ltchouaffe – GW Blogs from Abroad

Oui, je peux (Yes, I can)

AdminMay 30, 2018December 14, 2018

I remember after I first arrived back in September, I went to a restaurant by myself. It was an early Sunday morning and I was excited to get some food in my stomach. The waitress came up to me, led me to my seat and started explaining the menu. I only let her go on a couple of seconds before I stopped her along I'm English if she could speak English since I couldn't understand French. She gave me an exasperated look and she continued in non perfect English. This story is similar to many similar events that happened afterwards where I did not have the words in French to ask or do the domestic things like understand the menu. Even though this story may seem minor, this particular event has stuck with me for a long time.

Learning a new language is hard and French itself is not an easy language. People learn languages for many different reasons including discovering or going deeper into their identity. In my first semester in Strasbourg, despite my initial initiative to learn French, my heart was in not in it for a while and since I was in a program where most of the classes were in English, it didn't help. However, after a friend urged me to try harder, I took this semester to put more effort in. It was not easy and while at this moment my French is not perfect in any way and I still get nervous talking to natives, I look back at that time in the restaurant because I realize how far I have come and showed me that you have to put in effort. I guess I learned that I can try and it is possible. I am capable of challenging myself. I still have more work to do but I can say things that I couldn't say a year ago and am more confident than I was a year ago. It's a start but a good one indeed.

Embracing Yourself

AdminMay 7, 2018December 14, 2018

By ltchouaffe

In my first post, the words I used to describe myself was Cameroonian-American. In my last post I came to terms with my Americanness. Today, I still stand by my identity as a Cameroonian- American but in a new light. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I came to France to discover a bit of my Francophone identity and I have but I have discovered that is not bad being American. I think for the great majority of my life, I have tried to put that identity second. Its funny because people of immigrant origin and their family sometimes try to blend in but I was always trying to stand out. Perhaps I was ashamed of being American? There was nothing unique or different about it?

But France has shown me, that I should never disregard that identity. Being American is the reason why I think the way I do or act the way I act. There have been so many instances where my actions have shown that I am American and you know what the funny thing was- I never had to think about it. It was all so natural in every single way. It became more apparent to me when I started being homesick and craving American food. What a concept!

I think I needed to come abroad to see where I was from from the outside in. The thing about identity is that it can be hard but you have to embrace all of it. You have accept it all because it shapes the way you act in the world and that is something that I can’t change. I am American and Cameroonian and there is nothing wrong with being either.

I am American too.

AdminApril 2, 2018December 14, 2018

By ltchouaffe

People always say that you never know who you are or how you will act until you get yourself in a situation or environment that tests that. I truly think that goes the same for identity. You never know who you are until you go to a country that is different from yours in every single way. It is there that you will truly think about what makes up you and why you are the way you are.

In America, there is huge emphasis on diversity and knowing where your family comes from. One may be like me, whose parents came to America in the 90s and therefore directly knows and is impacted by their culture. And then you have those who are third and fourth generation American but still proudly call themselves Irish, for example. You may be American but you are a certain type of American.

In France, for the most part that is not true. Once you are French citizen, you are French. It doesn’t matter if your family has lived in France for six generations or just arrived ten years ago, If you have a French citizenship that is it and nothing more.

This idea in the American community has its pro and cons. For one thing, America prides itself in the plethora of cultures and identities that make up the fifty states. Afterall, at the end of the day no matter what one may say, the America that we know, is made up of immigrants from around the world who come to its shores for many reasons. Even in various communities such as schools, we celebrate cultural days. In my own personal community, the fact that I am Cameroonian-American has been something looked greatly upon and something that I should always be encouraged to embrace.

...continue reading "I am American too."

What makes up Strasbourg?

AdminMarch 5, 2018December 14, 2018

By ltchouaffe

Being so far from home for so long you sometimes start to look for things that remind you of the things that you
know so well. Fortunately, from the first few weeks of living in Strasbourg, I quickly noticed that D.C was not far
from me. As we all know, D.C is practically made up of Federal Buildings and the numerous universities that
grace the area. Here, as well in Strasbourg, the city is full of European institutions and the University of
Strasbourg. Strasbourg is nicknamed “the capital of Europe” and like D.C, people from all around Europe come
to work at places like the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. It's
here that some of Europe’s most important laws are put into place and where famous politicians and leaders
alike come and gather to make speeches and plead their case in the courts. Granted, the hustle and bustle of
D.C is no way like Strasbourg, whose French citizens like to “stop and smell the roses” but when a leader or
figure is in town, you can definitely feel it too much like D.C.

But enough with the similarities with D.C. Strasbourg definitely has its own special aspects that make this
community unique. Like in all French cities, the amount of patisseries and boulangeries is insane! For those
that don’t know, a patisserie is a small shop that sells sweets and a boulangerie is a place that sells bread,
along with sweets but mostly bread based items like sandwiches for example. There are also epiceries, but
they are not as common. Within, every street and every corner, one is bound to find one of those. It's a very
unique aspect to France because in the States we get all our sweets and breads usually in one place. One can
get the same things in a supermarket in France too but it is not as fresh.

...continue reading "What makes up Strasbourg?"

Appreciating Two Worlds

AdminFebruary 5, 2018December 14, 2018

By ltchouaffe

Cameroonian-American. Two simple words but with so many complexities at the same time. But a good kind of complexity. The kind of complexity that truly makes you different every where you go and that was me. I was always different from the rest because of the two cultures that I come from and while this can be struggle for others, it was, thankfully, never a struggle for me. As a matter of fact, I embraced being Cameroonian more than being American. It was in the truest sense, the best of both worlds.

At home, I eat dole and pork and yam and listen to Francophone music with my family while at school and with my peers I binge watch TV shows and talk about the latest news in the states. I think part of the reason, I was so comfortable with who I was because I grew up in a city and went to school where cultures were embraced and encouraged to be talked about and shown off. It was so welcoming and easy that in many ways, now that I look back, I took it all for granted and never actually dived in into who I actually was.

Being abroad for the past five months have actually changed all that for me. One of the reasons I came to France was to learn French. You would think that because my family comes from a Francophone country, I would know French but I didn't. I grew up speaking French but the when I started school, I struggled deeply to keep up with my classmates which resulted in my parents being told to teach me English at home. As time went by, I lost all the French I knew and as sad as it is to say, the thing is I didn't care nor did I need French to survive.

...continue reading "Appreciating Two Worlds"