Not Quite France

Our French language professor reminded us last week that Paris is not France, just as New York City is not the United States.  Yes, it is a part of the country, but it does not define the whole of it.  Thus we should not judge the whole country on our experiences in one city.

In some ways, I do not feel like we are getting a "French" experience.  Burke's classes are all taught in English with professors from England, America, Cambodia and Middle Eastern.  They consist of an international conglomeration of students from China, Iraq, Africa, Mexico, Western Europe, the U.S, Slovakia, etc...with just a handful of actual French students.  At Cite Universitaire it is primarily international housing and on our hallway alone we have "neighbors" from Algeria, Venezuela, England, Chile, Florida and Korea.  It should be no surprise to me that in a city this large we are meeting people from so many different nationalities, but it makes it difficult to feel like we are coming to understand the French and their way of life when we have few interactions with the native citizens.

That's why, although there are endless things to see and do in Paris, we look forward to our trips to other regions of the country coming up in the next couple of weeks.  Burke's classmate Fred is native French and his family lives in the south, graciously inviting us to come and stay for a weekend.  I'm really excited to spend time with them to observe their family and a more rural lifestyle.  

Fred ate dinner with Burke and I a couple of nights ago and we had a great talk about some of the primary differences between the United States and France.  I was shocked when he said he preferred living in the US and plans on returning to southern Utah when the program is over.  I had always heard that the French were immensely proud and snobbish about their country and asked Fred about this.  He waved his hand and said, "Of course, I am very proud to be a Frenchmen.  Ze French love zeir culture, but we do not necessarily love our country."  He explained that when he first came to SUU, he was shocked when everyone stood for the national anthem, took off their hats and placed their hands over their hearts.  "Hardly anyone in France even knowz our ansem (he can't pronounce the "th" sound...it's pretty funny) and if you were to hang a French flag from your window, people would be angry and would call you racist."  He said he admires that the U.S. has such a strong spirit of patriotism and love for the country.  

It was really neat to hear praise for our country coming from Fred, because before coming here I had bought into the stereotype that the French hate Americans, etc.  Besides a few pushy people on the metro, we have not found that to be true at all.  People are generally happy to help point you in the right direction and we are feeling more at home and safe here with every passing day.  However, as we talked I felt a little swelling of pride and love for our wonderful homeland.  Sure, things are a bit rocky economically and politically in our country right now.  We are certainly not perfect and there are problems to fix, but from all of the places I have lived and visited, I am still convinced there is no greater place to live on earth.  We are so blessed to live in a land of freedom, to speak the most prominent language in the world and to have countless opportunities for success at our fingertips.  I love traveling and I love all we are learning, but I have to say that above everything else...I love America!