Category: La Une in English Page 5 of 17

-Evelyn Sanchez

Rue du Taur. Photo by Evelyn Sanchez.

When my mother, who is from northern Mexico, asked me how life is in Toulouse, I responded, “It’s like a town-village.” The city’s politeness is similar to that of Mexico’s. When people get on the bus they say, “Bonjour” and they say “Merci. Au revoir” when they descend. Also everything is close to everything. The longest walk I would do is 30 minutes. Within a 10-minute walk, I can find a small shop for meat, pastries, sandwiches, or cheese, where there will be a very invested employee. For example, the first day of my arrival I decided to go look for some toiletry items at the pharmacy. As soon as I entered, the employee approached me and asked me if I needed help. He took about 10 minutes to explain to me all the different products and their utility.

But in reality, I came to Toulouse to enjoy city life. At Bowdoin, students comprise social life, but in Toulouse, everyone does. Tisséo, Toulouse’s transportation system, facilitates transportation to bars, clubs, museums, restaurants, and the movies using the bus and metro. Tisséo has an application where users can know departure time and the best directions to a desired destination. The metro, which comes every two minutes, has two main lines A and B. So, it’s almost impossible to get lost in this city. Similarly, it would be very difficult to get bored here. In particular, student life at Sciences Po offers plenty of opportunities to volunteer, play sports, and go out to various events. The first weekend of my arrival, I was stunned by the nightlife at the St Pierre plaza where the youth enjoys the beautiful view of the Garonne River and inexpensive wine. The laughter and warmth of this scene met a tranquility and peace of the night that I had never even imagined. Here, the people know how to live a life in community while appreciating an animated and simple life.

The Canal du Midi. Photo by Evelyn Sanchez.

A beautiful view of the Pink City. Photo d’Evelyn Sanchez.

Dear Readers,

Both the year 2015 and the semester are coming to an end. As our students prepare for exams, vacation, and their return to the USA, I am leaving you with the last edition of La Une for the year, in which our students tell you about their last discoveries in Toulouse : the Christmas Market, the French language and its nuances, restaurant protocol, the Georges Labit Museum and lastly, manners typical of Toulouse.

The Dickinson in France team would like to thank all of your for your interest and fidelity throughout the semester and wish you happy holidays !

Happy reading and see you next year!

Julia

– Anna Robinette

This time of year is filled with traditions. One of the many traditions in Toulouse that the American students have enjoyed this month has been the Christmas Market.

The Christmas Market has its origins in Germany and Austria as early as 1294, but many European countries have also adopted this tradition as a way to celebrate the four weeks of Advent and preparation for the holidays.

Set up in the heart of Toulouse, le Marché de Noël is an arrangement of more than one hundred little bungalows at Place Capitole. Open November 27 through December 27, the market is almost always bustling. Even if you’re not looking to do any shopping, the market is a place to walk around, admire the Christmas lights and decorations, and socialize with friends and family. Like many holiday traditions, le Marché de Noël radiates a magical, cozy, homey-feeling.

Christmas Market lights

If you are browsing for some stocking stuffers, many vendors offer a variety of gifts (jewelry, scarves and hats, soap, games, souvenirs, and other knick-knacks), some of which include hand-made products made by local artisans.

However, the market also has many food vendors. I think this is what charmed the American students the most.

Among the food vendors, you have the traditional gastronomy: Toulouse-produced honey, cheese, chocolate, pastries, foie-gras, etc., that you can take home with you. And you have several restaurants that sell dishes that are hot and ready to eat with your friends and family at the market.   I’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite dishes below.

Saucisse Paysanne (Sausage Sandwich)

Sausage is a very traditional food found in Toulouse. At this particular vendor, you can order a grilled sausage-baguette-sandwich with onions and peppers. If you’re feeling adventurous, the chefs also offer a sausage made from the cow’s liver.

A saucisse paysanne vendor

Aligot

This dish is crowd-pleaser. Imagine mashed-potatoes whipped together with a lot of cheese. What you get is a stringing, cheesy, starchy heaven. I petition to bring the Aligot tradition to the US.

Hmmm yum !

Tartiflette

The tartiflette is also a potato dish: a layered casserole with potatoes, onions, crème fresh, and lots and lots of cheese.

Vin Chaud

Warm wine is a popular tradition all over Europe. It’s a red wine that has been stewed with Christmas spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, etc.

The market also has several, not-so-traditional food vendors. These include: hamburgers, churros, and even some Nepalese and Tibetan dishes.

So moms and dads, there is no need to worry: we’ve been very well fed this holiday season.

– Mariette Aborn

“S.O.S… S.O.S…. I DON’T UNDERSTAND!” “CAN YOU PLEASE USE A RICHER VOCABULARY WITH MORE PRECISE TERMS?”

It would be impossible to say how many new words I’ve learned this semester. Some words are harder to learn, like the word for fulfilling, and others easier because of their utility, like corkscrew. Over the past four months I’ve tried to learn as many new words and expressions as possible, but learning new words is more than studying a vocabulary list.

A distinction between oral and written expression characterizes the French language. Writing follows the rules of formal language, but in conversation almost anything goes. Words and expressions can be oriented to a specific context or even be so familiar that they don’t have an established spelling. As a French learner, these nuances provide plenty of opportunity to make mistakes. For example, I understood the meaning of the phrase “c’estmarrant” correctly – it means that something is funny. However, a misunderstanding of the pronunciation led me to believe they were saying “c’estmarron” which directly translates to « it’s brown ». Another expression that I heard incorrectly is “à un moment donné” which means at a given moment or at some time. I had understood “à moment du nez” which would mean at a moment of nose, a realization I came to quite abruptly when my French friend laughed at me as I tried out my new expression.

While « à unmoment donné » is an established expression, I also discovered a whole slew of interesting slang words. My favorite expression I learned is “chipote,” a word that was spelled four different ways for me by four different French. I first heard the expression when my theater professor was talking about politicians, which in French roughly translates to “political men.” A student offered that the professor might say instead “political men and women” to which another student yelled “oh you, you chipotes”. The closest expression we have to this expression would be “oh you’re splitting hairs” and has become quite useful for me.

The French also borrow English expressions. For them, “shotgun” designates any action first come, first-served. For example, a list with limited spaces to go on a trip would say that the spaces would be “distributed by shotgun.” In this case, the French understood the idea of the word shotgun when applied to a seat in a car as we use it, and they applied this meaning to other contexts.

In all, despite my mistakes, I’m leaving France with an enriched informal and formal vocabulary that I can pull out “à un moment donné.”

– Olivia Laing

After having mastered the crowded metro backpack shuffle, figuring out that the « soorawefnjipwef ?» muttered by the barista actually means «for here or to go?» and successfully completing the task of finding the well-hidden class schedules at the Mirail, one French survival skill continues to escape me : navigating restaurants.

I find myself utterly bewildered upon first entering a French restaurant because the rules that govern them are different in France (of course) and change from one restaurant to the next. And so, in an effort to transform the implicit into explicit, I’ve put together a guide, inspired by the multitudes of mistakes I’ve made during my time in France.

First: Where do I sit?

Most of the time, in cafés and bars, it’s up to you to choose your table, so be confidant and sit down! In restaurants, go directly to the server and ask for a table.

It’s rare to see handy signs like this in France !

Second: Where do I order?

After you’ve found a seat, the server usually comes to give you the menu. Take note: from time to time in cafés and bars (and Y Restaurant, which I recommend strongly, on Rue des Filatiers), when the menu is posted outside, the server will assume you have already looked at it and chosen.

Another exception: fast food places. If you’re in the mood for a kebab, calzone or burrito, go to Nan Kebab (open on Sundays- almost unheard of! Rue des Filatiers), Pizza Lopez (Place des Carmes) or Coatl (also on Rue des Filatiers). In this type of restaurant, you order at the counter, find a table and the server will bring you your food.

Rue des Filatiers where you’ll find all types of restaurants !

Third: Where do I pay the bill?

The most important thing to know: unlike in the United States, patrons can stay as long as they like and so the server will never bring you the bill if you don’t ask for it. I learned this the hard way when I spent almost three hours at a Lebanese restaurant waiting for the check… Finally, I went up to the counter to ask, where I discovered that’s where you usually pay in cafés, brasseries and bistros. In classier restaurants, the server will almost always bring the check to the table. If you have no idea where to pay the bill, keep in mind that even the French don’t always know. It’s completely normal to ask the server, who probably already knows that you’re not French, so you have nothing to hide.

Et voilà! For those who still feel intimidated by this series of exchanges, I recommend the haut-cuisine of Carrefour – it’s always self-serve and you pay at the door.

Carrefour

-Liam Fuller

The Georges Labit Museum is a museum of oriental art that is at 17 rue du Japon. Georges Labit;a man interested in ethnology, world religions, and art; founded the museum in 1893. The museum’s collection is a little modest, from my point of view, because I come from the greater New York area and I’m used to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. But with this lack of size in the collection, the museum makes up for it with the quality and diversity of its pieces.From my point of view, it’s refreshing to visit a museum specialized in Eastern art because museums in the Western world, in general, focus on Western art, with a tiny section of Eastern art, if any at all.

One can compare this museum with the Museum du Quai Branly in Paris, which was named the museum of first arts, which has a connotation that its articles are the first examples of art (which, in my opinion, connotes that they’re primitive) even if the took place during the same time period as impressionism, post-impressionism, or modern art (which were very influenced by Eastern art and by Eastern subjects in a certain way, i.e. Picasso, Basquiat, Degas, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, or Gauguin). One must ask why Western art piece and Eastern art pieces are not on the same exhibit if they took place at the same time. I learned from this visit that Eastern art is as detailed and thoughtful as Western art but it’s shown in a separate section like it’s not worthy of sharing the same room as Western art. It’s a shame because I’m sure this museum does not have the same amount of visitors as the Museum des Augustins. In the Georges Labit Museum, multiple countries are represented, which shows different styles. There, one can see the styles of East Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, and Egypt. My favorite pieces were the Book of the Dead, the bronze cranes, the gold Buddha, and the Indian stele. The architecture of the building is ornate, with an Arabic influence, which shows arabesques and horseshoe arches. Also, there were pretty gardens which featured bamboo. My visit to the Georges Labit Museum was very agreeable and I think it’s worth it to go there.

Indian stele

– Sophia Brocenos

Each day, I use the elevator in my apartment building. I am normally alone for my trip down to the first floor, but sometimes others are also in the elevator. One does not think that there will be a cultural difference in elevators, but there is. In Toulouse, one always says “hello” and “goodbye” to people in the elevator. Other expressions are normal too; for example, “have a good day” or “have a good evening”. This habit does not exist in the United States. People in elevators in the States are often always silent and often awkward. One ignores the other people, and one looks at no one. This weird moment in elevators is even a subject of jokes in the states. It is known as a moment where everyone feels awkward. In Toulouse, this is totally different. One is nice, and one recognizes the presence of others in the elevator.

In the 30 Rock elevator

Why does this difference exist? I do not know, but it is true. Maybe this region of France is more hospitable than the others. According to my hosts, this habit does not exist in Paris. Therefore, this part of the French culture changes depending on the region.

A similar idea also exists on the bus. When people get on the bus, they say “hello” or “good evening” to the driver, and when they get off the bus, theysay “thank you, goodbye”. I am not sure, but I believe this habit is less frequent in the States. This is a sign of respect for the bus driver. One respects the work of the bus driver, so one thanks him with a greeting and a farewell. But in the States, the work of a bus driver is looked down upon sometimes. The link here is probably to minimum wage, because it is higher in France. One respects the work of a bus driver more easily because it does not have the lowest salary.

The basic difference of these habits between the States and France is that of courtesy. People from Toulouse are normally respectful to others in daily life. I am not saying that Americans are disrespectful, but in this regard, people from Toulouse are more polite.

– Joojo Ocran

On 13th November, the world was stunned as Paris suffered a series of coordinated terrorist attacks which left 130 people dead and over 350 injured. The global reaction was immediate, with national monuments all around the world being lit up in the French tricolor flag, and heads of state making speeches pledging their support for France.

Local reactions were immediately apparent. When the news of the attacks broke in Toulouse, I was watching the France vs. Germany game (which was the scene of one attack) in a public setting. The shock and confusion was evident on the faces of many spectators, who set about ensuring the safety of their friends and family in Paris. In the following hours, there was an outpouring of emotion on social media platforms, with many people (French and otherwise) overlaying the tricolor on their profile pictures.

In the following days, multiple rallies and events were held throughout Toulouse to show solidarity with the people of Paris. As early as Saturday, about 250 people had gathered at place du Capitole (Toulouse’s town square). The commemorative events continued on the 16th of November, with a minute of silence observed throughout Toulouse at noon, and the archbishop of Toulouse organized a beautiful interfaith mass that night. The climax of Toulouse’s solidarity events came the next day, where a massive 12,000 people showed up at place du Capitole to mourn and show solidarity with Parisians. It was an incredibly moving moment, with local artists making murals to commemorate the occasion, as well as the crowd chanting, praying and singing the Marseillaise.

Supporters at Place du Capitole

Expressions of Solidarity

These publicly organized demonstrations of solidarity were touching, but it still warms the heart to see little reminders of Toulouse’s support in unexpected places. As an avid biker, I was thrilled to find that VeloToulouse (Toulouse’s public bike system) had replaced their regular screen with one that boldly declared “Toulouse est Paris“.

VélôToulouse’s solidary screens

In another heart-warming personal show of solidarity, some Toulousains (citizens of Toulouse) have taken to using the term “pain au chocolat” as opposed to the more traditional term “chocolatine” that residents of the Midi-Pyrénées region tend to use. It has been two weeks since the tragic events of the Paris attacks, and Toulouse has not ceased to send the message of “fraternite et solidarite” to the people of of Paris.

– Natalie Pope

Dickinson students and their stand at the marché au gras de Péchaou

Saturday November 14^th, Dickinson in France traveled to the small village of Pechabou for their 20^th Marché de Gras. This event showcases fresh products such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and of course foisgras! Everything was homemade, made by hand, by the residents of the area. In addition, all the students of Dickinson in France, even Mme Raynaud and Julia, made a dessert for us all to sell at the market. Throughout the day, I was reminded of markets and fall festivals at home, but I also noticed many cultural differences between this one and that.

We started the day at our table to sell our cakes and cookies that we had all made. We offered a true variety of cookies, brownies, cereal-marshmallow bars, and of course a few cakes. At first, it was really difficult to explain our American recipes to the French, but I found that they were in general all very interested. Maybe it’s a generalization, but I think that at American bake sales people are more likely to buy cakes and sweets that are familiar, but I found that that wasn’t the case at Pechabou. The majority of people who passed by us seemed happy to interact and listen to our explanations of American recipes and even more about our experiences in Toulouse.

At noon, we shared a meal with the other people who had come to shop at the market. A very French menu, it consisted of lots of duck, fresh vegetables, and the very good dish called aligot. To explain to the American audience, aligot is a hot plate made of a mix of pureed potatoes, cheese, and garlic. Next to a duck sausage, you have an authentic taste of the Midi-Pyrénées, but the real experience was eating with the people of Pechabou. At my table, we shared a bottle of water, which initiated conversations between everyone. I found that even the people much older than us, the students, were very excited to meet us and ask us questions about our studies.

Sharing was a theme that came up throughout our experiences that day. At lunch, we shared a bottle of water with our neighbors, and they offered to share some cookies that they had bought. Also, our neighbors at our table offered us a bottle of wine to thank us for being there, even after they had bought some of our cakes! I was very impressed by their generosity and interest in meeting us, which reminded me a lot of American small towns. The culture of Pechabou was really different from Toulouse as a whole, just as small towns in the United States are so different from New York. All in all, I’m very glad that we had this chance to experience a whole other side of Toulouse.

-Jessamyn Biette

A couple weeks ago, I had a conversation with my hosts about my plans for traveling during my semester in Toulouse. I explained my desires to go to London, Rome, the Loire Valley castles, Paris and to many other European destinations as well. They told me that I had ambitious plans and that brought the discussion to the the subject of the differences between France and the United States’ conceptions of time and space.

Addressing this subject, my host’s mother taught me the phrase “it’s all relative.” This means that the different understanding of space and time of the two countries is because of the size of the two countries. France is a very small country in comparison to the United States. For example, I come from Boston, but I go to college in Pennsylvania. To get to college, I have to drive eight hours. In the United States, eight hours in the car is not very long. However, in France, by driving eight hours, we can travel to other countries. When I told my hosts that my college is not very far from where I’m from, they told me that in fact, yes, according to the French, my college is far.

This phenomenon is also evident when talking to other students who live in Europe. During my studies, I have met Italian, German and English students among others. At an ERASUMUS event (ERASMUS is an organization for European students), I asked my European friends if they were going to spend winter vacation at home. They seemed very surprised when I asked them this question. For them, to return home for winter break is too far and too expensive. For me, to go to Italy or Germany for a weekend is not all that far or expensive.

In Europe, it’s the norm to have access to other cultures that are completely different. In the United States, particularly in Pennsylvania, we have to spend a lot of money and a lot of time travelling to experience new cultures and new lifestyles. In the United States, the ability to travel in Europe is a novelty, but Europeans are used to being surrounded by other cultures and therefore, their perspective of time and space is different than that of Americans.