Last night we were invited to dinner by a family that we exchanged homes with six years ago. Their maison is lovely and quite large as well as being perfectly situated in the historical city of Carnac. The family has 4 children, 3 girls and the youngest is a boy. When we exchanged, the girls were 13,11, 7 and their little brother was just 4. Obviously, they have all grown significantly and, without exaggeration, the girls are simply lovely and their "little" brother is a handsome young man.
Well, Chloe, the oldest, is now entering her junior year at university and the next oldest has one year of high school before she goes to university. Fortunately for Jean-Francois, their father, he only has to pay about $450 a year for Chloe's tuition! Room and board are extra but of course they realize what a bargain tuition is especially compared to what we pay.
They also understand that their taxes are far higher than ours. The parents have a sense of how expensive the costs are. But, the girls were horrified; they couldn't believe how much money, even a public university costs.We didn't even discuss tuition at more expensive schools. They were very curious as to how students could pay such fees...
We discussed many subjects of interest. I think the one thing that struck me the most, however, is the summer job that Nathalie (second oldest) has. Apparently, the town provides the 1st job for young people in the town when they reach the age of 16. I'm not sure if the jobs are competitive or if they find work for all their young citizens. The jobs don't pay much but it certainly introduces them to work. And, I should add that the town they live in, is considered very upscale.
Every morning, six days a week, Nathalie must report to work at 7 a. m. in her yellow uniform. She and a partner then begin to clean the streets, in and around town, with a pincer in one hand and a large trash bag in the other. Some days she is assigned to cleaning the beach. We kidded her that we would come the next day and take a photo; she was horrified. I can't imagine a teenager who would love such a job. However, she accepted her fate with humor. And, I couldn't help but think, "Good for her"! She is a very privileged young woman whose family has traveled all over the world on marvelous vacations and they have every advantage of the upper middle class. And yes, she has a job cleaning streets for a month. Her Dad said that she is now very aware and angry when people thoughtlessly throw trash or cigarette butts in the street instead of the numerous trashcans throughout town and on the beach. (A few times she has also found money folded inside an empty and discarded cigarette box!) I wonder if such an experience would have made certain young men in power today a bit less arrogant than they are?!
I know she looks at people who clean the streets and trash, as a full time job, differently now and she certainly appreciates the privileges that her parents are able to provide her with (even though her father has said that she will have to share the car he bought for Chloe.)
We all had a super time. Before we knew it, it was bedtime for the kids- especially, the one who had to be up early to be ready for work and it was past time for all electronics to be turned off!
