October 14, 2014

My host mom warned me that if one eats too pastries, one will certainly gain weight. She is right; there are way too many temptations!! Fortunately I've been walking a lot and I love running by the river. I also have yoga, zumba, and cardio dance that I can do at the University of Nantes on my own, or with other IES students. That should provide some good motivation too.

In my Phonetics class, we were put into two different groups to debate the law banning the burqa in France as part of our French conversation practice. At first I was shocked that my group was arguing for it, but they quickly told me they were playing the side that was for it, not for real. Since I am very passionate about this issue of Muslim women being forced to not wear the hijab, niqab, and burqa in public places like schools, etc, I asked my prof if I could switch to the group that was debating against it. It was hard explaining to her why in French, but basically I said, "I have friends that are Muslim. I can't pretend to argue for the law." Sometimes I just get really passionate about certain things and it was interesting explaining the three main types of veils to students who had questions. Wearing the veil in any form has become so politicized, while also disputed by Islamic scholars: is it cultural or religious? France is very set on being secular, but it doesn't allow room for people to practice their own religion, nor does it give women the freedom to not be policed (especially by men in power) for what they choose to wear. I will probably be talking more about the issue of freedom of religion v.s. secularism in France. It's an interesting, but complicated issue. And as one fellow student, Claire, said, "It goes back to France's Revolution and the very strict separation of the church/religion from the greater society. They are afraid that the church and religion will dominate the government like it did before." I found that insightful; history always offers clues.

I enjoyed watching an interesting documentary about Anne de Bretagne, the duchess of Bretagne, the region of France I know well. She later became the queen of France; therefore, Bretagne became a region officially part of France. It retains some of its Breton roots, and there are even people here in Nantes who consider the city still a part of Bretagne. It once was a huge place of commerce and trade in Bretagne and originally I had no idea it was a site for the slave trade as well. It has its dark history too. My History and Religion of Nantes class is very interesting and my prof is very knowledgeable about France's Revolution and about Nantes as a whole. It was cool seeing locations in the region Pays de la Loire in the documentary, including the castle d'Amboise, which I will be visiting this weekend with IES. It was the castle where Anne resided with the king of France.

I'm feeling more at home here. I know well the streets in Nantes, the tram and bus system. It's very organized and such a wonderful location to study abroad. It felt good speaking mostly in French today. It makes communication so much easier, but sometimes I speak English with my IES friends. I try to keep going in French for as long as I can, because it's not always easy transitioning from English back to French. I have to change the way I'm thinking, because they are organized so differently. It's amazing how much more I'm picking up just by being here, listening to it in the background, writing in French, it all is huge contributor. I don't ever want to lose it; I will always have to keep practicing and using it.

It's funny that so many students are so interested in buying clothes here. My problem is buying too many books in French. It's a huge temptation, so I am being frugal. I just love visiting French bookstores; I feel right at home in them. For example, I would love to read the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Pablo Neruda, but I would rather read them in their native language Spanish. That shall be my goal, but like French, it takes a lot of practice. I've never been as drawn to Spanish culture as I have to French culture, but I admire Spanish writers, because from what I know of Pablo Neruda, he lived a passionate, intense life. That intrigues me because Spanish writers will have had a different experience and perspective of the world than French writers like Albert Camus, Victor Hugo, Molière, and Rostand. The last two I haven't read, but I have enjoyed seeing their plays, The Imaginary Invalid and Cyrano de Bergerac. Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival has really helped expose me to first rate theater works of old and new playwrights. I have my grandparents to thank for that. They've really helped expose me to the arts: theater, ballet, and opera and their appreciation of it.