WENDY TRAN &
CHRISTINE DINH
International Correspondents
France has been completely amazing! Lyon is about two hours south of Paris taking the TGV, the fastest train in the world. It is a beautiful city situated between two rivers, the Rhône and the Saône, providing a picturesque backdrop for scenic strolls. It’s like being on the movie set of “Beauty and the Beast.” As a matter of fact, a couple of us plan to memorize the movie’s “Bonjour!” song and perform it in the streets of Bellecour (the town square). We have the perfect “set” already, with French natives to act as the characters. Sounds silly, but trust us, you would want to do it too if you were here!
Anyhow, we want to give everyone a glimpse of what it has been like living here and the type of experiences we are having. So here goes…
Food: Lyon is known as the gastronomic capital of the world. The cuisine definitely lives up to its stereotypes: Wine is served with every meal, and there is a different type of cheese for every day of the year.
Culture: There are so many cultural differences between France and America, it is amazing. First of all, hugs do not exist here, but kisses on cheeks are our new form of hugs. No one really smiles, they just kind of stare. Jay-walking is part of daily life; everyone does it. There are out-of-control drivers who can parallel park amazingly in less than half a minute with their tiny Smart Cars. Everything else is super small too, like the washing machines, beds, toilet rooms, streets, etc. French families can be really traditional with lots of etiquette rules but not to worry, everyone’s host families are great. And contrary to what everyone thinks, the French do love Americans.
School: Since we are all in our homestays, some of us have a long journey to get to school. Some students are housed outside of Lyon and others are close enough to walk to school. Class days start as early as 8:30 a.m. and end around 6:30 p.m. We stay at school because our classes usually are back to back thus making for a very, very long day. Then we have to go home to our long two-hour dinners.
The teachers are hardcore here. Despite rumors, classes are not easier in Lyon. French professors expect a higher level of discipline and give a more intense workload. We have been told that it is rare to get an A. However, it is so amazing to be studying humanities, French, art and history in France and Europe. We get to go on fieldtrips during class to actually see what we are learning, go on multiple education excursions and travel on the weekends. It is well worth it.
Travel: For a month, we were not able to travel because our passports were with the Russian consulate. We are going to Russia next week and needed to get our visas. In the meantime, the whole group went to the town of Annecy in the Alps, the Medieval town of Perouge and ate at a restaurant where President Clinton once dined, and a vineyard in Beaujolais where we picked grapes and went wine-tasting.
Now that we have our passports, we have had some recent excursions outside of France. Last weekend, we were able to go to Munich. Oktoberfest was crazy. Some people went to Paris, Nice, Dijon and Heidelberg. It is so fun to be able to spend the weekends seeing all of Europe!
10-06-04
