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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2010 20:45:06 GMT
The Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris has always fascinated me, as it is just about the only part of the huge Université de Paris that looks like my concept of a university campus, such as I experienced during my school years in the United States. Of course, the University of Paris is not your average place anyway since it was founded in the 12th century and then replaced after the Revolution in 1793 by specialized schools for the various disciplines. Even though the specialized schools still exist (the famous grandes écoles), the University of Paris was reinstituted in 1896 and is now split in 13 different sections all over the Paris metropolitan area – the Sorbonne is just one of the 13. There are currently 336,000 students enrolled. (Wow!) The Cité Universitaire is not at all a place where classes are held. It is the international student residence complex, with accommodations for 5,600 students on the southern edge of the city. Each country that wanted to built a student residence to house its citizens, although of course over the years needs have changed and many residences are open to other nationalities if there is space available. I wanted to get a closer look, so I took the RER (express metro) which has a stop right outside the front gate of the Cité. The first building that you see is the main administrative building (also containing a theatre, student restaurant, etc.). It was built with financial assistance from John Rockefeller, Jr. The driving force behind the entire concept was an Alsatian industrialist, Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe. He built the first big residence, which carries his name and which is not assigned to any specific nationality. Although a few of the national buildings were built by the countries themselves, in most cases they were financed by the ultra-wealthy of the countries in question. Quite a bit of this was guilt compensation for having become so rich from World War I, and the majority of the buildings were constructed during the 1920’s and 1930’s when it was hoped that Europeans had learned their lesson and that there would never be another war. (to be continued)
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paristraveler
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Post by paristraveler on Mar 18, 2010 21:37:39 GMT
Oh, k2, thank you for that lovely photospread of a magnificent place. I really enjoy your pictures of Paris! Gorgeous and unique. Keep 'em coming!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 7:05:23 GMT
Everybody knows that students are tough on residential buildings, so at any given time some of the buildings are completely closed to be sometimes gutted and reworked, sometimes merely freshened up and rewired for modern technology. The works are sometimes paid for completely by the country in question and sometimes financed by foreign aid. The Cambodian building was totally abandoned during the Khmer Rouge regime, and rehabilitating it was not a priority when stability returned to the country, so the French government took care of the problem. Tunisia undergoing renovation Cambodia The size and condition of some of the buildings can leave one perplexed, when major Europeans such as the Netherlands seem to have a somewhat decrepit building while Armenia has a monumental palace in perfect condition, not to mention Monaco which has a grand total of 6000 citizens for a total population of less than 33,000. However, since in most cases it was the industrialists of the various countries who constructed the original buildings, a lot of it depended on the origins of the richest people in the world at the time. Another factor is the importance placed on sending the youth of a country for higher education in France rather than another country. (to be continued)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 15:39:14 GMT
Finding your way around the “campus” requires quite a bit of signage. (to be continued)
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Post by lola on Mar 19, 2010 20:30:38 GMT
Excellent, Kerouac. Thanks.
My daughter's French advisor's concern with her going to Paris rather than Rennes for a semester was it's too easy to fall in with fellow English speakers there, not to mention the shopkeepers, etc who jump right into English to avoid hearing their tongue mangled.
So living in the house of your country would seem to be a disadvantage that way. Though of course there'd be tons of fun to be had, the lack thereof would not be one of my big worries. The Chinese students at my husband's University stick together and speak Chinese, except in class, where their English could use a lot more practice.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 20:46:57 GMT
Well, there's the disadvantage of spending too much time with your fellow countrymen and there is the advantage of getting lodging at an unbeatable price. Dilemma. I did notice, however, how mixed the buildings seemed to be, with the culmination at the Cambodian residence. I watched a lot of people go in but not a single Asian. It is quite understandable considering the socioeconomics of the world, but a shame nonetheless.
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Post by lola on Mar 20, 2010 1:15:07 GMT
I'm so glad to see how beautiful and campus-like it is, and will pass it on to interested students.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2010 7:07:08 GMT
As is readily obvious, many of the countries chose the Cité Universitaire as a place to showcase their typical architectural styles. The Swiss residence was even designed by Le Corbusier. And of course other countries just went for more utilitarian designs to make their money stretch farther. There are also residences financed by various professional organizations such as the ones for architecture or agriculture. I also saw one residence that had been taken over by another foundation but that it was “formerly the residence of Iran,” but I think that may be the only case of a country voluntarily pulling out. Here is a Google Earth view of the Cité Universitaire. It really is quite a nice place to get away from the activity of the city, and right across the street from it is one the biggest parks in Paris – the Parc Montsouris. But that’s another story…
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Post by lola on Mar 20, 2010 20:09:10 GMT
I'd like a room with a balcony at the Belgian.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 21, 2010 0:47:18 GMT
I think I'd like a room in the Japanese building. Intriguing. This is something else that I missed, although one night I was on the trolley, leaving the 13th arrondissement, and I think that I saw a few of these buildings? I wonder if this is possible. This seems to be in the 14th. The concept of the concentrated university residences is good, especially since it is so close to the beautiful Parc Montsouris. I wonder if it is possible for non-students to rent here in the summer, when school is out? Lola, it is so exciting that your daughter will take a semester in France. But, I cringe at the idea that if the choice is between Rennes and Paris, that she may choose Rennes. Nothing against Rennes, but, Paris is Paris. There is no comparison. I understand the hesitation about having an undisciplined (?) mind (as I do) and being vulnerable to speaking more english in Paris than Rennes. Time to learn discipline. A semester in Paris would be remarkable. Somehow, the thoughts of your daughter brought to mind a memorable book that I read, A Girl in Paris, by Shusha Guppy, her memoirs of studying in Paris in the 50's. She was the Iranian daughter of a grand ayatollah who was a distinguished Shia theologian and a professor of theology at the University of Tehran. An engaging read. www.amazon.ca/Girl-Paris-Persian-Encounter-West/dp/1845113802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269132205&sr=8-1www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/shusha-guppy-singer-and-writer-acclaimed-for-a-memoir-of-her-persian-childhood-799896.html
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Post by bjd on Mar 21, 2010 7:02:17 GMT
Jazz, I don't think they rent out rooms in the summer,( unless you have some sort of connections perhaps). I say this because the first time I went to Paris, I was a student in Canada. In the train from London to Paris, along with 2 young Americans, some guys told us we would be able to get a place to stay at the Cité Int'l. Well, although they gave us tickets for the univ restaurant, we were not allowed to rent rooms and ended up in a small hotel beside Parc Montsouris. That was a long time ago, when things were both more and less flexible -- I mean more bureaucratic rules, but easier to get around them.
Furthermore, I think each country manages its own house. I had looked at the Canadian requirements for the daughter of a friend coming to Paris for the year and there are various rules and requirements.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 22, 2010 13:26:09 GMT
If you aren't a full-time student under a certain age (26? 30?) you have to be a "chercheur" (researcher) to rent a room short-term there. It costs more, but is still economical. Several people I know of different nationalities were staying there at a conference I attended some years back - they were of all ages, mostly over 30.
I've eaten at the "resto u" - it is very cheap but not particularly good. Some other universities and institutes have better food. I had a site with ratings for them, but the computer it was on died. Will try to find.
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Post by lola on Mar 22, 2010 14:46:10 GMT
The Japanese house looks very fine, I agree. Probably my favorite architecture of them all.
Jazz, my daughter ended up deciding against Rennes because it's not Paris, and has put her bid in for the City of Light. The six other students from her college will be going to Rennes, as have all the upperclassmen she knows, so that must be the comfort zone for their French advisors.
Now we're focusing on having her live among non-English speakers. It would take a lot of discipline to stick to French around the breakfast table. The choices their program offers are either staying with a family, possibly out in the banlieue, or sharing a dorm room with another American girl in Montparnasse. If she can strike out a bit without costing too much more, it might be worth it.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 22, 2010 15:30:27 GMT
She should definitely not share with another English-speaker.
But families could live quite far out in the banlieue, so that could be a lengthy commute.
The problem with Rennes is that it is really quite far. I think there is a fast train there now, but those are costly. Are there no other choices of cities that would be closer to Paris, but more purely francophone?
Often a smaller city is better for language immersion, but she does want to be somewhere she can easily make a weekend trip to Paris from.
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Post by lola on Mar 23, 2010 4:48:08 GMT
Hi, lagatta. She's applied for the Paris program. It was either there or Rennes. Her University studies will be in French, or course, so she's bound to pick up a little something.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 23, 2010 5:16:11 GMT
Interesting concept. I don't think it would be possible now to house only students of the ame nationality in the house built for them.
Lola, to be very frank, if I were asked 'Rennes' or 'Paris', I too would have picked Paris ;D
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Post by lagatta on Mar 23, 2010 12:36:30 GMT
Oh, I would too. But she'll definitely have to avoid falling into the anglo ghetto trap. Ideally having a flatmate with whom the only language in common is French.
When I was studying in Perugia, sometimes I spoke too much French. Not with French, or Québécois or French Swiss, who wanted to improve their Italian, but with Moroccans, Cameroonians etc who wanted to improve their standard of living!
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Post by spindrift on Mar 23, 2010 18:57:12 GMT
Lola - when I was your daughter's age I was sent to a French convent in the department of Aisne to learn French. It was like a prison sentence for me but I became fluent very very quickly.
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Post by lola on Mar 23, 2010 19:13:01 GMT
*Fluent at a Convent*, her mother thinks wistfully....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2010 22:41:21 GMT
My mother escaped from boarding school. It was through a basement window with the help of a kitchen helper. I just thought you should know.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2010 15:20:21 GMT
As for the inner workings of the Cité Universitaire, I am completely ignorant (i.e. how one gets a room there or if rooms are available in the summer). I didn't even enter any of the country residences because I saw they all had magnetic passes or codes to enter.
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Post by lola on Mar 24, 2010 15:29:05 GMT
This is something Fodor's might be good for. I'm going to try your thread there for specifics. This is great, kerouac. Thanks.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 24, 2010 15:39:15 GMT
There is a website for Cité universitaire that indicates a lot of those things. When I entered a couple of residences, I was with students living there. The ones I saw (and strangely, I don't really remember which countries, and no, I wasn't stoned or drunk, just had my mind on other things) had very small rooms.
The computer I had that website on died, and I hadn't bothered to relocate it.
Rooms are definitely available for summer sessions, or shorter times, but not to the general public. You have to be enrolled in a course or in Paris as a researcher or attending an academic conference. I could easily wing the latter as a friend of mine is a Directeur de recherches au CNRS, but if I recall for over-30s it was no cheaper than other forms of cheap lodging in Paris, and not close either to where most of my friends live, the events I was attending or the tourist attractions (museums etc) I wanted to visit so it would have cost me more métro tickets.
As I said, I have eaten there. It was cheap, but not very good. We have to get back to work on our links for cheap eats in Paris (and other cities) including cafeterias, institutional restaurants and "restaurants associatifs".
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Post by kiwidi on Apr 5, 2010 9:05:49 GMT
I'm another one with a vote for not living with English speakers.
I lived in Brussels for four years (working in a mainly English speaking environment) as was one of the few in the office who became fluent in French because I mainly mixed with locals.
A couple of years ago I went to a language school in Nice with people from all over the world - unfortunately the lingua franca was English and when they were out of class (even in breaks at school) they spoke English. I kept trying to get it going in French, but didn't have much success.
And then there were people in my class, living with French families, but sharing a room with someone from their own country.
Strangely enough I have English-speaking friends here in Australia whom I met at French classes (at an advanced level) and we tend to end up talking to each other in French rather than English, because that was the language we communicated in when we first met.
I have a fascinating podcast (in French) on this subject. I'll see if I can track down the source and post a link.
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Post by gertie on Apr 6, 2010 11:00:27 GMT
Hm other things on your mind you say, lagatta? And in university housing. hmmm Can't imagine!
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Post by greyghost1 on May 4, 2010 18:57:25 GMT
Thanks for the pictures and commentary. I passed this on my wandering trip on the Tram from Porte de Vanves to Porte d'Ivry and wondered what it was. We also passed what appeared to be the main housing for the for the military police of France. Do you know if this is correct? We also passed Stade Charlety with banners announcing a huge brocante that weekend.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2010 19:41:22 GMT
I know there is a huge residence for firemen along the way, but I don't recall one for military police.
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Post by lagatta on May 4, 2010 20:42:51 GMT
Why are the firemen in residence - is that when they are on duty, or in training? When they are on duty, isn't it by quartier ou arrondissement?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2010 20:52:37 GMT
I don't have the slightest idea. The firemen of Paris are part of the military (sapeurs pompiers), but some of them have wives and families as well. I wouldn't think that all of them live in the firehouse.
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Post by Jazz on May 4, 2010 21:40:16 GMT
Lola, I was just wondering how things are going with where your daughter will stay in Paris. Living with a family in Paris proper would be great, but if the other family choices are in the banlieue, some of the members here could give you insight as to which would be more desirable to help make a good choice. Kerouac, Lagatta, bjd, and FrenchMystique are a few. I just remembered a book, now out in its 7th edition. Paris Inside Out: The Insider's Handbook to Life in Paris by David Applefield. www.amazon.com/Paris-Inside-Out-7th-Insiders/dp/B001PIHTVY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273007512&sr=1-2It is definitely not a tourist guidebook. The author has now lived in Paris for many years and in the end, chose to live in one of the banlieue. There are for instance, 60 pages on housing and accommodation, 40 pages on studying in France etc. Essentially it is an excellent guide for a person who is about to move to Paris. (400 pages). It would be very useful, even though the most recent edition appears to be 2005. I have the 6th edition (2000) and much of it is still totally relevant.
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