Hospitals and Smoke: A Tale of Cultural Nuances

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Have you ever wondered how exactly we form questions in English?

Not really in a philosophic sense of "how" but more, what makes a question correct? Well! According to my English teacher (and I use the term loosely), the correct form in which to ask a question in English is as follows:

Wh( )+ Aux. + Suj. + verb +? = Question. Example, What did Suzy do?

I never thought I'd learn something about English in France. Well, really, It wasn't as much of a lesson in grammar per say, but a realization. A realization that that formula for asking a question would limit anyones use of the English language, which is more of a rhythm and song than a math problem. So maybe I didn't actually learn anything, but became more ignorant to the lyrical nuances of the english.

It's been a week and a bit since I arrived in France. I'm now just starting to adjust to the little things I didn't expect to find difficult. Try this: Hear a well known song playing in English over the radio, listen to french dialogue all round, analyze that dialogue, respond to the questions asked in French while still singing along to the radio. I can feel my brain processing it all. It's one of the many things I never expected to have trouble with:

-I like control. If you don't know me personally, I'm the kind of person that might have a panic attack because of the unknown (that's why surprises scare me), so I was afraid this entire trip would be one big trigger for my anxiety. The lack of control is still unnerving but also freeing. It's out of my control whether or not something is going to be the way I expect it to be, or not.

-We're not allowed water bottles at school. The issue is, They're afraid a few kids might bring vodka or gin into school, and they don't want to go though the trouble of checking everyone's bottle Every Single Day, so they came up with a simple solution: no water bottles, no problem.

-Yesterday, Alison had a doctors appointment at a private hospital in town. When we were just leaving, I thought I saw some fog outside the hospital doors; It was a cloud of cigarette smoke.

I think that evens with infinite OSEF meeting, you wouldn't be completely ready to jump into French life. The only way to really prepare for doing this exchange is to jump right into it.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives.

-Madi

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