Mostly Good Things

School lunches are good. They serve baguettes with every meal (one mini baguette per person!) which makes everything better. Today, for example, I ate salmon with rice? I think? or some kind of grain... along with salad, a slice of cantaloupe, and this incredible dessert thing that was pear covered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and toasted almonds. Like, literally a dessert you'd buy at a nice restaurant. Other news about food includes that either I'm getting used to it, I'm finding less fatty things to eat, or that after the first couple days of travel-sickness my stomach could handle it better. Some combination of the three, and we'll say that food and I are getting along much better these days.

School is going well. I have sort of two different groups of people I hang out with, and they're all very accommodating. As far as coursework goes, well, let's just put it bluntly and say I studied most of this between 7^th and 9^th grade. The only classes that give me any trouble are physics (because I suspect the prof doesn't completely know what he's talking about, besides the fact that I've never taken physics) and French. French class is, obviously, like English class is for us anglophones – a class in analyzing literature. If you think about the texts we study in a typical English class – Shakespeare, Hemingway, Twain, etc. – they are not easy for most anglophones to understand. (Otherwise, what would be the point?) So now imagine that you're a Japanese exchange student trying to understand them. Tu aurais du mal! So this is me, being lost in Femmes Savantes by Molière. But math is great fun because it's basic algebra so I sort of just chillax and look smart, biology is what I studied in 9^th grade (which I hated at the time, but now I appreciate the simplicity), English class is honestly just boring, and in general I don't feel too overwhelmed. I have two remarkably good teachers – possibly three, because I think my French teacher is brilliant but I can't really tell. Heehee. But both my biology and history/geography teachers are terrific lecturers and have been incredibly helpful and understanding about my whole French-as-a-second-language problem. Anyway, that's going well.

I realized last week that I need to stop thinking about my experiences here in relation to chez moi. Essentially, it's very easy to think about everything that happens here (for example, biking into town and seeing a really old church) as a cool story I can tell at some college party that will make me seem interesting and well-travelled. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but I think I would have a better time and integrate myself better if I really start thinking about France as my new home; visiting the old church is cool because a) it's cool and b) it's getting to know my town better. Since I realized this, I slowly have been thinking less about my year here as a story to make my life more interesting once I'm past it, and more about actually living it. I've been feeling more comfortable every day with navigating social situations and finding my classrooms and not looking like a stupid foreigner, which allows me to begin to appreciate the everyday, which is one of my favorite hobbies. I take pleasure in little things and small victories: admiring the scenery on the bus home. Succeeding in social small talk. Math class, and being able to help out my friends who always help me out. Today I took the super overly-complicated bus system home, and didn't get lost even though there were about five places I could have easily gone wrong – it seems ridiculous, but I was proud of myself. I wish I lived close enough to the high school to walk or bike, but at the same time, figuring out the bus is yet another way of gaining confidence and independence. I also love the moments when people don't realize I'm American. Today a kid on the bus asked me if the seat next to me was taken. Saying “no, go ahead” is such a simple phrase that even with my gros accent américain, I can manage a three-word phrase without giving away my origins. (I think.) So it was literally only a two phrase exchange, but I love when I can deal with an everyday situation without having to ask them to repeat themselves or relying on my friends to help me. (Tl;dr, hurray I said 3 words in French on the bus. I must be practically French by now. Yes I am making fun of myself.)

Yesterday I went to my first Ultimate Frisbee night! I have played frisbee for the last 4 years at home, but assumed it was an American sport and didn't even bring my cleats to France. Turns out, there's an Ultimate league in Challans that meets two days a week. It's the first year this club has existed, but somehow everyone already knows how to play and are in fact very skilled. I consider myself not half bad, as a frisbee player, but I felt pretty sloppy compared to these guys. The coach is nice, though, and said it would be fine if I kept playing with them – we'll just work on my technique a little. ;) The most important thing I learned from yesterday's training? Playing frisbee barefoot is not ideal. Fortunately, Maman found me some cleats that belonged to a cousin or something that are exactly the right size, so next week should be a little easier.

Here's some things that maybe you didn't know about France:

The stop signs don't say “arrêt,” they say “stop.”

True to the stereotype, French people are generally extremely well-dressed, and all the girls wear make-up to school (in large quantities...). I wish I were a guy – the fashion thing really intimidates me, and though the guys are also better dressed than American guys, it's more straight-forward.

I think of Americans as quite ignorant of international politics, geography, customs, etc., but it turns out that everyone is ignorant of stuff that happens outside their homeland. I'm constantly surprised by the things I say that surprise people. For example, they never would have imagined that the school system works differently in other countries – that I don't have to pass the “Bacc,” which is essentially a more difficult high-school exit/college entrance exam, because for me it's the grades in my classes that count toward a diploma. They also see a fair amount of American politics in the news, but don't understand it at a very deep level. (I shouldn't criticize – I know almost nothing about French politics.)

The stereotype of Americans is what I think of as the stereotype of the South: fat, McDonald's-eating, ultra-conservative gunslingers. But at the same time, they see the US as a dream of advanced society, where everything cool comes from – technology, music, education, even fashion. A study in contradiction. Regardless, they are all fascinated with America.

The two questions I have been asked most frequently: 1) Are there really cheerleaders? (They call them pompom-girls. So cute!) 2) Is there really prom?

That's all for today. I need my beauty sleep.