Caught In Between France And Canada

    In preparation for this adventure I am about to take to a new nation, I find myself contemplating the two countries I'm currently in between. On the one hand, I have France, my home country that I've been living in for the past eleven years and on the other, Canada, where I'm apparently going to be spending a great deal of the next four. It has become a daily routine for me to compare both. At various moments of the day, I'll find myself in a situation, and wonder about how the same simple things will take place for me next year.

    Now, when considering countries, one immediately tends to resort to stereotypes to get a basic imaginative layout of the state in question. One thing you probably should know about me is that I grew up in the US, in the suburbs of New York City, which is where I picked up on fluent English (more on that later). Naturally, I developed a biased image of Canada being something of "the US's little sister". Overall, it's the same culture, mostly the same language, just about the same people, but with colder weather, free health care and a moose and maple leaf serving for national emblems. You think of Canadians and this image of a large, bearded man wearing a checkered red shirt, a fur cap and sporting an axe and some hunting gear pops into mind. As for the country... you mean, other than huge snowy forests?
    So yes, that's pretty much the image I grew up having of Canada, though I am ready to revise that statement. With my upcoming move, I've found myself curious to know more about this country I'm moving to. So far, my research has been a bit random, covering basic geography one day, and canadian music the next. I was very proud of myself the other day when I realized I had accurately remembered the spelling of the province of Saskatchewan, which believe me is an uncommon word in my linguistic range. I've now correctly remembered the locations and names of all ten provinces as well as the three territories.

Canadian Provinces and Territories

    Among my research, I think I also found a reason to serve in my defense of being so stereotypically prejudiced regarding Canadian culture (warning: history lesson coming up). While I have yet to properly cover Canadian history, I came to realize that Canada is somewhat of a young country. Originally occupied by aboriginal tribes and later conquered by the United Kingdom, it is only in 1867 that it actually gained a semblance of independence, by becoming a Dominion of the UK. Basically, it had its own government, but was still "property" of the UK, so when the latter entered WWI in 1914, for example, Canada had to follow in as well. Since that time, there has not really been an official change on the status of Canada regarding the UK as far as I know, but at some point in the 20th century the term "Dominion" fell out of usage, and Canada progressively built its own identity and gained its independence. In 1965, the Maple Leaf Flag was adopted, which is the flag currently in use, and Canada only gained its current administrative layout of 10 provinces and 3 territories in 1999, with the creation of the territory of Nunavut. Officially today, Canada is still a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state (apparent). Interestingly, Canadian monarchy is listed on a separate Wikipedia page from the British monarchy, since both Crowns are separate legal institutions, but in fact they involve the same people.
    All this to say that Canada is something of a country in the making, from what I can tell. That's not to say I don't consider it to be a country proper, but I believe it really started forging its identity sometime in the last 50 or 60 years, which is a fairly short amount of time on the scale of a country. So while all of this may not explain why I used to imagine the average Canadian to resemble a yeti modeling for the Timberland catalogue, I think it does show why Canada always seemed to be a mix of different cultures. From what I understand, Canadians actually embrace their cultural diversity, and I think in time, as history writes itself, its proper identity will grow and be more clearly defined.

    How ironic that I should choose to study in a country which seem to be searching itself as much as I am! Not that I believe it is lost or needs to find itself, but I think if we equate it to a person, Canada is probably a twenty-something college student, trying different things and making way for its future. Sounds like we would get along. Anyway, I intend on finding out more about this country and will keep reporting my findings.


    Now, as far as France is concerned, we have quite a different picture. France is old; founded back around the year 498, it has accumulated a lot of history and along with it created a people who are one of a kind. The French are grumpy, snooty, haughty, cynic and have a taste for proper living or art-de-vivre. Yes, the French consider that living is an art, and in their opinion, the rest of the world suck at it. So it is their natural reaction to look down on anyone else who is not of their own. The French are also very proud of being French and entertain a weird pleasure in remaining distinctly so. What can I say? We're an exclusive club. I myself am a Parisian, which is sort of like an exponential French. All those traits mentioned above are only further exaggerated in the average Paris inhabitant. We basically consider ourselves to be at the top of all things French and consider those who live in the rest of the country to be our inferior minions (anyone who understands the language decently can check out this humorous Facebook group as a witness for what I'm saying).
    So by now, I've probably scared you off into believing I'm this horrible xenophobic moron, who even despises his own people (technically even among Parisians you'll find that not everyone considers himself on equal ground, but let's not get into those antics). We French have very weird social games, which may appear to be mean and offsetting to strangers, but if you actually get it, you realize it's sort of like an inside joke (at least, to most of us). As a Parisian, I annoy my girlfriend who lives just literally a couple hundred meters away from the actual limits of Paris, by regularly informing her she does not actually qualify as a proper Parisian. I've also been known to say that just because you live in Paris, doesn't mean you're a Parisian. But it's all for the joke.
    In truth, I'm not so closed-minded. While I'm proud of being French, there are also many points on which I disagree with my country. I think that statement is fairly obvious, seeing how I've been spending the better part of the past year or so, trying to find a way to leave it. The rest of the world as a whole fascinates me and I make it a point to travel regularly and see new spaces. This cultural trend of mind is how I ended up taking up Chinese as a subject of study for this past school year. But China is a whole other story we won't get into today. Back to the point, the French character has a behavior which may appear weird to the outside, but it's more of a game than an actual belief system. Learn to play it, and you'll be in.
    Now, as far as stereotypes go, other than what I've already stated above, here's what I've heard said on my country. Already, the average Frenchman is represented wearing a beret and old-fashioned clothing, while carrying home a basket of food, with a baguette sticking out. This image is somewhat outdated. My best explanation for it is that it's how the Americans described the French when they came back from WWII, and seeing how American culture is easily widespread, the world would go on to remember the French and generally France as it was in the 1940s. So no, we don't dress like that, most apartments don't have a view on the Eiffel Tower (those which do are highly expensive) and cobble-stone paved streets are just not so fashionable anymore – nor practical for bikers for that matter. That being said, concerning food, you will find it in smaller proportions in France. I was shocked when I visited Canada over a few days last December to see how everything was bigger in supermarkets (including supermarkets themselves). In America, Supermarkets are probably the flagship institution of a lifestyle promoted during the Cold War, where "more is more", so naturally everything comes in large quantities. In France we do eat on a smaller scale. And yes, we do eat baguette.
    I've also heard that French make for the worst tourists. While I'm pretty this is true, I'd like to offer a few explanations which, while they may not excuse my people, might help you understand why we act the way we do. First of all, I have to say that tipping is not a widespread custom in France. While you may tip at a restaurant or café, this is merely a sign of your appreciation of the service given and not a mandatory custom. Of course, tipping is not a "mandatory" practice anywhere else, but it is a much more enforced tradition in Anglo-saxon countries I believe. So, this is why the French are generally considered to be bad tippers – it's just not in their habits. Secondly, while foreigners may consider the French to be very cold, we actually find our attitude to be completely normal. So if you happen to come upon French tourists and that they seem cold and distant, don't take offense: it's not a sign of hostility but one of respect and courtesy towards you. Basically, they assume you don't care for their friendliness (as they don't care for yours).
    One stranger stereotype I've heard of is that French people are dirty. Now, I'm not implying any innuendo here, but simply that the French are not clean. I have no idea where this comes from, and while you'll surely find some people who need an education in personal hygiene in France, they won't be in any larger proportions than those in other countries. So let me just clear this up and say that in the 20th century, be picked up on very useful habits like showering everyday, just like the rest of the world. I actually find this rumor to be paradoxical, seeing how the French are all the while renowned for their beauty products and fashion brands such as Chanel and Dior, which obviously place high standards on appearance, and that usually starts with a clean face.

       So that just about sums it up for my considerations of both countries. I naturally have more things to say about France, since I know it so much, while I'm still in the early stages of figuring Canada out. I actually find Canada to be an interesting choice of a place to go next. Like I said before, it's as if the country resembles me in some aspects. It's a mix of different things at once, still young and in the process of being built. Sherbrooke, where I'm going, is a French speaking town, but my University itself is English-speaking, summing up both of my languages in one place. Concerning my languages, I actually learned to speak English a mere three years after French, so it's been a part of me since I can remember. When I started writing fiction a few years ago, the story naturally came to me in English and overall I think English is the language with which I'm most comfortable. But that being said, I certainly don't reject my French heritage.
    The interesting thing is that while my fellow BU students will most likely see me as a French guy, here in France, my friends tend to identify me as "the American one" or "the International one" and I regularly get annoyed by sides of their "Frenchiness" they're too, well, French to see. So I guess I'm caught up between different cultures, never really belonging to one entirely. We'll see how Bishop's shapes me.