I'll be studying abroad at Universite Laval in July and staying with a host family. I've never been to Quebec City before and am unsure about any etiquette. Any tips as far as greetings? What sort of items would be appropriate to bring my hosts as a gift? Any advice to help me seem less like a tourist would be greatly appreciated!

The best suggestion is just try to speak a lot of French to them. Be open to the fact that they may have a different type of accent than what you might have learned in school. If there is someplace in your home town that makes homemade chocolates or something unusual, that might be appreciated. If you cook or bake, you might offer to make dinner for your host family as well. <BR>The lifestyle in Quebec is not a lot different than most places in North America except for the fact that people speak French. Having said that, the people are very receptive to people when they show an interest in their culture and make an attempt to speak their language.

Quebec City, while similar in quite a number of ways to some other North American places culturally, is not your typical city either. Young people tend to dress up a little more in a night on the town in more European-influenced fashions, for example. If you wear shorts, white sneakers/socks or a college sweatshirt for a night out in the city, it is fine...but people will know that you are from elsewhere (English-speaking North America or the country). If you've been to Montreal, fashions are most similar to there.<BR><BR>Greetings? "Bonjour" "salut" are used in Quebec. People tend to tutoie one another, regardless of age...except in strictly professional circumstances where there is no familiarity. <BR><BR>Have fun. Bring something with special meaning from your hometown (a nice dish, for example); that would be the kind of thing you should bring.<BR><BR>DAN