The Australian student reports
French Cuisine & Culture
By Katrina Chang
How do you talk about eight weeks of amazing experience in about 300 words? C’est impossible!! (That was my half attempt of demonstrating my almost bi-lingual skills I’ve acquired over the past two months.)
Well coming from Melbourne firstly the architecture in France is so different and beautiful! Since no building in Australia is any older than about, 200 years, the beautiful French buildings dating back hundreds of years are so amazing, and a record-breaking number of photos were taken by me, especially of Sacre Coeur which is possibly the most beautiful cathedral I have ever been to in my life. I love art so Paris was an artistic paradise of sorts to me, with the famous museums which were amazing, and the smaller cute exhibitions and little galleries. Of course we went to so many of the famous tourist attractions and sites, including Eurodisney, Montmartre, the Louvre, Centre George Pompidou, my ‘French family’ even took me skiing in Grenoble for a few days over the holidays which was absolutely SO COOL, it included skiing ABOVE the clouds, and eating a lot of fondue! Even though, being completely uncoordinated I spent more time IN the snow than skiing ON it, I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful postcard-picture-book-Christmas snow-scape ever before. As you know, for us Australians, Christmas means the beach and really hot weather, so an ‘almost-white’ Christmas was something very special.
The food was to me a huge and one of the most interesting parts of my visit! Even the ‘dining-table culture’ was so different to what I had experienced before. The bread and cheese are without a doubt the BEST I’ve ever tasted and I wish I could bring a lifetime’s supply of it all back to Australia with me! Crêpes were an un-experienced utopia, especially after shopping for hours in the cold in the middle of Paris; I don’t think there is a better hand-warmer than a “crêpe au chocolat”. Another culinary experience was THE CANTEEN at the Lycée! I am so used to bringing my own sandwich from home with me to school, that the whole concept of an “American-style canteen”... (like in the movies!) was pretty exciting for a while! Maybe the novelty wore off after about two weeks, but it was still fun and I’m sure I will never forget those lunches!
But of course, France would be just an empty country full of pretty buildings if it wasn’t for the French PEOPLE! It was great, everyone was so supportive, patient, accommodating and friendly, even when I made mistakes like saying “travesti” when I meant “tragédie” and finding out later that “travesti” means transvestite... And I was glad to see that my classmates were still talking to me after I managed to do a pretty embarrassing singing demonstration of “Waltzing Matilda” and “Click go the Shears”. My “French family” were possibly the warmest, loveliest, coolest family you could ever find in France, and SO FUNNY! I think there were some true examples of how laughter has no language barrier, as they continuously made me laugh even though my French is definitely not anywhere near fluent. And for any of you who don’t know Charlotte Laurent, (my French exchange sister) she is the BEST dancer ever, and the nicest, funniest girl ever, so you should all definitely try and meet her.
So, I think I’ve really gone over that 300 word limit, (told you it was impossible!). But this was truly a fantastic experience. VIVE LA FRANCE! J
Dernière modification le 02-02-10 par
