These are just some things that I've noticed about life over here in France and wanted to "jot down" so I could glance back at them later... they are observations I have made based on staying with a few, unrelated, very different French families. All of these are to be taken preceded by "IN GENERAL." ;)
* The French have towels to dry dishes and towels to dry your hands. The distinction is very important. (I've never seen this in the States, but maybe that's only because I haven't lived with very many American families besides my own! :))
* The French eat until they are not hungry anymore - not necessarily until they're full. (Either that or they have smaller stomachs than we Americans, lol!)
* The French always have something to finish the meal - we would consider it dessert, but it is lighter and usually not as sweet as our standard desserts. Sometimes it's natural yogurt; sometimes it's bread and cheese; sometimes it's fruit.
* The French have their sweetest food of the day at goûter (their afternoon snack)... oftentimes, they have bread, jam or honey, chocolate, and water with "sirop" in it. (I have never seen any of them eat anything chocolate after dinner... and only rarely after lunch.)
* The French (are you keeping in mind that phrase: "IN GENERAL" ?? :)) start their work day later than Americans and end it significantly later. It seems that it is not unusual for the father of the family to get home at 8:30 pm... and in some cases, that's early.
* The French (at home) work consistently through the lunch hour and then break for most of the afternoon, getting into gear again after goûter (i.e. about 5 or 5:30 pm). I think this is much like the Mexican siesta... and, in my opinion, is quite humane. :D
End of observations for the time being... I'm sure there are others that I've thought of, but they elude me at the moment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
,
1 comment:
This is a great idea. Looking forward to seeing your "Observations, Part Two"! :D
Post a Comment