France, I love you despite your imperfections (and I really should be saying things I’m not used to and not imperfections). But sometimes, you make me want to scream, “J’en ai marre!”
1. Dog poop everywhere.
If you ever feel like visiting France, while you’re there don’t for one second let yourself get distracted from sidewalk in front of you. Why? Because if you do, there’s a 150% chance you’re going to step in a heaping pile of dog poop. It’s like pooper scoopers never got invented here. And I’m not talking about in parks, or off to the side of the sidewalk. I mean there will be dog poop right in the absolute center of the sidewalk. You’ve been warned.
2. French keyboards
Ok, for all you travelers, you don’t have to worry about this one. However, if you ever study or work in France for a period of time, you know the struggle. Even though the rest of the world has pretty much the standardized qwerty keyboard, France decided to get its own. Prepare to perpetually type “q’s” when you want to be typing “a’s”. The worst part though? When you start to get used to the french keyboard. I’ll come back from a day of typing on a French keyboard at my internship, and start to do my homework on my American laptop. I’ll have gotten used to using the French one all day, so I’ll start messing up with the keyboard I’ve been using since I could type on a computer. And then the cycle repeats itself.
3. Nothing open on Sundays
Ok, so this one I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put down. In some ways, I really do appreciate the fact that stores are, for the most part, closed on Sundays so that everyone can just take the day to relax. No pressure to do chores, just go sit in a park and soak up some vitamin d. While I like the idea of it in theory, it can get pretty annoying when you forgot all the stores were closed so you didn’t buy anything to cook for dinner. Prepare to spend the day eating whatever you have left in the cabinet, aka some white rice and one egg. How does that sound for a nice Sunday dinner?
4. Celsius and the Metric system
Ok, this one I have to blame on America. Literally everyone else in the world uses Celsius and the metric system. Why? Because it f****** makes sense. Why does water freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit? Why is there 12 inches in a foot? What the hell is a yard? Why America, why? Life would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to learn a whole new temperature and metric system while I am here.
5.PDA
So, perhaps this is a personal pet peeve of mine and the rest of you won’t be annoyed with it. But the amount of pda here is pretty ridiculous. Like please, I’d prefer not to see your tongue down her throat on my way back from class, thank you very much.
6. The rain
So, this kinda came as a shock to me. It rains in Paris. Like a lot. Or maybe it doesn’t but it feels like it rains all the time here. And yeah, Paris is prettiest in the rain, I know the saying. It may be prettiest, but that doesn’t stop me from disliking how soaked my jeans have gotten from a surprise rain shower.
7. When you speak to someone in French, they notice your accent, and they respond in English.
This happens a lot. You go up to someone, perhaps a waiter, or a person behind the desk at a store or a museum, and you address them in French. Not bad French, nothing that would make them cringe. But you have an accent, and so they respond in English. Now, I know that it’s meant with the best of intentions. They’re probably thinking, oh, I’ll just make it easier on this person and respond in their language. It’s the least I can do. Still, it’s super annoying. I’m here because I want to learn the language, so in my case, this gesture isn’t appreciated. Typically, I respond back to them in French, and they get the hint.
8. Other Americans
Sometimes, you’ll run into other Americans who are being particularly American and not acting respectfully of French culture. You’ll just cringe and think, “You, you are the reason I’m constantly trying to prove negative stereotypes wrong about Americans. You’re giving me a bad rep. Stop that. Stop that now”.
PS: I was considering doing a blog post prior to this titled “8 things about France that Americans will absolutely love and miss about France when they return to the US” so that I wasn’t giving you all the wrong impression. Life in France is quite awesome, but it doesn’t come without its own share of frustrations.
PSS: Notice how I didn’t say anything about French people. Well that’s because I’ve found French people to be very nice and not at all rude or arrogant like the stereotypes say. Suggestion: learn about French culture and about their conceptions of manners. Shocking, it’s different. If you adapt, you’ll have few problems. Tip number one: say Bonjour
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