USA from the eyes of a Frenchie

I have discussed differences between the US and France numerous times in this blog, but sometimes it's easy to forget that the US has weird culture things too. That's why I decided to jot down some thoughts that my boyfriend had about the US when he visited during Christmas vacation.

A few are quite obvious, but some are surprising.

"Everything is big in America"

Julien took pictures of passing SUVs and tractor trailers. He oogled big-wheeled hunting trucks that pulled up next to us at stoplights. Though he thought the vehicles were "awesome and beautiful" he said he wouldn't want to pollute as much as he was certain these cars do. Drinks from restaurants are big, portions too (imagine his surprise when he was served his meal at the Cheesecake Factory, notorious for its enormous portions!)

Everything is Cheaper in America!

Understatement of the year. Not only is the Euro doing great against the dollar, but things ARE just cheaper. Clothes, food, electronics, are so much cheaper (if you compare prices as if the euro and the dollar were equal, there is still a vast difference). So he went home with lots of goodies, needless to say.

And we have 24 hour stores!! Julien wanted to look at the price of Ipods, and was rushing me to leave so we could get to the store before 7:30 (closing time in France). I told him not to worry, and around 10pm we went to Walmart, where first Julien was overwhelmed by the size, and second kept asking about the employees' well beings (well what if they want to spend the night with their families? they are so nice and happy, even though they have to work the night shift!).

Obesity

One billboard really bothered him. It was on I-40 east, a sign for Sheetz advertising a burger. It had an obviously overweight man with a ginormous burger in hand, approaching an open mouth. This upset him because it was in a way perpetuating obesity and bad eating habits. In France you would have a billboard promoting 5 fruits and vegetables a day, and if it were advertising something harmful to your health, best believe that there would be a disclaimer that says avoid snacking between meals, or exercise daily. Julien noticed that there were more overweight people in NC than in DC, and said that he can understand the obesity problem because the food in the US is so good, but so bad for you.

Old people eat at fast food restaurants

With a strong desire to share American hamburgers with Julien, I took him to Wendy's, which had a ridiculously long drive-thru line, so we went inside. In front of us, there were a few elderly gentlemen, who clearly frequented this particular Wendy's, because the cashier struck up a conversation with them, and knew their orders. Once outside, Julien said that he was really surprised by the clientele in Wendy's. He said that old people in France hate fastfood places, and would never get caught in one. I think this probably stems from the pride in French cuisine and the belief that McDonalds = globalization/loss of culture.

American public bathrooms

Julien emerged from the bathroom at a museum and said, "crucial flaw with the American toilets: you can see people's feet and there is at least 2 inches of space between the door and the wall, so that people can see you!" It then dawned on me that all the toilets in France have real doors and the only way to know if a stall is occupied is to knock or try the handle, whereas in the US all one must do is squat a little to see if you see legs to know if it's occupied. What a funny observation!

Office Life

I took Julien to my mom's office, toured him around, introduced him to everyone, and a little chat with mom's boss about the history of Winston Salem. Upon leaving, Julien said he was in a state of shock. Never would one enter their parent's workplace with such ease and comfort as that in France! The workplace is for work, not for socializing, and if you did take a break like that, perhaps your pay could be docked. It's not an informal environment at all. I thought this was funny, and believe that it is surely due to the fact that the French don't work that much in the first place, so I guess they better work hard during they hours they are at work! :)

Clothing

Sweatpants and tennis shoes. Though an outfit I wouldn't normally wear in public, I don't find it particularly distasteful or bizare, but Julien was quite shocked. He kept pointing out older gentlemen donning such outfits ("young people attire" he called it), such as baggy pants, white tennis shoes, and baseball hats. He said that you would not find older men in France wearing such outfits, ever. Guess it's something I never noticed before.

Racism

Of course France has it's own problems with racism, but it doesn't have a history that is so entrenched in it as ours. I gave Julien a brief history of the civil rights movement, to explain to him why the wounds are still fresh (he was appalled to know that this only happened forty years ago, and that there are still plenty of die-hard racists in the US!) In the Museum of American History, he was disturbed by pictures of slaves being beaten and flogged. He kept muttering "how could people do this to others?..." I think he understands now, why it was such a big deal to have elected a Black president.

Religion

The first full day Julien had, a Sunday, we toured Winston-Salem. He commented that there were not many people on the streets, and then immediately noticed a trend: every church parking lot that we passed was chock full of cars. Ah behold, the most religious Western nation! One must remember that despite (or because of) France's long tumultous history with religion, there are very few church-going adherents. If someone is self-named religious, then they are more than likely to be Catholic. I of course had to explain to Julien why we had so many churches; first because there are more church-going folks, and because most people in the south are protestant and protestant is just a big ol' branch of christianity with tons of smaller branches (read Methodist, Bapitist, Episcopal, Lutheran, etc). I also explained to him the role religion plays in politics (i.e. the religious right, abortion and homosexuality seen through the eyes of religion) which of course surprised him as France is actually strictly separation of church and state (though we too say we are) and you would never hear a politician saying "God bless France."

On the highway in Virginia, we passed a billboard that said "ex-gays, they are proof that you can do it too!" or something along those lines, advertising a preacher's ability to convert gays to heterosexuals. Julien said that although there are certainly people in France that are homophobic, one would never find something like this on the side of the road. It was appalling to me too, though I suppose it's freedom of speech at its best.

Both this example and the ones on racism bring up an important question: sure the US has its bigots and hate, but perhaps it's better that we are open about it (i.e. billboards) instead of hiding it like the French? I am not sure which is worse.

And so, touring a Frenchie around taught me a bit about the interesting aspects of my culture that I overlooked or forgot about in comparison to his.

Pictures!

Christmas Vacay

Thanksgiving and Christmas in France

French stereotypes de-bunked

Warning: To break stereotypes may just create them, so I hope to not offend anyone with any of my statements. These are just simple observations.

Myth: The French are smelly and unclean.

Reality: Recently Julien turned to me and asked in an upset voice why foreigners, especially Americans, think that French people don’t bathe and are dirty. I told him I didn’t know, but the question really made me think. All the French people I know are extremely clean and care a lot about their hygiene. Once Julien and I and a couple of friends went to a housewarming party in Paris. We stayed the night and the next day everyone took a shower before we left. I was surprised; we only stayed there for a few hours, why would I take a shower in someone else’s house, especially when I didn’t even bring a change of clothes? The Frenchies were quite surprised that I didn’t want to take a shower. Plus, how could French people smell bad, didn’t they invent perfume? Hello, ever heard of Coco Chanel?

So I guess the only place I could think that such a stereotype could originate is perhaps from the Paris metro, where I have smelled an assortment of body odors, which I assumed originated from the homeless.

Myth: French people have no work ethic.

Reality: Well, the French DO strike a lot. Julien’s friend, Tichou (mentioned before) just spent the entire weekend sleeping in his car in order to block the entrance to the factory where he works. They were protesting job cuts. The French only work 35 hour weeks, most don’t work on Sundays and some don’t work on Mondays. The un-employed get lots of benefits, so much so that a woman in Nice told Mom and me that these benefits often encourage people to quit their jobs. Five weeks of vacation, at least, plus more government holidays (like labor day and armistice day) than us. And their holidays don’t always fall on Mondays like ours conveniently do, so they often get extra long vacations (like this year 14 July, their national day, fell on a Thursday, so people didn’t go back to work until the following Tuesday). Trying to get anything done in August? Good luck, as more than half of the country is on vacation for the entire month.

The director of my program said to me “You know, the French administration…” and rolled her eyes. That is the understatement of the year. Sometimes I wonder if the administration is inefficient on purpose. Excessive paperwork should be France’s motto; to register a long stay visa, you send off a paper with your address and information to the Office of Immigration who then sends you another paper to fill out which you then send to them and they send you a “document of receipt.” HELLO, haven’t these people heard of computer databases? It’s the same system to get reimbursed for healthcare and housing assistance, sometimes even more time consuming. Not to mention that the various departments and authorities don’t inform one another of important changes in their system (i.e. when the Office of Immigration decided to stop issuing residency permits and instead issue long-stay visas). Complaints seem to go unheard as the French just accept it with a “c’est la vie.”

This one, you decide.

Myth: French is spoken with lots of idiosyncrasies that are quite humorous. And they are overly proud of their language.

Reality: A stereotypical French character waves their hands when they talk, says “Oh la la la” every few sentences, and takes long exaggerated pauses between words. They also wear a striped sailor shirt, black beret and red scarf. Funny enough, that description is accurate, except for the silly outfit. The first time I heard Julien and his friends use “oh la la la” in a conversation I burst out laughing. It’s our equivalent of “oh man” or loosely “oh my gosh” As in when you would tell a story (“I was walking down the street when I saw this man punch his companion in the face. Oh man, it was crazy!”) Or if you are complaining about something (You: “I was sick until 5 in the morning.” friend: “oh man, that sucks!”) Despite its frequent usage I just can’t bring myself to do it without laughing.

On the other hand, the over-usage of “um” and “uh” mid-sentence I have adapted. It makes more sense for me to use it because I am actually searching for the words when I speak, but I tell myself maybe French people are too; it’s hard to remember whether a noun is masculine or feminine or if a verb needs to be in the subjunctive. “Quoi” at the end of sentences is another quirk which might throw off someone who isn’t familiar with it (“Why is everyone asking ‘what’ at the end of their sentences??”) I think it translates roughly to our use of “like” or “whatever” in informal conversations.

As far as pride goes, there are probably people who would berate me for saying “un e-mail” instead of “un courrier electronique,” but it hasn’t happened yet. French people will of course correct me if I make mistakes, but it’s never in a mean way and they don’t usually call me out (unless I have made a grave error, like when I asked Julien if he had any single male friends for my male friend when I wanted to ask if he had any single male friends for my female friend.) In fact, recently I have been getting many compliments on my French; twice in the same day people told me that I have practically no accent. When that happens I sometimes wonder if I am too harsh on the French when they try to speak English, because their accents are bad enough for them to ruin the sense of a sentence and I can’t imagine that my accent is that much better. Or maybe the French, knowing that their English accents are horrible (which more than one French person has admitted to me), have very low standards.

Myth: The French are cold-hearted, arrogant people.

Reality: Cold-hearted? Hardly. Upon learning that I liked French wine, one of the teachers at my school said that her son owns a wine bar in Tours and she would happily take me there. The first night I met Julien last year I knew two out of 20 people in the room, but everyone made sure to speak to me and introduce themselves to me. Sure, I suppose it’s hard to walk up to a random person on the street and start up a conversation with them, but I personally don’t find the French to be rude or cold.

Arrogant? I think the arrogance stereotype stems from the pride in the French language, which I discussed above. Sure, the French are proud of their cheese and wines, their soccer stars, their healthcare system, their films, and their regional cuisines. Just as Americans are proud of our economic standing in the world, our football teams, southern cooking, our military, and our movie stars. Are we arrogant? We have a proud culture and so does France. Even though I don’t live in the US, I would defend it if necessary, as a French person would defend their nation. And if the US does something I don’t like, I would say it, and the French would do the same. So no, I don’t think they are any more arrogant than us.

Myth: French people love frog legs and escargot.

Reality: Many of the French people I have met have not eaten frog legs, contrary to popular belief.

Myth: French young people live at home until they are 30.

Reality: It is more acceptable for French young people to live at home longer than Americans. Students tend to go to university close to their homes, and often live at home. . And when the kids finally leave the nest, their parents still handle their finances or do their laundry. I was of course surprised, border-line appalled, because I know this would be looked down upon in the states.

Additionally, I am finding that French people tend to stick around where they grew up. Julien’s closest friends he met in pre-school. An old high school friend works at the gas station down the street. Maybe I am only speaking for myself, but none of my close friends live near me in the US and I certainly haven’t kept in touch with people I met in 1st grade. But hey, C’est la vie.

Myth: French people are insensitvely politically incorrect.

Reality: All Asian people are Chinese. Black face is a common disguise at costume parties. The popular children's game, telephone, is called Arab phone. I don't know, maybe it's me, but it seems that French people aren't really that concerned about offending anybody. Perhaps the place of importance that equality takes in French culture and politics somehow outweighs political incorrectness. Or maybe we Americans are too sensitive.

Myth: The French are overly sexual and open.

Reality: Watching a tv show comparing the 60s to the 80s, I noticed that there were a lot of nude breasts on display. It was 5:30pm on a friday. I explained to Julien that this would NEVER happen on cable tv in the US (remember Janet Jackson's fiasco) and he said, well what's the big deal? And it's true, I guess it's not a big deal, except that children might see it, but it wasn't portrayed as porn, perse, it was just women at the beach or something. For the country that "invented" the French kiss, it is no surprise to find out that yes, the French are more open about sexuality than Americans. Sex Education is surprisingly in-depth at the middle schools, having separate sessions on protection, STDs and homosexuality. Condoms are sold on the street, right outside of pharmacies. There is no doubt that these practices has resulted in low teenage pregancy rates, significantly lower than in the US, and low HIV rates. Public displays of affection are widely accepted, which is often frowned upon by us prudish anglophones; I must admit that I have gotten used to it, but last year there was more than one time I wanted to shout at some necking couple to get a room.

Back in France!!

After months of fun filled bureacratic drama, I finally got a renewal to come back to France and teach. I will be doing the same program, but I have been re-located to Tours, the other big city in this region. My schools themselves are not in Tours: Langeais is about 40 kilometers away and Ballan-Mire is closer. I arrived in France on the 28th of September and immediately begun searching for lodging in Tours (living here would allow me to have easy transport to both my schools).
My apartment in Tours is, as we would say in French Bien Situé, located a short 15 minute walk to the train station and the main shopping venues, 4 minutes to the grocery store with a bakery and pharmacy just around the corner. In the Prebendes neighborhood, named after the gardens just 5 minutes away, it’s full of families and students. If Paris and Orleans had a baby, I am pretty sure Tours would be their offspring. Tree-lined boulevards are adorned with cafes, shops, bakeries and your classic French flair, reminding me of some quartiers in Paris. The architecture of the old part of Tours and the cathedral invoke memories of a medieval town. Tours has lots of pedestrian only areas filled with bars and luxury shopping. The train station is photogenic, with its giant glass windows. So all in all, I can’t complain, though I do have partiality towards Orleans, since I lived there for so long. Tours is certainly working its charm on me, and the unusual 80 degree weather we are experiencing is of course helping its case. My schools are not as close to the city as they were last year. One is in Langeais, a charming little town about 30 minutes away from Tours. I catch a ride with either a French or a Math professor every morning to take the long but beautiful ride along the Loire to get to Langeais. There is a cute little castle in the town. The problem is, I often have to spend the entire day at the school because trains don’t pass frequently and I thus have to rely on teachers to take me home. The other school is in a suburb of Tours, Ballan-Mire, which is about 30 minutes on the bus. Here too I have to spend long days because the bus doesn’t come frequently. It’s no big deal; I have gotten a lot of reading done sitting in the teachers’ lounge!! All of the teachers I work with are really nice and the students are excited to have an American assistant. It’s pretty good for me because I am able to use a lot of the same materials that I used last year.

Last month in France

After my travels around Europe, I stayed in France to spend some time with friends and I did a lot of cool stuff.
Pictures

Last Month in France

Lacanau
Lacanau is on the Atlantic coast, close to Bordeaux. We went, with 25 other friends, to spend a long weekend at the beach. We stayed in little mobile homes and had barbeques. The weather was a bit cold, so no bathing suits, but it was fun watching the guys surfing.

Skydiving
As a birthday gift, Julien got me a certificate to go skydiving tandem (attached to a trained professional) in Montargis. It was AWESOME. The first 30 seconds of free fall was the best part. I can't wait to do it again.

Mont Saint Michel and Saint Malo
The second most visited tourist attraction in France is a huge cathedral built on a little island in Nothern France. It was gorgeous, we were lucky to have nice weather, and we strolled around. We found a little campsite in Cancale overlooking a beautiful harbour and ate dinner in the city. The next morning we headed to Saint Malo, a cute little coastal town with ramparts and forts.

Ardeche
Ardeche is in southern France, a beautiful region of gorges. We set out on saturday morning to kayak 32 km through the gorges. We played around a lot and acted foolish, so the usual 4 hour route took us 8. We camped at a location halfway down the river, and woke the next morning to torrential downfall. Despite this we continued kayaking down the river and were granted with beautiful weather. The first day, almost everyone fell out of their kayaks on rapids except me. So it was their goal to tip my kayak, and were successful. Luckily bad weather brings warmer water temperatures, so it wasn't too bad. I have never done something like that before, kayaking so far, but when we finally made it to the pick-up point, I felt like I had really acheived something. I was really sore for the next few days, though.

Weddings, Birthday Parties, and Concerts
I went to two concerts, a free one in Paris with Common, and a free one in Baule that displayed big bands. Numerous birthday parties as well, and a marriage party for friends on a huge estate in Sologne (the forest) with tennis tournements, fishing, and ltos of dancing. This was the weekend right before I left, and that was a really nice ending to my 9 months here.

So, tomorrow I am on a flight back to the US and I have no idea how to feel about it. I am a little worried about having to speak English all the time but excited to see friends and family. Nine months away from home is quite a long time!!

Not your typical European tour

I just got back from 15 days frolicking around. I visited London, England; Oslo, Norway and Bursa, Turkey. I decided against backpacking by myself around Europe and instead visited friends that were living/studying in this area. It was a fantastic trip, great time with friends, and I loved every minute.

London

I arrived in London on the 22nd of April after some 12 hours or so of travel. I would suggest taking the Eurostar because it is so much better than flying (I left Beaugency at 7am and arrived in London at 5pm GST, if I had taken the Eurostar I would have arrived in around 3 hours....). Anywho, met up with Christina, an old high school friend who is living/studying in London. We strolled along the Thames (pronounced "Tims") with excellent views of Big Ben and parliament.
23rd April: I went to the British Museum, which hosts a collection of mummies (including that of Cleopatra) among other interesting artifacts. One thing I loved about London was that almost all of the museums were free. I then headed to Covent Garden to meet up with Julien's aunt and cousins, who were in London helping Julien's cousin move-in to complete an internship in international business. It was a strange sensation, because I have grown so accustomed to hearing and speaking French and then translating French to English, but with Julien's family it was hearing and speaking English and translating that into French. My brain was pretty confused. We strolled around the Covent Garden shopping area and stumbled upon a theater that was hosting Mylie Cyrus/Hannah Montana's movie premiere. There were tons of teenage girls screaming and waiting for Mylie Cyrus to show up. (In case you don't know, she's a disney teen star, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus "Achy Breaky Heart" one hit wonder from the 90s). Julien's young cousin wanted to stick around so she could take pictures to show to her friends back home, so we stood around acting silly (pretending we were super stars ourselves) before I had to leave to meet Chris for dinner.

Friday 24th April: I got up and headed to Buckingham palace to see the infamous changing of the guard. In all honesty, I think this was the worst part of my trip: way too many people, the sun beating down, and being that I am short, I couldn't see anything. I ended up just leaving early and hanging out in a park reading a book. I then headed towards Trafalgar square, but before reaching it I got distracted by a film crew and actors in Victorian style costumes. From there I headed to Westminster Abbey and Parliament before making my way back towards Trafalgar square and the National Gallery. I saw a painting I remembered studying in a fine arts class, the Arnolfini marriage, which is cool because you can see the artist in the mirror that's behind the couple. That evening, Christina was hosting a party for her department in a cute garden (and the Brits were surprised that the weather was nice enough to have a party outside) and I got to meet her friends and other students pursuing masters/phDs at the University of London. It even sparked my interest in their School for Orient and African Studies. so who knows, maybe I will be in London getting a masters sometime soon?
Saturday 25th April: After a classic English lunch of fish and chips, Christina and I headed to an afternoon one-man play at the Little Vic. The play ("I can see the hills") was quite good; a funny, sad, serious, interesting story of growing up and being a teenager. We then headed to southern London to spend time with Christina's boyfriend, Chris, before calling it an early night.
Sunday 26th April: We picnicked in a park near Chris' house before heading to a museum that had just about everything you could want from a museum: natural history, artifacts, and an aquarium. And it was free too. We finished off the evening at a pub in Camden, which is an eclectic, artsy part of London.
Monday 27 April: On my last day in London, the weather decided to take a turn, or to perhaps return to normal London weather: rainy, windy and cold. I headed to the Tower of London, the only museum where I had to pay ($15, thank goodness the dollar was the best it has been against the pound in a long time), but was well worth it. Each tower had different displays, the crown jewels, the armor of Henry the 8th, the bloody stories of the deaths of Anne Boleyn and other traitors of the state, and general medieval living that occurred in the time the tower was used as a castle. I then headed to St. Paul's cathedral (featured in the Da Vinci Code) before calling it a night.

Oslo
Tuesday 28 April: I flew from London Stansted airport to Oslo Torp airport where I was finally struck with the fact that I was visiting a country where I didn't speak a word of the language. I managed to buy a train ticket and get to the Oslo train station where I met Karen, a friend I met in Ghana (read any of the posts from Ghana, I am sure I talked about her).
Wednesday 29 April: We headed to the Royal Palace, just a short walk from Karen's apartment. It was a lot more low key than Buckingham and the royal guards actually speak to you. There was some sort of event with the Canadian government that was going down, so hence all the maple leaf flags everywhere. We passed the National Theater which had a statue of Henrik Ibsen (the writer of "a doll's house," a play about being a woman in the victorian age that I read in high school). We then headed to the National Gallery to see the Scream painting and the Madonna, both of which were recently stolen. Munch, the painter, made multiple copies of the same pieces and many of them were in the museum. I really like the Scream, I feel like I can sometimes relate to it, that feeling of despair or frustration that you hold inside but you want to let out. We then went to the harbour, had some expensive ice cream (5 USD for a cone). After that we visited a fort that overlooks the harbour and the City Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is given. The whole day was the day of dance, so we got to see lots of free performances in the streets including some interesting modern dance and pole dancers in the metro. We made traditional Norweigan meatballs for dinner.
Thursday 30 April: I got up early and headed to the Nobel Peace Prize museum. You could literally spend days here; there are tons of films about the history of the prize and the recipients, a whole display on last year's winner, and then a room full of screens that are motion activated that have information, quotes, and other facts about all of the winners. If that wasn't enough, you can go to a room with a giant screen and pick which winners you want to learn about using a giant computer screen. I spent a lot of time there learning about all these amazing people and their neverending devotion to peace. I ate a 9 USD sandwich and then took a train to Ås (pronounced "Os") where Siri, another friend from Ghana, is studying environmental development at the university. There was some sort of team building activity going on before labor day, so there were people in interesting outfits doing crazy activities, like milk jug throwing contests, 3 legged races, constructing pipelines, and log sawing. It was quite fun and I got to meet some of Siri's friends.
Friday 1 May: Labor Day, so Siri, Karen and I headed from Ås to Oslo (we had to wait a while for the train, so we played cards - brought back the memories of Ghana). We visited the Vigeland statue Park, which was awesome. Side note: the weather was in the high 70s and sunny, certainly not what I was expecting from Norway, so everyone was outside sunbathing. After the statue park, we went to the Viking Ship museum, which was crazy to see ships that could have traveled all the way across the Atlantic long before the English started their colonial campaigns. Crazy. Since the weather was nice we decided to have a bbq in the park where we played more cards and petanque (a French game with balls, quite fun) and frisbee before heading back to Karen's place and playing cards til 2 in the morning. I loved visiting these friends I hadn't seen in 3 years and liked that we just fell right back into normalcy despite the length of time we hadn't seen each other.

Turkey
Saturday 2 May: I left Karen's apartment at 4:30 in the morning to head to the airport. I flew Austrian airlines, which was really nice (they gave meals on the flights) so I had a lay-over in Austria (and those jerks stamped my passport, even though I never left the airport). I arrived in Istanbul around 4:30, but had to stand in a ridiculous line to get a visa and to pass through passport control. After some confusion (once again, in a country where I don't speak the language), I took the metro to the bus station to take a bus to Bursa, where I was to meet Ryan (another friend from Ghana). The bus was really nice, they offered you tea and coffee throughout the trip, and we crossed Marmara sea via ferry.
Sunday 3 May: Ryan is living and teaching English in Bursa, a city of about 2 million people. We had brunch with some of his adult students who were really interesting and sweet. We then wandered Bursa, checking out the mosque, and the tombs of the founders of the Ottoman empire. That night we went to a mosque to see the whirling dervishes, Sufi followers who spin in the direction of the earth and are searching for the Muslim equivalent of Nirvana, to be one with Allah. It was an interesting experience, especially at the end when this old woman came up to me, smiling and pinching my cheeks and touching my hair. It appeared that a lot of Turks had never seen a black person before and were thus extremely intrigued or confused by me. I have never been stared at so much in my life.
Monday 4 May: I tried to go to the Bursa city museum, but it was closed, so instead I went to the Grand Bazaar, an overwhelming indoor shopping area with anything and everything you could possibly ask for. Getting circumcised? there are little outfits for boys to wear when this happens (I was thinking 4 or 5 was a bit old for circumcision, but it is really a rite of passage ceremony). We then headed to the Islamic art center, which is housed in an old hammam and had beautiful calligraphy. We went to a tea house for a jam session of authentic Turkish music with Turkish instruments. A pause: tea is a really big tradition in Turkey, when you enter a store youre offered tea and when you meet up with friends its only proper to have tea and after meals too. I am pretty sure this day I had the most tea, at least 10 cups, if not more. whoa. After the jam session I went to one of Ryan's classes, with the students that had treated us to brunch, and they gave me cute gifts which I thought was so sweet.
Tuesday 5 May: Ryan and I headed up hill to a 600 year old tree in Inkaya for breakfast. We ended up waiting a while for a bus, so we did it up Ghana style and sang musicals til it arrived. We then went to Culture park for a stroll and then inside of the big mosque in town. That night we watched a Turkish film that was really good. Spending time with Ryan was awesome. He has really done well in Bursa, making lots of friends and learning a lot of Turkish. He knew everyone, it seemed, and we were often invited to tea or free food in shops because he had so many friends. Speaking of food, Ryan really wanted me to try everything, so we did. I tried Turkish pastries, Turkish cheeses that reminded me of string cheese and feta, real kebab, Bursa's speciality Ishkender kabab with yogurt sauce, yogurt beverages, baklava, Turkish style loaded baked potatoes, and Turkish breakfasts. Bursa itself was an interesting city, right in the heart of the mountains, it was neither hot nor too cold. I would love to get to Turkey again because of all of the history that lies within its borders. I used to think that Peru was the best country that I have vistited because it has everything you could want: beach, history, desert, mountains, intriguing culture. But Turkey has that too... I wish I had more time to explore the rest of this awesome nation.
Wednesday 6 May: Woke up at 5 to catch the 7:30 ferry across the Marmara Sea to get back to Istanbul. I had a full plate of things to see, so I had to start early. I wandered around looking for my hostel, dropped my stuff, then went to Hagia Sophia, the Orthodox cathedral built in the 500s by Emperor Justinian (when Instanbul was Constantinople). I was a little disappointed by this place, and it was the one I was looking most forward to. It had been turned into a mosque, so lots of Arabic script everywhere, and there was scaffolding everywhere too, and lots of people. I then headed to Topkapi palace, which I loved. It was so huge and gorgeous. There were displays of Sultan uniforms and outfits, religious relics such as the footprint of Muhammad when he ascended into heaven, and gorgeous pieces of jewelry. Crowded, but big enough to avoid the groups, I spent the most time here, wondering around in awe. I then headed to the Blue Mosque, which was gorgeous on the outside and small but still beautiful on the inside. A turkish family asked me to be in a picture with them. Strange. I got extremely lost in the Grand Bazaar, which after seeing the one in Bursa wasn't quite worth it, before getting a much needed rub-down in a Hammam (by this point I had been walking the whole 2 weeks and my feet and body were killing me). Called it an early night in the hostel and left the next morning for Vienna and then Paris. I was excited to be in a country where I could understand what was going on, and I realized that France has become a bit of my second home.

Travels around Europe

Rouen , chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, final days of work

For all who may not know, I have a mild obsession with Joan of Arc. Orleans was the first city she saved, so when I was placed there I could only attribute that to fate. I have visited many cities that thank her for liberating them (Beaugency and Blois), searched out her statues in Orleans and surrounding towns, found her in various cathedrals, and read anything I can put my hands on about her. Thus, it was only proper to visit the city where she was burned at the stake at only the age of 19. Rouen is in Normandy, about a three hour trip from Orleans along the Seine river. It was a large town, equip with its own metro, but we had only one thing in mind – find Joan. The Cathedral is huge but overlooks a cute square. There is a Joan of Arc church that is very modern, but cool nonetheless. A museum is hidden inside of a gift shop and takes you through her life with wax figures enacting important moments. There is a tower with Joan memorabilia on the second floor and a giant cross marks where she was killed. Her heart didn’t burn, so they threw it and her ashes into the Seine. It was really cool to see all the Joan stuff, but a little devastating considering most of the pictures/statues were of her burning at the stake, certainly not her most glorified moment. Nonetheless, it was a cool trip to make.

The week of April 14 – April 18 marked my last days of school. It was a bit odd saying goodbyes. My colleagues at Checy threw a party for me and gave me some really nice gifts. But what struck me the most was when my favorite 4eme class gave me a giant card that they had all signed, a French flag, and a class photograph. It was really nice to feel appreciated.

The weekend after my last days, I went to a chateau with Sandrine. It was about 1.5 hour drive, to the outskirts of Paris. Vaux-le-Vicomte was actually the inspiration for Versailles and was built by a croonie of Louis the sun king. Foucault got on Louis’s bad side, though, and got banished. His mascot was a squirrel. The Chateau was really nice, complete with decorated stables and beautiful gardens. After walking around the chateau we went to Barbizon, a little town that was the inspiration for art by Millet. We found the woods and had a picnic before taking a lovely promenade in the forest. It was a really nice experience and I will always appreciate Sandrine looking out for me, making sure I have as many cultural experiences as possible here.

I moved out of my apartment in Orleans. I moved all my stuff to a friend’s house while I travel around. I am heading to London, Oslo and Turkey to visit people, and I am really excited. I get back right in the middle of the Joan of Arc festival, and then head to Lacanau to enjoy (watching) surfing and the beach. My vacation has officially started!!