Differences

The other day, when I was casually kissing the 6th person in a time span of 2 minutes (I'll get to that later), I began to think about how very different France is from the USA It should be a given that two countries seperated by the Atlantic Ocean have a couple differences, but I think it might be interesting to write a blog about the differences between France and the USA (besides location and language of course!)

• Bisous - (A.K.A. the kissing I was talking about earlier) Defined as "friendly kisses", these are the little pecks on the cheek that the French use to say hello and goodbye. (The only time one does not use bisous is when 2 males say hello, or if one is greeting a superior, in these cases a handshake is used.) I actually really appreciate bisous, as in America right now we don't have a staple "nice to meet you" interaction, and I am always stuck awkwardly waving or handshaking. Also, it's pretty great to meet a cute French guy and be able to kiss them on the cheek right away. Yeah, it's pretty great. Though it's really awkward when I go in for a hug and people end up bisou-ing my neck...

• Cheese - just saying, we eat a lot of cheese here, and it's fabulous. Just saying!

• Dessert - in the USA, dessert is not a given. Some nights it's there, some nights it's not! In France, things are way different. Not only is dessert offered every night, it's also offered everyday at lunch! This may explain why I have gained approximately 2 kilos so far... Whoops!

• Tardiness - in the USA, one is "on time" if one arrives just on time (or perhaps 3 or 5 minutes early, depending on the person), on the other end of the spectrum, in France, 10 or 12 minutes late is the most common idea of "on time"! Of course, this really threw me off when my friends and I would arrive to class 5 minutes late (me, hyperventillating) to find that the professor wouldn't arrive until another 5 minutes later... But now, this 'time' difference is more of a luxury for me!

• Peeling apples with knives - a pretty straightforward cultural difference. While in the USA we wash our apples and eat them whole, here in France people peel their apples (with knives! AH!) and eat them like that instead! While it has taken 3 weeks, I can now do this without impaling/making a fool of my self...

• School - In the USA (well, at my school in the USA) we start at 8:00 and end at 3:00. Here, however, the end of the day is 6:00! But - and it's a bit 'but' - there are some exceptions: Wednesdays we end before lunch (and wear pink...*), every other Friday we end before lunch, and we get multiple free periods during which we are allowed to leave school (not allowed in the USA) or hang out in the hallways (Also not allowed in the USA, we must stay in a classroom. Also, the school hallways here are outfitted with tables and chairs!). Another big difference is that, if a teacher is gone (sick, or perhaps has a meeting) class simply does not go on. No sub, no study hall. Just free period!

• School lunches - I believe I have previously mentioned this, but school lunches in France (at last at my school) are amazing! We get (fancy) cheese or yogurt, dessert or fruit, a salad, soup, and a main course. AND sometimes there is a special extra (like eggrolls, croissants with cheese, or crepes)

• Nutella - just, Nutella. You know my relationship with it. It's amazing. It's widely available here. It's dangerous.

• Snacking - is a no-no! This is actually the thing I miss the most about the USA. I never realized until now that I am a snacker! In between meals I want bread, cereal, basically anything! But in France, there is no snacking. Fortunately, my friends happen to be snackers, so I can be a foodie with them, but for the most part, people eat at meals and meals only.

• Smoking - I hate to support a stereotype, but in my school, it is true that a lot of people smoke. There are many, many (think around 20-50) students who just chill right outside the school smoking under the overhang. Here, smoking is not a big deal, or shunned like it is in the USA. In fact, many of my teachers also smoke out in front of the school!

So, there are some differences between the USA and France!