To be French

Thank god I'm not 19 anymore. Really. But I did have a nice evening hanging out with a new colleague at school (who is 30) and 3 French teenagers. Colleague and I went for a drink following a long day at school and then were invited to beers by the next table over.

I'm always astounded when I hear the America-Love from people. And I've heard it from my Chinese colleagues via a link regarding the fascination with America during the Olympics. And tonight I heard it again from three 19-year-old French boys. They cited more movies and TV shows than I've seen in the States. They spoke "American English" as opposed to British. It's strange to look inside from the outside.

Of course, I know it's easier to criticize the US while I carry her passport. And I can always return. But how strange, in the middle of a financial meltdown and in the middle of the fresh roll of a new wave of The Depression. But people still hold a high regard for the US, an esteemed worship, a lust, a hope for the country and to find themselves someday making their yellow brick road there.

It hasn't changed my view on the country. I'm still skeptical - despite the Hope instilled by Obama (and these boys know Obama and McCain and know that Change is associated with the former and toasted to it). I'm still exhausted with the work ethic. Still dismayed by the urban and rural planning of the country. Still disencouraged by the policies. Still hoping to get a job in Europe or the rest of the world so I won't have to return next year. But then I run into these people who want to clink every round of beers to the US and to the hope it instills.

It's true, too. In Europe, or at least in France, still, to this day, you have to declare your intended track of study before you graduate high school. You have to determine your fate beforehand and you have to stick to it. There's no such thing as a 33-year-old going back to school. It's unheard of and weird. Hence, the lack of student discounts for me - they end at 26 years old. No one can understand why someone would be able to or want to change their life path.

To these boys, the US represents Hollywood, New York City, chance, glory, opportunity, uniqueness, freedom. To me it represents the opposite for I have felt the crush of these things. But we always think the grass is greener over there, don't we?

And now that I'm in Paris again, I remember how much I love my boulangerie, my cave man with the wonderfully cheap wine, the idea of sitting out on a sidewalk drinking beer for hours in the evening, the risk of greve (strike) any moment, the challenge of being a country, a city, and a piece of the EU. Who is the US a member of? Iraq??? To whom do we have to submit our concerns?

It's food for thought on a late night before a class.....

What kind of a policy-maker are they making here? I'm not a Socialist or a Republican or a Liberal or a Fancy Pants. But good god, what has this education in France given me??