I have a strong feeling that I'll be quite shocked by the "look" of American youngsters upon returning to the States this coming summer. That is, after being surrounded by a bunch of young, "hip" Frenchies, I think I will have to question all over again "what's hip" for high schoolers back in the States.
Not that I EVER knew what was going on in high school (forget what was considered to be "IN!") I must admit that teaching has given me a whole different perspective on adolescence...and on what's "COOL."
Indeed, the sheer fact that I have over 550 adolescent students gives me a powerful advantage in surveying what's GOIN' ON in the heads of kids these days...
And since I've always been a huge proponent/ADDICT of people-watching/quiet societal-observation and theorizing (often separating myself from the group in order to judge what's going on - to the point where I cannot even watch sports events -being too prone to distraction while looking at what the audience is up to/questioning their body-language, their habits, their choices...THEIR GAME - instead of watching the sporting events themselves)I certainly have landed a pretty good "SEAT" in France to WATCH PEOPLE! :-)
First of all: the kids' styles...for the young men: tight-tight-jeans - fitting TIGHT down to the ankle...clasped together, but NOT HELD UP by a metallic belt (that is, showing-off their ASSES must be seen as being "totally hot"). Button-up dress shirts covered with zip-up hoodies and long side-swept messy (by flat-straight) hair seems to attract the young ladies. The hair bit has been most aggravating to me not only because I hardly can recognize the faces of the 556 kids in my class when their faces are covered by hair, but also because they've developed ANNOYING behavioral TICKS, SHAKING the hair out of their eyes every 30 seconds or so. For the young women, short skirts, tights and high HEELS are not out of fashion, despite the sexual "liberation" of women; their long and flowing hair styles - both straight and curly - are much more predominant than short & neat styles. The over-sized "witch bag" (shiny-leather) and brief-case shoulder-bags replace ugly backpacks, and stylish jackets allow for cute outfit- accessorizing.
Secondly, the latest "hot" material items seem to be IPhones/the I-Touch, Ipods (with i-bud wires, or bulky head-phones dangling around their necks) and anything with ENGLISH written on it: tee-shirts with lame senseless expressions ironed on), as well as anything NEW YORK-related "I love NY" bags, sweatshirts etc.
Thirdly, the popular extracurricular activities and "cultural" items involve: FENCING, martial-arts (karate/judo for the youngsters only, usually), tennis, skiing piano/some refined musical instrument to be played at the conservatory, horse-back riding, mountain-climbling and of course - TRAVELLING. These kids have TRAVELLED - to Japan, China, all sorts of islands, the States, all over Europe...all by age 16-17! They've seen the museums, know the famous plays and operas and poems and writers world-wide, and practice speaking 3 languages by 9th grade...something in which they take great pride.
Soccer, handball, swimming, singing, guitar, basketball are seen as "typical" yet unrefined activities - easy to come by...and so, lots of kids don't gloat about being soccer-players (they're seen as uneducated, trash-talking players!) lolol...so funny.
Fourthly, most kids seem to share the same sentiments when it comes to certain IDEAS, perhaps due to their similar backgrounds: coming from (most often DIVORCED) families of wealth with (well-known) long and celebrated traditions/histories of academic excellence and success. Subsequently, they all gloat about their parents' jobs (surgeons, lawyers, doctors, diplomats) and outwardly admit to wanting lots of MONEY when they "grow up", and claim to NOT want any part in MARRIAGE.
They're almost all liberal, but HIGHLY unactive and uneducated politically. Having their own opinions justified is almost UNHEARD OF, although they DO try to express them in my class (I encourage them to speak their mind since, in many other classes they're expected to memorize the voices of people who matter: HIERARCHY IN FRANCE BEATS CREATIVITY!) And yet, they all seem to share a (hip?) perspective on French "national identity" being liaque (non-affiliated with religion), promoting to a great degree - their atheism....
Who woulda' thought, working at a private Protestant school that I'd come across so many young atheists...?
In any case, I suppose their rebellious tendencies make sense - at least after having met their parents. The parental generation is just as funny to encounter as the adolescent generation...indeed, the 2 generations are nicely juxtaposed at the Gymnase, where I work...
Where, amongst adults, it's EXPECTED of you to be able to cite (off the top of your head) memorized lines from theater scripts, opera performances (including those written in other languages, in Italian and German for instance), along with verses from French poetry, quotes of theologians historians and philosophers, and Biblical verses. PROPER French is spoken, and CELEBRATED "soutenu," which makes "joking" quite the intellectual's challenge...yikes! Forget facial-expression and slap-stick comedy!! NO WAY - not here! Not for them! :-)
One sure benefit of this kind of uppity social class is their commitment to education, which I too fervently promote (and benefit from!) After all, not only have I been able to travel to new "cultural destinations" but I've been PAID to take an advanced French course at the university - 800 euros for 8 weeks...SWEET!
I'm a hot commodity, being a native English-speaker from the North East (everyone loves NEW YORK! *along with San Francisco, California for some reason...?) though Americans aren't viewed as being the most refined of cultures...lol.
Both youngsters of the opposite sex & elders of the opposite sex have a funny way of communicating with one another, for they're not as chummy as kids, or collegues in the US. That is, since men seem carry with them a macho sentiment of superiority, and women a stand-offish OR bitchy/nagging image of inferiority, a distance lingers in the realm of friendly interaction. My cousin told me that it's still considered that "seduction" is always present between men & women, and that the French are very aware of this "sexual tension."
I laugh, because I SO do not find French men appealing in general!!! lol...what sexual tension? hahahaha. In any case, it all seems very out-dated and animalistic to me. French feminism is studied in the States, but perhaps little is known about the real state of affairs; there are FEW female professors, and even fewer "accepted" intellectuals, or workers...strange. I'm not even a feminist!
Am I changing, are the kids, or is it really "culture shock" ? Will I have culture shock again, coming back to the States??????
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