It has been a pretty quiet week this week. Most of my classes are still canceled, a fact that I only learn after going to the class. I took some pictures of the posters all over campus.
La fac stands for la faculté, or school, university. The next one says 'Students on strike against the education reforms,' which I'm sure any of you who have studied a little Spanish or French got!
I did have a few classes on Thursday last week and one of them was just way too fun. First of all, it was in English because it's in the Anglo-American studies department and it's on British History after 1945. So I think being in a lecture that was so similar to home, even though it was 2 hours long, was just so stimulating and interesting. But also, the professor was just hilarious! He must have been French, but with a perfect English accent- he even dressed English- like Bridget Jones' dad or something. Really ugly sweater- anything un-chic around here really stands out. He was talking about how England had to become much more socialist during and after WWII than it had ever been. He taught the French kids about the Protestant work ethic, and mentioned that in England (and in the US to a certain extent) being lazy was a very very shameful thing. (To us it's like duh, right?) He said, "Can you imagine calling an unemployed person lazy? Can you imagine?" and he repeated it in French for them, just to make sure. Later, I literally could not stop laughing after he said, "In France, we believe you must help the poor, in Britain, you don't help the poor- you kick them!" God, I can't recreate how funny it was but I almost died. I guess it was also context- these kids were actually taking notes and no one laughed besides me when he said that. Like their notes must have been "a. French = help poor, British = kick"
I was actually thinking about that before I had that class. It's one of the huge differences for me here- there is no shame in being lazy. I mean, this is a country that invented joie de vivre, a word that we had to hijack because we don't have an equivalent, even though we have almost seven times the number of words in the English language than the French do. (I know I should cite that number but I really couldn't find a good source. I don't know what the exact number is, but we do have a heck of a lot more words for things than they do.) In any case, I will definitely come back to this point soon, since I spend a lot of time thinking about it here.
Saturday was Valentine's Day and my host family was gone so I had some friends over for a potluck. It was really nice to cook and to have the place to myself. I didn't realize how much I miss having friends to live with- and having my own place.
Anyway, I better get going- I have to pack. Spring Break is next week and I am going to Barcelona and (drumroll, please) Marrakesh, Morocco! I'll be in Barcelona 3 nights, Marrakesh 4, and back to Barcelona for another 3 before heading home on the 2nd. So I'll miss a blog entry but the next one will have TONS of pictures, I am sure. And yes, my mom knows and is only having a minor heart attack. Yes, I will be with many friends and am staying in a safe place. No, I don't even know what hashish is. And finally, yes, I do hope to ride a camel. Bisous!
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Julia, that was beautifully written, and just utterly perfect. I spend more time in awe of the failings of the American system when I am with my European friends. Even Argentinians can's believe I have to pay for school! I was laughing out loud at what your professor said, too...A lazy unemployed person. The shock of it. I was just telling Sheena that I wish that everyone had the opportunity to go abroad and these kinds of things.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, I miss living with my friends, too. And having them cook for me. I miss you, miss you, and have a great time on Spring Break. Only slightly different than spring break in California, huh? Amor y paz.