Catherine de Vivonne would be proud

It is a beautiful thing to be able to sit down and discuss. Discussion is a tried and true form of intellectual enrichment and stimulation, and I am blessed to have found an outlet for informed discussion here in Jerusalem. Luckily, I have to go no farther than my own living room to find this environment. Like the French Salons of old, where learned men gathered to discuss the important issues of the day, my apartment has become the gathering place of fellow students to argue and discuss the great issues of our time. The War on Terror is a frequent talking point, but we also discuss Israeli politics, American politics, current events, wars and rumors of wars, the inadequacies of the American education system, African politics and history, and Palestinian politics, along with many other topics rich in diversity and intellectual stimulation. Catherine de Vivonne was the founder of the first French Salon, and she would be proud of the environment we have fostered in this living space. The group changes slightly every time, but it usually is made up of me, my roommates, a Nigerian friend of ours, and two fellow Americans. We sit in a circle in the living room on couches and chairs around the coffee table and from there the discussion is open. One of my roommates is an unrepentant Zionist, and he gets into some lively debates about the Israeli-Palestinian crisis with the others. My Nigerian friend is consistently dismayed by the fundamental lack of education we Americans receive regarding the African continent (he's got a point). He routinely asks us questions about Africa, and we usually have to shrug sheepishly and say "we don't know". He then teaches us African history so we will no longer be ignorant of an entire continent. We tell him that our education back home focused on American and European history, and for the most part neglects Africa all-together, except to mention slavery and colonization by the European powers. His shock about our fundamental lack of understanding about his culture and his history made me realize how little we're actually taught about the rest of the world back home. These conversations go deep into the night, with no one really wanting to leave once they get started. We stayed up until three in the morning last night talking about Iraq, and I've been woken up in the middle of the night on a couple of occasions by lively discussions taking place down the hall. It is a great environment to be around, and I'm lucky that I'm living where I am.