On Monday, October 19th, I led my first workshop as a French Global Guide at the School for Excellence in the Bronx.
I knew I wanted to talk about something unique about French culture or something students are not really aware about or don’t understand well about France. At the same time, I wanted show them that behind apparent cultural differences, some issues and cultural traits are often universal.
To do this, I had to talk about French reality as I have lived it - not simply about France as a travel destination, which is often far from millions of French citizens’ daily lives.
I decided to talk about France’s passion for football, which the students know better as “soccer” and the role of this sport in increasing awareness and solidarity of immigrated people and other French people.
After introducing myself, explaining that I am a visiting student from Sciences Po. in Paris, and telling about my family background, I presented them with background information about my country: its location and neighbors, the political system, the currency, and the demography. I also talked about French food— an important and famous side of the French culture— and I introduced them to some French cinema and famous musicians.
When I began discussing my topic, I felt that I had captured their attention. They were surprised by the phenomenon of soccer in France and in Europe in general, and they couldn’t believe that American football and baseball are not popular abroad.
They were even quieter when I began to talk about social problems of French people their age with foreign origin, like some of them have. I explained to them the difficulty for these youth to succeed at school and to find a job because of the discrimination they face. From there, I explained that soccer is more than a sport: it’s a tool to unify the society and to overcome the social, religious and/or racial differences by showing that the solidarity and the cooperation of everyone can lead to success and happiness.
To finish, I talked about the concepts of nationalism and patriotism in France as compared to the US and about the symbol of the flag. It was the occasion to talk to them about the death tolls of two world wars on the European territory; the wars (in France and Germany) happened because of the exacerbation of nationalisms. Then, we discussed the importance of the unification and pacification processes by the European Union.
This cultural and human exchange was a really great moment for the students and for me.
Before beginning to talk about my country, I asked them what comes to mind when I say “France.” The common answers were: “hats”, “snails”, “cigarettes”, “Paris,” but after this workshop I’m convinced that they went past these stereotypes and went deeper into the French culture. For my part, I learned in 60 minutes as much as two semesters of college courses, without any doubt! Thanks for this unforgettable experience!
I knew I wanted to talk about something unique about French culture or something students are not really aware about or don’t understand well about France. At the same time, I wanted show them that behind apparent cultural differences, some issues and cultural traits are often universal.
To do this, I had to talk about French reality as I have lived it - not simply about France as a travel destination, which is often far from millions of French citizens’ daily lives.
I decided to talk about France’s passion for football, which the students know better as “soccer” and the role of this sport in increasing awareness and solidarity of immigrated people and other French people.
After introducing myself, explaining that I am a visiting student from Sciences Po. in Paris, and telling about my family background, I presented them with background information about my country: its location and neighbors, the political system, the currency, and the demography. I also talked about French food— an important and famous side of the French culture— and I introduced them to some French cinema and famous musicians.
When I began discussing my topic, I felt that I had captured their attention. They were surprised by the phenomenon of soccer in France and in Europe in general, and they couldn’t believe that American football and baseball are not popular abroad.
They were even quieter when I began to talk about social problems of French people their age with foreign origin, like some of them have. I explained to them the difficulty for these youth to succeed at school and to find a job because of the discrimination they face. From there, I explained that soccer is more than a sport: it’s a tool to unify the society and to overcome the social, religious and/or racial differences by showing that the solidarity and the cooperation of everyone can lead to success and happiness.
To finish, I talked about the concepts of nationalism and patriotism in France as compared to the US and about the symbol of the flag. It was the occasion to talk to them about the death tolls of two world wars on the European territory; the wars (in France and Germany) happened because of the exacerbation of nationalisms. Then, we discussed the importance of the unification and pacification processes by the European Union.
This cultural and human exchange was a really great moment for the students and for me.
Before beginning to talk about my country, I asked them what comes to mind when I say “France.” The common answers were: “hats”, “snails”, “cigarettes”, “Paris,” but after this workshop I’m convinced that they went past these stereotypes and went deeper into the French culture. For my part, I learned in 60 minutes as much as two semesters of college courses, without any doubt! Thanks for this unforgettable experience!
