As I was about to leave my fieldsite in April 2011 \u2014 almost two years ago now, I’m sorry to see \u2014 I have a conversation that goes like this:<\/p>\n
“I’ve had shallow relationships with people,” I lament to one of my closer comrades among the philosophy faculty. “J’aurais voulu pouvoir comprendre les vies des gens, comme un romancier, mais \u00e7a a souvent rest\u00e9 superficiel.”\u00a0I would have wanted to be able to understand peoples’ lives, like a novelist, but it often stayed superficial.<\/em><\/p>\n
“Mais c’est comme \u00e7a que les gens se connaissent eux aussi,” responds M. But that’s exactly the way that\u00a0people here \u00a0know each other. <\/em>And he adds: “Le seul ami avec qui j’ai des \u00e9changes hors d\u00e9partemental, c’est B., avec qui je discute des choses personnelles…”\u00a0The only friend who I talk about non-departmental stuff is B., we talk about our personal lives…<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n