The food: mmmm

I know it's been quite a while since my last post, and since I've been on vacation I have no excuse. I apologize.

This deserves to be a be a really long post.

Of course, meals and eating habits vary by family. Mine might be more traditional than some, but in general the trends are the same. 

Breakfast is a bit more important than in America. There's tea, orange juice, milk, or hot chocolate in a bowl. Usually I have bread with honey, jam, or nutella, but sometimes there's granola or pastries instead. When I don't have to rush to school or I'm not eating with someone else I read the paper. Or rather, I stare at the paper and absorb the general meaning of the articles. 

On Wednesday I have a long break in between my morning and afternoon classes, and on Thursday I don't start until the afternoon, so I eat at home those days.
At school I only buy my lunch with the others once or twice a week, because it's definitely pricier than LACS cafeteria lunch. A bunch of little shops 5 minutes away from the lycée sell food à emporter (to take out). Pasta is especially popular. The bakery/pastry shop down the street sells sandwiches (made with fresh baguettes) to those in more of a hurry. 

At dinner  the courses are more separated than in the US. You eat one thing, then the next, perhaps salad, cheese, bread, and just when you can't possibly eat anything else, dessert. And you find that it is very possible to eat more.
Alsace is known for it's wine and potatoes, so there's quite a lot of both.  Vegetables are sometimes cooked and pureed with the mashed potatoes, which is really delicious. 

Dessert is sometimes pie or cake (it's not cake in the American sense but I don't know what else to call it), but more often yogurt or fruit.
Sometimes after the meals tea or a small cup of coffee is served. It's not as rushed as a typical American meal, and everyone sits at the table until the end. 

I feel that in America it's acceptable, perhaps even polite, not to finish absolutely everything on your plate. But to scrape the sides of the soup bowl or pick up every last morsel of food on your plate is expected in France. In the first week I didn't finish something entirely, and it was assumed that I didn't like it.

I'm often asked if I like a food or the meal, and I always answer yes. This is not mere politeness, it is the truth. It's actually a joke with my family that I never say no. On October tenth I answered "no" to a question and it was written up on the refrigerator whiteboard beside the shopping list and phone numbers. 

Contrary to American belief, the french typically eat a lot more at meals. However, the food is healthier and there is less snacking. Most people have something in the afternoon, perhaps with tea, but that's all. Since dessert is served directly after the meal that's usually the last thing eaten for the day.

Last month I told my friend, "The food is SO good. I'm going to roll back to the US."

"No," she replied. "French people are skinny."

The next day she mentioned it to the LACS french teacher, who agreed that it was unlikely, since the french walk or bike everywhere.

Yet, here I am, 6 pounds the heavier.

It's probably the bread, the potatoes, and the cheese. None of which I would think about giving up. So let's hope my body realizes it doesn't need to savor the food as much as I do. If not, I will continue the tradition of AFS: Another Fat Student.

The bread is really, really, good. Usually we get ours from the local bakery two blocks away, but sometimes elsewhere. This weekend was the first time I saw sandwich bread in the house, and I was honestly surprised. The cheese is not really comparable to American cheese, because it's completely different. I thought I loved cheese before, but now…. Both of these things are present at a typical meal.

Basically, everything is delicious.

*The photos aren't mine, sadly. The first is a pain au chocolat (breakfast!), the second is a popular place for students to get lunch, and the third a typical size of a cup of coffee. The tomato mozzarella combination is sometimes part of dinner, and the bread's... wonderful.  

French: for those who aren't

Because I attend an international school, only about half the people in my class are native french speakers. The rest are British, Chinese, German, Australian, etc. Although I probably speak the least french in the school, not everyone is at the level of typical french student. These students have a separate french class that follows approximately the same curriculum but at a slower pace. The class is five hours a week, more than any other of my classes but theatre. 

The teacher usually writes notes for us on the board, dictates, or combines the two. I'm much, much better at listening than I was the first couple weeks of school, so I can usually separate the words even if I don't understand them. However, I still make a lot of mistakes, and my notes usually look something like this <--

When I have time (which doesn't seem to be often), I try to translate and organize the notes. Some sentences are beyond comprehension and I have to leave them out of the final draft. The next photo shows some that actually turned out well. Words I wasn't clear on at the time are written on the right, so I can quickly read through it again.

In addition to the book's we are given to read, the professor gives us quite a few texts to go along with the lesson. Below is the first I received and one of the few I've finished translating. Many have been started and then set aside to do something more urgent. Sometimes the passages were just used for discussion that day, and by the time I go home and translate everything it's too late.
About once a week there is homework for the class: prepare a verbal response, read part of a book, write an essay, etc. Sometimes I can do it, and other times I let it slide. It's not imposible to get out of school at 6pm, spend 3 hours translating text, an hour writing in english and an hour translating back to french, eat with my family and get up in time for school the next day, but....
Besides, sometimes I only have a vague idea what the homework is.

I'm not the only one who doesn't always do their homework. One day I shared my book with the Russian boy next to me and the teacher asked him (in French, of course), "Stanislav, have you bought the novel?"
"Ah no, Madame." he replied.
"Why not?"
"It is... not interesting."
However, this is the exception. Most students are very serious about their work.

In a few months this will probably be a very useful class for me. After reading a passage the class asks for clarification on any unknown words, and the professor explains phrases that might be confusing. I don't ask specific questions because it would take most of the lesson time, but hearing other people's is helpful.

The Lycée

The Lycée International des Pontonniers is made up of three buildings. It is most known for the first, which almost looks like a castle. The high ceilings, curving staircases, small statues, and tiles which create designs on the floor give the hallways the same feel as the exterior. However, the classrooms are more modern looking. I have most of my classes in this building, which also houses the school offices. 

The second building, where I have my théâtre classes, is also very old. We have a  classroom and a lovely acting space with stage lighting and benches for the spectators. Underneath is another set of rooms that are sometimes used for rehearsal when there's a class going on above. Open a door, you'll find a staircase and another door, which leads to another door and staircase, and another door….

The third building is the most modern. There, I have science and mythology. The foyer on the ground floor has microwaves, a sink, and dozes of tables for students to eat or do homework on when it's not pleasant outside. Occasionally someone will be singing or playing music, or a group will be selling crepes to fund their upcoming trip. A couple days ago when the foyer was closed for an hour my friends and I went to the library, which I had not known existed. I knew the formal library in the main building, but this one was equipped with chairs and study spaces. There's also a small computer lab and other rooms I haven't been in yet. 

The french high school system has three grades. I am in première, which is actually the middle grade. Class sizes range from 13 to 25, and classes can be 1 to 3 hours at a time. Students are divided into three basic tracks: science, economics, and literature. I am in the last category, but about half my classes are mixed with the others. 

My teachers are generally very nice. However, they're very strict about being on time. They may arrive 4 minutes late, but if you arrive 2 minutes after the music has signaled the beginning of class, you're sent down to the office for a ticket. Fortunately I only know this from observation, not personal experience.  

Every two hours we have 10 or 15 minute break. Smoking isn't allowed in the courtyard, so those who want to file out into the street. There's also a bakery down the street, and a lot of students run out to get an afternoon snack. If you don't smoke and aren't hungry, you probably have friends who are. The students form an impenetrable road block on the one-way road outside the school gates. 

For lunch most students visit one of the many little shops in the area which give discounts to those with a student identification.

Students arrive by tram, bus, bicycle, and foot. The school is located close to the center of the city, so it's quite convenient. The tram stop is at the other end of the block, and during an hour break I biked to the Place Kléber and picked up few books I needed for class. 

I'm very lucky to go this lycée, it's well known for being an excellent school. And I'd never thought I could look out my classroom window and see swans swimming by.

The first picture is the main building, and the in the second I have théâtre. This gate is actually only used by teachers, students go through the one on the other side. 

Sport: bright and early

In France, you don't need to worry about not having anything to do on the weekend. The odds are, you have Saturday morning class.
Some students have classes from 8am to 12, but luckily I don't begin until 10am. Two more hours of sleep makes a great difference.
My physical education class (sport) is divided into trimesters. The first is badminton, another is handball, and I'm not certain about the third. Students are graded and the scores are averaged with their other classes.

The lycée I attend is very old, and has a historically significant gymnasium. Therefore, they don't want to tear it down and build a new, bigger gym that could accommodate sports such as badminton. Instead, students take the tram or bike the additional 6-10 minutes to use another lycée's gym. This is another reason I'm lucky to have sport on Saturdays. I don't have to worry about getting back to school on time for my next class.
Badminton has never been my cup of tea. It's difficult for me to really be interested in weather or not the little plastic cone makes it over the net into the box. I certainly get just as much exercise biking to and from the class than being in it. That said, I do try to play well. I rarely succeed, but I try. My awesome skills have become a bit of a joke with my family.
Fortunately there are no pictures of me trying to play badminton. However, I do have a picture of me playing tug-of-war, which is close enough. The necktie is part of the scout's uniform.