A view of the U.S. from a French teenager

By Jennifer Bioche

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The town of Bretignolles-sur-Mer probably doesn't ring a bell to most Iowans or Americans. Located on the Atlantic coast in France, this casual, unpretentious beach community of fewer than 3,500 people attracts the middle class of families with small children and the occasional teenager for the long-awaited “vacances” season, when people take their one annual monthlong holiday.

My husband is a native of France, and over the years we have traveled there many times. While dating and engaged, it was like something out of a film. Dinners near the Eiffel Tower, tours of historic castles, and road trips through jaw-dropping countryside.

Twenty years later, things have changed, and our trips there now are exclusively consumed with having our four children, ages 17, 15, 11 and 7, re-connect with their relatives and learn the language and their dad's heritage.

This year, when I suggested to my dear spouse, “Could we squeeze in a side trip for just us six?” we ended up in Bretignolles for a week of sand and surf. My son, Antoine, 15, sporting a Hawkeye shirt proudly, quickly set about telling every local who would listen, “We're American. We're from Iowa.”

Soon, he told me that he had made a new friend, a 16-year-old boy.

My son's friend was Nicolas Bluteau (Blue-TOE), who was spending the month in Bretignolles with his grandparents. He was a huge fan of all things American, and, at such a young age, spoke beautiful English.

Nicolas started coming to our rental every day. He and Antoine continued to bond, and Nicolas continued to ask us about the United States. We discussed people such as Texas Republican Ron Paul (Nicolas' choice for the GOP presidential nomination) and what did we think about the Obama administration.

Nicolas has an incredible handle on the U.S. political climate and is well read in American history.

I shared that my grandfather was on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Nicolas then said he actually wants to major in history in the states, “but I'm worried because all of your university professors are liberal.”

Wow.

We spent the rest of the week discussing politics, and his growing dissatisfaction with his country. “Yes, our news channels are mostly state-owned and very biased,” he told us.

“I had a teacher who was discussing Obama's welfare state program who said that rich, conservative Americans didn't want to help the poor. He said that the welfare state is something necessary and that refusing it is reactionary. He wrote on the board ‘the American way of life is retarted.'

“I replied, ‘Sir, no disrespect, but I really hope for Americans that their way of life is not as retarded as your grammar.' He dismissed me from class.”

Again, wow.

Coming to France, I was a little concerned, about getting grief from the French about the U.S. economy and our presence in the Middle East. And sure enough, the occasional distant relative would corner my husband on these topics during family get-togethers. But during these sparrings, I kept thinking of Nicolas, his enthusiasm, his love of my country, and I had hope.

Just a week after we returned to Iowa, I took Antoine to a meet-and-greet for Ron Paul at the Cedar Rapids Marriott. As we met the congressman, we told him about Nicolas. He signed an autograph for Nicolas, whose daily emails ask eagerly about the goings-on with the elections and the debt ceiling debate.

Actually, I wouldn't have attended the Paul gathering, had it not been for Nicolas. How funny it is to get a lesson on my own country from a foreign-born teen. Now if only I could get him over here for next month's straw poll.

Jennifer Bioche, of Marion, is a native of California and studied International Relations and French at the University of Southern California. Comments: jbioche@mchsi.com