International Exchange USA
An insight into American culture, at a laid-back pace...
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Ten days, with ten students, in Indianapolis of all places ... while it’s true to say Indianapolis is not up there with “the big ones”, there is no doubt that this year’s 3e/2nde exchange trip to said city gave all involved a mighty deep-dish slice of true blue American mid-West life (never before have we munched our way through such a variety of connoisseur hot dogs and cheeseburgers!).
We welcomed our American counterparts in March. They arrived, bedraggled but in excellent spirits, after gargantuan delays due to bad weather, mostly spent holed up in a far from gargantuan single hotel room near Philadelphia.
Their enthusiasm was not curbed; they very quickly slotted into Sèvres life and thoroughly enjoyed the countless miles they marched around Paris taking in the tourist sites. When they left, only a week later, their bubbling energy was greatly missed. Our journey to Indianapolis was, thankfully, much smoother, and all the more interesting for connecting in Newark and taking in an aerial view of mighty Manhattan.
We enjoyed exploring downtown Indianapolis - small, yet still dominated by five or six towering skyscrapers à la standard-issue North American city.
There was great excitement in the Indiana State Capitol where the glass-fronted parliament allowed us to peer in on the politicians debating hot “Hoosier” topics (such as what time zone Indiana should adopt).
One day in Chicago
A bitterly cold day in Chicago was much enjoyed, not least for our visit to the infamous Billy Goat Tavern, where the likes of Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and John Belushi have all, willingly or willingly, been served “cheezborger-no-fries” by the fast-talking burger flippers that do your ordering for you, whether you like it or not.
Back in the somewhat more laid-back Indianapolis, spring weather enabled us to zoom around the infamous Indy Speed Track (I say “speed”... in a tour bus driven by a typically warm 85-year-old Hoosier - “People are very friendly here,” I said; “Well, we ain’t got no reason not to be” came the chortling reply).
The next day we wandered, and picnicked, around the Indianapolis Institute of Art, which admirably holds its own against some of Paris’s finest. Nodding off a little at the prospect of spending more holiday time in class, our last day was devoted to a mini-expedition, ambling three or four miles along the verdant banks of the canal, almost “Stand by Me” or Huck Finn style, spotting muskrats and turtles as we went, and finally lunching in Broad Ripple, old hippy hang-out turned funky ‘hood.
It’s not LA. It’s not NY. But, for sure, our stay in Indianapolis gave us all great pleasure and insight into American culture, at a laid-back pace and with subtleties only afforded by such a warm and welcoming mid-Western capital.
Dernière modification le 15-12-11 par
