100 days I have spent in another country. 100 nights I have spent under the roof of someone else. 100 mornings I have taken the bus from the outskirts of town to the center of a city whose spirit rivals that of any other I ever have seen. I have seen this city alight as it prepares for Christmas, the co-conspirator to all our desires to show those we love just how much. Perhaps I am the sentimental sort, but I believe the holiday season quantifies the love that already is there. For a brief moment we all are the same. The trivialities that normally hold our attentions so tightly are replaced by a bigger picture, that picture being community.
To mark this checkpoint of our time spent here at SYA we put on a talent show, a “spectacle” if we are going to use the French word. I can attest that it truly was spectacular. Everyone in our SYA class showcased their talents, but the show also included our larger family. We were joined by host siblings and French students with whom we do extra-curricular activities. When the lights dimmed to end the show, everyone gathered on the stage together. There were those who had sung, served food, hip hopped, and played piano, as well as those who would be staying behind to clean up. We all had played a role to make this event happen, just as we all play a role to construct our day to day community and make it a home unlike any other.
To mark this checkpoint of our time spent here at SYA we put on a talent show, a “spectacle” if we are going to use the French word. I can attest that it truly was spectacular. Everyone in our SYA class showcased their talents, but the show also included our larger family. We were joined by host siblings and French students with whom we do extra-curricular activities. When the lights dimmed to end the show, everyone gathered on the stage together. There were those who had sung, served food, hip hopped, and played piano, as well as those who would be staying behind to clean up. We all had played a role to make this event happen, just as we all play a role to construct our day to day community and make it a home unlike any other.
71 students 100 days ago came to a country where the language was unfamiliar. For the first week those 100 students doggedly clung to their English, still petrified of the incomprehensibility that accompanied their attempts to speak French. In week two we made a pact to speak only French after October 16th. For better or for worse, no matter what blunders we made along the way, we would become fluent. October 16th came, and our plan fell to shambles, yet still we casually exchanged French with an ease that surpassed even our wildest imaginations upon arrival. November came, and Paris was attacked. Some of us were there. I was there, and our community embraced us with arms that had an unending reach. Though three hours away from those who had become our honary family, we were loved and watched over. Fast forward to December, and it’s time to soon say “adieu” for vacation. Students gush about what to get their host families. Since our arrival, these welcoming souls been our anchors. They sift through our broken Franglish to find meaning. When our attempts fall short and we are unable to reach the coveted land of comprehensibility, they give us a reason to keep trying and the courage not to give up.
So all of us now descend in droves upon the spectacularly alight city in hopes of showing in some way what all our new family means to us, whether it be with a scarf from the store 5 Euros or a t-shirt made ourselves. Meanwhile, we enjoy this moment of tranquility, not wanting or ready to consider that after two more 100 days marks, we will be going home. Just in case I haven’t said it before, I adore my host family. Though they do not speak English and don’t read my blog, so I will be reminding them of that this Christmas with some t-shirts I made them, courtesy of an InDesign 30 day free trial. I attached the PDFs here.