"Shovel Ready Tour" of Culver

In another article from the Telegraph Herald of Sunday, March 22, I read that Gov. Culver was doing a « Shovel Ready Tour » around eastern Iowa in order to « continue to pitch his plan to spend $750 million on projects aimed at generating thousands of jobs ». He would like people to press legislators to pass his plan. That shows that the financial crisis is not only a federal matter but also a state and local one. So Culver went to Davenport, Clinton, Maquoketa, etc. These $750 million would be repaid over 20 years from gambling profits. It reminds me something we learned in class : gambling (after property taxes) is one of the main public incomes in the State and localities. Culver hopes to create tens of thousands of jobs with this money. Once again, he came and met people in order to talk to them about what is going on.

Close democracy and openness

In Des Moines, we had lunch with the staff of the Capitol and had drinks with them every night. This is something that could never happen in France: even if France is a democratic country, politicians are not really ready to welcome people and listen to their point of view, requests, concerns, etc. Here, it was really different. Politicians were really open, and I think that what defines the American political system : openness. For me the principle of subsidiarity is important. Nobody up could do what could be done by somebody down : democracy is so more efficient and much more adapted to the needs of people. They think that election is not enough : citizens have still the duty to take part of the democratic system and politicians have the duty to pay attention to citizens’ request (as they are accountable to them).
I read an article on the Internet about local news that makes me think about that. The Governor of Iowa, Chet Culver, had proclaimed in Iowa City « Sunshine Week » from March, 15 to March, 21. The aim of this week is to highlight the importance of a free press and to emphasize on open government and access to information. The article said that « Culver said President Barack Obama has made open government a federal priority and says the right to share information without fear of retribution is essential to a free society ». That is what we observe in Des Moines too, and that open government is not only a « federal priority » - as the article said, but also a state priority. Iowa is ranked 31st in government openness.

Seventh week > Des Moines

Thanks to our Local Politics class, we had the chance to go to Des Moines and visit the State Capitol. The goal of this trip was to have a better idea about how democracy works in the State Government, and also to meet someone who could help us in our thesis (it could be a State representative, a Governor, etc.). I did not find someone who could give me some information about Thomas Jefferson’s conception of democracy, as it was a historical topic. By chance, I meet the Governor Danielson while we were having a drink together. I was surprised to see how much he knew about that as it was not his domain of competence. The problem was that our discussion lasted only 15 minutes because he had to attend a session. He gave me information about what Jefferson did and how he influenced the way the USA are governed today (for example, he created the Electoral College that is still used today).
We made a tour of the Capitol and we were told that it was built by French architects. It did not surprise me a lot because it is the same kind of building we are used to see in Paris.

Postville and illegal immigrants

In class we talked about immigration. We learned that immigration was one of the 5 big issues that the USA face today. States prohibit unauthorized immigrants from obtaining professional licenses. In Iowa, immigration is also a big issue. In the news, I heard about Postville is a big immigration city. There are a lot of concentration of Jewish, Hispanic (from Mexico) and Croatian people. One day, the Federal government came by surprise in a processing plant working on Kosher meat. The owners were Jewish and there was a high level of Hispanic workers, especially from Mexico. The Federal government made numerous arrests. This was considered as the biggest bust in the USA for illegal immigrants. Some were processed and sent back to Mexico and their families returned overthere too.
The owners of the plant were arrested too and charged with numerous labor practices : poor wages, unsafe working conditions, illegal immigrants, children workers (around 14-15 years old), etc. About children workers, the plant broke labor laws because children do not have the right to work during school hours and they generally can not work i a plant like that. At this point, they stand on trial.
The problem is that most of them did not speak English so there were communication barrier. For them, they were coming in the USA, working, and got a better wage than in Mexico. However, they got lower job than usually for American people. They are ready to get a dirty and messy job than no job at all (that the American people, as French are not ready to do).

The Thunderbirds at Five Flags !

On Friday the 6th, we attended a hockey game at Quad City Flames at Five Flags Center, Dubuque. The team we supported was the Thunderbirds from Dubuque.

We had a good place but we were in the middle of teenagers who seemed to be not really interested and were coming and going all the time.

Once again, the match began by the National Anthem sung by a lady. The match began very violently because players were fighting and they bumped into the plastic ledge of the ice rink. There were 2 mascots for each team and a lot a shows ans games were organised during the breaks. Sport is not only a game but it is also a show, entertaining people more than if it was also a simple 1 hour-game.

We had a lot of fun even if I was a bit disappointed by the area we were sat... However, we enjoyed participating in a Dubuque sport event and support our team as temporary members of the community.

Sixth week > Dubuque City Council : closer experience of American democracy

On the 2nd of March we attended a Dubuque City Council meeting in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Historic Federal Building. It convenes the mayor of Dubuque, Roy D. Buol, and the 11 members of the City Council. These members are At-Large Representatives or Ward Representatives. They meet on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:30 and discuss the agenda items, and vote them.

At the beginning of the City Council, they say the National Anthem, holding their hand on their heart and standing toward the American, the Iowa, and the Dubuque Flags : this is the "Pledge of Allegiance". Then, and more surprising, a priest comes and tells a prayer to "give mercy ans perfect order in this room. (...)'". For the politicians of the City Council, he asks God "to help them, fulfil them with His light", and that they do well their job. They pray also for their families. This prayer makes America unique in its genre, because in France religion and politics are incompatible for a lot of people and politicians. Even constitutionally they are incompatible.

This night, it was really quick because they all agreed on the agenda items, like on the creation of a service agreement for roads and highways.

Citizens could attend the City Council. Most of the time, they left after the City Council answered to their questions, and we were already the last ones at the end.

Like the Cracker Barrel, it is a way to be closer to what is going on in the City and tell them about their concern.

What happen in Illinois ?

By the way, I forgot to mention something important. On TV I learned that there had been corruption in Illinois government. As Obama left for the Presidential seat, Illinois had to elect a new Senator. The problem was that there was no time for election. So the Governor Rod Blagojevitch had to pick a new Senator. However, the function of Senator is a big position and he tried to make money from that. In a word, he asked candidates how much they would pay him to appoint them Senator.

He was destituted on Thursday the 29th 2009 by the Senate of Illinois unanimously. He was accused to be "cynical", "corrupted", "inept", "hypocritical", and "irresponsable". They vote also for his ineligibility and banning for life to work in the civil service in the State of Illinois. The Lieutenant-Governor Pat Quinn succeeded to him.

This is unbelievable to hear some news, while the USA represent democracy and liberty. The most amazing thing is that Rod Blagojevitch was elected on a anti-corruption campaign and plan.

St Mary's University of Minnesota : a typical American campus

On Sunday the 1st of March, we visited the oldest son of my host family who is at Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota. We made a tour of the University. It has a lot of different buildings, for classes, for sports, for accomodation, etc. The Library was huge and there were a lot of sofas everywhere (not only in the Library but also in all the University). I was amazed to see all the cosy place there were to do homework. Moreover, it was opened on Sundays, what could never happen in France.

The gymnasium and sport hall were huge. Once again I could realize the importance of sport in American daily life. There were a swimming pool, a large gymnasium, an ice rink for hockey game (The Cardinals team), etc. Each campus, as each secondary school and College, have their own team of sports (baseball and basketball essentially). There is a strong membership of the school, the community, the state, the Nation through sport.

The University is principally funded by federal and state awards of financial aid, and privately endowed scholarships. There is also the Federal Pell Grant Program which provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education.

I have never been in a big University and campus, so I enjoyed to see how the University works to make available to students all the means they need to success.

Relgious advertising : a surprise for our secular country

On the road to Dubuque in January and on the road to College everyday, sometimes I observe some big billboards on the side of the road. However, these billboards were not usual. They were promoting religious topic, like anti-abortion, hope in Christ and prayers addresses the Virgin : "Holy Mary, Queen of peace, pray for us". I was surprised to see that it was accepted while in France it would be a scandal. I remembered that the USA promoted religious liberty and expression, but asked to myself if it could hurt people who do not believe in God. I remembered as well that American people are much more religious that French. I asked my host mother about that and she told me that these billboards were private, that the State government did not deal with that, and so that people could put up whatever they would like to.

I thought it was a great means to expose faith and to surprise people... because it is in surprising people that we succeed in getting their attention.

Cosmopolitism at Divine Word

For sure, it is not easy to go and talk to people from different culture : Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Sudan, Mexico, etc. However, since we arrived at Divine Word College, we tried to introduce ourselves and to know more people everyday. The best way to do it is to have lunch together around the same table. Everyday we change of partner at lunch and we can so create bond with them, exchanging sometimes our e-mail addresses.
This is very interesting to meet those people who some years or months ago, arrived like us in Iowa and try to make connections around them. To compare our cultures and to talk about how we see the world as well as what is going on are often what we deal with in that time of the day.

Fifth week > Mardi gras

On the 24th of February, it was Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. It is the day that precedes Ash Wednesday and after Lent. This means that it is the last day we can really eat what we would like to because Lent requests that we make some effort to give up some food we really like. However, for me Lent is not only an effort on food, it is also an effort on our behaviour with regard to the others as well as to ourselves.
It seems to be a big event in this area. At Divine Word people played the game and respected the tradition that asks to wear flashy necklaces. I found nobody to explain to me where that tradition came from. Once again we were implied in the American culture. In France little children from primary schools essentially ar used to disguise for that day and parade in the streets. Just a different way to celebrate Mardi Gras...

Sundown : heaven on earth !

For the second time in my life I skied. We went to Sundown on the 21st of February with Charlotte, Victor and Clément. We had so much fun because it was a warmer day and we could enjoy the sun on the hills. Once again, Sundown was pretty full and we had to zigzag between people. I know that Sundown is very small compared to some moutains and hills in France like in the Alps ; but for a novice as I am, it was perfect!

After this pleasant but tiring afternoon, Charlotte and I were invited for dinner to one of my family couple of friends. They just got married and spent their honey moon in France (especially in the South of France). It was really interesting to see how they liked France. They enjoyed the French cuisine (the Onion soup) and the little charming cities. It is sure that they love France and this pleased us a lot to realize that they appreciated our country.

To finish the good day we spent, we went to the theater to watch "Slumdog millionnaire". This was a very moving movie. Some pictures were very harsh and it was difficult to see reality face to face. Once again we were confronted to another culture that is very different from us, the Indian culture.

We make a lot of discoveries everyday.

Iowa : a farmer area

On Thursday the 19th , my host father proposed to me to visit the farm of his uncle and aunt. I accepted with pleasure, because I know that farms are very important for Iowa economy and culture and I really enjoyed to visit the building I saw everyday on the way back from school. So I feeded calves with a big bottle of milk and tried to milk a cow once. We made a tour of the farm and I enjoyed looking at the farmer milking the cattle : there is a special technique to do it, and he had to clean the udder before milking to be sure that it would not infect the milk.

The Iowa farms are very different from French ones. In France we have not really typical style of farms that we coulf find everywhere in a area. However, there often are long and narrow buildings. Iowa farms are often all red, and are composed of a main building sheltering animals, and of silos (some farms have only one but others have two and sometimes three silos, according to their size). The silos are used to contain food for the cattle and all these stuffs like that. They make the area very famous for that. Those farmers have a very rude life because they are used to wake up at 5 in the morning to milk the cows...
The only bad thing was that it smells very strong and unpleasant, and after one hour spent in the farm our clothes and hair were impregnated by the smell of farm !

Fourth week > We will struggle !

On Wednesday the 18th, we took part into the basketball competition at Divine Word. We played against the Faculty team led by Tim, and we were a bit disheartened because they were known to be very good ! We were not very trained and had spent some nice time playing for fun during our free time. However, this time it was more than for fun. We were really motivated and would like to show the others how French people struggle. Even if we tried to plan a strategy, the really experienced Faculty team defeated us of 32 points against 16.

We promised each other to be more trained next time as we would play against a student team. We were very happy to have participated in Divine Word College student life.

Barn Dance : into the American culture

Last week, Friday the 6th, we experienced a Barn Dance in a town in Wisconsin State. We had dinner and met people from the aera who were accustomed to attend this community meeting. We clean the room all together in a simple but pleasant atmosphere and began to dance. There was a band, playing the piano, the guitar and another typically folk instrument I can't remember the name unfortunately. A lady was singing and teaching us how to dance. It was collective dances, we often changed ot partners, meeting each time new people. Even if boys were really shy at the beginning, we all were dancing at the end of the night and enjoyed these folk dancing. It was difficult to memorize all the steps we learned, but we had so much fun, trying to do our best! We were really immersed in a part of the history and culture of American people. For me, it was especially interesting, as I take a class about American music at Divine Word. At that date we had just studied Folk music and I could have an concrete overview of what I learned in class.

Fairs and elections : a way of democracy

I remembered one of my Local Politics class about 'elections and political environment'. It was said that politicians used fairs as an opportunity to meet people, to be known and so to get votes. State fairs are important they can campaign and present their political ideas in a festive atmosphere and arrounding. This moment is crucial for them and they would not miss a means to be known and to present themselves. They often try that fairs are organised before Cacuses to get more votes. Iowa is very important because it is the first state to vote during the Primaries. So if fairs are organised before the Iowa Caucuse, it could influence the turnouts and the choice of the candidate. In Iowa, a lot of fairs are organised, like the Dubuque County fair, or the Iowa State fair in Des Moines. At any parades, Iowa politicians are present. Mississippi is important as well because their history has made of Neshoba County a main place of political campaigns. Every Mississippi Govenors since 1896 has come to Neshoba to address the fair goers. This is a civic tradition.
At the same time, people like that very much because it is a way to be closer to their representatives. They prefer to shake politicians's hands and meet their people instead of reading their plan and ideas in a newspaper. Everybody is happy, and that makes working democracy.

A Potluck at the Park Winery : an occasion to meet all together

Chris Sauer had a very good idea to propose to host families to spent an aftertoon in the Park Winery, Asbury, for a Pot Luck on the 14th of February. It was the perfect day to do it, as it was Valentine's Day. We had lunch together, each family bringing something to eat. I would ever remember the cookies in the shape of a heart from the host mother of Victor! We had really good time listening to music, playing dominos, cribbage, etc. From outside we had a magnificient view of Asbury snow-covered plains. We shared good moments together, sharing what we experienced in our families. We were looking forward to the next meeting !

Third week > Valentine's Day, a special day

In the USA, Valentine's Day is not only for lovers (as it is in France), but also for friends and family. I was surprised to see that it was a big deal everywhere, that Divine Word College was a bit decorated, that High Schools also, and that people naturally offer gifts to their family and friends. I received a beautiful Iowa sweater and tee-shirt from my host mother and was very touched by her kindness. At home, my host family organised a dinner for this occasion (but on the 13th of February because we had something else plan on the 14th) with a priest and a couple of friends. We spent a very pleasant night, exchanging experiences and playing some funny games I tried to get.

Cracker Barrel Meeting

On Saturday the 7th of February, we attended a Cracker Barrel Meeting in Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque. It was a meeting of State Senators and State representatives to talk essentialy about Iowa budget and economy, but also about education, energy, working issues, etc. It was opened to the public, everybody could come and get information about what are the big issue in Iowa today, ask question about one particular issue they are interested in. One of the State Senator, Pam Jochum I think, told that " the purpose of the Cracker Barrel is to inform general citizenry about progress in Iowa ". It is surprising to see how open are democracy and State government in the USA. They think that as they represent the people and are elected by them and so accountable to them, they have to pay attention to their concerns and suggestions. So they gladly listen to them.
During this meeting, the politicians noticed that Iowa was also affected by the financial crisis, in terms of economy and budget but also in terms of employment (- 4,8% today = 800,000 people out of work), housing, health care, etc. The State government plans to create job as well to find a solution to recession. Moreover, 60% of their budget is spent in education. It seems to be a big issue in Iowa. A increase of teachers salaries is planned, as well as of the budget for education in general. What emerged of the Cracker Barrel is that the budget has to be balanced to confront challenges and that Iowa needs of transparency.
The Cracker Barrel was a really good political experience to know more about Iowa. We were really good welcome by people and were expected to take part in the debate too.

Election : what is more important in the choice of candidates?

American Presidential election was a huge event in France : most of people supported Barack Obama, it was always in the headlines of newspaper. I was told in my American politics class that American people are more likely to elect a candidate according to his personality than to his ideas. I found that idea interesting and asked my hostfamily what they were thinking about that. They explained to me that as there is not big differences between the two parties, American citizens prefered to elect a candidate according to his personality, his will to change things and to do his best. They prefer to meet candidates and to shake their hands instead of reading their plan in newspapers, etc. It is a good way to elect people but as a French person, I think is not sufficient and it is important that candidates reflect our own ideals. However, it is difficult to compare because the USA are a bipartist system and differences between the Democrats and the Republicans are not as big as our right-wing and left-wing.

Second week > High school experience : from public to private education

On Monday the 2nd of February, as we did not have classes at Divine Word College, I was proposed by my host mother to come and see the Senior public High School where she teaches, and to attend some classes. At the same time, one of my French friend proposed me to present France in front of a French class in the private High School Walhert, where his hostmother teaches. I decided to do both in order to have a broad point of vue of American educational system (in public and private schools), as I was proposed very various activities. In the morning, I attended classes of Government, Geometry, Multimedia, World History. Naturally, I preferred the Government and World History classes as it is more my subjects in College. I first observed that on 4 rooms, 2 had an American Flag and one had an Iowa flag. In the Government class, I could ask the teacher about a point we mentionned in my Local Government and Politics class at Divine Word College : is that true that if people do not know a lot about their Federalist political system it is because they do not really care about that? He answered to me saying that it was true, that it was so confusing and so complex that people were not interesting in it, neither in learning about it. I suggested that it was contradictory that people were so proud of their country and loved it but at the same time were not interested in knowing the way it works...

During this class, we pointed out some points I studied in my Local Government and Politics class : political parties are not mentionned in the American Constitution, but they cause gridlock in government and in Congress. We tackled the topics of Amendments and their ratification, balance budget, the idea of 3 Constitutions (the formal: the Law, the semi-formal: Court rulings ; and the informal: related to actions of people, like abortion, equal rights, etc.), the ideas of Executive agreement, of Judicial restraint and Judicial activism, etc. It was a real supplement of what I studied at College.

I noticed also that the way if teaching is totally different than in France. In France, students have to listen to the teacher, they naturally don't speak in class to say something or to give their point of view. In the USA, it is the contrary, sometimes we have the feeling that it is almost the studens who make the lesson: classes are much more interactive, students exchange their opinions, they have studied a specific point at home and now are able to discuss and give their point of view in class. The idea is that they are regarded as being able to bring something to the class.

In the afternoon, I presented France with two of my friends in front of three different French classes in Walhert Catholic High School. This time, students were shy to ask a lot of questions and we had to encourage them to do it. The difference between public and private High School is that there is not the same kind of people inside. As private schools are essentially funding by parents and friends, it is much more expensive. The religious signs are present everywhere (unlike France, where there is not always signs in Catholic schools). It was less big than the public High School and the classes we attended were most of the time smaller than in Senior.

My hostmother explained to me that the State would like the disabled children to be integrated in normal classes as much as possible. We attended in Wahlert a class of Biology, in which there was a really nice disabled boy. The condition to accept these children into classes is that they should be accompany and supported by an assistant professor in order to help him and do specific activitites with them. That is also one of the task of my hostmother's job.

This was another really good experience.

Super Bowl

On Sunday the 1st of February there was a big event in the USA : the Super Bowl. This year, the Cardinals from Arizona and the Steelers from Pittsburgh confronted each other in Tampa Bay, Florida. The comercials are very famous and the most asked of the American television. Each of them cost about 3 million dollars for 30 seconds. At the end of the game, a jury will determine the winner between all those commercials. In Iowa, as in the US, Super Bowl is a way to meet friends and family and have good time together. I went to the family of my hostfather and met friends of them. Everybody brought some food with them and we spent 3 hours talking and sharing experiences and sport talks. Even if I had difficulties to understand the rules of the game, I enjoyed that time spent in a warm atmosphere of passionate American! It is amazing to consider how much sport is important in the life of American people. Every school has its own team, students pay a lot of attention to their sportwear and sport shoes, stadium are full and people yell to defend their team, etc. Sport is a real part of American culture.

Happy Lunar New Year !

On Saturday the 31st of January 2009, we celebrated at Divine Word College the Lunar New Year (Tet) because most of the students are from Asia. That was a way to recognize the value of their identity and to be part of their culture for the whole year to come. First, a Mass was celebrated in the Vietnamese rite (singers, costumes, songs, music, etc.). We then had lunch with Vietnamese specialties, watching a play, dances (the famous Dragon dance), shows performed by the Vietnamese sisters and DWC students. It was interesting to be bathed in a very different culture, to see that it was very important for Asian people in order to well begin the year (above all spiritually speaking). I enjoyed to have a look on Asian way of life, conviviality and atmosphere.

Proud to be American !

As I said, the first feature I was marked by was the attachment of American people to their country. Not only there were American flags in primary and secondary schools but also in people garden, homes, etc. I was surprised to see that almost all American home had a flag in their garden. I asked my host family the reason why and thel told me that people were proud of their country and liked to expose their membership. That reminded me of one class about American Politics in France : the teacher explained that American people naturally like their country and would like the other countries to be like them and to take them as an example. I was confirmed by the mother of my hostmother that it was true. In France, nobody will see a flag at somebody home or in any garden. People often refrain from holding a nationalist or patriotic talk or showing their French membership because they are afraid to be likened to the Extreme-right party -the Nationalist party -, whose slogan is "Proud to be French" and is itself popularly assimilated to racism. That is interesting to see how people are related to their nation all over the world and how pride they are or not of their country.

First Week > Following the steps of Tom Sawyer

We arrived in Dubuque on Saturday the 24th of January 2009 and met our family for the first time. I was surprised by their warm welcome and their will to make me comfortable. I guess that is the way of most of American relationship, as tell the bias in France. This one was really true and I felt at home quickly. On Sunday, I attended Mass and went to a breakfast organized by a private primary school in order to encourage the Catholic week. The Catholic week supports Catholic private schools, which are not funded by the state but by private people (families, associations, etc.). People seem to attach a lot of importance to religion in Iowa and most generally in the USA. Churches are full compared to France where only adults and old people attend Mass. In the US, religion is present everywhere, even in political meetings while the separation between the State and religion is written in the Constitution. This is not the case in France where no political meetings are foregone by a prayer and a recommendation to God.

I visited this school and was surprised to see American flag in the classes and that pupils had to take the oath of fidelity to the nation at the beginning of the class. Even litlle children are prepared to their life of American citizen. This first approach of the USA was marked by the relationship American people have with their country.