Comparing Cultures

September 16, 2016

When I stepped onto a plane to travel across the Atlantic, I expected things on the other side to be different. For what is the point of studying “abroad” if your destination is a mere facsimile of the place you just left? However, in large ways, Lyon, France is quite similar to Washington, D.C. Both cities are rich in architectural history (Washington D.C.’s dating back to the American Revolution and Lyon’s to the Middle Ages), are built around a river (in Lyon, the Rhône and its tributary, the Saone), and have richly diverse populations. When painted in broad strokes, Lyon is just a distant cousin of Washington. 


However, the differences become abundantly clear in the little moments of quotidian life that are not readily apparent upon first glance. For example, take working out. Going for a jog in Washington means joining the scores of other runners on popular routes. Pedestrians are used to seeing an oncoming runner and quickly move aside. In Lyon, thus far, I have seen maybe half a dozen joggers. As a runner, the challenge becomes half the distance you traverse and half weaving through smoky sidewalk cafes and obstinate pedestrians. I also visited the outdoor workout area on the bank of the Rhône, where sets of metallic bars, ideal for all sorts of muscle building, are available for public use. I have the tendency of going to the gym, plugging in my headphones, and blocking out my surroundings. On the bank of the Rhône, however, each newcomer to the exercise area makes a point of coming around to each person already there, giving them a firm handshake, and offering the greeting of “Salut!”. Gym culture in Lyon feels much more communal and shared.

Exercise is merely one of the many such blips of cultural differences that take a foreigner by surprise. Other examples include how the French set the table with the fork’s prongs facing down or how wearing tall socks with shorts is a faux pas. These little things do not seem like a big deal until you need to go to the bank and discover, like most businesses, it is closed for lunch between 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. each day.

Where the differences are felt most acutely is at school. I am studying at Sciences Po Lyon, a grande école (literally grand school), referring not to its number of students, which is a rather small 1,800, but its selective acceptance rate. Thus it serves as an excellent point of comparison to a school like Georgetown. Right off the bat, I noticed a difference in pedagogical style. At Georgetown, classes are either discussion-based or lectures. Even in lectures, the professor will periodically ask questions and base his or her talk around a PowerPoint. This is not so in Lyon. Professors walk in, sit down, and proceed to talk for two hours without any supporting material. They tend to prefer to talk about abstract ideas and pose philosophical questions quite frequently. Consequently, the French students view note-taking a little differently. Rather than jot down the key ideas mentioned in a bullet-point form, French students attempt to copy the professor’s words verbatim in a paragraph form. Their notes are not so much recapitulations as dictations. That is not to say the classes have been bad so far, but rather, like most of my experience in France, just different.

By accident, I have discovered myself to be a student of cultural comparison. I am constantly thinking about the similarities and differences between France and the United States. I have found it to be quite a useful exercise, since nothing makes your own culture seem so distinct as much as living in another. Although only two and a half weeks into the semester-long journey, I hope to be able to continue my “fieldwork” in culture and better understand the little things that make France the proud country it is.
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