My time living in Cannes seems to be flying by! The days are getting warmer and the sun is staying out later, yet even with these longer days, I still feel as busy as ever. In large part, I have my study abroad program (AIFS) to thank. The two local reps from AIFS have an office right on campus, and they are always incredibly welcoming and helpful. Every week they provide us with a newsletter of the upcoming events as well as advice on things like dealing with homesickness, French food, or radio stations for French news and music. AIFS has offered food and wine tastings, shown French movies, and have taken us on several day-trips, including the very small and very wealthy county of Monaco, the medieval city of Eze, and Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. With all of these visits, they include insightful tours and fun activities and also leave free time for independent exploration.
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| One of the yacht-studded ports of Monaco |
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| One of the world's first major casinos is located in Monte Carlo |
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| Parade from the "Carnaval" in Nice |
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| Perfume factory and museum of Grasse |
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| The 400 scents that a professional perfumer must memorize by scent and chemical composition |
For anyone looking to study abroad and comparing different companies, I would recommend looking into what excursions and activities they offer. All of these trips with AIFS have greatly added to the value and depth of my experience in Cannes. I cannot over-emphasize how important it is to travel while studying abroad. What's great about Europe is that independent travel on the weekend is easy and affordable. Every Friday there are several people from our group packing up to spend a few days in Paris, Milan, Dublin, Barcelona or Berlin. In the US you could fly for an hour and be in the same state. In Europe, you can land in a new country with a radically different culture with its own language, food, dress, etc. As for myself, I'm very excited to be spending our upcoming Spring Break exploring Amsterdam, Cologne, and Barcelona.
À bientôt,
Kara
Bonjour, Kara!
ReplyDeleteI have found your blog very interesting. Since I have some French ancestry in me and I did a small presentation on the country of France in LEAD 203 earlier this semester, I feel very drawn to it. In describing Paris versus Cannes, you have indicated that the overall attitude toward foreigners and life in general is different. Are there other differences between the two in mannerisms, for instance? I learned from the Lewis text that French people are very formal when conducting business and introduce themselves to someone for the first time; they keep coats on and use last names only, for instance. Does that only apply to areas like Paris? Or does Cannes retain some degree of social formality?
Sorry for the delay in responding! I had some computer trouble, but it's all fixed up now. In general yes, to Americans the French may appear more formal. In the US it's perfectly normal to smile at a stranger walking by or sitting next to on a bus, but in France they believe that every smile sends a message so they do not smile at people they don't know. This may be one reason the French come off as more formal or why they have the reputation of being rude. In Cannes, with a more relaxed, beachy setting, you're much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone in a grocery store, something that is very unlikely to happen in Paris. I haven't had a business interaction just yet, but when I begin my internship during the Festival, I will be sure pay attention to their mannerisms. Besides the general demographic differences between the two cities, there's a distinct linguistic difference as well. People from the Côte d'Azur have an accent and use more contractions when they speak. Overall, I would say Paris leans linear active and Cannes more multi-active, (probably because of it's close proximity to Italy), which helps explain why in Lewis' culture model, France is between linear and multi-active. Thanks for commenting and I hope I answered everything!
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DeleteHi Kara,
ReplyDeleteI am impressed by how you are truly embracing the French culture as a whole. I think it takes a lot of courage to eliminate some of the Western fall backs such as music and food while you are abroad. Do you find that the descriptions of the different countries you have been to were accurately described by the Lewis textbook? Best Always!
Salut! While it's been over a year since I've read the Lewis chapter on France, as you know I've been keeping it mind throughout this journey and I find myself going back and forth with how I feel about it. There's no doubt that what Lewis did, by giving summary of a so many cultures, is highly impressive. But on the other hand, he's trying to describe an entire country, so naturally he's forced to make large generalizations and leave out a lot of information. For example, he doesn't cover the history of these countries to help illustrate why they are the way the are. So what's the value of knowing these thin, broad insights of over a hundred cultures? So yes, it's fairly accurate, but it's also such a small window into French culture. I guess I'd say the book is useful if you want a glimpse into the different cultures of many countries. But if the point of reading the book is to help you understand and work with people from other cultures, the book should be seen as a starting point. That's not to say you have to pack up and move somewhere for 5 years to learn more, but even looking back and researching the history of a country and keeping up with their news will improve you're understanding immensely. If you have anything in particular in mind that he said about France, let me know I can respond to that directly as well. Glad to hear from you!
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ReplyDeleteHello Kara,
ReplyDeleteI am Zachary Janus a sophomore leadership student at Marietta College. I'm glad that your trip is going well and that the experience has been beneficial to your learning path. With this being said in my global leadership class taught by Doctor McManus we have been discussing religious leadership and how it affects cultures. With you being in France, I'm assuming that it is a Roman Catholic country like many European countries are. What role does religion play in the French culture. Do you think that has any authority in government and if it does how so? I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!
Salut!
DeleteThis is a great question, because religion has a very interesting and specific role French culture. You're right in that France is predominately Catholic at 65% in 2006, but this a shrinking majority that was 80% in the '60s. In addition, 27% of people identify as atheist, and France also houses that second largest Jewish community outside of Israel (after the US).
Today, the French practice "laïcité," which many people think is the same as our "separation of church and state" policy, but it's much more than that. France is a secular Republic (more similar to Turkey even than the US) with the perspective that religion has no place in government and should remain in the private domain. In fact, religious rights are limited by the rights of the Republic. The best example of this is the debate over the wearing of headscarves in schools by muslim girls. This was a very large debate that I could go into further detail about if you wish, but for now I'll just say that the result was a complete ban of "ostentatious" displays of religion in schools.
So Catholicism, or any religion has no influence on the government. The French are often taken back by our "in God we trust" motto that's on our money and that our president says after every speech, which would never happen here.
I'm glad you asked about this, and I can elaborate on any part of my response if you have any more questions about it!
Hi Kara!
ReplyDeleteYou talked about how different it is to be able to take a short flight to be in another country, do think having that many different cultures available to the people from these areas makes them more open to other cultures? Hope you're enjoying your time left!
Emma Strick
Bonjour!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question, because I assumed the same thing! However, for the most part French people don't travel outside of the country (or very much within France itself). The French are very connected to their roots and often stay in the region in which they grew up. It's a country of immigration with very people emigrating out, even to attend university or to be an au pair (nanny) for just a few years. In addition to not traveling as much as one would think, the French culture is also assimilationist, meaning that people who come here are expected to blend in and adopt the French culture. For these two reasons, I would not say that France is not especially more open to other cultures.