Differences.

Hey everyone !

I'm following a few blogs that belong to other Exchange students, and one of them, a guy called Jarryd, made one post about the differences he's noticed so far between la vie Française and Australian life, the people etc. So I thought it might be a good idea to do my own to show you all the things I've noticed in France.

So, here goes !

1. Incredible public transport systems.
2. Very formal conduct with teachers at school.
3. They set the table with forks on the left, knives on the right, but then switch them around once they start eating.
4. They use bread to hold/push things on a fork much more than they use a knife.
5. Lunches that are a full meal. (My host mum is still shocked when I just eat a sandwich like back home.)
6. There are pharmacies on every second street corner.
7. And defibrillators. Even at school.
8. Things actually can cost 98 cents/centimes, and the cashiers get really angry when they have to give you 2 cents change, and make it that bit more inconvenient by giving you two 1 centime pieces.
9. You have to pay for plastic bags most places. Not that I'm complaining, I guess it's a good thing.
10. They hardly drink at all. I think this is why their glasses are so damn small.
11. French become madmen when they get behind the wheel. They drive incredibly fast, over the 130 km/h limit, park on pedestrian paths and are very, very abusive. (I've learnt every swear word in the book now!)
12. It's not a hassle to go to Switzerland for 3 hours. (This applies to the east of the country)
13. Smokers areas at school.
14. La bise.
15. There are no rules on which cheek to kiss first when you faire la bise, they just know, so things can get awkward if you're not French.
16. Some regions do 2 bises, some 3 and some 4. The Genevois (People who come from Geneva) give 3.
17. Dubbed TV and movies. I CAN UNDERSTAND THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE SOUNDTRACK. PLEASE DO NOT ANNOY ME WITH FRENCH I CAN BARELY UNDERSTAND.
18. It's not weird to have two boulangeries in one little street.
19. There are banks absolutely EVERYWHERE. 
20. The are, on the contrary, barely any public toilets, and you usually have to pay to use them anyway.
21. Not many "shopping malls," as such.
22. The teachers here swear even more than Mrs O'Connell. Yes, you read right.
23. The French hate it if you don't speak in French to them, but if you do and they detect an accent, they change to their SHOCKING English.
24. Bon appétit is ALWAYS said before a meal.
25. You sit at the table until everyone has finished. 
26. They formalise the after-school snack by calling it a "goûter" and preparing it the day before/morning of.
27. Bread. Partout.
28. Horrible, horrible French music.
29. French people not knowing the lyrics to the English songs they play, so they "sing" the instruments.
30. Street-side dining at cafés.
31. Everyone writes in really nice cursive writing, so much so that it's illegible. (If that makes sense?)
32. Families only go out to dinner for special occasions. 
33. Cheese. Partout.
34. Everybody hates the Parisian tourists. 
35. People judge others by the département that they come from/live in. (Found as a two digit number on number plates.)
36. The French are never on time.
37. I've counted 6 obese people since I've been here. SIX. That's easily done in a lunchtime at school in Australia.
38. Unisex toilets.
39. Swearing is less offensive if it's in English, apparently.
40. Things actually aren't overly expensive. Junk food is cheaper than in Australia. Not good.
41. If you ask for a coffee, you'll get a short black. It's hard to find a coffee that isn't half the size of a normal coffee in Australia.
42. It's weird to drink coffee with milk after breakfast time.
43. Sport sport sport and more sport.
44. They don't actually all dress really well.
45. Teenagers can't write a sentence without abbreviating a word to something you can't understand.
46. You can leave school whenever you don't have class.
47. "Bonjour" and "Au revoir" are always said when entering and exiting a shop.
48. There are too many ways to say goodbye.
49. They use words from different languages to say goodbye. Like "ciao" and "tschüss"
50. "If you drive for more than 3 hours to get there, you have to stay for the weekend" is a rule of thumb for the Frenchies.
51. They don't keep their word a lot of the time.
52. Family is extremely important.
53. It's weird to do homework after dinner.
54. Ice cream stores have the most insane array of flavours. 
55. Nivea products are branded "Lobello."
56. Most subjects that kids do at school are obligatory, they get very little choice.
57. Salt is eaten with everything.
58. "It's 18 degrees, let's all wear shorts and t-shirts and act like we're melting !"
59. French singing/talent shows have really bad talent.
60. They eat so much and so quickly! 

And yeah, I'm not going to go overboard. 

I'll write a proper post soon. I hope.

Salut !