Fall and the Opera

Hey All,

So after I posed my last entry, I realized I missed one of the most important things that had happened: the weather was cold. A couple of nights dropped below freezing (which is especially cold when considering the lack of heating and insulation some of the old buildings have…) Although it has since warmed up, everyone is now wearing fall/winter clothing including scarves and coats. And although it has not rained too much recently (fortunately), next week forecasts a week straight of rain, with temperatures up in the 50s and 40s.

The following picture was taken just outside where my classes are located, and one can see the browning of the leaves. Also, definitely very typical Parisian scenery.

My final class that I have not discussed so far: Building the European Economy. This past week, I did my group exposé (in French) for the class, and our topic was l’élargissement de l’union européenne en 2004/2007 (the enlargement of the EU in 04/07.) My specific focus was on how the new member states benefited from joining the EU just from an economic standpoint. My focus was on these three topics: the new stats were able to receive pre-ascension funding for development, the opening of the European market without barriers, and the benefit of better fiscal policies leading towards the adoption of the euro. (As boring as it sounds, it was a very interesting presentation!)

A very important change is about to occur in the EU with the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty (only awaiting the signature of the Czech President, a Euro-skeptic, who is delaying his signature indefinitely.) However, this treaty will streamline some processes, and, perhaps most important, create a kind of ‘President of the European Union.’ While this position does not have much authority, it will be the first time Europe will have one international figurehead responsible to Europe as a whole as opposed to both Europe and a single state.

Last Wednesday, the Stanford program here treated us to a ballet: Joyeaux (Jewels.) It was definitely a real pleasure to see a ballet in its original home. Also, having seats only six rows back from the pit allowed me (and the other students) to see the ballet from close up. So this next picture is from outside the ‘Academie Nationale de Musique’ (right at the Métro stop Opéra.)


This next picture is from the very end of the performance. The ballet is broken up into three parts: Emeralds (music by Fauré), Rubies (Stravinsky), and Diamons (Tschaikovsky.) For me, I most enjoyed Rubies as it is set to jazzy music written by Stravinsky while in America, a piece that I had preformed with the Stanford Symphpony Orchestra my freshman year (Cappriccio for Piano and Orchestra.) So, since the picture is of the end, one can see the diamond set in the background.
And this last picture is of the interior of the theater. From the inside, it was very grandiose and it reminded me of what one would think of as a ‘typical’ aristocratic 18th century opera house.

Ok, that is all about Paris for now. However, something I discovered about South Africa this week. A new movie directed by Clint Eastwood coming out December 11 called Invictus was filmed in South Africa (well, Cape Town and the surrounding area specifically.) Furthermore, this movie (according to many critics) has a good chance of being nominated for many Academy Awards, including Best Picture, if not winning them. The movie is about how Nelson Mandela was able to help unite the new black-majority ruled South Africa around the all white (minus one injured coloured player) South Africa rugby team (ranked 9th in the world at the time) in the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa. Quite an inspiring story. However, I am very interested if this film becomes a bit of a Slumdog Millionaire film for South Africa, becoming a main source of the perception of Americans of the country, and a source of country pride (something I found very evident in India.) We shall see, but if the movie is able to capture well what I believe to be one of the most interesting inspirational and amazing stories in the world, I think this will be a must see movie that can figuratively follow in the steps of Slumdog.

That is all for now! I would love to receive your questions either below or by e-mail, as I want to know what my readers are curious about.

Until next time,
-Andrew