Crossing off my calendar as week two in Paris comes to a close; I stare at my remaining schedule here, and I only have six weeks until I am back on a plane. This week was my first week in the school, and I am not shocked so much as intrigued with different aspects of the school environment and some realities of living in Europe. Nothing scary—just some different funny instances that have caused me to think.

The School Itself

The school itself is a population of less than 400 covering kindergarten through eighth grade. This is similar to the elementary school that I attended, but the difference is that I was in America going to an American school. The kids here are from all over the place going to an American school, which is going to bring up a lot of different issues than you would expect from the former. I see seventh and eighth graders throughout the day, and they all seem to be a decently tight-knit group with whatever group of students they travel to all their classes with.

This school is Catholic, but students don’t have to proclaim their faith to attend here. They have uniforms, but the rules on clothing are pretty loose, and there is a mass once every so often that all students have to attend. Students are at all different levels with their English—depending on when they were integrated into an English speaking environment, and many students are from the United States. I was asked in one of my classes, “Are you an Indians fan?” ;this being due to the recent loss in the World Series—in which, the Indians fought well. I told the student that I was, and he responded, “I’m sorry.” As I told him that he need not worry because they played well, I was a little shocked by how many students responded with different US sports teams they love and one student almost fell on the floor as he asked me through gritted teeth, “You’re not a Pacers fan are you?” I was surprised to see how many students are still very connected to US sports.

Swearing

“Damn,” a student piped up in the back of the classroom. I’m with seventh graders, and at the last school I was placed in with juniors in high school, they would have been written up or warned due to swearing. I gave him the teacher eyebrow I have patented, and told him to keep working. It occurred to me in mid-eyebrow raise that we are in Europe. Swearing is different here. I asked my cooperating teacher later if that is considered a swear word and what they do to students who use profanity in class. She told me that it really wasn’t considered a swear word, and ultimately, words are words—it’s the meaning that we put behind them that makes them have different connotations.

That was fascinating to me, as I have lived all my life really not swearing because I considered the need to use a swear word as ignorance—there are so many words in the English language; I figured people could be a little more creative with the things they said. When I was directing The Curious Savage at my last placement, we decided, as a cast and crew, that we would replace swear words with lizard names, just so we could remember how silly we sometimes sound as we are swearing. Hearing, “Oh snakes!” from the kids as we were rehearsing made everyone chuckle a little. It’s different here. It’s not a big deal, and it’s a different cultural context—I understand that. It is just something that makes me wonder, are words really just words?

There Seem to Be No “Overweight” People

Now that heading is a lie, because of course everyone could probably be a little healthier, but I think I have only seen a few people here who would be considered “overweight.” I walk so much during the day. The classroom I am in is on the third floor of a building that has so many stairs. I get my workout in just by going up and down the stairs. Not only that, but I walk to and from the bus stop, walk to and from the metro, and that doesn’t include all the other walking to stores and restaurants and seeing the sights. No wonder no one is really overweight—their pedometers would all be exploding from overuse.

The food here is all pretty natural—if you do it right. There is a grocery store a block away from the flat I am in that sells a lot of organic stuff. Bread is made fresh, cheese is so fresh, and the fruit you get is often very fresh. If you try, even a little, you can be healthy here. I was thinking that I was going to gain weight while I was here from all the lovely pastries—which those are really good too; however, I have to make sure that I eat plenty to balance out all the walking and running, and I am eating mostly fresh stuff. Most of their stuff is not processed, and I have a feeling that it will take my stomach a while to adjust once I do come back to the states.

These are just a few different surprises along the way, but there are plenty more to share. I have been told flat out by people here, “Christianity is struggling in Paris,” and I knew that before I came. People who ride the bus or metro with me are being prayed over more than they know. I am growing in ways that I don’t even know, and I am so excited to keep loving on these kids, the other teachers, the family I stay with, and the random strangers that I cross paths with. I’ve shared the ones that have made me stop and think, but please keep reading and staying tuned for more articles, because there is plenty to talk about that will continue to be written.