundwork to start writing my next two chapters. I've finished most of the background reading I need to do for chapters 4 and 5 and have pretty much finished the research for 4. The best part has been the interviews/meetings I've been able to do/attend. Last Friday I went out to the banlieue to the home of one of the original activists in the genre I'm working on. She was more on the social end, but she did form a theater troupe in the early 1980s to get the word out. She's awesome to talk to--has the same energy as the insane interview I did last fall, but with a much more positive outlook on life. She didn't get as involved in politics so she seems to have come out of it with more of her idealism intact. She was super friendly and talked for FOUR hours! haha. I went with a few other masters' students who are participating in my research group, so we all asked her questions (side note, I realize it's useful in its own way, but I sometimes find sociologists tiring...they were asking such specific questions that weren't all that interesting in and of themselves, although I realize it's to build a bigger picture regarding what was going on. But man it got tedious at times, hahaha. This is why I'm not a sociologist, I am much more interested in the bigger ideas and her own analysis of what was going on, even if that makes me a heretic in sociology circles).

Then last Saturday I went to another banlieue to visit an after-school program that empowers youth from these areas through filmmaking. I had met one of the directors of this organization back in New York and we've stayed in touch (and met up in Paris before), but this was the first time I had the chance to go out there to see their actual site. A former student of mine who is writing her honors thesis on this organization came along too, which was awesome. We had a great time, met a few of the kids and another one of the directors, then we went to lunch in Belleville (one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the city). That's where I discovered my durian in the grocery story (haha). In any case, perhaps the funniest part of that meeting was when they asked us what we missed the most about the States when we're in France, and without missing a beat we came up with the exact same answer: portable coffee. They thought it was hilarious (and lame) that we would walk around with our cup of coffee, but we launched into a tirade about how it's not really about Americans being so obsessed with saving time, etc. It's much more about having a beverage, as an experience, and we want to appreciate it for a longer time and thus carry it with us. They said it was because American coffee sucked, we fought back and said no, it wasn't about the coffee, just the ability to be able to carry it around. hahaha. It was awesome, having a philosophical discussion on coffee consumption. Of course, I've had this conversation multiple times here and they still don't believe me that portable coffee is worth having.

That said, though, considering how many Starbucks branches there are now, an obvious observation must be made: SOMEONE'S going there, and it's not just tourists. I've seen them in places where tourists don't bother to go, so it's just like McDonald's. They can whine and complain all they want, but it's clearly filling some sort of demand. That said, I still won't go to one here. I just wish they'd come up with an (affordable) French equivalent. Because I'm not spending 6 euros ($9!) on a coffee at Starbucks here, haha.

Next Tuesday I have another interview, this time with the author who is anchoring my chapter 4, named Rachid Djaïdani. Yesssss. He seems very cool and nice on the phone, and very willing to chat. So I'm definitely looking forward to that. The goal is to have all the remaining research for Chap. 4 done before I leave for Berlin next Thursday, then I can write the chapter the following week :-)