Since already two weeks, Charles (an other French student) and I are teaching French to Chinese students, every thursday evening. This is my first real experience as a teacher, and I was a bit stressed and nervous.
The first lesson was messy and not so good. I was in front of 15 Chinese students, and I didn't really know how to start. So Charles and I decided to ask them few questions to know their level, and we went to the conclusion that we had to start from the basis. After teaching them how to count and to introduce themselves, the class was over. I was afraid that the students find the class boring, but on the contrary they were really interested in learning French. After the class, they wanted to know more about our lives in France, and they were all very nice with us. Later, some of them even invited me to KTV, but I was a little bit busy to go :(.
Next class was about Paris, and they were all curious about this "romantic" city. At the end of the class, I let them ask some questions about France, to satisfy their curiosity. A girl asked me a very strange question, she asked at what frequency I usually take a shower. I was surprise, but I answered that I take a shower every day, and asked her in return, what was the purpose of this question. She said that her French teacher, which is a Chinese woman, told in her class that French people don't like to take shower, and try to mask the bad odour with perfume, and that it's probably the reason why French perfumes are famous in the world. Of course, every student believed this rumor. I was surprise and I started to laught.
Now, when a chinese guy ask me where I come from, I can't help myself thinking "if I say France, he will think that I don't like to take shower, besides of being arrogant and stupid", and surely, I will turn red, haha.
Last week-end, I was in Shanghai, trying not to spend all my money in shoes shop, saying goodbye to friends that returned to Sweden, and hanging around with my boyfriend and my friend Patrick. I was so happy to find French pastries "macarons" in Shanghai (especially after the thievery of a "saucisson", but this is an other story). I brought some to share with people in Ningbo :). If you never tried one, you are highly recommended to have a bite in, it's one of my favourite dessert and I can die for it. I really missed them.
Tomorrow, we have an other French class, the topics will be the date, hours, and also the weather.
Time to say goodbye, and believe me or not, I am going to take a shower and go to sleep ;).
so thats the purpose of perfume. makes sense now. in america i get a sense that the americans think the same of french, that they don't shower. or i might be more general to all europeans. the reason being, i don't know? but from personal experience i can tell you one time at school, 2 girls walked by me and my friends and it smelled horrible... usually at school in the states when a young lady walked by it smelled beautiful more or less (too much is horrible)... even my brother peter thinks the same, he jokes that french people do not put deodorant! (today in the bus i was coughing a lot because of a man who stinks so bad...) (i cough a lot here around nasty smells, such as people and cigarettes.)
ReplyDeleteNo, this is called irony haha!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Chinese and American had this image of French people haha. I wonder then if it's the same worldwide >_<. My friend told me that this is because of the habits dated of Middle Age and monarchy time. But I have to admit that there are people that seriously need to review their definition of hygiene haha.
I was telling my room mate why I think a lot of people stink here. I figure a lot of times French people are walking all over the place. They are put into more contact with other citoyens. All this walking (especially in the hot sun) gets them sweating and stinking. Then, since I think public transportation is pretty well developed here, everyone takes it (after walking all day) and the stenches are concentrated in a small enclosed place for people to die of. As opposed to us Americans who drive all over the place with their comfort giving air conditioned cars lol. I don't know, now that I think of it even if I had the air condition on when I got home back from school my back would be a little moist.
ReplyDelete