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Au Revoir to France
By Administrator | May 31, 2008
I say au revoir to Montpellier today. The last few days have been a good time with my friends here (pool parties, Maroon 5 concert, 3 hour dinners, etc). I gave a 30 minute exposé to my class yesterday about my time in Sudan, speaking in French, which was more like in Frenglish, but my professor was cool. She was pretty shocked because my friends in other classes left early to come see me speak, which ended up packing the small classroom and making me unnecessarily nervous. To break the ice I brought in a bunch of french beer and surprised (most of) the class by passing them out and having a toast to a good professor, a good presentation, and good life before I began. I made this presentation work by showing lots of pictures and speaking few words.
I attempted to learn the language, but to be honest I didn’t put enough time into studying the details or hanging out with French speakers. You really need to isolate yourself if you’re going to be successful with another language, especially at my age, and I just wasn’t willing to get over the hump of not being able to communicate myself to strangers.
I originally intended on staying in France through the summer, but my graduate program doesn’t require a second language, as I thought one of them would originally need. The exchange rate is also brutal and my company has asked that I come to DC for six weeks to assist them on a contract, so I have decided to help out. I suppose this time in France was somewhat of a reward for my time in Darfur, so once I learned that my school wouldn’t require the language, I transitioned more into having fun and enjoying the culture than forcing the language. I’m sure at some point down the line I will regret this decision in some depths, but I won’t look back now.
Sometime in mid July, I plan to head down to Latin America for a month before I start my graduate studies in the fall. I’m going to be studying at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard so I’m excited about that and about starting the next step in my career. I will end the France portion of this blog and begin a new one (check the main page, www.mattsiller.com) that will be more generic about my travels in order to keep the momentum alive. I hope to keep you satisfied with more interesting and sometimes not so interesting posts about life on the road as a 20-something traveling journeyman.
As for my time in France, it met my expectations as far as taking a break from reality and living the high life. I met some really great people. I’ve learned a lot about the various European cultures. I love playing the stereotypes…like encouraging the spiciness of the Mediterranean folks (Spanish, Italians), trying to get the Scandinavians to be more emotional, the Germans and Swiss to be less stringent, and the French to be more welcoming.
Of course I indulged in the degustations of the country, the great foods and wines of Southwest France, visiting and tasting the Champagne of Reims (Moet and Chandon/Dom Perignon), and indulging in the city of lights. There really are few things more liberating and serene than driving through wine country, where-ever that may be.
In general, the French folks I did spent time with were really great. My professors were all very encouraging, welcoming, and funny, but they did maintain that French be the only language spoken in and out of the classroom, which put a barrier on me when trying to really relate.
There will always be an attitude in Europe that I envy. While the American attitude seems to be living to work, the Europeans are generally working to live, and for that I wish we could take that chapter and incorporate it into our society. American’s tend to be so wrapped up in status, consumption, and living the American dream (which tends to be heavily work focused), we sometimes forget that first and foremost, we are people with families and lives that deserve time and attention. That sometimes takes sacrifices and I hope to keep this in perspective in my career down the line.
Europeans also work for the process instead of the result, whereas we are so results oriented that we often leave people behind. I saw this when I worked with Mercedes Benz in Holland, where we would have meeting after meeting going around the room getting everyone’s perspective, then closing with, “thanks to all – we’ll continue this discussion next week”, (instead of making decisions, assigning responsibilities and deadlines) which can be a bit maddening (and socialist), but it does say a lot about the culture and how they work united.
The French are a proud people and they have a reason to be. They have a beautiful and ripe country, language, architecture, and history. While there are a few things appealing about their socialized system (health care), I do think it is a little extreme (taxes), but one can learn lessons from their lifestyle and moderation of the finer things.
For my new friends in France, thank you for the great times. I’m going to call you guys out quickly because I think I owe it to you. To Sara and Ulrika - great roommates and singing partners on the way to school each morning and home at night, thanks for putting up with me. Remember mind over matter. - To Jocke, Miquel and Simon - My comrades in crime, you guys drink too much! Good times, good games. - To Ana - You’re a beautiful person, keep it spicy (pronouced with a “th”) you’ve been a great friend and I’ll miss seeing you lick your coffee stick each morning. To Sarah - Keep zenning me and one day I’ll wake up hip, I hope. To Karina - Remember the three things to do each day! We’re meeting up in Rio for New Years so plan on it! Tova and Emily and “the apartment” - I’ve basically told you guys every story, anecdote, and piece of knowledge I have. Don’t abuse that info down the line! I really enjoyed getting to know you both. When I come to Sweden, I expect our beer bottles to triple kiss again.
To all, our conversations have been strong, our days full and our nights long, and I really enjoyed sharing friendship with you guys. Meeting quality and interesting people like you is what makes these experiences so meaningful. You have solidified into a unique place in my life and I hope we can cross paths and live large again one day.
As for the next journey, I look forward in anticipation. I will depart this blog with my favorite French line, as it did sum up the three months of fun in Southern France. “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” Just kidding, it’s “C’est La Vie!”
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June 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[…] http://mattsiller.com […]
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Hey matt,
I found your blog after looking at Simon’s blog.
I didn’t see you often, but you are a great guy, keep that in your mind!!
Have fun in US!
Everytime you’ll be welcome in Montpellier again!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
From your latest post: “I hope to keep you satisfied with more interesting and sometimes not so interesting posts about life on the road as a 20-something traveling journeyman.”
My friend…The days of being a “20-something” is about to come to a very abrupt end…. Chris and Pat will be the first to fall, then me, and finally you.
When are you going to be in SA next? I want to throw a partai at our new digs…
June 29th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Hi Matt,
Thank you so much for the warning about isolating ourselves from English speaking folks. We have been on this journey of learning French for three years. It is a life long journey, for sure, which can be hastened but not replaced with study. Try reading the book Almost French.
We are taking our junior year abroad in Montpellier at retirement so will also be older than the other students in our classes. We will commute to Paul Valery and live by Leon Blum. We will be without a car…and we both enjoy walking and talkiing learning French on foot so to speak. Did you happen to any walking groups that do not require a car? Montpellier based Physicians who speak English?
Mostly, thank you for your offering. It was good to read and relate to your efforts to find your way to French Montpellier as a solo.
Good luck with your next step,
Sharon