France vs. USA

And now a list of things I've come across that are different in France than in America. For your general knowledge and your reading pleasure:

-Ice. What is ice? I'm not sure the French know. I literally have yet to see an ice cube anywhere. Not in the restaurants or anything. They simply do not use the stuff. I miss ice.

-It is not uncommon at restaurants to be seated at the same table as strangers. They're "efficient" that way, I guess. If there's a table with 8 chairs, they will sit you and your friend at the end, and then a party of three right beside you, and then another party of two at the other end. All at the same table. Bon appetit.

-Similarly, when you get a drink at a restaurant, they don't subscribe to the whole "fountain drink" idea. They bring you a glass and a can/bottle of soda/beer/water. And that is your drink for the meal - drink sparingly. Some places will have a 'carafe d'eau' or water-pitcher for the table, which is free and replenishable. But their drinks are expensive...like 2 or 3 bucks for a bottle of soda or bottle of water with your meal. (And, yes, you heard me, pretty much every restaurant has beer/wine as a drink selection, even in the morning/afternoon. And yes people drink it.)

The word "ubiquitous" mean anything to you?

-People also smoke all the time. More so than in America, obviously. But there are "tabac" stores everywhere - basically a convenience store that pretty much only sells tobacco products, lotto tickets, newspapers and drinks. Every corner. And the high schoolers smoke. Right outside the school doors. Seriously, walk by a high-school at any point in the day and they'll be out there smoking. It's the norm. Also, you will be assailed on an hourly basis on the streets with people asking if you have an extra cigarette or a light. So I think I'm going to start wearing a sandwich board that says "Je ne fume pas" (I don't smoke) in order to make my walking around town less bothersome.

-There are also Pharmacy's all over the place. I'm not really sure why, but they're everywhere. And they're not even like a CVS with a selection of convenience store products and etc...it's just medicine. And there's one on every street. I haven't decided if the French are the healthiest or the sickest people on the planet.

-More building found everywhere: We Buy Gold! stores, small grocery stores (with 8-10 aisles), driving schools, and random museums/exhibits of all sizes. (This was a sandwich shop yesterday...Well, now it's an exhibit on Limoges' porcelain plates from the 1950s.)

-I am recalled to the Dave Chappelle bit about figuring out he's in the ghetto, "Gun store, gun store, liquor store, gun store - wait, we're in the ghetto!" Except here it's like, "Tabac, tabac, pharmacy, cafe, cafe, pharmacy...whoa, we're in France!"

You can see the "listings" on the windows.

-Also found all over the place are real-estate offices. There's really not that much real-estate in the city (since it is an actual city), but these buildings are everywhere. And what they do is have their listings printed out on info sheets and stuck to their windows. So you'll see people stopping at these windows all the time to look at the listings...but I have yet to see anyone actually go into one of these storefronts. I don't know how they're paying their building rent, honestly.


-Speaking of going into buildings: every single shop has their own hours. Yes, that's kind of true in America, but at least in the US, you know that business workplaces will usually be open 9-5 during the week, and customer service / food / retail will be open 9-9ish. Here, everyone just decides when they want to be open. They all have their hours printed on their doors. It is not uncommon to see: "Mon: 11-5, Tues: 10-2 and 4-7, Wed: Closed, Thurs: 3-7, Fri: 10-3 and 5-7, Sat: 10-4, Sun: Closed." I am not kidding. Every. Single. Store. Bookstore, craft store, optometrist, burger joint, grocery store, library, gov't building, driving school, etc.

-Their grocery stores aren't huge superstores like we have. The majority of their "big" ones are more similar to our medium sized, and those are found on the outskirts of town (where you'd need a car to get to). The grocery stores in the city are smaller, and often times they are further broken down in to specialized stores: bread shop, wine shop, cheese shop, frozen foods shop (seriously, there is one beside my apartment), etc.

-I know bread-wine-cheese is a French stereotype. But it exists because it's TRUE. Every grocery store will have a whole wall of fresh bread every day. Baguettes of all sizes and all types of grain/wheat. Wine? Even the small grocery stores will dedicate an entire aisle to wine. And don't get me started on cheese...they have a thousand different flavors and everywhere you turn there is more cheese. I'm serious. Look at the following picture of my first grocery store trip - keep in mind my French teacher-contact was with me making suggestions and putting things in my cart. It is almost half comprised of cheese:

A: Cheese-flavored chips, B: Individual cheese for eating / use on baguette, C: Grated-cheese (3 packs!) for putting on pasta, D: A hunk of cheese because why not ... the only reason I didn't have sliced cheese for my sandwiches was because I insisted I had enough

-Also, the restaurants all have their menus posted in their windows with the prices (and if not, at least their main items or something like "Appetizer+Entree+Dessert = 14 Euro" on a chalkboard outside.) So it's the norm just to walk down the street, stop and look at a menu, and continue on walking if it doesn't suit you. That's kind of nice.

-Eating. When you eat, they are not in a rush, and you are not in a rush. They will take their time to serve you, but it's not rude, it's just the lifestyle. Equally, you can sit at your table for however long you want after you're done eating and they will not feel agitated or try to usher you out. It's partially their more ... 'respectful' (?)... approach to eating and leisure time. (As evidenced by their store hours, and the fact that schools and workplaces have lunches that can be 2+ hours long). It's also due in part to the fact that...

-...you don't really tip in France. I know, it seems exceptionally odd, but it's just how they operate. I assume their waitstaff gets paid better than ours on an hourly basis, obviously, but it still strikes me as odd. I remembered this from my studies and being here last time...but even so, I tipped my cab driver (from train station to hotel), and it wasn't a big tip (like, one Euro), and he was still shocked, and didn't really know what to do. Oh well, I guess that offsets the higher prices of food and whatnot.

-Those base prices being more like 6-8Euro ($9-12) for a burger/sandwich combo at a somewhat quick restaurant or cafe, and 12-18Euro ($20-28) for an app+entree+dessert at a somewhat 'casual dining' place. I have yet to eat at a more expensive place, but I'm sure they exist. I can avoid them, however, by paying attention to their prices/menus posted on their door :)

-And their money is different, obviously. Euros, not dollars.

Typical street lined with cafes

-Also, cafes are everywhere. Since this is a city (like big cities in US, I'm sure), all the storefronts are part of the same building, so you will see a cafe squished between a myriad of other stores all up and down the streets. But many times in a "square" (like, townsquare, etc), you will be surrounded by cafes on top of cafes, most having the majority of their seating outside with little room inside.

-You hear cafe, you think coffee. Yes, they drink coffee all the time. Much like many Americans, they will drink it in the morning and late morning. And afternoon. And they have coffee machines at work. And those vending-machine, one-serve-cup coffee things in buildings, too. And at every meal it's almost understood that you will have a coffee (usually an espresso) at the end of the meal. Too bad I don't really drink coffee.

-Speaking of meals and pricing...taxes are included in everything. Whether at a restaurant or the grocery store or the mall, when you see a price of 14,50Euro - it will cost you exactly fourteen-Euros and fifty-cents, no more, no less. So that's really nice that you always know what you're getting into and the math is easy.

-And no, you did not misread, I did type "14,50" with a comma. Because they inverse the commas and periods in numbers over here. A price tag is 14,50 or 14€50 NOT $14.50. One million is 1.000.000, NOT 1,000,000.

-Also, their telephones are ten digits, listed in sets of two: 05.55.45.62.14 for example. And the date months/days are switched: Sept 25, 2012 = 25/9/12. And they use military time: 2pm = 14h. They also use an "h" instead of a colon...9:30am = 9h30

-Their addresses are similar to ours, but their street signs are not on poles. They are on placards/signs that are affixed to the side/corner of the building on that street. And they're blue squares, as opposed to green skinny rectangles. And many of their streets are named after someone famous, and will have the dates they lived and why they were famous (mayor, mathematician, etc) listed on bottom of sign.

The view from my hotel. Note the cars.

-And what will you see on these roads? Yes, pedestrians - it is a city, after all. But as far as cars go: if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Seriously, I can honestly say that 95% of their cars are all small sedans similar to a Ford Fiesta or Nissan Versa. They are all manual and they are all hatchbacks. I have seen literally ZERO trucks or SUVs, maybe one or two vans, and one or two cars bigger than the norm (like a CR-V or other crossovers). But yeah, it doesn't matter the brand: Citroen, Peugeot, Renault (or even the occasional Ford or Honda)...they are all the same car. One of these things isn't not like the others; one of these things isn't not the same...

-Also, if you were confused: the French drive on the right side of the road like Americans. It's the Brits that drive on the wrong side - er, left side - not all of Europe.

-What else random...when you walk into a restaurant or shop of any kind you always say "Bonjour" to the people who are working. Always. Even if you're just browsing or know exactly what you're looking for, or if they seem busy, whether they see you or not, or whatever. You always walk in and say "Bonjour." You do the same to anyone anytime you meet them for a mere moment - in an elevator, standing in a room with them for more than 3 seconds, entering an office full of people. It's just what you do.

Faire la bise

 -When you meet people, you do the cheek-kiss: faire la bise. It's like a handshake over here. They still do handshakes and not everyone kisses (and not strangers), but it's very much a part of life...girl/boy, girl/girl, boy/boy, friends, colleagues, family, etc. Depending on what part of France you're in, it's one, two, three or four kisses. (Limoges is two.) And you don't actually kiss the cheek, just the air beside the cheek.

-And they have different pronouns for "you" (like other languages) to use depending on your relationship with the person. "Tu" is more informal whereas "vous" is more formal and respectful.

-Also, they don't do big trips to grocery store like us. More so, they will stop by every day or every other day and pick up what they need to restock. Mainly baguettes and fruits/vegetables.

-Due to how they process or package it (not sure), they sell milk unrefrigerated, and you don't need to refrigerate it until after you open it.

Shopping bag from "Carrefour" grocery.

-And they don't give out plastic or paper bags. You have to bring your own reusable grocery bag. (They do sell them at the store, but you buy one and keep bringing it with you until it dies). Also, for those "bigger" trips, they have bags that are similar in shape and size to a small suitcase that you can pull your groceries home in. I know it's the norm here, but it's still amusing to me to see a huge, 6-foot tall, jacked muscle guy with a crew cut and a square jaw pulling around a floral pattern basket with baguettes and pink toilet paper sticking out the top.

-Yeah, their toilet paper is pink. And their flushers are often times not levers, put rather a button on top that you push, or a 'dipstick'-type thing that you pull up.

-And if you need to use a public restroom, be prepared to pay. Sure they have them in restaurants for free, but the bathrooms in parks or train stations or stand-alone in the street, it will cost you between 50c and a dollar.

-In many buildings and houses, the toilet is in one room and the shower/sink is in another.

-And shower curtains aren't necessarily used. Most showers have the removable shower heads that you can use to "hose yourself off" or whatever, and I guess they don't think you need a curtain for that. My last time here, my host family did not have a curtain. This time I do...but it's pathetic - it doesn't cover the whole gap, and it's made of the same material as a cheap, plastic picnic tablecloth, no lie.

French power outlet

-Electric outlets are different.

-Air conditioning is more rare than common. Heat they have. But AC is a 'luxury', and if you do have it, it's often a window box (not central air).

-And they seem cold all the time. I see people wearing sweaters and jackets on top of them when it's 70 degrees out. I'm interested to see what winter will be like. Perhaps they hibernate, like bears.

-Male fashion? They are slightly more "fashionable" with less t-shirts and jeans (though you do still see them). But they also accept man-pri's (capri's for men), scarves whenever, man purses (almost every guy around her has one), skinny jeans, etc. I haven't seen too many berets, though.

-Their school hours are from 8-6, but with a long lunch break therein.

-They are very gesticulate (making gestures) with their hands and mouths/faces when they're talking. And onomatopoeia words are just as important as actual words. I literally overhead an exchange that was verbatim: "Ah, salut, vous ah-ah-ah, le, le, le brrrrreeeeh, shtick-shtack, eh?" "Mais, non avec le tac-tac-tac, baaah, mais, oui le cahaaahaa, cleeeek. Tchatchatcha."

-They have ketchup-flavored potato chips, and ketchup is a condiment offered at their Subway's - a common one, too, judging by how many people got it on their sandwich while I was waiting in line there. Though I have yet to see or be offered any ketchup packets or ketchup bottles at restaurants where they serve burgers, fries, etc.

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Every time I come across a new French idiosyncrasy, I recall myself back to the title of a book we read in college called "Pas si fous, ces Francais!" - "They're not so crazy, these French!" - that explains these differences. So, I try to tell myself they're not crazy, they're just different. They're French. After all, we must look pretty silly to them. I bet they have a book called "Not so crazy, just American!" And they probably have blog posts similar to mine:

-These Americans, I tell you... Ice. This stuff is everywhere. Yes, ice - as in, snow and glaciers. They use it all the time, especially at restaurants. Where they also refill your drink NON-STOP...it's a wonder they don't have to pee all the time. (Which, if they did, it'd be okay because they don't charge for their bathrooms, which is nice.) And then I tried to kiss a guy I just met, and he punched me in the face...