The saddest day in Cherbourg
27/05/2009
Today is our last day in Cherbourg. We had class as usual(4 hours) BUT it went by quickly as usual because we just had series of conversations based on different prompts from our book. For our final exam, our class had to keep up a 15-20 minute conversation in French about topics like cultural differences, food, the program. It went particularly well because we helped each other out, especially when we were stuck on a word or phrase. We talked the most about food and how delicious the croque monsieurs were, ALTHOUGH they are simply glorified ham and cheese sandwiches. I talked about the lack of personal space in France. For instance, the people here get very close to you when you speak HOWEVER you rarely see the French hug one another. I also commented that the French do not use the language barrier as an excuse to be rude to us, BUT they are more welcoming when they recognize our efforts to speak their language. This made me consider our own culture wherein we EXPECT foreigners to know our language before setting foot on our soil and how upset we get when they don’t use english. There are a few times wherein we will try to speak their language to help them, but for the most part, Americans act offended when they hear different languages. I am disappointed by this and find this to be condusive to the idea that Americans are egotistical and narrow-minded. On the positive side, this can be corrected by introducing younger generations to experiences that promote diversity…such as this! In order to understand yourself(or in this case, your culture) better, you must be on the outside looking in. Hopefully, others will see the merit in experiences like this and pursue them. YAY! STUDY ABROAD! Anywho, after taking the final, it was a mad dash to pack up and clean our rooms. Our bus for Paris was leaving at 7AM sharp. My method for packing was sitting on my suitcase as I zipped it up-THAT is how stuffed I was with cookies, wine, and winter clothes! Jenny, Becca,Amryn,Courtney, and I went out for dinner. We dined at quite possibly the ritziest restaurant in town—Sarcozy and Obama worthy….Oncle Scott’s County Restaurant! And it was a hoot! Situated in the heart of Cherbourg’s shopping district, Oncle Scott’s restaurant offers the finest burger plates, fries, and baked potatoes(overflowing with mounds of sour cream). Our server(whose real name was probably NOT Eric) was dressed in a cowboy hat, shirt, and boots. He was wonderful and the food was MMmmMMmm Texas Roadhouse-esque. And the best part? The owner..my uncle Scott…lives in Vicksburg, Virginia. What an ideal location to start a franchise, huh?! We left the restaurant and headed home, but stopped in a really cool looking bar called PAZ. The dazzle was short lived because we were the only ones in there and the bartender was playing some super cheesy house music. All in all, it was another good chuckle. We arrived back at the Institut to Britney’s French family. It was quite the fete, and oddly, I had some really deep talks with some of the Frenchies. One talk was about nuclear pollution- I was wearing an anti-pollution shirt and Cyrielle(Cocoa Puff) struck up a conversation with me about it. Basically, she believe in the message of my shirt, but could not support it because her family worked in that industry. Without the nuclear power industry, many people would be unemployed-it is the backbone of their economy. The organization that I bought the shirt from(GreenPeace) is not popular in France, for that very reason. I found this most interesting because Ive seen so many efforts towards achieving global sustainability- I figured the younger generations would support organizations such as GreenPeace. But much like our own American society, we follow the lead of our elders, including their industries. However, as much as I understand, and can somewhat relate, I do hope they pursue possibilities in alternative energy&fuel sources.
The night was bittersweet. We did not want to leave our newfound friends and cozy town of Cherbourg BUT we were so eager to get to Paris…the city of lights. For once I am thankful for social networking sites like Facebook. We will keep in touch, and ideally we will communicate in French. I hate goodbyes, but they must be said. It helped a little that we were rushing to make it to our bus on time. And so, instead of Au Revoir, I will say A Bientot(Until next time)!