[FanDeAliFee]

Originally Posted by LeFantôme

I think that it's an exaggeration to say that Alizée grew up in a tough neighborhood. I'm from Chicago, so I probably suffer from a greater threat of violence than Alizée ever has. Someone said she has a humble background, which I think is the perfect way to describe it.

I have never seen ANYONE suggest "Alizée grew up in a tough neighborhood." I have not tried to look where her parents live. But I have read that they own a sailboat, and a house with a swimming pool, while many people live in apartments. We also know Alizée attended a private theatrical school for a decade. And I understand that greater Ajaccio has about 100,000 people and everything one can expect of a modern city. On the basis of all this, I would call Alizée's childhood very comfortable, even by American standards.

Originally Posted by LeFantôme

I talked a bit with my host mom about Corsica and she said there are some very reactionary people down there, even terrorists, and it hurts the tourism a lot. That's in part why Corsica is not quite as well off as the rest of France.

I understand there is a joke in France that goes like this. When they held a national referendum on whether Corsica should be freed of the shackles of French captivity, the people in mainland France voted yes, and those on Corsica voted no.

I take it you are an exchange student in France now. Could I ask in which city? How long have you been there now and when do you return home?

Originally Posted by LeFantôme

Here's some trivia for ya: I asked my French friends about word 'maquis' (from the first line of Les Collines) which I had trouble understanding. The first thing said was that it's part of Corsica. The others agreed but said in a modern usage it means a place similar to the maquis of Corsica: a rocky wilderness with sparse vegetation. The word is given to the revolutionaries that fought Francisco Franco based in the mountains: the Spanish Maquis.

Americans my age and older probably think of the French partisans who resisted the Nazis and their servants during World War II. In recent decades, the name was recycled to refer to a fictional underground organization in the TV series "Star Trek: TNG."

Originally Posted by LeFantôme

And guys, everything here in France is decrepit and old. That's just how it is :P

Even Alizée????? She must have one FANTASTIC makeup artist!