I think the thing about slippers is that in most European countries, people don't wear their shoes indoors. It's diry to walk in socks and it can be sometimes too cold to walk barefoot.
I've noticed French people love yogurt. The yogurt aisles in grocery stores are huge compared to the USA. French people often finish a meal with yogurt or a pudding like dessert. My favorite is "îles flottantes".
It's not a specific thing, but I love how French people have such courtesy and manners to strangers. Bonjour when you enter a shop or see another resident in an apartment building, holding the exit gate to the metro for the person behind you, that sort of thing.
5 years of medical college to become a pharmacist in France. You need to be one to own your own pharma and it is required to respect a ratio trained pharmacists / assistants. We basically say "Docteur en pharmacie "
@@etienneromano2600 The traditional word here in Croatia is "Magister" (the same word we use for MSc), and it also requires 5 years of study of pharmacology - the same usually needed if you want to work in the pharma industry (although there a wider range of chemistry, biochemistry and biotechnology degrees will do.)
@@bazoo513 nice to know, thank you. I think almost all EU countries are aligned on this. Hrvatska is a beautiful country and people there are so nice. Loved it. ( was easy for me as an italian speaker in Istra )Have a nice day
I was born in France and lived their for 35 years. I moved to the US 7 years ago and I'm currently in Italy. I went back to France this summer and for the first time I realized how much I missed the food. Nothing fancy, but just going back to Monoprix blew my mind. I had lots of good organic stuffs in California as well as in Italy but Man!! France is an all other level...
Just back from Monop in Garabaldi Nice, Borg is a brand that is definitely taking over here… the oat milk is so bad that I would feel bad giving it to the rats to neutralise them 😂
To be expected. Ask an Italian or Chinese and they’ll say the same thing. I lived in China for a while and love Chinese food but it was so good to come home to the USA and have American food.
I am, thankfully, retired now. When I was working as a nurse, I had to give no less than 3 months notice, preferably 6, that I was going to take a vacation. I was entitled to 1 scheduled weekend off per year, but expected to find my own replacement for it. We worked every third weekend. In 35 years, I took 2 three week vacations, so I would not have to find my replacements for the scheduled weekend to work, I took off between work weekend to work weekend. American work culture amounts to little more than slavery!
Yes, the giving notice period seems to be quite long in the US. In France, my husband's work has everyone plan their summer/winter dates off well in advance since they're peak times but other than that, they manage their own time. I'm sorry that in 35 years you only took two vacations. ;-((((( I hope you're making up for lost time now!!
Diane, I worked 30yrs in emergency dispatch . The last 15yrs we hit the offc vacation calender in January to mark out our vaca days for the whole year, Not Ideal!! ...happily retired😀 now
d'ou le dicton : les américain vivent pour travailler , les français travaillent pour vivres ? après tout , nous n'avons qu'une seule vie, même si notre espérance de vie est 78 à 80 ans en moyenne en France , la vie elle est courte et après il n'y a plus rien ; nous retournons en états de particules désorganisées : H-O-CA-FE-P etc. etc. ! nous , travaillons 8 h par jour et nous obtenons les mêmes résultats que l'américains qui travaillent 10-12 par jours . l'être l'humain est moins productif physiquement et cérébralement O, passer un certains nombres d'heures de travail , les erreurs et accidents sont dû principalement à la fatigue . effectivement les étatsuniens sont esclaves du travail , de leurs individualismes un système difficilement compréhensible pour un pays qui serait la première puissance mondiale . Bonne journée
Absolutely agree. My work philosophy is the same as the French. My job allows me to have a life. It's odd though because in the US that kind of mindset is often seen as lazy. I can't stand it. While I don't believe in what is currently going on, not working because it's easier for the government to just hand us money, I also believe that work doesn't have to be your life if you don't want it to be. The French definitely have the work/life balance thing figured out.
"Brian is in the Kitchen" comes from he school book "Imagine you're english", which was the book for most french people from the X Generation. This book is so beloved now that it became very rare and can be sold at 150€!! I wish I could find one :) I really appreciate your videos, it's so fun to see France through the eyes of an american. I never went to america but the US tv series and movies aknollege us about many of your cultural habbits so I think the culture shock would be less for a french.
Not "Imagine you're English". The method was a different one called "Speak English". Brian and his sister Jenny. I taught english using that book and the tapes and all, in the 80s... 😊 Edit: and I've seen people selling it for 400 euros online.
Fun piece! I would just add the “marché” culture to your list. While there are cities in the US that have good farmers markets, in Europe - and especially in France - the markets are everywhere. And I love the culture of chatting with the people about their products, etc. When I go to Paris, the first thing I do is go to the Saxe-Breteuil marché and buy a roast chicken and potatoes. Btw I am spending the summer in Quebec city, which I thought was going to be a lot like France, but a major disappointment was that they really didn’t have any farmers’ markets - perhaps because it’s a “winter city” and the growing periods are shorter? Dunno. Even in Washington DC, where I’m from, we have several, excellent markets (same in Baltimore - 40 miles away), so I was really surprised by the lack of them in QC. Even their “grand marché” was basically a mall with no soul. ANYway, thanks for your piece!
It's so true ! And in this period of inflation where all prices are increasing in the supermarket, I have noticed that they don't increase (or only slightly) in the "marché". I don't live very far from Diane, in Maine et Loire, and I used to only buy my fruits, vegetables and cheeses at the marché, but now even meat and fish are getting cheaper (and of higher quality ) at the marché. I'm lucky not to have restricted working hours because the marché in my village is on Friday morning, so I do it between 8 and 9 am and I arrive at work at 9:30 am that day!
Hi Diane, here's a suggestion as a french person living abroad. I've noticed how a lot of french movies and shows have been remade to fit english speaking people over the years. How about a video talking about some of your favourite classic films/shows you've gotten to discover in France? It would be interesting to see your take on differences in filming styles, humour that we tend to see more in hollywood.
@@declissonolivier9376 That is "classic" for you? Try the 30's through the 60's. One example, "Pépé le moko" 1937 which was remade fairly well as "Algiers" in English and it had Hedy Lamarr and Charles Boyer. Another one is "Le salaire de la peur"(wages of fear) 1953. There are many others.
I worked for a Japanese car company in the 1980s and vacation time was 5 days per year plus 1 additional day for every 5 years of service. Absolutely draconian
As a french citizen I enjoy your videos, and re learn about stuff we take as a normal way of being 😅. Hint for any tourist, American or not : please save some time to visit some nice village (and not only Paris) and go to the local grocer's market, have a cafe on the terrace, under the platanes trees, listening to the bell of the church telling you it is 12, time to have a cool lunch. Believe me the French do love this😊
Great video! Things not quite liked but have gotten used to it after 6 years of living here...#1 There's no such thing as"I'm just popping into the Intermarché to buy milk". You wait in line, listening to the conversation between the cashier and customer about how their week has been, which is kinda cute and to be honest, it's promoted here, as that conversation might be the only one the old biddy (in most cases), has had with another human being. It's like a Community Service. Then, after that's all done and dusted, out comes the cheque book to pay for the groceries 🤣 C'est la vie! #2 - Waiting for a repair person. Our condensating boiler had a fault and we had no hot water. The Technician came around. Said we needed a new thermostat and said he'd be back on Thursday at 14h30. We're still waiting...and that was 5 years ago! To his credit though, he actually didn't specify which Thursday or which year! 🤣 The boiler has since been fixed 🤣🤣
"C'est la vie" is only used by Brits, in a fun way. I know they don't mean it as nobody cares much about explaining the context to tourists, but still, that hurts me a little when they use it that way. In my childhood, I had to deal with adults with psychological traumas that I was too young to understand. That idiom was used by people of my country during the wars and after. Not a lot of French people will use that idiom now (maybe to have fun or be "delicat"-e" with some American?). It is old fashion, actually. It is a idiom that used to be said as a sort of shy way to say there was nothing to be changed about a devastating problem so it is not useful to cry over it, like a bomb destroyed the house and no-one can rebuild it, or the children died during the war, etc. That is a shy way to conclude a conversation when you had to explain why your life is sad in order to make people understand that you are not saying these sad things to ask for help as there is nobody who could help. In those days, complaining about those kind of things, were not that allowed, you were alive after all. Just to say it for once, so at least one remembers that. 🤢 Maybe I'm just the only one who cares about those sad faces I still have in my old memories, as a child of a Boulanger who used to bake black floor "pains" under the noses of German soldiers so the people around would not die from starving. Good thing from that tho : in order to say thanks to him for saving their lives without any kind of awards asked of course, honneur oblige, those poor people managed to give me the few vegetables they used to grow themselves till the end of their lives. God bless them. Just a little lesson parceque "C'est la vie" 😘 🥰 😍 from France
@@valee16fr Aww... thank you for sharing that background. No one would ever guess that from simply hearing the saying. It is sad what the people went through. Because my grandparents went through the war in Europe I remember their stories. God bless you. 🛐❤
@@luv2travel2000 Thanks. (Just realised a misspelled. Oups. Sorry.i meant "black flour" for the bread of course.) It is important to share those stories with the young generation, particularly now with all the géopolitique problems, the problems with the refugees from global warming that they gonna have soon... They think it is just old stories, not thinking that a war could come again but we never know that for sure. 😳 Want to know an another one from the old time that seems not that dramatic but it is? "Il faut de l'air pour vivre" you need air to live. : Meaning : it is cold and windy, but still, even if we don't want to freeze, the job has to be done, so we won't complain and go outside, anyway. Far from "mum ! Tiktok snot working, life is so unfair. Rhaaaah" 😉🙃 🗼🇨🇵🙋😘
I am a french citizen expatriate in the US and my husband and I visited France many times over the years. My husband really enjoyed our French 'pharmacies" he was shocked when I told him that "Non, France doesn't carry medecine in grocery stores." He got used to it eventually, and now he recognizes a pharmacy from the distance when he sees the iconic green neon sign shinning in the distance. When my sister visited us, last time she brought me a gorgeous pair of slippers (aka Chaussons) all made of a patchwork of burgundy and blue silk, velvet and brocade; hubby calls them my Pope Slippers and I cherish them. I was not aware of the popularity of the name Brian (Brrrrian.) Thank you for this video, it was very fun.
I'm french living in France and I've never heard about this "Brian" popularity either....I didn't event know that Brian should be in the kitchen... first time ever I heard about this
I do love the Paris Metro ,for any single journey, one EUR which I'm sure they love,also Le Bus in the Provence region of France. The French also love their grocery stores to be stocked up to the brim with more variety than you can dream of. I think they are great cinema lovers, and culture buffs in general.
I was in Paris last week and I like the fact that you could take your time to eat at a cafe. They don't try to rush you. You can sit at a cafe and people watch.
That's right they never you tell you get out,because your seat is reserved for lunchtime guests. They never interfere with your plans. They are very good listeners,if you've noticed them close up.
The VW scandal a few years ago pretty much killed diesel cars in the US. After that, the percentage dropped. Hybrids and electric pretty much fill the gap. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
I chuckled when you described your two week vaca while working for a “Big 4”! In fact sometimes firms perform an audit of someone while they are away or become suspicious of a long vaca! In my entire career I only took one vacation of full two weeks, then resigned two days after my return. Retirement is AWESOME! 😀
My boss was not happy with me! But I think we all have early career moments we learned from. But still, 2 weeks off shouldn't be a big deal in most professions!
You are so correct regarding both, vaca and retirement!! Everyday is now...um, what day is it? Lol especially here in Vegas Take care (Hi Diane! Loved this! TY)
Dessert! After walking each day sight-seeing, I never feel guilty enjoying a dessert after the meal. We sometimes pick up un tatin aux pommes for breakfast (plus our typical American savories). Love your videos. Can wait to be back in my home away from home in Nov!
1. My local pharmacist knows my entire medical history as well as my doctor. Up to the point where I prefer to go to a different pharmacy for certain purchases.... 2. Yes, petit is a much used adjective. "Faire un petit café", translates to a quick get together over coffee. So a quick chat over coffee and not overstaying your welcome. 3. I have never entered a French house with carpet on the floor. Only wood or tiles. Except for in summer, that feels pretty cold to the feet. So slippers/house loafers are common. 4. I skip breakfast. So do my daughters. But viennoiseries and breakfast cereals are very common. But more often, less expensive French bread with Nutella or jam. 5. I skip sweet desserts too. To rich for my liking. But I'll take a bit of cheese. Especially blue cheese, Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, Brie or Tomme. 6. My job doesn't pay me enough to really leave for summer vacation. Okay, once every three years or so. But yes, July and August are the months when 2/3 of the French go on holiday. 7. Where is Waldo? I've never heard of this "Brian" thing... 8. Taking a coffee at a bar before work is pretty much history. Even in the countryside. Rush rush rush. But sitting down for a coffee when I have the time, yes! People watching is fun. 9. Diesel is cheaper but I had to change my car and looked towards the future. In a few short years from now you can't drive a diesel car in the cities anymore. So I've switched. The chapter/subject sections are way off in this video.
Damn, now I realise I indeed translated my french expressions using "petit(e)" by replacing it with "small" in english to playfully downplay things. :D
eggs are pretty common in breakfast thought, but yeah outside of that not really salt, maybe bread with salted butter in some regions. But i would say for french it's more buttery breakfast than salt or sugar xD
Salut! It took me several months to adjust to this, but now I love the fact that many stores are closed on Monday morning. Just seems to me a more gentle way to start a new week.
@@SR-id7ny It's true all across France, a lot of smaller stores are closed on mondays so that employees can have a 2 day "week-end", as they are open on saturdays
Hi Diane. Yep cafe culture is way up there for me. Of course we have cafes in the Uk where you can chill and watch the world go by but for me the French are next level. Great video!
Sweet things at breakfast is actually a good idea. It was once explained to me like this: Your body runs on 2 fuels, the one is sugar and the other is fat. But your brain will only run on sugar. After a nights sleep your sugar level is low and therefore a breakfast with a combination of fast sugars, like jam, and slow sugars, like bread, is a good breakfast to get you going for the day.
You are 100% right about the perception of vacations in corporate America. I can count all the vacations (5) that I had in a 29 year career when I didn't have to check emails/voicemails and still do some work while on vacation. The only time that I took more than a couple of days off in a row was when I took an international trip. I'm retired now and so happy.
@@jfrancobelge I cannot imagine it. I was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had vacations but the 5 that I referenced above were the only ones during which I did not have to work or check emails/voicemails. I'm happy for you!
Good to see you, Diane! And, on a day I'm wearing one of my favorite t-shirts purchased from your store- "All Outta Phoques". Look forward to your next vid. xo
I do love our pharmacie and the pharmacist knows me by name. I do need a little protein with breakfast or my blood sugar tanks! And yes…we have a diesel car. Something else about cars here-they are mostly manual. Make sure you know how to drive a stick when you rent a car as sometimes they run out of automatic ones.
I am not in France but Francophile Madagascar. Some of the things you describe apply. Like pharmacy culture-twice a week visit for some such thing - and sanders in doors. Breakfast is definitely savory here but croisants and baguettes are ubiquitous.
As a pharmacy tech in the US I wish we were more like the French. I had to take a week off work last december for sinus surgery my boss asked "do you really need a whole week?" Umm yeah, unless you want me in here with blood coming out of my nose all day!
@@photolover6944 I was able to take the full week off, but not everyone in the US is so lucky :( I also had to use vacation days to get paid during the week off.
@@jenniferdignan8507 Here, if you get sick during your regular vacation time, your time off is transferred to sick leave (paid of course) so you can take your spoilt days of regular leave later on.
Hello. I wanted to say that I know how hard that it is to stop saying "my parent's". My father passed away a few months before you lost your mother, and it has been a big adjustment in my conversations to just account for the one parent. Being so far away from your Dad must make it very difficult. I still haven't completed all of the legal aspects of losing a parent and it's almost been a year. I'm down to about 2 items left. I have said a prayer for your family and you as you continue to mourn and to adjust.
All French employees have 5 weeks holidays, even part timers. And it is compulsory to take your holiday during summer time (at least two weeks). If your boss can’t grant you summer holiday, he has to give you more days to compensate (unless you have a seasonal job obviously)
it's not compulsory to take 2 weeks in the summer. Some organisations will ask you to, but it's absolutely not compulsory. I knew plenty of people who'd take holidays in June or September, to avoid all the kids and the tourists.
I’m French but I never realised pharmacies were such a big deal in France 😅 or maybe it’s just me but I hardly ever go to a pharmacy actually. But I do agree with most of your arguments in the videos! 😅
Les pharmacies en France font partie du système de santé. C'est une profession régulée. La France considère que les médicaments doivent être vendus par des professionnels formés à cela. C'est pour cela qu'elles sont aussi importantes. Vous vous en rendrez compte avec l'âge...... ))):
concernant les pharmacies ; en tant que français nous allons à la pharmacie nous y allons d'une ordonnance du médecin , afin d'avoir les médicaments adapté au problème médical ,
@@ybreton6593 Certains y achètent également des produits avec des marques spécifiques qui ne se vendent pas ailleurs, produits diététiques, de beauté, d’hygiène...... On peut s'y faire vacciner (grippe, COVID). Certaines ont mêmes des produits à usage vétérinaire.
that's incredibly accurate , I'm french and I tought that it would be really cliché but I even mind things you says like it just seems normal and we don't even think about it. That's was a real fun to watch this video 👌
Bonjour Diane, dans les pharmacies, il est obligatoire d'avoir en permanence un docteur en pharmacie donc, 7 ans d'études supérieures, c'est le pharmacien. Les autres personnes qui servent sont dits "préparateurs en pharmacie". Mais ce sont des gens très bien formés qui font 4 ans d'études supérieures. Ils doivent connaître tous les médicaments pour vérifier la prescription du médecin ou conseiller quand il s'agit d'auto-médication. Ils doivent aussi connaître les interactions des médicaments avec d'autres traitements d'où l'intérêt d'aller dans la même pharmacie. Ils connaissent ton dossier médical et donc, peuvent éviter des erreurs dramatiques. En cas de doutes, les préparateurs se réfèrent au pharmacien lequel peut prendre contact avec ton médecin traitant le cas échéant. Personnellement, ça fait presque 40 ans que je vais dans la même pharmacie du village. J'en suis à la troisième génération de pharmaciens. Deux sont déjà partis en retraites. Je suis toujours en contacte avec la dernière pharmacienne à la retraite. Elle connaît notre situation médicale et prend régulièrement de nos nouvelles. Ce que j'apprécie le plus c'est que, quand je vais à la pharmacie, on a toujours une petite conversation personnelle pour s'inquiéter de notre santé. C'est seulement après ce petit "rituel" qu'on me sert. Pour faire court, on n'est pas un client. Avant tout, on est traité comme un être humain sensible et plus ou moins malade. C'est ce que j'apprécie le plus. J'imagine que ce n'est pas partout pareil. C'est probablement le privilège d'habiter dans un village ou de fréquenter la même pharmacie de son quartier dans les plus grandes villes. Merci au passage pour votre excellent rendu de la société française, franc, honnête et sans concession ...
I think the thing with breakfast in France not being as important as in the onther countries is because the lunch is sooooo important : we actually eat a whole meal and it's an actual break in the day. I don't eat breakfast because then I'm not hungry when lunch comes around, so I don't feel the necessity of it. But I did eat breakfast when I lived in Germany because lunch was very late. (it may also be because I don't actually enjoy sweet breakfast and just "wait" for the savory option).
Diesel gas was cheaper because it was taxed less... not 100% sure but I think it initially was due to diesel being used for farm equipment and trucks (so work related). It was also considered more environmental friendly until they admitted the emissions are worse for our health.
On one of my trips to Paris, we met with my husband's ex and partner. At one point the partner became red faced, eyes popping and veins bulging and afterwards I asked my husband what the hell happened he explained that he had started a new job and only had 11 weeks of vacation! I told him to tell them that in America I had to work 12 years to get 3 weeks vacation and that is a good deal for most people!!
1) Yep! I fell in the street the other day and was well on my way to developing a huge bruise on my leg. I stopped at the pharmacy down the street and she gave me a gel to rub on. No bruise! I've found that the pharmacists are often more helpful than the actual doctors. 5) Agree, especially in the sense that I've started learning to stop eating my main meal before I'm too full for dessert, when I'm still a little hungry. Then dessert (maybe a piece of chocolate or a cookie in the afternoon, and yogurt or fruit in the evening) fills that last bit. I think most of the time in the U.S. we don't have dessert because we're stuffed by the end of the main dish.
I will have to come up with a good list. And I hope you're OK after the fall and it wasn't anything serious. Don't tell me it was from flip flops on tile in the rain. I almost wiped out yesterday at my bank
@@OuiInFrance Ugh, no, I more just tripped out of nowhere on a really uneven piece of pavement, but I know exactly what you mean. Some of those street tiles are sooo slick. But thank you, I'll definitely be okay! Was more just a shock in the moment.
About wearing slippers: maybe it's because we don't wash the floor as often as you do. Personally, if I walked barefoot at home, my feet would be dirty in no time (my floors are vacuumed and mopped twice a month).
I DESPISE sweet anything, especially for breakfast and my French family always makes sure to have coldcuts and cheese with baguette for my breakfast because the eggs and bacon thing isn't really a thing among my experience in France!!
I definitely eat more sweets when I'm in Montmorillon. It's not so much for breakfast, but in the afternoon with coffee or tea (there's a tea shop run by an ex-pat Brit in my town). Loved the video - a nice discussion on some differences!
I can speak to diesel in the US. Years ago I purchased a diesel VW because the mileage was so much better and diesel was cheaper. And Diesel engines lasted much longer. Than the tax rate on diesel fuel was increased so it became the most expensive fuel. It was still more financially efficient than gasoline though. I lost my last diesel car in a hailstorm (destroyed it), and at the time it had 180,000 miles on it. But with VWs emission scandal I did not replace it with another diesel vehicle- they weren’t available.
Hello Diane. Your videos are great. As a French guy myself, i can tell that i find almost all what you say about French culture and habits very accurate and "bien vu!". Just a point for this video: about slippers i regret a bit that you did not speak about "les Charentaises" which you surely know and are some sort of a must when it comes to slippers in France. They have been a bit out of mode in the past decades, and even mocked, but are making a strong come back since a few years, because they are so comfortable, especially during cold season.
The big thing about diesel is engine maintenance, a bit less of an issue now that gasoline engines are more reliable, but 200,000 miles for a diesel engine is a minimum. And fewer and cheaper tuneups, etc.
Diane, Thank you for another great video, very informative - I do enjoy them and I love several of these things about France you mentioned today. I was particularly interested to hear about the pharmacies and the significance they have for French people. An interesting thing I've found living here in Biarritz, a big holiday destination, is that many restaurants, bars, etc. will close for a couple of weeks in October when the tourists have gone home and the employees take their holidays all at the same time.
Diane, thank you for your passion! After many years in France, you still have not lost the habit of speaking too fast, you sound like you are in a hurry all the time. Slow down and take a breath.
Hi. For people travelling to Europe, one automotive option is the TT (transit temporaire) system. The whole scheme was designed to give French car builders a little sales boost. The allows a person from outside Europe to buy a brand new Renault, Peugeot or Citroën car in France and drive it as their own while they are in Europe. At the end of the contract, the builder (or their agent) who sold the car agrees to buy back the car. It's a bit like rentals but it offers more flexibility and guarantees you get a brand-new car. Contracts include insurance and service. Contracts also include a guaranteed "buy-back" and a refund of the 20% TVA. Of course, you always have the option of keeping the car and shipping it back to your home country, but few people actually do. It makes most sense if you spend several weeks in Europe.
We do love slippers because our parents tell us that you catch a cold through your feet ! So to stay healthy, you need to wear slippers. And when i was little, if I wasn't wearing my slippers, my mum would tell me off 😄
Yes, do a video the other way around, I love the comparison videos! Unfortunately for anyone with a diesel engine, especially the trucking industry, fuel is quite a bit more expensive. In Texas, where everyone has a personal truck (not really, but almost) the diesel engine is a bit more common, especially for work trucks like for farming. Eva zu Beck here on YT drove through Texas and was surprised to see so many personal trucks and went around in a shopping mall parking lot looking at them and looking in the bed/back of the truck to see what they were hauling. To be honest, it's usually nothing lol. Thanks for sharing!
Slippers are popular in Britain too. Snowy or muddy shoes are left in the hallway. Old floors are not very smooth and can be full of splinters and ends of metal nails.which pop up when the boards move.
Ok listening to French habits I think if I was living in France your comments do make sense. I like the sweet breakfast idea or skipping breakfast. The others again if I lived there.
Over the past seven years, Diesel in Florida has continually been more expensive than gasoline. Until the past year, it was anywhere from 10 to 30 cents more per gallon. Currently Diesel can be more than 1.50 more per gallon over gasoline.
I am American. I'm whole food plant based. My breakfast of choice is a green salad with baby kale, raw asparagus, northern beans, flax seed, blueberries, vinegar, onion, lemon slices. My palette has changed- can't do sweets anymore!
Lol,, I've lived in my Irish cousin's apartment in Paris. She married a French civil servant. But I never met her or her family. They were always away on vacation. I got the key from the conciege. The neigbors, BTW, were friendly and often left little food presents for me at my door.
Salut Diane ! The summer holiday in August in France is so ubiquitous that I love the way the French speak of „la rentrée“ almost as a point on the calendar. I‘ve been thinking about that while watching your video, and I suppose it‘s much the same in the US („Back to School“); it‘s just been so long that I am not as aware of that. Germany is different. The school holiday periods (about six weeks) are staggered from state to state in Germany (from the middle of June to the middle of September) so that not everyone is on vacation at the same time. And (with the exception of Bavaria, where it is ALWAYS end July to beginning September) it changes from year to year. Here in Hamburg, the school holidays this year started in the middle of July and go to the end of August, but they can begin anywhere from the middle of June to the end of July. Cultural organizations have to take that into account, so the summer break for the theatres (for instance) always coincides with the school holiday.
we do this for the February and April school holidays, they're the only ones that are staggered (the country is divided into 3 zones, and who starts first also changes every year). But the November, Xmas and summer holidays are at the same time, because it's better for families. Xmas is obvious, summer is when you get to all travel together and see your cousins for example, and November is just a week or 10 days, plus it's only 2 months after "la rentree" so no one really does anything, so we didn't bother.
Re “la rentrée”. I discovered, while working in France (I’m British) that if you wanted to launch a new initiative, project or product then you were best advised to do so in September which almost had the feeling of “a new beginning” rather more than any other time of the year and people were more receptive to change or novelty. But it was also the time of year when most senior managers knew that the “PDG” had been mulling things over during his 3 weeks in his house in Luberon and you were either going to get a reorganisation or an invitation to a “strategy weekend” to discuss all the ideas he’d come up with in the pool!
I find it interesting that it seems obligatory to deny the accuracy of stereotypes. A stereotype is the result of many observations. Usually quite accurate descriptions of a culture.
I would be willing to bet (a small amount of) money that “Where is Brian? Brian is in the kitchen” was included in an introductory-level English textbook in France. My siblings and I all had at least a year of high-school Spanish, and even though the age difference between the oldest and youngest of the five of us was 13 years, we can all answer the question, “ Esta Susana en casa?” by quoting the rest of the dialogue. (Susana was with a friend, not in the living room, but in the kitchen. And the friend was actually on the phone, not present in person.)
I asked a French friend what the equivalent is to *la plume de ma tante* - the phrase that cropped up in our French text books to demonstrate the possessive case. It’s now almost a meme. Anyway my French friend said he learned the phrase *my tailor is very rich*. It struck me as very funny because it’s not something you’d really say here. I love the where is Brian thing! 🤣
For decades many generation of french children have started learning english with the same method called Speak English Serie Verte. Brian and Jenny were the characters we use to follow. So yes the Brian in the kitchen thing became a reference for many french 😄
La génération de ma mère (60ies 70ies) ont généralement commencé à apprendre l'anglais avec la phrase "my tailor is rich" iso "where is Brian ? ". C'est la référence d'une génération entière également ;)
When I lived in Normandy people served the cheese course before the dessert. In the U.K. the cheese tends to be the last course. I don’t know if it was peculiar to Normandy
I (also British, lived in France for a while) saw this perfectly explained by Raymond Blanc on a U.K. TV show when asked the same question. “The French way is savoury - savoury - savoury - sweet: it’s a succession of savoury flavours followed by something different, think about it that way and there is just no logic to the English thing of savoury- savoury - sweet - savoury, why would you do that?” And there’s nothing worse for a Frenchman than something that has “no logic”. ;-)
Hi Diane, a very kind and affectionate post, thank you 😊 I wish we had savory breakfasts too, I love them. The "Brian" thing is indeed hilarious (and let's not forget Jenny, who may, bless her heart, be in the garden). By the way, where's the link to Gad Elmaleh? Couldn't find it.
Corporate America, always made to feel guilty and insecure for asking time off. Even accrued vacation was frowned upon, if ok'd told to make sure to have back up in place. Often I didn't ask to avoid the discomfort and hassle. Finally I'm happily retired !
We wear slippers so that we don't bring any dirt or ,hatever lies on your floor, into the bed, onto the couch, into the shower, etc. We wear slippers to keep our feet clean. Not because we have cold feet. We are conscious that a normal house's floor is dirty. Slippers also keep the outside dirt, outside. Discarding your shoes for slippers when you get inside your house keeps your house floor clean from outside mud or germs to some extent.
I was lucky enough to spend 3 weeks in France in 2017 and yes folks, relax, spend time at a café, or bar - I did and ended up with a free polo shirt from an internationally known food/bar chain. Or enjoy lunch overlooking a harbor and just chill. As for breakfast - worst case scenario go to a local boulangerie and get a couple of freshly made croissants. Or hit the farmer's market - wonderful fresh fruits, veggies, etc.
Fresh baguettes are so good it would be a sin not to have at breakfast some TARTINES (=baguette+buter+jam) that we dip in chocolate with hot milk on the morning !!! (lol!) Miam, miam !!! (=Yummy Yummy!) Same thing for the viennoiseries (=croissants+pains au chocolat)! Mmmm!!! It doesn't mean when we go in a hotel we don't appreciate their salted breakfast, it's just we are not used to prepare it, and not very used to have it! We also really love to taste the real English Breakfast when we go to England, exept most of the time we din't realise it's not their usual breakfast anymore ( in most families they now do it in the best case only once a week, on Sunday) Did you know in France most families have a special toaster for baguette? That in the north of France, they don't put jam on their tartines but strong cheese (Maroual) they dip in coffee with milk !!! Did you know in France, coffee is such an institution (as tea in England) that at work everybody will stop working at the pause to go to the coffee machine, which is also a pretext to speak together and evocate what they feel which they find very important! (it doesn't mean we don't work the rest of the day!) and lots of french people absolutely need their "petit café" at the end of their lunch !
Hello, Regarding the pharmacists, they are also the first specialists you go if you have a doubt about a mushroom you picked in the wild. The pharmacist should be able to tell you if you can consume it or not. Regarding the vacations, the employer can impose 3 weekson 5 of vacations to his employees.
Le diesel était moins cher en France parce que l'état a fortement encouragé ce carburant à une époque. Les constructeurs (surtout PEUGEOT qui a inventé le filtre à particules) ont donc développé et améliorés les moteurs diesel. Il fallait bien faire quelque chose du diesel produit automatiquement lors du raffinage du pétrole. Et puis les écolos qui sont contre la voiture, par principe, ont trouvé toutes les raisons du monde pour discréditer le diesel comme ils l’avaient fait pour le GPL et comme ils commencent à le faire contre les voitures électriques et l'hydrogène. L'état ayant toujours besoin d'argent a donc profité de cela pour augmenter la taxation. Pourtant un moteur diesel consomme moins qu'un moteur essence et dure plus longtemps.
En fait ça s'appelle la science ... Le diésel pollue plus que l'essence c'est un fait, pas l'état qui le décide, ni les écolos (qui je trouve desservent énormément une cause importante). Au sujet des voitures électrique c'est pareil, c'est un fait, la production des batterie de par l'extraction de minererais rares pollues beaucoup, et c'est à prendre en compte lorsque l'on fait le calcul -> combien de temps faut-il garder / rouler avec une voiture électrique pour qu'elle soit rentabilisée d'un point de vue émission de gaz à effet de serre. C'est bien beau de vouloir faire du tout électrique, mais quand on vit dans un monde ultra consumériste dans lequel on est poussé à changer de voiture comme de chemise, on peut être à peu prêt certain que la majorité des voitures électrique ne rouleront pas assez pour être rentable écologiquement - Si vous souhaitez en apprendre plus à ce sujet, et surtout plus que par une personne random vous répondant en commentaire youtube, je vous invite à écouter Aurore Stephant, en particulier ses passages sur la chaine thinkerview)
6:00 it's insane to me that americans don't eat desert I thought it was something everyone does, even if you're on a rush or not having a "proper meal" it's always normal to have a small desert with it
Ah, Brian is in the kitchen :D I actually didn't have this example in my English classes, but I liked the use of it in an English language course poster : Brian is in the kitchen - Qu'il y reste ! :D
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I think the thing about slippers is that in most European countries, people don't wear their shoes indoors. It's diry to walk in socks and it can be sometimes too cold to walk barefoot.
I've noticed French people love yogurt. The yogurt aisles in grocery stores are huge compared to the USA. French people often finish a meal with yogurt or a pudding like dessert. My favorite is "îles flottantes".
Un petit pot de crème fraiche pour le dessert.
Iles flottantes is Eggs base.
@@sortilien2099 So what?
@@Pikrodafni miss red i thought he'd put them with yogurt ^^
@@sortilien2099 Misread, you mean? Or, what red are you missing? Sorry, don't get it.
The use of petit/e is like how the Scots & Irish use *wee*. “Let’s have a wee coffee”
So cute!
I agree, I was going to say the same thing.
And New Zealanders!
ruclips.net/video/hbK1nqt8Yxw/видео.html
It's not a specific thing, but I love how French people have such courtesy and manners to strangers. Bonjour when you enter a shop or see another resident in an apartment building, holding the exit gate to the metro for the person behind you, that sort of thing.
isn't it supposed to be normal ?
@@cyoyoo it ought to be, but in the US, not so much
Having a simple dessert like a fruit or yoghurt is absolutely mandatory, so leave some space for it :-)
And it doesn't have to be heavy or sweet!
🤣🤣
"absolutely mandatory" => maybe if your friends are some kinda extremists; else feel free to stop eating when u ain't hungry anymore
My experience with French pharmacists, how knowledgeable and helpful they are, is excellent.
5 years of medical college to become a pharmacist in France. You need to be one to own your own pharma and it is required to respect a ratio trained pharmacists / assistants. We basically say "Docteur en pharmacie "
@@etienneromano2600 The traditional word here in Croatia is "Magister" (the same word we use for MSc), and it also requires 5 years of study of pharmacology - the same usually needed if you want to work in the pharma industry (although there a wider range of chemistry, biochemistry and biotechnology degrees will do.)
@@bazoo513 nice to know, thank you. I think almost all EU countries are aligned on this. Hrvatska is a beautiful country and people there are so nice. Loved it. ( was easy for me as an italian speaker in Istra )Have a nice day
@@etienneromano2600 I am glad you had good time.
I was born in France and lived their for 35 years. I moved to the US 7 years ago and I'm currently in Italy. I went back to France this summer and for the first time I realized how much I missed the food. Nothing fancy, but just going back to Monoprix blew my mind. I had lots of good organic stuffs in California as well as in Italy but Man!! France is an all other level...
Hello je suis en France et n'est jamais voyager mais les Us me fascinent comment as tu appris à parler couramment l'anglais ?
Au début, en regardant des séries en VO avec sous titre en anglais.
Oui la Bonnie bluffs ca manque... I’ve been in the US for 30 years and I miss it badly
Just back from Monop in Garabaldi Nice, Borg is a brand that is definitely taking over here… the oat milk is so bad that I would feel bad giving it to the rats to neutralise them 😂
To be expected. Ask an Italian or Chinese and they’ll say the same thing. I lived in China for a while and love Chinese food but it was so good to come home to the USA and have American food.
I grew up on my grandmother’s farm, we ate savory for breakfast everyday after morning chores, along with coffee and eau de vie.
I am, thankfully, retired now. When I was working as a nurse, I had to give no less than 3 months notice, preferably 6, that I was going to take a vacation. I was entitled to 1 scheduled weekend off per year, but expected to find my own replacement for it. We worked every third weekend. In 35 years, I took 2 three week vacations, so I would not have to find my replacements for the scheduled weekend to work, I took off between work weekend to work weekend. American work culture amounts to little more than slavery!
Yes, the giving notice period seems to be quite long in the US. In France, my husband's work has everyone plan their summer/winter dates off well in advance since they're peak times but other than that, they manage their own time. I'm sorry that in 35 years you only took two vacations. ;-((((( I hope you're making up for lost time now!!
Diane,
I worked 30yrs in emergency dispatch . The last 15yrs we hit the offc vacation calender in January to mark out our vaca days for the whole year, Not Ideal!! ...happily retired😀 now
d'ou le dicton : les américain vivent pour travailler , les français travaillent pour vivres ? après tout , nous n'avons qu'une seule vie, même si notre espérance de vie est 78 à 80 ans en moyenne en France , la vie elle est courte et après il n'y a plus rien ; nous retournons en états de particules désorganisées : H-O-CA-FE-P etc. etc. ! nous , travaillons 8 h par jour et nous obtenons les mêmes résultats que l'américains qui travaillent 10-12 par jours . l'être l'humain est moins productif physiquement et cérébralement O, passer un certains nombres d'heures de travail , les erreurs et accidents sont dû principalement à la fatigue . effectivement les étatsuniens sont esclaves du travail , de leurs individualismes un système difficilement compréhensible pour un pays qui serait la première puissance mondiale . Bonne journée
Absolutely agree. My work philosophy is the same as the French. My job allows me to have a life. It's odd though because in the US that kind of mindset is often seen as lazy. I can't stand it. While I don't believe in what is currently going on, not working because it's easier for the government to just hand us money, I also believe that work doesn't have to be your life if you don't want it to be. The French definitely have the work/life balance thing figured out.
Unbelievable from a french point of view...
"Brian is in the Kitchen" comes from he school book "Imagine you're english", which was the book for most french people from the X Generation. This book is so beloved now that it became very rare and can be sold at 150€!! I wish I could find one :)
I really appreciate your videos, it's so fun to see France through the eyes of an american. I never went to america but the US tv series and movies aknollege us about many of your cultural habbits so I think the culture shock would be less for a french.
Not "Imagine you're English". The method was a different one called "Speak English". Brian and his sister Jenny. I taught english using that book and the tapes and all, in the 80s... 😊
Edit: and I've seen people selling it for 400 euros online.
@@LaVFdeJL And Jenny is in the bathroom
Fun piece! I would just add the “marché” culture to your list. While there are cities in the US that have good farmers markets, in Europe - and especially in France - the markets are everywhere. And I love the culture of chatting with the people about their products, etc. When I go to Paris, the first thing I do is go to the Saxe-Breteuil marché and buy a roast chicken and potatoes.
Btw I am spending the summer in Quebec city, which I thought was going to be a lot like France, but a major disappointment was that they really didn’t have any farmers’ markets - perhaps because it’s a “winter city” and the growing periods are shorter? Dunno. Even in Washington DC, where I’m from, we have several, excellent markets (same in Baltimore - 40 miles away), so I was really surprised by the lack of them in QC. Even their “grand marché” was basically a mall with no soul. ANYway, thanks for your piece!
It's so true ! And in this period of inflation where all prices are increasing in the supermarket, I have noticed that they don't increase (or only slightly) in the "marché". I don't live very far from Diane, in Maine et Loire, and I used to only buy my fruits, vegetables and cheeses at the marché, but now even meat and fish are getting cheaper (and of higher quality ) at the marché.
I'm lucky not to have restricted working hours because the marché in my village is on Friday morning, so I do it between 8 and 9 am and I arrive at work at 9:30 am that day!
True. Markets / marchés are extremely popular in France. from large cities to small towns. From rich cities centre to popular areas...
Hi Diane, here's a suggestion as a french person living abroad. I've noticed how a lot of french movies and shows have been remade to fit english speaking people over the years. How about a video talking about some of your favourite classic films/shows you've gotten to discover in France? It would be interesting to see your take on differences in filming styles, humour that we tend to see more in hollywood.
Amélie Poulain...
A french film you can't remake on american style... Thanks for Heaven
W
@@declissonolivier9376 That is "classic" for you? Try the 30's through the 60's. One example, "Pépé le moko" 1937 which was remade fairly well as "Algiers" in English and it had Hedy Lamarr and Charles Boyer. Another one is "Le salaire de la peur"(wages of fear) 1953. There are many others.
Il faut lui suggérer '' Les tontons flingueurs'' pour la subtilité de l' utilisation de la langue de Molière 😉
I worked for a Japanese car company in the 1980s and vacation time was 5 days per year plus 1 additional day for every 5 years of service. Absolutely draconian
As a child living in France we hardly ever ate desserts, and patisseries we’re only eaten on Sunday’s.
As a french citizen I enjoy your videos, and re learn about stuff we take as a normal way of being 😅.
Hint for any tourist, American or not : please save some time to visit some nice village (and not only Paris) and go to the local grocer's market, have a cafe on the terrace, under the platanes trees, listening to the bell of the church telling you it is 12, time to have a cool lunch. Believe me the French do love this😊
Great video! Things not quite liked but have gotten used to it after 6 years of living here...#1 There's no such thing as"I'm just popping into the Intermarché to buy milk". You wait in line, listening to the conversation between the cashier and customer about how their week has been, which is kinda cute and to be honest, it's promoted here, as that conversation might be the only one the old biddy (in most cases), has had with another human being. It's like a Community Service. Then, after that's all done and dusted, out comes the cheque book to pay for the groceries 🤣 C'est la vie! #2 - Waiting for a repair person. Our condensating boiler had a fault and we had no hot water. The Technician came around. Said we needed a new thermostat and said he'd be back on Thursday at 14h30. We're still waiting...and that was 5 years ago! To his credit though, he actually didn't specify which Thursday or which year! 🤣 The boiler has since been fixed 🤣🤣
Glad you got that boiler fixed hahaha. I read it as a condescending boiler at first and was like, huh that's interesting. Thanks for watching!
@@OuiInFrance But, of course-it’s French!!!!😄😁😆
"C'est la vie" is only used by Brits, in a fun way. I know they don't mean it as nobody cares much about explaining the context to tourists, but still, that hurts me a little when they use it that way. In my childhood, I had to deal with adults with psychological traumas that I was too young to understand. That idiom was used by people of my country during the wars and after. Not a lot of French people will use that idiom now (maybe to have fun or be "delicat"-e" with some American?). It is old fashion, actually. It is a idiom that used to be said as a sort of shy way to say there was nothing to be changed about a devastating problem so it is not useful to cry over it, like a bomb destroyed the house and no-one can rebuild it, or the children died during the war, etc. That is a shy way to conclude a conversation when you had to explain why your life is sad in order to make people understand that you are not saying these sad things to ask for help as there is nobody who could help. In those days, complaining about those kind of things, were not that allowed, you were alive after all. Just to say it for once, so at least one remembers that. 🤢 Maybe I'm just the only one who cares about those sad faces I still have in my old memories, as a child of a Boulanger who used to bake black floor "pains" under the noses of German soldiers so the people around would not die from starving. Good thing from that tho : in order to say thanks to him for saving their lives without any kind of awards asked of course, honneur oblige, those poor people managed to give me the few vegetables they used to grow themselves till the end of their lives. God bless them. Just a little lesson parceque "C'est la vie" 😘 🥰 😍 from France
@@valee16fr Aww... thank you for sharing that background. No one would ever guess that from simply hearing the saying. It is sad what the people went through. Because my grandparents went through the war in Europe I remember their stories.
God bless you. 🛐❤
@@luv2travel2000 Thanks.
(Just realised a misspelled. Oups. Sorry.i meant "black flour" for the bread of course.) It is important to share those stories with the young generation, particularly now with all the géopolitique problems, the problems with the refugees from global warming that they gonna have soon...
They think it is just old stories, not thinking that a war could come again but we never know that for sure.
😳 Want to know an another one from the old time that seems not that dramatic but it is?
"Il faut de l'air pour vivre"
you need air to live. : Meaning : it is cold and windy, but still, even if we don't want to freeze, the job has to be done, so we won't complain and go outside, anyway.
Far from "mum ! Tiktok snot working, life is so unfair. Rhaaaah" 😉🙃
🗼🇨🇵🙋😘
there's like alot of things that make me think I'm french just because I agree and relate to their lifestyle lol
I am a french citizen expatriate in the US and my husband and I visited France many times over the years. My husband really enjoyed our French 'pharmacies" he was shocked when I told him that "Non, France doesn't carry medecine in grocery stores." He got used to it eventually, and now he recognizes a pharmacy from the distance when he sees the iconic green neon sign shinning in the distance. When my sister visited us, last time she brought me a gorgeous pair of slippers (aka Chaussons) all made of a patchwork of burgundy and blue silk, velvet and brocade; hubby calls them my Pope Slippers and I cherish them. I was not aware of the popularity of the name Brian (Brrrrian.) Thank you for this video, it was very fun.
I'm french living in France and I've never heard about this "Brian" popularity either....I didn't event know that Brian should be in the kitchen... first time ever I heard about this
I do love the Paris Metro ,for any single journey, one EUR which I'm sure they love,also Le Bus in the Provence region of France. The French also love their grocery stores to be stocked up to the brim with more variety than you can dream of. I think they are great cinema lovers, and culture buffs in general.
I was in Paris last week and I like the fact that you could take your time to eat at a cafe. They don't try to rush you. You can sit at a cafe and people watch.
That's right they never you tell you get out,because your seat is reserved for lunchtime guests. They never interfere with your plans. They are very good listeners,if you've noticed them close up.
Thank you for your kind words but I really think this is european or " latin european". You will find the same in Italy, Spain, Portugal,...
The VW scandal a few years ago pretty much killed diesel cars in the US. After that, the percentage dropped. Hybrids and electric pretty much fill the gap.
I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
Bien vu!!! Mais, tu as oublié la plus importante des choses qu'on aime faire, c'est, l'apéro !!!!
I chuckled when you described your two week vaca while working for a “Big 4”! In fact sometimes firms perform an audit of someone while they are away or become suspicious of a long vaca! In my entire career I only took one vacation of full two weeks, then resigned two days after my return. Retirement is AWESOME! 😀
My boss was not happy with me! But I think we all have early career moments we learned from. But still, 2 weeks off shouldn't be a big deal in most professions!
You are so correct regarding both, vaca and retirement!! Everyday is now...um, what day is it? Lol especially here in Vegas
Take care
(Hi Diane! Loved this! TY)
@@likearainbow7501 six Saturdays and a Sunday!
@@julieparker8176
😇yes!
Dessert! After walking each day sight-seeing, I never feel guilty enjoying a dessert after the meal. We sometimes pick up un tatin aux pommes for breakfast (plus our typical American savories).
Love your videos. Can wait to be back in my home away from home in Nov!
1. My local pharmacist knows my entire medical history as well as my doctor. Up to the point where I prefer to go to a different pharmacy for certain purchases....
2. Yes, petit is a much used adjective. "Faire un petit café", translates to a quick get together over coffee. So a quick chat over coffee and not overstaying your welcome.
3. I have never entered a French house with carpet on the floor. Only wood or tiles. Except for in summer, that feels pretty cold to the feet. So slippers/house loafers are common.
4. I skip breakfast. So do my daughters. But viennoiseries and breakfast cereals are very common. But more often, less expensive French bread with Nutella or jam.
5. I skip sweet desserts too. To rich for my liking. But I'll take a bit of cheese. Especially blue cheese, Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, Brie or Tomme.
6. My job doesn't pay me enough to really leave for summer vacation. Okay, once every three years or so. But yes, July and August are the months when 2/3 of the French go on holiday.
7. Where is Waldo? I've never heard of this "Brian" thing...
8. Taking a coffee at a bar before work is pretty much history. Even in the countryside. Rush rush rush. But sitting down for a coffee when I have the time, yes! People watching is fun.
9. Diesel is cheaper but I had to change my car and looked towards the future. In a few short years from now you can't drive a diesel car in the cities anymore. So I've switched.
The chapter/subject sections are way off in this video.
Damn, now I realise I indeed translated my french expressions using "petit(e)" by replacing it with "small" in english to playfully downplay things. :D
eggs are pretty common in breakfast thought, but yeah outside of that not really salt, maybe bread with salted butter in some regions. But i would say for french it's more buttery breakfast than salt or sugar xD
Salut! It took me several months to adjust to this, but now I love the fact that many stores are closed on Monday morning. Just seems to me a more gentle way to start a new week.
It's more in Paris than in other towns.
@@SR-id7ny It's true all across France, a lot of smaller stores are closed on mondays so that employees can have a 2 day "week-end", as they are open on saturdays
Hi Diane. Yep cafe culture is way up there for me. Of course we have cafes in the Uk where you can chill and watch the world go by but for me the French are next level. Great video!
Sweet things at breakfast is actually a good idea. It was once explained to me like this:
Your body runs on 2 fuels, the one is sugar and the other is fat. But your brain will only run on sugar.
After a nights sleep your sugar level is low and therefore a breakfast with a combination of fast sugars, like jam, and slow sugars, like bread, is a good breakfast to get you going for the day.
You are 100% right about the perception of vacations in corporate America. I can count all the vacations (5) that I had in a 29 year career when I didn't have to check emails/voicemails and still do some work while on vacation. The only time that I took more than a couple of days off in a row was when I took an international trip. I'm retired now and so happy.
So glad you're happily retired now. 5 vacations in 29 years is 😢
In France it's even illegal to contact your employees for work when they're on vacation or even after regular work hours.
@@jfrancobelge I cannot imagine it. I was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had vacations but the 5 that I referenced above were the only ones during which I did not have to work or check emails/voicemails. I'm happy for you!
Good to see you, Diane! And, on a day I'm wearing one of my favorite t-shirts purchased from your store- "All Outta Phoques". Look forward to your next vid. xo
That is awesome! Thank you so much! I bet you have some explaining to do every time you wear it since most people won't get the joke
I do love our pharmacie and the pharmacist knows me by name. I do need a little protein with breakfast or my blood sugar tanks! And yes…we have a diesel car. Something else about cars here-they are mostly manual. Make sure you know how to drive a stick when you rent a car as sometimes they run out of automatic ones.
I am not in France but Francophile Madagascar. Some of the things you describe apply. Like pharmacy culture-twice a week visit for some such thing - and sanders in doors. Breakfast is definitely savory here but croisants and baguettes are ubiquitous.
As a pharmacy tech in the US I wish we were more like the French. I had to take a week off work last december for sinus surgery my boss asked "do you really need a whole week?" Umm yeah, unless you want me in here with blood coming out of my nose all day!
Pour nous ce sera un arret maladie, pas sur nos vacances. Bonne journee
In France, if the doctor says you need a 3 months rest, your boss can say nothing about it. You get paid and he cannot fire you.
@@photolover6944 I was able to take the full week off, but not everyone in the US is so lucky :( I also had to use vacation days to get paid during the week off.
@@jenniferdignan8507 Here, if you get sick during your regular vacation time, your time off is transferred to sick leave (paid of course) so you can take your spoilt days of regular leave later on.
Hello. I wanted to say that I know how hard that it is to stop saying "my parent's". My father passed away a few months before you lost your mother, and it has been a big adjustment in my conversations to just account for the one parent. Being so far away from your Dad must make it very difficult. I still haven't completed all of the legal aspects of losing a parent and it's almost been a year. I'm down to about 2 items left. I have said a prayer for your family and you as you continue to mourn and to adjust.
All French employees have 5 weeks holidays, even part timers. And it is compulsory to take your holiday during summer time (at least two weeks). If your boss can’t grant you summer holiday, he has to give you more days to compensate (unless you have a seasonal job obviously)
it's not compulsory to take 2 weeks in the summer. Some organisations will ask you to, but it's absolutely not compulsory. I knew plenty of people who'd take holidays in June or September, to avoid all the kids and the tourists.
Right. Once per year you need to take two weeks in a row. You can take whenever you want@@miyounova
I’m French but I never realised pharmacies were such a big deal in France 😅 or maybe it’s just me but I hardly ever go to a pharmacy actually.
But I do agree with most of your arguments in the videos! 😅
Thanks for watching!
Les pharmacies en France font partie du système de santé. C'est une profession régulée. La France considère que les médicaments doivent être vendus par des professionnels formés à cela. C'est pour cela qu'elles sont aussi importantes. Vous vous en rendrez compte avec l'âge...... ))):
concernant les pharmacies ; en tant que français nous allons à la pharmacie nous y allons d'une ordonnance du médecin , afin d'avoir les médicaments adapté au problème médical ,
@@ybreton6593 Certains y achètent également des produits avec des marques spécifiques qui ne se vendent pas ailleurs, produits diététiques, de beauté, d’hygiène...... On peut s'y faire vacciner (grippe, COVID). Certaines ont mêmes des produits à usage vétérinaire.
@@christianc9894d'accord avec vous , mais à part le vaccin grippe et Covid le reste sont des produits d'appoints
that's incredibly accurate , I'm french and I tought that it would be really cliché but I even mind things you says like it just seems normal and we don't even think about it. That's was a real fun to watch this video 👌
Bonjour Diane, dans les pharmacies, il est obligatoire d'avoir en permanence un docteur en pharmacie donc, 7 ans d'études supérieures, c'est le pharmacien. Les autres personnes qui servent sont dits "préparateurs en pharmacie". Mais ce sont des gens très bien formés qui font 4 ans d'études supérieures. Ils doivent connaître tous les médicaments pour vérifier la prescription du médecin ou conseiller quand il s'agit d'auto-médication. Ils doivent aussi connaître les interactions des médicaments avec d'autres traitements d'où l'intérêt d'aller dans la même pharmacie. Ils connaissent ton dossier médical et donc, peuvent éviter des erreurs dramatiques. En cas de doutes, les préparateurs se réfèrent au pharmacien lequel peut prendre contact avec ton médecin traitant le cas échéant. Personnellement, ça fait presque 40 ans que je vais dans la même pharmacie du village. J'en suis à la troisième génération de pharmaciens. Deux sont déjà partis en retraites. Je suis toujours en contacte avec la dernière pharmacienne à la retraite. Elle connaît notre situation médicale et prend régulièrement de nos nouvelles. Ce que j'apprécie le plus c'est que, quand je vais à la pharmacie, on a toujours une petite conversation personnelle pour s'inquiéter de notre santé. C'est seulement après ce petit "rituel" qu'on me sert. Pour faire court, on n'est pas un client. Avant tout, on est traité comme un être humain sensible et plus ou moins malade. C'est ce que j'apprécie le plus. J'imagine que ce n'est pas partout pareil. C'est probablement le privilège d'habiter dans un village ou de fréquenter la même pharmacie de son quartier dans les plus grandes villes. Merci au passage pour votre excellent rendu de la société française, franc, honnête et sans concession ...
Pharmacists in the UK are similarly underrated, and similarly well-qualified.
Thanks for the video! I'm going back to the riviera in September its so beautiful
You're welcome and hope you have a wonderful trip!
When I was a kid in America (1950s-60s), diesel was dramatically cheaper. Today it's more expensive than regular, dunno why.
I think the thing with breakfast in France not being as important as in the onther countries is because the lunch is sooooo important : we actually eat a whole meal and it's an actual break in the day. I don't eat breakfast because then I'm not hungry when lunch comes around, so I don't feel the necessity of it. But I did eat breakfast when I lived in Germany because lunch was very late. (it may also be because I don't actually enjoy sweet breakfast and just "wait" for the savory option).
Just a little advice, when you rent a car, you will most certainly get a manual gear, which can be very confusing if you are not used to.
This woman is funny! I love the way she speaks and she is honest as heck! No nonsense!
Thanks for watching!
Pharmacies in Paris are gorgeous
Diesel gas was cheaper because it was taxed less... not 100% sure but I think it initially was due to diesel being used for farm equipment and trucks (so work related). It was also considered more environmental friendly until they admitted the emissions are worse for our health.
On one of my trips to Paris, we met with my husband's ex and partner. At one point the partner became red faced, eyes popping and veins bulging and afterwards I asked my husband what the hell happened he explained that he had started a new job and only had 11 weeks of vacation! I told him to tell them that in America I had to work 12 years to get 3 weeks vacation and that is a good deal for most people!!
1) Yep! I fell in the street the other day and was well on my way to developing a huge bruise on my leg. I stopped at the pharmacy down the street and she gave me a gel to rub on. No bruise! I've found that the pharmacists are often more helpful than the actual doctors.
5) Agree, especially in the sense that I've started learning to stop eating my main meal before I'm too full for dessert, when I'm still a little hungry. Then dessert (maybe a piece of chocolate or a cookie in the afternoon, and yogurt or fruit in the evening) fills that last bit. I think most of the time in the U.S. we don't have dessert because we're stuffed by the end of the main dish.
P.S. Would love the video in the other direction! ;)
I will have to come up with a good list. And I hope you're OK after the fall and it wasn't anything serious. Don't tell me it was from flip flops on tile in the rain. I almost wiped out yesterday at my bank
@@OuiInFrance Ugh, no, I more just tripped out of nowhere on a really uneven piece of pavement, but I know exactly what you mean. Some of those street tiles are sooo slick. But thank you, I'll definitely be okay! Was more just a shock in the moment.
Arnica gel?
@@nancylindsay4255 Actually no! The pharmacist suggested this product or arnica gel and ultimately gave me this one. It's called Biofreeze.
About wearing slippers: maybe it's because we don't wash the floor as often as you do. Personally, if I walked barefoot at home, my feet would be dirty in no time (my floors are vacuumed and mopped twice a month).
I DESPISE sweet anything, especially for breakfast and my French family always makes sure to have coldcuts and cheese with baguette for my breakfast because the eggs and bacon thing isn't really a thing among my experience in France!!
Thankyou for your videos always very interesting!
I'm french and I really LOVE Oui in France 🇫🇷 because I love you to speak about me !!! (😂lol)
I definitely eat more sweets when I'm in Montmorillon. It's not so much for breakfast, but in the afternoon with coffee or tea (there's a tea shop run by an ex-pat Brit in my town). Loved the video - a nice discussion on some differences!
"C'est son petit ami" or "C'est sa petite amie" really means an intimate friend (boyfriend / girlfriend) that one may sleep with.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I can speak to diesel in the US. Years ago I purchased a diesel VW because the mileage was so much better and diesel was cheaper. And Diesel engines lasted much longer. Than the tax rate on diesel fuel was increased so it became the most expensive fuel. It was still more financially efficient than gasoline though. I lost my last diesel car in a hailstorm (destroyed it), and at the time it had 180,000 miles on it. But with VWs emission scandal I did not replace it with another diesel vehicle- they weren’t available.
Another great video
Merci !
This was especially interesting - thank you for another great episode.
☮️
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am so sorry to hear that your mother passed away. I hope you and your family is holding on to beautiful memories. 💝🙏💝 prayers for family.
Slippers and dessert. I'm french!! Oui!
Hello Diane.
Your videos are great. As a French guy myself, i can tell that i find almost all what you say about French culture and habits very accurate and "bien vu!".
Just a point for this video: about slippers i regret a bit that you did not speak about "les Charentaises" which you surely know and are some sort of a must when it comes to slippers in France. They have been a bit out of mode in the past decades, and even mocked, but are making a strong come back since a few years, because they are so comfortable, especially during cold season.
The big thing about diesel is engine maintenance, a bit less of an issue now that gasoline engines are more reliable, but 200,000 miles for a diesel engine is a minimum. And fewer and cheaper tuneups, etc.
Diesel in the US used to be cheaper, now it’s about the same. ⛽️
Thank you Diane. Always informative and just the petit amount of French culture to savor. Merci beaucoup.
Diane, Thank you for another great video, very informative - I do enjoy them and I love several of these things about France you mentioned today.
I was particularly interested to hear about the pharmacies and the significance they have for French people.
An interesting thing I've found living here in Biarritz, a big holiday destination, is that many restaurants, bars, etc. will close for a couple of weeks in October when the tourists have gone home and the employees take their holidays all at the same time.
Make sure to watch her pharmacy video-mind blowing!🤯
@@KiKiQuiQuiKiKi I have and yes, it is!!
Wonderful! Thank you!
You're very welcome!
Great video as always. Thank you for your work. ❤️🌿⚘️🌿
Si tu veux un petit- déjeuner salé en France il faut venir en Alsace où tu auras une assiette de charcuterie et de fromage le matin
Diane, thank you for your passion!
After many years in France, you still have not lost the habit of speaking too fast, you sound like you are in a hurry all the time.
Slow down and take a breath.
Hi. For people travelling to Europe, one automotive option is the TT (transit temporaire) system. The whole scheme was designed to give French car builders a little sales boost. The allows a person from outside Europe to buy a brand new Renault, Peugeot or Citroën car in France and drive it as their own while they are in Europe. At the end of the contract, the builder (or their agent) who sold the car agrees to buy back the car. It's a bit like rentals but it offers more flexibility and guarantees you get a brand-new car. Contracts include insurance and service. Contracts also include a guaranteed "buy-back" and a refund of the 20% TVA. Of course, you always have the option of keeping the car and shipping it back to your home country, but few people actually do. It makes most sense if you spend several weeks in Europe.
We do love slippers because our parents tell us that you catch a cold through your feet ! So to stay healthy, you need to wear slippers. And when i was little, if I wasn't wearing my slippers, my mum would tell me off 😄
Yes, do a video the other way around, I love the comparison videos! Unfortunately for anyone with a diesel engine, especially the trucking industry, fuel is quite a bit more expensive. In Texas, where everyone has a personal truck (not really, but almost) the diesel engine is a bit more common, especially for work trucks like for farming. Eva zu Beck here on YT drove through Texas and was surprised to see so many personal trucks and went around in a shopping mall parking lot looking at them and looking in the bed/back of the truck to see what they were hauling. To be honest, it's usually nothing lol. Thanks for sharing!
Slippers are popular in Britain too. Snowy or muddy shoes are left in the hallway. Old floors are not very smooth and can be full of splinters and ends of metal nails.which pop up when the boards move.
How about Markets and scarves. 😀
Chouettes vidéos! I did not expect n°1 (pharmacies) nor n°9 (diesel cars !!! 😁). Happy ending!
Ok listening to French habits I think if I was living in France your comments do make sense. I like the sweet breakfast idea or skipping breakfast. The others again if I lived there.
BONJOUR ❤
Over the past seven years, Diesel in Florida has continually been more expensive than gasoline. Until the past year, it was anywhere from 10 to 30 cents more per gallon. Currently Diesel can be more than 1.50 more per gallon over gasoline.
I am American. I'm whole food plant based. My breakfast of choice is a green salad with baby kale, raw asparagus, northern beans, flax seed, blueberries, vinegar, onion, lemon slices. My palette has changed- can't do sweets anymore!
Chacun a son gout!
Lol,, I've lived in my Irish cousin's apartment in Paris. She married a French civil servant. But I never met her or her family. They were always away on vacation. I got the key from the conciege. The neigbors, BTW, were friendly and often left little food presents for me at my door.
Salut Diane ! The summer holiday in August in France is so ubiquitous that I love the way the French speak of „la rentrée“ almost as a point on the calendar. I‘ve been thinking about that while watching your video, and I suppose it‘s much the same in the US („Back to School“); it‘s just been so long that I am not as aware of that. Germany is different. The school holiday periods (about six weeks) are staggered from state to state in Germany (from the middle of June to the middle of September) so that not everyone is on vacation at the same time. And (with the exception of Bavaria, where it is ALWAYS end July to beginning September) it changes from year to year. Here in Hamburg, the school holidays this year started in the middle of July and go to the end of August, but they can begin anywhere from the middle of June to the end of July. Cultural organizations have to take that into account, so the summer break for the theatres (for instance) always coincides with the school holiday.
we do this for the February and April school holidays, they're the only ones that are staggered (the country is divided into 3 zones, and who starts first also changes every year). But the November, Xmas and summer holidays are at the same time, because it's better for families. Xmas is obvious, summer is when you get to all travel together and see your cousins for example, and November is just a week or 10 days, plus it's only 2 months after "la rentree" so no one really does anything, so we didn't bother.
Re “la rentrée”. I discovered, while working in France (I’m British) that if you wanted to launch a new initiative, project or product then you were best advised to do so in September which almost had the feeling of “a new beginning” rather more than any other time of the year and people were more receptive to change or novelty. But it was also the time of year when most senior managers knew that the “PDG” had been mulling things over during his 3 weeks in his house in Luberon and you were either going to get a reorganisation or an invitation to a “strategy weekend” to discuss all the ideas he’d come up with in the pool!
I find it interesting that it seems obligatory to deny the accuracy of stereotypes. A stereotype is the result of many observations. Usually quite accurate descriptions of a culture.
I would be willing to bet (a small amount of) money that “Where is Brian? Brian is in the kitchen” was included in an introductory-level English textbook in France.
My siblings and I all had at least a year of high-school Spanish, and even though the age difference between the oldest and youngest of the five of us was 13 years, we can all answer the question, “ Esta Susana en casa?” by quoting the rest of the dialogue. (Susana was with a friend, not in the living room, but in the kitchen. And the friend was actually on the phone, not present in person.)
I asked a French friend what the equivalent is to *la plume de ma tante* - the phrase that cropped up in our French text books to demonstrate the possessive case. It’s now almost a meme. Anyway my French friend said he learned the phrase *my tailor is very rich*. It struck me as very funny because it’s not something you’d really say here. I love the where is Brian thing! 🤣
@@alisoncarr7153 . . . est sur la table.
For decades many generation of french children have started learning english with the same method called Speak English Serie Verte. Brian and Jenny were the characters we use to follow. So yes the Brian in the kitchen thing became a reference for many french 😄
My German class was built around "Maria singt in der Oper. "
La génération de ma mère (60ies 70ies) ont généralement commencé à apprendre l'anglais avec la phrase "my tailor is rich" iso "where is Brian ? ". C'est la référence d'une génération entière également ;)
When I lived in Normandy people served the cheese course before the dessert. In the U.K. the cheese tends to be the last course. I don’t know if it was peculiar to Normandy
No, throughout France cheese is served before the dessert which is, in most cases, a piece of fruit.
@@Alex-mp1zb If there’s a yummy dessert you have to be careful not to fill up on cheese 😂
No salty food (cheese) after a sweet dessert. That would be crazy.
I (also British, lived in France for a while) saw this perfectly explained by Raymond Blanc on a U.K. TV show when asked the same question. “The French way is savoury - savoury - savoury - sweet: it’s a succession of savoury flavours followed by something different, think about it that way and there is just no logic to the English thing of savoury- savoury - sweet - savoury, why would you do that?” And there’s nothing worse for a Frenchman than something that has “no logic”. ;-)
Pharmacies are the best. They always sell great shoes!
Hi Diane, a very kind and affectionate post, thank you 😊 I wish we had savory breakfasts too, I love them.
The "Brian" thing is indeed hilarious (and let's not forget Jenny, who may, bless her heart, be in the garden). By the way, where's the link to Gad Elmaleh? Couldn't find it.
Thank you! And sorry about link. It's in the description now!
@@OuiInFrance Trop fort le Gad ! Thank you 😁
Corporate America, always made to feel guilty and insecure for asking time off. Even accrued vacation was frowned upon, if ok'd told to make sure to have back up in place. Often I didn't ask to avoid the discomfort and hassle. Finally I'm happily retired !
It seems like a vivid pattern in this comment area, : USA citizen starting to appreciate their life after retirement (sorry my english).
The "Brian" bit made me chuckle 🤭
We wear slippers so that we don't bring any dirt or ,hatever lies on your floor, into the bed, onto the couch, into the shower, etc. We wear slippers to keep our feet clean. Not because we have cold feet. We are conscious that a normal house's floor is dirty. Slippers also keep the outside dirt, outside. Discarding your shoes for slippers when you get inside your house keeps your house floor clean from outside mud or germs to some extent.
I was lucky enough to spend 3 weeks in France in 2017 and yes folks, relax, spend time at a café, or bar - I did and ended up with a free polo shirt from an internationally known food/bar chain. Or enjoy lunch overlooking a harbor and just chill. As for breakfast - worst case scenario go to a local boulangerie and get a couple of freshly made croissants. Or hit the farmer's market - wonderful fresh fruits, veggies, etc.
Fresh baguettes are so good it would be a sin not to have at breakfast some TARTINES (=baguette+buter+jam) that we dip in chocolate with hot milk on the morning !!! (lol!)
Miam, miam !!! (=Yummy Yummy!)
Same thing for the viennoiseries (=croissants+pains au chocolat)!
Mmmm!!!
It doesn't mean when we go in a hotel we don't appreciate their salted breakfast, it's just we are not used to prepare it, and not very used to have it!
We also really love to taste the real English Breakfast when we go to England, exept most of the time we din't realise it's not their usual breakfast anymore ( in most families they now do it in the best case only once a week, on Sunday)
Did you know in France most families have a special toaster for baguette? That in the north of France, they don't put jam on their tartines but strong cheese (Maroual) they dip in coffee with milk !!!
Did you know in France, coffee is such an institution (as tea in England) that at work everybody will stop working at the pause to go to the coffee machine, which is also a pretext to speak together and evocate what they feel which they find very important! (it doesn't mean we don't work the rest of the day!) and lots of french people absolutely need their "petit café" at the end of their lunch !
Hello,
Regarding the pharmacists, they are also the first specialists you go if you have a doubt about a mushroom you picked in the wild. The pharmacist should be able to tell you if you can consume it or not.
Regarding the vacations, the employer can impose 3 weekson 5 of vacations to his employees.
Le diesel était moins cher en France parce que l'état a fortement encouragé ce carburant à une époque. Les constructeurs (surtout PEUGEOT qui a inventé le filtre à particules) ont donc développé et améliorés les moteurs diesel. Il fallait bien faire quelque chose du diesel produit automatiquement lors du raffinage du pétrole. Et puis les écolos qui sont contre la voiture, par principe, ont trouvé toutes les raisons du monde pour discréditer le diesel comme ils l’avaient fait pour le GPL et comme ils commencent à le faire contre les voitures électriques et l'hydrogène. L'état ayant toujours besoin d'argent a donc profité de cela pour augmenter la taxation. Pourtant un moteur diesel consomme moins qu'un moteur essence et dure plus longtemps.
En fait ça s'appelle la science ... Le diésel pollue plus que l'essence c'est un fait, pas l'état qui le décide, ni les écolos (qui je trouve desservent énormément une cause importante). Au sujet des voitures électrique c'est pareil, c'est un fait, la production des batterie de par l'extraction de minererais rares pollues beaucoup, et c'est à prendre en compte lorsque l'on fait le calcul -> combien de temps faut-il garder / rouler avec une voiture électrique pour qu'elle soit rentabilisée d'un point de vue émission de gaz à effet de serre. C'est bien beau de vouloir faire du tout électrique, mais quand on vit dans un monde ultra consumériste dans lequel on est poussé à changer de voiture comme de chemise, on peut être à peu prêt certain que la majorité des voitures électrique ne rouleront pas assez pour être rentable écologiquement - Si vous souhaitez en apprendre plus à ce sujet, et surtout plus que par une personne random vous répondant en commentaire youtube, je vous invite à écouter Aurore Stephant, en particulier ses passages sur la chaine thinkerview)
@@gaxkiller Un troll verdâtre..........
Hey Diane, how about the apero ? Didn't you forget it ?
IM HERE FOR THE SLIPPER CULTURE
6:00 it's insane to me that americans don't eat desert I thought it was something everyone does, even if you're on a rush or not having a "proper meal" it's always normal to have a small desert with it
Very sorry to hear about your mother 😔
Thank you ❤
Ah, Brian is in the kitchen :D
I actually didn't have this example in my English classes, but I liked the use of it in an English language course poster : Brian is in the kitchen - Qu'il y reste ! :D
Ah, café crème, croissant, a glass of iced water (one has to ask) and a small cigar - heaven!
Bryan is in the F kitchen!! He can't cook.. he has homework to do.. but Brian is with Norman! In the kitchen!! 😂😂❤