Sondage

Here (finally!) is the promised sondage! Well, I don't know how reliable it is, since it was collected from only five French people, one of whom is actually Chinese...

Here are the questions:

1. What's your impression of Americans and the United States?

2. What is the biggest difference between the U.S. and France in your opinion?

3. Is there something you would like to say to Americans?


My French teacher:

1. I don't know the United States very well, I've never been there and I'm sure that my head is filled with clichés! I think that it's a very diverse country: diverse opinions, diverse customs, diverse origins... also a diverse geography (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Louisiana, Alaska...)

2. Perhaps it's the difference in lifestyle that comes from the size of the country or the liberal ideaology ("The American Dream"*) that's deeply rooted in Americans' minds.

3. I'd like to tell them to be more liberal about social issues, to be more open-minded and to not confuse beliefs and intolerance (another difference is religious views).

*This was in English in the text.


My host sister's friend:

1. Cheese

2. We like squirrels

3. French people don't say "hon hon hon" all the time*

*( I think she was referring to something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o1AIMofVHU )


My host brother's girlfriend's friend:

1. From what I've learned, American culture is a culture that is focused on the future, a culture where you dare to throw yourself into projects without fearing failure, whereas French people are a lot more cautious; they're afraid to take the initiative and don't like change.

2. Like my answer to the first question, I think that the biggest difference is the adventurous American state of mind opposed to the French people's conservative state of mind.

3. We wash ourselves, we're not monsters just because we eat frogs or horses.


The Chinese guy:

1. There aren't any CDIs in America.*
They very probably live under stress.
But in France taxes are too high. We are not happy with this in France!

2. French people don't work! Always on strike.

3. French people eat horses!
And the French didn't invent perfume for nothing, you can smell it in the public transport.

*I'm not sure which CDI he was referring to: http://www.wordreference.com/fren/CDI


His girlfriend:

1. Barack Obama and François Hollande

2.

3. We wash ourselves!*

*Note added by her boyfriend: Or not?


Well, there you go, straight from the horse's mouth! (By the way, if you were wondering why there were so many references to horses, it was because the horse meat scandal was in the news when I took the survey.) I'm not sure if this has dispelled or reinforced stereotypes...

And I'm sorry if my translation is a little funky. It's so weird not being able to trust myself when I speak English!

What happened to April!?

 Here I was, merrily (or unmerrily) passing my time in France and then BOOM! It's mid-May. I have less than two months left! How the heck did that happen?

So suddenly it's time to start thinking about all the things that I want to do before I have to go home, all the people that I want to hang out with, and all this while preparing for the BIG BAD BAC. (Okay, I don't really have to prepare for it since it doesn't matter if I flunk it, but the nervous energy in the class is contagious!)

Here are the things that I want to do before I go:

1. Learn how to make crèpes

-Every time that my host brother comes home from the fac, we eat crêpes the first night. Crêpes with Nutella, crêpes with powdered sugar, crêpes with Boursin, crêpes with Comté... I can't come home without knowing how to make them! I need to spread this delicious tradition!

2. Write a song in French

-Even when you can speak a language comfortably, it's still REALLY HARD to write poetry. You have to look up those poetic words that no one uses on a daily basis but that are used all the time in verse. I have decided that this will be my last self-imposed linguistic challenge...

3. Start reading the news

Despite being here for nearly nine months, I still haven't figured out the political system. I used to glance at the home page (http://www.lemonde.fr/) every time that I went online, and I wondered why it was always talking about Holland. We're in France! Since then I have learned that François Hollande is the president of France, and that he's the second président de gauche of the French Fifth Republic. But that's just skimming the surface! Before I go, I want to have a better idea about the French government.

4. Start watching T.V.

Like the last resolution, this one is about soaking up the most culture I can before leaving. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about a country just from watching its commercials! In France, there are more commercials selling perfume and milk products- naturally. And slogans and jingles are great for learning words and puns!

http://www.culturepub.fr/spots?filter=rates_average&country_id=1

5. Treat myself

Every time I pass a pâtisserie in Besançon, I think to myself : "That looks incredibly delicious and sugary. I should probably not eat it." But you know what? There is really no point in just looking at pastries. You HAVE to eat them. So I have decided that I'll just have to eat them.

Street Fashion in Besançon

Street style is something that I've really gotten into- especially since I've been exposed to the plethora of creative styles in Europe. Just walking around in Besançon, you can spot a bunch of amazing outfits! Since it's now spring and people are getting out their more colorful clothes, I decided to take some pictures for the blog. So... I don't know if anyone other than me cares about this, but here we go!

 Scarves are an essential part of your wardrobe in France! (As is a jean or leather jacket).

This is more of a style bohème- very common in Besançon.

 I love the pants here! 

 The outfit on the left is a good example of the creative colors you can see in Besançon.

A wide array of styles in a small group!

And the following pictures show some of the many, many clothing stores in Besançon centre ville:

 Thank you to everyone who was nice enough to let me take a picture of them! It was my first time trying out street photography, and I got turned down a lot.