I hate to use every Sunday as a simple recap of my week in France for you all, but since I don’t get to talk to you nearly as much as I wish, this is the closest thing I get to a conversation with most of you. You should get Skype. But continue to read please.
I also am usually procrastinating on lesson planning each Sunday and quite enjoy updating the blog.
I’ve been teaching French and American stereotypes in two of my classes. One of my students tried to tell me that one stereotype is that French people are hospitable. Well kiddo, either you have your vocab mixed up or you really have no idea that Americans think French people are snooty and rude. (My explanation of “snooty” as a vocabulary word usually involves me walking around the room, trying my best to look important, with my nose in the air). When I told people I was moving to France, the reaction was usually some sort of wrinkled nose and a “but aren’t they mean to Americans?”
Let me take this time to talk about my favorite group of French people I have met thus far, a group who completely refutes this stereotype… the night service bus drivers. I have taken the night bus 3x now, with two positive experiences and one average unremarkable experience. I guess if you are driving a bus late night, sometimes on the club route, you’ve gotta have a good sense of humor. You do not, apparently, need to understand different accents though…My first experience the bus driver got on his microphone to tell the “Italians” that the stop we wanted was coming up… this was after we awkwardly pushed the stop-demand button too soon and no one got off the bus. We then proceeded to shout out our 4 different nationalities on repeat, none of which are Italian, and with a final “Bonsoir!” the doors closed behind us. Good night indeed. The next experience was far quirkier, on our way home from Miss Nantes (which was a far quirkier experience, which I will of course get into later). As a bored bus driver with now 5 people to entertain him, we hear over the microphone… you have accents, where are you from? Again, proud shouts of 4 different nationalities, 5 if you count my English friend who joke-insisted he was Japanese… which sparked comments from the driver such as “The world is living in harmony!” “Peace!” “There is hope for the world; there is friendship, not politics between you!” He then went on to sing a song that none of us knew, was upset that none of us knew it, took a request for “La Marseillase” and proudly and loudly did not sing it properly as he did not know any of the words. We got a little confused, missed our stop, and he let us off in the middle of the street near my beloved dog and now hedgehog sighting field. The French are battling the “we’re unfriendly” stereotype one night bus driver at a time, and I’m glad.
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| I love a good babyhat |
I mentioned Miss Nantes, and I would hate to leave you hanging for details on that once in a lifetime cultural experience. Turns out beauty pageants are about the same everywhere… and I’m not sure I can call myself a feminist anymore after politely clapping for young girls in evening and swim wear as they paraded around on stage. It doesn’t take much to become Miss Nantes, you just have to be able to introduce yourself, wear a pretty dress (or an ugly one, there were some unfortunate clothes in the mix), and look good in a swimsuit and high heels. My favorite parts of the competition: our decision that it was appropriate to eat pastries at this event (provoking a lot of incredulous stares), the “concert” involving performances of Jason Mraz’s “In Yours” and The Black Eyed Peas “I’ve gotta feeling” while the judges made their own big decision and we all applauded the singers ability to pronounce the h’s in these fine songs, and a fashion show that showcased some sexy lacy numbers and featured a few babyhats. We also got to see Miss Nationale, the Beauty Queen of France herself. Our general consensus about the entire thing is that we all have seen prettier French girls out and about in Nantes, we were sad that one of the contestants (one of the Spanish assistant’s students) was pronounced runner up, but pleased that we had gone out of our way to experience an odd little nugget of French culture.
Continuing on in our cultural pilgrimage we visited the Machines, a Nantes tourist attraction, on Saturday afternoon. It’s a museum full of neat machines that humans get to operate, and it’s sea-themed. Science and Animals… I’m sold. Because I jumped up and down like a small child I was chosen to help operate the sea monster- given the task of operating the movement of the eyes, the gills, and also the steam that is meant to give the impression of an angry fire-breathing monster. We also saw the Giant Elephant walk by but all rides were sold out for the day. Heyo future visitors, I bought a yearlong access pass, so guess what we are doing when you are here? 
Earlier in the week my Foyer created a “Lipdub” the idea being that everyone lip-syncs a song and we film a type of music video for it, in one shot. I’m not sorry for polluting some of your inboxes with this video. And I’m not sorry for posting it again here. Go ahead, click it.
Believe it or not, this little gem took quite some time to create. If you do not find it amusing, you can at least see some features of the building I live in, like the small library, the elevator, and the laundry room. We had a few complications seeing as they chose an American song and there are 3 people in the video who speak English. That’s including myself. We also couldn’t hear the music all the time.I wore my silver moon-sneakers for the occasion, cause they are clearly party shoes.
Quick things about this week that are also worth noting:
I got a tv. And I figured out how to connect it to my tv/internet box all by myself. This is a huge feat considering that I am terrible with technology (I don’t know how to turn on the tv at Joseph’s because there are about 4 remotes), and that I did this in a different language. I was not desperate to have television but was offered one from a teacher and it will be good to hear more French. There is a show called “Questions to be a champion” which I think is a little like Jeopardy but with a more original name.
I used Kenny Chesney’s “She thinks my tractor’s sexy” to teach about American Country Music. Watch the music video and imagine that you are learning about country music for the first time. It was far too much fun.
Friday night we were at a bar that was serving a punch/jungle juice, which I thought nothing of until Joseph pointed out that this is a little strange for anything but a house party… but I guess one would also say that the idea of being approached by a man with a plate of crepes, followed by a man carrying a pot of honey and offered a free snack at this bar could be considered a little strange too. Is this real life?
I received a letter from Immigration and my final step to legalizing my presence here is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Yet another official-looking stamp in my passport is just an excused day off work and a quick medical visit away. It will be a relief to be done with this paperwork nightmare.
Enjoy your upcoming Thanksgivings. I am thankful for You! And that you read this. And for France.
Bisous,
Steph
