Before I get into the meat of this blog,(Which I wrote about a week and a half ago) I am going to quickly describe the Thanksgiving dinner we had. It took place at a culinary institute where they trained chefs and waiters and hotel staff and the like. First, I ate a salad for an appetizer on Thanksgiving. There are so many things wrong with that sentence. Second, I was impressed with the turkey and sweet potatoes. The green beans were garlicy and good but it was no casserole. Next, and most importantly, there were no mashed potatoes and no stuffing. Well, maybe there was stuffing. There was a slice of this weird stuff that was whitish and scrambled eggy in texture and there were walnuts in it and it was weird....and I think that was the French take on stuffing. And the no mashed potatoes thing? I am too appalled to analyze that any further. I don't want to talk about it. They attempted pumpkin pie but it turned out to be orange tart. I forgive them for this because there was an accompanying caramel pie thing that was *^%@$#% incredible. The best part? The wine servers that always made sure your glass was never half-empty.
Now....to what I wrote on Nov. 15th...
...I would like to refer back to that blog I wrote on Thursday the 15th. The one where I bitched out lame whiny French students. Now, I am writing this on the same day as that one, I just won’t be able to post it until later because I still do not have internet in my room. I will very soon though because Meg and I are going tomorrow. That is beside the point and I would like to get back to whiny French students.
So, for a while, I have felt like this whole blockade thing might be happening. Everyday at school, little yellow, pink, blue, rainbow polkadotted fliers get shoved into my hand and each one tells me of a new “manifestation” happening that day at 2:00pm. Well, today it pinnacled. The school closed and is “supposedly going to open on Monday, AFTER 12:00pm”. I highly doubt that. So, because these lame French kids don’t want to pay 300 Euros more per SEMESTER, I have to miss school that I am paying MUCH MORE to attend. What really put me over the edge was the “rally” they had on campus today. Let me elaborate.
My last class of the day is situated right next to one of the many courtyards at my school. Now I can handle the fliers, I just don’t take them. But what first got me was the wall of students that would not let me get to my classroom. After finally getting past them, I get to class late. As we are talking about contemporary art, an enormous uprising of cheers echoes from the courtyard. Probably about 500 students are crowded outside, each taking turns yelling into a megaphone and then (they got technical) a microphone. So, for an hour and a half, I listened to French bitching, laced with whatever I could understand/hear about contemporary art. The girl from U of O who I was sitting next to, Kelli Pangle (not to be confused with Ruby Sprengle…because all of our teachers do that), told me that it was really easy to tell when I am annoyed. Wow. What an accurate sentence. I find it really interesting how people can really hit the nail on the head sometimes. I was tapping my pen and just being me, pissed off, because I couldn’t say anything.
I am sorry but these students have barely anything to complain about. I will use the numbering system again because it’s quite effective for me.
1. First of all, in the U.S., as everyone knows, we pay HELL OF MORE than 200 euros a semester. 200 euros equates to, roughly $320 dollars. $320 DOLLARS? For 14 weeks of school? So what if your government is increasing that amount to “about” 500 Euros. 500 euros equals about 800 dollars. 800 dollars per semester. I could make that much in two months working a minimum wage job 30-35 hours a week. Well French kid, looks like you might have to get a job! Work! Quelle dommage! School and work. At the same time. At least you have the opportunity TO GO TO SCHOOL AT ALL! Which brings me to number two.
2. College is a privilege. I understand that the system here in Europe is different than in America. Here, it is easy to GET IN to college but difficult to stay. If 1000 freshman start the year, maybe 300 will be there at the end. If you arent in the top 30 percent, you cannot stay. You can try again next year, but you can’t stay that year. So basically, everyone can go, just not stay. In my opinion (because this is my damn blog) that still makes college something that not everyone can have. There are many countries where many people don’t even have the opportunity to GET an education, none the less further it. The whole system seems a little contradictory to me as well. The whole “top 30%” thing is very Darwinist yet, the French believe that everyone should have the same things as everyone else. It doesn’t add up and I think it has something to do with their deep rooted Catholicism mixed with the need to rise up and oppose rich people and authority (see: The French Revolution). Basically, be happy that you have the opportunity to GO to college and appreciate the fact that you pay one of the lowest tuitions in the world for it. And stop complaining. You complain too much.
3. The third is something that Ms. Kelli Pangle pointed out to me. She works as an English assistant at an elementary school over here and told me that next week, all of the teachers are going on strike because there isn’t enough funding because the tuition prices are too low. The schools need more money. So students are striking because they don’t want to pay and teachers are striking because there isn’t enough money to pay them. Students need teachers and teachers need students. Again, contradictions are littering the French education system.
4. The last thing that I want to talk about is something that I really think the French students ought to think about. So you are all about to pay 300 more euros per semester. Do you realize what that money could do for your education? Clearly, they probably don’t. I pay a lot of money for school. In return, I get a lot of things. I get a gym. I get free rides home at night when I feel threatened. I get study resources. I get 5 libraries. I get free football tickets. I get free campus events. I get international events. I get free concerts on campus. I get a CAMPUS. A really beautiful one with trees and flowers and landscaping and lawns to lay on (something the French don’t have). I get LOTS of computers, not just one computer lab. I get online resources and scheduled office hours with professors. I get an all-around better education. Chers étudiants, did you ever think that maybe, juuuust mayyybe paying more will GET you more? Does that concept register? I’m pretty sure it does because 90% of the French are obsessed with black designer coats and boots. And Dolce & Gabanna belts.
Maybe instead of stopping education, you should stop spending money on overpriced, boring designer clothing.
And I’m done.
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