Burning cars

So everyone would think that going to France for study abroad would be really safe, but now there's all this crazy violence going on. Don't worry, I'm perfectly safe, as is everyone in our program, because the rioting and burning cars is only in the ghetto areas of Toulouse where all the immigrants live (sad, but true). So background info: there were these two black teenagers who were chased by the police into a power plant outside of Paris, and they were electrocuted to death. So now the poor, mostly immigrant, population of France is up in arms because they are not given the same opportunities as the rest of France, and there is a 50% unemployment rate, and that these kids were chased unfairly and they aren't even given a chance to succeed, etc. But this problem has been brewing for years, and now it's just manifesting itself because of the deaths of those two kids. Kind of reminiscent of the United States at various times in recent history? The violence started in Paris, and now has spread to over 200 towns in the rest of France, including Toulouse. And unfortunately, the Mirail University is located in the ghetto part of Toulouse. I don't take classes there, but a lot of people in our program do, so they have been given directions to come home before 4:30 to make sure they get a ride on the metro, because the metros and buses have been shutting down early to avoid going to the rioting areas at night. Kind of scary, but nothing goes on during the day, and I think things are starting to die down anyway, now that the French police/military has gotten its act together.

So that's just a little update on my life in Toulouse. Never a dull moment!