FRANCE
How could a person who has never stepped foot on French soil become such a francophile? I have no idea, but I do know that it is true. I love France, French people, French Food, French Wine, French society, French women, the French revolution, the French language, and even French fries. About the only thing that I don't like is their insane chain-smoking habits (can you tell I'm from California). It all started with 1st grade when I became a student at French American Bilingual School (FABS)here in San Francisco. It is now called French American International School (FAIS). We spent half of the day learning in English, and half the day learning in French. Everything was divided: language, history, math, science, etc.. It was a great way to learn. I even started dreaming in French. It got to the point when we would be in the English portion of the day and asking what the English word translation for a French word was. And, a lot of the time, there was no English equivalent because French is a much more expressive language. Anyways, I *was* fluent in French until I left FABS in 5th grade when I transferred to SF's public school system (which basically sucked raw eggs when it came to teaching foreign languages).
Other than FABS, I received most of my French training from a good family friend Uncle Daniel. He taught me all about manners, culture, and the all important French attitude. The French invented and mastered fine culture. They have a joi de vivre that is unparalelled in my experiences. The French just know how to live life right.
The French even did their revolutions well. The French revolution is discussed in further detail in my section on revolutions, but it has to be one of the singular greatest events to ever take place in the history of the world. Go on an refute my statement, but they changed everything with their revolution--even the names of the days of the week and months of the year.
Besides providing the world with some of the greatest chefs, poets, scholars, philosophers, military and political minds (Napoleon), artists, revolutionaries, fashion gurus, France gave us social structure and is used to this day as a yardstick for culture and influence. The French have always been a very forward-thinking people and avant-garde in terms of practices.
At any rate, the French are a unique and special place on this planet. They do things against the grain all the time. They had one of their most celebrated Presidents having both his Wife and Mistress attending his funeral--in peace and decorum. The French may to quirky things like not allow US military jets over their airspace for a bombing mission to Libya, but it's just so they can stand out from the crowd. And yes the Vichy government rolled over and let Hitler trapse all over France and parade under the Arc De Triumphe. But the French usually carry themselves with dignity and grace that is not so prevalent today. I applaud them for always being themselves dispite being much maligned (and not really undeservingly so I might add).
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