The French Connection by LORY MARTINEZ Free Press Contributor
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
December 2013 a binghamton media group publication Studying abroad: the French connection By LORY MARTINEZ Free Press Contributor Let’s play a numbers game shall we? our desire to connect. Sophie Blackall, an artist know how appealing it is to remain anonymous, to in New York, has become famous for her work on take those moments – where you catch a person’s Percentage of train passengers on the Paris Metro missed connections. Her telling anecdotes display gaze for a little too long, and you get a feeling each day: 4.5 million daily. strangers with distinctive traits that were noticed that maybe you should say something, anything, to Probability that someone you’re eyeing in Paris will but disappeared as quickly as they appeared on the keep the moment from leaving you both – and just speak your language: 43% subway, sidewalk, etc. I love her work because it let them slide by you because filling that grinning Number of missed connection posts on Craigslist per captures the ephemeral nature of the human heart. silence is too hard. month in major U.S. Cities: Thousands. It’s a poetic sentiment, but it accomplishes next to Number of anonymous posts to Bing-U Secrets since nothing for those people and their would-be friends/ That is not the case here in Paris. When I ride its beginning: A lot. lovers/soulmates. the Metro and I catch someone’s gaze, after a few You see where I’m going with this? It’s all about seconds of shared silence, the person speaks to me! Carpe Diem. In France, and I suspect Europe in In 2010, the Paris Mayor’s office accepted missed I instantly forget six years of French vocabulary and general, the stigma against talking to strangers connection descriptions on its website. The best what follows is an awkward mumble. And yet it’s still DOES NOT EXIST. It is a cultural difference I ones were posted publicly on Valentine’s Day that a wonderful thing, this carpe diem, this “don’t let the noticed, and of course not all people are the same, year. Binghamton Crushes is the popular place to say chance pass you by” feeling that seems to pervade but I think it’s something well worth considering. things to people you’re too afraid to talk to in person. the day-to-day commute/promenade/what have you. It’s sweet and it can make someone’s day (shout-out So I’ve gathered few amusing stranger stories after At least for me, back home the complete opposite to whoever wrote the one about me and my affinity talking to my friends here in France. All names are is true: mostly, we say nothing and go home to our for Jazzman’s lattes), but it’s still not the real deal. changed or omitted because they are, well, strangers. computers, damning ourselves for not acting on Readers of Binghamton Crushes and Bing-U Secrets features Continued from front cover in some fresh air away from the busy city where he lives. He sets up his tent, and all ready for sleep, he hears people driving towards him. A group of four young friends have the same idea as him. He goes over and introduces himself. Later that night, the newly formed group spends the night talking about philosophy until the wee hours of the morning. The next day, they offer him a ride into town so he can catch his train. One of his new friends asks if he wants to join them on a hike in a different area. He agrees, and two years later, they are all still friends and go camping together. La Comedie Francaise A young woman, “dressed to the nines,” as they say, attends a show at the “Comedie Francaise Playhouse,” where EDITORIAL BOARD Moliere famously performed his satirical plays back when men wore tights on the regular. Anyway, the said young lady catches the eye of a fellow spectator. They exchange glances, and at intermission, he approaches her and in broken French, begins to ask her opinions on the play. SKY STAGE Publisher and President She replies in a different level of broken French. After developing a rapport despite neither of them speaking the language very well (he’s Italian and she’s American), they decide to meet again the next day for coffee. They are still seeing each other. RUCHI JAIN BRIAN KERINS Les Grimaces Opinion Editor Editor-at-Large In the spirit of adding my own story to this exposé of sorts NICHOLAS WILSEY KEATON DALEY on French openness to strangers and talking to people you Phoenix Editor Business Manager L’histoire du Chien don’t know, I decided I would try it. I’ve noticed that nine Three French youths are smoking outside of their apartment times out of 10, when a stranger in Paris makes eye contact TASFIA NAYEM MELISSA NEIRA with you for more than five seconds, the stranger will not Associate Editor Photography Editor building. Youth 1 one sees a giant dog heading their way. He calls out, “Hey it’s a wolf! In the middle of Paris!” The miss the chance to speak with you. In order to make the EMILY D'EMIC DAN SPAVENTA woman walking the dog approaches them, and laughingly process a little more interesting, I decided I’d make a face Copy Editor Distribution Manager replies, “No, it’s just really big. Funny story though about – cross my eyes, stick out my tongue, basically making this dog: My uncalled-for, friend used over-dramatic to pass by poses – to a junkyard see what the reactions NICHOLAS SCHAFRAN every day Editor-in-Chief and would “In France, the stigma against would be. Most see this dog strangers didn’t wandering talking to strangers DOES NOT really get it about. One although a few day he EXIST.” people on the followed her Metro grimaced home. She back, which named him was always fun, and kept because we’d him till the day she died. When she died, the dog hung both end up around the cemetery. So I decided to take care of him, in laughing and sharing a nice moment. One middle-aged her memory. I like him because he’s big in a spooky kind woman in particular was so amused she came over to me of way.” After talking for a while, Youth 1 asks if he can and kissed me goodbye when she got off the Metro. She dog-sit sometime. What followed, in Youth 2’s words, was, told me it made her day. “A series of awesome adventures with said giant dog. All All in all, there are two things you should take away from this collection of stories: The Binghamton University Free Press is a because he talked to a stranger.” Student Association Chartered student-written Le backpacking trip 1.Big dogs are spooky and managed newspaper published by the A 17-year-old man goes backpacking in the Pyrenees 2. Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet, so stop Binghamton Media Group for the Binghamton Mountains alone. He loves nature, and wants to breathe waiting, and GO MEET THEM. University community. The editorial board of BMG has sole authority for the content of the newspaper. All inquiries can be sent to [email protected]. No part thereof may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part wihout the explicit written consent of the Publisher. Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Binghamton Media Group 2 THE BINGHAMTON FREE PRESS December 2013 features STUDENT FEATURE the girls of comedy A rise of new and funny student groups sees more females entering the male- dominated platform By EMILY D'EMIC, MARCUS GARCIA & SYLVIA CHOU Binghamton Stand Up Club President Mike Amory, a senior FP: How many [female comics] do you have now? FP: Right, like how many can we make? majoring in English and PPL, as well as freshmen comics Lyla Mike: Well we have these two [points to Lyla and Odeya]. There’s Odeya: I actually think there’s an endless supply of dick jokes. Cerulli and Odeya Pinkus, discuss their opinions on the role of one who did a set here at the meeting, and then we have some who Lyla: Yeah, the limit does not exist. women in comedy as well as the future of stand up at Binghamton just kind of hang out and watch, said they might write some stuff Mike: Truly, one of the founding goals of the club was how many University. Cerulli, who intends to double major in Latin and Biology, and perform. dick jokes can we as a people make. Now that there are women and Pinkus, an aspiring English/Rhetoric and Film major, were kind Lyla: Well, when I came here, I came from an all girls high school here, it’s more understanding different experiences of people. I think enough to represent the female comedic voice of the Binghamton so it was like, “Wow, there’s a lot of testosterone in this room right adding women to a comedy environment, what it’s done is made me Stand Up Club – and had a lot to say at that. now,” and it was definitely a boys’ club, but I felt welcomed, probably more aware of issues that women face that I never really considered. because there wasn’t an audition, like, being stared at. And when I first That’s why I’d like to see not just more women join the club, but more Free Press: How did BU Stand Up get started? came here, I just came to watch and then after like fifteen minutes, people.