COMEDY DE CAEN — Blog 10

My host sister Pauline and I have truly developed a great bond, one that I am so grateful to have. Last month Pauline was kind enough to invite me to go see a French theatrical play with her and her friends in the other side of Caen. Given my extroverted personality, I jumped at the opportunity to experience something new and accepted her invitation. Forewarning came with the invitations as the play was going to be in French and I am still learning the language (so my comprehension would be limited).

Arriving at the theater COMEDY DE CAEN felt pretty normal, the ambiance was similar to that of American theaters as well as the scenery…Yet once the lights were dimmed and the first character stepped on stage I was blown away. Not only because she was speaking too quickly for me to understand everything, but despite the language barrier I was able to understand what was being conveyed through her emotion and passion. The way her tone fluctuated as she spoke about her family’s struggles (in the play).

The scenes that resonated with me the most were the ones that involved the characters singing. WOW WOW WOW! I truly understand why they say music is a universal language. I will be honest I had no idea what exactly they were singing about, but I can wholeheartedly say that I was experiencing the same emotions/feelings as the rest of the audience. It was incredible the way the girl’s voice had such power to reach every part of the audiences and elicit great emotions. What I found surprising was that even though I could not quite register all the lyrics in my head, I felt like a collective part of the French community.

This experience has helped me make more sense of my gap year in more ways than one. The first being reflexive of my experience in France and how appreciative I am of living in Caen with my host family. Yes, we do have our differences (primarily the language barrier) but despite it, they have become my family and a second home. Secondly is that this gap year is not just about volunteering and helping others, but it’s about building bridges with the rest of the world. With people, we were fortunate enough to meet through this experience.

I’ve learned that we are not much different from the rest of the world, we aren’t different at all. Every word I fail to pronounce and understand, every bump in the road, every person I have met has opened a whole new side of me. My emotions are stronger, I’ve developed new skills, and I am no longer the same girl I was In August. I realized that my life has changed its pace/beat and I now carry a Latin, American and French drum to walk to…