France V. America: The Cultural Differences

France is a very unique place. The people, the places, the customs, the sights, the sounds, the smells. There are big differences and little differences between our two cultures, and I love them all! Here are some things that I have noticed that are different here:

• If you want to turn on a light, you flip the light switch down (not up) and vice versa. When I first got here and tried to turn on the light in the room, I thought the bulb had burned out!


• There isn't a lever on the side of the toilet to flush the toilet like in America. There is a button on top of the toilet that you push to flush.


• There aren't mailboxes on street corners like there are in America (at least that I have found). You have to take your mail to the post office.


• Elevators are the exception. Expect to walk up stairs everywhere.


• Usually you do not tip waiters; the service is included.


• Waiters do not check on you while you are eating. If you need something, you get their attention. Do not expect them to just come and fill up your drink or bring your check. The french consider it to be very rude for the waiter to come to the table unsummoned, because they view it as they are being rushed... the French are very serious about their meals and take their time eating.


• Lunch is the big meal in France. Children go home from school for two hours of lunch everyday, and adults also get a lovely two-hour lunch break, before heading back to work. This goes back to the French being very serious abou their meals, as well as being masters of leisure. As a result, stores, restaurants, and places like the post office are PACKED between noon and 2 pm.


• Lanes of traffic exist, but the French rarely pay attention to them. I saw a taxi stop in the middle of the road (without even attempting to pull over) to pick up a customer. Other cars, with out really making a big deal out of it, just swirved over into oncoming traffic to go around him.


• In Paris, you park where ever you can fit your car. I have seen cars backed up onto sidewalks to fit in a space half the size of their vehicle.


• Watch out for motorcycles on sidewalks. Apparently it isn't against the law for motorcyclists to drive on the sidewalks (or just no one cares). The French are not stifflers about driving laws to any degree. I'm actually not sure what the police actually do here.


• Just because someone thought it was a good idea to hire someone to be a bus driver, it doesn't mean that person is a good (or safe) driver. I was on the bus on the way from the airport to my residence hall when the bus driver missed the turn he was supposed to take. Instead of just driving around the block like a sane person would, he just made a hard left across two lanes of traffic, pulled up on the side walk, stopped inches from the front door of a store, and did an Austin Powers eight-point turn in the middle of the street, in the middle of traffic with cars beeping incessantly. Did I mention that this was a BUS?? Kaylin and I were laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. Taking the bus is always an adventure in this city.


• The Parisians have a different idea of what American food is. I went to a Greek restaurant and I ordered a uh... well I'm not sure what I ordered, but it was delicious. Anyway, I asked the guy what kind of sauce he was putting on my food, and he said it was "American Sauce." I have never seen this substance in my entire American life. And I have not only lived in America my whole life, but I have been to most of the country. But whatever, I gave it a try. Maybe it was something have had, just in an unrecognizable form. I bit into whatever I had just bought and nope. I had never tasted that sauce in my life, either. It was good though. Tangy, but sweet.


• Stores in France can only have two sales a year: one in January, and one in July (I came at the right time!), both about six weeks long. The point of the sales are to get rid of last season's fashions. So if you're coming to Paris to go shopping, come in January or July.


• I just paid 8 euros to do ONE load of laundry.


• The French do not consume ice. If you go to a restaurant, you will not get ice in your drink. If you ask for ice, you will get a funny look and the restaurant-wide realization that you are an American (if they hadn't already noticed).


• The French are not afraid of or offended by nudity. I went into a tabac (there's not really an english equivilent, but you buy cigarettes, lottery tickes, and train/show/metro tickets there) and there was a postcard with two very naked women on it on a post card rack, right next to a rack with children's birthday cards.

That's all I can really think of right now, but I am finding new ones everytime I walk out my door. That is one of the best parts of this trip!