The Beauty in the Bureaucracy

So, last week I had a French lecture class. 50 of us are waiting patiently... 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes go by and the teacher doesn't show! SAME THING HAPPENED TODAY. Two different classes, two different teachers, both lazy and didn't come to class. I was pissed because a) I had the excited/nervous first class jitters and b) I heard Sciences Po teachers were very strict and would lock you out of the room if you were late! How are you supposed to train the future diplomats of France if you don't show up to class?

On Saturday I went to the Assemblée nationale and Le Sénat. They're only open to the public once a year, so clearly I jumped at the chance to go. In line there was a video from Bernard Accoyer, the president of the Assemblée nationale, saying that it's the "people's house" which I thought was ironic considering you can only visit it once a year.
It's very odd to me since there are a million tours of the capital/house of reps/senate everyday to anyone.

I have to say I like our system better (shh, don't tell them.)

Even though you can't usually visit them, they both have gift shops open to the public everyday. Ha ha.

Basically, they both look like Versailles. Lots of gold and marble and naked lady statues. It was gorgeous though. The libraries are huge with books dating back from the 1500s and they have the ladders that swing across to get high books. Sort of Harry Potter-esque.

We got to go into the galleries where they vote! It was more or less the same as the one's in D.C. except everything was covered in red Velvet instead of faded blue wallpaper. So yeah, pretty cool especially if you're into politics. It made me miss D.C. and being a slave to the government.