Updated Look!

I got an email from 'Blogger' saying that they added new graphics/backgrounds etc. to choose from, so I thought I'd give it a try. This was my final result - I think the map background fits nicely with my travels! Hope you enjoy it :)

Love and miss you all!

The Countdown Continues....

LESS THAN TWO MONTHS!!!!!!!

until I can:

- see my family

- see my friends

- drive my car

- eat cottage cheese whenever I want

- understand the measurement system

- drink some real iced tea

- speak English all day long

- not have to worry about strikes (there was ANOTHER today by the way)

- drink Starbucks

- not spend 100 dollars on shoes/pants

- use my Sonicare toothbrush

- get my haircut

- go to the Cheesecake Factory

- spend a US dollar

- call people instead of sending emails all the time

- go to Westminster Presby

- take care of my garden

- watch Law and Order

- eat cereal that isn't chocolate or granola

- sleep with sheets on the bed and with a memory foam pad

- have a bigger variety of clothes

- eat peanut butter, LOTS of peanut butter

- buy an American salad with lots of yummy stuff on top

- get normal tasting vanilla ice cream

Ohhh and the list goes on.....

Start Off the Day on the Right Foot!

Every morning, I wake up to delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice (thanks Pascale!). And yes, it is OJ and not blood. There are these strange Italian oranges that are red in color. They taste exactly the same though. I am spoiled rotten....who is going to do it for me when I'm back in the US? Volunteers?

FRENCH VS. AMERICAN CULTURE – Public vs. Private

This is a compilation of excerpts from the book Sixty Million Frenchman Can’t Be Wrong. At the end are a few of my own contributions in regard to the French view of Public vs. Private.

Excerpts:

We had been in the country long enough by this time to know some rules about conversation. Questions we consider polite, to the point of being banal, are sometimes considered rude in France – especially, “What do you do?” or, “What’s your name?” We had learned that you should extract names and occupations indirectly by talking about other things like politics, culture, arts, or anything related to food. So when it was time to leave, we got ready to say, “We are very sorry to end this conversation and hope we can pursue it on another occasion,” a technique that had often produced the desired result. There are other ways to get people’s names. Though it sounds precious and formal to our ears, you can ask, “What should I do to have the pleasure of speaking to you again?”

This resitance to offer names may be one reason the French are so often accused of being aloof. Yet these incidents had nothing to do with lack of hospitality. Perfect strangers had invited us into their homes, spent entire afternoons entertaining us, and offered us the use of their cars. The misunderstanding over introductions comes from different notions of privacy. Americans and the French simply have entirely different ideas about what information you share with strangers, and what information you don’t share. Conflicting notions of privacy make the behavior of one seem inappropriate to the other.

By privacy, we don’t mean the issue of legally protecting personal information. We’re not even talking about ideas of personal space, though the French are clearly less finicky than North Americans are about physical proximity to strangers. By privacy here we mean each culture’s intuitive sense of what’s intimate, and what’s public. For instance, North Americans freely discuss names and occupation in public, but these things are considered extremely private matters in France. The French freely kiss and argue in public, while North Americans consider it more appropriate to do these things in private.

-friends: making friends in France is much more difficult then elsewhere. French people are extremely closed when you first meet them so it makes it hard to connect. This goes along with the coconut vs peach comparison that I used earlier in the year. French people are like coconuts (hard to get to know at first, but once it is open, they are an open book) and Americans are peaches (easy to get to know at first but then have a hard center). I actually find that the French are more like mangos - impossible to peel on the outside, soft and yummy, and then have a large and extremely hard center.

-window shutters: everyone has window shutters or 'volets' and everyone uses them. They aren't just for decoration like in the US. This is to add to the privacy of their homes.

-money: An extremely taboo topic. It just isn't discussed. Neither is religion or politics. Maybe somewhat inside of families but even then it would be a slightly tense conversation.

-lives of politicians: In the US and G. Britain, the lives of celebrities and politicians are always plastered all over the news and the tabloids. They still have tabloids in France but not to the extent that we do. They think their lives should be kept private and all that matters is how good of a politician/singer/actor they are.

-public disagreements (in couples and between countries): This one is almost the opposite than what you'd think for France. It is almost normal for couples to have disagreements in public since it is 'part of life.' This is the same with relations between France and other countries. They say exactly what is on their mind - part of the reason why France and the US have had strained relations in the past. They feel no need to keep up pretenses.

-the ‘bises’: this has to do more with physical space. When girls greet girls to say both hello and goodbye, or guys and girls greet each other, they give each other the 'kisses' (where you kiss each cheek). Guys shake hands to say hello and goodbye (there are rare exceptions where guys give the 'bises'). It is the polite thing to do since it acknowledges the other peoples presence. To Americans this may seem like a violation of space, but to French people, hugs are a violation of space. French people also will stand very close to you. I've been in situations where I end up against the wall because I keep moving back and the French person keeps getting closer. You'd think they'd get the message!

Well, this is a topic I could talk about for quite awhile. I find there are some things that are positive about being more private and some things that are quite destructive. It is one of the the biggest differences between the two cultures. Well, I have touched on this before, so I'll keep it at that! Have a great week!

P.S. The majority of you were correct - 29 countries speak French! It was 30 until about a month ago when Rwanda changed their official language from French to English.

A Cold Day in Angers.

This past Sunday I went to Angers, a small city about 30 minutes east of Nantes. Most things are closed on Sundays, but because it was the first Sunday of March, all of the museums and historical sites were free. Laura, Ali, and I decided to take the day (even thought it was bitterly cold with horrible wind!) to go see the cathedral, the art museum, and the castle. It ended up being quite a fun day, despite the weather, and I hope to go again in the future when the flowers start to bloom in the city's infamous gardens!

There was a cool car show going on while we were there. Anything from Lotus' and Vipers to old British taxis and Porsches. It was fun to see!

My favorites were the old cars. Maseratis and Lamborghinis are cool and all - but not my first choice!

Me in front of Maison d'Adam - the oldest house in Angers, dating from the end of the 15th c.

Ali and Laura in the courtyard of the castle.

All the chairs and prayer benches look like this and France. Looks comfortable, doesn't it?

A view of Angers and the cathedral from the top of the castle.

Part of the 13th c. castle from the outside. Its appearance is much different from that of Nantes' more recent castle.

The courtyard of the castle.

The original entrance into the castle. This castle is also known for housing one of the most magnificent tapestries. We were fortunate enough to see it. It is absolutely enormous. It took a total 7 years to make which is incredibly fast for such a work. Here is a link to see it: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapisserie_de_l'Apocalypse . I can't find anything written about it in English. The first picture on this link only shows ONE HALF of the tapestry.

Here is a wiki link with more details about Angers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angers

Overall, I thought it was a very nice city. It's small and quaint but lots of commotion as well. I still prefer Nantes, but it was a nice day trip!

Next on the trip list: Lyon, Marseille, Prague, then Vienna! Hmm, what else can I cram into 2.5 months?!

Countdown Begins!

Many people have been asking me when I'll be home, so for those of you that are still curious, I will be back the afternoon of May 20th. That means that as of today i have TWO MONTHS AND TWO WEEKS until I am back on American soil!

The past month and a half passed very quickly so I'm thinking this next 2.5 months will pass even faster. I also have lots of little trips to pack in during the good weather which will make it a fun filled 2.5 months. I am going to Angers, Lyon, Prague (Czech Republic - some Rhos are studying there!), Vienna, Marseille (to see Mathilde) and possibly Normandy. I guess I better start on my travel guides!

See you all mid-May!

I thoroughly dislike disorganization.

Today I got to school around 10h30 to prepare for my 11am class. Got there and no students showed up. Slightly vexed, I marked all of them absent and then went back to the teacher's lounge. Fortunately, I had things to do but I already have a break between every class on Mondays, so I was planning to save those activities for then. I said something to a teacher since she was surprised I was back so fast. Her response? "Oh! Didn't you know? The foreign language oral exams are this week for seniors! Almost all of our schedules were changed. You should have been given a piece of paper about it." Did I get one? No. So, I went to three different secretaries AND to the assistant principal all who said either that they couldn't help me or that my schedule didn't change, thus why I didn't receive a paper. Content with the answer, I prepared for my next class at 1pm. Fortunately I had this group of kids - unfortunately they are one of the most disrespectful classes I have. After my 1pm class I had another break from 2pm-3pm. I started to run out of things to do since I had already had a two hour break. The bell rang, I went to my 3pm class and guess what? Cancelled because of the oral exams. So, I could have left at 2pm, but instead I twiddled my thumbs for an hour for a non-existent class.

All of this to say, French schools are INCREDIBLY disorganized. There are constantly problems with organization - you may be assigned to one classroom (you change every class), arrive, and there is another teacher in your class. Or there will be a class field trip but none of the teachers will be aware of it. Or, or, or -I could give tons of examples.

On top of that, most French people stereotype that Americans go to school a lot less than they do and that our education is quite bad. Yes, they do have higher scores than us in math and reading and yes they are at school from 8am-6pm (except on Wednesdays), but no, we are not illiterate and we have the same number of hours of school/week that they do. The only reason they have school from 8am-6pm is because of the extreme disorganization. Students will have 2 or 3 hours breaks (total) during the day because teachers have to wait for an available room or because they just don't know how to schedule. This ruins almost all chances for them to be able to do an after-school sport everyday (or play an instrument/do theater etc) since they have to go home, do their homework, eat, then go to sleep.

I really like France, but sometimes, I can't help but want to scream out in complete dismay and frustration.

Oh yea, and P.S. French people are allowed to work a max of 35 hours/week. And they get 5 weeks of vacation/year. Nice, huh? For those that do work more hours, like Marco's mom, they get 'paid' through days of vacation. France was voted the country with the highest standard of living for a reason! Maybe they should receive a few more awards as well....