Bonjour!

WARNING! Should you visit France, take note that it is only acceptable to say “Bonjour!” once a day per person you meet. I found this out after a month of using “Bonjour!” the same way I would use “hello”. I would say “Bonjour!” to my colleagues every time I entered the staff room, and every time I saw them in the hall. I must have said “Bonjour!” to some people upwards of 5 times daily. I laughed really hard when I discovered my folly. I wonder why nobody else clued me in! I guess I’m going to have to start using the other “hello” option “Salut!”.

Recently an acquaintance named Gildas told me I’m the reason people aren’t allowed to talk on cell phones and drive. Everyone in the room laughed, and I was clueless. Someone was kind enough to explain that the gestures I rely on to be understood are creative. So I joined the laughter, and promised I won’t need gestures in February. Later I told Gildas, “I like to help”. He responded, “I don’t understand”. So after carefully reconsidering the construction and vocabulary of my phrase and adding a few gestures for good measure I restated, “I like to help”. Gildas laughed at me, and said that my phrase was correct the first time. At that moment it occurred to me that I was being teased about my logic and habits. I had a good laugh about this. It was relieving to be misunderstood on a pseudo intellectual level after a month of being told countless times daily that someone didn’t understand me, because what I said was incomprehensible. I spent the weekend with Gildas and he tried several times to joke with me, but I don’t get jokes, sarcasm, or teasing in French yet. It’s all I can do to understand the literal. It must have amused him to watch me struggle, because he also spoke in French proverbs which are much harder to understand than jokes. My first French course starts next Friday.

Myself and many French women are in love with Christophe Mae at the moment. Check out the video of my favorite song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_kAH8GyNNA

Waving

Americans like to wave. It’s a way to acknowledge people. Germans are less enthusiastic about the waving, but they have a similar attitude. French people have a whole different attitude all together. While in France, I have received some funny looks for waving and I was starting to get the feeling that my gesture wasn’t entirely appreciated. However it takes more than a few awkward waves to break an old habit. Therefore, when a car drove by while I was playing on a deserted country road with Axel, (the son of my French Family), I waved. I was a little shocked when the driver turned around, got out of the car, and started talking to me. I asked him if one of the boys playing soccer in the field was his son, and he said no. We chatted a little more, and then he left. Upon recounting this experience to Carole I was told that in France people only wave to friends and it implies one should stop and chat. Oh la la!

The French custom toward waving is particularly amusing since the French say “Bonjour!” every chance they get. I walked into the doctors office and quietly took my seat like I normally would in the States, but the people must have thought I was rude! Everyone who entered the waiting room after me said “Bonjour!” and everyone waiting politely responded in chorus “Bonjour!” How could I have known?

Schedule

My life is relaxing here in Metz. I only spend about 32 hours doing work-like activities per week. As a frame of reference, I worked about 30 hours while I was a full time student and track athlete. I never realized I was so stressed as a student because I was always happy, but now that I have a more balanced schedule I can feel a radical difference in my body.

Mondays I arrive in Florange at 8:00am. I only teach two classes on Monday, so I spend the rest of the day making lesson plans and pretending to be a French middle schooler. The first couple of times my students saw me taking classes with them they were shocked. It’s good for my French to sit in on classes, but it’s also good for my relationship with the students. I only teach each student once every two or three weeks, so it is really hard to learn names, build a relationship, and see progress.

Tuesday and Thursday I’m at school from 8am until 5pm and I spend most of that time teaching. Wednesday I babysit all day for a wonderful nine year old boy named Paulo. Friday I’m off.

In the evenings Monday through Thursday I usually eat diner in the cafeteria with my friend Ursula. After diner I typically go to my room to write e-mails, skype, or read.

On the weekends (Friday through Sunday!!!) I go out on Friday or Saturday night, I explore Metz, I run errands, and I spend time with my French family. I stay fairly busy, but it’s an intentional busyness, not overwhelming busyness. I was dreading living alone, but thus far it hasn’t been as lonely as last time. I would prefer to have someone to say good morning and good night too, but I spend all day interacting with people so coming home hasn’t been too bad.

I just updated my facebook with pictures from before I left, and I am hoping to put up some pictures of France next week. If you are interested in what I did before I left for France you can click on this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2134084&id=25913832

Big Sigh

Thanks to the help of my colleagues I have settled into the Foyzez Mozart, a comfortable all girls dormitory. Under no circumstances are boys allowed to visit the rooms! The girls are between 16 – 25 years old, and we are all affectionately referred to as “young girls”. The women who live at Foyez Mozart are students, workers, mothers, or all three. Additionally, everyone who lives there is qualified to receive housing assistance from the government. It is evident that the staff at Foyez Mozart really strive to provide a safe and understanding place for young women who are trying to establish themselves.

My room is bright yellow with a small kitchenette and bathroom. I am also on a meal plan of 16 meals a month in the cafeteria. Foyez Mozart is right in the heart of Metz and the lease is month to month. Best of all I’ve made friends with a Spanish language assistant from Chile who lives two floors down.

I’m better at French than when I arrived, but I have a long way to go. At the moment I’m truly embarrassed to say I studied French in college. French frustrates me in ways that I don’t remember being frustrated in German. I’m trying to look at it as an opportunity to practice patience and build compassion. Several common words are maddeningly similar to each other in French. This led to me telling my friend that his cat is a good slipper, when I meant to say hunter. If two words are similar I can usually hear the difference but it’s much harder to articulate the difference. Moreover, French is spoken like a language lubricated with ky jelly. Thus French words slide together into a rapid word mess creating notoriously beautiful yet incomprehensible sounds.

Despite my frequent requests for phrases to be repeated slowly, French people have been very patient with me. They regularly say things like you speak more French than I speak English. My favorite thing is occasionally someone will tell me I speak French like a German.

Now that I have the basic living necessities organized I think my French will improve exponentially. I am reading more, and I am auditing classes at my middle school. I was also fortunate enough to get an all day baby sitting gig every Wednesday. Baby sitting should be a rewarding way to keep busy and learn French. My goal is to be able to read Simone de Beauvoir by March.

I finished my first week of teaching and I’m starting another. I’m still adjusting to teaching, and I’ll report back later.