CLEVELAND — The countdown is officially on! The Paris Summer Olympic Games are just 100 days away.
More than 10,000 athletes, competing from more than 200 countries, will all converge in France for what's bound to be a remarkable Parisian experience. And while Cleveland may feel far away from the City of Light, there are still plenty of ways you can capture the French spirit.
Yet, I’m embarrassed to say that I find myself woefully unprepared from a cultural standpoint.
My ignorance of France, French history and the French lifestyle is quite profound, even by American standards.
In fact, allow me to show you. I’ll just quickly run down basically everything that I know about France without googling.
And while I fully anticipate this being a humiliating exercise it will also be illustrative in revealing just how much I have to learn.
And before judging me too harshly, please try to remember that I did not achieve this level of Franco-Illiteracy entirely on my own. My parents and the entire Ohio education system deserve their share or recognition as well. Okay, here we go.
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT I KNOW ABOUT FRANCE
CITIES IN FRANCE THAT I CAN NAME
- Paris (duh)
- Normandy (war place)
- Marseille (because of the song from Casablanca)
- Nice (but not said that way)
- Elba (Napoleon’s “time-out” island)
That’s it. I would likely recognize more French city names if they were presented to me, but those are the only ones that I can think of right now.
FRENCH LANDMARKS THAT I CAN NAME
- The Louvre (where Mona Lisa lives)
- The Eiffel Tower (relatively straight, unlike that lopsided Pisa deathtrap)
- Arc de Triomphe (cool, but not useful)
- The Bastille (not sure if it still exists but I know it was stormed at some point)
FRENCH FOODS THAT I CAN NAME
- Baguettes (long bread)
- Crossaints (curved bread)
- Crepes (the Stuffed Crust Pizza of pancakes!)
- Escargot (seems like a Fear Factor challenge, but they love it!)
- Frogs Legs (frogs arms market: still struggling)
- Truffles (fancy pig-harvested fungi)
FRENCH PEOPLE
- Marcel Marceau (history’s most tolerable mime!)
- Napoleon (little dynamo!)
- Marie Antoinette (“let them eat cake” peasant shade-thrower)
- Jacques Cousteau (deep sea dandy)
- Pepé Le Pew (canceled cartoon lothario)
And that’s pretty much everything that I know about France.
Which is PRECISELY why it was so incredibly helpful to have the opportunity to sit down with two of Greater Cleveland’s foremost French authorities who were kind enough to help me prepare for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. I sought the advice of La Maison Francaise de Cleveland, a 100-plus-year-old French cultural club and non-profit that promotes Franco-American cultural activities, including French conversation.
Current Maison President Arnold Paskay was kind enough to school me in some cultural conventions, and Olympic-worthy cheers.
He suggested we meet at EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, one of Northeast Ohio's premiere French eateries to enjoy one of the most essential parts of French culture - the cuisine. EDWINS is not only one of the area's premiere restaurants, but also has a unique program that gives formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary world through training. And Founder/Owner Brandon Chrostowski was kind enough to give me a crash course in French cuisine that was worthy of a gold medal — by treating us to some French culinary staples, like escargot, frog legs and crème brule. Plus, what true Parisian celebration is complete without some aperitifs?
French culture is fascinating, vibrant, and a little enigmatic, and I now feel a bit more prepared to celebrate properly this summer.
Santé!
Merci to the both of them!