Ethics...Travel Reporting....here I come!

Woo hoo! My first day of class...no not really that excited. Having to wake up early to go to class wasn't too fun. The great thing though was that I was able to go to a pâtisserie with Jaime and Lynsey. The little old ladies there were very kind and you could tell they took pride in the pastries they sold because of how great they looked and tasted. 

Class started at 11 am and was not bad at all. I will be working on my first travel reporting story while I am here. The story is about the Eiffel Tower's 120th birthday. The tower just recently got a new coat of paint for the 17th time since 1889. I hope to interview some people at the Eiffel Tower who provide tours and give me some great insight. I'm still looking for stories that are interesting so I may write them to interest the Gainesville Area.

For my ethics class we discussed ethical problems in the media that are affecting us. A major issue at hand is deciding what items to air and which of them not to. An example we shared was occurred in Jacksonville where a killer was holding a person hostage and was demanding that a judge resign for the safety of the hostage. The station was contemplating whether to air the fake resignation and to lie to its viewers. Was this action justified?

I believe it is justified and the station should air the information to save someone's life, then explain to the public of the decision they made and why.

After class we visited le Jardin de Luxembourg and saw a few sights around town. To my luck I got pood on by a Pigeon... I guess it's lucky to have pigeon poop on your back. I also got to experience shopping at a local grocery store. It was difficult enough for me to read things and I had to try just to identify cans by words and images that I could recognize. I think I might of spent 20 minutes trying to find brie fromage (cheese). So I cooked some gnocchi which was quite good. At the grocery stores they don't provide you with bags like they do in the states and charge you if you want one. I advise you to bring a bag with you if you plan on doing groceries in Europe. The fact that the US is headed in this direction is great and by being here I am really thinking of being more eco-friendly. It does not take too much time and effort. 

Night time arrived and it was finally time to let loose. We went to a bar close to le Bastille where we hung out and had a great time. Being with the locals of the area is different and there were times we were denied to enter because they knew we were Americans and sometimes even got some stares.... but that’s ok. I did find a Cuban restaurant/bar in the area. I spoke to some locals to try to get some insight. I got a better reaction from others but that is expected. It all ended up being rather fun... now we are all ready for London!