IAS 380R School Lunchtime Culture

    For the duration of my work contract here in France, twice a month I went out to the countryside and taught for a full day in two of the primary schools. I spent the morning at one school and in the afternoon was bussed off by one of the teachers to the other school. In between the morning and afternoon is one of the most important rituals in French culture: lunch.
    The opportunity to eat a full start to finish meal with a group of overly dramatic and extremely liberal young teachers twice a month never ceased to fascinate me. There was always something to complain about, someone to gossip about, or someplace they would rather be during the sophisticated series of 6 courses.
    We started with the entée, which was usually some kind of salad of couscous, potatoes, rice, sometimes beets, shredded carrots, or lentils. And always the bread. The bread doesn’t leave the table. Every single one of those teachers would finish her entrée and then take a piece of baguette and wipe that plate sparkling clean. When everyone, or nearly everyone has finished the entrée, it’s on to the main course, or the plat.
    The plat was normally a piece of meat, plain, individually packaged, and then in another package was something with some sauce. For example we might have a chicken breast, and then on the side ratatouille or pasta. Then there was the cheese. Always some cheese, presented as a single slice in a plastic sealed container like all the other courses. It was often a more mild cheese, as these are the same meals the kids are fed. Emmental, brie, or compté. It always seemed like a lot of food to me, and by dessert (a banana, fromage blanc, yogurt, pudding cup, etc.) I was feeling really stuffed and wondering how these women are so thin if they eat like this every day and don’t bat an eye. I eventually concluded that this meal must be at least 70 percent of their daily calories, and breakfast and dinner are almost nonexistent. After dessert they got out the mugs, tea, hot water, and chocolate, cookies, or candy and munched on that, all the while gossiping about students or parents or administrators or their English assistant. (Just kidding about that last bit. At least not that I ever caught on to....)
    I don’t know why I ever doubted that lunch in the schools would be from 12:00 to 2:00, when the whole country (Paris not included) shuts down promptly at noon for lunch. The eating habits of the French are so engrained in them that of course they learn the habits as soon as they are old enough to eat solid food. Most of the kids eat at school in a small room where they are given glass dishes and little packaged meals that are prepared down the street a little ways. A handful of them got picked up by their parents. A two hour lunch for a bunch of little kids seems like a lot to me, and since the teachers are on break too, it’s the lunch lady who takes care of them during this time. In the states, the lunch lady doesn’t have a whole lot of interaction with the kids; she just organized the food and sets it out while teachers usually take turns on lunch duty. But at these two schools, the lunch lady does all of that and then watches the kids during their recess time until 2. Because their lunch break is so long, consequently the day goes until nearly 5pm, which seems like a very long day for some of these kids, the youngest being 3 years old. But the most important meal of the day can’t be cut short, so those little ones will just have to learn to make it through!

FR 311 American Influence in France

I have asked many people over the duration of my stay in France what they think of American influence in French culture. I thought I would find some people who are very opposed, who think that American culture is taking over and is sure to eventually swallow up their beloved French traditions. However I haven't yet found such an opinion. My samples probably aren't a good representation of the entire population in France (I haven't asked anyone over the age of 50) but everyone I've asked actually likes it. First I asked some university students, who, as predicted, say that French music stinks, American or British media is much more riveting. Although they take great pride in classic French cinema from time to time, they prefer American films. I once had a woman tell me that in American films there is a guaranteed "happy ending." Not so with French films.
     I also asked a group of five elementary school teachers aged from late twenties to their fifties. I was more surprised by their response: if it's better than what France has to offer, it's okay. They were fine with American influence, welcomed it even, if it brought faster and better or more convenient ways of doing things. Chineese influence, however, they were not so okay with. They expressed concern that France is producing fewer and fewer products, importing more and more things from China. The products from China are never the same quality as those made in France. It's cheaper, but it's not better, and so they do not welcome that change. At least not openly, even if they support the industry by buying a cheaper set of dishes that was made in China rather than a more expensive set that was manufactured in France.