19 Little Known Facts about France

I know its not Wednesday but I found these and I thought they were super fun and I wanted to share! 1. In Paris you are never more that 400 meters from a subway station. The Marseillaise, the French national anthem, was first sung in Strasbourg, not Marseille. 2. The novel La Disparition (Disappeared) by Georges Perec, in its original French does not use the letter 'e'. 3. In French two weeks is in fact 15 days, quinze jours. 4. When the President of France eats a Gallette des Rois, a traditional cake eaten in early January, it can't have a fève, a small token, in it. Who ever will get the fève is the king or queen for the day, but of course the President of France can't be royalty. 5.French politicians can simultaneously hold more than one elected office. 6. Lefevre is the most popular last name in France. 7.There are 27 wine regions in France. 8.Comté cheese is best eaten 30 months after it is made. 9.Alsacien type homes are not considered immobilier, the French term for real estate that also means non-moveable, but in fact mobilier, French for moveable, because they are demountable and thus can be moved. Alsacien type homes were built this way so that homes could be part of dowries. 10. No tipping Service is included in all restaurant bills. While it does feel weird to leave nothing on the table at first, it’s amazing how quick you get used to knowing exactly how much your meal has costed. You can exceptionally leave a euro or two on the table if you received outstanding customer service, but that’s highly unlikely… 11. Le client est roi… right? Customers are kings. That’s a saying we have in America. And somehow, I have the very strong impression it is yet another thing that wasn’t brought to us from France! Their customer service, to be completely blunt, is awful in most places. Considering how complicated it is to fire an employee in France, why would they bother being kind and smily? It doesn’t come as a surprise either to know that the opening hours of a store may vary according to the employees moods. Even if the official hours are, say, 9 to 7, well don’t expect to come in for a baguette at 6:50. Oh no. The store is actually closed so the employees can be gone by 7. Funny way to run a business, isn’t it? 12. Drugstores are actually… drugstores Don’t expect to buy toilet paper, mascara or candy over here – they only sell drugs, high-end creams and special toothpaste (although when you think of it, it is kind of weird to sell candies at the drugstore – how are they better than cigarettes for our health?). You can easily recognize them with the flashing green neon cross over the door and you don’t usually have to walk very far to find one. French people are serious about their drugstores! drugstore france, french drugstore, pharmacie, interesting facts about France 13. Methods of payment slightly differ Most high street stores and groceries still accept cheques as a method of payment, as long as you have ID to prove your identity. Cheques, in America, are so archaic – needless to say how surprised I was when I saw a woman get out her checkbook to pay for her groceries! Another thing that mesmerizes me is that they only have one card: la carte bleue. It’s a debit card with a Visa sign on it. Why so? How does it sort credit and debit? I have absolutely no idea. (Thank God Wiki is there to inform me on what my banker missed out on! Now that I’ve figured out how it works I must say, it is quite brillant.) 14. Ice is EVIL! Another little known fact is that no proper restaurant in France will serve ice in your water. Most of the time, the water will be either room-temperature or slightly chilly, but never cold. That’s when I miss my self-serve McDonald’s soda bar, where I can decide just how much ice I want in my drink. Which is a lot. 15. La bise That’s my least favorite thing about France. La bise. What a chore! It isn’t so bad when there are only 3-4 people, but when you arrive at a party of 20+ people, it’s just an awfully long exercise that’s keeping you away from your drink. Everybody has to stand up to greet you with a kiss on both cheeks, with very specific rules. Without exception. And I actually have to make huge efforts to do that – my North American standards do not force awkward contact between strangers, and I have to say that I really prefer it that way. And once you finally do get your hands on a drink, doesn’t mean you can enjoy it right away… 16. Santé! Cheering in France is no simple happening. Why go simple when you can go complicated? There are specific rules to follow to cheer as per the French rules: you have to look every single person you cheers with in the eye, say “Santé!” or “Tchin Tchin!”, without crossing your glass with someone else’s – otherwise you will be entitled to seven years of bad sex. You’ve been warned! cheers, cheering glasses, party, cheering in france, interesting facts about france 17. Shopping carts No one is getting away with a shopping cart theft without a price – to actually use a cart, you have to insert a €1 coin on a special coin-operated mechanism on the handle. No kidding! What happens most of the time is that you forget to take your coin back and pay an extra euro for your grocery. 18. Sunday is the Day of Rest What most tourists don’t know about France is that if you happen to be traveling on a Sunday, you should know this: most stores will be closed for the day. Some groceries will open for a few hours in the morning, but that’s about it – and some family-owned businesses (such as bakeries) will be closed on Mondays as well. Coming from a large city like Montreal where you can find pretty much anything you want at any hour, that required a bit of getting used to. 19. Les soldes Unfortunately for the fashionista in me, France doesn’t have regular sales. In fact, there are only two authorized periods per year: July and January. It has some good and some bad: yes, the prices are higher year-round but when the sales do come around, you can expect 50%+ discounts, whether in luxury stores or high street chains. I recently bought two striped t-shirts (essential French items, right?) that were initially tagged at €30 each, and I ended up paying only €20 for both. We rarely get these kinds of sale in Canada, so needless to say I was extremely happy with this particular French tradition!

Expressions in French

Have you realized that there are hundreds of expressions in our own language that we use without thinking. They reside in our cultural memory bank and slide effortlessly out to the tip of our tongue (au bout de la langue!) with no conscious thought on our part. But when speaking a language other than your native tongue, I’ve realized the importance of these “cultural word tools” – and that you can’t be without them. Because you need them to understand the sense of what someone is telling you, to catch the point of a joke, or to make a play on words. Here are a few of my favorites just for fun. In English “When pigs fly”, translates into the French expression “When hens have teeth” (quand les poules auront des dents). I licked my fingers” translates to “I licked all five fingers and my thumb” (j’ai leche les cinq doigts et le pouce) “That gets on my nerves” becomes “That breaks my feet” (cela me casse les pieds). À bon chat, bon rat which is a proverb in French but in English the translation it Tit for Tat À force d'explications ça finira par entrer. IN English-Explain it for long enough and it will sink in(my host Father says this to me when I forget how to conjugate in the past tense....not amused) À mauvais ouvrier point de bons outils. In English a bad workman blames his tools. This embodies the French idea of "the consumer or the customer is ALWAYS wrong" In France customer service is literally nonexistent and if you want to complain about one of the waiters at your local cafe you can pretty much forget it because the manager will probably just shrug their shoulders and say "What do you want me to do about it?" Well, I’ve made a gigantic cultural leap in speaking French! Oh yes, most of it is mastering the grammar and syntax. But understanding hundred of cultural references – from cartoon characters (recognize Asterix and Obelix above - iconic French cartoon figure) to political incidents to literature – and everyday expressions -is essential. Why? It’s helped me to establish relationships with people. It lets me go beyond surface interactions and find some deeper ways to communicate, because I find that people are more likely to open up when they see that you know their culture, which includes their traditions and sayings. Bisous Em

Table Etiquette in France

They really are different! I was under the impression that table manners would be all the same as the US. WRONG Here are a few I have researched and figured out! "1) Should you place your napkin in your lap immediately after being seated? False. Once the hostess places her napkin in her lap, other guests should follow suit. 2) Do you put your bread in the upper left edge of your plate, or on a bread plate? False. Bread is placed directly on the tablecloth, on the left above the fork. 3) Should you tear your bread into a bite-sized piece before eating it? True. Always! It is very impolite to take a bite from the whole piece of bread. 4) When the aperitif is served, do you wait for the host to give the toast before drinking? True. You should wait for the host to lead the way, whether an aperitif or dinner course. Once everyone has been served a drink, the host will generally make a short toast after which the glass-clinking begins. It is polite to make eye contact as you say, “Santé.” Note: Also never cross over someone's arm when toasting, it is considered bad luck. 5) When serving wine, should the glasses be filled up to five millimeters from the brim? False. When pouring wine, stop when the glass is three-fourths full. 6) It is acceptable to eat pommes frites (French fries) with your fingers? False. While fast food has made its mark in France, eating foods with your fingers is still strictly limited when you are at the dinner table. If in doubt, follow the lead of your host. Mayonnaise or Mustard is the choice topping. Bisous Em

Differences Between the USA and France (Part 1)

Through my travels so far I have found an endless number of differences between the USA and France but here are a few that really stuck out to me..... One word people. Food. Food is not regarded as fuel....or even just a social thing here.....its viewed as a whole section of the day. You take time with your food, savoring each morsel like it was your last. Its the supermarkets here that really amaze me. In America the market is just a place to go with a list and mission....in France its a place to plan meals, meander, and generally enjoy just being. You could see a friend in the supermrkets and stop an talk for an entire hour(trust me my host mother has done it). Its not a place to rush through its somewhere to unwind and reflect on the day while you pick up food for a meal. I can still smell the smell of the bakery next door to the supermarket, see the check out person, the aisles and the labels in which I did not understand a word. I remember wondering what the differences were between the brands? Where was the cereal? Ice cream? And how was I suppose to order cheese if I couldn't ask the salesperson for it? I pointed, and shook my head yes, often. I found out that before I went to the check out counter I had to weigh the fruits and vegetables I wanted. In the fruit and vegetable section there was a scale that had a list of the fruits and vegetable on it. All I had to do was find the word (not a simple task), then click on it and a ticket with a price would appear. One time I was buying a head of lettuce....and the ticket came out telling me that the cost $25. I looked at the ticket, I had clicked on fresh herbs and not lettuce. I bought sour milk instead of fresh milk. The fresh milk was in a box without a spout, and as it was located by the dry goods, I had no idea what it was. I was surprised it was not refrigerated. Later I learned that it could last three months in the cupboard if not opened, and only when opened needed to put in the refrigerator. In France, at school (or anywhere for that matter) each day when you see someone you know you greet them. When you know a person well you kiss them on the cheeks and say, "Ca-va?" and they say, "Ca-va." And if you don't know the person very well, then you shake their hand when you see them, and say "Ca-va?" and they say, "Ca-va." Even if someone is rushing to class they will take the time to give one of their friends a bisous.....everything is slowed down in France....like we are on some kind of alternate time plane where there is enough time for all the casualties and intricacies of life In the states we can give a little wave or a slight nod to someone as long as we can get on to our next class without being disturbed. It is not uncommon in an American High School for strange people in the school talk to me on Facebook, but when I ask them why they don't talk to me at school they say they are too shy. In France your not friends on Facebook unless you know the person extremely well (this is what I can tell so far) I hope my little "cultural lesson" has been interesting I am going to lable this as "part 1" and later in my journey through France I will add more differences that interest me...... Bisous Em