The French List #1

Random fact: I absolutely love lists. I make lists for everything: when I'm packing for a trip, when I'm trying to schedule my day, when I'm bored and I waste my time making a list of all the places in the world I want to visit or a list of the foods I couldn't live without....

Anyway, since I arrived in Europe nearly six weeks ago, I've been mentally making multiple lists about life here. And today I thought, why not share one? So here is a list about all the things people told me that irritated me or freaked me out in the months before my departure.

Five Lies You Hear When You Are Going To France:

1. "Only tourists wear shorts--the French really frown upon wearing shorts, even in the summer."

FALSE. This one really scared me when I first heard it, especially since I don't own too many skirts and/or dresses and since I dreaded the thought of sweating out the August heat in jeans to fit in. I even googled this myth and found numerous people who warned against wearing shorts in France. In reality, though, everyone under 30 wears shorts here (not just the international students--everyone), and I've even seen people in their 40's sporting shorts. That's a lot of people supposedly getting scorned for their clothing choice. I don't know how this lie got started. Maybe it's just a snobby Paris thing?

2."When you speak to a person in French, they'll immediately recognize you as American and they'll speak to you in English."
 
I'm happy to say that this is mostly false as well, at least in my experience. In general, when I speak to anyone in French, they will recognize that I'm not French, of course, but they will kindly wait as I struggle to find the right words and conjugate the verb (usually incorrectly) and then they will respond slowly and in clear French. Honestly, for the most part, they are impressed that I am (somewhat) familiar with their language. Many of the people I've encountered aren't at all fluent in English, and they struggle the same way I do when they try to throw out a few English words. 

 3. "People in France are cold and unfriendly."

Biggest lie ever! Or perhaps this only applies to Parisians? Every nightmare journey that Kat and I have taken on public transportation has been successful thanks to about every single kind French soul we encountered during our struggle. Almost everyone asked if we needed help; a few didn't even ask--one man, on his way to his subway train, saw me trying to carry my suitcase up the stairs, so he just grabbed my entire suitcase and lifted it for me all the way to the top!! These people are very kind.

4. "You don't like bread or coffee? You're doomed."

Yes, I am doomed. There is absolutely WAY TOO MUCH to eat here--and most of it does not involve bread or coffee! Have you heard of crêpes? Gateau au chocolat? Quiche Lorraine? Chausson aux pommes? Tarte Flambée? CHEESE?!? Welcome to a food paradise, my friends.

5. "You're going to be such a wine snob when you return home."

Ehhh... no. At least, it is extremely unlikely. First of all, I don't know the name or type of any of the wines I've tasted... not a single one. Second, I barely had any wine in the month I was in Tours: my family never served it at dinner, and I only had a glass twice with my friends. Here in Strasbourg, it's true that I'm sipping wine every night, but that's the key word--sipping. I only ask for half a glass when Raymond offers wine, and I only drink when both my host parents are looking elsewhere, because I still can't hide the grimace on my face (some types of wine are so gross!). So I may come back to the USA with an extremely good poker face after eating/drinking something disgusting, but that's it. I will miss the fact that wine only costs 2-4 euro per bottle, though.