My parents and some of my friends asked me how France views the current financial crisis in the United States which leads me to believe that a lot of the people in the U.S. have NO IDEA that the whole world is now completely destroyed economically. Everyday, in every paper in Paris, there is an article on the financial crisis now in France, not just the United States. What is France’s reaction? They are angry at themselves for being so dependent on the U.S. The G7 had to meet, this and that International organization had to meet, et cetera et cetera. A quote I got from a French newspaper said that “French banks will never be the same after this.”

What is my reaction? Well, my sadistic reaction is that, at least the Euro is going down with the dollar. I had to take out a lot of money to go to Germany last weekend, and needless to say, when I looked at my bank account, I was a little horrified. I also have to add that I’m also thrilled to look for a job in 2010.

As far as this upcoming election goes, the vast majority of French people are, of course, pro-Obama. And by vast, I mean over 80%. They ask me what I think about Sarah Palin, and tell me that they were sad to see Hillary go (this totally shocked me). All French adults I’ve talked to so far have told me they would rather Hillary had gotten the nomination than Obama, but “sadly, it’s too late.” I miss Hillary too, but I like Obama.

Continuing in the trend of political blogging, I just received my absentee ballot a week ago. A lot of people my age are refusing to vote, which annoys me a little. I don’t necessarily find the act of voting in the United States very empowering anymore, but I also feel like, if you don’t vote, you do not have the right to complain about U.S politics for the next four years, and I treasure moments where I can complain about our bureaucracy.

Beyond all this jibber-jab, I got to see Jenny Lewis perform two nights ago at La Maroquinerie in Paris. I saw her with Rilo Kiley last year in Boston and with the Watson Twins my first year at college in Boston. FYI, she puts on an amazing show! I met two other American girls at the concert, who were so much fun, and we went upstairs together and ended up running into Johnathan Rice as well as musicians from the band Benji Hughes. They were all so approachable and friendly, it made me nostalgic for the laid-back culture of the United States, especially the culture of indie artists. It’s become a cliche to like indie artists nowadays, but I find it’s just a more intimate crowd of interesting people. I was so curious about what it was like to travel and tour, so I asked Johnathan (and Blake Mills from Band of Horses and another Jonathan from the band) if they were exhausted. They said they were a little jet-lagged, they looked like they hadn’t showered in a few days, and they told me they had to leave that night to go to Amsterdam. Yikes. One made a “joke” about how there were enough drugs to keep him energetic. Haha-double yikes.

Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice

Blake Mills, Barbara Gruska, Jonathan Wilson, Jenny Lewis, half of Johnathan Rice, Dave Scher

They were so much fun–I was happy to talk to them and hug them all goodbye, and I hope to run into them someday in the future as well. I also hope Jenny Lewis isn’t too exhausted to come out and greet fans next time!!