Week 2

My host family and I had a falling out this week. I couldn’t really defend myself because my level of French is not where it needs to be. I happen to be the first American they have hosted and there are some really extreme cultural differences between the French and Americans. The biggest difference for me is the FOOD! My host family got mad at me for snacking. They also constantly criticize Americans for being “fat” or “grosse” as they would say it. This is a little frustrating, as I am not obese so for them to continue to make comments is insulting. The French also eat a lot of cheese and bread which to me is a direct link to obesity. The French think that they stay skinny because they eat healthier but I actually think it is because they smoke and smoking is known to reduce appetite. I tried to explain to my host family that eating 5 small meals a day is healthier then three regular ones but they insist that I am wrong. What I have noticed and appreciate more about the French diet is that they eat their meals very slowly. Meals can take up to 2 to 3 hours. When I take this long to eat my food, it is more filling then when I eat in 15 minutes. When I eat too fast, I find myself hungry within the hour.

I realized after the first week of dinner that all the main dishes were basically cheese, I had to let them know that I could eat like this for 3 months. So I asked them if they would make more chicken and fish. This is when they grabbed their scrapbook and showed me what students had wrote about their food after staying with them. Of course all the notes said the food was “fabulous,” which I think is totally subjective. I think the food is good, I just prefer meat and vegetables instead of cheese and bread.

I also later asked my host mom if she would give me a basket or a drawer for my underwear. Evidently, French people do not use drawers…. She also insisted that hang my jackets in my room instead of on the hooks for jackets in the hall. Seeing as my closet is 2X2Ft, I was not happy with this request. They got mad at both of my requests and said that no one else that had ever stayed with them requested these things. And I told them that I was not the other people that stayed in their apartment and that I would appreciate it if they stop comparing me to other students.

My French family also has a funny habit of just waltzing in my room when they feel like, and I am most of the time not dressed and after they see that I am not dressed they continue to talk to me about whatever they came in for….. In general my host family is just very judgmental and I cannot stand it. Once I told them that my French Politics class was a bit difficult because of the language barrier and my host dad responded by telling me it was so easy and that I should have a problem with it. I thought this was a very condescending thing to say as I am not French so of course it is going to be a little more difficult for me.

Besides the family drama, l also visited Musee D’Orsay. I really liked it; I think my favorite artists are Van Gogh and Manet. I think I like Van Gogh mostly because of his mysterious personality and the way he conveyed it through his paintings. My favorites are his self portraits; it is always interesting to see how people see themselves. I remember being really interested in Van Gogh when I was younger. I remade the picture of Van Gogh’s room with paint. I was also interested in Picasso but they did not have any of his paintings. My favorite painting by Manet is Olympia. This painting was interesting because the description in the audio guide said it was promiscuous not because she was nude but because she was nude and staring directly into the eyes of the person that is looking at the painting.

This week I also met up with an old family friend who is famous for the harmonica. He was performing at La Cigale, a famous theatre close to the Moulin Rouge. When I was younger I used to go over his house and practice the alto saxophone. I do not know how he tolerated my awful saxophone playing because he is now a renowned artist. We had coffee one morning and then went walking around the area. He took me to this little art neighborhood where dozens of artist just sat outside sketching and painting. We also passed by Van Gogh’s old apartment. He pointed out that you can distinguish between an apartment of an artist and a regular family or person because the artists have these huge windows in their apartments for good lighting. To get to these apartments we had to run up this huge flight of stairs next to the Sacre-Coeur. You would not think I was the athlete because I was soooo tired lol. He was running up them so fast and effortlessly.

I also met a Parisian. His name is Vira and he took me out to coffee one night, His mom is from Senegal and his dad is from Mali but he was born in Paris. He lives in this little apart of Paris that I like to call “Little Africa.” When you are in Little African you feel like you actually on the continent. Women are walking around in these bright colored traditional costumes and sitting on the sidewalks selling their fruit and vegetables. I got lost there one day while I was walking around. It was nice to get lost there because I was able to find all the hair stuff I needed! I actually met Vira on the metro, which is supposed to be really sketchy but he turned out really nice. He has a lot of patience too because it was a lot of work have a conversation together because of the language barrier. He speaks no English.