Update (finally!)

Seeing as more and more amazing things happen to me everyday, and I find myself busy all the time (in a good way), I have decided that the best way to continue this blog is to start right here, right now, with what is happening, because if I put off updating because I know I have to go through everything I've done, it's just never going to happen.

So here I am again, and will hopefully be updating every few days with current news and wonderful happenings. Every now and then, I hope to include lots of photos from the past two weeks so that you can all see my incredible experiences.

Today I taught English - I'm teaching "grande section" - which is 4 and 5 year olds, as well as "CE1" which is 6-7 year olds, or the equivalent of 2nd grade. This has been quite the wonderful experience. The kids love me, and one of my most favorite things is when I'm talking quickly on the side with the teacher (she's Canadian) in English and they just stare at us as if we just created some kind of miracle. Today was the first time that I taught all by myself, and it went wonderfully! With the grande section, we do mostly songs, but they do understand lots of English. Some are more motivated than others - it's adorable. They're at the age when sometimes they feel like shooting their hand up in the air, but after you call them, they have no clue how to answer your question and they just sit there with huge goofy smiles. Others would rather roll on the floor or suck on their thumb than do the Hokey Pokey. But all are very cute, and most respond to me quite well, probably because I'm new and I speak an exotic, exciting language!!! (hehe) My favorite memory from that class was today... Tugdual is one of the kids very eager to learn Anglais (English)...he is always raising his hand and speaking quite well...he said "Hello Annie" before I even began teaching, which is kind of a big deal. Anyway, after class they line up two by two, and he was holding a little girl's hand, and basically just looking at me. Then he was touching my hand with a huge smile on his face and saying, "Goodbye Annie!" in such a loud, proud voice. In his joy, he just started singing, "Bye, Bye, see you on Thursday, Bye, Bye, See you on Thursday..." (the song that we sing at the end, but at this time, had already finished it), all the while looking right at me. What a sweetie!

Then I taught CEI, where the kids are cute, but nevertheless have a few more behavior problems and aren't as fascinated with me (oh poor me). However, I taught them the Moose song from Y.O.U. joy songs (my youth group in high school). Basically, it's about a moose who likes to drink a lot of juice. They loooved it...particularly the part where we make random noises and jump all over the place. For this class the challenge is classroom management and I have to admit Michaela (the teacher) has to intervene more than once when things get roudy and speak in quick little bursts of French discipline. Hopefully I'll get that down, but seeing how discipline isn't my forte in English...

This is actually a particularly intriguing topic, since the French education system, and style of teaching, is entirely different from that of the Etats-Unis (US). It's quite amazing that what I've learning in my education training is not at all what they use here. The teachers are what we would call "cold", strict, and demanding. Michaela did her training in Canada and has expressed to me that it is quite different here, and it took her awhile to get used to it. I think we both cringe when the teacher of the CEI class practically pushes her students and grabs their arms in ways that look frightening. The relationship between the teacher and the student is very authoritative. Despite my obvious rejection to this and compassion for the children, this education system does "produce" brilliant, hard-working children, who have no more psychological problems than those in the US.

To put this in perspective, here's a little blurb about what I've experienced about cultural differences here in France.

~French people, particularly in this area of France (Bretagne) usually come off to Americans as "cold". This basically means that they do not greet strangers as we do in the US; they don't talk to strangers (or even casual friends) about personal experiences; things like income and divorces are never talked about; emotions are not as openly expressed as in the US... the list does go on.

You can imagine my reaction to this culture on the first night of my stay with my host mom if you've read that entry. I'm so thankful to be staying with a French person, because I believe it's the only way I can truly begin to understand this culture. For example, the first night I did not exactly feel welcomed, and couldn't help but imagine I was in the US and what a US host family would be trying to do to welcome a foreign student. In the US, host families are more than likely to be "over-welcoming" and basically in the person's business, ALL with good intentions - to make sure they're comfortable, find out what they need/don't need, how they're adjusting. Here, French people (in my experience and in the experience of others in my group), are more likely to leave you alone and let you deal with everything by yourself, ALSO with good intentions - to let you experience this as an adult and take care of yourself. Now, of course that's a guess, because I'm not one of these said French people, but that's what I've gathered.

So an American here almost automatically feels lost, confused, un-wanted, un-welcomed, and just weird. I've been here for about a month, and found that almost everybody, when recounting their story of arrival, says that they cried and felt at least one of the emotions I mentioned.

If you think about it logically, a host family here is doing what? They have chosen absolutely voluntarily to host a student, and though one could try to argue that it's for the money, I'm entirely convinced that they are interested in other cultures and generally wanting to be of service to someone in their adjustment to another culture and learning the language. Do you think that they want the foreigner to feel lost, confused, un-wanted, un-welcomed? No. It is a matter of cultural differences. All my life I never realized this about our American culture, simply because I never experienced anything else. I think I probably thought it was human nature, or something like that.

After a couple days with our host families we realized this, and also realized that they are, in fact, nice people, and that they are not cold, and not mean, etc. I found my host mom to be interested in what I have to say, to always greet me with a smile. She began to point out things in town she thought I would be interested in and encouraged me to try new things. She is always concerned about what I eat and if I eat enough and wants me to get the best treatment. I know she cares. I know, in my brain. But something that I'm realizing is, I can't shake my culture.

A few days ago, I got homesick for one of the first times. Yes, I've missed my family and Kevin, but this was the first time I was homesick for the United States. I think that I came here expecting to get a negative view of the US from the French, and I also expected to agree with a lot of it. Mostly because I consider myself to be very liberal with politics, and I disagree with a lot of the things our adminstration does. I did encounter negativity about the US, but what I've come to realize is, a lot of the negativity is a bunch of misconceptions.

Funny story...
As a gift for my host mom when I got here, I gave her a 2008 calendar of the Rocky Moutains, which basically had beautiful photos of the mountains from Colorado and Wyoming. She was quite pleased. Later at dinner, I asked her if she'd ever been to the US and she shook her head and gave me one of those, "Are you crazy?" looks. Then I asked her if she ever wants to, and she said that she didn't, but then again, she didn't know there were places like the photos on my calendar. She thought it was all big buildings. I was shocked that she thought this, but it wasn't the first time. One weekend, a couple Chinese girls who stayed with my host mom came to visit her, and I asked them if they've been to the US, and one said that she doesn't like huge cities, so no. I found myself explaining that the US isn't covered in massive buildings.

Two other stereotypes I've come across multiple times...

1. Everyone is fat.
2. Everyone, and I mean everyone, doesn't care about the environment and wastes all the time.

I agree that the US does have a large obesity rating, and it is true that as a whole, our country isn't that great about working to protect the earth and our environment. However, it seems that some French people actually think that not one American cares about the environment. My host mom, who's sixty, found it "tres bizarre" (very weird) when I was telling her about all the energy research Kevin's doing. She told me that she didn't know anyone cared about that in the US.

I never thought I'd be defending my country, or feeling insulted, because I've never been very patriotic (if at all), but here I am. I found myself wishing with all my heart that French people who detest Americans, or even those with misconceptions (like my host mom) could see all the goodness in our country. I think that perhaps, for them, it's hard to visualize how HUGE our country is (France is roughly the size of Texas, after all). There are so many people, so many sub-cultures.... and yes, of course there are people who waste entirely too much and of course there are huge, fast-paced cities, and people who think relaxing is not an option, but come on...

There is so much good in the US. I think some French people would appreciate the welcoming nature of Americans (especially because most of the time it is genuine).

Now, all that being said, I'm not trying to bash the French culture. I'm just becoming more and more amazed as I discover that Americans DO have a culture, and that there are things that I appreciate and things that I don't appreciate about that culture. What's incredible is, it is MY culture. In school growing up, we learn about "culture" as if it is something exotic - something much different from us. Though I could probably characterize US culture in a couple ways, it would only be from things I've heard, like about our technology/inventions, cinema/music, etc. But I never realized that there are things, like what I've described above, that uniquely characterize Americans, that are positive, and that I can't find here in France. Realizing this sometimes makes me miss the US, but it also widens my consciousness in so many ways. I am adapting to another culture, and it's beautiful.

The truth is, there is SO much that I love about French people/culture.

~They are very encouraging of relaxation. Sleeping in isn't considered lazy. They get at least 5 weeks of vacation a year.

~They are very clear about "who they are." I haven't met a French person who doesn't really know what they want to do and is just mosey-ing around in college or otherwise. Our moniteur/monitrices (French students who help us out), when describing themselves, tell us what they like, what they don't like, and in general conversation, NEVER beat around the bush about what they believe and don't believe.

~Relating to that, it is entirely acceptable to disagree wholeheartedly with your best friend. Our coordinatrice (adult coordinator who grew up in America and married a Frenchmen) told us that when coming here, she was surprised to find that at a party, two very close friends could get in a heated debate, "arguing" with each other quite loudly and forcefully, and then leave with bisous (kisses) and with a nature of complete acceptance and no grudges. This is incredible to me - because Americans are much more attached to what each other believes, or thinks, or whatever.

~French people care about what they eat. The food is amazing. Every morning bakeries display an amazing amount of goodies along with their bread. There are so many bakeries in town, the kind which we find maybe one per city in the US, and they bake fresh daily. When friends come over, the meals are huge and long, with multiple courses. (By the way, entree is not the main dish, America. Entree is the apetizer. Sheesh.)

~French people care about making things beautiful. This means art, parks, buildings, houses, gardens, food. SO MANY French people have this small beautifully-designed window sills covered in flowers...they're everywhere. They care very much about their history, so lots of things are preserved beautfully, including architecture. When walking through parks and through town I can't help but feel joy in just looking around me. I am thankful to be surrounded by beauty.

~Public transportation is awesome. Rennes is the smallest city with a metro, and it rocks! I take the bus AND the metro to get to school everyday but it only takes me about 20 minutes.

So, I'm loving it here.

I hope I will update more often, I really really hope. (I was going to add promise but I don't want to break it!)

I love you... yes, you!