Originally Written on August 12, 2011
If anyone has any insights on some of the things that have been puzzling me, I’d be glad to hear them!
1). France in August is a completely different beast than France in
July, in Dijon anyways. So many places are closed because their
proprietors are on vacation. And I’m not even talking about museums and
the like - those are the places most likely to be open because everyone
is travelling. No, its places like our favorite boulangerie and our
favorite pub. Things also close really early, or have limited hours, or
just don’t open on some days. For example, since skype is blocked in my
dorm, I decided to just stay on campus after class to use it. But most
of the campus buildings close at five so then I’m a little SOL unless
the weather is nice and I can sit outside.
2). Sometimes when I’m in the Centre Ville on Sundays, the streets
are so empty that I feel like I’m in that scene in Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang when the family arrives in that creepily empty town where all the
children have been kidnapped. I don’t know where all the French people
go on sundays…yeah, I know a lot of people go to church. But surely not
for the ENTIRE day. Its like the town population is halved or something
on sundays.
3). So many people pay for their groceries with checks. I don’t
understand. It just boggles my mind. WHY would you pay for just a loaf
of bread, some juice, and a sack of potatoes with a check. It can’t be
more than six euros. Do you not have a debit card? Do you not have cash?
The check process takes freaking forever as well at Carrefour -
especially when the check processor breaks, which seems to happen
frequently - so I really really don’t understand why they wouldn’t just
try to be quicker and pay with cash. Or something else. Anything else.
4). I saw a real French man wearing flip flops at Carrefour on Wednesday. I felt vindicated.
5). That brings me to my next point - if you ever study abroad, don’t
be afraid to be American. This doesn’t mean that you should expect
everything in the new country to be like America, or that you should go
against strong cultural norms just because you feel like it, but don’t
be afraid to be yourself. I’m American - I can’t help it, its a part of
me. I’m not going to change myself so completely so as to become lost in
another culture. There are positives and negatives to every culture, so
while you absorb good things of your new habitat make sure that you
keep with you what you like about the US.
With that in mind, maybe leave your “I’m With Stupid” shirt in the
US, but definitely bring your flip flops, your North Face, and your
Snuggie. I have been so glad that I brought these things; they made me
feel like I had a little bit of home with me. In regards to my snuggie
in particular, it came in handy more than I thought it would and it also
was completely new to many of my classmates and teachers - they were
fascinated by it. People love learning about cultures that are foreign
to them, and a great way to strike up a rapport with someone is to talk
about the differences between your two countries (and you get to learn
new things!)
6). Bus drivers in Dijon are a lot nicer than the COTA drivers. The buses are also a lot cleaner and nicer.
7). For every rude French person (looking at you, Dijon women at the
market) or incredibly creep-tastic French youth that I’ve encountered,
I’ve met several amazing, warm, and friendly people. People have been
incredibly patient with me as I as I stumble through a sentence, and
I’ve encountered so many people that have gone out their way to help me
or my friends. The French people are amazing.
8). French people really don’t understand when you when you say an
English word without a French accent. For example, when I tried to buy
my ticket to Disneyland, I just said “Disneyland Paris” and the cashier
did not understand me at all. However, when I tried again with
“Deezneelahnd Paree” he got it right away. It seems like such a little
thing to us, but I guess it makes a huge difference to them.
9). Its hilarious when non-native English speakers try to swear in
English. Especially when they say “fucking” or “fuck”. First off, its
really amusing because they normally pronounce it “fooking”, but then
half the time they put it in the wrong place in the sentence, like “we
had such a fun travel fooking”. And they use it at times when they
really don’t - probably because we all start laughing. Another favorite
of mine is “this is so fooking cute. So fooking cute”.
10). This is kind of similar to what I said earlier, but studying abroad has really made me more proud to be an American.
11). Even the most mundane, ordinary alleys in Dijon are prettier
than streets in Columbus. Flower boxes really do wonders for decor.
12). The French kind of are luddites. And obviously, there’s more to
life than technology and its been really refreshing to have to carry a
phone around all the time, but sometimes I just don’t get it. Why do you
only have wifi on one eighth of a floor - would it really be that much
more expensive to buy another router? Why can I not text to twitter
from my phone in France, but it would be possible if I lived in Fiji,
Kazakhstan, or the Isle of Man? Its less the fact that France doesn’t
have certain technology and more the issue that its weird that less
developed nations do, if that makes sense.
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