What the FAC: 19 mars, 2013

Within Aix-Marseille Université, I study at the Faculté de Lettres, which we usually refer to as the FAC. Rather than the classes or professors, my favorite aspect of the school is the obvious and fitting pun permitted by its nickname: What the FAC.

Before getting to France, I had always pictured french schools to look as polished as the country's inhabitants, complete with a beret on top of the building and a giant cigarette hanging out of the front door. Instead, this school looks surprisingly akin to a post-apocolyptic version of a 1980's after school special TV show.

As you walk down the hallowed halls of the FAC, you may notice the graffiti covering every wall, door, and bathroom stall. You may observe some flickering lights in chained off stairwells. You may be pleased to notice a little splash of color on a red poster, until you realize that it's advertising communism. Yup, that's still a thing here. Not socialism. Actual communism. And a surprising amount of these posters were posted pretty recently.

One of the best parts of the FAC would have to be the state of its bathrooms. Certain aspects aren't too surprising when you're already accustomed to life in France -- they have no toilet seats and seldom have hand soap, toilet paper, or working hand dryers -- but other aspects are uniquely FAC-y. Certain stall doors are a bit of a challenge to close, don't lock, and require the aid of a comrade outside the stall in order to open back up. Yes, I've been temporarily stuck and panicked in one of those before. It was a glorious moment for me. It's still the graffiti that gets to me the most, although some of it can be kind of cool. One particular fourth floor bathroom has a perfect rendition of Saïd's "baise la police" graffiti from the movie La Haine. Evidently I was not the only person geeking out over that one, because another student made a little note of the reference immediately next to the image.

Honestly, the FAC isn't all bad. They have coffee vending machines. How could a place with coffee vending machines be all bad? And the professors are considerate enough to give a cig break (or coffee break for the American students) in the middle of the three-hour lectures so that students don't get the shakes. Granted, that might not be the real reason why those breaks exist, but that's just the way I prefer to look at it. And I look at the coffee. Oh, that sweet nectar of life that gets me through three hour blocks of hearing about the trees of Provence.

I think the best description of the FAC that I've ever read appeared in a certain facebook status written by one of the members of my program, Toler.

"a summation of the quality of the fac des lettres in one act:

Professor (standing at a graffitied lectern): could someone please close the door?
Student (after a moment of confused staring): The door is missing.

fin"

(30 janvier, 2013)

Yup, that's our fine french education. Be madly jealous.