Professeur Gamberge

While babysitting our friends' children yesterday, I watched a cartoon called Le Professeur Gamberge whose episode title was "Il s'arrête quand, la crise?" (When will the economic crisis be over?) I was astonished that a children's cartoon would address such a heavy, "adult" issue, but I was even more surprised by the unabashedly populist response. In the episode, the Professor (whose last name translates to "Think Hard") explains to three children that bankers - portrayed as gourmands at a table full of rich food - ate too much and got very sick. They'll need to curtail their excessive eating and exercise before their banks - and then the economy - feel better. Brilliant/provocative!

I couldn't find the exact clip I saw (nor could I find an official website) but I did manage to locate a few other "episodes" on youtube, and hopefully this one on slavery (!!!)  will give you the gist:

A brief resumé, for the non-francophones: the children are about to ask the Professor a question when they're interrupted by a news segment about a French couple accused of enslaving a maid. Professor Gamberge explains the history of slavery, starting with the war spoils of antiquity, then the Arab slave trade of East Africa, then the European slave trade between Africa and the Americas. He notes that today, slavery doesn't exist at quite the same magnitude as in earlier times, but it can still be found in war zones, under dictatorships, and even "here." He ends with the instruction, "Never forget that we cannot treat humans like dogs." One of the girls takes the edge off by retorting, "But there are some dogs who are treated very well!"

Apparently, Professeur Gamberge also helped explain the recent Regional Elections, but he's not always answering politically charged questions (other topics of interest: earthquakes and forest fires; you can find a list of the first fifty questions posed in episodes here). All questions answered by the show come from children, and supposedly nothing is off-limits. Maybe we can get such a hard-hitting, pedagogically-oriented segment on Sesame Street. First question: Big Bird, why can't Bert and Ernie get married?

Portraits of Belleville: Mo, Hélo & Co.

We've taken turns babysitting the kids, we've had the whole family over for a goûter, and we've been over there for coffee and for dinner: Mohamed (père), Héloise (mère), Nahel, Tilal, and Mehdi (kids, left to right) are the Bellevillois we've gotten to know best over the last 7 months. The family shares a beautiful (and spacious) apartment directly across the courtyard from ours, and we run into each other almost every day in the courtyard or at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. 

Left to right: Nahel (3), Mo, Tilal (1), Mehdi (7), Héloise

Mo wins the award for most prolific commenter at Panda-à-Paris, and Héloise wins for putting us in touch with various people looking for clarinetists and English teachers. The boys win because, according to Mo, they recently asked their parents, "When are Maggie and Louis coming over to babysit again?"

Je suis nourrice

In our favorite online dictionary, babysitter is translated as nourrice, but also, perhaps more simply, as babysitter. Just one of the many French words that are not too difficult to understand.

Ever since our third day here, I have gone nearly every day to the apartment of a Parisian family to babysit. For the sake of privacy, I will only tell you that the boys I am babysitting are 9 and 11 and attend a bilingual French/English school. W., the 9-year old, is energetic and loves AC-DC. The 11-year old, P., is polite and curious and enjoys swimming and reading.

You may be wondering why, of all things, I chose to babysit while we are in Paris. At first, it just seemed like something fun to do, and relatively easy to obtain a position. But, in fact, I'm learning that there are many benefits to babysitting while in Paris. For one thing, it is already improving my ability to understand spoken French. Although I generally speak English and the boys respond to me in English, they often speak to each other and to their parents/grandparents in French. I think that it is certainly in my best interest to know what they are saying to each other - boys will be boys, as they say - so I will continue to listen carefully and attempt to decipher what they say even as I continue to push them to speak as much English as possible when we are together.

Secondly, what better way to explore the city than with two curious and energized children in tow? I'm told that on Saturdays we will have more time to go to the "garden" to play "football," and that I can take them to museums and other attractions as time allows. (Don't forget, I get paid for this!).

Over the course of these next 9 months, I hope to report on some of my adventures in babysitting... stay tuned!