at
marx dormoy station, i found roommates. i am moving next sunday. marx dormoy gets its name from a french politicians who was part of the nazi resistance during WW2. the neighborhood is heavily populated with artists, students and people of colour. no drugs in sight. but people keep saying it's a dangerous neighborhood... i think it's because of the PoC and because it's not exactly tourist haven. either way, i'm really happy. :)
currently i'm staying in the expensive and bourgeois south end with tibo's sister. she's an absolute sweetheart but i know she's studying for her 'concours'. the roommates i'm about to move in with have a big 3 room appartment + kitchen (NOT kitchen
ette) + shared room (for parties and such) + 2 bathrooms + big entrance. of course,
it's in the north end on the cheap side. between little africa and china town, adjacent to 'la goutte d'or' (the golden drop). they audioned me 3 times to see if we all had chemistry one-on-one and all three. it kinda felt like a scene straight out of
l'auberge espagnole
... complete with hot queer female roommate. and they're my age! and they're artists (the boy is a trained dancer, classical b-boy and modern jazz; the girl is a bartender/actress). they're so inviting and helpful and insist on the household being a community where people are honest, don't mess with your space and yet still share a positive vibe. parties once a month. yay!
the subways... are an interesting place to study french customs. how close people get to one another, how they interact, if they do at all. the first thing i noticed though, were the
buskers and panhandlers - they are the most creative and talented i've seen. or perhaps, they're the only ones willing to strut their stuff. an old couple will get on the subway car and the wife will play the tambourine and walk around asking for change while her ole man plays a roma swing. a little 9 year old boy (who should have been in school) put on eminem beats and swings around the car poles like a stripper and shows his emcee skills. in two stops they're gone. two stops and no one has looked up. and if they do, it's because they find the music a nuisance. i haven't given money yet. i spend too much time amazed at the
talent that sweats onto the city street. there's lots of life here... and the bitterness that comes with it.
ok, here's a pic of me at a recent concert in
bretagne (brittany?) . i playe d in this
awesome club that was decorated with broken and burnt music instruemnts in the middle of the country in the north west, by the river. it was gorgeous. it was great. i opened for bibi tanga et le professeur inlassable. the latter made it a point to play sober. awesome guys. i love how musicians here have careers at any age. easier for dudes, yes... but still. i have so much to write but so little time to write it all... more soon i promise :) i also ended up having a great conversation about grad school and social work after my set with an audience member who was a radical social worker with a tongue piercing. she said it was hot to know that
a good musician had "de la tronche" (transl: "smarts"). *warm cheeks*
