dankrill – Summer Language Abroad 2022

Cultural Event: Les Festivals de La Musique

One phenomenon that has intrigued me for some time is the music festival. I have learned that there are two main types: private and public. A few weeks ago, I attended the Marsatac festival in Marseille to see my favorite artist of all time, Damso. It was magical; so much so that I cried happy tears on the walk home from the bus station.

This concert was quite honestly one of the best moments of my life. I also made friends with some French people on the bus and stuck with them for part of the night.

At the festival, there were other attractions and artists to see, as well as food and drink, and it took place in a large park that was not far from one of the larger beaches in Marseille. This was my impression of a music festival, so the notion of something more public was very intriguing to me. Online, the public music festival of Aix looked to be similar; the tourism office promotes it as a cultural gathering with all types of music. At the same time, there was a similar festival that same night in Marseille right by the beach, but this was marketed as more of an EDM rave. Although it was a tough decision, I decided to stay in Aix with my friends from class and explore La Fête de La Musique in Aix. I made the right choice. The main street in Aix, le Cours Mirabeau, was absolutely full of people waiting to see the next act on a stage at the end of the street. We walked a few minutes to the main squares further into the city center, and they were also full of people. Bars played music loud, and there were makeshift stages in the corners of the squares. Essentially, almost everywhere you went, there was music and people. I learned that the scene earlier in the day was much different, consisting of more folk music exhibitions.

A large group of Brazilian street performers were also in attendance at the music festival in Aix.

Broadly, however, it was an intensely gratifying experience to hear French music in stores, bars, and clubs. I have been listening to French music for the past six years, but I have never heard it in public, let alone with everyone around me singing along. I mentioned in my application that I wanted to go to Marseille because some of my favorite rappers come from that city. Yet, I did not know the grip that two of them, Jul and Naps, exerted on the city.

This is the sign of the most famous rapper from Marseille, Jul.

As I explored Marseille, I recognized monuments and street names from song lyrics, and it made me feel like I knew the city so much better. All in all, I know for a fact that I will dearly miss the music scene in Provence, but I find comfort in knowing that I can take it with me wherever I go.

Attitudes: Perceptions of America

Through talking with friends from my classes and with other French people whom I have met, my perspective of the United States is changing greatly. Of course, the stereotypes about being ignorant, without good fashion, and reasonably patriotic make sense to me. In fact, I was asked to verify a TikTok about American high school students who made egregious mistakes in basic geography, and my friends were shocked to find out what me and most of my fellow Notre Dame students normally wear to class. A classmate from Turkey even referred to me regularly as “le capitaliste”! Despite these negative stereotypes, a prevailing attitude about the United States is that it is a popular travel destination or even a desired destination for work, if one’s English is at a sufficient level. More broadly, however, certain policies and norms in the United States came under question as “backwards” relative to France. Between the recent leaked Roe opinion and the longstanding drinking age of 21, many of my friends see the United States as more socially conservative than France. Personally, I was shocked to find out that high school students start going out to nightclubs as young as 15.

Another cultural difference is driving. It is much less common for people my age to have a driver’s license, and the rules of the road also differ slightly. I personally prefer the more accessible public transportation and the smaller cars, but I would still be intimidated by the process of obtaining a driver’s license abroad. (You can also see Mont Saint Victoire in the background here!)

Another peculiarity that came up in conversation was the double-sided stereotype that Americans are overly nice and that French people are somewhat caustic in conversation. While the vast majority of my interactions in France were friendly, I was made aware that southern France, specifically Marseille, differs slightly in attitude from more touristic cities like Paris. Maybe it was because I was speaking the language, but I almost never felt dismissed or unwelcome. In fact, in talking with a girl from Paris at a concert, I learned that the perceived hostility likely comes from a lack of desire to converse in the excessively cheery American fashion. I actually found it refreshing to be free from the obligation to engage in small talk, and now that I’ve been here for some time, it sometimes feels uncomfortable to break those periodic moments of silence.

On the bus ride to a concert this week, I met a Notre Dame alum. I noticed that him and his wife were confused about which bus to take, so I offered help and soon learned that I was talking to a fellow Domer: Professor Thomas Cavanaugh at University of San Francisco!

Food: My Kebab Addiction

In both Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, there are plenty of diverse options for food. Of course, I had to try Provençal cuisine at least once. It was quite delicious, and I have also tried cuisine from prevalent minority cultures in the region, like Vietnamese nem chua, Moroccan tajine, and even Senegalese thiep. Above all, however, I have fallen completely in love with kebab. I am not familiar with an equivalent of kebab in America, but the general concept consists of a sandwich (bread or wrap) with meat, standard vegetables, french fries, and a sauce, of which you can choose from around fifteen different flavors (my favorites are sauce biggy and algerienne). In fact, I was lucky enough to eat at a kebab shop in which the sole employee was willing to walk through the sauce menu and describe each of them to me and my friends. I also performed some of my own research because of how much this menu overwhelmed me. Notably, both Algerian sauce and Samurai sauce have their origins in Belgium, and American sauce is in fact just mayonnaise and ketchup, a combination that I have yet to see in an American grocery store.

This was one of my favorite kebab shops in Aix. I asked the kebabiers there if they sell their t-shirts as promotional merchandise, but they are out of stock until after I will leave.

The prevalence of kebab shops also is astounding—on Rue de la Couronne in Aix-en-Provence, for example, you can pass five different kebab places, each with its own nuanced personality. In Marseille, most kebab shops will stay open until the early morning, and there are plenty of kebab kiosks in the less dense parts of Aix-en-Provence.

This kebab shop was my favorite in Marseille. By the end of my time there, we got to know this kebabier very well. My order was the 3.50 euro tournedos on galette with sauce algerienne.

While some might see the offerings of kebab shops as snack food that only tastes good after 3 AM, I am attracted to kebab as a fascinating mix of cultures: the traditional French sandwich meets meat from the Middle East meets sauces from around the world meets the global fast food staple of French fries. Perhaps because kebab is undeniably a global fast food, it is easy to meet other young people at kebab shops at any hour of the day over any combination of great foods.

A collection of some other food from my trip so far. Clockwise from top left: escargot, tapas the Panier neighborhood of Marseille, Provencal daube, a French cookout (grocery shopping is so much fun), and a Vietnamese noodle bowl.

Language: Le Français Familier:

Adjusting to life in a foreign country

My morning commute starts with walking 15 seconds to the bus stop, where I have a direct view of Mont Saint Victoire (far left). In the foreground is an Optical Art museum, which I hope to visit at some point.

Having been in France for a week, I feel much more adjusted to living in a foreign country and immediately more comfortable with the region. Thinking and communicating in a different language has profoundly changed the way that I think about my own language and my own thoughts. Of course, there is always the question of the degree to which language frames thought, but I have been interested in the question of how we frame language, i.e. the particular aspects of language that change depending on the region and the speaker.

I saw this poster at store in Marseille. Among its itemized vulgarities and regional expressions, I noticed examples of verlan and even some words that I learned in my classes here.

Un petit dictionnaire

I have already grown attached to certain expressions used among young people, and I use the following almost daily:

du coup: an elusively versatile filler word. In my interactions, I understand it to function like “you know”, “like”, or “so”. I like to pepper my conversations with it in order to appear more natural.

c’est stylé: “stylé” is like an upgraded “cool”, but it carries a stronger connotation of sophistication or beauty

un beau gosse: an attractive young man. I aim to receive this compliment when I put on a good outfit.

une meuf: an example of verlan, the practice of reversing the syllables of words to give them a more colloquial meaning. In this case, “femme” is reversed to be “mme-fe” or “meuf”.

l’apero: a friendly gathering before going out

wesh: an interrogative adverb derived from Algerian Arabic. It most closely corresponds to “yo” in American English and is used more frequently over text.

au taff: “at work”

I anticipate learning more slang words and expressions as I interact more with people here, but I have been surprised at how easy it is to pick up these expressions without ever seeing them in writing. So far, the method of acquiring more French by brute-forcing my conversations, as gauche as it feels, has proven to be exceptionally valuable for expanding my vocabulary and increasing the fluidity with which I speak French.

Pre-Departure

A Shakeup at the Last Minute

I am writing this blog post on the plane to France. As last-minute as it may seem, I feel that enough has happened in the past few days (when I was planning to write this post) that my expectations and preparedness are markedly different than they were last week.

Beginning with what has remained constant, I am most excited to develop my French with other students from around the world. I feel that the opportunity to learn French outside of a university context will grant me a much more intimate study abroad experience, and I am certainly looking forward to making friends in my classes. Almost as important as the classes is the resulting immersion that I will get from living in a city to which I have zero existing connections. I’m curious to see how well I can pass as a non-American (or, rather, how quickly an Aixois can determine my nationality). Whether it be relaxing in an outdoor cafe or visiting the calanques on a hot day, I am beyond excited to make a dedicated immersion into the daily life of Provence.

One major recent development has been a change in my housing. Two days before my arrival in France, the Alliance Française informed me that they had to cancel my existing arrangements with a host family and could only offer the hotel student residence instead, an option that was well outside my budget. This was naturally anxiety-inducing, as I was no longer certain that I would have a place to sleep in a foreign country. Yet after heavy searching and many cold emails, I was able to arrange individual housing for a similar budget.

I really enjoyed waking up to this email !

This new arrangement significantly changed my expectations: now, I’m tasked with living alone in France for a month. Although it brings much uncertainty, I feel attracted to that level of independence. I get to take full advantage of public transportation, and I will get to go grocery shopping for myself. In a way, this switch up has pre-exposed me to the immersion in which I’m about to embark. Already, I have had to read housing contracts, communicate quickly via email, and decipher bus schedules, and all of that has certainly boosted my confidence in navigating Provence in the weeks to come.