Well, I guess I'll start this one off. One of the interesting things that Stephane mentioned was the high cost of living at MIT. We all know that the tuition is huge here, but it seems that many more things at INT are more heavily subsidized, such as food, etc.
So I have a question about rent or whatever fee you must pay for living quarters. How does this compare to the going rate for an apartment in the city? Is it subsidized at all?
Here in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, apartment rents are pretty high, typically >$1000 month for a 2 bedroom apartment (for sharing with one other roommate, i.e. $500 per month per person). This is at the lower end and you can easily pay more. I think that the dorms are cheaper, but not by too much. Maybe one of the American students can help me out on this. So rents here are cheaper if you live on-campus, but not by too much, I think.
I'm wondering what Stephane thought of the classes he attended here, and if there are similar classes at INT. Also, Stephane mentioned that it was strange to see people eating, laughing, etc. during class. In general, are school rules much more strict in France with regards to eating, etc.? It seems like being able to eat and laugh and make out in the back of the room make class much more tolerable and enjoyable here in the U.S.
No seriously, I think that having him visit was a great idea. I actually spent some time with him at harvard square and it was a lot of fun. I hope that the schools will continue this program as I actually learned a lot from my discussions with Stephane. We talked about a variety of issues ranging from the upcoming US elections to how to swear effectively in french.
I also think it was a great idea having a student from the INT visit. Stephane represented himself and his classmates well - he communicated effectively and was very knowledgeable about a great many things. He spoke eloquently and clearly about his school, his interests, and his country, and taught us all a lot.
Stephane's visit was very insightful. He was receptive to our comments and patient when we asked him many questions. He also made me reaffirm my belief that we are all very gullible when it comes to stereotypes.
I think it was a great idea to have Stephane visit. It probably gave him an idea about how students here are, broke some stereotypes and reinforced others. I liked his confidence and curiosity. I wonder what he will be telling his friends about us.
I think such visits should be encouraged more. It enables students to understand and appreciate different cultures and also allows some to speak the language they are learning in the country with the language. STephane's English was amazing.
Learning French by talking to real people is deffinately the best way to learn. I really wish that we could have people like Stephane around all the time. One of my ways of acheving this is by trying to go to France this summer (given that I find a job there!) Talking to him was the first time that I had a chance to have a real conversation in French with someone, and even though I ended up translating many of the things I said, I am a lot more comfortable speaking now. It took me less then a month to learn English when I came nere from Russia, even though I started from level zero. Yet I have been taking French (on and off) since I was 6 years old and I am still terrible at it. The reason is that when you have many people around you speaking in a different language, you are forced to learn it, and you subcontiousely concentrate a lot more on it - it is a necessity. It was also really cool to drop all my work and go out with him too :) To tell you guys all a story: Stephane is very quick with girls! He want out to Newberry street with me (the two of us almost tried on shiny boots and red leather dresses, but the sales people said no pictures allowed). Then he went to my dance class. He left the class 5 minutes before I did to go to Thirsty Ear Pub, a little bar. By the time I got to the bar (5 minutes!!!) he already had 2 blonds talking to him! What a ladie's man :)
I was wondering if any of you know of any programs to send French people to study abroad in the US like what we have to help us study abroad? Stephane asked me this question cause he's really interested in coming, but I haven't heard of any. It seems really rare to have French students here for a semester (if any come then they apply as international students and graduate from here after 4 years) Lots of luck with this, Stephane, and be sure to visit when you're in the area!
Oh yeah another thing. Stephane says that he likes our application process better where colleges look at factors other than standardized test scores (such as activities, sports, essays, and grade reports). Do you agree with him?
I have a question: when stephane was here he was surprised that he wasn't eating more fast food - do most french people have the idea that americans eat things like hamburgers and hot dogs all day? do people in france eat mostly french food or are there lots of different types of food available? i know when i eat dinner it could be anything from indian to thai to ethopian... do people normally eat different ethnic cuisine?
It was fun to meet with Stephane and talk with him about the differences between French and American universities.
One of the things that I found interesting when I first started talking with him was how tiring I found it to try to understand a lot of spoken French, and how grateful I was to be able to slip into English. Of course, he probably found it really tiring to speak to me in English.
A question: since your English is so much better than our French, can you distinguish between different accents in spoken English?
William, je peux uniquement distinguer l'accent anglais et l'accent américain (peut-être aussi l'accent écossais). J'ai une question : puisqu'il me semble que tu as grandi au Canada, sais-tu distinguer l'accent quebecois de l'accent qu'ont les Français ? Personnellement, j'ai parfois énormément de mal à comprendre certains Québecois !!
La première chose que je souhaiterais dire sur ce forum est que je vous remercie tous de m'avoir aussi bien accueilli pendant ma semaine à MIT, de m'avoir accompagné dans tous les endroits intéressants que vous connaissiez...MERCI MERCI MERCI!!!!
Le logement est également subventionné(=subsidized) à l'INT (mais c'est le cas pour tous les étudiants de France, pas seulement à l'INT). Une chambre à l'INT, qui correspond aux 'dorms' de MIT, coûte un peu plus de $300 par mois et l'étudiant doit payer environ $150 (subvention de $150 de l'Etat, ministère de l'Action Sociale).
Dans chaque chambre il y a une salle de bains personnelle et un réfrigérateur. La surface dépend des bĹtiments et de la chance de l'étudiant! La mienne fait environ 22 mètres carrés mais c'est une exception, en général les chambres d'étudiants font 9 à 15 mètres carrés.
Je n'ai absolument rien compris à la majorité des classes que j'ai suivies au MIT. Que ce soit 'artificial intelligence', 'complex analysis', le lab de Pablo, ou le cours d'électronique de George et Elina, ces classes ne correspondent pas aux études que j'ai suivies en France... (ici je fais partie des élèves qui étudient 'IT-Management', je ne suis pas en 'Phone engineering and Computer science' comme le sont d'autres élèves du groupe cultura de l'INT).
En France, il est possible de rire et de parler en cours mais personne ne mange! Il est vrai que la plus grande décontraction des cours au MIT est agréable. L'école française dans sa globalité est assez stricte quant aux comportements exigés des élèves, mais à l'INT les cours se font en général dans une atmosphère détendue.
Ce ne serai pas lui avec qui j'ai été à Harvard Square et qui m'a invité dans ce restaurant ù l'on boit des 'frappes' au Milky Way....?
Si jamais c'est lui, j'ai vraiment aimé discuter avec lui et moi aussi j'ai appris beaucoup.
P.S.: J'espère qu'Al Gore va gagner ces élections! Et pas cet imbécile de Bush qui ne sait même pas situer la France sur une carte du monde (et le Liban non plus d'ailleurs). Et qui d'ailleurs ne sais même pas ce que c'est qu'une carte.
Ici aussi les étudiants sont très curieux et je suis assailli de questions, surtout à propos de vous...! Et finalement je ne peux pas tellement leur rapporter de généralités sur les élèves du MIT car vous êtes tous très différents, du point de vue de l'Ĺge, des études suivies, des intérêts des uns et des autres. Peut-être que certains élèves ici attendaient une réponse globalisante : je n'en ai pas.
Puis-je me permettre de te rappeler que tu n'es pas obligée de raconter toute ma vie à MIT sur des forums accessibles à tous... :) (Ne t'inquiète pas je te pardonne aisément!)
Juste en rentrant à l'INT, j'ai appris qu'il y avait un échange de prévu pour les élèves d'IT-Management en MBA à Virginia Tech, mais il faut attendre d'être 'grad student' pour pouvoir y aller et je ne suis que 'junior'(c'est moins bien que Sloan mais tant pis, je serais très content d'y aller quand même!). Une délégation de l'INT était partie à MIT quelques semaines avant moi et il y a également un accord d'échange avec MIT, mais uniquement pour les Ph.D de l'INT et de MIT (pour des collaborations dans des domaines de recherches).
A l'INT, la cuisine proposée aux élèves est française exclusivement,ce qui n'empêche pas d'aller dans des restaurants à la cuisine "ethnique" de temps en temps. En ce qui concerne les habitants des grandes villes de France et surtout de Paris, toutes les cuisines du monde (ou quasiment) sont représentées, notamment la cuisine chinoise.
Il m'est possible de distinguer des accents différents en anglais. En revanche, à la différence d'un natif d'Angleterre,du Canada ou des USA, je ne rattache pas mentalement cet accent à une classe sociale ou à une région de provenance particulière. J'entends simplement une différence de prononciation!
Je te poserais également la même question qu'Armelle.De plus, trouves-tu qu'il est plus facile pour toi de comprendre le français du Québec que celui de France (parlé à Paris) ou bien le contraire? Les Canadiens anglophones apprennent-ils à l'école le français avec l'accent de Paris ou avec celui de Montréal?
Eh bien, Stéphane on ne t'arrete plus une fois que tu es partis!!! Puisque cela à l'air de vous avoir bien plus, pensons un peu au futur...
Un de vous viendras chez nous, y a-t-il quelque chose de particulier que vous vouler voir? Je parle surtout de l'extra-scolaire, car plut tôt on si prends mieux cela sera... De notre côté on va préparer quelque chose bien sur mais vous avez peut-être des désirs qui nous sont encore inconnue...
I can tell the difference between French and Canadian accents, and I find the French one much easier to understand because the Quebec accent is very nasal and harsh-sounding. If you find it hard to understand sometimes, think of how it must be for us! I believe all of Canada prefers the Montreal way of speaking, though.
As for English accents, I have the hardest time with the Scottish accent, and I think other Americans do too. Which English ones do you have trouble with?
Susan, personnellement, j'ai énormément de mal avec l'accent Londonien, il faut que je me concentre énormément pour le comprendre et ce n'est pas toujours le cas. En fait, je trouve l'accent américain beaucoup plus facile à comprendre que l'accent anglais même si je suis plus en contact avec l'accent anglais.
Question : puisque l'on parle des élections, est-ce que les candidats ont des accents particuliers ?
J'ai entendu Bush dire "I went to the doc" et cela m'a un peu choquée car les politiciens français parlent un français très distingué et je ne les imagine pas parler comme cela...
Pour ma part ce sont les accents écossais et irlandais qui me troublent le plus surtout qu'ils ne se privent pas de mettre des mots de gaelic ou d'autres patois dans leur parler.
Sinon un des pires accents français que j'ai pu entendre c'est celui des cajuns! Il faut vraiment s'accrocher, ce n'est pas pour les vexer mais si vous en rencontrer un demander lui de parler anglais, sinon... eh bien vous verrez!!!!! ;-)
In France, you don't eat in Classroom. And if you want to speak, why not doing it outside class ? It 's not pleasant to speak when a teacher is making his course. So if you don't want to attend to class seriously, you just don't attend to them !
That's as simple as that .
Class, are supposed not supposed to be enjoyable. They are, if you like the subject.
je crois que l'image de l'americain avec son hamburger dans une main et son coca dans l'autre est une caricature que les français se plaisent à entretenir.Pour ce qui est de la nourriture en France je crois que nous sommes tout comme vous très ouverts aux autres formes culinaires(chinois,grec,italien...)
What I enjoyed the most was seeing Stephane falling asleep in class. Even though I warned him that the class was going to be boring, he insisted on coming. I guess that really got him in contact with the MIT experience.
One thing that I discussed a lot with Stephane were the differences in reflecting yourself in front of your classmates. The pressure is stronger in France, people don't do many things because it is not well seen. Here in the US people really just don't care what others do. Interesting.
In response to Armelle-- Politicians here do speak formally, but there is also pressure on them to seem friendly and like "average Joes." When they're campaigning, it's a bad idea to seem above everyone else, because then people will be hesitant to trust them or to vote for them. And that's probably why you heard Bush say "I went to the doc." Of course they usually speak formally during important speeches. But when they're out trying to rally support, they do their best to seem normal and friendly (I think Al Gore especially had a problem with this during the elections this year.)
Also, I, too, think that it was great having Stephane visit us. He was friendly, polite, and knowledgeable, and his English was awesome too :) I dragged him off to a rather boring Amnesty International meeting, but I had an interesting time talking to him. And yes, it would be nice if we could get more students to visit....
Stephane and Armelle: It was nice to see you guys on the teleconference!
I can tell the difference between Quebecois and Parisian accents; It seems to me that sometimes Francophone Canadians say "dzu" instead of "du" and things like that. A francophone friend from Ontario (no, they don't all live in Quebec!) gave me a couple of albums in Canadian French by a group called La Bottine Souriante. I listened to them before I started learning French, then again after two semesters... I was surprised at how different the Canadian accent sounded.
In British Columbia, some university-level French class are taught with the Parisian accent. My francophone friends think this is a blatant example of imperialism! (There are a lot of politics around accents in Canada.) For example, at a French-language bookstore in Vancouver, there was a (Canadian) francophone clerk who would switch from a Quebecois accent to a Parisian one whenever Europeans would come in the store. The other Francophones called him "Uncle Tom."
C'est en fait une grande tradition chez nous à l' INT. Ben oui, comme on manque de temps pour dormir la nuit, on se rattrape pendant les cours , en particulier tôt le matin dans les amphis ù les fauteuils sont très confortables...
Hey Michel, that is a very widespread tradition. I had a physics professor who was fantastic but always did a fatal mistake: whenever he showed an experiment, he turned off the lights. Needless to say, when he turned them on again, half of the hall was snoring....
Discussion
Well, I guess I'll start this one off. One of the interesting things that Stephane mentioned was the high cost of living at MIT. We all know that the tuition is huge here, but it seems that many more things at INT are more heavily subsidized, such as food, etc.
So I have a question about rent or whatever fee you must pay for living quarters. How does this compare to the going rate for an apartment in the city? Is it subsidized at all?
Here in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, apartment rents are pretty high, typically >$1000 month for a 2 bedroom apartment (for sharing with one other roommate, i.e. $500 per month per person). This is at the lower end and you can easily pay more. I think that the dorms are cheaper, but not by too much. Maybe one of the American students can help me out on this. So rents here are cheaper if you live on-campus, but not by too much, I think.
Who is Stephane?
I'm wondering what Stephane thought of the classes he attended here, and if there are similar classes at INT. Also, Stephane mentioned that it was strange to see people eating, laughing, etc. during class. In general, are school rules much more strict in France with regards to eating, etc.? It seems like being able to eat and laugh and make out in the back of the room make class much more tolerable and enjoyable here in the U.S.
No seriously, I think that having him visit was a great idea. I actually spent some time with him at harvard square and it was a lot of fun. I hope that the schools will continue this program as I actually learned a lot from my discussions with Stephane. We talked about a variety of issues ranging from the upcoming US elections to how to swear effectively in french.
I also think it was a great idea having a student from the INT visit. Stephane represented himself and his classmates well - he communicated effectively and was very knowledgeable about a great many things. He spoke eloquently and clearly about his school, his interests, and his country, and taught us all a lot.
Stephane's visit was very insightful. He was receptive to our comments and patient when we asked him many questions. He also made me reaffirm my belief that we are all very gullible when it comes to stereotypes.
I think it was a great idea to have Stephane visit. It probably gave him an idea about how students here are, broke some stereotypes and reinforced others. I liked his confidence and curiosity. I wonder what he will be telling his friends about us.
I think such visits should be encouraged more. It enables students to understand and appreciate different cultures and also allows some to speak the language they are learning in the country with the language. STephane's English was amazing.
Learning French by talking to real people is deffinately the best way to learn. I really wish that we could have people like Stephane around all the time. One of my ways of acheving this is by trying to go to France this summer (given that I find a job there!) Talking to him was the first time that I had a chance to have a real conversation in French with someone, and even though I ended up translating many of the things I said, I am a lot more comfortable speaking now. It took me less then a month to learn English when I came nere from Russia, even though I started from level zero. Yet I have been taking French (on and off) since I was 6 years old and I am still terrible at it. The reason is that when you have many people around you speaking in a different language, you are forced to learn it, and you subcontiousely concentrate a lot more on it - it is a necessity. It was also really cool to drop all my work and go out with him too :) To tell you guys all a story: Stephane is very quick with girls! He want out to Newberry street with me (the two of us almost tried on shiny boots and red leather dresses, but the sales people said no pictures allowed). Then he went to my dance class. He left the class 5 minutes before I did to go to Thirsty Ear Pub, a little bar. By the time I got to the bar (5 minutes!!!) he already had 2 blonds talking to him! What a ladie's man :)
I was wondering if any of you know of any programs to send French people to study abroad in the US like what we have to help us study abroad? Stephane asked me this question cause he's really interested in coming, but I haven't heard of any. It seems really rare to have French students here for a semester (if any come then they apply as international students and graduate from here after 4 years) Lots of luck with this, Stephane, and be sure to visit when you're in the area!
Oh yeah another thing. Stephane says that he likes our application process better where colleges look at factors other than standardized test scores (such as activities, sports, essays, and grade reports). Do you agree with him?
I have a question: when stephane was here he was surprised that he wasn't eating more fast food - do most french people have the idea that americans eat things like hamburgers and hot dogs all day? do people in france eat mostly french food or are there lots of different types of food available? i know when i eat dinner it could be anything from indian to thai to ethopian... do people normally eat different ethnic cuisine?
I say everyone should visit so we get to put faces to everyone we've been talking to....
It was fun to meet with Stephane and talk with him about the differences between French and American universities.
One of the things that I found interesting when I first started talking with him was how tiring I found it to try to understand a lot of spoken French, and how grateful I was to be able to slip into English. Of course, he probably found it really tiring to speak to me in English.
A question: since your English is so much better than our French, can you distinguish between different accents in spoken English?
William, je peux uniquement distinguer l'accent anglais et l'accent américain (peut-être aussi l'accent écossais). J'ai une question : puisqu'il me semble que tu as grandi au Canada, sais-tu distinguer l'accent quebecois de l'accent qu'ont les Français ? Personnellement, j'ai parfois énormément de mal à comprendre certains Québecois !!
La première chose que je souhaiterais dire sur ce forum est que je vous remercie tous de m'avoir aussi bien accueilli pendant ma semaine à MIT, de m'avoir accompagné dans tous les endroits intéressants que vous connaissiez...MERCI MERCI MERCI!!!!
Salut Geoff !
Le logement est également subventionné(=subsidized) à l'INT (mais c'est le cas pour tous les étudiants de France, pas seulement à l'INT). Une chambre à l'INT, qui correspond aux 'dorms' de MIT, coûte un peu plus de $300 par mois et l'étudiant doit payer environ $150 (subvention de $150 de l'Etat, ministère de l'Action Sociale).
Dans chaque chambre il y a une salle de bains personnelle et un réfrigérateur. La surface dépend des bĹtiments et de la chance de l'étudiant! La mienne fait environ 22 mètres carrés mais c'est une exception, en général les chambres d'étudiants font 9 à 15 mètres carrés.
Qui est Ralph ? Un nouvel élève du cours de Français 3 ?
P.S. Je déteste ce nouvel élève.
Salut Tim !
Je n'ai absolument rien compris à la majorité des classes que j'ai suivies au MIT. Que ce soit 'artificial intelligence', 'complex analysis', le lab de Pablo, ou le cours d'électronique de George et Elina, ces classes ne correspondent pas aux études que j'ai suivies en France... (ici je fais partie des élèves qui étudient 'IT-Management', je ne suis pas en 'Phone engineering and Computer science' comme le sont d'autres élèves du groupe cultura de l'INT).
En France, il est possible de rire et de parler en cours mais personne ne mange! Il est vrai que la plus grande décontraction des cours au MIT est agréable. L'école française dans sa globalité est assez stricte quant aux comportements exigés des élèves, mais à l'INT les cours se font en général dans une atmosphère détendue.
Ralph? Ralph? Cet élève allemand? Non?
Ah? Ralph! Finalement j'aime bien cet élève.
Ce ne serai pas lui avec qui j'ai été à Harvard Square et qui m'a invité dans ce restaurant ù l'on boit des 'frappes' au Milky Way....?
Si jamais c'est lui, j'ai vraiment aimé discuter avec lui et moi aussi j'ai appris beaucoup.
P.S.: J'espère qu'Al Gore va gagner ces élections! Et pas cet imbécile de Bush qui ne sait même pas situer la France sur une carte du monde (et le Liban non plus d'ailleurs). Et qui d'ailleurs ne sais même pas ce que c'est qu'une carte.
Salut Ian!
Combien de dollars t'ai-je laissé avant de partir?
Merci pour tout!!
Salut Patricia!
Tu mentionnes les stéréotypes...
Est-ce que cela aurait à voir avec la question de George à propos des jeunes filles du MIT? Et ma réponse à propos de Porto-Rico???
Salut Raja!
Ici aussi les étudiants sont très curieux et je suis assailli de questions, surtout à propos de vous...! Et finalement je ne peux pas tellement leur rapporter de généralités sur les élèves du MIT car vous êtes tous très différents, du point de vue de l'Ĺge, des études suivies, des intérêts des uns et des autres. Peut-être que certains élèves ici attendaient une réponse globalisante : je n'en ai pas.
Ma chère Elina,
Puis-je me permettre de te rappeler que tu n'es pas obligée de raconter toute ma vie à MIT sur des forums accessibles à tous... :) (Ne t'inquiète pas je te pardonne aisément!)
Salut Susan!
Juste en rentrant à l'INT, j'ai appris qu'il y avait un échange de prévu pour les élèves d'IT-Management en MBA à Virginia Tech, mais il faut attendre d'être 'grad student' pour pouvoir y aller et je ne suis que 'junior'(c'est moins bien que Sloan mais tant pis, je serais très content d'y aller quand même!). Une délégation de l'INT était partie à MIT quelques semaines avant moi et il y a également un accord d'échange avec MIT, mais uniquement pour les Ph.D de l'INT et de MIT (pour des collaborations dans des domaines de recherches).
Salut Kristen!
A l'INT, la cuisine proposée aux élèves est française exclusivement,ce qui n'empêche pas d'aller dans des restaurants à la cuisine "ethnique" de temps en temps. En ce qui concerne les habitants des grandes villes de France et surtout de Paris, toutes les cuisines du monde (ou quasiment) sont représentées, notamment la cuisine chinoise.
Salut Jeri'Ann!
Beaucoup d'étudiants de l'INT sont de ton avis...!
Salut Bill!
Il m'est possible de distinguer des accents différents en anglais. En revanche, à la différence d'un natif d'Angleterre,du Canada ou des USA, je ne rattache pas mentalement cet accent à une classe sociale ou à une région de provenance particulière. J'entends simplement une différence de prononciation!
Je te poserais également la même question qu'Armelle.De plus, trouves-tu qu'il est plus facile pour toi de comprendre le français du Québec que celui de France (parlé à Paris) ou bien le contraire? Les Canadiens anglophones apprennent-ils à l'école le français avec l'accent de Paris ou avec celui de Montréal?
Eh bien, Stéphane on ne t'arrete plus une fois que tu es partis!!! Puisque cela à l'air de vous avoir bien plus, pensons un peu au futur...
Un de vous viendras chez nous, y a-t-il quelque chose de particulier que vous vouler voir? Je parle surtout de l'extra-scolaire, car plut tôt on si prends mieux cela sera... De notre côté on va préparer quelque chose bien sur mais vous avez peut-être des désirs qui nous sont encore inconnue...
I can tell the difference between French and Canadian accents, and I find the French one much easier to understand because the Quebec accent is very nasal and harsh-sounding. If you find it hard to understand sometimes, think of how it must be for us! I believe all of Canada prefers the Montreal way of speaking, though.
As for English accents, I have the hardest time with the Scottish accent, and I think other Americans do too. Which English ones do you have trouble with?
Susan, personnellement, j'ai énormément de mal avec l'accent Londonien, il faut que je me concentre énormément pour le comprendre et ce n'est pas toujours le cas. En fait, je trouve l'accent américain beaucoup plus facile à comprendre que l'accent anglais même si je suis plus en contact avec l'accent anglais.
Question : puisque l'on parle des élections, est-ce que les candidats ont des accents particuliers ?
J'ai entendu Bush dire "I went to the doc" et cela m'a un peu choquée car les politiciens français parlent un français très distingué et je ne les imagine pas parler comme cela...
Pour ma part ce sont les accents écossais et irlandais qui me troublent le plus surtout qu'ils ne se privent pas de mettre des mots de gaelic ou d'autres patois dans leur parler.
Sinon un des pires accents français que j'ai pu entendre c'est celui des cajuns! Il faut vraiment s'accrocher, ce n'est pas pour les vexer mais si vous en rencontrer un demander lui de parler anglais, sinon... eh bien vous verrez!!!!! ;-)
In response to Timothy.
In France, you don't eat in Classroom. And if you want to speak, why not doing it outside class ? It 's not pleasant to speak when a teacher is making his course. So if you don't want to attend to class seriously, you just don't attend to them !
That's as simple as that .
Class, are supposed not supposed to be enjoyable. They are, if you like the subject.
If american students want to come to france, Just tell us !
We will help you to find every thing you need.
je crois que l'image de l'americain avec son hamburger dans une main et son coca dans l'autre est une caricature que les français se plaisent à entretenir.Pour ce qui est de la nourriture en France je crois que nous sommes tout comme vous très ouverts aux autres formes culinaires(chinois,grec,italien...)
What I enjoyed the most was seeing Stephane falling asleep in class. Even though I warned him that the class was going to be boring, he insisted on coming. I guess that really got him in contact with the MIT experience.
One thing that I discussed a lot with Stephane were the differences in reflecting yourself in front of your classmates. The pressure is stronger in France, people don't do many things because it is not well seen. Here in the US people really just don't care what others do. Interesting.
In response to Armelle-- Politicians here do speak formally, but there is also pressure on them to seem friendly and like "average Joes." When they're campaigning, it's a bad idea to seem above everyone else, because then people will be hesitant to trust them or to vote for them. And that's probably why you heard Bush say "I went to the doc." Of course they usually speak formally during important speeches. But when they're out trying to rally support, they do their best to seem normal and friendly (I think Al Gore especially had a problem with this during the elections this year.)
Also, I, too, think that it was great having Stephane visit us. He was friendly, polite, and knowledgeable, and his English was awesome too :) I dragged him off to a rather boring Amnesty International meeting, but I had an interesting time talking to him. And yes, it would be nice if we could get more students to visit....
Stephane and Armelle: It was nice to see you guys on the teleconference!
I can tell the difference between Quebecois and Parisian accents; It seems to me that sometimes Francophone Canadians say "dzu" instead of "du" and things like that. A francophone friend from Ontario (no, they don't all live in Quebec!) gave me a couple of albums in Canadian French by a group called La Bottine Souriante. I listened to them before I started learning French, then again after two semesters... I was surprised at how different the Canadian accent sounded.
In British Columbia, some university-level French class are taught with the Parisian accent. My francophone friends think this is a blatant example of imperialism! (There are a lot of politics around accents in Canada.) For example, at a French-language bookstore in Vancouver, there was a (Canadian) francophone clerk who would switch from a Quebecois accent to a Parisian one whenever Europeans would come in the store. The other Francophones called him "Uncle Tom."
C'est en fait une grande tradition chez nous à l' INT. Ben oui, comme on manque de temps pour dormir la nuit, on se rattrape pendant les cours , en particulier tôt le matin dans les amphis ù les fauteuils sont très confortables...
Hey Michel, that is a very widespread tradition. I had a physics professor who was fantastic but always did a fatal mistake: whenever he showed an experiment, he turned off the lights. Needless to say, when he turned them on again, half of the hall was snoring....