In 2011, I did a couple blog posts of fun things I like about
France. These were a discipline for me to find the good in the midst of
the hard part of being so far from "my" familiar. You can see them
here :
FIRST list.
SECOND list.
Well,
I've been collecting a small list of other things that are different
than how I grew up in the States. Perhaps this will be enlightening for
you too!
1)
Did you know that when you count on your fingers here in France, you
start with your thumb as "one"? [Note : it's possible that some of
these thing may apply to Europe in general, but I'll just be talking
about France.]
2)
Did you know that calendars start with Monday (Lundi) as the first day
of the week, rather than Sunday (Dimanche)? I don't use calendars here,
as I've already messed up dates by a quick glance thinking something on
Thursday was actually on a Wednesday.
3)
Writing out numbers, especially money values uses commas instead of a
decimal point. For example, 3 euros and 47 centimes would be 3,47 €.
This was hard for me to get used to at first, but now it's normal to
me. Note: When doing calculations on a calculator, we use the decimal
point.
4)
You know how in the States, we say that pregnant women crave ice cream
and pickles?... Well, here in France, they say that if you crave
strawberries, you must be pregnant. Interesting. [The little birth announcement I found below says, "Everything starts with a craving."]
5)
When the French write names, the last name is almost always in all
capital letters. My name is Lindsey PETRIGNANI. I actually think it's a
good idea, since it makes it so much easier to identify the last name.
6) Quotation marks are different. In the States, we use "Quotation Marks." Here in France, they use
« Guillemets » (/ˈɡɪləmɛt/, or /ɡiːəˈmeɪ/; French: [ɡijmɛ]).
7)
Book bindings are printed in the opposite direction. They each have
their benefits... either the titles can be read while the books are
stacked on top of each other, or they can be read left to right in a
bookshelf.
Book binding in the States.
Book bindings in France.
8)
Grocery carts are all-wheel-drive. It was the same in Cyprus. I'm not
a fan, but it definitley makes for some creative maneuvering.
And
that's all I have for now. Traveling or living abroad or just getting
to know someone who's not from my culture is such an incredible way to
see how diverse the world and people are... God is amazing how beautiful
His Creation is! I'm thankful for the richness of my life, though I
will always miss my family in California! That's just a given. Thanks
for taking this little walk through some fun cultural differences with
me!
Love Linz
