10 French culture shock moments | American living in France

Welcome back to us in France, where we talk about everyday French life and beyond. I'm Diane, an American who has been

living

in the Loire Valley since about 2012. I also blog at wen

france

.com and today's topic is a fun one, it's about Culture Clash, so to start, let's keep it simple and define what the

culture

shock

. Oxford languages ​​describe it as, quote, the feeling of disorientation that someone experiences when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar cultural way of life or a set of attitudes, quote, and in all the countries around them. The world has its own way of doing things and France is no exception in that sense.

If you've lived in a country for most of your life and then have the opportunity to visit or move somewhere else, it's normal to notice the differences. between the two places and maybe even surprised by them and I personally find the cultural differences really fun and interesting. I talk about them a lot here on my channel and on the blog and after all it is a learning experience, so these cultural norms in France I'm going to talk about how you could fall in love with France. I've laughed, I've done it and I've also cried or you just throw your hands up in exasperation or you're left scratching your head a little confused, so yeah, it's all part of it. of the process as you discover a new

culture

and adapt, and keep in mind that many of the things I mentioned here could apply to other areas of Europe, not just France, and just a note before I get into details, not all They are deep. blunt, oh,

shock

ing things, you know, pearl bags that you know have shaken me to my core or anything so serious that it doesn't really bother me at all, they're just

moments

of culture shock, you recognize them, you move on, such Maybe their culture surprises you or just small differences, okay, so let's get into the 10 biggest culture shocks I discovered after moving to France, although I probably could have made a list here of around 50 things and this would have been a video very long.

Well, the number one pharmaceutical culture according to class queries there. There are around 21,000 pharmacies in France and something to keep in mind is that all French pharmacies are privately owned and there may be some exceptions but what I'm trying to say here is that you won't find any big name changes as you know, Walgreens Duane lee CV or boots like you. You would find in the US or the UK and the French love their pharmacies. You'll notice it right away and I love them too. You will notice a pharmacy because there are flashing green signs that light up above the pharmacy and even The smaller towns in France have one or two pharmacies of their own and what is surprising to me is not the prevalence of pharmacies, but when you have to describe every last one disgusting detail of what ails you in order to get your medications. forget about discreetly grabbing your imodium diarrhea medication and paying at the supermarket self-checkout because in France the medications are only available at the pharmacy, which means you can't just go to the supermarket to buy Advil or anything else you normally would.

You can find it in your home supermarket in France, you should go talk to your pharmacist or pharmacy employee. Another thing you'll notice in French pharmacies is that they don't sell magazines, gummies, snacks, or anything else you might buy. I will find out at cvs in the US, pharmacies in France are for medications, over the counter and prescription items, and also parapharmacy products, so we are talking about things like cosmetics, skin care and other items without recipe, and something I love. is that in France the pharmacist is quite practical and everyone who works in the pharmacy has training in pharmacology, so even you know that the minimum would be um uh preparer in pharmacy and is someone who can do more than just call you or check your records on the computer, so that's just to say that there are no cashiers who just work the cash register in a French pharmacy.

They all have basic training, so pharmacists advise and listen to your ailments almost like a doctor would, so if you have a sprain, a burn. insect bite or any other common ailment, you could receive treatment for these minor things from your local pharmacist and for emergencies that may not require a visit to the doctor, it is totally fine to go see your pharmacist, he or she is there and ready to help. and just to clarify, I'm not saying that the pharmacists you know don't do this in the US, I'm sure they can and do, but I found that it's on a very different level in France, it's much more common, would say.

Have a full conversation with your French pharmacist beyond just picking up a quick prescription and I find this really endearing in almost the entire pharmacy system. The pharmacy is also just one of my favorite parts of everyday life in France, so I walked into one, you know? If you come to visit just to have a look and you never know what fun things you might find and ps. I have some pharmacy related videos on my channel. I did a full live walk in one and some favorite drugstore products and whatnot. Please check it out if it is of interest.

I'll try to link it above all else. Well, let's get into number two: the French use checks as in, paper checks from a checkbook that you write to pay for things and no, it's not 1995. It's modern France and your eyes are not deceiving you, these are checkbooks. checks and the check you see, from that lady who pulls it out in front of you at the supermarket, it's real life, I see it all the time and you know who they are because it's the person holding the line and, as strange as it may seem, or maybe not, everyone waits patiently and is just used to it while people write checks, you know you can use them at the doctor, the pharmacy, it's a totally normal and quite common method. payment, I have to say maybe for the older generation, but you see it and I feel like you see it much more often in France than in the US and as you probably know, one benefit of paying by check is that the money It won't come out. your account for a couple of days, you know once the person cashes it and the bank processes the transaction, so if you know you'll receive your paychecks but don't have the money in your account now to pay with a credit card debit, write a check, save yourself. a little time writing a check is a good way to prevent the charge from hitting your account right away, like it would with a number three debit card, let's stick with money for a second, the French don't really use debit cards credit and this is something I realized. after moving to

france

and seeing how

french

people bank first,

french

people generally don't use credit cards and have personal lines of credit, you know, through a credit card or credit card, at least not in the extent to which we use them in the US, Canada and the UK and they are definitely not used for everyday shopping.

I will say that they are most commonly used by business owners, which is why credit cards exist, but they are not common to the average person, which is why credit. Cards with points or cash back are not really common, the French's favorite debit cards, which are called blue cart and are the norm, so for anyone who is not familiar, credit cards allow the buyer buy now and pay later through a line of credit extended to each. month, unlike a debit card where you charge, pay for something and the money goes to your account immediately, a credit card company presents you with a bill each month that you can then pay in full or in installments until it is pay off the balance if I don't have it all at once, so in countries like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, credit cards are a very common way to pay for things with your airline credit cards, refunds cash, as I said, but in France, debit cards, as I mentioned, are widely used where the money leaves your account immediately and yes, there is an option on some cards.

It is becoming more popular to have the total amount you have spent for the entire month debited at the end of the month in one big transaction, not at the point of sale in real time and that is called debi di faire, but it is not something that everyone has or use it and it still doesn't work like a debit card does, so yeah, that's why the French don't have a lot of personal debt. It is not a credit society, stores offer credit individually for larger purchases so there is the option to pay a fee but it is usually handled by the specific merchant so apart from that if your money is not in your account, you do not make the purchase.

Another thing to keep in mind. is that in France people don't have a credit score like we have in the US that is used to evaluate, you know your ability to pay when you try to get a loan, you know a mortgage, you rent an apartment and yes, of course , certain French people are in debt going bankrupt, but it is on a much smaller scale because credit cards are not common, then four interesting cuts of meat in the supermarket and this one, when I first moved to France, it really surprised me and sometimes it does to see the whole rabbit. with their eyes in the supermarket staring at you or with a big cow tongue and I'm not a vegetarian, logically I know that meat comes from an animal, but the way it was presented to the consumer in France was very different um and the types of meat that are common in France were new to me, so like I said, cow tongue travels with different types of viscera and all that, so I'll put some pictures on the screen so you know what I'm talking about, but this is a warning if you are sensitive to images of raw meat, look away now and the French, you know, eat chicken, pork, beef, which are also common in the US, but keep your eyes peeled for see different cuts of meat.

That might be something you're not used to seeing in the supermarket and maybe you'll really like them. Okay, for anyone who looked away, you can look back again. There are no more images of meat on the screen. Okay, let's move on to the number. five, I love this one, there are so many bakeries and also hair salons, but according to npr, France has over 30,000 independent bakeries across the country and the French consume about 10 billion b baguettes per year and the French love their bread. Can I say that it's not just a stereotype to see a Frenchman walking home with a baguette under his arm?

That's real life, it's totally true, you see it quite often and maybe I've even become one of those people. So yeah, it's funny how things change, but yeah, you can buy a whole baguette, a bunch of other types of bread, half a baguette, cakes, desserts, you know, whatever you want, have it, it's normal, bakeries are there for you and I noticed something else there. There are a lot of hair salons in France, while in the US there are maybe more nail salons, and of course there are hair salons in the US, of course, but it seems like there are a lot more per capita in France .

The French love to do their hair. okay, the next six are la bise, the French cheat, kisses to say hello and maybe less now because the pandemic no longer exists for the moment, but keep in mind that the French do not repeat it, do not hug to say hello, I I learned personally. This immediately and although I knew that the French did not hug, sometimes you do things out of habit and this was my case when I met my now father-in-law. I knew I wasn't supposed to hug. him, but you know the French kissed the cheeks, but you automatically know that I just went to hug him, overcome with emotions, just happy in the moment and my father-in-law stood there, stiff as a board, with his arms at his sides. like I'm not sure what to do and you know I learned right away to kick that habit, you know you cheat, you kiss your friends and family in general when you arrive and leave, and even some coworkers greet each other every morning when they arrive to work, so It just depends on the employer and the French really like to say hello, so you know, an American, hey, you know, when you're late to a party, it's just not enough and I have a whole video about my thoughts on the lobbies on my channel.

I feel much more comfortable hugging, but you know, hey, you adapt and I do the bees, I just don't love it, okay, number seven, late dinner in France, dinner is usually eaten later than at least what I did in the U.S., so in the Growing up I probably ate dinner as a family between six and seven every night because when we were kids we had activities after dinner so it made sense to eat early and I also knew that as we As I grew older, I got up to work at five in the morning, so six at night, you know, I was hungry again and I lived in New York City, you know, we usually had dinner later depending on what I had. on my plate for the day at work or if I went togym, so New Yorkers. eat, you know, I would say a little later in general, but a lot of Americans are fine with sitting down to eat at 6 p.m., especially if you have little kids, so of course, not all Americans eat that early and not all the time, like all French people.

Don't have a late dinner every day, but you know that in the United States, in winter, a family with children who may have activities outside the home sits down to eat at 6 p.m. m., but in France I would say that dinner is really at 7 30. p.m. at the earliest and most restaurants in France don't even open for dinner before 7:30 and 8 o'clock, so plan accordingly, and this is especially true outside of the big cities, and if you're having a French dinner and want to invite. Your French neighbors and friends don't tell them that dinner is at six, they'll look at you like you're crazy and that you're running a nursing home where they eat early, but for me personally, these days we have dinner. around 8 p.m. and you know my stomach has adapted well.

Number eight smoking, you may be surprised to see that in France there are more people smoking, especially young children, like teenagers 13 14 15, than you are used to smoking at home and yes, it depends on where you are. you are from but in generalMen and women speaking of all ages in France seem to smoke much more than I perceived. In the US taba, where you buy cigarettes, there are always a lot of customers buying cigarettes and I feel like it's more accepted as part of the French thing. culture, regardless of education or income level, you know it's not just less educated people in rural areas, it's people from different demographics and I feel like in the US, in many circles, people would find smoking anything but enjoyable and acceptable, and even the CDC. has some statistics, so cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths each year or about one in five; in 2018, nearly 14 in every 100 American adults ages 18 and older, or 13.7 percent.

We currently smoke cigarettes and if you look at France, smoking rates have increased from 29.9 in 2005 to 34.1 percent in 2014. Okay number nine, the veterinary care is amazing, my dog ​​is my daughter and her health It's just as important as mine, so it warms my heart to include this on the list to say that I was surprised at how wonderful veterinary care has been in France and how much cheaper it is. I find the vets to be really nice and down to earth and you know, it's less of a profitable business in France with outrageous prices and I found that it's more about your specific animal and its care, so of course they are great vets in the US .USA and the vet practices, but in my general experience, I feel that France is just one level above, so even in the smallest towns there is a 24-hour emergency system, it is easy to find specialists and my dog ​​is always there.

He has been treated with nothing but respect and love and has seen vets everywhere when he had problems when we. You got poked in the eye by a thorn bush and the experiences have been great, so if you are planning to move to France or even visit your pet, you can breathe easy knowing that your pet will be cared for here and I'm not really saying it's okay, number 10 , urinating in public and this is one that really gets people excited and I have to admit that seeing grown men urinating in public really took me by surprise, it's normal now, but you know, I realized that this would happen frequently, um .

You know, when I was at any time of the day in the city park and it wasn't just a strange coincidence. You know, I saw him several times a week and I don't know if it's a problem with a small bladder. Are men too lazy to find a bathroom? It's a matter of convenience. I don't know, it certainly exists and it's not just something drunk or homeless people do and of course I recognize that you know some men have medical problems where it could be. You know it's an emergency, an urgent need, but are they all men who are urinating in public?

You know? Under the care of a doctor for a medical condition. It's not often when I see it that a free public bathroom is about two minutes away. Stay away, but I guess it's easier to relieve yourself on the side of a building or in the bushes and always with your back in sight of passing cars or other people walking by, so you're not hiding, French friends. Technically, urinating in public carries a fine of 68 euros in Paris. I don't think it really applies because it's common and quite accepted for men to urinate in public. Check out the Nat Geo link.

Below is an article from a couple of years ago about The Paris Plan to quote cover up that p smells in quotes um, you know, and in my area, you know, several hours west of Paris, I actually see a little bunch of men urinating publicly every week in the park, you know, and some people in my neighborhood have properties, you know, very popular with the docks, like a house whose back wall faces an alley and they've resorted to putting up signs like shown here. I will put it on the screen to remind people that the side of your house is not a urinal or in French it is called a piswah, so yes, if you are a French person watching this, tell me in the comments, do you regularly urinate in public or you never know or only when you really have to go?

You hide behind a dumpster when you are in the city with your family, is it okay to do that or not? I don't know, okay, I'll end this here before it gets too long, but again, if you learned something and like this type of culture shock content please let me know in the comments and give me a thumbs up. Also some of you were very nice and asked me if I had a physical mailing address that you wanted to send a Christmas card to. I'd love to. that the holidays are a little different this year with the pandemic, so thank you.

You can find that address below in the description and I also have a line of merchandise bags, t-shirts, mugs with my favorite design, this being, it's a perfect sentiment for 2020, I think the year is almost over so check it out for your purchases Christmas or just because, and I really appreciate you being here and taking the time to look at me and talk to me here in France, thank you very much and See you here soon greetings