May 21: Today was the first day of school at Novancia Business School. It was about a twenty minute walk from the hotel to the school. The teacher for today was a Dutch lady who lectured about Intercultural Communications and Management. She taught us how different cultures approach time and communication whether its a Monochronic or Polychronic culture or a Low or High context culture.

What happened later that day after school was quite shocking and dramatic. After my roommate, Margaret, helped me learn how get around the city using the subway, I decided on a whim to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. I first decided to take my time and take pictures of the outside area first before waiting in to go inside. The line was quite long. Half way through the line, about 15 minutes later, most people suddenly started to scatter. Some people ahead of me, with a shocked and frantic look on their face, shouted and waived their arms to tell their group something. I wasn't sure what was going on so I walked up to the entrance to find out what was going on. The church was closed. Nobody around me spoke English, but I was able to figure out from the policewoman guarding the entrance that she did not know what had happened inside the church and she did not know when the church will reopen. That night back at the hotel, I learned what had happened inside Notre Dame from the news: A man committed suicide by shooting himself at the altar. The man, a 78-year-old named Dominique Venner was a far-right activist and historian.


Near Notre Dame is an archeological crypt well worth visiting. I was able to see remains from the late Roman Period till Medieval times. The nearby Latin Quarter with its narrow cobblestone streets was a wonderful place to take a stroll. It contains many souvenir shops and many reasonably priced restaurants.