French pen pals give their impressions of American teen life
March 3, 2010
By Laura Geggel
French students from the Notre Dame le Ménimur school in France after presentations they made about the differences between France and American. The French students are pen pals with French-language students at Mount Si High School. (Photo contributed)
NEW — 1:05 p.m. March 3, 2010
With every letter they receive from their French pen pals, Mount Si High School language students learn a little more about French culture and life.
The same goes for French students at the Notre Dame le Ménimur school in Vannes, in Northwest France.
Their English-language teacher, Amélie Lambotin, married 2003 Mount Si graduate Ian Mengedoht. In 2009, Lambotin’s students began writing letters to Mount Si students. These are their unedited impressions about differences between America and France.
School schedule
We start at 8:30 a.m., we do not have any French flag in our classroom, and we don’t do the pledge of allegiance.
Our school is a Catholic school so there is a cross on each wall in each classroom.
Food is an important part of our culture and so we have lunch from noon to 1:30 pm. School finishes at 4:30.
We can’t drive before 18 years old so our parents come pick us up, or we ride our bikes home, take the bus or our scooters.
We always have homework to do, so when we are done with our schoolwork it is around 7 p.m. and it’s time for dinner with the family.
We do not have a job after class or don’t stay longer at school to play football. It is really different compared to America where school can be your second “house.” There is nothing to do at school in France, and nothing is organized as far as extra curricular activities are concerned.
School dress code
We have a serious dress code at school: no short skirts, no low-cut t-shirts, no high heeled shoes, no hair dying and no piercing. Cell phones allowed at school, no bottle of water on the tables, no hat or cap in the classrooms.
Sports
French football/we call it LE FOOT/ soccer is the most popular sport. We practice sport on the weekends: rugby, dance, swimming lessons, horse riding, some students take theater classes, drawing classes. Hunting is absolutely not popular among teens of our age. It is seen as an old fashion sport. Guns are not part of our culture either. We live by the ocean so it’s really popular to go to the beach as soon as it’s sunny. The water is really cold, like in Puget Sound, but we love it.
Prom Night and the fun around it
Schools in France do not organize any graduation party, prom night or anything fun like that. We just graduate and the following second we are back home. Parents never ever go to any representation at school of any kind. In primary schools yes, but not after.
Drinking and smoking
We would say that it is too easy for a 14-year-old to buy cigarettes and to drink alcohol. At the age of 16 everyone has already had a beer, and tried to smoke a cigarette with a friend. Lots of kids smoke and have drinking problems because it is not enough controlled. We can buy a beer at the movie theater just like we can buy beer or any liquor at any local shop.
We are supposed to be asked our ID but it’s rare. 18 is the legal age to drink and smoke, but it’s not respected.
Driving
It is not an easy step. When we are 16 we sit for the written exam: Le Code De La Route. We have to study for it. Then if our parents accept, we can drive with them when we are 16, it is called: La conduite accompagnee. We take the driving test when we are 18 years old and it is a hard one to get. Not everybody has a car when we are 18 and we most of the time have to share with a parent. The car insurance is not really expensive compared to America.
School subjects
We don’t study a lot of American history at school, but we are taught all of the French and European history. We start learning French when we are in primary school, but most of us really started when we were 12.
We have test all year long and our final exams are at the end of each semester.
We hand-write all of our test, we don’t write with pencils. It is inappropriate, since pencil pens are only used to write “ideas” when you are not too sure. We call that a “brouillon”. We never have multi-choice tests. We have to write all of our answers and justify them each time. Our school system is harder than the American one.
Fashion
We love everything that comes from America. America is so popular that we import almost all the movies and songs that we can. We carry Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Champion, but we also have our own brands.
Girls don’t wear a lot of hoodies and sport pants on. They wear more “elegant” clothes than American teens. A lot of scarves, blouses, jackets, and of course leggings and leather boots.
Boys simply wear a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. We don’t wear flip-flop at school, it’s forbidden.
Girls don’t wear a lot of make-up on their face. They use the make-up on their eyes, mostly. They don’t spend hours doing their hair. They almost never do their nails, and most of them don’t carry any make-up in their purse.
They don’t wash their hair every day either, it damages the hair. They probably do that three times a week.
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Laura, you did a great job, thanks again for the article,
Amelie
[...] Cultivating French culture is also emphasized at the high school level in France. Laura Geggel, reporting for SnoValley Star, explains how students at Mount Si High School in Washington are pen pals with English-language students at France’s Notre Dame le Menimur school. Geggel shares “unedited impressions” from the French students on the differences between schools in the U.S. and France. [...]
Personally, I think that the french culture is extremely intriguing. I would very much like to learn more about the french culture and the way of life, not specifically in catholic schools! if anyone can help with this, please feel free to contact me.