Author: mmurinov

I must admit…I miss a lot of things about Europe. The wastefulness and consumerism of the United States becomes more apparent after having lived in another part of the world. The food, the transportation, the buildings, the quality of clothes, I could go on and on, lacks the detail, history, and quality that permeated everything in France.

Possibly, the timelessness that I found in the French lifestyle and landscape can be cultivated even here. I think the desire to be a part of a legacy and to live surrounded by beauty is a unique attribute of humanity. It speaks to our longing for something greater than ourselves, and I am hopeful that more and more Americans will recognize and foster it in our society.

This last post comes from an airport between France and California…all good things must finally come to an end. I’m so grateful for everything I have learned and all the wonderful memories I’m bringing home with me.

On my last night in Tours, I had the opportunity to chat with two American students I became friends with over the past few weeks. While most college students optimize the night life when they are abroad, all of us tried to use our time in France to explore the culture, visit historical sites, and have meaningful conversations with people. We shared our experiences with our host family, the other students, our travels, and our classes. All of us really enjoyed getting to know French traditions and lifestyle through the locals we met at the restaurant by the river and the random, unique occurrences that happen to foreigners living abroad. It’s been such a special time in our lives, and I’m so thankful that I found people with a similar mindset that were open to swapping stories and reflecting together.

Before heading to the airport, I spent the night in Le Mans to visit the Shrine of Basil Moreau. I was welcomed by a lady who works there, and she arranged for me to stay at La Solitude, a house kept by the Marianite Sisters where Basil Moreau would often go to step back from all his projects and worries in the world. She graciously invited me to have dinner with her family and two Notre Dame MTS students spending a month in Le Mans to learn the language. Maria and Katherine had just arrived that week, with only self-taught French. It was interesting to see them at the level that I was at when I arrived as I was preparing to head back home. Reflecting on it now, I think this gave me a better appreciation for all the progress I made and helped me realize just how far I’ve come.

My last night in France was spent in the airport, so I called a friend who just started a similar structured German program in Munich. Our conversation was a fitting end to my trip, because we talked about the aspects of life in Europe that we loved. Both of us agreed that we would like to integrate the leisurely pace to counter the fast, functional rhythm of life in the United States. There is something very valuable in eating meals slowly, casually walking around one’s neighborhood, and simply taking the time to live well.

I’m hopeful that all the lessons learned will continue impacting my life, and I’m excited to see if there will be even more benefits from this experience that I have yet to discover.

The expression “time flies” has never felt more true to me. Has it really been a month already? When I hear “fly” I think of one of the little birds sailing by my window, but I think time passes by more like a rocket launching into space.

Even though I’ve gotten over all my unrealistic expectations by now, I still tend to take this experience for granted. It’s easy to get discouraged when I make mistakes or see the language coming more easily to others. Also, I’m just craving a purely effortless conversation, without having to sift through a hundred verb tenses and vocabulary words just to form a single sentence. Ironically, the other American students have been helping me keep an open perspective and positive mindset.

Last Friday, I struck up a conversation with one of my classmates and found that we have the same taste in books (which usually means that I share many other interests with the person as well). After school, I happened to run into him on my street and discovered that we live just 10 doors apart. The next day we sat together on the bus to and from Mont Saint Michel, talking for hours about things I never thought I would be discussing in the middle of France, especially with someone I had essentially met just the day before. He shared that his professor said it takes a minimum of two years to learn a new language. It helped a lot just to be reminded that there’s only so much progress you can make in 6 weeks when you’re trying to navigate so much. Funnily enough, he also didn’t regard high school French as worth much, so maybe my proficiency is right where it should be.

 Today I ran into another fellow classmate at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Tours. While we’ve never really spoken before, we must have spent half an hour having one of the best conversations I have had yet, on the stairway between an exposition of Flemish artists and contemporary works. Her family actually came from France, so her low level of French is more embarrassing for her than most. Learning the language is also for more than just pleasure; after Tours she is going to Paris to attempt to get connected with a dance company in Europe and dance ballet professionally. At that moment, I think we both needed someone we could vent our frustrations with and exchange our stories and dreams. It’s so important to realize you’re not the only one who has struggles and to step back and look at the larger picture from time to time.

 If you let yourself get caught up in perfection, all the little important things will go by faster than you can blink. I’m learning that I need to take a moment when I’m worried, to step back and realize that everyone else has their own difficulties and recognize the limits of myself and my circumstances. Only then will I be able to make the most of the time that I’ve been given.

Once a week at a restaurant in Tours, natives of the area come to meet international students and help them practice French. This week, I asked them about common stereotypes held about Americans, and we discussed differences between our countries.

Many come to the event frequently, so they have met Americans from all over the continent. Most have additional exposure to American culture, whether it’s living and working with other Americans or visiting a few major US cities. They shared that American culture is generally admired and liked by the French. Cultural elements such as music and film have been embraced, and the opportunities for enterprise and travel within America is also attractive to foreigners. Americans are generally perceived to be welcoming, friendly, and outgoing.

Some of the drawbacks or more unfavorable aspects they pointed out were things that I agreed with. For example, while American cities are very big and offer many opportunities and events, they lack the history that Europe can claim. They also have a much more modern layout, making it necessary to drive or take public transportation everywhere, while in France much more is accessible by merely walking. In my opinion, the most interesting cultural difference is that French households have dinner together every night. At least in my experience, I have observed and heard that most American families seldom dine together on a consistent basis.

It seems to me that many of the differences stem from the country’s history. France has been developing their culture and lifestyle for much longer than America, so many elements of modern culture are not as integrated yet. However, the more I learn about differences between countries, the more I see how difficult it is to trace back a certain feature to a single cause. Historical, social, political, and cultural factors have blended together over the centuries to shape our societies, and they will continue to interact in shaping our countries’ futures.