Day 29 – July 14, 2019

Grenoble

After what seemed to be the longest bus ride of my life I was absolutely exhausted. I spent the morning relaxing, trying to recuperate. I wanted to have energy for the rest of the night because July 14th is France’s national holiday. It celebrates the storming of the king’s prison (la Bastille) in 1789 which effectively launched the French revolution. It was a pretty quiet morning, Gilbert and Janine left early for a picnic with their family.

I decided that I should wander around downtown to see what it was like and I found that it was surprisingly calm. There were relatively few people out and about, stores were closed, there were no firecrackers and there was no loud music. No one was wearing patriotic clothing, no French flags hung from buildings. The only sign that it was the national holiday was the concert stage in the park.

While I was out and about I found one of my classmates, Daniel, out in the park. I went over to say hello and we talked for about an hour about what we thought of France and the differences between the US and France. He had noted that the French vacation much differently than Americans. During his time working at a French vacation spot he had noticed that the French enjoy planned activities that allow them to mix on site with other families on vacation. Americans usually are not interested and planned activities and like to relax. We wondered if that was because the French work significantly fewer hours than Americans and would therefore become bored with so much empty time.

I left Daniel when he had to call his roommates and went to find a snack. I stopped into a local boulangerie where I ordered some pain au chocolat. The woman behind the counter asked me where I was from and she told me she was from Algeria. She said that she was a level B2 in French grammar and was excited that I was a B2+. It was a cool interaction.

After an hour or so back at my house it was time to leave for the military parade. I felt really out of place at the parade, it was quite different from ours. We usually have bands and we cheer for the passing floats. However, the French parade just had military groups carrying huge guns. Everyone clapped politely as they went by. Marches played on the loudspeaker.

I left my friends in the park to eat dinner with my host family. We discussed differences between celebrations in the United States and in France. They agreed that the French were much more calm and admitted that many French people don’t really care about the Fête nationale except for the fact they get a paid vacation day. We also got into some politics that night which was really exciting because it can be a bit taboo here. They told me that the country is divided on their president because half of the country loves his tax cuts (aka the rich) and the other half thinks he only has big business on his mind (average people). However, they agree that he was the better choice over Marienne le Pen who represented the fascist right-wing party le Front National.

After dinner I hurried back to the park to meet my friends. I brought a towel which one of the host families ended up taking over when I left with Tara, Joyce, Clarrissa, and Sajini to explore the park. We found a huge dance floor and jammed out to American tunes with the French. I was so impressed because the French were using real dancing techniques and seemed to have coordinated steps to each dance. I wish that we had something similar in the US. I joined a congo train that moved around the dance floor and loved spinning around with my friends.

Right before the fireworks we returned to our towels. There wasn’t even room to move in the main square. People were lining the grass area and were three or four rows deep. I had to balance on my toes to make it across the lawn, but it was worth it. The fireworks (feu d’artifices) lasted about 30 minutes and were color coordinated. They shot up around a tower in the park, giving them a greater effect. I loved being so close to them. I felt like a little kid as I stared up at the sky.

After the show I walked Sajini to the bus stop and headed home. It was really busy, not because of the holiday, but because Algeria had won their soccer match that night in the African cup. People stopped the trams, ran through the street with flags, and drove all through the city honking their horns. It was really something.

I’m really thankful I got to be here on the national holiday. I think I got to know the French a lot better. It was truly a day of cultural exchange.