Student Now Living in France .. observations

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Dec 19th, 2002, 08:18 AM

#121

beachbum

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This is my vote for Genesea as poster of the year.

Dec 19th, 2002, 08:58 AM

#122

David

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Genesea as poster of the year? I vote Yes!

Dec 19th, 2002, 01:20 PM

#123

Elaine

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I love to see whenever this thread is back up at the top. Genesea has added another refreshing nugget. All of us who WISH we had spent a year abroad are all living vicariously through her. Thanks, Genesea. Elaine in Alabama

Dec 19th, 2002, 01:58 PM

#124

Anders

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topping

Dec 19th, 2002, 02:23 PM

#125

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I understand that stereotypes have sometimes a small truth to them but I would be wary with obervations and comparing them to stereotypes. After working and living abroad a year now, I find that stereotypes are more harmful than good. Also that because I see x-number of people in Spain behaving or dressing in such a way, how do I know that i am really seeing a true Spaniards? Spain has a ton of S.American, German, and UK residents. Telling them apart, in addition to all the tourists, by a mere glance is not so easy. Trust me. I know France is much more international than Spain due to economy, so if I were you, I would only make observations after getting inside the French culture through conversations and good friends. This is the only way to truly observe a culture and you learn much more than observational learning. On a less serious note, is that everybody is always asking if I am from France (hence why I checked out your posting, do I smell???? why do people think I am french? wierd!) . They even go as to far as to say that my Spanish has a French accent. hahah. I can't believe this since I am from Texas! Yeah one day I am going to play along in my basic bad french. oui! oui! Soy de Francia.

Dec 20th, 2002, 06:50 AM

#126

Michaela

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Genesea, Will you be celebrating Christmas in some way with your French family? I'm making the assumption that there must be some kind of acknowledgment of Jesus' birthday in this Catholic country. Don't know your religious affiliation, but can you speak to how French people (in general) celebrate December 25th? My husband and I were in Provence a number of years ago in late May. The day we arrived, we were surprised to find there was absolutely no room available in any hotel. We spent 4 hours going from town to town. It was a religious holiday weekend and how people seemed to celebrate was to go to hotels. Seemed like an amusing way to celebrate a 'holy' weekend. We eventually slept in our rented car for the remainder of the night. By the way, that was our fourth time to Provence and we never had a problem before that finding a hotel for our first night. Now, we reserve from the states. Your observations, Genesea, are refreshing. I look forward to checking out your post every time I visit this site. You have my vote for Poster of the Year!

Dec 20th, 2002, 09:13 AM

#127

Geoffrey

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topping

Dec 21st, 2002, 09:54 AM

#128

Janet

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topping

Dec 21st, 2002, 02:02 PM

#129

Eileen

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Genesea, Are certain meals or foods appropriate in France at this holiday time of year? I understand that a fish dinner on Christmas Eve is traditional in Italy.

Dec 22nd, 2002, 08:30 AM

#130

Genesea

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Michaela: The family I live with has a Catholic background, but the don't participate whatsoever. From what I've noticed, and the French people I know, Christmas is not considered a holy day. I've seen a few nativity scenes in some shops, but that's it. I know people visit church -- but for the most part, it is a tradition. My family, in general, isn't really celebrating Christmas because the family will not be coming over here (there are no decorations or music). We're all going to my host mom's dad's house .. so there will be decorations over there, I hear. My family opens all the packages at midnight on the 24th, and then they generally spent the night at the grandpa/dad's house and then eat a feast (from the pictures I've seen). But actually, I know nothing about Christmas here because it hasn't even been talked about. Eileen: I'll take notes on Christmas for you, but I can guarantee foie gras, turkey, and maybe ham. But since Christmas hasn't been talked about with me, I don't even know what we're eating. I did ask, though, if we're going to be eating blood -- the answer was no. The desserts I've seen look like "logs" .. and there is all kinds of crazy frosting. I'll try to get the name for you.

Dec 22nd, 2002, 08:40 AM

#131

secular

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Michaela, you may be interested to learn that officially, France is not a Catholic country. Although this is the prevalent religion, France is in fact a completely secular country. Church and state are totally separate, and any outward signs of any kind of "religiousness" are banned from officialdom. Though some French people go to church, do not expect them as a nation to be religious - despite the fact that many public holidays in France fall on 'holy' days (ironic though it might be!!).

Dec 23rd, 2002, 02:04 PM

#132

Michaela

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Dear Genesea and Secular, Thank you for your responses. Always glad to 'glean' more information about France. Michaela

Dec 23rd, 2002, 02:14 PM

#133

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The log cakes are called Buche de Noel. Representing a yule log, the yule log was burned on Christmas eve. Leave it to the french to make a cake from thaT tradition!

Dec 24th, 2002, 09:06 AM

#134

Claire

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Wow Genesea! This is such an amazing post! You must be having so much fun!! Once I get to college, I hope I can do somethig like that! I'm 15, and about 3 years ago my family and I took a trip to Paris, and it was great! Something interesting pertaining to your fruits and veggies 'famine.' When we were in Paris we found great fruits from street vendors- they were delicious! So maybe there aren't many like that in Pau, but if you take a trip to Paris, I'm sure you can find some really delicious fruits and veggies! I noticed that smoking is really bad there too, much worse than in America. I came to the conclusion peope aren't as concerned about their health, but hey- they could say the same thing about us with the whole 'obesity' problem! As for your Italian friends, make the most of it and have a lot of fun with them! When we went to Paris, we went to an Italian restaurant and our waiter was extremely 'friendly'! I know I'm a lot younger than you to be telling you this, but ignore the posts about you being 'self-obsessed' and enjoy all of the flirtatious guys as much as you can! Please keep the posts coming, it's so great to read them! Merry Christmas!

Dec 24th, 2002, 02:45 PM

#135

Andre

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topping this enjoyable post

Dec 24th, 2002, 06:56 PM

#136

CAGal

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Joyeux noel, Genesea! I love reading your messages. Since there are more than 100 replies to your original post, would you consider starting new thread? Maybe the title could be "Student Now Living In France, Part 2"

Dec 25th, 2002, 02:18 PM

#137

Diedre

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Whether you continue it as Part 1 or Part 2, just please keep it going. I so thoroughly enjoy your post!

Dec 26th, 2002, 12:19 PM

#138

Joe G.

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To Genesea: I was inspired to make your "Pain Perdu" for breakfast on Christmas morning. Our family loved it! We served it with maple syrup and fresh blueberries/strawberries/raspberries. Thanks for the inspiration. We are anxious to hear about your Christmas. Joe G.

Dec 26th, 2002, 01:24 PM

#139

ChristineSF

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Genessa, Your experience sounds fabulous..and it's making me anxious for my own excursion in Feb. In my experience, European men are generally more "aggresive" then American women are accustom to. I too have had experiences with being touched w/o permission...and the men seem to think we are too sensitive about it. (And i'm not blonde and not 20 by the way.) I've always tried to make it clear that that's not okay w/ me..but comfortable with putting my foot down when they make the choice to continue to push my boundries. French, Italian, American, whatever, some people will always try. A rose is a rose is a rose...same goes for jerks. My 2 cents.... It seems to funny to have so many people post questions about if the French are rude, if the french hate americans....same with new yorkers..for the rude part anyway. I'd imagine that people are the same everywhere..if you live in a town with 5000 people, there are jerks, if you live a town with 10 million, there are more jerks. I've experienced kindness in every city i've visited, and i assume that's because most of us in the world enjoy being kind more than cruel. And for the cruel, i've walked...or ran...away as fast as i could cause life is too short. And finally, in a city like Paris, a little effort goes a long way. What doesn't work; Speaking REALLY LOUDLY in English. Seems like a no brainer.. Getting pissed that you're in France but they don't know what "i just need one ticket dude!" means. What works? Making an effort to speak basic, and i mean BASIC french. Learning some key phrases and trying them on the people who are serving/helping you. With the help of gesturing, pointing and smiling, you can get just about anything you want w/ a couple words. Have a great holiday and keep us posted!

Dec 26th, 2002, 01:24 PM

#140

ChristineSF

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