When I told my friends that I would be studying abroad in France this fall semester, most assumed that I meant Paris; that my “French” experience would be complete with not much more than a few pastries and visits to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. The name “Strasbourg” was more often than not met with minor confusion and the question, "So…where?"
The city of Strasbourg is located in the northeastern region of France known as Alsace, which boasts great riches including a multicultural history, conspicuous religious diversity, the easily accessible countryside, and a highly successful economy to boot. It may not be as well known internationally as Paris, but Strasbourg, Alsace’s capital, is one of the European Union’s most important places, with seats of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe located here.
I see the strong German influence in Strasbourg due to the fact that the highly profitable region changed hands many times over the years in street names, in local cuisine, in the local dialect, and in the architecture of Strasbourg’s most charming area known as La Petite France. I also see the pride locals take in having this unique identity—most notably, in the way one of my professors here speaks of what it means to be Alsatian and about the federal government’s recent efforts to fuse Alsace with neighboring regions.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Strasbourg on October 11 under banners reading “Touche pas à l’Alsace” (Don’t touch Alsace) in response to these efforts. The sheer number of attendees shows the extent to which natives of the region value their unique background; along with my professor’s anecdotes about a childhood tinged with the government’s efforts to stamp out the German-influenced Alsatian dialect, it also reveals the tension between La France and its diverse array of regional cultures. One article we read on the topic likened Hollande’s efforts to butchery.
At stake are a number of issues beyond simple cultural and linguistic differences—notably, the political administration and organization of the country, and the fact that Alsace is a great economic powerhouse among France’s regions, to name but two. I’m no expert on French politics or economics, and I will not jump into the heated debate on the proposed political measures in question, but I can speak to aspects of life in Strasbourg that make it stand out against the wider foreign perception of La France.
The famously warm Alsatian hospitality invited me into Strasbourg in a way that the hustle and bustle of bigger cities never has; I know the name of my favorite local dish in both French (tarte flambée) and German (flammenkuchen); I like that the picturesque, small-town appeal of the old town is a short walk away from the busier downtown and university neighborhoods. I love my pain au chocolat just as much as my classmates studying in Paris; we (along with a great number of other Georgetown students, I suspect) are united by a shared love of French pastries and interest in French language and culture. I would visit the iconic attractions of Paris—the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre—any day, but there is so much more to France as a whole than its infamous capital. Strasbourg reveals a different side of French history to its quickly charmed visitors, and I am inclined to say that this is the case for the regions of France the odd foreign exchange student has yet to discover. Clearly, the reality of France is more diverse and even more compelling than the tales surrounding its legendary capital.
Zara Rabinko graduated from Georgetown College in 2015 with a major in French and minor in Japanese. Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, she spent the fall 2014 semester studying in Strasbourg, France and blogging for the Berkley Center's Junior Year Abroad Network.
