La Fondation
To preface this entry I will let you know that I’m writing it from the laundry room of the Fondation des Étas Unis, the residence where I live. The light bulbs are burned out so I am sitting in the dark, voraciously guarding my place as the next person to put her laundry into the dryer. The Fondation has only 3 washers and 3 dryers for 200+ people who live here and each cycle takes about one hour. Needless to say, there is always a queue.
To explain the Fondation I must first explain the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. It is a large campus of 37 residences, each one under the name of a specific country or region in France. The participant countries are diverse: from Japan to Germany to Morocco to Cambodia to Mexico. All the residents of the houses are either students, postdocs or researchers affiliated with a Parisian institution. There are 13 Université de Paris so the Cité never lacks for occupants. Each house has a specific character and history and generally houses 50% residents from its own country and 50% from others. The Cité also has a post office, bank, cafeteria, café, theatre, sports facilities and several libraries. It hosts numerous cultural and artistic events throughout the year. Needless to say, it’s a pretty cool place to be.
The Fondation is one of the oldest houses on the Campus, and frankly, the building shows it. All of the rooms are single rooms, equipped with furniture, a phone and a sink. I have a room with a big window on the 4th floor (5th American) which overlooks the Fondation’s courtyard. Each floor has two kitchens, and separate sets of toilets and showers. The showers suck, but that’s all that I will say about them. I’m quite cozy in and fond of my room, besides the parts of it which are falling apart. The Fondation is a private place; most of the residents on my floor keep their doors closed, but the neighbors that I have met are very friendly. On one side of me is a French engineer and just down the hall lives Davide, a guy from Martinique doing his PhD in comparative modern lit. Davide is inquisitive and always stops by to chat in the evenings. The foundation stipulates that its members must have at least a bachelors degree, but it also hosts several American universities’ semester abroad programs. This creates a strange dynamic because there are coteries of students who know each other well and continue living in the same was as they would in the dorms. In general, the rest of the students are working on their master’s or PhD at a French university.
So far I have three good friends who live at the Fondation: Abby, Dani, and Vishwa. Abby is another Fulbrighter. She just graduated from Washington University, St. Louis and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana (a friend of Jenna K.). She is an anthropologist, studying how informal lending groups, which are common in third world countries, translate in Cameroonian immigrant women in Paris. Abby is beautiful and petite, with long dark blond hair. She usually wears long sweaters with tribal tunics and big earrings.
Dani is an incredibly open and direct Sarah Lawerence student spending her junior year abroad. She is from Santa Barbara and went to high school with Mimi and Bree, for those of you who know them. She pretty much epitomizes the liberal arts student. She is an artist but is also interested in just about everything else. We met at a mixer the Fondation put on for its residents (lots of wine included—the great thing about European educational institutions) and bonded a few days later over couscous and sautéed veggies.
Lastly we have Vishwa, a former Fulbrighter from the two previous years. He is an assistant conductor for the Orchestra Nationale, which is the premier orchestra in France. He is an odd mix of the conductor persona and Duke frat boy, where he did his undergraduate studies. He has been Abby, Dani and my (the three blond American girls) guide to going out in Paris and has already introduced us to many interesting people, including Didier, the director of the Orchestra Nationale. Didier was invited to the first party, and came and hung out with us inconspicuously with no one quite realizing who they were talking to.
So that’s my living situation. I’m very happy with how it worked out. Its cheap, I’ve met a lot of people and it’s right across the street from the train stop that I need to take everyday to get to Orsay. I was at first apprehensive at the idea of living in a dorm situation again. But, I was desperate, and everything worked out beautifully.
To explain the Fondation I must first explain the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. It is a large campus of 37 residences, each one under the name of a specific country or region in France. The participant countries are diverse: from Japan to Germany to Morocco to Cambodia to Mexico. All the residents of the houses are either students, postdocs or researchers affiliated with a Parisian institution. There are 13 Université de Paris so the Cité never lacks for occupants. Each house has a specific character and history and generally houses 50% residents from its own country and 50% from others. The Cité also has a post office, bank, cafeteria, café, theatre, sports facilities and several libraries. It hosts numerous cultural and artistic events throughout the year. Needless to say, it’s a pretty cool place to be.
The Fondation is one of the oldest houses on the Campus, and frankly, the building shows it. All of the rooms are single rooms, equipped with furniture, a phone and a sink. I have a room with a big window on the 4th floor (5th American) which overlooks the Fondation’s courtyard. Each floor has two kitchens, and separate sets of toilets and showers. The showers suck, but that’s all that I will say about them. I’m quite cozy in and fond of my room, besides the parts of it which are falling apart. The Fondation is a private place; most of the residents on my floor keep their doors closed, but the neighbors that I have met are very friendly. On one side of me is a French engineer and just down the hall lives Davide, a guy from Martinique doing his PhD in comparative modern lit. Davide is inquisitive and always stops by to chat in the evenings. The foundation stipulates that its members must have at least a bachelors degree, but it also hosts several American universities’ semester abroad programs. This creates a strange dynamic because there are coteries of students who know each other well and continue living in the same was as they would in the dorms. In general, the rest of the students are working on their master’s or PhD at a French university.
So far I have three good friends who live at the Fondation: Abby, Dani, and Vishwa. Abby is another Fulbrighter. She just graduated from Washington University, St. Louis and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana (a friend of Jenna K.). She is an anthropologist, studying how informal lending groups, which are common in third world countries, translate in Cameroonian immigrant women in Paris. Abby is beautiful and petite, with long dark blond hair. She usually wears long sweaters with tribal tunics and big earrings.
Dani is an incredibly open and direct Sarah Lawerence student spending her junior year abroad. She is from Santa Barbara and went to high school with Mimi and Bree, for those of you who know them. She pretty much epitomizes the liberal arts student. She is an artist but is also interested in just about everything else. We met at a mixer the Fondation put on for its residents (lots of wine included—the great thing about European educational institutions) and bonded a few days later over couscous and sautéed veggies.
Lastly we have Vishwa, a former Fulbrighter from the two previous years. He is an assistant conductor for the Orchestra Nationale, which is the premier orchestra in France. He is an odd mix of the conductor persona and Duke frat boy, where he did his undergraduate studies. He has been Abby, Dani and my (the three blond American girls) guide to going out in Paris and has already introduced us to many interesting people, including Didier, the director of the Orchestra Nationale. Didier was invited to the first party, and came and hung out with us inconspicuously with no one quite realizing who they were talking to.
So that’s my living situation. I’m very happy with how it worked out. Its cheap, I’ve met a lot of people and it’s right across the street from the train stop that I need to take everyday to get to Orsay. I was at first apprehensive at the idea of living in a dorm situation again. But, I was desperate, and everything worked out beautifully.
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