Hello from the US! I am happy to be back in the states, but I miss my friends and the city of Tours. I came to love all of my teachers, and I miss my classes very much already. Immediately after coming back, I went straight to California for an SSLP. Since I have been in California, I have spent so much time thinking about all I learned during my time in Tours.
I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity because of all I have been able to learn, and the ways in which my perspective has changed. After this experience, I have a far deeper understanding of and appreciation for French culture. I have been particularly struck by the importance of culture to the French people. It is difficult to equate or even compare the culture of France to that of the United States. Of course, this distinction exists between the US and most nations because of the brutal ways in which our country was founded. The values of our founders and the time at which they arrived has meant that our country ascribes neither to an indigenous culture nor to any singular European one.
There is, however, a value placed on culture that is seemingly unique to France. In our last week of classes, we focused on the French school system, and analyzed differences between the ways in which children learn in France and the rest of the world. I was surprised by many of the methods by it was most difficult for me to imagine a school in which there is such an emphasis placed on culture. It is necessary that all students express an interest in the history and contemporary events of France.
Our professor spoke about the fear of nationalism among French people, and I had learned about this and read about this idea for many years, but I was finally able to understand it. It was interesting to consider the distinction between love for one’s nation and pride and nationalism.
One of the most popular topics of discussion in class was the subject of immigration and the refugee crisis, specifically the crisis facing the European Union. When we spoke about this in our class of people from across Europe, the discussion quickly developed into an intense debate. Students from Spain all agreed that their nation had taken more than its fair share of refugees, and that other European nations needed to accept more migrants. The larger problem, they argued, was not finding a place for these people to go, but that their home nations needed to arrive at a state at which masses of people did not flee from them. This was not a very popular opinion, as the other European students argued that solving the political problems at the source of the conflicts in countries like Libya and Syria would take years and likely generations and the current inhabitants needed immediate aid.
I know that these conversations were so meaningful because I was able to have them in such a unique setting. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to have learned at the Institute of Touraine and to have formed such amazing relationships. My time in Tours has proven to me that I want to go to back to France very soon, and hopefully develop my French well enough to be able to work in France after school.
I have seen immense growth in my ability to express myself in French and to understand spoken and written French. I am most excited about the improvements in my ability to understand recordings in French, as this was the area with which I have struggled most in the past. I am also very pleased with the changes that I have seen in my written work, as my essays have become more complex and sophisticated. Since I have been home, I have been watching as many videos in French as I could. As I go back to campus, I am excited about my French course for this semester.