Author: coggins Page 15 of 18

On the surface, France and America resemble each other. However, misunderstandings and miscommunications can easily arise because of the differences. I arrived in France almost two months ago, and I have encountered many situations that have helped me understand the French culture.

One area in particular that I have noticed is the store and restaurant hours in France. My first weekend, I wanted to go to the supermarket to buy some snacks for myself on Sunday, but everything was closed. Another time, I needed to go to the bank. I went right after a Dickinson class because it is just down the street from the Dickinson Center, but unfortunately, it was just after 12 o’clock and it was closed. After my second experience (and additional ones as well), I know the normal hours in France. Most stores, restaurants and offices close at noon and on Sundays. In America, on the other hand, all the stores stay open for the whole day, including Sundays. Even though England (I’m half English) resembles France, I did not think about the hours and I was surprised at each experience.

After a few experiences, the French hours now seem normal to me. Despite my current habits, in the moment, I was disoriented and confused. These experiences taught me about the value placed on meals in France. All the stores respect the lunch hour because the French place importance on conversation and food. They eat slowly and no one is in a rush. Stores normally close for two hours to allow enough time – this invites conversation and relaxation.

The meals demonstrate only one of the misunderstandings I have experienced. New experiences occur daily, especially at the universities. French students take notes in an essay style, the professors do not give homework for the next class and each class only meets once a week. These realizations do not occur easily and, like with the hours, you have to keep an open mind with each experience that arises. Miscommunications are inevitable and cannot be prevented, but you can use these experiences to better understand the culture and to more easily adapt.

-Jessica Sykes

Today I’ve been in France for seven months. I’m still certain that at any moment I’ll be on a plane going back home. It still hasn’t sunk in that I’ll be here for nine months. That being said, I like what I’ve seen so far. Toulouse isn’t like all the other cities that I’ve seen before. When I think of a city, I think of skyscrapers, concrete, and the noise of honking cars, but Toulouse is completely different. Sure, there are a lot of people and it can get noisy sometimes, but the city doesn’t feel the same. It feels calm.

I really love the feel of the city when I’m walking to class or shopping. There is one street, les allées de François Verdier, which is lined by huge trees. Sometimes there’s even an outdoor craft market that I browse on the way to wherever I’m going. Going to the Dickinson Center, I walk next to the canal. There’s a beautiful bridge, trees, and some interesting boats just sitting in the water that I love to look at. My university, l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse, is small but quaint, and it’s near the quarter called Carmes. There, one can find little cafés where people go to buy something small, like a coffee, and just sit there for hours.

The metro here is also really different than the ones in the US. Here, they’re clean and well-lit, and so inexpensive! I can go from my house to the center-city by metro, then take a bus somewhere else if I have to. During my internship in Philadelphia this summer, I only took the speed-line to cross the bridge. Otherwise, I walked everywhere. The French public transportation system works really well; they know exactly when a train is needed every 30 seconds (like at 8am or 5pm on weekdays) or late at night on the weekend when young people are out late.

My host family is super nice! I live with a mother, a father, and their two young kids, a boy and a girl, ages 14 and 9 respectively. I’m truly lucky because the mom is an English teacher at a high school. We don’t speak English a lot (it’s not allowed) but if I’m having a problem with a word or phrase, she helps me out. And one night a week we’ll speak English at the dinner table, just for fun. I was worried about my host family at first because of the stereotype that the French are reserved, but since the first time I met them, they’ve made sure I feel welcome and at home.

I can really see this city as my home!

-Tatiana Veres

It is hard to define “culture” because the definition can be different for each person. Culture is something very evident, but it is also present in life’s implicit codes. I like Edouard Herriot’s definition of culture. He said that culture, “is all that remains when everything else is forgotten”. Culture is more than foods and festivals. It is values, customs, history, and a way of life. When I arrived in France I knew that there were cultural differences between the United States and France, but it was hard to explain outside of the stereotypes. Nonetheless, I have already noticed certain things that are individual to French culture.

Communication and spoken misunderstandings are perhaps the funniest. The “false friends” of the French language create a delicate dynamic. One week, I visited a photography exhibition with some friends. When I told my hosts about my day, I used the word “l’exhibition”, not “l’exposition”. My hosts then told me that “l’exhibition” in French means a public nude demonstration. Thankfully, with more time, I am making fewer of these mistakes, but there are still plenty of other things to adapt to.

After the first month, I began to have some regularity for each day. Initially, I ate a lot at restaurants and didn’t cook. Now, I try to cook more. In the States I go to the grocery store on Sundays, but when I went to the market Sunday afternoon all of the vendors were closed—the grocery stores as well. Now I will go shopping during the week because that was truly frustrating.

Other than daily activities, the other thing that takes up much of my time is school. I have survived two weeks of school at Jean Jaurès. Thankfully, for the most part, I understand my classes, even though my notes resemble hieroglyphics. It is truly different from Dickinson. The classes are in large rooms and the professors use microphones. The amphitheater that hosts my clinical psychology and psychopathology class could easy fit 1,000 students. It was impressive and intimidating the first day. Even though I can understand my courses, in general, I am scared for the exams because the majority is oral! Thankfully, I have plenty of time before the end of the semester to continue to better my French and to discover more things that construct not only the French identity, but the identity of Toulouse as well.

When we study culture, we learn the differences between the foreign culture and our own, however, being aware of these differences does not mean that we truly know how to act in a foreign culture. Each culture has its own set of rules and implicit codes that are almost impossible to understand without being fully immersed in that culture. However, the immersion process is not immediate, and, consequentially, misunderstandings are inevitable. In addition, there are certain aspects of a culture that are very complex that a foreigner will only understand at their most basic level at the beginning. The cultural complexities and misunderstandings can be resolved if the individual is conscious of what is happening and seeks to improve his or her understanding.

Unfortunately, the cultural faux-pas can start even with the greeting. An American can learn that the French do the “bise,” small kisses on each side of the face, to greet one another, but the social codes surrounding this salutation are too implicit to be fully taught in a classroom setting. Greetings can be particularly difficult because the expectations change from person to person or can even change within the same person. For example, someone can do the “bise” to a person who was just introduced to them, but the “bise” is not always given as a way of introducing oneself to an unknown individual. Americans are also not generally aware of the subtle signals that indicate the other person would like to give the “bise,” which can create an awkward situation if a French person leans in to give the “bise” and the American is not aware.

Another way wherein Americans tend to make mistakes is gauging the acceptable speed where one can eat and drink and also the places where it is acceptable to do so. In the United States, eating can be done at any speed and at any place. In France, eating is done at a slow pace and drinks are never more than sipped, even at parties. Concerning the location, in the United States, a person eats when he or she is hungry, even if he or she is waiting in line at the supermarket or is walking down the street. On a personal note, I was shocked when, while walking down the street and finishing my ice cream, a young man sarcastically shouted at me: “Bon appétit, Mademoiselle!” Apparently, as a friend of mine later told me, it is not acceptable to eat and walk in France.

Obviously, greetings and the speeds at which one eats and drinks are not the only mediums where cultural misunderstandings occur, but they are perhaps the most relevant for a group of American college students. These misunderstandings can be ameliorated with learning and uncomfortable situations can be avoided with a polite apology. Although cultural misunderstandings are annoying, they do present learning opportunities as they compel the foreigner to step back and reflect on their actions and thus broaden their cultural perspective.

-Kristen Cunningham

I didn’t expect my stress levels to go down in France – in fact, I was sure that they would increase until I was unable to function, much less speak in French. Thankfully, I can still function and even speak some French. However, I am stressed. How could I not be as an American in a French city, attending a French university while also taking courses at the Dickinson Center, living with a French family, and trying to make friends? That isn’t to say that my experience isn’t good. On the contrary, it’s very good. And I did not expect that. Even though I am stressed and rather in a state of discomfort, I am having a good time in Toulouse. I’m content. I find that my stress in France is not the same as my stress in the US. I don’t have a concrete reason for this, but I think that my approach to stress is different here. I see my stress as a necessary step in my French integration. Stress is inevitable when one lives in a foreign place, and it isn’t always bad. While studying abroad, it is necessary to follow one’s own path, even if stressed or uncomfortable, because, in the end, the stress itself is not important. The experiences, good or bad, are important. I am going to remember our visit to the Soulages Museum and the moment when I first tried rabbit at my host’s house more than I will remember my stress or discomfort. If I could have given myself some advice before coming to France (even if it is cliché), I would have said that I shouldn’t worry. I believe that we can’t really prepare ourselves to spend time in another country. It is an experience that is completely new and unknown. Therefore, we must embrace it and go with the flow. That’s what I’m going to do from now on, and I have high hopes!

-Schuyler Atkins