First day of classes!

Tonight marks my full third day in France, and I can say that I'm slowly falling in love with this country.  Today was the start of our actual classes that we will be taking throughout the month we are here.  The morning lecture was with a professor that talked about globalization in relation to French culture.  As soon as she started speaking, you could tell that she was passionate and well-informed about her subject.  She used real-world examples to reinforce her statements and encouraged class participation. We talked about culture and what it means to belong to a particular culture. Culture is composed of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, attitudes, food, traditions, and perceptions that distinguishes one group of people from another group.  Culture is passed from one generation to the next by example.  She said in class that 'culture is to people as water is to fish'.  Cultural studies are important because it is important 'to learn to swim everywhere'.  I suppose that's true, even though I've never thought about it like that.  I find it hard to imagine what life would be like living in a family and a country without values and traditions.  The professor went on to explain a few small points about French culture.  As I noticed previously, French people are much quieter on average than Americans.  For example, I was in a very busy restaurant that the Purpan students use as their cafeteria with a few friends.  We could hear each other talk in low whispers with ease.  If you went to an American restaurant, especially one on a college campus, it would be very loud.  There would be loud music playing and people loudly trying to talk over the music.  Another gesture she taught us was passing items.  In France, it is better to pass an item with both hands, no matter how small.  If you can only pass with one hand, it is preferred if you pass with the right hand.  In the USA, we don't have any gestures that compare.  Passing pens and cards are more for utility and are less concerned with mannerisms.  Another gesture was 'closeness'.  French people often kiss each other hello, even multiple times on each cheek.  This is seen as very normal here, but in American culture this would be seen as invasion of privacy.  It's just a matter of where culture draws the line of what is acceptable 'closeness'.

The next class I had was French, and it was significantly harder than I anticipated.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it certainly was not like I expected.  It was less like Spanish that I thought!  I will really need to study hard these next few weeks so I can work and interact with my host family.  I definitely have a long way to go!

This post was heavy on the text, but next one will have lots of pictures of Toulouse!