Ma Vie in France

This month in France took place a rite of passage: the high school baccalauréat. Often translated as ‘high school diploma’, the baccalauréat is the mandatory, nationalized high school exit exam students must take in order to continue with their studies. While nowadays having one’s bac is becoming more and more common (much like having a high school diploma in the United States), for some students it is the first of many exams they will take in their adult lives, in both educational and work contexts. Because not only is right now the end of the baccalauréat, it is also the middle of the ‘concours’ season for many other areas of study. Concours, a word impossible to translate in English, is more or less a competitive exam. Competitive because the results of a concours do not depend on how good you score, but how much better you score than everyone else taking the exam. I’ve had an inside look into two concours going on at the moment, the agrégation in English (an exam to ha...

I started this post on May 8, which is Armistice Day in France to celebrate the end of World War II. I’d like to talk a little bit about how collective memory and history shape our cultural views. World War I and II are something you can’t avoid thinking about when living in France. The first time I stayed in a host family in France (Picardie) in 2005, at the time I was keeping a journal as part of a project. Here’s what I wrote (with a translation): L’histoire : La région de la Picardie était très blessée par la Première Guerre Mondiale et la destruction en résulte de la guerre se voit toujours aujourd’hui dans les villes qui étaient abîmées.  Mon père français me parlait de la peur française envers la guerre, qu’ils ont entendu de leurs grands-parents et leurs grands-parents à eux que la guerre ne produit que des effets négatifs et elle détruit la qualité de la vie.  J’ai trouvé dans ce commentaire un contraste énorme avec l’esprit américain qui représente...

A few weeks ago as I was flipping through the channels of French TV, I came across a documentary called ‘La maladie du pouvoir’ (literally, ‘The power illness’). I figured this would be another French political documentary and wasn’t extremely interested, but I kept it on anyway. The first hour of the documentary got me hooked: starting with Georges Pompidou (president from 1969-1974), the film basically recounted how several French presidents had been severely ill, terminally ill in some cases, and yet their illnesses were kept a secret from the public, and even the president’s families. For Pompidou, the documentary showed how his failing health (due to blood cancer) was becoming more and more obvious in the fourth year of his presidency, but the Elysée (the French equivalent to the White House) continued to deny any rumors of illness. The last images showed Pompidou isolated, exhausted and very ill. His death was announced to a very surprised public, who thought he was ill...

Two weeks ago, a student asked me very earnestly “What do you [Americans] think of the British?” After spending several days in Cambridge, England, I've been thinking more about this question, what really distinguishes Americans from the British, and what we have in common. Trinity College (and the grass you can't walk on) It’s clear that there are ‘cultural’ traits that we share. Food tastes seem similar between Britain and the US, although I think Britain has a worse reputation with the French. Some of the foods that we seem to share, for example are oatmeal (porridge), peanut butter, sliced bread, while there are other definitely British foods that are foreign to the US, like puddings, certain meat dishes, etc. Another similarity I found was that Britain also seems to have the mentality of a ‘service’ culture, somewhat like the US. This can be seen in the fact that stores are open on Sundays and there are many public restrooms (for anyone who doesn't kno...

Ah money and markets. These concepts are always sticky subjects in France. One of the first things I heard about the difference between the two countries is that money is an impolite subject in France, at least in general discussion. French people, on the other hand, often hear that Americans freely talk about money with one another, even with strangers, from their salaries to the price of their cars. From a French viewpoint, America is the epitome of a consumer society. After all, we are the country that brought the world McDonald's, Starbucks, and Apple products. At its best, our competitive capitalism can be seen as an example of American individualism, where every person has a right to seek his/her own wealth. And if big American brands have been imported internationally, then it’s just a result of American ‘pragmatics’ and ingenuity. In other words, some would say that Americans culturally have a special relationship with money that allows them to excel at commercialism ...

As a follow up to my post on les bises, I’d like to talk more about an aspect of French that ties in ideas of language and culture: the tu versus vous distinction, both translated by the pronoun ‘you’ in English. In any French class, you will learn this distinction very early on, and will be told, more or less, that tu is an informal way of addressing someone, whereas vous is formal (or used for plural you, as in ‘you all’). For example, about.com suggests the following uses of each: Tu   is the familiar "you," which demonstrates a certain closeness and informality. Use   tu   when speaking to one ·          friend ·          peer / colleague ·          relative ·          child ·          pet Vous   is the formal "you." It is used to show respec...

Many Americans discover when coming to France that the French have a strong opinion on American politics. Sometimes, the French view can even come off as abrasive or accusatory. It took me a while to figure out that discussing politics here is a national pastime, and that people aren't necessarily always as informed as they appear. Rather, arguing and discussing politics is well, something you learn to talk about. Once at a party this year I had a conversation with a French girl who had spent a year at the University of Pennsylvania. “Young Americans don’t talk about politics…at all!” she exclaimed, implying that this would be a typical topic of conversation for young French people.   So, on this topic and in light of the recent American election, I’d like to take some time to talk about American politics as viewed in France, then on the topic of politics and current affairs in general in France. As I said, French people have a very strong opinion in general about Amer...