The other day, as we were studying, she received a call from her mother and just hearing her tone of voice as she excitedly raved about things happening back in her town (I’m pretty sure that’s what they were discussing, though my French is…weak) made me want to call my mom and check in on Roslindale.
In the same breath, cultural differences are something which continue to amaze me so far in my European experience. When discussing politics with that same friend Sophie, she described to me the protests happening in France against their progressive president, Macron. To simplify his positions, he is more similar to Barack Obama or an American liberal. When I assumed the protests were coming from conservative French citizens, she looked confused and explained it was the liberal citizens who were striking against his proposals, because they weren’t going far enough. It dawned on me then how French politics are, on the whole, shifted much further “to the left” than American politics on the whole.
The same goes for meeting people of different cultures. One of my friends is from Hong Kong and has been talking with her family a lot as protests have been going on. It’s very different to read about what’s happening in the city or hear it firsthand from someone who’s directly affected by the conflict there. Another friend of mine, coming from Australia, is a staunch Vegan who has advocated for animal rights her entire life. While I had always known of Australians having lots of dangerous crocodiles and tarantulas, it was really interesting to learn about the number of ecological reserves and animal rights activists there.
