This past week was a short week. There was no school Monday since it was a “jour férié” (in closest terms: a national holiday) in remembrance of the end of World War I. Since during these national holidays everything is closed, it was a quiet day in with my family. Additionally, my school is not in session on Wednesdays, so that meant I only had school Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday night, we went to see a locally made documentary about the town I am staying in. During WWII, Saint-Remy de Provence was occupied for a few years under the Nazis. The documentary interviewed people, some who were over 100 years old, about their experiences during the occupation. I found the end of the documentary very shocking: it was all in praise of Americans and their part in the war. Although in school I learned about the American’s part during the war, it is completely different to hear about it from the perspective of not only someone who is not American, but someone who also lived through it. Many of the interviewees talked about how when the Americans came and handed out little treats such as Wringley’s gum, it was one of the most joyous moments of their lives. Even during school on Tuesday when the teachers talked about WWI with the students, they mentioned often that it was the Americans that saved France. Overall, the experience changed my perspective on how powerful stories can be and how they can change how people understand history.

This past week, I have also started to teach English more and more. It has been difficult for the students in some ways because the program they use speaks English from England, and the English they hear is spoken with a French accent. Because an American accent is quite different from both of those ways of speaking, at first many of my students felt lost. For example, when I was trying to say the word ship, my students thought I was saying sheep. I had to be very explicit in saying the “i” sound versus the “ee” sound.

Their books also use both English words and American words interchangeably (ex: using the words truck and lorry). Although at first this can be very confusing and frustrating for students, I think it is very important that they understand how even though two countries speak the same language, words, sayings, and grammar can be very different. I explained this to students by giving the example of French in Canada versus French in France. If they were to speak with someone from Quebec, they may understand the majority of what they are saying, but from time to time there may be lapses where the vocabulary is very different and hard to understand. I hope in time, students realize how much language and culture influence one another, and I hope they become more understanding of those who may speak differently from them.