After being in France for only four days I'm already in love. Words can't describe the amount of charm that this country has. Many Americans have the preconceived notions that the French are rude, dislike Americans and won't let you speak French with them, and I have found all of these to be completely false. Everyone who I have come across will automatically speak French with me and if I struggle with vocab they've been more than patient in helping me to understand. I am flattered and also pleasantly surprised that I have not had one Frenchman/woman try to speak English with me.
Living in France does not come without cultural differences however...Not blatantly standing out as Americans is one of the main goals of everyone on my program and last night we were given a lesson on French culture and culture shock. While many of the French customs are easy to adjust to, I'm having trouble toning down the friendliness. The French are much more reserved than Americans and smiling and saying "bonjour" to people you pass by on the street is considered an American faux-pas. However, saying bonjour, bonsoir, etc. is essential when you enter any place of business, even to people at the supermarket.
Food is such a central focus of the French lifestyle and meals are structured much differently than in the states. To-go food is nearly unheard of and to-go coffee is non-existant. You must sit down in a cafe if you want to drink coffee and it is considered a very social event. That being said, there are only certain coffees that you can order at certain times of the day. While a cafe au lait or cafe creme is offered on the menu, it is culturally unaccepted to drink either after lunchtime. If you want a coffee after lunch you must simply order un cafe or un cafe allonge. Un cafe is like a shot of espresso except much stronger and more rich and a cafe allonge is like an americano. Sadly, tea is often twice or three times as expensive as coffee so I'm attempting to steer away from caffeine in general. We'll see how that goes when school comes around next week...
Today we also went on our first group excursion (there are about 40 of us so it's quite a group). We drove about an hour and a half west to a medieval village called Les Baux. The town dates back to the days of Balthazar and has amazing castle ruins and incredible views of Provence. We had our first experience with Le Minstral while up on this mountain village and my nose and ears are still defrosting. Le Minstral is the infamous wind that blows down from the Alps and sweeps across Provence giving you the most chilled to the bone experience ever. Whenever anything goes wrong whether it be a bad business day or bad luck, the locals blame it on Le Minstral and now I see why.
After lunch we had the privilege of dining at Lolo's house, a quintessential Provencial man who lives in a house that's been in his family for 400 years. They still have the deeds that date back to the reign of Louis XIV. The lunch was a typical French affair lasting over two hours with courses of bread and sausages, omelettes, ratatouille, lamb, cheese and then dessert. It was incredible and all cooked on an Van Gogh. We also walked by the mental institution that he checked himself into near the end of his life...
All in all, my time here thus far has been magical. I still can't believe everything I've encountered and can't wait for many new experiences to come.
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