Cultural Differences

I've been wanting to write for awhile now about the differences I've noticed between the U.S. and France. But this is not an Us vs. Them post because I am now a part of both groups - which would be a Me vs. Me post, and nobody wins there. 

Notations:

The French have one room for the shower, bath tub, and sinks, and a separate room for the toilet all by itself, called "Les Toilettes" always plural - never singular. The house I'm living in has three bathrooms but only one salle des toilettes, which seems to work for the family. 

The French really like bread, pastries and bakeries. We have a baguette every night at dinner, and there are at least three boulangeries on my walk to school. Every baked good I've had in France has been amazing, too. 

For the kids, school starts at 10 and goes until 5. The school year runs September to June, and there is no school on Wednesdays; it's a day off for the children, and some of the stores have reduced hours that day. 

Speaking of hours, stores open around 10 and close around 7. In the rest of France, they're closed on Sunday's, but Vichy is well-known for having open stores on Sundays. 

You don't have to clean up after your dog in France, even if it's on the sidewalk. And because of this, the same dog poop has been on the sidewalk for two weeks now. 

The French actually open the windows in their houses for fresh air and barely use the AC at all, even on hot days. My host mom asked me to open my window each day to air out my room. It's a nice habit. :)

Lunches are cheap here. I pay on average 5 euros a day for lunch, and my usual food is a ham sandwich. The French love ham sandwiches. But even when we buy ready-made lunches at the supermarket or get a croque-monsieur at the Snack Bar, lunch is still very affordable. 

Parents typically walk their children to school because everything is so close together in France, but today I even saw a dad taking his daughter to school on a bike. There isn't a place for cars to queue up in front of the school like in the U.S. anyways. So even if parents wanted to drive their kids to school, they couldn't.

Parking on the sidewalk is a completely normal thing, especially on skinny or one way streets. And it doesn't seem to be an inconvenience to anyone either. 

Trying on or touching hats in a hat store is incredibly rude and the woman will tell you no three times and speak very fast French. Taking a water bottle out at the table in a restaurant also is incredibly rude and the server will tell you to put it away. 

We say hello and goodbye to everyone: classmates, shopkeepers, passers-by, friends, teachers, wait staff, cashiers, and puppy dogs. We're all very friendly with each other.

The French like tiny cups, and at school, there are these machines that serve little cups of hot beverages like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate for 40 euro cents a cup. They're awesome.

The toilets at my school are unisex and tiny. You have to walk in to the very back, shut the open door, and then stand where the door used to be. Then you repeat to get out. And there aren't public toilets in supermarkets - I asked.

Also, much of France isn't accessible to people with disabilities. The only way to get to my class room, for example, is to walk up four flights of tight, twisty stairs. The metro stations are cram packed with stairs, and the sidewalks are uneven at best and cobblestone at worst. 

Everyone pays for everything with cash here. To the point that, if you are buying a 3 euro sandwich and you try to pay with a 10 euro bill, the cashier will ask you if you have coins instead. And I've only seen someone try to use a credit card once, and she changed her mind and paid with cash. 

Most people are very concerned with your nationality. It's the second question I'm asked after my name. Because there are so many countries in such a small area here, you really never know where someone is from until you ask. Except for today, when I accidentally asked a Frenchman what his nationality was. He responded very confusedly with, "Je suis français..." Oops. I knew he spoke French well.  

I love learning about the culture here! It's just different enough to be interesting but not so much to be difficult to understand. 

Yours,

Alissa