Conversation #1: La pureté de la langue française
Date- 11/18/12
People- Caroline and Bernard Devarenne (host parents)
How it started- Random conversation at dinner
Vocab used- L'academie francaise, la dictionnaire, les mots, l'autorité
We talked mostly about the academie francaise, and how they are the people who decide what the official words, spelling, and grammar are of the French language. They determine the country's language also. They asked us if we had anything like that in the U.S., and the only thing we could think of were the people who write the dictionary. We often say things like "according to Webster's dictionary..." or even the Oxford one, which isn't even really American at all. It was interesting to both of us how different our language rules are, and the system that creates them. I wish I could have thought of more examples of who dictates our language, but I think we explained fairly well how there isn't really something like the academie francaise.
Conversation #2: L’influence américaine
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- les emissions, la musique, la radio, le satellite
We started talking about the influence of America on French culture, and it basically turned into a chat about what movies and television shows we liked. This is because there are many American TV shows that apparently play here if you have the right kind of cable. My host mom loves American shows, and not very many French shows, so I think it is pretty apparent how she feels about American influence. My host dad struggles with English, but wants to learn, so he appreciates anything American or English so that he can learn better. He listens to American radio a lot to practice his comprehension. Since this talk was at the beginning of the program, my French was not that great, so if I could have improved it would have been asking them more questions about other parts of America's influence.
Conversation #3: L’Eglise des Saints des derniers jour en France
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- l'Eglise de Jésus-Christ des saints des derniers jours, l’Eglise catholique, une norme culturelle, les temples, les ordinances
Our host family is Catholic, so we often talk about the differences between our church and the Catholic church, or just the Catholic church in general. This time, the thing that started our whole conversation (besides Mitt Romney) was the wedding of their daughter, Aude. She recently got married, and they had a nice ceremony in a Catholic church, but said they preferred American weddings because it was much less serious and more fun. They then asked about our church and how we get married. It was a very complicated conversation, and I wish I knew more church vocabulary, but we did our best to explain temples to them. We tried to explain how not everyone can go in, how you have to be worthy, and how you do special ordinances there. We attempted to explain baptisms for the dead, and I guess we did an okay job because they didn't look at us like we were crazy. We also told them about how they are trying to build a temple in Paris, and they thought it was pretty cool.
Conversation #4: Health Care
Date- 10/29/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- la sécurité sociale, un médecin, un hôpital
With the American election on the news, and all the stuff about Obamacare being talked about, we naturally ended up talking about Health Care. Our host parents explained to us how healthcare works in France, and how it is essentially the same thing as Obamacare. It is provided by the government. They, however, don't really like it, because it is hard to get into hospitals and get taken care of. They don't really think it is a good idea. We talked about what health care is like in America, too, and politely gave our opinions on it. They often like to ask our opinion on political subjects, but we try to avoid it like Dr. H told us to do. If I could have improved, I would have done a little more research about health care because I realized that I don't know as much as I thought I did.
Conversation #5: Les fêtes nationales
Date- 10/28/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Halloween
Vocab used- la fête nationale, une fête religieuse, une tradition familiale
We talked about national holidays right before Halloween, since it was approaching and there isn't such a thing as Halloween in France. They did say that the French people and especially the young adults our age, like to celebrate Halloween more and more like America every year because it is fun, but it technically is not a holiday. We also talked about Thanksgiving, because that was coming up, and what we normally did for that, since Thanksgiving is also not a French holiday. We told them about our traditions and who we ate our big meals with, also what kind of food we ate. They told us about the religious holidays that they have, which include All-Saints Day and Christmas, but they don't have nearly as many as we do. I think that is a little sad, because I really love holidays.
Conversation #6: L’éducation
Date- 10/23/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- les grandes écoles, une université, le collège, le bac, une bourse
I learned so much from this conversation, and it even gave me a glimpse into the socialistic aspects of France that I didn't really understand before. We started talking about universities, and BYU and how much tuition costs, and that basically got them talking about the educational system in France. I learned that going to university in France is free, except for the cost of books, supplies, etc. The government pays for your education. This was amazing to me, especially because I thought that BYU was pretty cheap. They explained how that was just the regular university though, and if you wanted to go to a specialty school, such as a school for medicine or engineering (les grandes ecoles), it was very expensive. It was about as expensive as some of the major universities in the U.S. like Stanford or UCLA. Considering I don't want to go into medicine or engineering, I think it would probably benefit me to go to school in France because it is free. That is one part of the government paying for things that I would really appreciate.
Conversation #7: L’acualité
Date- 10/30/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Upcoming American election
Vocab used- une opinion, la politique, un événement
The election for the president of the U.S. was coming up soon, and apparently it was being discussed on French news shows as well. I think our host parents asked us about it more than anyone at home did. They always wanted to know our opinions, and did not hesitate to tell us they really liked Mitt Romney. I think French people really keep up with current events more than Americans, but that could also just be because they are older. They probably watch a lot more news than I do, so this could be a very unfair judgement. We also talked about voting, if we were going to vote, and the difference between voting systems in America and France. They didn't understand electoral college, and I didn't have the vocabulary to explain it to them, so that was kind of a lost cause to explain. It also just doesn't make sense as a system anyway, so I don't blame them for being confused.
Conversation #8: La religion et l’éducation
Date- 11/12/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- la liberté, chrétien, Catholique, l'eglise
Our host mom is a math teacher, and so she often talks about her school and her students. She teaches at a Catholic school, so her views on education and religion are pretty obvious- she doesn't mind the two combining. This led us to talking about BYU and how that is also a religious school, and a private school. We explained how you don't have to be Mormon to go there, but that you have to attend some sort of religious center based on your religion, and you have to get an ecclesiastical endorsement. She understood this because she teaches at a Catholic school, and while you don't have to have an endorsement or even go to church, it makes sense to her to mix religion and education. They are a very religious family, and we pray before every meal we eat together. I don't know if it's more for us or for them, or both, but I appreciate it regardless.
Conversation #9: L’architecture moderne
Date- 11/19/12
People- Host parents
How it started- I visited La Defense
Vocab used- le style préféré, esthétique
My host parents ask us what we did with our days every time we eat dinner with them. This particular time, I had gone on a walk for the Walking Tour class and it was the one for La Defense. This led us to talk about the area and modern architecture in general. My host parents really think it's a cool place, and very modern. It was funny to me because it actually doesn't look that modern, rather an old attempt at modernizing architecture. Perhaps because they are older, it looks more modern to them. I think they prefer the old style of architecture, but my host dad liked talking about all the other different places in Paris that have modern architecture like La Defense. They also asked us if architecture was more like that in Los Angeles, and we said that yes, that is more what the city looks like.
Conversation #10: La culture des banlieues
Date- 10/7/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversation
Vocab used- les habitudes, les jeunes, un immeuble
My family lives in Boulogne, which is still technically in Paris on one side of the street, and the suburbs or "banlieues" on the other side. Our host mom explained that to us when she was driving us around the first day, and again during this conversation. However, I still don't know exactly what street is divided like that. Either way, they know a lot about the area and life in the suburbs. One thing they told us about and encouraged us to go to, was the Vide Grenier. (I'm not sure if that's exactly what it's called, but it's something like that). It is basically the French equivalent of a garage sale. There was one that was happening right in our neighborhood, near the church that is within walking distance. They also told us about schools nearby, and how the kids always come home for lunch. Their own grandkids often are home at lunch time, and I think it is so nice that they get to have lunch with them so often.
Conversation #11: Les Etats-Unis
Date- Many times
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversations
Vocab used- les temps, la plage, San Francisco, les banlieues, San Diego
Our host family is really good friends with an American family, so they have been to the U.S. many times. They have also been to California many times, so they are always excited to talk to us about places they have been there. We have talked about Disneyland, San Diego, and San Francisco so many times I can't even remember how many. They love San Francisco, and it reminds them a lot of France due to the architecture of the buildings, and how the neighborhoods are set up with the buildings all squished together. They have visited Florida as well, and love to compare the weather in all of the cities they've visited with France's weather. They ask us about the beach almost every dinner. When Caitie and I discovered Carrefour, we also talked about the similarities between stores, but how there is not really anything like Carrefour in America. We have talked about how eco-friendly America is, which kind of ice cream is the best, which TV shows we like, pretty much everything. They really love the United States which is really fun.
Conversation #12: La Famille
Date- 9/16/12
People- Host parents
How it started- Getting to know you dinner
Vocab used- les enfants, les filles, les freres, l'age
When we first met our host family, they and we talked about our personal families, including number of kids, how old they are, etc. What I learned about my host family is that they have 5 daughters, and about 11 grandkids (I think). I can't ever remember all of the girls' names, but I know that one is Anne-Claire, and another one is Aude. Aude is the youngest, and is recently married. Her husband works for the military, and just recently left until April as part of his military duties. She has had dinner with us a couple times, and she is very nice. They asked us about all of our siblings, and if we get along, and what our ages were in comparison to the others. It was nice getting to know about their family, because they loved to talk about them and show us pictures of their grandkids.
Conversation #13: Les Sports
Date- Many times
People- Host parents
How it started- Dinner conversations
Vocab used- Bois de Boulogne, le tennis, le golf, faire du jogging
I like to run (sort of) and when I told my host parents about that, my host dad immediately asked me if I played other sports. I told him I didn't, but that my dad played tennis and golf, and my brothers play other sports, and apparently me having a knowledge of sports makes me "active" (sporty). They could not be more wrong, I am, in fact, athletically challenged. But they were very impressed that I knew what Roland Garros is, the tennis stadium right by our house here. My host dad likes to talk to me about golf, and how he took his grandkids a few times. He asked my what my dad's handicap is, and I wish I had actually known that. I have since found out, and I plan to tell him tonight at dinner. They have also talked to us about "football" (soccer) and rugby, since there is another stadium nearby where both of those are played. My host mom prefers rugby, because the fans and players of that sport are much more calm and respectful. We shared a love of rugby even though my reasons were different.
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