Thanksgiving

After joining nearly 40 million people (as said by a radio DJ) on the road yesterday in the Thanksgiving traffic, I had arrived home.

Maybe its a small town Pennsylvania thing, but Thanksgiving Eve tradition is for everyone you ever played T-ball with, sat near in study hall, mowed their lawn, or passed in the grocery store to pile into a specific town bar and catch up on the times.

In the case of Nazareth, PA, this bar is the Holy Family Club: The social club of my childhood catholic school. Don't be surprised that the bar is owned by the church; growing up, the priests would drink like fish and smoke like (I wanted another animal here for continuity sake) their lives depended on it.

One must realize, I have panic attacks even going into the local Wal-Mart because of the inevitability of seeing faces I thought I would never have to see again. However, I feel removed enough - only now - from the town scene that last night was a blast. Maybe it was the Thanksgiving spirit, but it was great to see everyone.

Although it was most likely $1 beers and $2 coctails that did it for me. Oh, how I was thankful for that!

To conclude the Thanksgiving entry, I give you part deux of "Sam Malcolm: The life and times of" Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Everyone,
My guess is that most of you will be receiving this letter on the 25th, so I would first like to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I hope all of you find a large turkey at the center of your table today; not the feeble, french cousin which lacks the size and grandeur that are common in most American bred turkeys. Yes, it’s true. Turkeys in France are dwarfed by their American counterparts. An american, such as myself, can’t help using adjectives such as sickly, questionable, unfortunate and “smart”. When I say “smart,” I am not necessarily insinuating that the IQ of the French turkey is superior to that of the American, or that French consumers are more aware of any potential benefits of eating smaller fowl. No. Here in France, the word smart has taken on a completely new meaning thanks to the introduction of the Smart Car. Silly french people have associated the word “smart” with the size of the vehicle, hence, small.

I encountered this problem in class one day when I was describing the american university system to my students. It is first important to mention that in France, the majority of universities are free and non-selective. This means that when a student graduates from high school, and obtains their baccalaureate (massive, comprehensive test at the end of high school) he or she has the option of going to any university that suits their needs. Im sure you can only imagine the horrified looks on their faces and the peculiar noises they emitted when I informed them that most american students have to pay in the tens of thousands of dollars, every year, for four years, to attend college. To prevent any of my students from blacking out, I attempted to calm their nerves by talking about different monetary aids such as scholarships. Completely oblivious to their concept of the word smart, I explained to them that athletes, minorities and smart students are most favored to obtain this money to put towards education. I continued on for roughly another minute or two, explaining different aspects of scholarships. It is my belief that, during this time, each one of my students were concocting images of the typical american university in their head. I am certain that the overall image looked something like American Pie: Beta House with Gary Colemans running all over the place. Thankfully, the teacher was there to clarify that by “smart” I meant “intelligent,” thus rendering their conceptions of the american university a little more realistic and a lot less interesting. Just a little anecdote.

Anyways, since the last time I wrote, not much has changed. For the most part, striking has stopped in France which has brought regularity to my working schedule. I am now consistently teaching 10-12 hours of classes every week. I must emphasize that I use the word teaching very loosely because I don’t lecture the students on the fundamentals and rules of english, and I sure don’t evaluate the students. My sole objective is to come into class, speak english and make the students speak english. Some classes have proven to be extremely interested in learning english, or at least interested in having someone relatively young in their class who is not their teacher. There are other only a couple of classes which still remain opposed to learning english. These classes are older students who have already completed the Baccalaureate and are attending the post-grad professional school (which is business/trade oriented) that operates in conjunction with the high school. Students in this program have the tendency to feel that english is not and will never be valuable to them. Hence, they sit back in their chair, arms crossed, and when called on they respond, “Je sais pas” or “Je comprend rien”. “I don’t know” and “I don’t understand anything”. Some of these students are 20 or 21 years old, so its difficult for me to encourage participation as an older, more respectable teacher might be able to.
Fortunately, most of my classes have expressed a desire to learn. While they were very timid at first, students are starting to get used to me and open up. I have implemented a new tactic of speaking french poorly, from time to time in class, which usually creates lots of laughter and a general, good mood. Most importantly though, it shows them that making mistakes is completely normal, if not, expected. By speaking french poorly and being fine with it, I notice that students are becoming more comfortable with attempting to speak english which ultimately makes class a much more enjoyable experience. I also should not forget to mention that making mistakes with French (sometimes not on purpose) my students are very quick to correct me which I appreciate very much.

As for my personal francofication. I decline baguettes for whole wheat loafs. I eat eclairs and quiches from time to time, and have started weaning myself of the cheese diet that I started when I arrived here. Red wine is a constant in my apartment considering that quality wine here is very accessible and cheap, as you can imagine. I haven’t started wearing berets yet. My hair on the other hand is the longest its been since I’ve been alive, and I’m now letting my No Shave November extend itself all the way to the New Year.
Anyways, this is all I can write for now. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.

Much love, miss you all.

p.s. no i havent slept with any of my students