Chapter Préliminaire (part B)

    

    Bonjour! That's how you would say hello to someone else in French. Another, less formal, way to say hello is to say "Salut!" When you're saying hello to a friend, you can kiss their cheeks, this is called la bise. This would be similar to a hug when greeting your friend in American culture. A more formal greeting would be a handshake, but this is usually reserved for bosses or someone along those lines. The words "tu" and "vous" both mean you, but "vous" is the formal version among the two. So, you would greet your boss with  handshake while saying to them, "Bonjour! Comment allez-vous?" which means "Hello! How are you?"

greeting your boss

greeting a friend

    It surprised me that French children are enrolled in school at a very young age and how strict their school system seems. The student-teacher relationship is very formal in French cultures, and the students only have contact with their teachers through classes, not through sports or after school activities. Students are very serious about their schooling as well. There's a baccalauréat test that students can take to get into a university at little to no cost. 

    A French classroom's set up is very similar to American classrooms. Most classrooms have objects such as desks, whiteboards/blackboards, maps and books. Of course all of these objects have different names in French, such as a whiteboard/blackboard = un tableau blanc/un tableau, map = une carte, a book = un livre and a desk = un bureau. So, even though American and French classrooms are set up similarly, they have different names for the objects in there. 

Citations

“Difference between French and American Education System.” Pro Essay Writer, 25 Aug. 2021, proessaywriter.net/blog/difference-french-american-education-system/#:~:text=Student%2DTeacher%20Relationships,teachers%20during%20class%20in%20France. 

Moss, Tyler. “A Guide to Kissing Etiquette around the World.” Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Oct. 2017, www.cntraveler.com/story/a-guide-to-kissing-etiquette-around-the-world. 

“Premium Vector: Cartoon Businessman Character Pose Managers in Formal Suit Office Workers Shaking Hands Successful Negotiation Handshake Gesture Partnership and Cooperation Vector Happy Employees.” Freepik, 7 Nov. 2022, www.freepik.com/premium-vector/cartoon-businessman-character-pose-managers-formal-suit-office-workers-shaking-hands-successful-negotiation-handshake-gesture-partnership-cooperation-vector-happy-employees_34066969.htm. 

Twinkl.Com, www.twinkl.com/resource/fr-t-t-25550-classroom-objects-large-display-poster-french. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.