Well, before I get on about this past week, I realized I forgot to talk about a pretty bizarre and striking incident that I witnessed.
Last Saturday, as Annina and I were waiting for an RER that stopped at Massy-Verrieres, we had the pleasure of listening to three very talented drummers on the Chatelet Les Halles platform. All three men looked to be from different national decent and each had a different type of drum. So, we were watching and listening to them while talking and waiting when I suddenly saw a youngish looking man in the tracks. I did not see how he got down there, but he was clearly on something (drugs or drugs and alcohol, but I think he was too far gone for it to be just alcohol) because he stood on one of the rails and then just fell on his back into the middle of the tracks. He stood up and looked around, but didn't really move. I was thinking what could or should I do. My first thought was that I can't speak French very well and he was not in his right mind, so how could I really communicate. I was also thinking about the fact that I (and Annina) are two young women, alone, and would it be safe to go over to help him. Thankfully, a middle-aged woman saw this man and went straight over to the track, as did several other people. She said "Prends ma main" (take my hand) and "Attention" (be careful). The guy just looked at her and the others by the track with a glazed expression on his face like "what's all the fuss?" I wasn't sure if he would take thier hands, but he finally reached out his arms (and began to fall backwards) and the people pulled him up to the platform.
At this point, just about everyone on the platform realized what was going on - the drummers stopped and people walked over to where this man was. The guy just walked around with a that glazed look on his face, and began to walk along the edge of the platform again! Thankfully, several people pulled him away from the edge and formed a kind of barrier between him and the edge. Then an older man held onto his arm and called someone (I assume the police). The younger man kept saying "Let me go, I'm fine" but the older man said, "No, you are dangerous and violent." After about 5 minutes or so, the whole incident was over. The two men disapeared and the crowd dispersed. The drummers waited a few minutes more and then began to play softly, gradually building in intensity until they were back to full speed.
This incident could have ended quite badly. Thankfully no trains came during this time. But, what struck me the most was the fact that not only did people respond but that so many people responded. In my Psych classes we talk about a phenomenon called the bystander effect. Basically, the more people present the less likely it is that anyone will take responsibility and act because the thought is that someone else will do it. Here, at least half of the people on that section of the platform responded in some way. I was very much taken by surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Now, onto this week.
This past week has been a pretty good one. Went grocery shopping Tuesday, to Mimi's on Wednesday, had choir practice Tuesday and Thursday (the school sings for a nursing home every year at Christmas time) and, you know, just the usual. Saturday I went into Paris with Annina and Lindsey. We went to le Musée d'Orsay in the morning where I listened to the audio guide in French for close to 2 hours. Definitely didn't understand everything, but it was good for me to hear more French. For a late lunch, we went to Le Dernier Bar Avant la Fin du Monde. It's got this great scifi feel, and is filled with games and objects from different scifi movies - Star Wars, Doctor Who, V for Vendetta, Firefly, and much much more. This bar is pretty close to Notre Dame and we walked from there to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up - yeah, took about an hour, give or take. But it was a good walk, great exercise and it kept me from getting too cold, as I didn't really think through the whole 'it's going to be cold in Paris today' thing when I got ready that morning ;)
Sunday was a leisurely day and so is today. I found out at breakfast that my professor is sick and the person who would normally take her place had to be at a conference all day, so I got the day off :) Granted, I will have class Wednesday morning, but just in the morning, so... I guess that's okay.
Here are some pictures from the clock at Musée d'Orsay - Annina has some more, so I'll post those when I get them from her.
And the Eiffel Tower by night
See ya!
K
Last Saturday, as Annina and I were waiting for an RER that stopped at Massy-Verrieres, we had the pleasure of listening to three very talented drummers on the Chatelet Les Halles platform. All three men looked to be from different national decent and each had a different type of drum. So, we were watching and listening to them while talking and waiting when I suddenly saw a youngish looking man in the tracks. I did not see how he got down there, but he was clearly on something (drugs or drugs and alcohol, but I think he was too far gone for it to be just alcohol) because he stood on one of the rails and then just fell on his back into the middle of the tracks. He stood up and looked around, but didn't really move. I was thinking what could or should I do. My first thought was that I can't speak French very well and he was not in his right mind, so how could I really communicate. I was also thinking about the fact that I (and Annina) are two young women, alone, and would it be safe to go over to help him. Thankfully, a middle-aged woman saw this man and went straight over to the track, as did several other people. She said "Prends ma main" (take my hand) and "Attention" (be careful). The guy just looked at her and the others by the track with a glazed expression on his face like "what's all the fuss?" I wasn't sure if he would take thier hands, but he finally reached out his arms (and began to fall backwards) and the people pulled him up to the platform.
At this point, just about everyone on the platform realized what was going on - the drummers stopped and people walked over to where this man was. The guy just walked around with a that glazed look on his face, and began to walk along the edge of the platform again! Thankfully, several people pulled him away from the edge and formed a kind of barrier between him and the edge. Then an older man held onto his arm and called someone (I assume the police). The younger man kept saying "Let me go, I'm fine" but the older man said, "No, you are dangerous and violent." After about 5 minutes or so, the whole incident was over. The two men disapeared and the crowd dispersed. The drummers waited a few minutes more and then began to play softly, gradually building in intensity until they were back to full speed.
This incident could have ended quite badly. Thankfully no trains came during this time. But, what struck me the most was the fact that not only did people respond but that so many people responded. In my Psych classes we talk about a phenomenon called the bystander effect. Basically, the more people present the less likely it is that anyone will take responsibility and act because the thought is that someone else will do it. Here, at least half of the people on that section of the platform responded in some way. I was very much taken by surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Now, onto this week.
This past week has been a pretty good one. Went grocery shopping Tuesday, to Mimi's on Wednesday, had choir practice Tuesday and Thursday (the school sings for a nursing home every year at Christmas time) and, you know, just the usual. Saturday I went into Paris with Annina and Lindsey. We went to le Musée d'Orsay in the morning where I listened to the audio guide in French for close to 2 hours. Definitely didn't understand everything, but it was good for me to hear more French. For a late lunch, we went to Le Dernier Bar Avant la Fin du Monde. It's got this great scifi feel, and is filled with games and objects from different scifi movies - Star Wars, Doctor Who, V for Vendetta, Firefly, and much much more. This bar is pretty close to Notre Dame and we walked from there to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up - yeah, took about an hour, give or take. But it was a good walk, great exercise and it kept me from getting too cold, as I didn't really think through the whole 'it's going to be cold in Paris today' thing when I got ready that morning ;)
Sunday was a leisurely day and so is today. I found out at breakfast that my professor is sick and the person who would normally take her place had to be at a conference all day, so I got the day off :) Granted, I will have class Wednesday morning, but just in the morning, so... I guess that's okay.
Here are some pictures from the clock at Musée d'Orsay - Annina has some more, so I'll post those when I get them from her.
And the Eiffel Tower by night
See ya!
K
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