IAS 380R Les Voisins

Large Cultural Proof

My brother and I were invited to a party with the other people who live in our building. The building has one apartment per floor with 4 floors total. Right below us live a young, unmarried couple, right below them live another young, unmarried couple. And on the first floor I believe there lives a young single girl, but she wasn't at the party and I've never actually seen her. We were casually invited to the party for that weekend one day when we were coming or going from the apartment. They told us we would have light refreshments and drinks and were to come around their apartment at 20h on Friday night. My brother and I had no idea what common courtesy permitted us to bring. Seeing as we are in France, we figured we couldn't go wrong with a baguette and some brie. When we got to the party and entered their apartment, I was surprised to see that the refreshments laid out on the table looked much more American than our baguette and cheese, and I instantly felt a little awkward for bringing it along. But they were of course polite and grateful, and after we snacked on chips, pretzels, and nuts we ate the bread and cheese. Their apartment was of course almost the same layout as ours, except they had one big bedroom and an office space instead of two smaller bedrooms. Their furniture was very modern; a lot of it looked like it could've been from IKEA. They had a huge flat screen tv with mtv, a washer and dryer, and art and posters hanging on the wall. It was all very chic and professional looking.
     Everyone at the party was aged between 20 and 22, and we all got along quite well together and I found myself wishing we had gotten to know them earlier. We talked about schooling; one of the guys was done with school and all three of the others were still students. Two of them were studying tourism, which is obviously a huge industry in France. The guys spoke English better than the girls, but collectively they had a good time trying to communicate with my brother, who speaks very, very little French. We talked about America, which is so glamorous in their eyes. We talked about music and books and technology. After it started to get late, the conversation broke into two groups; the girls on the couch and the guys on the chairs, until the guys left to go do I don't know what on the street. Smoke maybe? Of the four people, 3 of them are smokers. That explains why our bathroom always smells of smoke; it's right above the office space where Violette sends Antoine when he wants to smoke. With just the girls, we talked about all of our studies, their relationships. (The other two girls didn't know each other before this night either.) One couple has been together for 3 years and just moved in together less than a year ago, and the other couple has been dating for 6 years and moved in together almost 2 years ago. That would've made them about 18 or 19 years old at the time. I asked if she thought they would ever get married, and she said she thinks so, eventually. But that seems to always be how it is here; what's the hurry? And with some people they don't even think it's worth the bother at all. Living together unmarried has become so socially acceptable that marriage has no meaning, and is even sometimes scoffed at for being old fashioned or giving in to ancient social pressures.
     The party actually went on later than I cared for it to. We had a fabulous time visiting and speaking French and eating, but I didn't get home until 3am. That's a 7 hour party. We actually ended up going to the other couple's apartment because everyone wanted to see it too, and then at that point they had to offer drinks and snacks as well. Finally I just had to announce that I needed to go to bed. My door was just right there, after all. I got the impression they wanted to see our apartment too; I think they were especially curious to see what the Americans' apartments would look like, but at 3am I wasn't super willing to invite them up, and thought I'll just invite them over another time. I'm sure they'll be disappointed; we are seriously lacking in stars and stripes decor. Maybe we'll have to find an Uncle Sam poster before that time!

FR 311 Vocabulaire 2

1. amount               une somme

2. available            accessible
3. beverage            la boisson
4. care                    le soin
5. commandment   un commandement
6. fasting                le jeûne
7. generous             généreux
8. meal                    un repas
9. needy                  les nécessiteux
10. poor                  pauvre
11. private              privé
12. purpose            le but
13. spiritual            spirituel
14. testimony         un témoignage
15. to bear testimony         rendre témoignage
16. baptismal covenants    les alliances de baptême
17. blessing                        une bénédiction
18. consecutive                  consécutif
19. cost                               le prix
20. fast offering                  une offrande de jeûne
21. prayer                           une prière
22. pure                              pur
23. remission of sins          la rémission des péchés
24. specific                         précis
25. to allow                        permettre
26. to call                           appeler

petits trucs de la culture

Here we go: the stereotypes. This is what everyone wants to know, right? Are the stereotypes about the French true?

I googled "American stereotypes about the French." Here are the most reoccurring themes which I have either confirmed or declared myth:

5. They're all thin.

This one is mostly true. When we first got to Paris, Kyle said, "Where did all these models come from that they let walk around being beautiful and pretending to be normal people?" The girls like to say they're fat though, which makes me chortle. That must be an international girl thing. After I got back from Spain, one of the teachers I work with asked me if I thought the Spanish are in good shape [compared to the French]. I'm pretty sure I know what she wanted me to say haha. But she forgot to take into consideration that I'm American. We eat cheeseburgers three meals a day and ask for fries on the side. I hesitated, so she thought I didn't understand her question and rephrased it. I wanted to say, "Yes, they're healthy. And they look like they could handle a strong wind without being blown away, unlike another nationality I can think of." But I'm pretty sure that answer wouldn't have satisfied.
4. They're lazy.

I would most certainly not say that the French are lazy. I teach several classes full of 9 and 10 year-old perfectionists who whip out their white-out at the smallest error and roll their eyes at me when I skip a line or give them new directions after they've begun something. However, I have to confess that the construction on our street was supposed to be finished in August... Also, I have been waiting for someone to come hook up my internet for nearly six weeks. There's always some random problem. They need to call so and so to come look at this jack or that chord. I didn't answer my phone when they called once, because I couldn't find it in my purse in time. So even though I called right back they have to start all over now and send out the FIRST guy, not the second. So the first guy can tell me the same thing he told me last time: that he needs guys number two to come look. I need to be in my apartment ready, every day, with my phone in case they call and want to come up. My favorite is when they tell me to call from a land line, which I don't have because it comes with the internet, which I most definitely don't have. Yeah. I wouldn't say lazy. Disorganized yes, but not lazy. It's just a different way of life. A different list of priorities. Every meal is savored and enjoyed with loved ones and a table cloth. Every holiday thoroughly celebrated with weeks off work. Life is to be lived, yes? Not to be spent making money for the future when the future may never come. I remind myself of this when I'm internetless.....grr.
3. They are cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Cheese eating, yes. Oooh yes. And they take their cheese very seriously. I find it quite nice actually. It's science and art combined. "Cheese cutting." Can I major in that? I have, however, been given a real live lesson from a real live French guy on how to properly cut cheese. Surrendering, I don't know. They don't walk around with white flags. Maybe they keep them stored away. In the bread basket where it will be easily accessible? Either way, it's fun to exchange surrender jokes with them for fast-food, gun carrying, or Executive Branch jokes.

2. The women don't shave their armpits.

I haven't made a habit of going around and investigating women's armpits. However, I would have to classify this stereotype as a myth. There's this little thing going around lately called globalization. It tends to affect what people consider beautiful and in, and especially influences the youth, who are most likely to sport bare arms. In conclusion, I declare that I have yet to see one woman with unshaven armpits.
1. The French are rude.
If I can emphasize one thing, it is that this statement is most definitely false. Yes, I have met a few unpleasant fellows who don't like Americans, are resentful of American influence and prevalence in France and come across as rude. But these people are few and far between. And, in their defense, it's almost like they are like that because of some deep rooted nationalistic desire to keep French culture alive. American culture may seem threatening when you love your country, your language, your people, and cheese and you turn on the radio to American music and hear the youth speaking English words. You would wonder what's going to happen to the cheese and wine and beautiful words in a few hundred more years. Alright, maybe I'm being a tad sarcastic, but really, I applaud them for wanting to preserve their culture. After all, I am making it my life work to study them and this land and try to understand that culture. I hate the thought of it not being around in the future because we're all speaking English or Spanish or Chinese. The French may be stiff about some things, but if they have a real reason for getting to know you, some association other than buying train tickets or a taxi, they will welcome you with open arms as fast as you will let them. I can think of countless examples. The elderly couple at the bed and breakfast when I first got to France. The old lady who is my stand partner at orchestra. The orchestra conductor. The little kids I teach. Their parents who drive me from school to school. Virtually everyone at church. No, the French are not rude. "The French are like a baguette. Hard on the outside, soft on the inside." They just want to preserve their culture. That's all. So if you waltz into a country sporting a camera, white sneakers, talking about world powers, Apple computers, and McDonald's and wondering loudly why nobody speaks English to you, you probably won't have the greatest reception anywhere, let alone in France.

One more little thing, remember my students with their white-out pens and perfect handwriting? They are little perfectionists. Little perfectionists grow up to be big perfectionists. Most French speak some English, yes. But most French don't speak perfect English. It's very hard for them to butcher a foreign language in front of a stranger. Even the teachers I work with won't speak English around me, and if they must say one or two words, they apologize profusely for how awful their English is. It's a matter of pride, cultural pride or pride of not wanting to embarrass themselves. It is required that all students learn English in school, even when their teachers aren't fully qualified to teach it. It's a very sensitive subject for them because they know they aren't qualified, and yet they are required by law to teach it anyway. If you ever visit France, please try to remember that if they hadn't been so stubborn about preserving their language and culture, the France you visit today would be much different than it actually is. So when they act like they don't speak English, but you know they speak better English than your French, just try to appreciate the rich culture around you that they've worked so hard to preserve in its purest form. And enjoy some cheese :)

IAS 380R Raclette Night

Small Cultural Proof

Last night Adèlie invited me to a raclette dinner at her apartment with 8 of her friends. AND for the first time, I was the only non-French person there :) Raclette is a traditional French meal that I once mistakenly tried to prepare for French friends. After now having eaten it the proper way, I can't blame them for not being impressed with my attempt.

To make raclette:

First of all, one needs the traditional raclette cooker.

The one we used looked sort of like this.

You also need baked potato. And raclette cheese, of course, which is stiff and has crust and doesn't taste very good plain. You turn on your cooker and put the cheese in the cute little individual pans and let it melt.

Then, you need toppings. LOTS of toppings. Trays of meat. Ham, sausage (it's more like pepperoni than anything) and lots of other thinly slices meats.

You can also eat it with these mini pickle things that they eat like candy called courgettes. They asked me how to say courgette in English, but I haven't ever seen them before coming to France so I didn't know! I just said mini pickle or cucumber. I guess it literally translates to zucchini. But these were just little guys. Oh well, close enough.

Et après, you just pour the cheese on your potato et voilà! So good.... :)

Dinner involved a lot of conversation, some I understood, a lot I didn't understand. Every once in a while someone would ask me to say something in English or Adèlie would say something directly to me, which I could understand a whole lot better than all their inside jokes and slang. We talked about Christmas for a while. They wanted to know about Santa Clause and if we have a Père Noël and if we have Christmas trees and stockings and leave out milk for Santa. Their Christmas sounds very similar to ours. The only difference we found is that they don't really put their stockings over the fireplace, but at the foot of the bed, if they do stockings at all. They said it varies family to family. And they knew all about us putting them over our fireplace because they've seen it in all the films haha. Just like everything else. I'm always amazed at how prevalent English and American culture is in France. For example, Adèlie gave a late birthday gift to one of the girls. It was a mug that had the words, "Bright and Early Coffee!" written on it's side. I've decided the only thing more chic than something French in the US is something American in France.

After dinner we played a game called "Times up!" Because the title was in English, of course I was supposed to know the game! Alas, I didn't. The cards had the names of famous people written on them. Mostly French famous people, but a few others like Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Taylor, and Buffalo Bill. You had to describe the person and get your team to guess as many cards as you could in 30 seconds. Needless to say, this game was not my strong point. I would definitly specialize in raclette eating before famous French person guessing. It was fun, nonetheless.

Fr 311 Vocabulaire 1

apartment hunting

1. surface = “size” when referring to square footage
2. un trombone = paperclip
3. chauffage = heat
4. un drap = bed sheet
5. equipée = furnished, but usually only referring to the kitchen. For example, a cuisine equipée could mean there is only a stove top, or it could mean there is a stove, oven, refrigerator, and microwave.
6. meublé = furnished in the sense that Americans would use it. Bed, table, chairs, dresser, etc.
7. une vitre = sheet of glass
8. s’intéresser à = to be interested in
9. la cheminée = fireplace
10. brocante = used store. Could mean an expensive vintage furniture store or something like a DI
11. vide-grenier = yard sale
12. l’oreiller = pillow
13. la taie d’oreiller = pillowcase
14. fleur de tournesol = sunflower :)

Adèlie likes to teach me slang expressions.....

15. manger les mots = to mumble. Literally to eat your words.

16. On-y-partir! or On-y-va! = Off we go!

17. tricher = to cheat (on a test)

18. une cellule = cell (as in cells in living things)

19. de l’argot = slang

20 grâce = thanks (to give thanks) Ex: On grâce de....quelqu’un.... Thanks to...whomever.....we have....blah blah etc. 

21. se sustenter = to eat (extra fancy word, almost eccentric)

22. manger = to eat (normal)

23. bouffer = to eat (familiar, slang, almost crude)

24. À tout à l’heure! = See you next time!

25. Tout à l’heure = a little while ago

FR 311R L'écucation

10. L'éducation
I talked with my new friend, Adèlie, about the school system in France. Adèlie is in her first year of université studying phycology at the Université de Poitiers. It was quite the conversation, and involved a nice mix of mostly French, some English, and full charts and diagrams for me to understand. Their system is a lot different than ours. In France, the organization de la scolarité is organized as follows:

Level                            Age
École maternelle           2-6 (optional)
École élémentaire        
     CP                           6-7
     CE1                         7-8
     CE2                         8-9
     CM1                        9-10
     CM2                       10-11
Collège                        11-15 (Can you imagine 4 years of middle school?! Eww.)
Lycée    
     Seconde                  15-16
     Première                 16-17
     Terminale               17-18

Adèlie explained that in your first year of lycée, 2nde, you take lots of classes in lots of subjects. Sort of like General Education classes. Then in 1ère, your seconde year, you choose one of three tracks: L (littéraire), S (scientifique), or ES (sciences économique et sociales). Also, in 1ère, you take your BAC de français. The BAC, or Baccalauréat, is sort of the French equivalent to the ACT/SAT in the US, but it's state mandated. In terminale, you take the BAC for whatever track you've chosen, and MUST pass with at least a 10/20. Here's the scoring: 12= Assez Bien. 14= Bien. 16= Très Bien. 18= Félicitations du jury. Adèlie scored a 13,8 without studying. She said 3 people from her class of 34 failed.

I heard a little rumor that France is working on changing all of that ^ to make their system more like ours. Interesting.

I also drilled Adèlie on the process of getting into university. She said that if you don't plan on attending a specialized university, your BAC score doesn't matter. You can choose to go to any of the general universities in France. However, if you want to go to a university that specializes in something, medicine for instance, than you need to worry about doing well on the BAC. Adèlie wanted to study phycology, so her passing BAC score would get her into any university that was relevant to her, like Université de Poitiers.

FR311 1. La religion et l'éducation

As my guide walked me to my Wednesday/Friday school, Jules Ferry, we passed several other schools. Most were private Catholic schools. I asked her what she thought about laïcité, the separation in the State of civil society and religious society. She expressed the very strong opinion that schools should not teach religion. If the parents want to teach it at home, that's their business, but like most French, she didn't sound like much of a fan of any kind of religion at all. She said she was much more a supporter of public schools than private ones, since private schools in France tend to be religious.