Woah, hey...

This hasn't been a very up to date blog and I've done a poor job publicizing the fact that it even exists, but I will attempt another entry now.

We are on the verge of November and midterms have come and gone. Michigan has lost three of their past four games and I have been to Bruxelles. I have watched the French National Team play against Austria in a World Cup qualifier and I have attended a Pixies concert. I have written some songs and pounded out papers. Everything is becoming rapidly surmountable here in Paris, and I am comfortable with my weekly routines.

However, my next year is still up in the air.

These are the wildly varying possibilities:
1. University of Michigan
2. University of Michigan-Flint
3. A University in California
4. Tulane
5. Columbia University in Chicago

The next issue of the Imagineer is due out soon and it will discuss animal rights from the eyes of advocates PETA, as well as Latin American politics and an analysis of the American school system from Cornell's President Skorton.

Next semester, my preliminary schedule looks promising:

1. The War on Terror
2. Screenwriting
3. Principles of Video Production
4. Advertising

The best part of this schedule, other than the presence of my longtime dream course Screenwriting is that none of the classes meet before 10:30 in the morning. No lack of sleep, no commuter traffic on the metro.

The sunny side is up.

My toilet stopped working today. It is electric and I am unfamiliar with fixing electric toilets. I will have to ask my landlady very politely if she is accustomed to fixing them, while persuading her that I didn't try to flush down anything unorthodox.

Otherwise, I've been feeling a bit flu-ish lately. I have an interview with the school paper at AUP today. This editor job is something I'm interested in, but am not sure whether or not I'll have time for, especially with Imagineer deadlines quickly approaching. Training at the library begins today which means I should have a definitive weekly schedule after the day is over.

I and a few others won 50 euros towards a school study trip to the Chateaus of Amboise and Chenonceau for doing well at one of the orientation activities. This is coming up in about two weeks. I'll get some pictures.

I now have a guitar too. It was purchased at a toy shop, but it sounds as good as my Frankenmuth one I think. I've already written a new song on it which I hope to record at AUP's recording facility.

Paris is great, but as I've told some of you, I'm having frequent cravings for vast, open spaces. Unfortunately, these are hard to come by in a dense region like Europe.

Hopefully I will meet up with Alex in Brussels in a few weeks.

As far as classes go, Astronomy is extremely fascinating, Journalism should keep me on my toes, and French is quite stressful. Additionally, I have dropped English and picked up Creative Writing; This was an obvious decision.

Here are some pictures of the Centre Georges Pompidou:

A random stream of thinking

-avenue bosquet
-berlin
-south carolina
-cooking marshmallows
-seattle
-flume
-leland
-middle school
-yellow
-restraint

I'm on a public computer at the moment so I can't post any new pictures, though I have them. Having become aware of the free museums option on the first sunday of each month, I visited the Centre Georges Pompidou for free yesterday. There is a lot to share from that and I will post all of that later. Contemporary art is my favourite I suppose. Art with words is just fantastic I think. I'm debating whether to record an album or write a book while I'm here. I'm leaning towards an album if that's a possibility.

School began today. French is taught in French. This will be stressful but it's all for the best. Astronomy may just be the most interesting class I've taken thus far in university. It may become a sanctuary of sorts. While I certainly am enjoying being in Paris, it would be dishonest of me to neglect mentioning the loneliness I encounter on a daily basis. This comes on in flashes and leaves me blinded for a few hours at a time. I certainly move between intense emotions of liberation, excitement and confidence and isolation, insecurity and longing at least four times a day.

I'll be checking in later when I am in front of my own computer. Internet should come tomorrow, but that's another story.

In short, classes are good and I should have a job at the library soon, but getting the hang of Paris and this new life is admittedly more than I had originally thought.

My refrigerator is running. (in France!)...but I've yet to catch up with it.

Bon soir:


I would like to christen this blog in the same way I began my trip to Paris about a week ago. The following list is the soundtrack for AirFrance, all of which I heard either during boarding or after landing at Charles de Gaulle. (taken from facebook AirFrance):


ACTUELLEMENT À BORD


PLAYLIST Juillet-Août


01. SEBASTIEN SCHULLER “Morning mist”
02. THE LONG LOST “Past perfect”
03. GOLDEN SILVERS “The seed”
04. GOTYE “Puzzle with a piece missing (ENS mix)”
05. ASWEFALL “Between miles”
06. AVISHAI COHEN “Winter song”
07. GOD HELP THE GIRL “I just want your jeans”
08. FINK “See it all”
09. GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS “New light”
10. PETER DOHERTY “1939 returning”
11. AU REVOIR SIMONE “The last one”
12. LITTLE JOY “With strangers”


...lots of stuff I never knew existed. Most of it seems worth listening to.

After touching down, it's been one large commute up through today. Orientation at the American University of Paris, where I'll be studying this year, was incredibly comprehensive, (and indeed, not entirely over). Coupled with this, living alone in France after having never lived alone at all previously has proved formidable, but not impossible. Most of the hard parts have been taken care of by now. I moved into my nice, little apartment today and am quite pleased with it. The neighborhood sort of reminds me of upscale Manhattan.


The school itself is a very exciting ride. There's something very cutting-edge about the liberal mentality of the faculty and administration that's very inspiring and addictive. On Monday, I will begin classes and assess those here in a later post. As of now, I am looking at Astronomy, Arabic or French, Journalism, and an Intro to Film Studies. This may change dramatically however, as I will actually register tomorrow.


The clubs and organizations sector at AUP seems to be very extensive. I am more than interested in a handful of them. Political Science, Theatre, Music + Recording, Student Government, and The Planet are just a few of the organizations that I have already expressed interest in. The Planet is the student newspaper which I may be lucky enough to get the chance to run, given my experience in founding and operating the Imagineer. That's right! It's just as you've always imagined: Brent running The Planet! Should be a decent opportunity if I can actually balance it with all of the Imagineer responsibilities.


Food now: Thus far, consuming nothing but bread, cheese and wine has seemed to be an adequate plan on my part. The variety that these three food groups have to offer, especially in France, cannot be underestimated. In reality though, there truly are lots of delightful foodstuffs and dishes in France that can be prepared without meat. (Ratatouille for example)


Here are some pictures, most of which are duplicates of those posted on my facebook page. (Some are exclusive to this blog I think.)




At the moment, that seems to be all I have the tolerance for. Reformatting things is not my favourite hobby. I will be back on here shortly with more introspective topics and reviews of AUP academics and my apartment. haha.


I love you all.

Brentoni Gainer-Salim



ps - Go Blue, Beat the Broncos...

ps2 - Anybody willing to contribute a poem or piece of art on the theme of butchery and animal cruelty, please submit to my email address: bsalim@imagineermagazine.com

ps3 - Come visit me in Paris! You are welcome at any time!