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Kay so I thought I should probably get around to telling you about France itself. It's pretty similar to Canada except, you know... They speak French and what not. But here's an actual list of differences...
1. The toilet is in a separate room from the rest of the bathroom. Very weird for me! Doesn't seem like that big of a deal until you need to wash your hands and someone's taking a shower... That's never a good situation.
2. There is always bread on the table. Always. Every. Single. Meal. And it's not just bread... No, it's like little tiny elves took Little piece of the sky and baked it lovingly in an oven powered by magic while unicorns frolicked outside the window. Okay, maybe not that, but it's delicious.
3. While we're on the topic of food, I must mention the excessive amounts of red meat people eat here. Maybe it's just my region, but the lack of cows I've seen are definitely explained everytime we sit down to dinner. Don't get me wrong, I love it; but what I wouldn't do for a nice peice of chicken right now.
4. Classiness. Is that even a word? Well if it is, it belongs to the French, for many reasons. Here's a few of my favorite examples
A) the McDonald's. I know what your thinking... Why is she in France and eating McDonald's!? Trust me, it wasn't my choice. But that place is CLASSY. I'm talking framed artwork and appealing lay out.. Wood and leather, nothing like the north American pits of despair made entirely out of plastic and grease. Heck, there was even a stuffed bear in the corner.
B) the clothing. Everyone just looks posh! Muted colours and heels, stylish outfits, big scarfs. And the shoes... Oh my lord the shoes. Tres magnifique!
C) and my last big example... The boys. I mean, these guys use more styling products then me, and I bet you any money there was at last one pair of styled eyebrows on a male face last night.
5. There are walls everywhere. You have a house? Build a wall. A fountain? Build a wall. A park? Build a wall. A poodle? Heck, you better put a wall around that too.
6. A boring one, but the electricity. The plugs, the light switches. Honestly every time I plug something in I feel like a toddler with a fork and I mentally prepare myself for a minuscule explosion.
7. Greetings. I swear to god, no one in this country has ever heard of a hug. It's always a kiss on each cheek. The first couple times were slightly terrifying ( who is this person and why are they suddenly diving at my face?!), but I've started to adjust. Anyway, even if I forget or mess up, someone is always nearby to look at me like I'm a puppy who just did something amusing, shake their head, and offer the words, "she's Canadian" by way of explanation.
8. Okay this one gets really confusing sometimes... If someone tries to tell you someon is crazy, they each have their own hand gesture to do so. It involves some type of hand movement beside their head and a quiet noise. The best part of it is that everyone has their own signature gesture. It's like, in order to be a full French person you need your own unique crazy signal. And the part in which I struggle most? No one says "cuckoo"... No, because here, "cou cou" is a greeting. So if you say cuckoo when describing the crazy person beside you, everyone looks at you like you've got a little bit of crazy too, because why are you saying hi in the middle of a conversation?
9. Everyone smokes. Like, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if a toddler strolled by with a cigarette hanging leisurely out the side of their mouth. When we went shopping in andorra, there was basically an entire room filled with cigarettes, lighters, and cigars. If you can't stand smoking, France is not the place for you my friend!
Okay, that's about all I have for you now, guarantee I'll have more for you soon to come.
Much cuckoo (or should I say cou cou?) love,
Emma
- comments
ML Goodacre Emma, vous êtes un grand comédien aussi!
aunt mary enjoyed your blog post... quand vas-tu commencer d'ecrire en francais? (can you pls fix the map below??- the tacks have shifted!)
brewer and corbin that was very funny, keep it coming lots of love
Rebecca Haha creeeepin but I've had chicken quite a few times and have yet to see one of those bathrooms, But omg all the bread and cheese! And ya they all think me and the other exchange girls are weird for not smoking, they're surprised it's not like that everywhere. And I don't know if it's like this where you are but the cars ALWAYS stop for you when you cross in front of them, like I'm so scared to cross the road all the time cause no one "looks both ways", they just walk across the road and hope for the best I guess ahaha