In three weeks from today I will be leaving, for Toulouse, France, for the year. I will be studying French (obviously) and Political Science, at L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques (The Political Studies Institute), also known as Sciences Po, a highly regarded political science institution, where I will at the end of the year receive a Certificate of Political Studies.
So, here is my blog about my time in France. I will try and update it every Sunday night (Sunday afternoon for everyone in America - I will be 6 hours ahead), and they will, of course, be all in English, and this will be my only English outlet for the time I am over there! This will be less of a recount of my activities, but more of a cultural experiment, one where I try and specifically find something each week that catches me offguard and culturally unaware. I will also try and outline my experiences with culture shock, which is as follows:
Cultural Adjustment: Response to Living in Toulouse
Most people who live abroad for an extended period experience some form of culture shock. In order to understand what culture shock is, you need to remember that your ability to function in the world depends on your being able to read hundreds of signs, to respond to subtle cues, and to behave according to countless explicit and implicit rules. At home, much of what you do in your daily life is automatic and requires little thought. Overseas, the reverse is true, and simple tasks can become difficult. Because you are not always able to understand the messages you receive and cannot always communicate what you mean, you may suffer anxieties. Being confronted with new ways of thinking and doing things, including oftentimes a different value system, you can become disoriented. Your ‘normal’, ‘common-sense’, or ‘logical’ way of looking at things may suddenly not apply. Suffering culture shock can, at its worst, lead to severe stress and depression. Even a light case of culture shock will be felt as frustration and irritation. Culture shock usually manifests itself as a cycle of readjustment phases that may last quite a while before one adapts. Most people experience at least two lows during a stay overseas, but the length and severity of these vary greatly for each individual. Fortunately, culture shock is both predictable (it will happen) and manageable (you will survive it). If you are prepared for it, you can do a great deal to control it or at least understand its effect. The best advice may be to remain flexible and open-minded to new things, maintain a sense of humor about the mistakes you will make (and you will make some), and try to integrate as quickly as possible into your new culture.
Responses to living in Toulouse:
1. First weeks, riding high with enthusiasm. Commonly known as the "honeymoon stage."
2. Possible entrance of a slight anti-American streak such as thorough disgust with all American
tourists... or "I am never going to go back to America again."
3. Feeling of being overwhelmed by all the possibilities presented by France, if not Europe in general (opera, concerts, theatre, student clubs, sights in Toulouse and nearby cities, e.g., Paris, traveling outside France, etc.)
4. Realization of aloneness, some independence, absence of family, problems of communicating by letter, struggle with French, utilizing free time, heating and housing discomforts, etc.
5. This often coincides with mid-semester examinations adding academic pressure to all of the above, which results usually in a very low period or dark depression. Psychologist L. Oberg states that some of the symptoms of this period are: "Excessive washing of the hands; excessive concern over drinking water, food, dishes, and bedding; a feeling of helplessness, fits of anger over delays and other minor frustrations; delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country; excessive fear of being cheated, robbed or injured; great concern over minor pains and eruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home, talking to people who really make sense."
6. Hostility or aggressive phase. Students complain about the Dickinson Center, regulations, and attitudes. This phase can become extremely petty.
7. Identity crisis. Searching within oneself, "Why am I here?", "Am I in the right major?"
Recovery:
1. Slowly finding a balance between academic work and other compelling interests. Better organization of one's time, and separation of the romantic preconceptions from the reality.
2. Oberg again says, "The recovery stage usually finds a growing sense of humor, with the visitor able to joke not only about the host country, but also about his own difficulties. In the final stage,
adjustment, the visitor learns to accept the foods, drinks, habits, and customs of the host country and even to enjoy them."
3. Important realizations include getting to know the French as individuals and not as stereotypes, suddenly realizing the great personal freedom and appreciating it, making deep friendships with fellow students and the French, finally leaving America and trying to learn something about France with an accompanying decision to appreciate the best of both countries.
Some info on Toulouse:
The City of Toulouse:
A thriving cultural and commercial center lying between the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi in southwestern France, Toulouse is famous for its brick structures that give the city its name of la ville rose. Toulouse is rich in art and architectural history. It was the capital of the Visigoths and the Carolingian kingdom of Aquitaine. Under the counts of Toulouse, it was the artistic center of medieval Europe, before being handed over to the French crown in 1271. Furthermore, the city boasts a Romanesque basilica (the church of St. Sernin) and the richly decorated hôtels particuliers, which display the wealth of the pastel merchants during the Renaissance. The enlightened design of the Hôtel de Ville brings the ancient and modern sections of the city together.
Toulouse is also the center of the French aeronautics industry (home of Airbus), so that the charm of old Romanesque France is combined with the excitement of high-technology modern France. The large student population in Toulouse makes the city lively and culturally interesting.
My contact info while I am in Toulouse:
email: boucharj@dickinson.edu
Phone: 2074782626
I will be living with a host family, named the Duffours. Here is the mailing address of the house I will be staying at:
Jarrod Bouchard
Chez Duffour
18, rue Dessalles
31500 Toulouse
France
That's it! I will be posting again my first Sunday there, which will be the day after I arrive. Sort of a first impressions sort of thing. Au revoir!
So, here is my blog about my time in France. I will try and update it every Sunday night (Sunday afternoon for everyone in America - I will be 6 hours ahead), and they will, of course, be all in English, and this will be my only English outlet for the time I am over there! This will be less of a recount of my activities, but more of a cultural experiment, one where I try and specifically find something each week that catches me offguard and culturally unaware. I will also try and outline my experiences with culture shock, which is as follows:
Cultural Adjustment: Response to Living in Toulouse
Most people who live abroad for an extended period experience some form of culture shock. In order to understand what culture shock is, you need to remember that your ability to function in the world depends on your being able to read hundreds of signs, to respond to subtle cues, and to behave according to countless explicit and implicit rules. At home, much of what you do in your daily life is automatic and requires little thought. Overseas, the reverse is true, and simple tasks can become difficult. Because you are not always able to understand the messages you receive and cannot always communicate what you mean, you may suffer anxieties. Being confronted with new ways of thinking and doing things, including oftentimes a different value system, you can become disoriented. Your ‘normal’, ‘common-sense’, or ‘logical’ way of looking at things may suddenly not apply. Suffering culture shock can, at its worst, lead to severe stress and depression. Even a light case of culture shock will be felt as frustration and irritation. Culture shock usually manifests itself as a cycle of readjustment phases that may last quite a while before one adapts. Most people experience at least two lows during a stay overseas, but the length and severity of these vary greatly for each individual. Fortunately, culture shock is both predictable (it will happen) and manageable (you will survive it). If you are prepared for it, you can do a great deal to control it or at least understand its effect. The best advice may be to remain flexible and open-minded to new things, maintain a sense of humor about the mistakes you will make (and you will make some), and try to integrate as quickly as possible into your new culture.
Responses to living in Toulouse:
1. First weeks, riding high with enthusiasm. Commonly known as the "honeymoon stage."
2. Possible entrance of a slight anti-American streak such as thorough disgust with all American
tourists... or "I am never going to go back to America again."
3. Feeling of being overwhelmed by all the possibilities presented by France, if not Europe in general (opera, concerts, theatre, student clubs, sights in Toulouse and nearby cities, e.g., Paris, traveling outside France, etc.)
4. Realization of aloneness, some independence, absence of family, problems of communicating by letter, struggle with French, utilizing free time, heating and housing discomforts, etc.
5. This often coincides with mid-semester examinations adding academic pressure to all of the above, which results usually in a very low period or dark depression. Psychologist L. Oberg states that some of the symptoms of this period are: "Excessive washing of the hands; excessive concern over drinking water, food, dishes, and bedding; a feeling of helplessness, fits of anger over delays and other minor frustrations; delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country; excessive fear of being cheated, robbed or injured; great concern over minor pains and eruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home, talking to people who really make sense."
6. Hostility or aggressive phase. Students complain about the Dickinson Center, regulations, and attitudes. This phase can become extremely petty.
7. Identity crisis. Searching within oneself, "Why am I here?", "Am I in the right major?"
Recovery:
1. Slowly finding a balance between academic work and other compelling interests. Better organization of one's time, and separation of the romantic preconceptions from the reality.
2. Oberg again says, "The recovery stage usually finds a growing sense of humor, with the visitor able to joke not only about the host country, but also about his own difficulties. In the final stage,
adjustment, the visitor learns to accept the foods, drinks, habits, and customs of the host country and even to enjoy them."
3. Important realizations include getting to know the French as individuals and not as stereotypes, suddenly realizing the great personal freedom and appreciating it, making deep friendships with fellow students and the French, finally leaving America and trying to learn something about France with an accompanying decision to appreciate the best of both countries.
Some info on Toulouse:
The City of Toulouse:
A thriving cultural and commercial center lying between the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi in southwestern France, Toulouse is famous for its brick structures that give the city its name of la ville rose. Toulouse is rich in art and architectural history. It was the capital of the Visigoths and the Carolingian kingdom of Aquitaine. Under the counts of Toulouse, it was the artistic center of medieval Europe, before being handed over to the French crown in 1271. Furthermore, the city boasts a Romanesque basilica (the church of St. Sernin) and the richly decorated hôtels particuliers, which display the wealth of the pastel merchants during the Renaissance. The enlightened design of the Hôtel de Ville brings the ancient and modern sections of the city together.
Toulouse is also the center of the French aeronautics industry (home of Airbus), so that the charm of old Romanesque France is combined with the excitement of high-technology modern France. The large student population in Toulouse makes the city lively and culturally interesting.
My contact info while I am in Toulouse:
email: boucharj@dickinson.edu
Phone: 2074782626
I will be living with a host family, named the Duffours. Here is the mailing address of the house I will be staying at:
Jarrod Bouchard
Chez Duffour
18, rue Dessalles
31500 Toulouse
France
That's it! I will be posting again my first Sunday there, which will be the day after I arrive. Sort of a first impressions sort of thing. Au revoir!
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