Dépêche de Paris: Lia Mitchell from the rue Oberkampf

Lia Mitchell, our Exchange Fellow in Paris, writes us about Canals on Mars, the invasion midwestern vowels of Paris, and the so-called original LouLou :

It's been a quiet six months on rue Oberkampf; not at street level, where there's traffic, street musicians, bars, and occasionally an enormous protest. But up in the chambre de bonne we refer to (affectionately) as the bat cave or (when taking refuge) Petit Minneapolis, things are generally quiet. When at home, I spend my time reading science fiction from around 1900; digging through the online maze of Gallica for references to the canals on Mars, hypothetical planetary collisions, and other things that might blow up the Earth at some point; staring at old photographs of the city; and watching French people argue about politics on television.
However, I try not to spend too much time in the apartment. I devote a few hours a week to chatting with my students and corrupting their accents with my long Midwestern vowels. This accomplished, my walking companion and I have set a mission to explore the city on foot: every major park and passage, every cool little neighborhood, all the traces of the city as it was before Haussmann got to work. I've also gotten to a couple of photography exhibits about the city: one that juxtaposed Charles Marville's photos from destruction and construction during the Second Empire with photos of present-day Paris, and another with photos of street violence from conflicts like World War II and May '68 coupled with digitally created images of Paris in a state of war. Other excitement has included a visit to Flaubert's childhood home in Rouen, with the divine vision of the original stuffed parrot Loulou; the vast and wonderful outdoor markets; the glories of raw milk cheese; and of course the massive caves of the BNF.