15 OBSERVATIONS:
Here’s a list that I’ve been compiling of things that are “different” here…
And here's the disclaimer: I’m not saying that these things are right or wrong, good or bad… they are simply... different!
Observation #1 – diet orange coke
We do not have orange-flavored diet coke in the US – it’s pretty good!
Observation #2 – street signs with running people
The stick people on the signs here look like they’re running, which I find funny, since French people never seem to be in a hurry.
Observation #3 – no dryers
Most people don’t have dryers. It’s not because they can afford it – they just don’t want to use the electricity. People are very conservative with electricity and water here. This is what the Bel's use to dry clothes.
Observation #4a – separation of the sink faucets
I’ve never seen a sink like this in the US, and it took some getting used to. The left spout is hot water, and the right one is cold. The first night here, when I was trying to wash my face, I had water coming out of both faucets, and I was trying to collect water in both hands. But, the two faucets are kind of far apart, and the left was scorching hot, and the right was freezing cold! I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work, then I bumped my head on the little glass shelf and almost knocked it off the wall. I finally figured out that you’re supposed to stop up the sink and fill it to wash your face. I know, I know, it seems obvious now, but at the time, it presented quite a dilemma.
Observation #4b – other separation
Ok, so the hot and cold water are separate, but that’s not all – the toilet is separate from the shower and sink. That’s the shower and sink at the end of the hall, and the toilet is behind the white door on the right.
Observation #5 – no top sheets
People don’t use top sheets here; it’s a fitted sheet and a duvet.
Observation #6 – Sundays are strange
This is a big supermarket on Sunday – closed! 
This street is usually half this size in width because every other day of the week the cafés have tables and chairs spilling out onto the street, but not on Sunday because they’re closed.
I did see one place that was open – McDonald’s (known here as “McDo”).Observation #7 – public restrooms
These public toilets are all around town -- when you put coins in the slot (usually 20-40 centimes), the door will unlock.
Observation #8 – restrooms in buildings
Bathrooms in buildings here are often uni-sex, like this one at the Institut. There are full doors on the stalls, and everyone washes hands in the same place. It takes some getting used to to walk into a restroom when there’s a guy standing at the sink washing his hands.
Observation #9 – the hand towel
This is the hand towel in the bathroom pictured above. I have yet to see a bathroom in France with paper towels. It’s usually a towel holder like this one that rolls, except this one is broken, so it’s just hanging down. The towel is almost always wet from so many people using it – that definitely takes some getting used to.Observation #10 – It's a “pouring” fountain, not a “drinking” fountain
This is a water fountain – you’ll notice that the spout is different from what we’re used to – you don’t drink out of it; you pour water into a cup. The cupholder is on the right. Observation #11 – teeny-tiny cars
If you look very closely, you can see a car in this picture…
Observation #12 – the straight face is very “French”
I remember being told by a teacher when I came to France a few years ago that we shouldn’t smile all the time as we’re walking down the street because French people just don’t do that. It’s definitely not that they’re mean or unfriendly; they just don’t smile at people that they don’t know. I noticed the perfect example of this when I saw this photo that I’d take of Galéries Lafayette.
Observation #13 – the 24-hour clock
People use the 24 hour clock really often here when speaking about time – trying to hear & understand the time someone is saying in French, then having to subtract 12 is so hard to get used to! The digital clocks are on 24 hour time – you don’t see a clock that says 22:32 very often at home!Observation #14 – French coffee AND chocolate!
I love that the coffee comes with a little tube packet of sugar and a chocolate! (and sometimes this tall, skinny glass of water!)
Observation #15 – the virtually non-existent “coffee to go”
Why the big smile? This photo was taken to commemorate the first time I ever found coffee “to go” in France – I found this in St. Malo and haven’t seen any since.
I don't have any photographic proof of this, but I must say that French driving is very... different. Here's
an excerpt of something that we read in class from Les Carnets du major Thompson, written in 1954 by a French writer, from the perspective of an Englishman:
Les Anglais conduisent plutôt mal, mais prudemment. Les Français conduisent plutôt bien, mais follement. La proportion des accidents est à peu près la même dans les deux pays. Mais je me sens plus tranquille avec des gens qui font mal des choses bien qu’avec ceux qui font bien de mauvaises choses.
Les Anglais (et les Américains) sont depuis longtemps convaincus que la voiture va moins vite que l’avion. Les Français (et la plupart des Latins) semblent encore vouloir prouver le contraire.
The English drive worse, but cautiously. The French drive better, but madly. The proportion of accidents is about the same in the two countries. But I feel more at ease with people who do good things poorly than those who do bad things well.
The English (and Americans) have been convinced for a long time that the car goes slower than the airplane. The French (and most Latins) seem to still want to prove the opposite.
SO TRUE!
Jacob leaves Memphis today and will get here tomorrow. He has an overnight flight out of Atlanta, then he's going to get a train from the airport in Paris, and I'll go meet him at the train station tomorrow afternoon. Fingers-crossed that all goes well for him...
