PHOTO: Our nearby town of Cluny decided they needed to offer help for those who couldn’t carry their purchases from the Saturday Market to the parking lot. Did they get a shuttle bus, or maybe a golf cart? Mais non. A donkey!
You say tomato, and they say les tomates. But it’s not only the language that’s unique in a foreign country.
Living in France means doing most everything just a little differently. Sometimes a lot. Here, from the amazing to the mundane, is a very personal list of those quirky little differences that we’ve observed. Even if you’re a regular visitor, I’ll bet you find something here to surprise you. And I’m quite sure many of you can add to the list! (These are French vs. American, but I’ve thrown in some of the British ways, with a little help from my friend Dee).
–American gardeners have green thumbs, The French have main vertes, green hands (the Brits have green fingers).
–In the US, we usually number the floors in a building beginning with one. They start with zero. so what we call the second floor is their first. The Brits are with the French on this one.
–The French, and Brits, count on their fingers differently. Americans face the palm out and start with the index finger, the thumb is number five. The French face the palm inward and count one with the thumb, two with the index finger, etc. Photo: two ways to count to two.
–The US and UK flags are red,white, and blue. The French flag is blue, white, and red.
–Our terms of endearment are saccharine: Sugar, Honey, Sweetheart. Theirs are animal/vegetable/mineral: mon Lapin (my Rabbit), mon Chou (my cabbage), mon Trésor (my treasure).
–When Anglos think “happy hour’, we think of starting at 5:00. It’s gauche in France to start drinking wine or cocktails before 7:00.
–Though their origins are thought to be Belgian, we call them French fries (chips, in the UK). The French call them pommes frites (fried potatoes). They use a fork, we use fingers.
–For traffic violations, in the US we get points added to our license for infractions; zero points is a good thing. The French start with a set number of points, and subtract down to zero for infractions; zero points means lose your license.
–We pick up our pizza to eat it, with the French it’s a knife and fork all the way.
–The French take a piece of bread and lay it on the tablecloth or table by their plate. This is perfectly polite.
–After a meal, we drink coffee with dessert. Coffee here is always taken alone, after dessert.
–In France, no one starts drinking at a party until the last guest arrives. In the US or UK, you may arrive to find the hosts already sipping a glass of wine. Photo: Pierre comtemplates breaking the French rule.
–Corn is a favorite American vegetables. In France, it’s considered fit for les vaches (cows).
–A little known, and scary difference: in the US, a car entering a main road from a side road must always yield. Not In France. A car on a side road entering from the right with no stop or yield sign always has the right of way—even if it’s on a tiny side road entering a major road with a fast speed limit.
–Social greetings: we are huggers; the Brits are hand-shakers; The French are kissers.
At table, Anglos often put their hands in their laps, when not eating. In France, your hands should always be visible. Keeps you out of trouble.
Vive les differences! OK Gang—can you add to the list?
This week’s recipe has no French connection whatsoever, as they don’t do Mexican food generally. But I included it because we were sitting down to dinner, and I noticed another petite difference, so I snapped the photo. See how tiny that beer bottle looks? That’s because it is! An American beer bottle is at least three times as big, as is a draft beer glass. A German beer mug must hold 10 times that amount. Go figure!
RECIPE: Ron’s ‘Mexican Mess’
This very quick week-day Mexican dinner, which needs no measuring, is one that was a tradition in Ron’s family before we married. It’s a sort of taco salad, but not done with ground beef.
- Tortilla chips, lime flavored
- quick taco filling, below
- cheddar cheese, or any mexican cheese blend
- chopped lettuce and tomato
- sliced avocados
- lime juice
- sour cream
- Other possible toppings: pickled or fresh jalapenos, salsa, red onions, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro
Smush the chips a bit and put them in a large, heated pasta bowl. Spoon the hot filling on top and sprinkle with cheese (at this point run it very quickly under the broiler, if you want it piping hot). Top with lettuce, tomato, and avocado; add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime juice. Top with sour cream, and salsa if desired. Tuck a slice of that lime into your Corona and you’re good to go.
Quick taco filling: Slice up a chicken breast, turkey cutlet, boneless pork chop or a small steak. (Or use leftover cooked meat if you have some). Sauté the meat in a skillet with some chopped onions and garlic, in olive oil. When it’s done liberally sprinkle in some chili pepper and cumin, plus some red pepper flakes if you like, and give it a stir. Add some beer or water just to cover. Add a large chopped tomato, plus a can of drained red or black beans. In place of a tomato you can add some salsa or some canned green chiles, and/or canned tomatoes. Simmer it until most of the water is gone and it thickens, about 15 minutes. (If you go meatless, as we often do, just use beans. If you happen to have some leftover roasted butternut squash, it's a nice addition).
In the Comments: Cynthia at The Daily Basics will do a wine tasting paired with a lobster and clam bake. Could anything possibly be better than that? Unless it's red wine with okra and fried chicken, per Jon Henri Bonnard (your name sounds French, Jon, but you must be a southern boy). Do not miss Mark, Michaela, and Bonnie's interesting discussion on Mondovino.
And we're still talking pesto! Lucy tried jalapeno pesto, there's a hot idea. And Sue, by email, suggests that you top off your jar of pesto with olive oil, to preserve the color; then use the flavored oil later to sear meats. Quelle bonne idée!
Favorite Reads: Y’all may have heard, they do everything a little differently in the South, too! For example: check out Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide To Hosting the Perfect Funeral
21 thoughts on “Those Little Cultural Hiccups”
I also find a difference in lane changes on the autoroute. In France you are suppose to only pass on the left and in the states you can pass on the left or right. It doesn’t matter. This gets me into trouble sometimes!
Also, you can ride dirt bikes ( 2 strokes which you can’t even buy in America anymore) and ATVs on the regular roads here. No way can you do that in the states!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen butter set out with bread in France. Do they even serve bread ahead of the meal the way it’s done in the US? Also, we use mayonnaise (invented by the French!) on our sandwiches; whereas, the French seem to prefer butter. And there is a definitie lack of ice for cold drinks in France. On a very hot day, a waiter may give you one or two small cubes in your glass if you are lucky.
Also, some hotels turn the a/c on based on a set day, not necessarily when the weather is hot as blazes outside! Everything has a ‘season’…..
Harriet is right, though her comments don’t just apply to France. I’ve practically had to beg for ice in my drink in Canada, and argued with a hotelier in Rome about the air conditioning.
Ah yes, Harriet and Kent, we have forgotten the ice issue! Ask for ice in your drink at a café, if you must, and you’ll get ONE cube! I must admit, though, I’ve nearly been converted on this score. And thank you for reminding us about the motorcycles, which are allowed to zip between rapidly moving cars and generally seem to have their own personal set of traffic rules.
I made a huge faux pas by taking SECONDS from the cheese plate. Non, non, non! You take what you want when food (any food, actually) is passed, you eat it, and voila! You’re done!
I actually had this lesson drilled into me late one night, after the cheese course mishap, when I gently (!) probed my hostess on why she and her huband exchanged such a look of shock when I went in for another morsel (I swear!) of Roblichon, which was new to me…their eyebrows shot up to their hairline so fast it was like a French comedy!
I think this is the real reason French women don’t get fat: portion control. They’re masters at it.
Another difference, quite striking to me: the French are not social smilers, as Americans are, and I’m sure they think we are a nation of idiots for smiling in our greetings and discourse!
One last thing: theirs is a negative language, whereas English is a positive language. My French friends have told me often that this is such a major cultural difference, and one that Americans just do not get, that the French who deal with tourists have really had to adjust! Can you even imagine the French adjusting to ANYTHING?? C’est impossible!
Vive la difference, I love France!!
Hi Harriet and Kent. We do have a similar problem when travelling in the States: ask for a glass of water and you get a glass full of ice cubes with a drop of water.
I love this! Thank you. Plus the fact that I’ve always counted on my fingers – the FRENCH WAY, just proves to me that I have a French soul, thanks to my ancestry. Or maybe I lived in France in a previous life!
The only “quirk” I can think of right now is that the waiters in France do not expect big tips like here. I actually had a waiter(in Le Grand Courbet)follow me to the door, exclaiming,”Madame, c’est trop,” and returning to me part of the tip I’d left him. Can you even imagine that happening in the USA?
When I first started going to France in the early 1970’s, it was considered “mal élevé” to directly hand over money to the vendeur/euse or to accept change directly from that person. The money was placed on the counter or special dish. Nowadays the direct American method seems to be most prevalent. However the “money dish” still exists in many establishments and I still always put the money down–just to be on the safe side.
The difference between a conventional handshake in America and a conventional handshake in France remains a mystery to me. In France, I always get it wrong. What is it (in France) one pump, two, three? Vigor or not? In the U.S. men crush their hands and pump away until the contact gets awkward. Unless it’s a politician and a line of well-wishers. In this case, the politician gives fingers only (and limply), then indicates you are to keep moving with a mild, lingerin tug.
One to add to the list of differences: For the French, eggs are not for breakfast. That’s never a problem, though, as this just makes the Oeufs en Meurette – a specialty of our lovely Burgundy – that much more delicious when served at lunchtime!
I just love these comments, everyone is right on target. Yes, the little thingy for change is still on the boulangerie counter. And Mark, I never thought about the handshakes but you are SO right! The smiling, too. As in so many things, Americans sort of go overboard and the French are restrained.
A couple more differences are the French calender with Monday as the first day of the week and the 24-hour time system used in France as opposed to the 12-hour system used in the U.S.
One more term of endearment: “ma puce” (my flea) which is what I often call my cat (although she has no hitch hikers!)
What a fun and educational post!! Thanks!
I am curious as to why many (most?) Euorpean hotels don’t provide washcloths or gants de toilette. I now pack my own.
In Australia we use bowls on the breakfast table to put cereal in…in France we were having a terrible time finding a coffee mug!
When visiting with my French pen-pal, I noticed that morning coffee at home was consumed from a bowl rather than from a cup.
This is a very interesting, informative and fun post! My favorite – the terms of endearment.
Aha! I saw a lady put her bread just on the bare table by her plate and I was embarassed for her.
Mama would have fussed at me if I’d done that cause it is sort of like putting your elbows on the table or having both hands on the table at once.!
So, not nice,but o.k. in France
I’ve noticed that French salads come with great, huge leaves of lettuce. I’ve been told it’s a faux pas to cut the lettuce once it’s served. French people make a delicate little ball out of a leaf and pop it into their mouths. I, on the other hand, can only manage to abuse the leaf until it becomes a squashy, green packet before eating it.
I somehow missed this post, but just wanted to add my two cents. After so many trips over to France I’ve gotten used to a lot of their ways and just go along with it all. However, eating frites or pizza with a fork is not something I can easily change. Yes, it marks me as an American, but I can live with that.
And although the French aren’t serial smilers, at the end of this trip I actually received FOUR cheek kisses farewell from a grandfatherly gentleman I had befriended this summer. What a treat!