6 EVERYDAY FRENCH THINGS THAT AMERICANS FIND ODD
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
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France, with its rich history, stunning architecture, and undeniable je ne sais quoi, is a dream destination for many of you out there. But before you pack your beret and practice your “bonjour,” there might be a few normal French things you encounter that’ll leave you scratching your head. Let’s get into a bunch of French cultural differences that might not only lead to a sense of wonder but often seem odd or strange to Americans as well.
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Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and the creator of the blog/RUclips channel Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, France vs. US culture comparisons, with a sprinkling of food, travel, and language topics and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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It's the law in France, sorry.
And summer
Well I think Americans and French should agree on one thing : at least when you’re all sweaty at the gym, you avoid both hugs and cheek kisses.
Agreed. Being french, i know that you can simply say: "no way, don't touch me when you are all sweaty". If it is your friend, no problem. The french speaks his mind, and so, no reason not to.
Bread is delicious in France and most of Europe! What’s with the plastic bags in USA? Makes for mushy, soft bread, yuk!
@@sheilakerr-jones4345 Well, it wasn't much about bread. But still, i believe that 2 amongst the many problems with so-called "bread" in the USA are tied to the unhealthy use of chemicals, and sugar. Bread should contain neither. At this point... the main concern when it comes to the plastic bags... is more about the environement. No matter how you store crap, it will always be crap in the end. When it comes to food, ingredients are 60% of the end result. The remaining 40% are recipes and cooking expertise.
Other countries in Europe have that same kissing ritual and I, for one prefer it to hugging people I barely know.
@@sheilakerr-jones4345I live in the southwest, with humidity down into single digits in the winter. If I don’t keep our bread in plastic, it will harden into a crouton-like texture within a day. On the other hand, our potato chips never get soggy.
I’m French I’ve lived in France of my life it’s not very common at all about French storing bread or basket , most French people will just buy the bread daily in the morning and leave it in the paper that comes in that’s what the French person would do , minority of people would do what you’re talking about ..
Depends on the size of your household and how often you shop. Not everyone finishes their bread in a day and not everyone has a bakery around the corner.
Une tradition ok ça se mange dans la journée mais chez moi un pain se garde 4 jours, et dans ce cas il vaut mieux le conserver dans un sac en lin/coton
My French friends keep their bread in a linen bag but they have no bakery close and it lasts a couple of days.
I am old enough to (barely) remember bread boxes in American kitchens. Also bread knives.
I grew up with breadboxes. I don't know when they disappeared.
Same here. In guessing games, when we had to guess what object someone else was thinking of, our first question was always, "Is it bigger than a breadbox?"
I still use my bread box, and several bread knives.
I still have a bread box!
Although they are not common, they still make bread boxes and bread knives. Check the internet.
I was at a friend's apartment in Paris a few years back, and when I went to leave, I fell back into my American ways, and started hugging people goodbye. They did not react well. I had to apologize and go for la bise. They looked at me like I was so weird--I'm not saying they're wrong...
The shutters... OMG! I love them! Our sleep-clocks are completely off the whole time we're there. We're often up at 3:00am and won't go back to sleep until 7:00am. However, those shutters can block out all the light, so I can sleep without being blinded by the morning light. The con of that, is that we've often overslept and woke up at 1:00pm! (His mom is SO nice and let's us sleep, but I wish she'd get us up so the day isn't gone).
Thanks for another fun-learning post!
In the US, the bread box was very common and can still be found in homes. But we also had a bread box that was built into kitchen cabinet drawers. It typically was metal. I had one in my house that was bulit in the '70s.
I had one in an older home. Always thought it was weird but we used it.
I am French but I don't like "la bise" I don't have a bread bag and don't eat that much bread... maybe 3 breads per month... (btw, I don't like wine either 😅) There are many french habits that I personnaly don't have... Maybe I was not made to live in France 😅 (forgive my mistakes I'm not fluent in english...) I really like your videos. It's interesting to see how french life could be seen by other people 🙂 I can understand everything you say on your videos because you speak very clearly and it helps me a lot to learn english by myself... Thank you Diane !
Your English is good. Much better than my French!
Your English sounds fine to me, Cher.
Your English is beautiful and compared to some posts I see on RUclips is superior.😉
The same ! No bise for me, and just a baguette on Sundays (when I don’t forget 😅)
Despite being French, I have never liked 'la bise'. Always disliked it very much in fact.
But the idea of hugging someone to say 'hi' is just purely terrifying for me. If someone tried it on me I would instinctively consider it as an aggressive thing. Personal space is important for me.
Same for me ! And I only respond to my kids need of bise and cuddling, as a respect of their personal space. "We don't need to kiss to show we love each other" said my youngest !
At work I told everyone that I don't do la bise and if someone insists I ask him if he wants my microbes and cough a bit. Replay of the scene in the lift in Ghost ! 😂
Since COVID la bise is even less done between my relatives as lot of then are working in contact of public ( teachers, shops, ...)
I'm American and I would say hugging is not a typical greeting unless it is with someone you are close to. If you have a really good friend you haven't seen in months and you are delighted to see her, you might hug. Or you might hug a relative. Definitely not mandatory.
Meghan Markle 5:27
MM was hugging the RF and they didn't like it.
@@visitingfromsantafe1329 or you're at that type of church. At church many Americans especially, woman hug vs shake hands. *Maybe* an air kiss if very close.
One nice thing about the bread bag too, is you can go to the baker with it, gives it to the baker, so you don't get the paper sheet around your bread. One less thing to throw away.
I think bread drawyer is something you will more find in older houses. Recent one are not build with a bread drawyer
I am French and believe me, there are many bakeries that make bad bread. It has become a staple of our diet and unfortunately many people buy it automatically and choose it most often to save money. Rather than abstain, they prefer to buy poor quality bread, like the kind that goes stale at the end of the day. They no longer have the culture of good bread, they don't even know what it tastes like. And it's a shame, because it encourages more some who call themselves artisans to continue selling crap than those who struggle to make real bread with only basic ingredients, and not the kind that most bakeries make, with a whole lot of additives.
In Britain we have a special box made of metal, plastic or wood called a bread bin. Some have a lift off lid, some a tambour type roll front and others a lift up or drop down flap.
We also have this in France, sometimes it is built in kitchen cabinet …
We have them in the US, too.
I had a bread bin when first married, but soon got rid of it, and started storing bread in the fridge, to stop it going mouldy. Also, the kitchen was tiny and the breadbin took up too much space.
@@GillianBergh everything I read says not to store your bread in the refrigerator because it will dry out. I have not noticed that as long as I keep the bag closed, and during humid weather, especially, it prevents bread from molding quickly.
I love good bread, which is hard to find in the US especially in a small town, and I'm inclined to store it in a dedicated bread box. However, recently I've found that bread keeps fresh quite a bit longer when stored in the referigerator. Maybe Brits and other Europeans eat their bread fast enough that extending it's storage time isn't an issue.
We always had a tin (I guess) lined drawer for bread in the houses I lived in in Northern California in the 1950's. The houses were Victorian. They were awesome at keeping baked anything fresh.
Those were also made of zinc too.
Interesting point about French bread storage. My husband’s family is all in France. I’ve only seen baskets for storing bread. Bread is kept in a paper bag & stored in a basket. We’ve been married forever & that’s all I’ve ever seen from Paris, to the Loire Valley, to Provence & Toulouse.
Probably because you weren't realizing the other thing wasn't a garbage can! Hahha, but jokes aside bread bags/drawers are very common but not all homes use/have them.
@@OuiInFranceJust happy I didn’t put a used you know for my periods 🩸 in that bag…! 😳
Paper bags are fine ! Traditionnaly la "huche à pain" (bread hutch) is made of wood or metal. The bread can also be wrapped in a clean cloth or towel. As long as it is not air proof it's OK. It's done to slow down the drying inside while keeping the outside crusty. Otherwise the bread tend to be soft and rubbery before being completely dry.
I find that when I leave my bread from a very good bakery in a paper bag gets very hard. I know I can Use my wet hands to cover the bread in water and put it in the oven and it will turn out like new I slice my bread and keep it in the freezer.
We have a bread bag from Carrefour. V stylish 😊
Swiss here, from the Swiss-German part of Switzerland. Three bise here.
From the Swiss-French part also, three bise.
Haha, about doing la bise with glasses, this past week I saw my boss and a visitor both remove their glasses before greeting each other - I'd actually never seen that, but it makes sense! :)
Yup very commun with the oldest generation
13:16 It's quite interesting you mention speech noises. As a French native speaker (but not French, Belgian), I had never realized that French uses such noises so extensively. It's also worth pointing out that exclamations are different between languages; for instance "hush" becomes "chut" in French, "yum" become "miam" and so on.
When I was a kid here in the US, we had a bread drawer which was just a drawer that had a sort of lid on it that you slid back to get your bread. I don't recall anyone else having one.
I did, too!
Yes, we had one in our house in Pa.
Yup we had one, Long Island, NY
I remember a bread box in Iowa. We just didn't have plastic bags yet
Most bread boxes are lined with metal to keep mice away from your bread
I never understood no waste can in the bathroom, although I've seen it plenty of times. It's asking for a clogged toilet or waste pipes.
So where do you put it?
@@alwaystruetoblue Where do I put the bathroom waste can? Anywhere there's a spot for it on the floor, so people can see it and use it. Preferably within reach when you're on the toilet.
@@janinawaz4596 we use waste can in the bathroom!
I mean many French use it (I have seen few French home without a waste can in their bathroom).
Excellent video, once again. I used to sing in a community choir here in Tours and we began every 8 PM rehearsal with bisous for each and every one, meaning we didn't sing a note until at least 8:30. Rehearsals let out very late!
I can totally picture that. Hope you had fun ;-)
and very often you end up the rehearsal with something to eat and/or drink😂😂French qualité of lire!
That is very French.
Speaking of la bise, it seems to me that it has disappeared since the covid.
Before the covid we used to make la bise between coworkers.
A month before the covid craze, new job, I was making la bise to old colleagues I'd met again in this new work. And boom! Barrier gestures, masks and all.
It's been 4 years, I've changed jobs again, but I haven't made la bise to anyone since. I don't miss it, especially when I used to make la bise to people I didn't like, but I have the impression that it's changed relationships between colleagues.
I never know which side to start the bise. And my favorite thing to see in France is people walking down the street with a baguette completely bare. A bit of French air to make it extra delicious.
I've got the same problem with la bise, given that I'm a lefty. And I'm French ! I only kiss family, though.
I thought it was turn left so right cheeks touch, then turn right so left cheeks touch.
There's no hard and fast rule that I know of but most people go to their left first
Being french, this is true for everyone. You end up using your finger at times. Like here, there? Which side first? There is nothing embarrassing about this.
By law You should have a paper around your baguette…
"the recoil from an agressive approach of an incoming bise" - LOL
I feel like the Germans should have a special word for this
@@theprof73😂
Bon Jour, Hello! In 1965 7yr old, our kitchen cabinetry included a Bread Box! My mother used for bread products and cereal. It was waist level. Over the years that space was claimed by the dishwasher! 🎉😅✔️🥰🇺🇸 Happy you found me, New Sub!
I have also noticed that personal space (i.e. the comfortable space between you and someone you are talking to) is smaller in France, about 12" whereas in the US it is more like 18". That take a little getting used to.
I grew up in NJ. We had a metal-lined drawer in the kitchen for storing bread.
3:20 NOT all people do la bise when they're sweaty lol! 😂
Nobody that I know do it in this situation.
My grandma had a bread drawer, but she isn't French. She always had yummy things in there ❤️ My mom I keep our bread in the cupboard 😊
La bise at work can be quite unpleasant for women who feel obliged to endure it. I have the impression that post-COVID social conventions have made it disappear a little.
Right ! Especially at the begening of the year, when every man feels authorized to kiss you to wish a happy New Year 😕
I confirm, since COVID " la bise at work ", this practice has completely disappeared.
I hope so. Stay away from my face with your face.
English friends who had a house in France caused hilarity at the local M. Bricolage by confusing the words “volet” and “vélo”, switching syllables. Puzzled looks until it dawned on one of the staff who said, in halting English, “Sorry to laugh Madame, but you do not have “bicycles” on your windows.”
I had a similar incident in San Francisco with a tall friend who had the look and accent of a skinhead... but is a really nice guy. He was towering a short Hispanic dude in the paint department of a hardware shop...Asking him if he had White Spirit. The pour dude bewildered look made me realize than we were not saying the right thing. He meant paint thinner. In French we use the English words for it...
Had the same misunderstanding when I 1st went to Great Britain as a highschool student, between "soap" and "soup" ...pronunciation
@@christianjambou8208 Oh mon dieu... mdr.
@@valtranslator
Outch !
Well, how about the Norwegian student thanking her English hostess ;
"No more soup please, I'm "fed up" ! 🤪
(meaning full). 😂
@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131
It seems like those cars are basically the French equivalent of golf carts in a Florida retirement community.
That's what I thought 😅😅. No offense to French people or their vehicles though.
Ohhh!! I get it!!
Bonjour Diane. Some things are strange but not others. My grandparents, my parents, and now I all have breadboxes on the counter for bread (albeit not a bread drawer). My grandparents also had a pie safe for baked goods (I have it in my kitchen but use it for general storage). Humm, tanning pills. While I'm not familiar with them, I find it interesting that the US FDA says that they aren't healthy but there are many food additives/chemicals allowed in the US that are illegal in the EU.
I love my volets! My husband says I’m really good on temp control in the summer. We don’t have a bread drawer, but we bought our house from a British couple who had done all the Reno. I love my bread bag!
As for cars, yes, there are teenagers who need to have transportation but in my rural area they all have motors scooters or motorcycles. It strikes me as odd, backwards even, to have the most inexperienced drivers driving the most dangerous vehicles.
Right?!?!
To keep bread fresh and crusty a coton bag is a good solution. A good baguette is still crusty the next morning. Be careful it is now difficult to find a good bakery . No way for industrial bread in supermarket or chain stores with additives in flour . Only organic flour, sourdough and water, and time and night work ,no less, no more.
The Swiss French (Les Suisse Romande) do three “bises”. When I went there many years ago to study, they quickly instructed me that they weren’t the French-they do THREE bises, not two! I had to chuckle…anything to NOT be French!
As a french woman, even living in another european country, I always have my bred bad hanging at the kitchen door.... It's something I can't help using😜
I admit, they are VERY handy!!
Here in the States I remember hoosiers that had built in bread storage. There were also some older homes with the drawer built in and then came the stand alone bread boxes that sat on the counter made of wood, tin or plastic. I actually find bread to mold quickly in a bread box. Some store it in the refrigerator, but I think that dehydrates it. I suppose it depends on your weather as well.
Interesting to hear of another’s culture, thank you.
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Bread bag. Also mold. We buy good bread here in NJ, but it gets moldy unlike the supermarket bread. If you leave it out, it dries out and gets hard. I've tried putting it in paper bags. I just ordered some cotton bread bags.
Keep bread in freezer if you want it fresh for a number of days. Never put bread in the fridge makes it stale faster.
ever heard about french toast ? it's main purpose is to turn hard bread soft again. honestly feel like magic. the hardest part for me is to slice the hard bread without it breaking into pieces
It's definately gross and impolite (not "normal") to do "la bise" if you're sweating. In that case we usualy just say "je ne te fais pas la bise…" (reason unspoken but obvious for both persons invoved) ou "Je te fais la bise de loin !" (and then we do it not to close or just send a kiss by hand). The same in case of disease. Everyone will understand.
My grandma had a bread drawer in her house built in the 50’s but her drawer was deep and wood coated in laminate
The bread drawer faux pas!! 🤣
We've always had a bread box kept on our counter. It would have been in a drawer if I had enough drawers to accommodate that. I love your content and appreciate you reminding us that differences are only that - differences.
It's uncomfortable for men too, it's a good thing that it has mostly disappeared :)
I'm from Belgium and always used a "Breadbox" (Boîte à pain). For whoever is interested, look into it, I'm sure you'll be able to find very cute ones and even Diy one! I've definitely noticed bread bags at some of my friends in Paris, hanging behind the kitchen door, but for whatever reason I thought it was just a them thing 😂
My mother-in-law had a bread drawer in her kitchen in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. No "French Connection" that I know of. It is the only one that I have seen. Countertop bread boxes were common in kitchens in the '50s & '60s.
Another great video from the Amazing Diane!
You're too kind, so glad you enjoyed it! ;-)
I always use a VPN when traveling in Europe. It was really hot when I was in Paris last year. Thankfully, the flat I rented stayed pretty cool
Makes sense these days... especially for getting around country restrictions on streaming services. Lots of Netflix's US shows aren't available in France unless you're using a VPN.
Glad you had a cool place to stay! Hoping it's not crazy hot this year for the Olympics.
@@OuiInFrance I will be back in Paris in July and I hope the heat isn't bad LOL. I'm working on learning French as well
When it comes to bread, we personally just set it on the table, it has its space, and that's all. The rest of the bread that we won't be able to eat right away is cut and stored in the freezer in plastic bags, serial killer style 😂 never seen or heard about a bread bag before!
But, most importantly, you talked about the shutters! That's the first thing that struck me in the US: first night, I was expecting the shutters to go down because, normal, right? And nope, nothing happened, to my amazement! I later realised the house I was living in didn't have any, and so was it for the neighbours, the whole neighborhood, and... Beyond! Never seen anything but decorative shutters in the US. At the beginning it was kinda hard when I understood I'd have to sleep with the light coming from the street: I had always been used to sleeping in pitch darkness and find trouble falling asleep if there is even a little bit of light in my room! I eventually spent a year sleeping with a pillow on my face to block the light out, which decreased the time it would take me to fall asleep. I even had a friend, in California, who had a little set-up in her bedroom window with a big piece of cardboard blocking the light. I guess it's just a question of habits! I am personally very glad to have shutters again and still prefer sleeping in pitch darkness, even though I got used to the no-shutters situation!
Never used tanning pills. I am whiter than you :). Under the sun, i burn, but don't tan. I know no one who uses or used these pills. Despite living rather close to the sea (SW France). Actually, in France, there are "beach people" and "mountain people". I guess no one i ever knew (except my great uncle?) was a beach person.
Ah, and the so-called "bread drawer" is called a "huche à pain".
I grew up using a copper bread box. I was always surprised by friends who didn't have a bread box and didn't know what they were.
As a New Olreanian-turned-West Virginian, I was raised to protect food items in pantry from bugs... how do the French deal with this bug biz keeping bread unsealed in the home??
They usually wrap the bag around itself or have a smaller bag inside the drawer so it's not open to the air, which would harden the bread
They eat it fresh, and make croutons, pain Perdue (‘French bread’), or toast it with cheese, etc before it gets hard.
We had a bread drawer in our home in the 50's. It was tin lined walls and lid to be opened after you opened the drawer.
We used our storm shutters in New England.
We have countertop bread containers in UK kitchens except we call it a “bread bin”. You certainly used to have them in the US a couple of generations ago because on “what’s my line” (available on RUclips) one of their go-to questions was “is it bigger than a bread box?”
I lived for a year in Belgium where they operate a three part ‘bise’. As a restrained Brit, I’m not keen on hugging or kissing, both of which happen in certain contexts in the UK, or even handshaking where food is on offer (unhygienic). There’s been a craze in recent years for lots of unwanted physical contact in churches under pretext of “Let’s offer one another a sign of peace” - the moment for the introvert to leave!
I’ve lived in France for about 24 years and there used to be other strange tablets in the pharmacies - treatment for what they called heavy legs. I don’t see them anymore and that could be because I moved to a different area of France or maybe they just went out of style.
I've seen the boxes!! The jambes lourdes stuff
@@OuiInFrance ahah! I used to see them when I lived in the Aude but now I live in the Dordogne and the pharmacy I go to doesn’t have them.
Jambes lourdes (venous insufficiency, in English) can be a precursor to varicose veins. In the 20thC, France was the largest consumer of venotonic drugs in the world, sold to 'treat' jambes lourdes.
However due to various metastudies showing that lifestyle changes and containment (ie compression/support) offered significant and lasting improvement, while venotonics, merely resulted in temporary reduction of inflammation at most, the French government reduced and then ceased its subsidy for venotonics, as well as restricting/controlling the advertising for non-prescription formulas (usually a horse-chestnut extract), starting in tbe late 1990s/early 2000s IIRC.
La bise is regional. The number of "kisses" varies in different places.
Just found you. Very interesting. I had a neighbor years ago that was French. She recently got her US Citizenship. She was always so fun. She had a bid that spoke French. He was hysterical. France is on my bucket list right along with Italy. Please share any Olympic news. I’m an old gymnastics mom and love the summer Olympics. Can’t wait!
Just learned new things. Thanks.
Maybe the Olympics will be a nice breather from (politics) 🤦🏻♀🫢😅
@@Sanity_Faire my neighbor’s BIRD spoke French.
@@TxPinkRosie That would be so funny…I’d have been visiting too often 😬🤣
Welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video ;-)
As a French, I don't have a bread bag or drawer. I cut my baguette in four or five pieces and I freeze them. But they are eaten fairly quickly, they don't stay in the freezer for too many days. Also I had never heard of tanning pills ^^'
I don't know what I'd prefer. A sweaty bise or a sweaty hug.
As long as they aren't at the same time....
@@OuiInFrance I mean, then that means you're getting sweaty for another reason 😂😂
We have a metal bread box fron Next - before that we had a ceramic one, both had lids.
tanning pils !?? I’m belgian 🇧🇪 (close to France) and never heard if these 🤔🤷♂️
Très intéressant et sympa comme d’hab et en plus vous êtes encore plus belle Diane! Merci d’une de vos fans en Suède 🇸🇪 !
Talking about bread drawers - I grew up in a mid-century ranch style house in NJ - it had a deep drawer that you pulled a metal cover forward to keep the contents fresh - it was a bread drawer. Needless to say as Americans we used it for something else and kept the metal cover pushed out of the way. I have not thought about this in years - so France is where that came from...
I just watched "strange noises...." Wonderful! I love the way you explained it. Thanks for a fun channel!
My mother had a bread box in the kitchen in which she kept all her bread and baked goods. It was metal, and opened with a door on the front that dropped down. Avocado green, because it was made in the 1970s. Although I lived with her for the latter years of her life, after she passed, I got rid of it. It's hard to find well-made French-style bread here in Florida, so I buy the typical American whole-grain loaf bread for the most part, using it to make sandwiches and toast. I just keep the bag of bread on the kitchen counter. When I can find a good baguette, I typically cut it into smaller sections and freeze them so I can heat it and enjoy it tasting like just-baked bread.
La triple bise was fairly normal in Nice, at least that is what I recall.
Also, in Paris, we had a tall, vertical, vented, wooden bread box in the kitchen that would fit three baguettes.
In French-speaking Belgium, la bise (cheek kissing) is also common between men, even if just acquaintances. As a Frenchman who's been living in Belgium for many years now I got used to it, but to start with it was really weird for me to exchange kisses with other guys I hardly knew. In Belgium like in France, hugging is definitely too intimate, only when you really want to express love for someone close (e.g. spouse, children, parents, close friends...).
We had a drawer that had a bread box growing up.
Hello Diane.
The paragraph about french noise is good.
Have you ever done one ahout hand movement?
I m French and never realized them as they were taught instinctively.
Reading "A year in Provence " by Peter Mayle made understand some situations I got into....lol
Keep up the good work.
Hi Christian, no I've never done a video on hand movements/signals or anything like that. Thank you for the suggestion and so glad you enjoy my videos.
Fun fact, the local bakery gave me a linnen bag, for abt one loaf: I use it to store plastic bags ;-) Not trash, but still…
We Dutch traditionally have a bread-tin (actually tin, or plastic, or wood), which holds about three loafs. It has a sliding lid, very efficient qua space. Although by now it is custom to store your sliced loafs in the freezer.
In Mexico they do the cheek kiss, just one, when greeting, just at hello. Men and women, or women and women, but not men to men. Technology Connections recently did a video on window awnings, saying why did we get rid of them? Tanning pills, huh. Hadn't even heard of them. Speech noises, that sounds fun and funny! :)
My mother's side of the family is French, and it's nice to be reminded of those things, le bisoux, (3 kisses for family!) the bread drawer, and how one speaks - the sounds... le sigh :)
Here in the South of France it is normal for men to do the bise also, if they know each other. I find this quite nice, no fear of contact between men. I absolutely HATE handshakes, because I do not know if this person just sneezed into her/his hand, or worse. Hugs are too intimate for me. It is like the start of a French kiss. But la bise is just a fresh flow of air hardly touching your cheeks. I love it.
Growing up ws.always had a bread box. Never used plastic etc ..different times .
American in Marseille here. Man to man biz is just as common as man to woman here. You insist on a handshake and they often look disappointed. You meet some guy ONE time with a handshake and from then on it's a biz. Now I use the COVID excuse and insist on a handshake.
Tanning pills?!?! I live in Southern California and met a born and raised French guy who now lives here. His sister came from France to visit last weekend and is going home today. I wonder if she took tanning pills. I definitely don’t need them. I am East Asian and White and living in SoCal I get sun often and tan easily.
I think "La bise" is weird and waaaaaaaay to intimate. I'd rather hug... and i don't really hug. (I understand the glasses thing, and the sweat print 😅)
A nod, bow or shake hands is respectful, none aggressive and not too intrusive.
I love the shutters. I see them and they remind me of my aunt. I think what a better idea than blinds unless you have cats. I have vertical blinds and my kitties don’t go out.
My aunt also had a bread bag. Such a great idea.
And lastly, In the Berry, we do three sometimes four.
Merci! 😊
I love your videos and the topics you share and the humor. But, I wanted you to be aware that, with headphones on, the audio is a little difficult for hearing, at times, there’s some reverb and the audio echoes. Just wanted you to know. ☺️ I can’t help but laugh at the idea that when your father-in-law approaches you, the “Jaws” theme starts playing lol 😂
Glad you enjoy my content! Sorry, I wasn't filming in my office for this one like I usually am so it's always a challenge to get the audio right.
Fabric bags and bread drawers are for REAL bread, that you dont actually expect to last more than two days. Those 'everywhere' bakeries means that you buy fresh very regularly. Plastic bags are for keeping American plastic, cotton wool 'bread' for much longer and, despite the humid environment, doesnt even grow mould.
The cheek kiss is common throughout Europe in my experience.
What a fun and interesting channel!
Growing up in the US in the 60’s - 70’s before US bread became filled with preservatives, we had a bread drawer. All my friends either had a bread drawer or a bread box on their counter. It was pretty standard fare.
I worked in Argentina for 2 weeks. The businessmen would all kiss cheeks hello. Even me! It was odd but endearing.
New Yorker here and I confess I don't like hugs and I hate handshakes. I've observed la bise in plenty of French movies and it actually seems nicer to me than the American greetings--as long as sweat isn't involved!
Handshakes can be so tricky. I always get the wet fish or the hard squeezer -- nothing in between! A firm handshake is perfect, not too weak or too strong.
Even with some sweat, I prefer la bise. Done right, you barely touch, the kiss is in the air. I think hugging is more of a Southern thing. You're from NY, my sister-in-law is from the Northwest, I'm from the upper Midwest...not huggers.
@@maryjackson1194 Being french, i can tell you that "la bise" to a sweety person is a no go. I refuse bluntly. It is not like rules weren't meant to be broken when necessary.
What you say is true, all cultures are different and were doing the best we can. However, tanning pills sre like smoking in France, just because they are popular in France, doesnt make it OK. They obsess with these 'habits' and take it too far regardless of health consequences. I've lived here 13 years
Born in France, spent 50+ years there in many different cities, never saw a bread "drawer" a single time. I did not even know it existed. Never saw a significant number of people store bread in a bag either, only very occasionally. Bread is stored in the paper bag it was bought in or in some circumstances wrapped in a kitchen rag (to make bread breathe indeed).
I lived in Hawaii for 5 years and a lot of them did the cheek kiss when meeting. Took me off guard at first because I’m a hand shaker but got used to it.
Bonjour from Cuenca, Ecuador.
Bonjour !! Or I should say hola ;-)
We never hugged nor did I ever see hugging done, as a common greeting practice prior to 1980 in my lifelong experience as an American (Southern Californian).
I grew up in South Carolina, and hugs were common. They have become more common in other parts of the country in recent years.
La "bise" is a mark of equality consideration between citizens and it's a legacy of the revolution.
The cars with out license are referred to around the city of Le mans "voiturette".
My wife is driving an Aixam car.
It is good for shopping an czn do a lot of Km's on the diesel. Not cheap to buy but she has no driver license.
In my country only from 16 years with a driver license for a mopet, if you are born before 1961 you do not need a driver license
Here in Switzerland we make 3 bises 😘😘😘
Vous êtes une belle personne, très vivante et pétillante. Bisou du Québec.
Cheek kisses are regional so different numbers in different parts of France. For glasses issue, remove them when kisses are exchanged, easy.😅
« S’il vous plaît coupez mes cheveux » vs « coupez mes chevaux. » Please cut my hair/cut my horses. 😝
In Languedoc, we do three...
You may not be aware but Citroen makes a monAMI that is ENTIRELY electric and can be charge by the same plug house plug that you use for your lamp or washing machine. It seat 2 people and can be driven at 14 provide you have taken a course of a few hours, passing a test, and voila!, you can drive around for a grand distance of 72 kilometer at 45 kph ( 44.7 miles distance at 27.9 mph ). Boohoo, I can't drive at 30 kph whichin is the speedlimit in every town, village or city. I did not lose my licence. I haven't cause a problem. Best yet, I have had my Citron monAMI going on 3 years now with zero problem with over 3,000 Kilometers and less than 5 Euro's per year in electricity. I do my all my errands in it. And it cost just a bit more than 6,000 Euros. And finally, you know how you must search for a parking place trying to find one that won't get your 25-65 Euro dings and pinged, I don't have that problem because I can easily park between to suvs and still have adequent room. But if it makes any driver feel special to drive a car that cost anywhere from 45-150 Euros to travel back and forth, struggle to find a safe place to park, well I am happy for you. Neither my garage, nor my vehicle nor my hands and shoes ever smell of diesel or gasoline anymore. If it makes other drivers feel superior to pay 10 of thousands of car so that stand in the rain filling them with fuel so that they can go do the same errands well more power to you. Just know that an all Electric Citroen monEMI EV does in now way that you are a better driver nor more law abiding than I am and many of us.... Oh! did I tell you it is quiet also?)
The Citroen Ami is also sold as byOpel as Rock and by Fiat as Topolino (with slightly different body panels).
I agree : I hate those "voitures sans permis".I'm French (living in Picardy-Hauts de France).I can't stand them!Too risky! We often call them "pots de yaourts",lol! Fragile pots! My cousin owns one and I'm scared for him to drive with it. (THOSE DRIVERS often drive without even having had lessons in the highway code).He doesn't understand all the signs.He tried to get his driver's license, but never succeeded.Bah...
I know someone who was hit by one of these drivers. Apparently the "pots de yaourts" was demolished and driver suffered bad injuries. The brand new car of the licensed driver whom she hit was totaled. I mean, if you can't drive, why are you given a car, free? To drive around in?
Hi. Do you have a video on healthcare and/or med insurances in France. How does it work?
Bonjour, I have several videos on healthcare and my experiences with it ruclips.net/video/F74Y6q-vpCU/видео.html