Reflections on France and our Trip to Date

Reflections on France and our Trip to Date

 

Now that the buzz of living in France and travelling throughout Europe is wearing off, I have some time to reflect on what it’s all meant (so far) and why this was the right choice for us.  It also gives me an opportunity to think about the cultures we’ve experienced and critically assess what it’s like to learn in another school in another country, the pros (many), the cons (a few) and hopefully how it will shape me, my career and our family track.

First, living in France

France is an amazingly warm and friendly country.  This… is not what we expected.  Yes the French have a habit of telling you what they think and how they think you should act. If you take it as friendly banter, it’s kind of funny.  Also I’ve personally had only a few encounters where my French is actually corrected.  Instead, most people try to help, often by finishing my sentences for me.

In fact everyone has bent over backwards to help us rent our place, get a bank account, get settled, fit in.  There are those who aren't very helpful, but it’s the same as Canada - you steer away from them and look for people with smiles on their faces.

And the food – oh my God the food!  Good wine and cheese is so cheap one could live on them alone!  Everything tastes good and the fresh market is incredible – it really makes you wonder at the state of our food production in North America.  Even something as banal as jars of pasta sauce are way better than our standards. We visited Dijon’s International Gastronomic Festival this past week and sampled everything from Eau de Vie (should be Eau de Mort) to cheeses, wines and chocolates.    

Yes the French dress well, all the time.  They’re not really creative in colour or style, but they also don’t wear sweats, ever, and are even well dressed when they go for a jog.  Scarves seem to be ubiquitous, for both men and women, berets are still worn by the elderly and even very young kids are well presented in public. 

In my opinion France is characterized by a confident insecurity (a good example is public settings – no one talks loud, no one stands out and no one breaks with the norm).  Children are still seen and not heard, making our kids distinctly different.  Shawn and Annabeth talk loud, and they talk to anyone, regardless of language barriers.  Generally they get big smiles, but occasionally a “niss-niss”, the French vocalization for disapproval. 

This is likely shaped by profound geo-political events that Canadians can’t even imagine, something we’re reminded of this Rememberance Day long weekend. 

A perceived decline in cultural status is a matter of national concern and has generated national debates.  France played an important role in resolving the Euro Crisis but it also became apparent that Germany is now the economic powerhouse of Europe while England has claimed the status of banking dynamo.  Where that leaves France is of great consternation here.

French people are still however very confident in their opinions and their world outlook.  Their system of working little and eating well works for them and generally they disapprove of US workaholics.  A standard work week is 35hrs, they take two hours off for lunch and yes, they still go to the boulangerie every morning for baguettes (except Mondays when our boulangerie is closed – why… we haven’t figured that out.)

In fact this is the funniest thing about France- things are open or closed… and when either happens is still a mystery to us.  We’ve come to expect that something for some reason will be closed (a road, a restaurant, our grocery store, the parc…) and we never know for sure why (or can understand the explanation).  When we first got here we were very frustrated by it (who the hell closes the Ikea restaurant at 5pm!!), now we let it roll off us and keep plugging along and shrug our shoulders – in what is becoming, for us, a very French shrug.

All this being said, living in France has expanded our world like probably nothing else could.  From learning languages (Shawn can carry on short conversations and order his own meal at a restaurant), to experiencing new perspectives, and gaining appreciation for different cultures – the kids will grow up global citizens, something we established as a priority when we first discussed having kids.  

It’s also proven to us that we can achieve the really big dreams, meet challenges and accomplish the big goals, even with kids J  But above all, it’s for the adventure – and the stories that will bind us for a lifetime. 

From double decker buses and the Royal Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, to lunch with family in Inverary, the Western Isles Hotel in ‘Balamory’, Calgary beach, hairy coos, costumes at Durart Castle, searching out the McFadyen castle on the shores of Loch Buie, experiencing the exact spot where John and Paul met, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Albert Docks, dawn over Stonehenge, HenryVIII’s armor, travelling through the Chunnel, exploring our new house and park in Dijon, swimming in the Mediterranean, visiting friends in the small French town of Soubes, exploring Knights Templar castles, Grotte de la Clamouse, stumbling on a bull fight in Nimes, sunset over Pont du Gar, the Tour Eiffel, Disneyland Paris, hiking above Grindelwald, riding the Jungfraubahn, looking down the Eiger north face, riding the Funicular, Bavarian food in Fussen, the Neuschwanstein Castle, driving through Austria (and Lichtenstein – but if you blinked…) and finally Halloween, gondolas, vaporetti, pigeons and licoritcia in Venice.

These are the stories no will be able to take away from us and will forever define us as a family.

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