As you can probably guess, this blog is in response to the recent inauguration of our new president, Mr. Barack Obama. On Tuesday afternoon, every French man and woman eagerly scampered home from work early in order to watch the live broadcast. Christian and Colette both came scurrying into the house and turned the TV on to watch the speech, dubbed in French. I could hear Obama's words as well as the dubbed version and must say that I believe that the magic and elegance of some of his speech was certainly lost in translation. I had to watch the speech a second time in English to hear the true poetry of his words.
The afternoon before the inauguration, I was in a class on French society where, in honor of the day, we spoke briefly about the US president. My French professor shared two interesting facts with us. The first was that the French find Barack Obama to be a beacon of hope, undoubtedly. However, they do not consider him to be black since his mother was white, making him of a "mixed race". While his election is considered a grand and liberal success, the French do not refer to him as a black president. I think that many Americans are proud to have a black president when, in all (literal) reality, we are only halfway there.
The second topic of conversation was in regard to our separation of church and state in the US. The professor questioned us about it and we proudly defended the need for a complete separation of the two. She then proceeded to call us hypocrites in highlighting how Obama swears his oath of presidency on the Bible after a national prayer is shared. I had honestly never noticed how church and state are NOT completely separate in the US until she made this point. It really is a bit hypocritical of us all and I couldn't help but smile at the fact that French liberalism was proving me wrong yet again.
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11 comments:
Hi Katelyn,
I can't believe that the United States elections were such a big deal over in France and Europe. The fact that you professor had such strong and thought out ideas about what is going on in America really surprised me. I thought Obama's speech was amazing too, and it is crazy to think that there were people watching it around the world. Thanks for blogging, it is alway great to read!
~Lauren
(from Mrs. Zicari's French 3 Class)
Hey!
Thats so great to know that the french people are so excited about Obama being president. It really is a big deal to us but to know that other countries are as excited as we are is really exciting to me!
-Susan
(From Mrs. Zicari's 3rd Block Class)
That is really cool that the people in France are so interested in the election, and that they are so supportive of Obama. Who is the president of the United States does not only effect us it effects the world. I love reading your blog, keep up the good work and have fun!
-Colleen
(Mrs.Zicari's French 3 Class)
Bonjour!
I loved reading about your professors views on the church and government involvement with each other. I too had never thought of the swearing in on the Bible thing and, as you were, surprised to come to that realization. Its also amazing that the French were so involved in the entire election. Mrs. Zicari was always keeping us updated on the French opinions on what was going on in the United States. Its great to think about all of the people around the world who were watching it.
The speech was great and I was impressed that you watched it twice. Was it broadcasted in English later or did you watch it on the computer? Thanks for keeping my class educated on the pop culture of France! Its always a good time to learn something new about such a wonderful country. Thanks.
~Jess
(Mrs. Zicari's French Three Class)
Hi Katelyn.
It's great to hear that the election was so big in Europe, considering it was a HUGE deal here. My friends and I watched the inaugural address during Band, it was amazing. Today in our English class we actually had a discussion that was very similar to the one you described as the First Fact that your teacher shared with you. We talked about racial stereotyping and what exactly we consider to be "black" or "white". It was a very tense subject, but we all had our opinions and it pretty much took us all class to get off the subject! Keep up the great blogging, vive la France!
-Amber
(from Mrs. Zicari's French 3 Class)
Wow,
It's really interesting that the french pay as much attention to our elections as they do, I don't know any people in America who pay that much attention to other foreign elections.
It's also really interesting that the french don't view Obama as black; even though he really isn't black. Now, do they view him specifically as white, or is he just viewed as half-black, half-white?
~Alex
Hello Katelyn,
It's interesting to see how much other countries really did and still do care about the recent Presidential election. I guess the world really was watching Obama that day! It's great that you got to see it and experience some of the excitement most of us were feeling here in the United States. It's great to hear about foreing politics and that a majority of France is happy to see Obama in office. Thank you!
Rachel (Mrs. Zicari's French 3 Class)
Hello Katelyn,
It's great to hear the response of other countries to Barack Obama's Presidency. Not only because it's satisfying to know that other parts of the world see his election as being hopeful, but because it gives us insight to other views that foreign countries have on politics in the United States. Your Professor has a good point in noting how church and state isn't as separated as we think, and also how Barack Obama is actually half black and half white. I think we all knew it, but were so caught up in his achievements that it was barely significant that he was only half african-american. Thank you for the post!
-Alexis (Mrs. Zicari French 2)
Wow this is really interesting. I never really thought about how Barack is only half black and how that would even begin to damage the view of him being our first black president. Although, I think they really should think about how many real black people there really are in America... The majority of african americans in the US have some white in them from former slave owners who had relations with their slaves. So would we call a black man only partially black because his great grandfather was white? I'm not exactly sure how to think of the French view of this, but I see a valid point. Although, I think that having even a partially black president is a huge step for America, and is thus historical in any event. :) I really enjoyed reading that tidbit though, it really was interesting!
Emily H
(from Mrs. Zicari's French 2 Class)
Hey Katelyn,
It's cool hearing what the French think about Obama becoming President. I knew that people had said that a lot of other countries were getting interested in the election, but I didn't really realize that places like France focused that much on it, "scrampering home from work early", etc. It's also very wierd that I did not realize or hear about the things your teacher said about church and state before, that I heard about it from someone in France. I thought about Obama being half white before, but I didn't really say anything about it. Still, it's more black then we've had in the white house before. I think that people were just so excited about having the first African-American president that anyone who realized he was half white didn't say anything because they didn't want to put a damper on things.
Thanks for the new entry, keep it up!
-Hailey (Mrs. Zicari's French 2 Class)
Bonjour Katelyn:
Hello, my name is Marissa. I am in Mrs. Zicari's French 2 class. I am very interested in your blog, but this post especially caught my interest. I love hearing about what the French think of America's politics. I'm not quite sure that statement made sense, but I find it quite interesting how the French like to keep up with what is going on in the United States. It's nice to hear about everything that is going on from a different perspective.
I was surprised to hear that the French do not think of Barack Obama as the United States' first African-American president. It makes me look at things a different way. It's true, I'm just surprised that no one here ever really said anything about that. He is only half African-American, so we are really "only half way there." I also found it interesting that the magic of his speech was lost in translation. I never really realized how much is truly lost in translation. I think it would be interesting to hear his speech in French.
I apologize for the length of my comment. :]
I hope you're having fun and taking lots of pictures.
-Marissa (French 2)
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