La Une in English: April-May 2007

O Toulouse Our last weeks in France are fast approaching. And they aren't without their excitement: the presidential elections and the reactions around Toulouse have certainly added some drama to exam week. Let's all try to take advantage of our last days of living in this city, surrounded by its culture, before we return to the States. Even if we're all happy to go home, we'll miss the warmth and charm of the city. I wish everyone a safe trip home. I'm so glad to have shared this year with you all: I'll cherish the memories of my time in Toulouse, a large part of which include the Dickinson students. I'd also like to thank Sylvie Toux, Laura Raynaud, and Gersende Vuillamy for your encouragement, patience and all of your help in making us feel welcome here. To everyone, good luck for whatever comes next and gros bisous! --Anna Cumbie, editor Improved Transportation will make Toulouse more charming The future students of Dickinson in France are going to enjoy a downtown Toulouse completely different from what we know now and what past students have known. The inhabitants of Toulouse and its tourists have always flocked downtown on sunny days, but with all of the comings and goings around the cafés at Esquirol and at the Capitol, the streets and sidewalks are often hard to deal with on bike or on foot. After the opening of the second metro line, however, these troublesome roads will be extensively re-assessed. Having recognized the convenience of the soon-to-be Line B of Toulouse’s metro system, the city’s mayor has asked for urbanization proposals that would change the layout of Toulouse’s major roads in order to make pedestrian life easier. Due to several timing issues with the work being done on the metro and the delayed choice of a winning proposal, however, the winner won’t be chosen until 2008. As a result, Alsace Lorraine will have to change temporarily before the winner is announced. In charge of the changes that will be made to one of Toulouse’s most well known roads is Pierre Roca d’Huyteza. A Toulousan himself, d’Huyteza must certainly be aware of the lack of sidewalk space in such a crowded city. Thanks to his vision, Alsace Lorraine will soon boast a sidewalk width of 9 meters and will no longer be crammed with buses, cars, scooters and strollers. The new Alsace Lorraine will be a one-way street, and what’s more, Toulouse’s buses will all be detoured towards Toulouse’s bigger boulevards. For those who are already familiar with Toulouse, it’s difficult to imagine Alsace Lorraine and Rue de Metz without the annoying noise of honking buses. Even more difficult to picture is that these chaotic roads might be more welcoming of pedestrians. That’s not to say, however, that we won’t be jealous of the next wave of Dickinson students who’ll have the chance to take advantage of these improvements. --Candace Casey Moustapha's Book for sale in Toulouse The Ombres Blanches bookstore, at 48 and 50 rue Gambetta and at 5 and 7 rue des Gestes, is now carrying Moustapha Minte's book "Me, child soldier, pregnant and HIV-positive." They're open from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and can be reached at 05.34.45.53.33. There are about 12 copies available, but be sure to get there fast--there won't be enough for everyone! We congratulate the author and wish him luck for his future writing career. "If you want a signed copy, please know that I'll be happy to oblige," says Moustapha. Happy reading! KKK outfits and drunk frogs : a Spanish religious procession I left for my host mother’s house in L’Escala, Spain, with a plan to waste my days there under the Spanish sun, strolling on the village’s gorgeous beaches. I didn’t want to see anything educational. All I wanted to do was order a sangria and look at the ocean. So on Wednesday, the 4th of April, Candace Casey,’08, and I joined my host mother in her tired and extremely noisy car and we left for vacation. It rained during the whole trip, and when we arrived in L’Escala the sun was hiding a wall of grey. No question, then, of tanning on the beach. Robbed of my chance to learn nothing, I learned very quickly that the Catalan region in which we were staying offered a rich and unique variety of things to do and see, with or without the sun. Since it was almost Easter—and Spain is still a very devout Catholic nation—the Saints’ Week processions were to take place during our time in the area. We made the trip to Verges, a small nearby village that is the last in all of Spain to include in its Saints’ Week processions a Dance of the Dead. After spending an hour searching the crowded central square of Verges for a good spot from which to view the procession, I began to hear a faint drumming sound that seemed to be approaching, though I couldn’t see anything through the crowd that had gathered to watch the procession. A few minutes went by, and suddenly soldiers began marching into the square, wearing old costumes in red and gold and carrying spears. They marched slowly, following the cadence of the drummers. Next came Jesus, carrying his cross, and the group re-enacted a Bible scene in Catalan, a regional language that is completely apart from Spanish, despite many similarities in the sounds of the two languages. Aside from the word “sangria,” I don’t know any Catalan or Spanish, and thus understood nothing of the re-enactment. I wondered to myself whether it would be a good idea to study the Bible a little bit. At least that way I would have gotten the sense of what I was seeing, instead of constantly having to ask Candace what was happening. Once Jesus and the soldiers had passed by, I saw costumes that I hoped never to see outside of library books on the cruelty of man. Roughly thirty children arrived in front of us, all dressed in white costumes exactly like those worn by the KKK in the United States. Among the “oohs” and “ahs” of the proud parents and happy crowd around us, Candace and I were sure that we had fallen into another dimension. The children—seeming a little tired by the hours of marching and waiting that the procession entailed—advanced little by little, holding candles in their hands and looking dazed. Through the eye holes in their terrifying costumes, they seemed cute enough. After the…interesting children came the Dancers of the Dead. They wore black costumes on which skeletons had been painted, and skulls over their heads. Oddly enough, after what we had just seen, Candace and I found these skeletons kind of cute and much less intimidating. :They danced along in front of us, following a much slower and more haunting rhythm than that of the soldiers. Consisting of a series of leaps from one spot to another and a kind of hesitating bounce on one leg before the next jump, the Dance of the Dead made its dancers look like a large group of drunk frogs. Having seen tipsy frogs and several little members of the Spanish KKK, I can say without hesitation that nothing compares to religious processions in Spain. The children, of course, had no affiliation with the KKK, and the costumes they wore pre-date the supremacist group’s existence by many years. But the fact that Candace and I were the only ones to be shocked at all by the children’s costumes made me feel, at first, like an American too far from home. A few days later, however, the idea that parts of the world don’t attach any kind of terrible significance to a pointed white hat that hides the face started to reassure me—maybe I’m not too far from home. --Kitt Squire Cliquez ici pour retourner à la version française.

Sunny Days : Jardin Royal L’Ecole de Commerce de Toulouse : A Potential Partner With 120,000 students, 16,000 researchers, 16 “grandes écoles” and 4 universities, Toulouse seems to specialize in grey material. The group ESC, which includes the Toulouse Business School, understands this fact well. In downtown Toulouse for more than 20 years now, the Toulouse Business School has become one of the France’s most popular schools. In 2006, for example, it admitted 5,000 students for the 2006-2007 school year. The school’s extreme popularity is the result of several important factors. First, location. Toulouse is a city with such a strong aesthetic value and beautiful light that even the busiest scientists and businessmen will find it difficult to remain indifferent. The world leader in remote sensing and the aeronautics and aerospace center of Europe, Toulouse is home to 300 international companies, including some businesses on the scale of Motorola, Siemens, and EADS, to name a few. Also noteworthy is Airbus’ presence in the city, and Toulouse’s participation in the future European Positioning System project that will involve the satellite Galileo. Traveling just an hour and a half from Toulouse, tourists can discover the Mediterranean or excellent skiing, according to their tastes, and the Atlantic is only two and half hours away. This convenient location adds to the charm of the city, a city whose beauty is created by the Renaissance style buildings, numerous gardens, and the river Garonne. Among the Toulouse Business School’s numerous assets, its triple accreditation by EQUIS, AMBA, and AACSB is a generous recognition for the institution, and is certainly hard to come by. For example, the ESC group is only the third business school in France to receive such an distinction. EQUIS stands for European Quality Improvement System, and is an accreditation given by the European Foundation for Management Development. The ESC group received this accreditation for the first time in 2001, then again in 2005. The title AMBA, given to the school in 2002, is a British title decided by the Association of Masters of Business Administration. The third distinction, given in 2003, is an American title given by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. You may have remarked that it’s near impossible to discuss business without taking into consideration the political, economic, and sometimes cultural tendencies of the world at large. Luckily, the ESC group is also a global institution; its campus in Barcelona is a perfect example of this new global perspective. Just as in Toulouse, ESC Barcelona’s location is in the heart of the city, near the Plaza Catalunya, the Cathedral, and the Picasso Museum. In Toulouse, the ESC group offers a complete curriculum in English with its program “English Track,” and in Barcelona, classes are offered in Spanish, French, and English. This creates an excellent opportunity for ESC students to sharpen their language skills, and, given the fact that Spanish is now spoken by more than 700 million people in the world, to gain a better advantage in international business. In the same global perspective, the ESC in Toulouse counts foreign students from 44 different countries, 55 visiting professors, 55 exchange program partners, and 16 partners for its double diploma programs. Its American partners are Arizona State University, Georgia State, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Dayton, the University of Florida and the University of Arkansas. In terms of the school’s ambience, no need to worry; it offers a relaxing and sometimes festive atmosphere to its students. Last week, for example, I was very surprised to see decorations in front of the main entrance when I walked into the building. There was a large red carpet on the ground leading up to the school’s entrance, like in Hollywood, and other decorations had been hung in a kind of Blues Brothers style. I hesitated for a bit before going in, then entered, feeling like a VIP on the red carpet. Having just gotten to my desk, I couldn’t stop myself from asking my boss what all of the decorations were for. “It’s probably the student elections. They do it once a year and it’s always like that,” she told me. My curiosity satisfied, I returned to my work, appreciating the music that played all day and ranged from French rock to R&B. In my opinion, that’s a real success story. The ESC in Toulouse has a energetic and enthusiastic personnel, and is an ideal partner. --Moustapha Minte Opportunity: "Work in France" Career Fair May 29 The “Work in France” Career Fair will take place at Hotel Intercontinental - Paris on Monday May 29, 2007. This is a specific event for all international students (exchange programs and foreigners) of Business Schools and University. Prior registration is required. Here you can talk with company representatives to learn about employment and internship opportunities in France or Europe for International students. The “Work In France Career Fair” will be a quarterly event to promote employers access to upcoming International graduates and future graduates. If you are a candidate, it is always a good idea to bring a resume and show your motivation to work in those industries, of course. This day is reserved for closed-door interviews that will be previously arranged by the companies. 4 International firms will come to recruit, and 100 students will be invited to this event. All the applicants interested in this fair must apply on the web site : www.internationaldesk.net The Work in France Fair is a first and unique event dedicated to international students in France. Students selected will receive an invitation by e-mail. For more information : contact@internationaldesk.net Birthdays in May 8 : Kacy 13 : Julia 20 : Heidi Birthdays in June 25 : Meredith 27 : Torie Birthdays in July 1 : Nora 4 : Kitt 6 : Anna 15 : Candace 25 : Nicholas Birthdays in August 22 : Kate