IAS 380R Une Grande Specatcle: Cendrillon à Valençay

     I went on a little trip to Valençay to visit the château, and stumbled upon a grand local performance of Cinderella! As my mom and I were leaving the chateau, I noticed a poster advertising a dinner/ show even and was informed that it was going to be an incredible performance around the chateau grounds and tickets were on sale just around the corner. Dinner started at 8, complete with an “animation,” and the show would commence at 10 until the final strike at midnight! My mom and I had no idea what we were getting into, but I was absolutely certain we would be the only non-locals there and it seemed a shame to miss the all the hand-made costumes and little local children parading around as fairies after we had already made a two hour drive to the chateau. We were given a ticket for our dinner and another ticket for entry to the spectacle.
    Dinner was set up cafeteria style in an outdoor area that was probably once the barn for the chateau. There were two lines and you gave your meal ticket to the woman at the first line who then gave you a tray with carrots or lentils, a bit of cheese and bread, and a berry crumble cake. You then took your tray to the second line and waited for a man with a giant pot of pork and mushrooms to dish up a few slices. Finally we looked around for a place at the picnic tables under a huge tent where we ate, squished together with French families with their million children and a group of a few dozen people from the old folks’ home. Although everyone was polite, we noticed that people only seemed to mingle within their own various groups. Two men in costumes walked among the tables with medieval instruments, singing love songs to young girls to make them blush and keep everyone else roaring with laughter.
    After the meal, which was of course very good, we filed into rows of chairs in the same barn area and were entertained some more by the same two silly singing men. About 30 minutes later, after the crew had had time to change from their serving food clothes to their performing clothes, the show began. Honestly I wasn’t expecting it to be anything impressive, but when the music started and the actors came out with cheese trays and chickens and brightly colored costumes, I was pleasantly surprised. The costumes and set were mostly medieval, but included a few modern elements that made it a bit quirky and cute. For example, the evil step sisters wore bright pink and neon green, and the step mother wore an illustrious fur coat with ridiculous shoes. After the scene where they all get invited to the ball, the crowd was invited to follow Cinderella and her sisters/mother to another part of the chateau grounds where a little stadium and set were waiting. This was supposed to be the castle. A grand meeting was held here, as well as the ball. Then, after Cinderella and the Prince danced and proclaimed their undying love for each other, the crowd was again invited to move to the lawn in front of the chateau for the wedding and an impressive grand finale.

Analysis:
    Besides the fact that this was an extremely local production, not at all intended for tourists, this turned out to be a very interesting cultural experience. There were two main changes to the plot that I’ve never seen in any other production of Cinderella: 1) her father is still living, and 2) there was an extra scene where all of the ambassadors met with the King and Prince to discuss the plans for the throne and the ball.
    In all the versions of Cinderella I’ve ever known, Cinderella’s father marries the wicked step-mother and soon after dies, leaving Cinderella orphaned and the step-mother free to terrorize Cinderella as she will. In this version, however, Cinderella’s dad doesn’t die. He’s still there, living in the same house with Cinderella, the step-sisters and step-mother, and is very well aware of all the wicked things the step-mother does to Cinderella. However he does absolutely nothing to try and stop her. Cinderella and her father appear to have a close relationship, as in several scenes they share heartfelt conversations. But the mourning Cinderella feels is not for the loss of her father, as in other renditions, but for her mother. She imagines what her life would’ve been like had her mother not passed away when she was young. It was her mother who would’ve kept terrible things from happening to her, not her father.
    I spent the first 30 minutes or so of the story trying to figure out when the father was going to die. But he never did! He simply allowed the step mother to make Cinderella a servant and let himself be bossed around by her plenty as well! I wondered how any father would allow that, and why the people who put on this play and those watching it apparently had no problems with a father letting his daughter be turned into a servant by his new wife. Is there no respect for fathers among this crowd? Are fathers not expected to protect and defend their children? As my mother and I sat throughout the evening, we noticed in at least four instances, a young woman, alone with a child and a cell phone which she would constantly pull out of her purse to look at. None of them wore wedding rings. Were they checking their phones to see why the father hadn’t shown up? Or had he been gone so long that they were anxious to know what was going on with their friends that night, what they were missing because they had taken their child to see a show? No matter what the story was, it’s clear an epidemic is going on; children born to unwed parents, and a few years later, the father is nowhere to be found. Maybe this is why no one batted an eye at the father who let his step-wife make his daughter sleep in the fireplace; nothing more is expected of him.
    The second interesting change in the story was the meeting with the ambassadors. Everyone was there; the ambassador of patisseries, the ambassador of snails, the ambassador of cycling, etc. Every group was represented, and everyone had their say! It was all about the people. At first they discussed very animatedly what would happen to the thrown, since the prince was unmarried. Then they decided they would wait until the ball to make a decision, to give him a chance to find a bride. With a ball to plan, they all gave their two cents as a reporter went around and asked them what contribution they were going to make to the ball!
    What a wonderfully enlightening, spur of the moment night it turned out to be. A château, delicious food, beautiful costumes, and fireworks to top it off!

IAS 380R Orchestra

Large Cultural Proof
Orchestre de l'Université de Poitiers

      The day that I rented my apartment there was a huge event going on at the quare in front of Hôtel de Ville. Several events, actually, one of which involved the big white doors of Hôtel de Ville being wide open. I wandered in to see what was going on, and to my utter delight, I found a small orchestra playing at the base of a huge staircase, the staircase filled from top to bottom with a choir. The performance was mediocre, which also made me happy, because I knew the chances of me being able to join were slimmer if it was really a prestigious group. At the end of the performance, I asked around and was led to a man who enthusiastically told me they were they Orchestre de l’Université de Poitiers and they would love another violinist! I told him I hadn’t brought my violin with me because I didn’t think it would get much use, but I could have my parents bring it when they came for Christmas. He said they had one on hand I could borrow until I had my own. I filled out some papers and anxiously anticipated our rehearsals every Tuesday night from 20:30 to 22:00.
    Orchestra turned out to be one of the most fulfilling adventures during my time here in Poitiers. I was instantly impressed by how warm and friendly everyone was. My brother, Kyle, ended up joining too, which was I think even better for him than it was for me, as he wasn’t working like I was and didn’t have many structured social activities. Of course it was a challenge for him to be social without speaking French, but everyone was so nice and there was usually someone in the cello section who spoke English.
    The director, Augustin, was an older, jolly man with sheet white hair and a large belly. He was always smiling and when he asked someone to play a specific section of music, he always told them it was great, before making suggestions. Definitely a very different atmosphere from the ultra competitive orchestras I’ve always been a part of. Of course the result of this laid back feeling was that people didn’t practice, including myself, and thus we never sounded very wonderful. I did miss that about my old orchestras; that chill that runs up and down your spine when you can feel the vibrations among all the string sections and you suddenly realize, “Dang. We sound good.” But I was there more for the cultural aspect.
    My stand partner, Dominique, was an older woman, maybe in her mid sixties. She was very very sweet, and also a little bossy at times, which I found a bit endearing. She would often tap our German concertmaster, Philip, on the shoulder and ask him about changing the bowings because she’d found a better way to do it. Philip was our concertmaster, and he was studying premed at the university and working on improving his French. His English turned out to be even better than his French. Cédric was assigned to drive my brother and I home to centre ville after rehearsals because the buses stopped running that late. Cédric immediately took the task to heart and offered to pick us up and take us to orchestra as well. He turned out to be one of our best friends in Poitiers, and I always looked forward to our talks with him to and from rehearsal. Cédric is 30 years old, born and raised in Poitiers. So were his parents. And their parents. And their parents..... He knows everything about Poitiers, and in the car he would often point out, “That tower there on the round about is Roman,” or this wall here was built by the Gauls.” He was always a wealth of knowledge, and I often asked him questions about grammar or conversation.
    The orchestra was comprised of about half student aged people, the other half older people from the community. It was a nice mix and everyone brought a little something extra to the group. No other activity besides church had I felt so included and welcome so quickly. Maybe that’s because those are the only two places where I’ve noticed people “tutoyer” everyone else right away. I think it promotes a sort of unity and fellowship that can’t exist as quickly while “vousvoyer”-ing.

FR 311 Vocabulaire 7

1. un radiateur soufflant   fan heater
2. une boite à fusibles       fuse box
3. d'eau douce                   fresh water
4. d'eau salée                    salt water
5. dissoudre            to dissolve
6. une joue              cheek
7. un dock               dock
8. une jument          mare
9. une galipette        summersault
10 un moustique      gnat OR mostquito
11. qui fait grossir    fattening
12. à la tienne!         cheers!
13. un coquelicot     poppy
14. la galette            vomit (l'argo)

Bless you, when someone sneezes:
15. A tes souhaits    1st time: to your wishes
16. A tes enfants      2nd time: to your children
17. A tes espoirs      3rd time: to your hopes
18. ne guère             hardly
19. ne point             not at all
20. militer               to campaign
21. dou dou             child's favorite stuffed animal/ soft toy
22. les décombres   rubble
23. les gravats         rubble (non countable)
24. les déblais         rubble (usually earth)
25. l'éboulis             rubble

FR 311 Vocabulaire 6

1. des baguettes - chopsticks
2. une limite de vente - sell by date3. une natte - pigtail
4. une queue-de-cheval - ponytail
5. la cuche - ponytail en bretagne
6. la couette - parisienne ponytail
7. un oreiller - pillow
8. les drapes - sheets
9. taie d'oreiller - pillowcase
10. le matelas- mattress
11. la table basse  - coffee table
12. un tapis - rug
13. table de nuit avec ses tiroirs - night table with drawers
14. les appareils ménagers - home appliances
15. le four à micro-ondes - microwave oven
16. le réfrigérateur - refrigerator
17. congélateur - freezer
18. l’aspirateur - vacuum cleaner
19 un plafond- ceiling
20. le sol - floor
21. le plancher - (wood) floor
22. le carrelage - (tile) floor
23. saisir - to grab (a person)
24. la semoule - semolina
25. le pois chiche - chick peas

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.

FR 311 Vocabulaire 5

1. en haut         up high 
2. en bas          down low 
3. un ruisseau  stream
4. tisser            to weave
5. la tôle          sheet metal
6. à chuchoter   to whisper
7. à tousser       to cough
8. à éternuer     to sneeze
9. l'herbe          grass
10. un oeuf dur hard          boiled egg
11. un oeuf poché              poached egg
12. un oeuf sur le plat        fried egg 
13. une posologie               dosage
14. pompe de vélo              bike pump
15. pondre                          to lay
16. poney                           pony
17. presque jamais             hardly
18. galoper                      to gallop
19. une passerelle           gangway (ship)
20. un couloir                 gangway (bus/ aeroplane)
21. une allée                   gangway (in theater)
22. l'ail                            garlic
23. Fahrenheit                Fahrenheit
24. Celsius                      Celsius
25. un riz cantonais        fried rice