Sweet Francaise--Making Connections the Easy Way, part 2

Sorry to have been away for a while. I've just recovered from a wicked cold.

Well, let's get back to Monsieur Mateu's gracious introduction to France in general and his life in Montpellier in particular.

Jean Mateu welcomed me to his house on the day of my arrival. This made my transition to France so much easier than it might have been. I had so many questions about where I was and how I would begin making my way in the new culture. And I knew very little about Montpellier.

For instance, I did not know anything about the accents in southern France. I don't know why that never came up in my language studies, but the accent I heard in Montpellier was nothing like the accent I heard in school. (I think that accent was more Parisian.) It was very disorienting, especially because the person picking me up at the train station, Jean Mateu, had one of the thickest southern accents I ever heard.

When he greeted me with enthusiasm, I could only shake my head politely and hope that I would figure out what he was saying ASAP! Luckily, he just kept shepherding me into the car, through unexpectedly bad traffic ("C'est pas vrai!" [I can't believe it], he said) and all the way to his comfortable but not ostentatious house.
When I got there and was welcomed with dinner, I knew that it didn't matter that I had trouble with his accent. He was making an effort to make this foreigner feel welcome--which motivated all the more to figure out what he was saying so we could talk more in the future.

And now for something completely different

A funny take on deliberate cross cultural mis-communication. You have to laugh at these kinds of problems because they happen all the time when people are learning a new language--perhaps not this extreme, but you get the idea. Thanks to my friend Carin for this link!

Sweet Francaise: Making Connections, The Easy Way, part 1

This story is about the beginning of my Rotary Scholarship in France in the fall of 1987. It was an easy connection because the path had been created by Rotary International. There were people who were eager to go to France (like me) and people eager to welcome people to France. The visitor and the host were connected through Rotary International. Both were eager to meet the other, so introductions were pretty smooth.

When I was the visitor in this case, I had just graduated from college. I was eager but nervous. My French was really iffy, but I loved the language and was dying to practice it. I had arrived in Paris and then took the train to Montpellier. Most of the way, I went on the TGV the French "very fast train." Really impressive. And it was so different than anything I had seen in the States. Why didn't we have anything like that . . . ? Don't get me started.

Anyway, when I arrived there, I got to meet my Rotary "parent," as the French Rotarians liked to call those who were in charge of helping out newcomers like me. It was Jean Mateu, a French businessman in his 60s and one of the kindest people I have ever known.

More on Jean Mateu in the next post.

Sweet Francaise, introduction

Many of my own personal stories about making cross-cultural connections come from the two years I spent in France: 1987-1989. My first year was spent as a "Rotary Ambassador." In other words, I was the very lucky recipient of a one-year scholarship granted by Rotary International. You can find a link for more information about this service provided by Rotary on the right. I will be thankful for the rest of my days for the opportunity given to me through this scholarship. Rotary's international interests and activities are exemplary. Institutions like Rotary provide the bricks and mortar for the few "cultural bridges" that maintain positive interactions between people from different parts of the globe.

Anyway, winning this scholarship marked the beginning of two wonderful years I spent in France.

What I learned after buying an All Blacks shirt

I bought a cool looking jersey of the New Zealand national rugby team. I checked out their web site and saw that they incorporated a native dance into their national matches. That blew my mind. Here's what I learned about it in Wikipedia:

The All Blacks, the international rugby union team of New Zealand, perform a haka (Māori traditional dance) immediately prior to international matches. The Haka is also performed by some other New Zealand national teams, such as the Kiwis (rugby league) and the Tall Blacks (men's basketball). Over the years they have most commonly performed the haka "Ka Mate". In the early decades of international rugby, they sometimes performed other haka,some of which were composed for specific tours. Since 2005 they have occasionally performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango."

I must admit I don't know if this has caused controversy in New Zealand, Australia, or anywhere else. If it has, I'd like to hear about it. But as an intriguing cross-cultural artifact, this can't be beat.

Musical Connections

Many musicians enjoy borrowing from and collaborating with musicians from other cultures. What they create, sometimes, is a very new kind of music. The same thing can happen with food, or painting, or architecture. In recent years, Paul Simon has done some really interesting musical experiments, especially with musicians from South Africa.

Look for pleasure in the differences

When I think of inspiring writings about cross cultural interactions, Henry James's novella "An International Episode" always comes to mind. It's light, for Henry James, and includes some encouragement for those who may be intimidated by encountering a foreign land. In this passage, the American Mrs. Westwood tries to change an Englishman's discomfort in visiting Newport, Rhode Island. (How rough could that be, really?) Here's the passage:

"But I must confess
I think Newport is an ideal place. I don't know anything like it
anywhere. Captain Littledale told me he didn't know anything like it
anywhere. It's entirely different from most watering places; it's a
most charming life. I must say I think that when one goes to a foreign
country one ought to enjoy the differences. Of course there are
differences, otherwise what did one come abroad for? Look for your
pleasure in the differences, Lord Lambeth; that's the way to do it;
and then I am sure you will find American society--at least Newport
society--most charming and most interesting."